Memorial Day: A Rejection of Peacenik Foolishness
by Kurt SchlichterMemorial Day puts the lie to the nonsense that violence never solves anything.
Those rows of white tombstones decorated with little flags are the reason Americans don’t walk downtown, past the ruins where the synagogue once stood, to grab a schnitzel und ein bier from that little imbiss next to der bahnhof. They are why there isn’t a smoking pit in the heart of Los Angeles where the Library Tower used to be.
Violence never solves anything, war is not the answer, arms are for hugging…. It’s hard to believe that there are adults out there that actually buy into such foolishness.
Memorial Day is about men and women who didn’t orient their lives to the dictates of poorly thought-through bumper sticker clichés that belong on the rear of some NPR-listening public school administrator’s Prius. It’s about men and women who understood that sometimes doing the right thing means doing the hardest thing.
Violence can solve things. Hitler – solved. Tojo – solved. Saddam – solved. Sometimes it takes time: Bin Laden – solution pending. But all the earnest teach-ins and doofy drum circles in the world haven’t kept one Darfurian from being killed by the janjaweed Islamist militia. The only thing that will ever do that is a division of Marines; until the activists call for the Devil Dogs to go in, they’re just posing.
Frequently, war is the answer. With the sorry state of history education in America, it’s easy to see how some people could embrace the delusion that there is nothing worth fighting for. But the Nazi concentration camps didn’t liberate themselves. Bosnia and Kosovo’s ethnic cleansing didn’t end because Milosevic got a pretty please with sugar on top. And the Taliban aren’t about to see the light and stop throwing acid in schoolgirl’s faces for the crime of wanting to learn to read.
War and violence aren’t the only answers – I worked in civil affairs on one deployment and we made a huge difference without firing a shot. Sometimes American soldiers’ arms are for hugging – I’ve seen that too – but before you can build a peace you have to enforce security. That means a grunt standing watch, M4 in hand, with a pilot in an F-15 overhead and a destroyer off-shore.
What is ironic is that Hollywood, for all its superficial peacenik posing, gets it. The messages of two of the biggest movies out right now, Star Trek and Terminator Salvation, are that there are things worth fighting for and dying for. Sadly, Hollywood feels the need to cloak that truth in the guise of battles against pointy-eared space aliens and death-dealing cyborgs that look like our governor.
Hollywood, just lose the metaphors. It would be nice to see a straight-up movie about the sacrifices of American soldiers in the War on Terror that doesn’t replace jihadi psychos with Romulans or SkyNet.
Memorial Day is the perfect occasion to embrace the truth. Do not listen to those who say that it is just another day off where people do nothing but drink beer and eat barbecue with their buddies. That’s a strawman offered up by the bumper sticker set because they fear Memorial Day’s true meaning.
At the risk of being presumptuous, those who gave their lives for our country would want you to gather your buddies and drink beers and eat barbecue (Resolved: Barbecued beef ribs are superior in every way to pork ribs. Discuss.). I plan to. There is a reason that on Memorial Day the flag flies at half-staff only until noon, when it is raised to the top of the pole again. It symbolizes that we honor our dead by going forward with our lives.
Honor our fallen by remembering them, and just as importantly, what they did. We can do that best by confronting the nonsense that surrounds us by telling the stories of these brave American men and women. When little Jimmy comes home confused because the teacher said that America is irremediably racist, you tell him about the Union soldiers who fell at Gettysburg. When your daughter tells you her textbook says that World War II was really instigated by war profiteers, pop in the disc of the Band of Brothers episode where Easy Company stumbles onto a Nazi death camp. When your son asks what that bumper sticker saying “End the War” means, you tell him about what the cops and firefighters had to do on 9/11. Let the truth be your tribute.
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115 Comments
Talk is wonderful. Lord knows how many conflicts were avoided by just talking it out. But there comes a point where the talking doesn't work anymore. Pearl Harbor and 9-11 come to mind. Talking done, action to come. I hope that our talkative President understands what Memorial Day is all about. Particularly if his talking misleads our enemies into believing that we won't fight. Another unprovoked attack, and he won't have the option of talking anymore.
Certainly, there are people who need a deterant to refrain from harming you. That applies to nations as well as the turd on the corner. It would be nice if the world wasn't that way but as far as I can tell, it has been so from the git.
Given that, it is in one's interest to be able to take action to defend oneself or others. I don't see any other logical way to proceed.
"walk softly and carry a big stick" Great advice from TR.
Wow! Someone needed to say that today and few could have said it better than Kurt. I salute hiim.
Excellent column, Mr. Schlichter. Thank you.
If? War is not the answer, what is? Direct that question to a Tree huggin, Left-wing, Moon-bat and watch their head explode.
Another unprovoked attack and the messiah is history.
Nothing wrong with cloaking the message. Sometimes that's the best way of putting it across.
Peace man. Unilaterally assured destruction. Surrender and you shall be free. Barf.
