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http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/soldiers-choice/?ref=global-home

 

Representative Ron Paul, the congressman who favors the most minimalist American combat role of any major presidential candidate and who said all of the above quotes, has more financial support from active duty members of the service than any other politician.

This year, Paul has 10 times the individual donations — totaling $113,739 — from the military as does Mitt Romney. And he has a hundred times more than Newt Gingrich, who sat out the Vietnam War with college deferments and now promises he would strike foes at the slightest provocation.

What seems, at first blush, counterintuitive makes more sense upon further review. There’s a long tradition of military people being attracted to politicians with Paul’s strict interpretation of the Constitution.

 

Not even a full 1 percent of Americans are active-duty military. The troops have become props for politicians who shower them with fulsome praise, while dreaming up schemes to send them into harm’s way.

 

Yet, these soldiers, sailors, air men and women, and assorted boots on the ground know the cost — in trauma, in lives ruined, in friends lost, in good intentions gone bad — of going to war far more than the 99 percent not currently serving. Where they put their money in a campaign, paltry though it may be in comparison to the corporate lords who control a majority of our politicians, says a great deal.

 

And if the overwhelming service support for Ron Paul is any indication, the grunts of American foreign policy are gun-shy about further engagement in “useless wars,†to use Dr. Paul’s term.

 

“It’s not a good sign when the people doing the fighting are saying, ‘Why are we here?’†said Glen Massie, a Marine Corps veteran who lives in Des Moines, Iowa, and is supporting Paul for president. “They realize they’re being utilized for other purposes — nation building and being world’s policeman — and it’s not what they signed up for.â€

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I've mentioned before the complaints I heard from career soldiers when I taught at the Ordnance NCO Academy 20 years ago. "I enlisted to defend MY country, not to be the world's police force."

 

It is also remembered how angry Colin Powell became when Madeleine Albright remarked, "What's the sense of having the world's most powerful military, if you aren't going to use it?" Powell snapped at her, "Madame, the men and women of the United States armed forces are not toys for you to play with." (Or words to that effect...)

 

 

 

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I've mentioned before the complaints I heard from career soldiers when I taught at the Ordnance NCO Academy 20 years ago. "I enlisted to defend MY country, not to be the world's police force."

 

It is also remembered how angry Colin Powell became when Madeleine Albright remarked, "What's the sense of having the world's most powerful military, if you aren't going to use it?" Powell snapped at her, "Madame, the men and women of the United States armed forces are not toys for you to play with." (Or words to that effect...)

 

 

Tell that to these draft dodgers who are so keen to sacrifice US troops in useless foreign wars, and now want to keep them there longer, but were reluctant to answer the call themselves when they had the chance...

 

Rush Limbaugh

Newt Gingrich

Bill O'Reilly

Mitt Romney

Dick Cheney

George W Bush

John Ashcroft

Paul Wolfowitz

Karl Rove

Michael Bloomberg

Rudy Giuliani

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Interesting that Ike got elected partially to get us out of the Korean War. The one thing about Colin Powell, he comes off as a guy who would not want to fight a war and may be too cautious. However, I recall when we were fighting the gulf war he said in a very cold hard way words to the effect 'we will encircle the enemy and strangle him'. It was chilling the manner he said. No emotion, no sympathy just as if its goign to be a fact.

 

Always wanted him to run. He would be honest if nothing else.

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Newt Gingrich fails to qualify for the primary ballot in his home state.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16328178

 

"Virginia party officials say he did not submit the required 10,000 signatures to appear on the 6 March ballot.

 

Mr Gingrich's team vowed to pursue an "aggressive write-in campaign" - although Virginia does not permit this.

 

Gingrich critics say the setback shows serious lack of organisation.

 

Four other presidential Republican candidates - including Texas Governor Rick Perry - failed to qualify for the Virginia ballot.

 

Only ex-Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, another leading candidate, and Texas Congressman Ron Paul qualified."

 

The irony is brilliant!

