Who would win if it were up to us?

[Dragonsbane]

Originally Posted by Thanatos

Military: We are all tired of seeing our citizens going dying in foreign wars, but war is an inevitability. So, how do we solve this problem. Well, I've been giving this a lot of thought, and have figured out a way to kill two birds with one stone. We have another major problem, prison overcrowding. So here's what we do. We take our death row inmates and drop them on the frontlines with guns and explosives. They have already proven they have no qualms about killing people, so we put this to good use by letting them do the brunt of the fighting. If they die, oh well we wer going to kill them anyway. If they survive their sentence will be commuted to life without parole. The second wave of fighters will be the lifers. I can create military positions for every criminal out there, and if they prove themselves, their sentences can be reduced.

Fascinating...not only is this idea quite interesting, but it also reminds me of the Sardaukar troops in Frank Herbert's Dune series, elite warriors created by recruiting the toughest inhabitants of an extremely harsh prison planet. With some training, you could make a lethal batch of stormtroopers from your idea.

Originally Posted by Orkaxe

Bush.....

George Bush.....

How can anyone be proud of a president such as him? His name is like ash in my mouth.

If you have an opinion beyond just bashing Bush in an attempt to appear liberal, please state it. If not, try expanding your mental capacity enough to form an intelligent opinion...whether or not it agrees with mine, I'd rather not "duel an unarmed foe" in a debate such as this. Simply stating "Bush BAAAD" without supplying reasons, supporting arguments, or evidence is an extreme sign of ignorance.

Originally Posted by My Lead Airbag

Secondly, to all the Bush haters going on about the war, just stop. Yes, there have been a lot of American lives lost and there have been civilian casualties, but we also managed to get rid of a despotic mass murdering psycho.

This is one of the things most people seem to miss. Ask someone why war is bad, and they'll most likely tell you that it's because of the deaths involved. Saddam Hussein mass-murdered thousands of innocent men, women, and children. His sons raped 12 and 15 year old girls. We hunted Osama Bin Laden for killing thousands of our people, should Saddam be spared simply because the people he killed weren't Americans?

It seems that we have a tendency to believe that events that don't effect us, don't concern us. Are people not still people just because they dwell in another nation? Is murder not still murder when the victims aren't our citizens?

Some have said that America can't be the "world's policeman", that is it not our job to protect the lives of innocents in other countries. The answer to this is simple: If we don't, then who will? The U.N. has repeatedly shown itself to be incapable or unwilling to stop genocide, and the French government seems to have forgotten the persecution it suffered under the hands of a brutal Dictator. Would they have wished us to mind our own business back then, and leave them under the rule of Germany? If not, why would they want us to leave the Iraqis to suffer under Saddam?

Originally Posted by My Lead Airbag

Soldiers lives and Civilians lost - Yes, we've lost a thousand or more to the war. But everyone is acting like Bush picked out the ones who would die. No one picked those guys and gals fates. There is no draft, we live in a country where you have to volunteer to fight, they knew what they were getting into. And judging from the fact that a good 90+% of the Armed Forces vote Republican might be construed as an indicator that maybe they agree with the war.
Civilian wise, I can't defend Bush beyond "War is hell."

Again, that is true. The people who are fighting in Iraq volunteered to go, and yet many presume to make light of their sacrifices by using them as a weapon, a political tool to wield against Bush. It seems a grave dishonor that such bravery be debased in the hands of power-hungry politicians in order to further their own agendas.

Bush isn't perfect. Far from it. Many of his policies at home I disagree with, and some make me fervently angry at him. However, in this case he did the right thing. Think about it.