The War on Terrorism....

The War on Drugs....

The fight is over, we lost. I was just watching a little tube last night and the talking heads were running with the sniper incidents. They were showing kids practicing outside sports inside, running down hallways, trying to run football plays in a room far too small, you get the picture. All because some nutjob was shooting a few people. Correct me if I'm wrong but people get shot everyday, yet this is the first time I remember them freaking out and not letting kids be kids.

Then they ran a wanted poster for a small white cab-over truck with lettering on the side and a little rear end damage. Lets see....that description only fits about 50 or 60 thousand trucks in that general area, they should have it pulled over by tomorrow.

The "G" has been touting the "War on Drugs" since Reagan, and they have actually been trying to stop drug use since the Volstead Act (1920), and they have been doing the standard job, not getting a damn thing done but generally just causing people grief. In my opinion, 82 years of fighting a war is a hint that you are not going to win, its time to discuss terms.

I still remember all the talk after 9/11, all the politicos spewing from the mouth how we can't let them change our way of life using terrorism. In case nobody has been keeping track, they changed our way of life. You can't go into a public building anymore without some ex-burger flipper feeling you up, can't get on a plane with so much as a fingernail clipper, and some of your constitutional protections have been nullified, for your own good of course.

Then you look at Israel, everybody just going about their business like all the bombings never happen. I'm sure they have security, but they understand that you can never be secure, ever. No matter what there is danger in life, if the terrorist doesn't get you there is a city bus out there just waiting for you to cross a street without looking both ways first.

Just quit bothering me about drugs, if someone wants to do them it is his body, his money, his life, piss off. And as far as the terror boogie-man, I have a gun and can defend myself, as long as the "G" doesn't pass a law against it.

Oh bejesus. Not saying anything personal about your post, but christ it'd be nice to hear/read some good news. Is there really a necessity to contribute to the gloomy depression of the world?

Well, last night I saw a commercial for Time/Life Christmas records, and its two weeks to Halloween.

I'll correct you if your'e wrong. Yeah, people get shot every day,, but I am not sure that they are RANDOM shootings by an unknown SNIPER. I think for the most part people ARE overreacting, but I wouldn't feel real comfortable with my child standing around with a target painted on them (that means just by standing outside as ANYONE who is outside is a potential target). We probably are losing the war on terrorism though, only one year ago everyone was up in arms about 3,000 killed, and there are/will be more innocents killed as we go on. But no one wants to really try and stop it. Lets all go into our bunkers and let the terrorists change OUR (US people) way of life. I am sickened how people blame the US for Iraq's problems (i.e. Your sanctions are killing babies, and You armed them 20+ years ago) well people, Saddam is a murderer, torturer and terrorist. Yeah, we wanted him to kill a bunch of Iranians 20+ years ago, but that was then, this is now. And as far as sanctions go, get some nuts people, the sanctions fall when ONE man steps down, yes, Saddam Hussein. That is all it would have taken. Anyone who wants to give that sick fu*k food and medicine is no better than him. I am a liberal Democrat but I am an American first. If we want to keep our way of life in America, and I generally like living in a society where I can go to the gas station without getting shot, and I like going to a grocery store without a suicide bomber running in to kill everyone, and etc. If you don't like that, great, your problem. But the US MUST BE PROACTIVE TO INSURE OUR WAY OF LIFE.
-PERIOD

Hear, Hear.

Nox

Mr. ridemypony, exactly what is the difference between getting randomly shot by a sniper and getting randomly shot by a mugger? Dead is dead, it doesn't matter if the guy shoots you face to face or at a distance. And where would your child be safe? In school? Kids get shot at school all the time. At home? Same thing. There is no such thing as a safe place, there is only awareness of a threat and a plan to react if necessary.

And Iraq's problems are our problems. We caused the majority of the problem there, same as we did in so many countries I can't list them all here. We put Saddam in place, same as we did with Noriega in Panama, Papa Doc in Haiti, Somoza, Castro, the list goes on. The American government has been a great help to the world, and a scourge at the same time.

Don't get me wrong, I like living here, wouldn't live anywhere else. But when the people who are supposed to be taking orders from me and every other American go off and do what the hell they please just so some business or crony can make a buck it offends me greatly. We are the big kid on the block, we should be trying to do good in the world, not trying to force everyone else to live the American way of life like a bully would do. I was bullied when I was young, I didn't like it, I'm sure all those other countries don't like it either.