Or when your daughter's only context for the Pacific war is the diary of a Japanese school girl in Hiroshima during and after the nuclear attack she was assigned in school, show her the WWII documentaries you have on the "enlightened administration" of the " Asia Co-prosperity Sphere" in places like Nanking, Bataan, Unit 731, etc.
Yes it was upsetting to her, but she learned that there are worse things than war. In the long run, and important lesson if she's to be true citizen of this great country.
Good article. Thank you
Yeahhh……..how's that touchy-feely-talky-tingly diplomatic thingy going with N. Korea there, deer leedur? Going OK with the People's Islamic Retarded Republc of Persia, hmm? Just checkin'.
Bravo Mr. Schlichter. You not only hit the bullseye, you hit the very center of the bullseye itself.
War is a horrible evil started by the acts of evil men. It destroys cultures and countries, creates enduring hatreds and divisions, dismembers families and peoples, scars bodies and psyches, and leaves in its wake unparalleled suffering and acres and acres of row after row of crosses and other monuments in countries all over the globe. The United States has given more blood and treasure in the defense of world freedom than any other country throughout the history of the world. This country was born on the battlefield of freedom. A battlefield we choose to enter in defense of freedom for all mankind regardless of race, color, creed, or national origin. Anyone who would suggest we should sheath our sword is suggesting freedom is not worth the high price that must be paid to maintain it. I disagree. The alternative is unimaginably far worse.
The problem with that is that the bumper-sticker crowd will say that we DID provoke it with our intolerant ways. They seem to so hate the idea of America that they'll always think that anything bad that happens MUST be our own fault somehow.
Unfortunately, the freedom that comes of that is freedom from making your own decisions and from personal responsibility. But then, that seems to be what they want.
Well said. Freedom from responsibility is exactly how they view it. And that is the most destructive thing that I can imagine for the human spirit.
Well said. It's a shame we have to spell it out for some people who accept the blessings of past victories without acknowledging the sacrifices which made it possible
Bravo Zulu, Kurt! I'm not sure if this was a line from a song, but one of my boat engineers used to say it a lot; "Be nice until it's time to not be nice." Speaking softly and carrying a big stick won't do much, unless your adversary has seen what a big stick can do. Every now and then someone needs to get hit with it.
Thanks today to all those youngsters that never came home from far flung places, that I might have the life I've had.
Now, Beef ribs?!? Pork ribs are the only ones worth eating, for two reasons:
1. They're from pigs.
2. Jihadists hate 'em.
nuff said.
Tugboat the words are from the movie Roadhose with Patrick swayze. He also said he will let his bouncers know when it was time to not be nice. I think its time to not be nice.
"Freedom of choice
Is what you've got
Freedom from choice
Is what you want"
–Devo
Members of the military who put on the Country's uniform and go into harm's way, are to be respected and saluted irrespective of one's ideas about war and peace, or pacifism or violence.
We are at war whether we want to admit that or not, and we have been at war for some time. We cannot sagely debate and rub our chins and scratch our limp liberal baseball hats and debate whether or not we are at war; that has been decided for us by those who want us dead. It is for the Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine and Coast Guardsman, and now the firefighter and policeman, to keep at bay those who would destroy us.
What they ask of us on Memorial Day and on Veterans' Day is fairly simple. They don't require us to suit up and fight, or to die. They ask merely that we live in such a manner that we are worth fighting and dying FOR.
Iraq was not responsible in any way for 9/11.
The left-wing (and elitist) mentality about war is the viewpoint of soft, coddled people who have been protected from evil their entire lives – by strong men with guns. They do not believe in the existence of "evil" – they believe it is a superstition, similar to belief in witches and dragons. They believe that violence, any kind of violence, for any purpose, is NEVER necessary. They believe that WWII (and all wars) have a common cause – the failure to sit down and work out your differences like civilized people. Yes, they believe that Hitler COULD HAVE BEEN "contained" and neutralized without a shot being fired, if the leaders at the time were sophisticated enough to do so.
This attitude is not new. It it sometimes called "cosmopolitanism." Over the centuries, many societies throughout the world have adopted a peace-loving, cosmopolitan approach, choosing negotiation over war. Those societies never last – they are swiftly conquered, absorbed, subjugated, annexed, or just destroyed, by their neighbors.
Thank you for your insight. Please do not derail this thread further. The author and the people that posted before you are talking about Soldiers and the values they stand for. The leap from praising our Soldiers to criticizing the decision to go to war (a decision made by the government, not the military) is so large it requires you to borrow Boba Fett's jet pack. There is a reason we have both a Veteran's day and a Memorial Day but no Government Day. There are other threads on this forum where your comment would be more appropriate.
This actually made me laugh. The author claims that violence solves problems. And uses a picture of soldier's graves for emphasis! Wrapping yourself in the flag, fetishizing violence and once again positing yourselves as a spokesperson for the troops is not working. Really. No, really it's not working and no one is buying it. You sent our troops into a cesspool of chaos looking for WMDs that weren't there. But you care so much right?
Look at my post, just above yours. I pray that your kind never COMPLETELY takes over the US government, because when that day comes, we'll all be enslaved.
