The Ant and the Grasshopper

[JackoliciousLegs]

I'm Israeli American. Born in Israel. Applied to JMU first from Uganda, then from the US.

[ScottyB]

uganda eh? i guess the rx-7 is a nice upgrade from a camel. j/k man, i dont know anything about uganda other than its in the same continent as swaziland

[Maengelito]

jack, please dont think because it was on cnn, it must be true. cnn has a really twisted spin on a lot of things, and its quite amusing from my point of view to see what they say compared to what i hear from actual people in theater. i find a lot of faults with what you say, but i said earlier that i wont get into it. its really not appropriate for me to get in depth with anything, but i'm glad that we have an activist board here. it helps freshen the mind...

[JackoliciousLegs]

jack, please dont think because it was on cnn, it must be true.

Article I wrote exactly one year ago yesterday that was published in Diogenes Lantern. Note the last paragraph.

While having a nice lunch talk with my friend Eric, I came to the conclusion that I have no opinion about whether "allied" forces should be in Iraq. I feel that a lot of people are vocal about their opinion, but what I've found is that there is an inverse correlation between how much people know and how much people talk about the war.

This could be good and this could be bad. Obviously, it's good because the more people talk about it, the more people should learn about it. It's bad because I feel that all people spew is regurgetated Fox news analyses of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Having said this, and basically insulted most people for expressing their views, I would like to show my appreciation for some people and how they've expressed their views. Around JMU, people have been wearing orange arm-bands to initiate discussion about the war. It's not mean to be a "war-bashing" or "Bush-whacking" technique. It's simply to initiate discussion about the war. This is a great technique to get the general public to know more about what's going on overseas.

Finally, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering what my views are about this war. I'm honestly torn between two sides and think I will be until long after this war has ended. No matter which side I choose, I'll always be able to defend the other side's point of view. I can't support the war, because if I did, it'd be exactly what the American media wants me to do. I'd join the millions that accept Fox news and Bush's propaganda about the war and it's independence from the whole "oil issue." If I oppose the war, I get yelled at for not supporting my country, not supporting my soldiers, and about how they're defending our way of life. I don't know that I've read any information regarding the ties between Al-queda or the PLO or the Islamic Jihad and the Iraqi dictatorial regime. The closest thing that I've heard regarding those ties is that the Islamic Jihad sent over a group of suicide bombers to Baghdad as a "present from the opressed people of Palestine." That doesn't scream strong ties to me. That screams something about Palestinian suicide bombers to me... but that's a different story.

So, if you want to hear my opinion, don't listen to Fox news; you won't hear it there. Don't listen to the protestors who walked out of class last week in the rain to lay on the quad. One thing's for sure, don't listen to any one source. That means don't just listen to Bush, don't just watch the death toll rise, and don't just listen to me. There are hundreds of sources online for information:
CNN
Jerusalem Post
La Tribune - In french but google can translate
Washington Post
New York Times
BBC
al-ayyam

[REED]

... I don't think it's a good idea to have politics on MM's forum... it would get pretty rowdy...

yeah im sorry guys but i joined MM because i wanted to learn more about cars, not about the woes of our government, i honestly could care less if you voted for Bush or not...I am sure there are forums somewhere for you to discuss this, but this is not one of them

[JackoliciousLegs]

This is the lounge...

Off-topic. Anything goes..

[REED]

alrighty -= i hate bush and everything he has done to fuck our country over, i would love to hear how the Bush administration has helped this country........bush sucks

[Mike]

alrighty -= i hate bush and everything he has done to fuck our country over, i would love to hear how the Bush administration has helped this country........bush sucks

Wow, that's very thought provoking.

[JackoliciousLegs]

he's really drunk... but i agree with him... only in more mild words

[Evan]

Bipartisanship completely undermines the political system.
My biggest problem with liberals is the bandwagon sheep adherence to whatever the vocal left wing says.
I will be the first to say that I dont support everything that the Bush administration has done (Gay marraige, for one, RJ should be able to get married) but I have heard countless liberals vehemently defend Bubba Clinton for fucking interns and illegal real-estate deals.
Clinton's foreign policy was a complete fucking joke, it was the result of many of his actions that got the muslim community so up in arms against us (not that I support appeasement in the least).

After the "new economy" bubble popped, and 9/11 compounded our economic situation, we were set up for the biggest economic recession in history. Bush and admin did a fantastic job of curbing the recession and keeping the economy in the best possible state. Tax cuts, deficit spending, and ultra-low interest rates were all very agressive economic moves that really worked. Whining about tax cuts and deficit spending really just shows economic ignorance. In the long run, this results in a better economy and ultimately more tax income from the government. Ordinarily I do not agree at all with republican economic policy (Reagan was a moron) but this time they really got it right.

just some ramblings, although I really dont think political discussions have much of a point. Nobody convinces anybody of anything, and just ends up getting steamed.

[JackoliciousLegs]

Clinton's foreign policy was a complete fucking joke

If you think so, elaborate. I disagree with this statement entirely. My dad works entirely for the DOE, DOA, the UN, and sometimes USAID. Since Bush has come in, funding for all these programs has gone to shit. The international community hates us because of Bush's administration. Clinton's foreign policy was one of the best and most well rounded approaches since Kennedy's legendary stay.