 

Republican states are pushing through their legislation to insist on photo ID to be eligible to vote, thus disenfranchising 21 million primarily Democrat voters.. mainly lower socio economic, who can't afford the fees, and don't have the time and the form filling skills to do it. Ostensibly it's to stop voter fraud, which is miniscule...one or two cases in millions. But the effect will be to rob one man one vote.

 

Its only Republican states passing this legislation..what a strange coincidence!

 

Any party which deliberately and so disingenuously sets out to undermine the basic civil right to vote for who you want to represent you doesn't deserve to win. The Republicans are the ones guilty of voter fraud.

 

So what a laugh :biggrin: that Gingrich has been slack enough not to follow the rules, and now cries foul.

 

You can add "dope" to his long list of epithets: serial hypocrite, wife cheater, flip flopper, racist, untrustworthy, draft dodging warmonger.

 

I hope his photo ID is in order!

 

:xmascheer

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I remember the days of the "poll tax" in some states, before it was declared illegal. In effect, it kept the very poor from voting, since they wouldn't pay it. Just coincidentally most of those folks tended to be of the African persuasion.

 

Similarly, there was literacy test. One had to be able to read and write to vote, since it was presumed otherwise they wouldn't know what was going on. (This was before TV and radio.) It may have made sense in the 19th century, but the tests were continued into the mid 20th century - and once again kept minorities from voting.

 

p.s. These were not confined to the South either and were used at times by both political parties!

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In my time Australian local government elections and those for the states' upper house were only for rate payers.... property owners.

 

 

In the late 1980s I met a Senator (I think, MP anyway) from the Northern Territory at Club Med, Phuket. He told me he was more or less a permanent member. (The seat was his as long as he wanted it.) He was an oil man and was delighted that I knew where Sisquoc and Cuyama were (little towns in San Luis Obispo Co., California). He'd done his internship or whatever there as a young fellow and I was the first one he'd met since then that knew them. Wish I could remember his name. He was sort of the Oz version of a toff, quite likeable in a filthy rich sort of way. :beer:

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Republican states are pushing through their legislation to insist on photo ID to be eligible to vote, thus disenfranchising 21 million primarily Democrat voters.. mainly lower socio economic, who can't afford the fees, and don't have the time and the form filling skills to do it. Ostensibly it's to stop voter fraud, which is miniscule...one or two cases in millions. But the effect will be to rob one man one vote.

 

Its only Republican states passing this legislation..what a strange coincidence!

 

Any party which deliberately and so disingenuously sets out to undermine the basic civil right to vote for who you want to represent you doesn't deserve to win. The Republicans are the ones guilty of voter fraud.

 

From what I understand the stats don't bear out about illegals voting. Frankly, they are scared of bringing attention to themselves and avoid such things.

 

This is about reducing the vote. Another matter I would want to see reveresed is allowing those who have been convicted of a felony crime to be able to get their right to vote again.

 

If you have paid your debt to society, why can't all your rights be restored? Its crazy that an ex-con can technically be President or a member of Congress but can't vote? There is no valid reason I can think of for someone not to have all their rights restored. Of course this is a voting bloc that Republicans would hate to see come to fruition. (HH, I think I've found my inner Liberalism :rolleyes: ) Actually this is something I've always advocated because it doesn't make sense to disenfranchise so many people.

 

Its not a popular stance and they will say 'you want rapists and murderers to vote?'

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In the late 1980s I met a Senator (I think, MP anyway) from the Northern Territory at Club Med, Phuket. He told me he was more or less a permanent member. (The seat was his as long as he wanted it.) He was an oil man and was delighted that I knew where Sisquoc and Cuyama were (little towns in San Luis Obispo Co., California). He'd done his internship or whatever there as a young fellow and I was the first one he'd met since then that knew them. Wish I could remember his name. He was sort of the Oz version of a toff, quite likeable in a filthy rich sort of way. :beer:

Senate's a life time job here if your party put you on top of the ticket at election time.

Everyone votes 1-2-3 Liberal or 1-2-3 Labour so if your number 1 or 2 and there's 5 seats and the vote usually splits around 50/50 you have to be caught doing something gay to miss out.

A former prime minister called them "unrepresentative swill".

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