Read your history (outside of the fake history on huffpost and msnbc). Bush and Congress did not send anyone into Iraq to "look for WMD's". According to Bush's 2003 SOTU, his pre-invasion speech, and the Congressional record of why authorization was given to use force in Iraq, one of the reasons we went into Iraq was to "determine the STATUS of Iraq's WMD PROGRAMS."
We also discovered that Saddam planned to resume his nuclear weapons program in 2004, when he believed the UN inspectors would be gone.
The world is a far safer place with Saddam dead and Iraq an evolving democracy. God bless the US military, and God bless George Bush.
"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse…A man who has nothing which he is willing to fight for, nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety, is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. As long as justice and injustice have not terminated their ever-renewing fight for ascendancy in the affairs of mankind, human beings must be willing, when need is, to do battle for the one against the other." – John Stuart Mill
FAKEPATRIOT, your education and frame of mind is exactly what many were pointing out as the problem these dyas. Of course violence solves problems — you must have the threat of it and the intention to use it in order to achieve the desired results. Espousing talk is a critical failing of the liberal-progressives — history is riddled with the corpses of those who only had talk at their disposal during an escalating conflict. Face it dude, you've got nothing but distain for those willing to fight for your rights to voice that pathetic opinion of yours.
You know who I blame for the "war is not the answer/peace at any price" crowd? Gandhi.
People point to how India threw off British imperialism and say, "See? That's how you do it. A hunger strike here, a speech there, and hey presto! Freedom. And then Martin Luther King, Jr. did the same thing."
Well, that's fine if you're dealing with Great Britain or the United States. You know what al-Qaeda sees when they look at your protests? Targets and shields. That's all you'll ever be to them.
I was going to post an angry response to "Alex's" post. Yours is much better, more appropriate, and more civil. You reminded this civilian that one of the fine traits our military men and women have been taught is good manners in the face of unwarranted criticism. Thank you.
Man, I was just about to post this as well.
Violence never solved anything…as long as you ignore the entire recorded history of man.
Allow me to report in. It's not going well at all.
ignorant sanctamonius people like fakepatriot and the other leftist parrots like Alex that think they have some uber special incite make me want to hurl. These clowns are the spawn of the leftist my generation suffered in school with in the 60's and 70's. The same idiots that protested for smoking lounges and promised chocolate milk in the drinking fountains if elected to student council. The same creeps that copied there way through school got their law degree and then sued the tabacoo co's to make themselve stinkin rich and on the fast track to being our lords……they are to be avoided…kept from our kids. If you discover one as an employee…fire asap. If one can afford your neighborhood….move.
“Memorial Day: A Rejection of Peacenik Foolishness”? The best definition I’ve come across so far.
Hey, Ken: Me too. I'm just slow on internet searches, and I wanted to get the words right. Thanks to Mike for getting there first. Good to see you on the site. Haven't seen enough of you lately.
The bumper-sticker crowd isn't as large as we think. Those blue collar guys who watch nascar, drink bud, and listen to Toby Keith or Trace Adkins aren't with the loonie left on many things. There's a reason %90 were supportive of action against the taliban. Of course in the Twin Cities the bumper-sticker crowd is pretty thick…..
Almost like Jonah Goldberg's saying about America: every few years we take a crappy little country and throw em against the wall just show everyone we mean business.
They shouldn't have been stingy on the dosage, NK doesn't have good detection. "…had a stroke last year…" Other is a tougher target, Dinnerjacket is a front, all of the real power is… dedicated. If Benny doesn't come through, don't be downwind of Tehran in case of an accident at a certain secret lab.
Bravo. Sadly that quote is far too relevant today when many have became spoiled ungrateful children under the freedoms that their betters (yes those who have served are) secured for them. Today just highlights how truely low liberals have sunk.
This is the most asinine fesival of ignorance I've seen in ages. The author reasons and opines with the sophistication of a 10 year old. The type of American history you sling is propaganda pure and simple. Our entry into the war kept us safe from Hitler's looming plan to conquer the United States? Again – foolishness bereft of any geopolitical understanding. Do you really still believe in the Al Qaada boogieman? If Bin Laden is alive today we are the greatest nation of fools to ever walk this country – either because we are purely incompetent or because we are engaged in a big act of theater where we move our ships and troops around and blow things up w/o ever trying to get the enemy. Ribs are good though. And I've nothing against all those fallen soldiers. So I will mourn them. But participate in your proto-fascist wankfes? No thanks. JFC.
Iraq under Saddam provided a symbol of (Arab/Muslim) defiance against the West in the face of military threats, which emboldened OBL. This was accompanied by Number 42 engaging in reprisals that made it appear the US was unwilling to commit troops, thus making full retribution for an attack seem unlikely. If 42 had demolished the regime, certain unspecified countries would have been more hesitant to support OBL and A-Q, a large attack would have been dissuaded. 43 followed plans and removed the symbol, OBL support has diminished, A-Q seems unable to commit similar large acts. While the link cannot be established beyond all doubt, as is true for practically anything, the analysis weighs in rather heavily, no Iraqi regime would have meant no 9-11. And far less troops lost if only Iraq had to have been taken down, goes without saying. God bless the defenders of our great nation, may he comfort the families of those who have shown her their greatest loyalty.