Clinton's foreign policy was a complete fucking joke, it was the result of many of his actions that got the muslim community so up in arms against us

Having been born in the middle of the Muslim world, I care to disagree. Richard Clarke gives us the best example of why this statement is false. He said two nights ago that Clinton was more aggressive with tackling national defense issues and that until 9/11, Bush just let the reports sit every morning. Also, it was only in Bush's administration that Hamas extended it's Jihad to include America.

"God declared war against Bush, the United States and the Zionist entity. "
-New Leader of Hamas

Bush and admin did a fantastic job of curbing the recession and keeping the economy in the best possible state.

First, let's not fool ourselves into thinking the economy is in such a great state now. Last July, unemployment reached the highest it's been since back in the day. The nations education systems are suffering and so are it's international development programs. The economy was on an upward trend at the end of Clinton's administration, and most analysts agreed on that. Bush cut social spending way too low, and now justifies the extreme amounts of money that is spent in Iraq now. Bush's tax cuts hurt all of our social works and anybody that knows economic principles realizes that by having major tax cuts, you're only influencing the current years. (read: raising taxes for our children will be necessary to pay for Bush's leniency) The defecit will have to be curbed somehow, and Bush is gonna be out of office well before that's an issue.

[JackoliciousLegs]

lets talk foreign relations/policy... this could get good. bring it!!!!!

Out of Bush-whacking mode: Kaan, as far as foreign policy goes, conservatives are rarely in "the biz"... it's definitely predominantly a liberal venture. I mean, I'm not saying that to attack you, I'm just stating that as a fact. I don't think I met one conservative that was in the foreign service in my last 2 years overseas. The only conservatives I met were missionaries (that's a whole 'nother cup o' tea). Honestly, it is difficult for a conservative to speak reasonably to me about foreign policy because my history is so deeply intertwined with it. I've had experiences overseas with both liberal and conservative presidents and it's always the same story. Conservatives can't give a shit about what goes on overseas. They have no real worries about foreign policy except for the safe-keeping of "our boys." They are strongly egocentric. It's just how it works.

I am somewhat of a moderate liberal. I agree with some conservative policies, but foreign policy is definitely not one of them. Since bush has taken his adventure into Iraq for whatever reason, and since he cut taxes and largely impacted my education, AND since he's made such of an issue about gay marriage... I've swung more to the left. I would not have been as dearly disappointed with our administration had these three things not happened. I'm not saying I would've voted for Bush, I'm just saying, I wouldn't be so strongly against him.

Edit: I may have misrepresented my feelings about missionaries in this last paragraph. A couple of my very best friends are missionaries. I might not agree totally in every case why they are there... BUT, I still love my missionary friends. One of whom is back in Kenya now teaching. I'm actually proud of him. It influenced me to maybe do that when I graduate. I PROBABLY wouldn't teach bible though !!!

[JackoliciousLegs]

do i smell fear, jackoff?

No, that's the glue you just ate, you second grader.

[JackoliciousLegs]

I really dont think political discussions have much of a point. Nobody convinces anybody of anything...

I think that I have been set straight in a couple cases in my life by a well informed republican. The only time I can remember was on the value of the military by one of the smarted guys I've met. He taught me about core beliefs. He swayed my opinion slightly and taught me something. But the point of political discussions are the parties involved to learn. That's what the entire orangeband.org initiative here is for. It's for open conversation just so people can learn from other people's viewpoints and experiences. I think we'd be selling ourselves short if we didn't discuss politics.

[Mike]

do i smell fear, jackoff?

No, that's the glue you just ate, you second grader.

Oh damn.

[Maengelito]

jack, please dont think because it was on cnn, it must be true.

Article I wrote exactly one year ago yesterday that was published in Diogenes Lantern. Note the last paragraph.

ummm, it was basically saying fox news is full of shit, and cnn is right. i'm not saying either are right, and in fact most media outlets (ESPECIALLY IN ELECTION YEARS) tell about 1% of whats going on there. and yes the "rising death toll" sucks, but thats the most relative term used in the news today. i'm not saying that 1 or 2 deaths in a day are good, but its relative to the 200,000+ coalition troops over there and millions of iraqi citizens. do you hear on the news about what the majority of iraqi citizens do to insurgents caught red handed by planting a roadside bomb? i'll tell ya that the insurgents would be better off being caught by coalition troops.

as for the economy, it wasnt doing great when clinton left office. he got to ride the bubble of the widespread use of e-commerce and it had definitely popped in his lame duck timeframe. bush has done a great job with the economy. i think people have to realize that policy in general takes years to have an noticeable effect, and you wont see the numbers overnight. so in the beginning of bush's presidency, you got to see the effects of all of clinton's actions or inactions. plus if clinton had any balls with foreign policy, then the public probably would never have heard of terrorist groups like a-q. but peaceniks get all pissy if there's one thought of shooting someone.

see what you made me do? i dont want to discuss politics.... :wink:

[DierwulfBL]

you see, our country was founded on the ability to say one thing and do another, it's like having your cake and eating it too!

-if you didn't see that south park i strongly suggest seeing it

[JackoliciousLegs]

if clinton had any balls with foreign policy, then the public probably would never have heard of terrorist groups like a-q. but peaceniks get all pissy if there's one thought of shooting someone.

You obviously haven't heard from this guy: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/24/911.commission/">http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/ ... ommission/</a><!-- m -->
He testified that Clinton took it more seriously.

[REED]

do i smell fear, jackoff?

No, that's the glue you just ate, you second grader.

Oh damn.

BANGARANG JACKO !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Feersty]

Wowzer.