As am I.
The problem with govts is they are made of people. Govts by themselves are not corrupt...at least under democracies. PEOPLE are corrupt and that includes all of us only varying by degrees.
Somehow we have came to the conclusion that govt employees at the highest levels should be paid a pittance for the level of responsibility they assume...and then we wonder why they are crooked, incompetent, or both a large amount of the time.
As to complete democracy I don't think a public vote on EVERYTHING is feasible which is why the US and Canada are both hybrids. We are Republics in the sense that a ruling body makes rules for the masses as opposed to being made by a King, Prince, Potentate, Fuhrer, or whatever. We are also Democracies to the extent that we elect the governing bodies.
Our root problem IMHO is that we in the west are cursed by our own power and prosperity to the point that too many people believe whatever their preffered party tells them and never bothers to find the truth. Witness the Clinton folly. Most Americans believe that we truly ran surpluses ignorant to the fact that the national debt rose EVERY year of his term. Borrowed monies from SSI trust funds and govt employee pension funds were counted as "income". The sale of govt equipment as surplus was also counted as "income" while at the same time the expense to replace it was budgeted for the years after he left office. The Enron and other corporate scandals that HAPPENED during the Clinton terms was due to troubled companies using the govts accounting practices and betting the farm they could fix it before the bills came due. This is why the Clinton clan never pursued any of this. Then Dubya comes in and prosecutes the criminals and the Clintonista liberals yell...."look at that an oil co scandal under Bush what else would you expect?"
As to war being never the right choice...in principle I agree. In reality that requires a reasonable party on both sides. Saddam never was.
As to sticking to my guns I will say this, I do have a bit of an edge thru some people I know in our community who are involved heavily in Intelligence thru the USAF Foreign Technology Division and such which is based here locally. Now I don't want to leave the impression that someone has blabbed classified info because they haven't. OTOH I know these folks to be of unimpeachable character and when they tell me they have the proof and know exactly where to go to grab the stuff I believe them. When they say that to present the proof in full would require giving up informants inside Iraq and giving up highly classified intelligence gathering techniques I believe them as well. So far everything they have said would happen has happened. FWIW now that Iraq id essentially beaten down militarily and fewer and fewer people fear the old regime this stuff will be found in droves. The Tabun and such at the training bases is only the very tip of the iceberg.
I can say this also because it has been out in the media in bits and pieces here and there: Chem/Bio weapons were not used because Saddam cannot fire them himself. The order must go down a chain of command and we know that exact chain of command. We also are inside their E-mail and computer networks and the officers who would actually execute the orders have been made aware that if the order is followed they be tried as war criminals...if they survive the massive firepower which will be immediately brought down upon them. "Chemical Ali" was one of these who would have received the order from Baghdad and passed it to the front line and he is...explaining his actions to Allah as we speak, I wish him well. The Dogtags of PFC Lynch were found in a Baghdad home of a high Ba'ath party member. He would have been one to receive the order and pass it down also as well as the orders on treatment of POW's. Someone else received those orders and someone under them told their husband who dropped a dime. The Ba'ath party bigwig is...with Chemical Ali pleading his case to Allah as well.
I don't want to come across as a know it all on this but I do know a bit. I have studied this situation intently. Although 100% beyond ANY doubt proof is rarely possible on ANY issue when all circumstantial evidence and all provable evidence leads one to a particular conclusion the odds of it being completely wrong are verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slim.
CAA I have never had that much disagreement with you as you have stuck to your ideals. You have I think accepted the anti war data a little to willingly. I leaned that way earklier in life myself. Sadly a certain amount of the human species is just EVIL. Law of averages would dictate that for every Mother Teresa there will be a Saddamite Hussinsein.
The side I have a problem with are the ones who accept the US as inherently EEEVILLL while making any excuse for the bad guys to be given the benefit of a doubt for the sole reason of political ideology. It is very apparent that Savant hates the President of the US and that is OK as this is a free country. When it crosses the line in my book is when that hatred ignores all else and spills over into giving aid and comfort, even if that was not the intent, to enemies of both our countries and humanity. The law of unintended consequences has never been repealed to my knowledge.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/nono.gif.eca61d170185779e0921b0faa9704973.gif :nono: //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/nono.gif.eca61d170185779e0921b0faa9704973.gif :nono:
PEACE
The problem with govts is they are made of people. Govts by themselves are not corrupt...at least under democracies. PEOPLE are corrupt and that includes all of us only varying by degrees.