Size matters. How many small unprovoked attacks did the US reportedly absorb during Number 42? Do you expect 44 to respond like 43, or 42? For those who wish to argue an "on American soil" exemption, what technically is a US embassy?
Doesn't work. Answer: Mutual respect and understanding. Recommended follow-up: It's mutually understood they want to kill us and we will do what we must to stop them, and both parties respect that. Why don't you?
Publicly, what was found was a mothballed WMD program waiting for the UN sanctions to be lifted, there were news reports about key scientists who kept their notes, even buried their research in their yards while waiting for the restart. I am saddened you think so little about the massive loss of Kurdish lives, which demonstrated Saddam was willing to use WMD's period. As a murderous tyrant with genocidal tendencies who varied only between completely rejecting and severely impeding UN inspections with a capacity to commit mass murder w/ or w/o WMD's, the truly unthinkable was that he would get rid of them in the meanwhile outside of the world's view. Your comment implicitly states we should not have engaged in war w/o concrete proof of WMD's, which would likely have been hid from inspection. As if the slaughtering of innocent Kurdish civilians did not warrant he and his regime be brought to justice, that he should have been allowed to continue murdering, torturing and assaulting whomever he wanted within Iraqi borders because we did not have absolute proof of something that was virtually the closest-held secret of his regime, that he was fully prepared to reacquire once the UN sanctions were lifted leading to much higher casualties, civilian and military, when he or his sons, with virtual certainty, would have had to have been taken down later.
You would trade violence done by Americans in defense of others for violence done by others against others, so long as America wasn't doing violence directly. As my personal opinion, you are the sort that argues America did not have to enter WWII, you would have allowed the Axis powers to carve the rest of the world into their own empires, then expected words on paper to keep them from removing their last potential opposition. You disgrace the memory of those who have served in defense of this great nation.
Next time you wish to post such thoughts, please use your registered name, antifascist.
This was awesome. Great writing and the wisdom of the words, of speaking about the way the world really is is something people need to do. As for the looney leftists, well, when their maturity level starts to kurdle around the age of 15 you know you can't make much oif a dent. Myself? I suggest masking tape, scissors and valium. That usually helps them and makes it more peaceful for the rest of us ha ha ha.
How old are you Clown? FIVE? If you want to have a debate awesome. Then do your homework. Other than that you wrote a pile of total immature garbage that if I were your teacher I'd give you an f. Oh wait., your probably a professor of liberal studies….did I offend? GOOD!
jfc…Had we not entered WWII (and let's assume that we are living in that time period) and Hitler had conquered most of Europe. As he exterminated group after group (Jews, Gypsies, gays, clergy, the list would be endless) would he ever arrive at a point where you would feel obliged to do something? And by "something" I mean something martial.
And just to be sure the ignorance isn't from your side…We entered the war after being attacked by Japan. The next step was Hitler's. Germany declared war against us; not us against Germany. Given the facts, what would you have done as President? Not accept the declaration? Just curious.
"Of course violence solves problems"
Kill, kill, kill, right? You're sick.
Talk about splitting hairs. No WMDs were found. That was the reason we supposedly went in. FAIL.
Conservatives are perpetually emotionally stuck in the hallways of high school. It's all such fake tough guy posturing. They can't solve any problem without resorting to violence. The best part is that they never actually get their hands dirty – it's always someone else doing the killing and torturing.
But the Nazi concentration camps didn’t liberate themselves. – great line
Well written. Thanks for posting itI
Your point?
OK, wake up dude. So, in WW2, we should have done what ?????
After 911, we should have done what????
Ball is in your court. To sit on your ass and lament war does what?????
No you are right. There is no Osamab bin Laden and AQ. It is made up by the entire world. No muslim murders and the like.
The entire world news organization is in on it too.
Man, the George Bush was good. Is he STILL running that operation or is Obama the new Fearless Leaders.
The resolution of WWII was temporary. There are occasions when action is necessary. BUT to say that it SOLVES anything ignores the consequences. From WWII we get the creation of the Jewish state in Israel which is the ultimate testament of violence not solving anything. And of course the subsequent Cold War with Russia lasting 4 decades.
You want to solve problems with violence because you are intellectually impotent. Your brain cannot solve any problems so you go to the fist like a child
Fabulous article. I went to a Memorial Day Ceremony. Thanks for enlightening me about the raising of the flags. Very spiritually beautiful.
For Taps go to Arlington Cemetary website with its long history.
Fear not, as the Liberals will fear for us all. Set aside courage, entrepreneurial spirit, American Exceptionalism, freedom, as these are silly jingoistic emotions, utterly useless to the collective. Through time as the Tyrant has wielded his deadly scythe it would have been better to cower and die as this is high-minded, and as we know violence is never the solution. Scared, we scurry run and hide, but we must remember it’s better to live as a coward than to die as a hero.
