Mr. Military Guy writes: When you operate under a religious mind control and have a history of so much violence and rule by power and revenge, it will take far too long for them to learn to get along.>

Is it just me, or does anyone else sense a little 'hubris' here? A whiff of 'superiority'? A little 'stereotyping'?

Iraqis think differently than Americans, ergo, there is something wrong with them: different = non-American = inferior, is what I sense. You seem to suggest that these folks have to be taught to be jes' like us, right?

Religious mind control? You mean unlike Mormons, or Southern Baptists, or one of those big-tent, snake-handling, speaking-in-tongues, hands-upraised-to-Jesus, awaiting the rapture 'christian' groups?? That's not mind control???

A history of so much violence?? In 2004, 29,569 people in the United States died from firearm-related deaths . . . that is by firearms only.

Of course, we're a country and peace and goodwill, right? We keep it peaceful by incarcerating huge numbers of our population.

A rule by power & revenge? America is the predominant military power on the planet at this moment, and it pretty much has its way by flexing that military muscle. And don't you, just for a moment, believe that part of the reason we got into this dirty little war in Iraq was a matter of getting some back after 9-11?? You know, kick some butt. Let off a little steam?

Jaysus, Mr. Retired Military Guy, I had been following you, thinking that you had some interesting and thoughtful things to say until the penny dropped.

Some call it 'Americenticism', others call it 'American exceptionalism', I call it the reason why Americans are not liked . . .

Shooter writes:

Is it just me, or are these freeks really, really stretching??

Boy, is my face red. I should have included what Shooter wrote: "So to sum up, war isn't what it used to be, and bombing is disciplinary. On the other hand, the leaderships of countries bombed aren't hurt, and their countries remain intact. "Sovereign" as you would say. That's the reality on the ground. What one calls it is something open for discussion."

And what I wanted to point out was . . .

this kind of logic is exactly what 9/11 was all about.

And it also shows us what these wingnuts are into -- Discipline. Big daddy. But, 'discussion'? I think not, Shooter. You people don't 'discuss'.

Jebbie writes:

and you STILL have not answered my question about how you will prove you are an American citizen and thus enjoy habeas protections when you are declared an "unlawful enemy combatant" by Bush or his "designee" and thrown in some hole somewhere where the CIA can twist your balls off while at the same time denying you legal representation."

Shooter replies:

"Actually I did, by citing the Supreme Court case that makes it illegal. But you want to say it COULD happen. Sure, and the Pope COULD be part of the Mafia, and aliens from outer space could be living among us and commenting on this forum. Come back when you have something real to consider, rather than an open ended campfire story."

I guess if you can't answer a question, you can always do the old Wingnut Wriggle, or Weasel Evasion or whatever. Good comeback, Shooter. In the meanwhile, while you're chuckling and patting yourself on the back for being a clever dude, look at this one straight in the eyes:

José Padilla, also known as Abdullah al-Muhajir or Muhajir Abdullah, is a United States citizen convicted of aiding terrorists. Padilla was arrested in Chicago on May 8, 2002, and was detained as a material witness until June 9, 2002, when President Bush designated him an illegal enemy combatant and transferred him to a military prison, arguing that he was thereby not entitled to trial in civilian courts. However, on January 3, 2006, he was transferred to a Miami, Florida jail to face criminal conspiracy charges. José Padilla was found guilty of all charges against him on August 16, 2007 by a federal jury, which found that he conspired to kill people in an overseas jihad and to fund and support overseas terrorism. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 5, 2007.

Campfire story, indeed. Of course, he was brown, and you are s-o-o-o-o obviously aren't.

Shooter, or is it Scooter? You drop another little rabbit pellet of wiz-dom, that never answers anything, then hop over to the next little cabbage patch to leave your insidious (and rather silly) little turds. You always seem kind of peed-off at anyone who challenges you, nibble on a few carrots, never answer anything rationally (oh yes, but only in your mind), drop another silly little turd, then move on. You call me a racist, drop a few more little nuggets, then move on.

Yah, I know, your coach told you that the best defense is offense, but, sheesh, with your kind of thinking, we'd all be mired down in Iraq, beaten up in 'Ghannie,, turfed out of Nam, and looking for other places to vent our tantrums on. You are tiresome. Get your teeth outta the glass, and really give us a bite sometime. By the sounds of it, your Social Security is all safe and paid for.

Let's get rid of the system where you have to buy your way into power, and then have to answer to your benefactors. Let's eliminate the money to buy votes things. Give everyone, from A to Z the same amount of time on the TV. Nothing else allowed. George Carlin has it right. These folks are all paid for. Lock, stock and barrel. Trillions spent on a military that is little more than a protection / projection of rich folks. The entire country is collapsing while the rich move the money south. Let's eat the rich, put all the gun-nuts into a free range with all the firepower they need and let them have a free-for-all-no-holds-barred (General Nugie on one side, Charles Heston on the other), and send all the religious folk back to their holy-lands, or their respective heavens -- kind of like pre-rapturing them. Dang, and let's televisized the whole thing . . .