en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/470537 Comments by elmo6 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18028258 I then watched as the Bush Administration invaded Afghanistan, killing thouands of innocent civilians, then invaded Iraq, consequently inspiring hundreds of thousands of people within the Muslin world to rush to join Bin Laden's network. I further watched as the international reputation of American fell into ruin, with the vast majority of the world (including America's longest and best allies) adopting a fearful and distrustful attitude toward the U.S. -- exactly at a time when sympathy for the U.S. should have been at a historical high. As CIA analyst, Michael Scheuer, has observed after performing a lengthy and in-depth study of the consequences of Bush's policy following 9/11, "U.S. forces and policies are completing the radicalization of the Islamic world, something Osama bin Laden has been trying to do with substantial but incomplete success since the early 1990s. As a result, I think it fair to conclude that the United States of America remains bin Laden's only indispensable ally." Thu, 2 Apr 2009 16:57:59 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18028258 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18028243 I also thought of how the U.S. gov't and the mainstream media would very quickly announce who the "enemy" was, and there would be an outcry to attack that enemy, regardless of the effects that might have on others or, for that matter, the U.S. I then thought that anyone who deviated in the slightest from the lockstep doctrine announced by our Dear Leader would be denounced as a traitor, unAmerican, a terrorist, someone who hates the United States, an atheist, a marxist, a bad man, etc. Thu, 2 Apr 2009 16:57:39 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18028243 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18028236 How was I feeling on 9/12? Well, the first thing I felt was sadness that many people had been murdered and the murderers needed to be discovered and brought to justice under the rule of law. Of course, not only did I "feel" certain things on 9/11, I also THOUGHT certain things. (Isn't that the beauty of being a rational human being? That we can feel things, and also think about how and why we react to things the way we do?) I thought of how the attack on the WTC would surely be exploited by the U.S. gov't and by the mainstream media as a pretext for whipping up support for totalitarian gov't policies. I then thought of how the mainstream press would milk the WTC attacks for days on end, with maudlin and pornographic attention to every detail, and would decry the horrible crimes of the attack, while ignoring a discussion of the root causes behind the attacks. Thu, 2 Apr 2009 16:57:24 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18028236 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18026874 dcvaughn wrote: "Instead of bashing everything people are talking about, why don't you post some solutions. How about some positive input on your ideas on what we can do to fix the problems this country faces?" Uh, I wasn't "bashing" "everything" "people are talking about." As for solutions and positive input . . . What say we start by encouraging people like Karen to stop wasting our time by posting cartoonish desiderata about how "We are the greatest nation on earth", etc. As my series of posts plainly demonstrated, Karen's proposals are hopelessly useless. Moreover, propositions such as an English-only amendment merely distract from grave concerns that are real and immediate. Thu, 2 Apr 2009 16:18:37 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment18026874 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/31/how-much-money-can-you-earn-barney-frank-wants-to-set-those-limits/#IDComment18026254 Who am I to say that "gain is wrong"? Who is anybody to say anything? I mean, what kind of a question is that? We all have the right to take positions on the issues. That said, "gain is wrong" (to adopt your phrase) when "gain" is predicated on an economic system that confers fabulous wealth and power on huge financial institutions, and at the expense of tens of millions of hard working Americans who are ignored by the very gov't that is intended to serve the public good. Like Jesus, I happen to believe that riches beyond the dreams of avarice is immoral in the face of want. But then, I suppose Jesus was a Marxist-Leninist who was "jealous" of the rich and powerful, right? Thu, 2 Apr 2009 16:07:09 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/31/how-much-money-can-you-earn-barney-frank-wants-to-set-those-limits/#IDComment18026254 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/31/how-much-money-can-you-earn-barney-frank-wants-to-set-those-limits/#IDComment18025582 Don't know what "bonuses" have to do with my post. Never mentioned that word. Please re-read. The assertion that "either we are free or we are not" really clarifies nothing because the proposition is so absurdly general as to be functionally useless. Taken literally, everyone should be "free" to drive as fast or as slow as everyone wants to anywhere and at anytime. Please explain how a community that agrees to capping earnings beyond an agreed upon number (say, 100% tax on every penny of income generated via speculative investment pegged to changes in currency valuation, above $10 million per year) takes food from the mouths' of the children of the person whose speculative practices generate the income? Read. Think. Then post. Thanks. Thu, 2 Apr 2009 15:46:19 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/31/how-much-money-can-you-earn-barney-frank-wants-to-set-those-limits/#IDComment18025582 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17982321 Dear december 51, You are welcome. I decided to put "In God We Trust" on U.S. coins in 1861. Prior to that time, I just did not think that it was necessary to have my name on all the money, since I created everything in the beginning, and therefore all the money is mine, anyway. But then, right around the time I was watching the North and South kille each other by the tens of thousands, I thought, "better be safe than sorry", and so I decided I better make sure that "In God We Trust" is on U.S. currency -- just in case anyone got any funny notions. So, you are WELCOME! Love, God. Wed, 1 Apr 2009 21:13:27 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17982321 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/31/how-much-money-can-you-earn-barney-frank-wants-to-set-those-limits/#IDComment17982111 I have a problem with limitations on how much one can earn. Of course, this has nothing to do with capping millions that accrue to the super-duper wealthy as a result of interest on their riches. That's