Your posting name is quite appropriate.
Did you read ALL of the textbooks, or just what was spoon fed to you? Did you even try to confirm any of the things you were told?
Were you even awake on 9/11? Would taking you there and pointing at the hole in the ground in NYC be enough for you, or should everyone gather around and toss you in it?
I would attempt the same thing with you at Pearl Harbor, but I really don't care to have your body touch the water around the USS Arizona. Those sailors still interred in that steel coffin deserve not to be sullied by the likes of you and your imbecilic microencephalitic moronic tovarisch.
Proto-fascist wankfest? You're the one stroking to Arianna Huffington's photos and blogs. (shudder)
We insured your right to be mentally incompetent; do not assume that also means you get to throw imbecilic stupidity around and enthusiastically indulge in post-micturition convulsion syndrome without challenge.
Now hyperbole?
Please pay attention. Take your ritalin first.
No one ever said unrestrained violence. War is controlled, directed violence for a purpose. When the purpose is attained, the violence is discontinued.
Nothing in that construes your statement. Please re-assess your stupidity.
Don't feed the trolls.
Wow, another stupendously ignorant rant that could only appear on Breitbart.
Only here would people insist that peace is unwelcome when you can have war instead. Only here would people defend stupid, dogmatic war, which has cost untold lives over the history of mankind and eschew using peaceful means to save lives or win human rights.
I suppose Martin Luther King was completely wrong by avoiding the use of violence and that all blacks are better off using segregated bathrooms.
Idiots.
Conservatives never accept responsibility for their actions so this stuff follows along that line. Funny how they refer to WWII as being proof that violence resolves problems. THEY HAD TO HAVE A SECOND WORLD WAR! As in, the first one didn't solve the frakking problem! Hello?
Conservatives never accept responsibility for their actions so this stuff follows along that line. Funny how they refer to WWII as being proof that violence resolves problems. THEY HAD TO HAVE A SECOND WORLD WAR! As in, the first one didn't solve the frakking problem! Hello?
Yes you are. For failing to be aware of what the world really is. No more time for fairy tales – time for nighty-night for lil' Fakey.
What is better that people like Fakey cannot read. It makes it easier.
Only idiots would take that to mean that – it is nice to have peace, but unfortunately often times peace can occur only after war has set the parameters. If you are suggesting we disdain the non-violent, we do not, we only realize that unless you are using those methods on us or some other western european country, they don't work. That's all, read next time, amazing what it can do.
There are people and countries whose aim is the destruction of the U.S. and nothing less. The sooner that Americans get to understand that, the better for you all. For those enemies, your enemies, talking and diplomacy are just a means to an end – to destroy the U.S.A. You are on denial or delusional if you think or believe otherwise.
Hey Fake/Joe great points except for the fact that Woodrow Wilson WWI and FDR WWII were both Democrats. Harry Truman Korea, RFK, LBJ both Democrats Vietnam (Vietnam ended under Nixon R.) MLK was a registered Republican.
OK Mjolnir stroking Ariana Huffington photos is a visual we all could have done with out,. Dang now I have a site in my minds eye of a skinny red haired geek with coke bottle glasses in tighty whitey's hiding in his Mom's basement with a lap top tuned into a google search of Ariana's finest poses………….BLACH! SHUDDER!
"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence upon those who would do us harm" (thank you Mr Orwell, apologies for slightly mangling your words). Speaking as one who has stood the watch, thank you for your good words in your article. As for you liberal fellows who can't seem to understand the simple code – Duty, Honor, Country, don't worry I was there even for you. So were my brothers, even the brothers that didn't see the dawn.
It's not technically U.S. soil, it is U.S. soil. when we fail to defend it (Jimmy carter, call your jihadi) we invite further attacks.
Well, war is not the answer to "what is 2×2?" but you'd just as likely get a wrong answer as well to that question posed to a tree hugger.
The peaceniks hate violence until no one will kowtow to their demands, and then violence works just great when they throw bottles and rocks and call for Bush's death and whatnot.
Klown, The problem with your argument is that you seem to suppose and believe that we strutted in carelessly and without thought as to the consequences of our actions. The school bully is not thwarted by being told how "evil" his actions are, nor is he deterred from further bullying by making an honest effort to understand why he is the way he is. However, the person who has broken the bully's nose can at least rest assured that he will no longer be the target of more actions.
Hitler did not have plans to take over the United States, he had plans to take over the world. He had "Treaties" with both Russia and England yet their "talks" did little to stop his preemptive strikes based on nothing more than an attempt for national gain and "glory" if you will. Our men and women died in an effort to thwart his efforts before he became so powerful that he could not be stopped. His inability to adhere to the treaties that he created (read: his "bullying" attack on two separate fronts) was fortunate for us in that it gave us another ally and gave him more to distract his attention. Russia may have held Hitler … and perhaps even Germany itself in contempt, but it is not likely that they would have willfully broken their treaty with Germany. Likewise, Mr Neville Chamberlain certainly was not a direct threat to Hitler yet England was still viciously attacked.
