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ORIGINAL: truckinslave

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On the other hand we proudly boast we are the world's superpower and no one, not several nations, spend as much as we do on armaments.

Thank God.

'splain that, lucy.

It's a dangerous world, kid. I go armed. So does my family. So does Lady Liberty.

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We have all those weapons .... we gotta use them

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ORIGINAL: truckinslave

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We have all those weapons .... we gotta use them

hardly.
My family could outfit a small-medium PD with handguns, and pretty well equip a SWAT team (heavy on the snipers, lighter on the MP5s). None of us has ever discharged a gun in anger stateside.
Switzerland has a lotta guns they don't use much either.

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Good evasive manuever, Truck, switching the topic from our overly bloated Military as a projection of force to your family.

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ORIGINAL: truckinslave

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Good evasive manuever, Truck, switching the topic from our overly bloated Military as a projection of force to your family.

I'm sorry. Is it that you didn't see:
It's a dangerous world, kid. I go armed. So does my family. So does Lady Liberty.

or did you not understand it.

All armament is too much until you need it.

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou

<snipped>

Make it illegal for any state, city, county, village, or federal government agency to offer any benefit to any private business, or individual. Whether that be subsidized loans, deferred taxes, free land, or otherwise.

<snipped>

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As Iraq and Afghanistan proved, we use it when we don't need it. A national military as big as ours cannot sit idle. How would the Generals get promoted? How would the manufacturers justify continued production? How would the war hawk pols get elected? The point is obvious

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ORIGINAL: LanceHughes

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou

<snipped>

Make it illegal for any state, city, county, village, or federal government agency to offer any benefit to any private business, or individual. Whether that be subsidized loans, deferred taxes, free land, or otherwise.

<snipped>

As an atheist, I'm hoping that churches are included.  It's been one of "our" points for years and years that church property should pay their property tax.  Basically, churches receive fire protection, street maintenance, etc. for free.  This exemption extends to businesses that are owned by churches.  Why should a church-owned and operated dry-cleaning store be exempt from property tax?

Basically, I agree with your idea - places ALL citizens back at the start of this country.  Gonna happen?  Not a chance.

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ORIGINAL: Mauser

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ORIGINAL: thompsonx

What treaty allows us to occupy gitmo in cuba?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_Naval_Base
Mentions the Cuban-American Treaty that gives the US a perpetual lease on the land.
Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban-American_Treaty

But don't be dense.  If there weren't a treaty, how else could we be there?  Reality makes it obvious that there is some kind of agreement.

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ORIGINAL: truckinslave

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ORIGINAL: thompsonx


You think we occupy and subjugate those nations?
Or are we there by treaty and/or at their pleasure?
Yeah, thought so.


What treaty allows us to occupy gitmo in cuba?

Look. It. Up. If. You. Don't. Know.

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We all are sure you are not so dense as to not have read the cites you posted so it would follow that you feel that using troops to get a government to sign a treaty is an appropriate proceedure. Do you hold these same values in your real life. Which would imply that you make withdrawls at the bank with a pistol. One might also assume that you shop for groceries and other necessities the same way.
Now that we know of your thugish ambitions we shall all keep our collective eye on you.

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ORIGINAL: truckinslave

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But don't be dense.

It's a game he plays: "What's your source????" Just bullshit.

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ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy

Any article with the phrase "imperial priorities" isnt worth the pixels that died to write it.

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

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ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

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ORIGINAL: willbeurdaddy

Any article with the phrase "imperial priorities" isnt worth the pixels that died to write it.

"This great democracy is moving onward to its great destiny. Woe to the man or nation that try to bar its imperial march..... The time given to athletic contests and to the injuries occurred on the playing field are part of the price which the English speaking race has paid for being world-conquerors."

Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge in a commencement address to the Harvard Class of 1896. (from The War Lovers by Evan Thomas, p 143)

Imperialism? Never crossed our minds.

1896? Couldnt you at least find something in the last 100 years? And imperialist actions, not words?

Well damn, Will! I didn't think I would have to connect the dots. The action they almost took was to go to war with England over some dust up over a border issue between Venezuela and British Guiena but thought better of that (Brit navy was far superior) Settled instead for war in Cuba with decaying Spain and then a two year battle against insurgency in the Philippines. And we never looked back.

Your definition of Imperialism as occupation of land is somewhat limited.