And in closing, the US has never been pro-active, every single time the "G" did anything it was in response to someone else doing something first. The government just doesn't have the heart to do the things that need to be done to protect the citizens. If it did it would have whacked Saddam years ago, same as Osama. The "G" is only a re-active entity, unable to ever take the initive because it is terrified of the unknown.

God, I shoot random people everyday from long distances... It's no biggie.

have you seen all races of the Formula Grand Prix? Or just the one in the US? Have you seen Military Planes above any other circuit than the one in the US?

If you make war part of your entertainment, stop crying when it hits you ... laugh.

This society/government/country was created on the basis of one thing. Money=Power. Sure we have a lot of freedoms.It's nice to pray or worship whatever you want, and tell everyone just what you think. Bottom line though is we live to make that extra buck, and whoever has the most at the moment makes the rules. If it is in our best interest to go and bomb some backwoods country than sure we'll go level the place as long as we still look good so we can sell our merchandise and have cheap laborers assemble our products. As far as drugs go, I think the "G" is just jealous thier missing out on some good money, so they make an excuse to raise more money for themselves. That and some of those with power have decided that they know what would be the 'best' for the rest of us.

Tribal.

Everyone realizes that you have a greater chance of dying in a car accident than getting picked off by some psycho sniper, right?

I just like this one:

Sept. 11, 2001 - A foreign enemy attacks the US in a cruel and horrible manner, 6000 people die and recovery efforts last over a year. The government tells us to go on with our normal business. We wave flags on the way to work the next day.

Sept/Oct. 2002 - One guy kills 8 random people. Everyone within a 200 mile radius is afraid to leave their homes. Life grinds to a halt.

Huh?

hey Global, wanna be my running mate next term?

Mr. Globaldomator, (God, I hate re-replying) What is the difference between a sniper and a mugger? Hunh?!?!? Give me the location of the last mugger that shot a 13 year-old kid at 9 a.m. in the front of a school. No, not some inner city school run by drug lords or whatever, but a random shooting for unknown reasons? Muggers want cash, people are scared of muggers, but they don't shoot kids from 100 yards and race off, they don't shoot dudes filling their gas tanks from 150 yards and drive off. Most, many, almost all, muggers want cash. They get it, they take off. There are a hell of a lot people who have been mugged and lived to tell about it. Most of them. A sniper shoots to kill, don't matter if you have money, what color you are, where you live etc. A sniper kills 8/10, wait that is 80+% kill rate, and he will be gunning for more. If you live in that area you are a target. That is scary. Do muggers kill 80%+ of their victims? Where are you getting your numbers? Over their life times most people are aware of crimes that can be committed against them. Mugging, rape, whatever. The difference between that and the current sniper is MOTIVE. The motive of a sniper is not to steal or rape or ? It is to kill people. Guess the hell what? You could be next and ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS STEP OUTSIDE YOUR HOME!!! So yeah, there is a difference.
Also, I said the "G" has screwed up and etc. Said that in my post, but just 'cause you made a mistake 3,4,5 administrations ago, you don't roll over and go to sleep. Your'e right, the US is not very proactive (although you contradict yourself saying so and then listing multiple times when the "G" was proactive) but we need to be proactive now. Why does someone or thing have to say "We will destroy you" and then destroy the WTC and kill 3,000 (not 6,000 as a later poster mentioned) before we respond? Iraq is a threat, right now in 2002 and they have shown that they will use weapons of mass destruction without two thoughts (read Kurds and Iran). If they can they will gas us, bomb us, whatever. Yes, we are the big kids on the block. When someone pisses in our face, why do we have to wait until another 3,000 people are killed by a bomb or whatever? The war on terror was supposed to be ALL INCLUSIVE, not just, "lets blow up some caves in Afghanistan." That is what I am saying. Who cares if Iraq is democratic? I don't. But they are part of the terrorist network that wants to stamp us out. And by the way, they don't play by the rules. We do, somewhat, but let's be proactive instead of seeing on the front page of the paper "2,000 killed in sarin gas attack in..."
Geez, I can't believe what a bunch of pussies we have in America right now! We are quickly becoming the 98 pound weakling on the block. (For you kiddies, that means we get sand kicked in our face, and take it.)

[This message has been edited by ridemypony (edited 10-13-2002).]