Despite the conspiracy theories that may abound, it is doubtful at best and despicable at worst to believe that American's actually killed 3000 people on September 11.
For many of us, Memorial day is a time to get together with our Brother's in Arms and celebrate what we have been honored to serve and to protect. I certainly can not speak for all members of the Military but I for one can speak for my brothers and I will tell you that we do not want or need you to mourn our dead. If anything, we ask that you remember that those who did give their lives and those of us that only had the honor of serving with them, did so in order that people like you would never have to suffer the horror of war first hand as it approached your front door. Perhaps that would be something for you to remember, if not to memorialize.
I'm not a troll – I'm disagreeing with you. I am not interested in blowing up your little corner of the world here. I just want you conservatives to have to actually argue your positions. Talking Points are for pussies.
Quit playing the Dem/Rep card. Just because they started these wars I'm supposed to knee-jerk support them when you blow your dog whistle? I AM NOT THE SAME SIDE OF THE COIN AS REPUBLICANS. Vietnam was a disaster and if I had been around at the time I would have had just as much of a problem with it as anyone.
Here's the thing: Rush Limbaugh made his Super Bowl analogy when referencing the "I want him to fail" comment, saying that he rooted for the Cardinals to fail because the Steelers were his team. This is the FUNDAMENTAL problem with the dittoheads: reducing politics to a team sport is for morons. The TEAM is not one party or the other and the Super Bowl is not the White House. The TEAM is the country and the Super Bowl trophy is being the best country in the world. Turning it into team sports means that people support their "team" no matter what. I do not support the Democrats no matter what despite the fact that they supposedly represent the lefr.
Quit playing the Dem/Rep card. Just because they started these wars I'm supposed to knee-jerk support them when you blow your dog whistle? I AM NOT THE SAME SIDE OF THE COIN AS REPUBLICANS. Vietnam was a disaster and if I had been around at the time I would have had just as much of a problem with it as anyone.
Here's the thing: Rush Limbaugh made his Super Bowl analogy when referencing the "I want him to fail" comment, saying that he rooted for the Cardinals to fail because the Steelers were his team. This is the FUNDAMENTAL problem with the dittoheads: reducing politics to a team sport is for morons. The TEAM is not one party or the other and the Super Bowl is not the White House. The TEAM is the country and the Super Bowl trophy is being the best country in the world. Turning it into team sports means that people support their "team" no matter what. I do not support the Democrats no matter what despite the fact that they supposedly represent the lefr.
Another fine mess George Bush didn't really feel like tackling. When you sit back and just watch this develop for 8 years, it means you should just STFU about how it's handled when you're gone.
It's really amazing how hostile you all are to people who challenge your crappy arguments. You really can't just address the counterpoints – you have to feminize, demonize and belittle the other side. This is why you are in such a state. You have no idea how to make an argument without it.
That attitude has resulted in NO SUCCESSES over the last 8 years. NONE. The Taliban are still a major problem and Iraq was the tactical disaster many of us thought it would be. That framing that you just did is a failure.
Life is not a television show.
Oh, silly me, lets just dispense with annoying facts and spew stupid leftist platitudes as gospel, I see. No one will mistake you for a freedom loving Conservative, no fear there.
Once again those damned facts, Limbaugh said to paraphrase, “I want his policies to fail,” as does any freedom loving American. However he is a Liberal government loving weenies wet dream. Define best country in the world? We’re already that! With Barry we’re moving backwards into a ‘60s radical dream of an egalitarian utopia. American Exceptionalism is being tossed aside for sameness and Liberal mediocrity. This country is inherently conservative and the pendulum is already swinging back, Carter gave us Reagan.
My grandfather died early last year. I was gratified to spend so much of his last weeks talking to him, because for the first time that I can remember he discussed some of his memories of the time he spent with our infantry in Korea. He wanted me to know, he said, that my husband, then serving in Iraq, was "doing a brave, noble thing". He spoke of carrying wounded to trucks, crying all the while, hauling them over miles of frozen countrside, losing them along the way, as he retreated out of Chosin. He said, "You hold onto your husband, sweetie. He isn't the first to do so much and he won't be the last. But he needs you, because there are few who will ever know what it is he's lost along the way and fewer still who'll love him despite it."
"On US soil" and "within US borders" are used interchangeably, as embassies are situated within foreign countries they are often overlooked. Witness the 1998 embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya not being regarded as similar in NYC or DC would have been. (This also arises with territory occupied by the US with permission from a foreign government, as in claims that being born in the Panama Canal Zone disqualified Senator McCain from the Presidency.) US military ships are frequently not considered such, as with the USS Cole bombing on 10.12.2000, and the earlier attempted bombing of the USS The Sullivans on 01.03.2000. The consideration is not extended to places where US personnel are quartered when not a time and location of war, such as the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, attacked in 1996. However, the 1993 WTC bombing was unequivocally on American soil.