not "earning" money. "Earning" money means working. Moving bits and pieces of one's furtune around in order to exploit miniscule gains and losses on speculative investment is not "earning" jack. Wed, 1 Apr 2009 21:07:38 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/31/how-much-money-can-you-earn-barney-frank-wants-to-set-those-limits/#IDComment17982111 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981652 So, perhaps you should think -- THINK -- before opening your cake-hole and mouthing sanctimonious pieties and striking heroic poses. Anyone who believes that mere "common sense" only can solve complicated problems in an exceedingly complex national and international context is, frankly, living in a dream world. Please, wake up. Or, if you insist on remaining asleep, please do so quietly. The rest of us are trying to work to reclaim our country. Wed, 1 Apr 2009 20:55:45 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981652 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981637 As a result of his "common sense", hundreds of billions of dollars went missing, gov't contracts were given away on no-competition bids, over a million refugees were created in Iraq, tens of thousands of Iraqis have died or been killed, and thousands of Americans have been killed or injured. (That's okay, though. Our "common sense" leader told us the war was necessary to protect us from WMDs . . . I mean, to defeat an evil dictator . . . I mean, to promote democracy . . . I mean, to fight terrorism . . . ) Our "no experience", "common sense" leader then ran up a huge national deficit, while ignoring the decline of U.S. infrastructure, and giving tax breaks to the super-duper wealthy, while leaving the upper-middle, middle and lower classes to fall behind. For the first time in American History, the next generation is worse off than the generation before it. Wed, 1 Apr 2009 20:55:16 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981637 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981625 You want to elect people who have no experience, only common sense? Well, we did that -- in 2000. We elected a spoiled rich kid from Yale who faked a folksy manner and wore a cowboy hat, and who became rich and powerful by virtue of his connections to his rich and powerful family and family connections. That guy had very little experience other than running several companies into the ground. He came into office and nine months later the U.S. suffered the most significant attack on national soil in its history. Thereafter, this man with "no experience" but only "common sense" plunged this country into a horrible war that has dragged on longer than the U.S. was involved in WWI, WWII and the Korean War combined. Wed, 1 Apr 2009 20:54:49 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981625 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981584 No pay raises until "the people" feel one is merited? "The people", huh? You're starting to sound like Chairman Mao. No money to the U.N.? Well, then wouldn't that make the U.S. in violation of charters that it has signed? Are you advocating breaching sworn agreements? Isn't that against the law? Hope you are thinking of running for Congress! No retirement for anyone unless "they" have earned like "we" do? Uh, as Tonto once said to the Lone Ranger, whose "we", White Man? Nothing should be allowed to be hidden from the public at all, eh? Great idea!!! Why don't you get started setting up your Ministry of Information and Ministry of Love. With any luck, maybe we can outlaw privacy altogether! Wed, 1 Apr 2009 20:53:57 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981584 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981566 You want to bar everyone who has ever broken the law from serving in Congress? I doubt it. Every person who has EVER once walked across a street other than at a crosswalk has broken the law. Every person who has driven even for one moment over the speed limit (even by 1 mph) has broken the law. Every person who found a nickel on the ground, bent over, picked it up and put it in their pocket with declaring that as income on their taxes has broken the law. What you really mean is that you want to bar everyone from Congress who has been CONVICTED of breaking those laws that YOU think are important. Do pray tell why the other 300,000,000+ of us U.S. citizens should accord you with that authority? No pay raises until "the people" feel one is merited? "The people", huh? You're starting to sound like Chairman Mao. Wed, 1 Apr 2009 20:53:36 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981566 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981542 You want term limits? Gee, great idea. Try reading the U.S. Constitution. You know? That document people like you seem to mention every other breath without ever reading it? "English only" Constitutional Amendment? Gee, I guess that means you are also in favor of removing "E pluribus unum" from U.S. currency. You want a Constitutional Amendment stating the the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land ? What, exactly, do you think a "constitution" is??? You want an amendment stating that the U.S. Constitution is the only way this Country will be governed? I guess you don't believe in the freedom of the several states from the power of a centralized federal government. (I think George Orwell just rolled over.) Okay, fine. So I guess you want to revoke the 4th Article of the U.S. Constitution, too. I guess you know more about drafting a Constitution than Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and the Constitutional Convention. And why not? Those guys are just a bunch of smarty pants with college degrees -- not like you, who has "common sense". Wed, 1 Apr 2009 20:52:49 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981542 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981529 Karen, What you have provided is fraught with contradictions, vague generalizations, and a frightening collusion of populism and absolutism. Read on. You want to get back to basics . . . Pledge of Allegiance? The Pledge was not even written until the country was already over 105 years old. Originally, the pledge did not reference "under God". Why do you want to get back to a Pledge that excludes God? If you want the Pledge that was changed to include "under God", then why do you only want the Pledge that was changed after 62 years? Can we change the Pledge again in another 62 years? I guess "back to basics" means "back to as far as I care to go back . . . provided that I can change gears midway if that suits me, with the reservation that I can again change gears at some indeterminate point in the future." Wed, 1 Apr 2009 20:52:26 +0000 http://www.the912project.com/2009/03/24/mission-statement/#IDComment17981529