It's not over yet, it's a stalemate. This is one war we can't afford to just fight a battle then say "We took out Al-Qaida, so we can go back to normal"

What do you expect when you start a war you can't win. They'll always be terrorism as long as people disagree. Humans have used drugs for as long as humans have exsisted, why would a few laws stop that.

These "Wars" aren't being fought, they are being fueled. What will happen to *majestic* (hehe) America when it has no "war" to fight? The same thing that happened to the Romans when they finally destroyed Carthage... War gives people a reason.

Mr. ridemypony, you must live in a special place, just east of denial. Muggers shoot people all the time even after they give up the money. Kids (age 13 or whatever) get shot in front, behind, inside, outside, and in the general area around schools all the time, watch the news. Just because somebody labeled the guy a "sniper" doesn't give him special powers, he's just another crazy with a loose screw, the world is full of them. He (or she) is absolutely no different from any other killer that uses a gun, he just does it from a farther distance than the others. The reason he shoots people is immaterial, let the police pyschologists figure that one out.

It really doesn't matter where you live, you are always a target, if not the sniper/kook, then the mugger, thief, burgler, or any of the other hundred different criminal job descriptions.

I fail to see where I contradicted myself in my post, the US has never been pro-active. Israel is pro-active, when they sense a threat, they kill the threat, very to the point.

Why don't we bar members of the Federal government from being active in the general market or business while in office? They serve their country right? Why can they profit while performing public duty, they are already paid with perks. If they want to make money they don't have to serve in public office, then business and government can be separated. Didn't the founding fathers do this?

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Originally posted by Lazy Bastard:
What do you expect when you start a war you can't win. They'll always be terrorism as long as people disagree. Humans have used drugs for as long as humans have exsisted, why would a few laws stop that.

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But do we have to let it run rampant? or curb it? I have no doubt that we will not be able to completly eradicate terror. But we can make it so that they have such great difficulty carrying out attacks on US soil. Deterrance.

All of you are saying the exact same thing, life is life.

I give up. Where do you live? In a cave full of, well I digress.

1) I guarantee that snipers kill far more people on average or by ANY mathmatical equation that muggers do. GUARANTEED
Compare police reports for the last ten muggings and the police reports for the last ten snipers, which one killed more? DUHHH
And to even say that when you stumble around in an average day that you would be as concerned about being murdered by a mugger or drive by as you would by this sniper, then you are an idiot. This guy is killing in places where people aren't killed usually if ever. How many schools like the one where the kid was shot at 9 am when muggers are asleep like all miscreants are have had random shootings? None. How can I get it into your pin-hole sized in-box that people do not expect to be randomly murdered in certain places. Yes, there are many places in D.C. where no middle or upper-middle class person would be caught dead. They might get mugged, and by your calculations over 80% of people who are mugged, especially in middle-class neighborhoods are murdered. That is patently moronic. I, and most intelligent people, decide where they go day in and out based primarily on a comfort zone. I don't hang out in boxtowns filled with bums, don't stroll by the docks at midnight, don't look for a "Dunkin Donuts" in a crack house neighborhood. Perhaps your whole life has been spent in these places where crime is a way of life, but if you don't, then there is no excuse for your blanket denial of the difference of being picked off by a sniper at 9 in the morning in front of a nice suburban middle-class school and being mugged there at the same time of day or at all. I can't believe you don't see the difference? I have not been able to find any reports of kids being mugged and killed or even killed at schools like this on an "average" day. (You seem desperate to establish this sniper as just an average crime). And the reason/motive for the sniper's killing spree "Don't matter?" What planet are you from? Are you seriously telling me you don't see the difference for a man killing people COMPLETELY AT RANDOM to be important? In your world serial rapist cases would get tossed in the "why bother?" box by the police. Oh a serial murderer is killing babies, who cares? Just another day in the world of crime according to your logic. Why would a mugger kill a kid on his way into school? For his $2 lunch money? Of course not. His reason IS TO CAUSE TERROR. Period. As I have said, and any normal person understands, crimes are committed for a reason. Most people are able to basically avoid these crimes by not putting themselves in harm's way. HOW DO YOU PUT YOURSELF OUT OF HARM'S WAY WHEN THE CRIMINAL IS A SNIPER? NO ONE IS SAFE. Most people, including those killed by the sniper were not involved in activities that would have put them in harm's way. GOT IT YET? Probably not.
Perhaps your'e one of those who refuses to see that your blanket generalizations and obfuscations are the product of a mind who cannot see the forest for the trees. I was not and am not making a sweeping "I'm the only one who is right" statement like you are. I can change my general opinion on a subject based on new ideas and evidence. If you were the Captain of the Titanic you would ignore the protestations of your "inferior" officers regarding the iceberg. "Icebergs" you would say, "Impossible, this ship is unsinkable." Unfortunately, your moans and groans are sinkable, and very full of holes. Most people here are able to understand, before I even posted them, the idea of putting one's self in harm's way and understanding the difference between the motives a killer has for killing. I am also sure that if you were killed by a sniper in an upscale part of time in broad daylight while pumping gas with a cop nearby that your dying words would be: "I deserved it for pumping gas. These things happen everyday..." I agree, I am getting tired of all these snipers killing people everywhere, oh yeah, it doesn't, hasn't and hopefully will not happen that often. Sniper=Mugger, great generalization.