The ideas of imperialism put forward by historians John Gallagher and Ronald Robinson during 19th century European imperialism were influential. They rejected the notion that "imperialism" required formal, legal control by one government over another country. "In their view, historians have been mesmerized by formal empire and maps of the world with regions colored red. The bulk of British emigration, trade, and capital went to areas outside the formal British Empire. A key to the thought of Robinson and Gallagher is the idea of empire 'informally if possible and formally if necessary.'"[10]

The term imperialism should not be confused with ‘colonialism’ as it often is. Edward Said suggests that imperialism involved “the practice, the theory and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan centre ruling a distant territory’”. He goes on to say colonialism refers to the “implanting of settlements on a distant territory”. Robert Young supports this thinking as he puts forward that imperialism operates from the centre, it is a state policy, and is developed for ideological as well as financial reasons whereas colonialism is nothing more than development for settlement or commercial intentions.[11]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

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ORIGINAL: truckinslave

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Good evasive manuever, Truck, switching the topic from our overly bloated Military as a projection of force to your family.

I'm sorry. Is it that you didn't see:
It's a dangerous world, kid. I go armed. So does my family. So does Lady Liberty.

or did you not understand it.

All armament is too much until you need it.

As Iraq and Afghanistan proved, we use it when we don't need it. A national military as big as ours cannot sit idle. How would the Generals get promoted? How would the manufacturers justify continued production? How would the war hawk pols get elected? The point is obvious.

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ORIGINAL: vincentML

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou

I have little hope anything will change in the short term.

The left won't budge on their pet entitlements, the right won't budge on their military exploits. So, it is August now, the debt is ticking up, the base rate is still at stupid low levels, and the economy still is puttering.


Here's the solution.

Slash military.
Slash entitlements
Remove stupid drug laws.

The Social Security Fund is a Creditor against the US Treasury to the tune of $2.7 Trillion in Treasury Bonds. So, before you consider slashing our entitlements you should first pay back the fucking money we lent to you.

Who's this you? I've worked since I was 16, never received any welfare, of any type, nor Social Security. You didn't loan me anything. Beyond all that I'm for a smaller military, and no subsidies to anyone able, hell, we'd be running a surplus if things were run the way I'd like it.

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Make it illegal for any state, city, county, village, or federal government agency to offer any benefit to any private business, or individual. Whether that be subsidized loans, deferred taxes, free land, or otherwise.

That will work wonders to attract new jobs to a municipality and to broaden the future tax base.

Well, it'd work just fine if no one could offer such deals. As is the current state of affairs is we fight each other to hand over benefits to large corps that are largely transient. How in the hell is it fair to tax the small to entice the large. I guess we need more megafarms, and wal-marts to receiving preferred tax treatment.

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Make the standards for disability rational, as in this dipshit down the block, because of his heart condition, is not disabled, he can answer phones, or do some kind of data entry, nope we pay him disability based on some kind of mid 20th century model of labor. Oh we also pay his 300+ pound wife to sit on her ass all day because of self induced diabetes, for eating like a hog... God it makes me sick... Those to probably cost the taxpayers well over a 100K a year, between, straight money, food stamps, free medical, subsidized electricity, etc.. It's a joke, they should live like complete shit, because they are. They don't volunteer in their 24 hours a day free time, they just consume, and consume they do, all the fake aldi's ice cream you can shove down a hog's gullet.

Extrapolating from a few cases to the many. A logical error.

Your error is the assumption I assume most on disability are pieces of shit, but enough are to make getting those that can contribute, actually contribute. I'm so mean. So, the method of approving and monitoring these types needs revision.

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Oh yeah, make food stamps for food only as in only for food that offers some type of required nutritional benefit. As in no sodas, no potato chips, no candy. I've been avoiding the local convenience store, because half the fucking time the person in front of me is buying a soda, and some kind of snack with the fucking LINK CARD!!! Ruins my attitude for like 20 minutes every time I see that.

Right! Remove minor subsidies from the needy but heaven forbid you make mention of Agriculture subsidies to mega industrial farms.

That would be covered in the above. Industrial farms benefit from corrupt wealth transfer. They are a business. Slow much.

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ORIGINAL: slvemike4u

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou

I have little hope anything will change in the short term.

The left won't budge on their pet entitlements, the right won't budge on their military exploits. So, it is August now, the debt is ticking up, the base rate is still at stupid low levels, and the economy still is puttering.


Here's the solution.

Slash military.
Slash entitlements
Remove stupid drug laws.

