posted August 24, 2012 04:14 PM            

Think we have made massive cuts? Those cuts have made nary a dent in the nearly 3/4 of a trillion we spend.
4.7 % of GDP

we spend more than the next 15 countries combined.

posted August 24, 2012 06:01 PM            

'Costs a lot of money to run the world, but many people think it's a good thing.

posted August 24, 2012 06:35 PM            

and they ALL found it became too expensive to be big daddy.

posted August 24, 2012 07:47 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
I respectfully disagree. It IS a maintenance figure...considering how our presence is fundamental to the safety of many regions across the globe. The US doesn't want to rule the world--just defend it.

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Respectfully,

I don't understand.

To me, that's such a sanitized view of everything. The death tolls are real, and not only are the wars expensive (and weakening our country through bankruptcy and debt), but the motives for going abroad are suspect, to say the least. Plus, I don't know how anyone can gauge the "helpfulness" of drone attacks, since there is no transparency. It all boils down to trust. Ironically, those who trust Obama LEAST seem to have no qualms about his empire-building.

To say we are helping people by invading & occupying their countries, destroying whole cities like Fallujah? I don't buy that.

posted August 25, 2012 02:21 AM            

China (#2) has 8.2% of world share...

while the ever weakening U.S.

posted August 25, 2012 07:25 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
The Romans wanted to rule. Several other countries wanted to conquer. In the tumultuous world we live in, the US provides balance and aid when needed. Too bad your hatred for your own country blinds you to reality.

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YES, so well said in so few words!

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Passion, Lust, Desire. Check out my journal

posted August 25, 2012 09:49 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by YoursTrulyAlways:
Military experts call for an new Russo-American alliance to fend off the Chinese.

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I wonder where you got this information?

Aren't Russia and China still closely aligned? Do these experts suppose their diplomatic relations are so fragile that the US could ever win Russia over?

If the US doesn't want to empower China it can start by not making China its bank and then blowing all the money on wasteful military contracts that enrich the good ole boy club (KBR, Halliburton, SBG, and so on) while weakening us.

And what's the prize at stake anyway? The race to see who oversees the global empire? Does anyone think it'll be substantially different, if the multinational corporations with heavy involvement in the US prevail over multinational corporations with heavier involvement in Asia?

posted August 25, 2012 09:50 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Node:
Obviously we are not getting bang for the buck if:

China (#2) has 8.2% of world share...

while the ever weakening U.S.

has a 41%

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posted August 25, 2012 11:18 AM            

The use of the phrase "your Messiah" puzzles me .

I know the Farrakhan started it and others use it but why? Farrakhan isn`t the guy to (imho) quote with a clear mind or have political value and look it`s etomological history definition..

quote:

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messiah (n.) c.1300, Messias, from L.L. Messias, from Gk. Messias, from Aramaic meshiha and Hebrew mashiah "the anointed" (of the Lord), from mashah "anoint." This is the word rendered in Septuagint as Gk. Khristos (see Christ). In Old Testament prophetic writing, it was used of an expected deliverer of the Jewish nation. The modern English form represents an attempt to make the word look more Hebrew, and dates from the Geneva Bible (1560). Transferred sense of "an expected liberator or savior of a captive people" is attested from 1660s.

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I do not believe I`ve ever heard the Independents or liberals here who post regularly unequivocally state Obama is doing a great job, I support him %100 and I would vote for him (again). Much less as my savior.

Not that it matters and certainly not to stir a pot, but I have found the term and Farrahkan not to be taken seriously except by subscribers to J. Wrights and Farrakhans faith/beliefs. Totally separate of political leanings.

posted August 25, 2012 01:58 PM            

a)worshipping the president
b)hating their country.

with all due respect, randall, you are guilty of this frequently. to me it just smacks of a desire to have everybody think exactly as you do, but where is the reality in that? and what is american about it?

please take note i am not accusing YOU of hating your country, but asking you to think about the contradiction.

my own feelings on america's military presence around the world and its Official Belief that democracy is the only way OTHERS should live, is that it is DESTRUCTIVE TO US, THE US, and that is not because i HATE my country but because i would like it to be stronger.

most of the world's empires were built with the spreading of the conqueror's culture in mind, BRINGING CIVILIZATION to the heathens...and yes, it brought wealth and power, just as our presence as PROTECTOR OF THE WEAK has brought us.

but in the end overextension results, as faith said, in bankruptcy and that is where we are going fast right now.

and why is it that conservatives think it is okay for our government to ruin our economy protecting FOREIGNERS from their weaknesses, while refusing to acknowledge that some of our OWN actually need it more?

the same people who say it weakens people to provide a safety net and healthcare are the ones who believe we should save other countries from themselves.

posted August 25, 2012 03:07 PM            

there are plenty of dingbats in this country, and they've been having a field day lately, and the language of the rush-ites only stirs them up.

we actually had a lone gay person acting unhinged the other day too, so i'm not trying to say the dems are guiltless.

just wish the hyperbole and demonizing of the other side would take a walk. in fact that is the only reason i visited GU in the first place, i don't understand how intelligent people can lend themselves to this sort of trashy, underhanded "politicking"...could it be they got nothing else?

posted August 25, 2012 03:19 PM            

apparently the "right" do, and that is why they are so scared of him!

on the other hand, he is the duly elected president, and the continuing attempt to crucify him and belittle anyone who doesn't see him as the antichrist is nauseating.

posted August 25, 2012 03:27 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Randall:
Obama is the Messiah of the left. I never said they called him that. But he is their chosen one, the one who was supposed to further the environmental agenda. Epic fail.

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Personally, I wouldn`t let words from Farrakhan or Wright roll put of my mouth.

Fundies both & filled with an agenda that torments the peace loving person.

I agree on the epic fail tho.

posted August 25, 2012 04:40 PM            

quote:

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As I said, the left doesn't call him that. I'm not quoting Farrakhan or Wright--both of whom I know nothing about their usage of the term.

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Farrakhan on Obama:

quote:

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Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, another powerful Chicago-based political figure associated with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright and other long-time associates of Democratic Party presidential candidate Barack Obama, is leaving no doubt about what he thinks of the leader in the campaign for the White House.

Addressing a large crowd behind a podium Feb. 24 with a Nation of Islam Saviours’ Day 2008 sign, Farrakhan proclaims,

“You are the instruments that God is going to use to bring about universal change, and that is why Barack has captured the youth. And he has involved young people in a political process that they didn’t care anything about. That’s a sign. When the Messiah speaks, the youth will hear, and the Messiah is absolutely speaking.”

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posted August 25, 2012 04:52 PM            

The supposed liking of the term "king" or acceptance of a Messianic complex seems rather unfounded.