2) You never said anything about the "G" being proactive? How about "Putting Saddam and Noriega in power? "The "G" armed Iraq...etc?" Sounds like a pro-active "G" to me.

Oh, but your'e ALWAYS right. I guess I need to start worrying about all the murdering muggers in my gated, middle class apartments. They are sooo much more dangerous than a sniper hanging from the trees next door...

Edited for length.

[This message has been edited by ridemypony (edited 10-14-2002).]

[This message has been edited by ridemypony (edited 10-14-2002).]

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Originally posted by ridemypony:
I'll correct you if your'e wrong. Yeah, people get shot every day,, but I am not sure that they are RANDOM shootings by an unknown SNIPER.

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Yeah. It's like if there was an ice cream truck going around serving posined ice cream someone would say, 'So, little kids are posined everyday in all kind of countries!'

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Originally posted by Global Dominator:
Mr. ridemypony, exactly what is the difference between getting randomly shot by a sniper and getting randomly shot by a mugger?

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Big difference buddy. The mugger's motive is money. Kids dont get shot in school all the time! Snipers do have special powders when compared to your mugger.

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Originally posted by cense:
These "Wars" aren't being fought, they are being fueled. What will happen to *majestic* (hehe) America when it has no "war" to fight? The same thing that happened to the Romans when they finally destroyed Carthage... War gives people a reason.

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You tard, your country is probably fighting the same 'war.'

justinian: Good luck finding any politicians to back that law...

How would life be if the world smoked WEED? Guarented there'ed be PEACE not GREED.

this is a new age for sure. Are the sniper shooting suprising--no. The past year has rocked everything apart, everyone is paralized by the intesity of the instanity of the situaiton. Don't be too paralyized for too long, that sniper is ready to shoot, no not the DC sniper, but the sniper that shot the economy, and your going down with it. Our own incompitance brought our nations to the near-economic collapse we now so enjoy and our ignorance allowed our leaders and financial figureheads to manipulate the situatio to their benifits (or so it seems).

The war never ends, liberty cannot be lost, mearly obscured, freedom cannot be destroyed, only contanied, and the more freedom is contained, the more it is ready to explode and make itself known once again.

Fear not, the world is ready to be changed, for us it is a matter of doing what needs to be done to achieve the result that we desire.

You know, I bet someday, after our cities lie in ruin, and Western Civilization has finally collapses in on itself, and we're all wearing leather jackets with one arm cut off, we'll look back on all this and laugh.

We go from a summer of child abduction/murders to a winter of sniper shootings. Great. What's for next year I wonder?

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Originally posted by Global Dominator:
Well, last night I saw a commercial for Time/Life Christmas records, and its two weeks to Halloween.

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hurrah!

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Originally posted by Global Dominator:
And Iraq's problems are our problems. We caused the majority of the problem there, same as we did in so many countries I can't list them all here. We put Saddam in place, same as we did with Noriega in Panama, Papa Doc in Haiti, Somoza, Castro, the list goes on. The American government has been a great help to the world, and a scourge at the same time.

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No. Iraqs problems are Iraqs problems. No. We did not cause the 'majority' of the problems there...Saddam did.

Your tripe about blaming America for every problem in the world sickens me. Why is it that you cannot blame Saddam for what Saddam is doing? If something in the world that the US is involved in goes right, the US gets no credit. Some geek that has dealings with the US becomes a murdering thug and it's the fault of the US.

According to you, the US has scripted all of the events Saddam is party to.

*Nox PUKES*

Nox

Exactly.