A 1993 test case, followed by a pattern of escalation involving 1996, 1998, 2000 (twice?), 2001. You may draw your own conclusion where and whether Somalia, represented by the 1993 First Battle of Mogadishu which occurred after 1993 WTC and set the tone for subsequent US military intervention, fits in. Name the US President popularly blamed for 9-11.
It has been suggested that following a terrorist attack against any US interests we should immediately retaliate against known state sponsors of terrorism as a blanket condemnation of supporting terrorism, rather than waste time and effort to locate specific agents for reprisals with a presumed primary goal of prosecution within a judicial system.
So no Iraq is a tactical disaster and do you even know what tactical means? Iraq has became a tactical and stratigic sucess, remember how you liberals were saying the war was totally lost now it's changed to a "tactical disaster". We are still fighting the Taliban and having to shoulder the burden because of the "help" from European friends but they no longer are in control, no thanks to fools like you.
Poor Colin is a big COWARD
http://www.cjr.org/full_court_press/colin_powell_...
So What wilkerson – Powell is such a COWARD and DENYER and BIG FAT LIAR
A Republican ICON hahaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpbag-KSoYI
mancow wb HAha did it so he could throw it in the Dems face Hahahaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00K7h_UuOBo
Alberto Gonzoles – SLEAZE A RePUG VALUR IN HIGH PLACES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTnWCK16Ls
Poor Colin is a big COWARD
http://www.cjr.org/full_court_press/colin_powell_...
So What wilkerson – Powell is such a COWARD and DENYER and BIG FAT LIAR
A Republican ICON hahaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rpbag-KSoYI
mancow wb HAha did it so he could throw it in the Dems face Hahahaha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00K7h_UuOBo
Alberto Gonzoles – SLEAZE A RePUG VALUR IN HIGH PLACES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCTnWCK16Ls
Ah and Israel comes up. Why did I know it would. Well violence seemed to have worked, they kicked the ass of the Arabs who didn't want them their and continue to exist.
You really don't even know what thread your posting on do you? You just randomly fire off the same mindless drivel.
Yes cause we all know everything is Bush's fault, funny how Clinton didn't take your advice but hey no one ever can blame a democrat for anything. When Bush left office the only thing's he's said in public is that America should support Obama..who blames rainy days on him still.
Of course your the symbol of intellectual discourse. Got bad news we see your type everyday (in fact your probably one of those idiots under another name) who shows up thinking how smart you are. What did you do? Run your mouth and belittle us and the accuse of us of doing. When people do engage you with reasoned arguements you just insult some more in other words your the normal liberal troll who thinks he's so smart and brave for showing up on a website and running his mouth behind a keyboard.
How was World War II temporary? We set out we did to do stop Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan who were at the time conquering large sections of the world by force. But I'm sure since violence never solves anything we should have let them do it since violence seemed to be working very well for them. I suppose you support Patton's plan to have kept rolling into Russia and finished Stalin then no Cold War. Also we got major technological advances from World War II and advancement of women and minorities who contributed to the war effort in a large degree and it also led to the decolonization if Africa and Asia. Before shooting your mouth off you might want to have a clue
Blah blah blah. More leftist douchebaggery from the prepubescent set. Whatsamatter, Fakey, did "Sesame Street Online" have a server crash?
Yawn. Clinton bombed Iraq in 1998 – who can tell me why? Class? Bueller? It was over – wait for it – wait for it – weapon's violations! Excellent!
Oh, but he was a democrat. Never mind.
Actually what is for pussies is the kind of lazy, intellectually bankrupt and morally retarded reasoning by leftist douchebags such as yourself .
Feel free to come back – but not until you reach puberty. EPIC. FAIL.
I am no leftist. In fact, I usually lean "right", if you need to label based off of a silly dichotomy. Interesting that you are automatically a "leftist" if you make a comment that is construed as anti-war. The author said to inform children about 9/11 when they see someone with an anti war bumper sticker (almost certainly a reference to the Iraq situation). Even if you support the Iraq war, not many people buy the 9/11/Iraq connection anymore. Why mislead your kids?
FakePatriot, your call sign is very apt to you. My answer to you is this, know your enemies. The Taliban or Al Qaida problems will not get resolved by "talking" or diplomay alone. Neither will North Korea. Iran, maybe. Do not make a blanket conclusion that only diplomacy or "talks" works with "all" of your adversaries. You must have the threat of the use of force if you want to be able to live in peace. I am not an American. But I worry about America because of stupid "Americans" like you. You are the reason why America's enemies think they can do as they do now.
WWI and WWII both happened during progressive Democrat administrations, as did the Korean War and the start of the Vietnam War. Now what were you saying about Republicans and starting wars again?
Yes! What we need are more rows and rows of capstones stretching into eternity. But always other people's children. Sacrifice is for weenies, when there's XBox to be played.
Laughable. Where were the Weapons of Mass Destruction? Between your ears apparently.
ClINTON!!! TELEPROMPTRZ!!1!!DUMB LATINA WOMENZ!!11!!ENSLAVEMENT!1!