Make it illegal for any state, city, county, village, or federal government agency to offer any benefit to any private business, or individual. Whether that be subsidized loans, deferred taxes, free land, or otherwise.

Make the standards for disability rational, as in this dipshit down the block, because of his heart condition, is not disabled, he can answer phones, or do some kind of data entry, nope we pay him disability based on some kind of mid 20th century model of labor. Oh we also pay his 300+ pound wife to sit on her ass all day because of self induced diabetes, for eating like a hog... God it makes me sick... Those to probably cost the taxpayers well over a 100K a year, between, straight money, food stamps, free medical, subsidized electricity, etc.. It's a joke, they should live like complete shit, because they are. They don't volunteer in their 24 hours a day free time, they just consume, and consume they do, all the fake aldi's ice cream you can shove down a hog's gullet.

Oh yeah, make food stamps for food only as in only for food that offers some type of required nutritional benefit. As in no sodas, no potato chips, no candy. I've been avoiding the local convenience store, because half the fucking time the person in front of me is buying a soda, and some kind of snack with the fucking LINK CARD!!! Ruins my attitude for like 20 minutes every time I see that.

Once you get that done, you break all those huge financials apart, and put permanent max valuation caps on them. Then once that is done, you go and do that to the next industry, until we have some reasonable level of competition, instead of this oligarchy crap, that feigns competition, through the use of subsidiaries, and branding.

Also while in process of doing that, you impose punitive taxes on foreign companies that exceed our maximum company size standards.

There you go, partial current list. HEHE.

But really I think the country is just fucked for years to come. After that well it may be better, but the current mindset from all involved appears to be do nothing until the cards fall.

I'm left to wonder what your medical qualifications are?Where do you get off questioning someone's disibility? On what basis,in knowledge of a particular situation,not in assumptions do you make these pronouncements?Are you fully informed ,and able to decipher,all of your nieghbors medical particulars?
I'm disabled....I can answer a phone,hell I even carry one in  my fucking pocket!
I play a round of golf once a week(ever notice there are disabled parking lots at golf courts)....I fuck as often as possible.
In short I am disabled,both for legal purposes....and for practicle purposes....what I'm not is fucking dead!
Imagine if only those who met your uninformed criteria for disability could legally collect on their fucking disibilty insurance?
We would have an awful lot of folks trying to sell pencils.

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou

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ORIGINAL: slvemike4u

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ORIGINAL: NeedToUseYou



Make the standards for disability rational, as in this dipshit down the block, because of his heart condition, is not disabled, he can answer phones, or do some kind of data entry, nope we pay him disability based on some kind of mid 20th century model of labor. Oh we also pay his 300+ pound wife to sit on her ass all day because of self induced diabetes, for eating like a hog... God it makes me sick... Those to probably cost the taxpayers well over a 100K a year, between, straight money, food stamps, free medical, subsidized electricity, etc.. It's a joke, they should live like complete shit, because they are. They don't volunteer in their 24 hours a day free time, they just consume, and consume they do, all the fake aldi's ice cream you can shove down a hog's gullet.

I'm left to wonder what your medical qualifications are?Where do you get off questioning someone's disibility? On what basis,in knowledge of a particular situation,not in assumptions do you make these pronouncements?Are you fully informed ,and able to decipher,all of your nieghbors medical particulars?
I'm disabled....I can answer a phone,hell I even carry one in  my fucking pocket!
I play a round of golf once a week(ever notice there are disabled parking lots at golf courts)....I fuck as often as possible.
In short I am disabled,both for legal purposes....and for practicle purposes....what I'm not is fucking dead!
Imagine if only those who met your uninformed criteria for disability could legally collect on their fucking disibilty insurance?
We would have an awful lot of folks trying to sell pencils.

I've known him for 4 years, he works sporadically under the table, he builds a fence. He even solicited me for under the table work before mowing lawns and putting shit together, and not answering the phone. But he was very clear it'd be under the table.

So, what more proof do you need? It's not like I just saw the dude one day and made it up.


As far as you are concerned, yeah, I'd make you do something, as in answer the phone up at city hall, or medical billing, or something. Unless you are retarded, or can't use your hands you can contribute. What's so wrong with that?

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ORIGINAL: thompsonx

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1896? Couldnt you at least find something in the last 100 years? And imperialist actions, not words?

What part of the u.s., besides alaska, did we acquire except by force of arms or the threat there of?