Somehow we have came to the conclusion that govt employees at the highest levels should be paid a pittance for the level of responsibility they assume...and then we wonder why they are crooked, incompetent, or both a large amount of the time.
As to complete democracy I don't think a public vote on EVERYTHING is feasible which is why the US and Canada are both hybrids. We are Republics in the sense that a ruling body makes rules for the masses as opposed to being made by a King, Prince, Potentate, Fuhrer, or whatever. We are also Democracies to the extent that we elect the governing bodies.
Our root problem IMHO is that we in the west are cursed by our own power and prosperity to the point that too many people believe whatever their preffered party tells them and never bothers to find the truth. Witness the Clinton folly. Most Americans believe that we truly ran surpluses ignorant to the fact that the national debt rose EVERY year of his term. Borrowed monies from SSI trust funds and govt employee pension funds were counted as "income". The sale of govt equipment as surplus was also counted as "income" while at the same time the expense to replace it was budgeted for the years after he left office. The Enron and other corporate scandals that HAPPENED during the Clinton terms was due to troubled companies using the govts accounting practices and betting the farm they could fix it before the bills came due. This is why the Clinton clan never pursued any of this. Then Dubya comes in and prosecutes the criminals and the Clintonista liberals yell...."look at that an oil co scandal under Bush what else would you expect?"
As to war being never the right choice...in principle I agree. In reality that requires a reasonable party on both sides. Saddam never was.
As to sticking to my guns I will say this, I do have a bit of an edge thru some people I know in our community who are involved heavily in Intelligence thru the USAF Foreign Technology Division and such which is based here locally. Now I don't want to leave the impression that someone has blabbed classified info because they haven't. OTOH I know these folks to be of unimpeachable character and when they tell me they have the proof and know exactly where to go to grab the stuff I believe them. When they say that to present the proof in full would require giving up informants inside Iraq and giving up highly classified intelligence gathering techniques I believe them as well. So far everything they have said would happen has happened. FWIW now that Iraq id essentially beaten down militarily and fewer and fewer people fear the old regime this stuff will be found in droves. The Tabun and such at the training bases is only the very tip of the iceberg.
I can say this also because it has been out in the media in bits and pieces here and there: Chem/Bio weapons were not used because Saddam cannot fire them himself. The order must go down a chain of command and we know that exact chain of command. We also are inside their E-mail and computer networks and the officers who would actually execute the orders have been made aware that if the order is followed they be tried as war criminals...if they survive the massive firepower which will be immediately brought down upon them. "Chemical Ali" was one of these who would have received the order from Baghdad and passed it to the front line and he is...explaining his actions to Allah as we speak, I wish him well. The Dogtags of PFC Lynch were found in a Baghdad home of a high Ba'ath party member. He would have been one to receive the order and pass it down also as well as the orders on treatment of POW's. Someone else received those orders and someone under them told their husband who dropped a dime. The Ba'ath party bigwig is...with Chemical Ali pleading his case to Allah as well.
I don't want to come across as a know it all on this but I do know a bit. I have studied this situation intently. Although 100% beyond ANY doubt proof is rarely possible on ANY issue when all circumstantial evidence and all provable evidence leads one to a particular conclusion the odds of it being completely wrong are verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry slim.
CAA I have never had that much disagreement with you as you have stuck to your ideals. You have I think accepted the anti war data a little to willingly. I leaned that way earklier in life myself. Sadly a certain amount of the human species is just EVIL. Law of averages would dictate that for every Mother Teresa there will be a Saddamite Hussinsein.
The side I have a problem with are the ones who accept the US as inherently EEEVILLL while making any excuse for the bad guys to be given the benefit of a doubt for the sole reason of political ideology. It is very apparent that Savant hates the President of the US and that is OK as this is a free country. When it crosses the line in my book is when that hatred ignores all else and spills over into giving aid and comfort, even if that was not the intent, to enemies of both our countries and humanity. The law of unintended consequences has never been repealed to my knowledge.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/nono.gif.eca61d170185779e0921b0faa9704973.gif :nono: //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/nono.gif.eca61d170185779e0921b0faa9704973.gif :nono:
PEACE