Do you guys ever stop to read the piffle you spit out so regularly? Pathetic.
What a farce. I don't recollect Bush or Cheney or Condi or Rummy saying that we were going in unilaterally to uncover mothballed programs waiting to be revived. I seem to remember something about "mushroom clouds" and "smoking guns" spoken by the most powerful representatives of our government to scare the public into mindless adventurism. You apologists are beneath contempt.
WWII was a necessary struggle, but back then it was the CONSERVATIVES that were arguing for appeasement and isolationism. Attacking Afghanistan made some coherent sense as an answer to 9/11. Iraq was a foul charade, a bamboozlement practiced on a frightened populace by venal people who saw themselves as holy warriors. Scary. Now the grown ups have to clean up the mess.
You recollect only want you want to recollect.
Same old out-of-context quoting, suppositions, projection.
How boring.
Conservatives are perpetually emotionally stuck in the hallways of high school. It's all such fake tough guy posturing.
Darn it, another irony meter shattered. Need to contact ACME about the warranty.
*Some*body needs to have his teeth knocked out of his face. You have no concept of their sacrifice or what it was for. And I may not be a parent, but I wouldn't wish the loss of a child on *any*one. None of us would.
In all honesty, it was wished on Saddam Hussein. And it would be difficult to fight a war if we avoided the death of those firing on us so as to not bring suffering to their parents. Your statement requires a "just cause" exemption. Also note that some parents would welcome the martyrdom of their children.
For a more appropriate response, I would have wondered why he is calling our fallen soldiers "weenies." Such a charge needs to be answered.
I made the points, Fakey.
This is what you call a rebuttal?
Of course I called you names; you thought you were better at it. And Lola precisely and pricelessly tabbed, foldered, and filed you with her description. She forgot to mention your terminal case of systemic sebaceous cystic acne, however, so I will.
Stop your crying and take it like a whiner…oops, sorry. My attention drifted a moment.
You left off the "racist, bigoted, homophobic" mantra in your reply. Please add a macro for your posts to automatically add that when you are apoplectic in your moments of self-loathing.
And please, add a link to Carthage when describing how violence doesn't work.
The points still stand.
Put Arianna down for a moment, root out your intellect, (such as it is), from that greasy pit of Hopey adulation, and put together a reasoned, well thought out rebuttal. Fake it like you do with Arianna. You can do that well enough. Apply it here.
What? is so ronery…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCmqzrFL26M
(Tempted to save this link and post it everytime What? spams links again, but that would make me as annoying as What? is.)
Figuring the time, posted about 6PM EDT, bit early to be imbibing substances.
You've heard of Afghanistan, right?
Mr. Blifil, why don't you click on Mr. Schlichter's name at the top of the post, and read the man's bio. He served our country for twenty years. Go back to your video games.
Fair enough. I wasn't really thinking of those two monsters as anyone's children. And yes, the real problem is that he's insulting our fallen soldiers. That's just unforgivable.
“Anyone who clings to the historically untrue — and — thoroughly immoral doctrine that violence never solves anything I would advise to conjure up the ghosts of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington and let them debate it. The ghost of Hitler would referee. Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor; and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Breeds that forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and their freedoms.”
– Robert A. Heinlein
No wonder you're here!
"Frakking?"
You're a Sci-Fi geek! No "Battlestar Galactica" for you now, so you come here and act all big and bad?
MUHAWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Lola and I WERE RIGHT! You DO live in Mom's basement, smelling of sour cream and failure! And by the way, that DEFINITELY implies "Troll" as well!
We'll have to substitute "Jamie Bamber" for Huffington, too!
Don't worry, they'll call up the Selective Service list when North Korea jumps off, and you'll have your first real job in your life! You can be a "speed bump" for an Armored Personnel Carrier!
PS: There are no "real" Vipers, so don't hold your breath Adama is coming to your rescue.
Man, I can't stop laughing! MAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Thanks loads, Fakey! AHAHAHAHAHAHA….!!
"Battlestar Galactica" geek!
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Hey, Fakey…do you have a "Colonial Warrior" outfit you wear out in public, or do you just have it on around the house while dreaming that Jamie Bamber will take you away from your Mom's basement?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
Don't look at me.
I prefer nukes, but the NCA won't listen to me….
And my son-in law is a soldier, scrote sniffer.
And I was a soldier.
And my Dad was a soldier, well airman, well, Airman of the Year, but I count it as soldiering. But again, I'm generous.
And my Grandfather was a soldier. Helped design nukes and everything.
Do something positive with your life, turd. If you're so wonderful, join the Marines.
Brilliant!!
A +1 to you!
(Just remember; this postulates that Fakey, Klown, and Blifil and their ilk read anything not on Hopey's 'Approved' list…)
What percentage of anti-war bumper stickers are referring to Afghanistan? I read it as implicitly trying to tie Iraq to 9/11.
Alex, I think we're just going to disagree on this.
Unless the anti-war bumper sticker specifically referred to a particular war, or specifically excluded another, I would assume it referred to "all wars," including Afghanistan.
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