theloniusfleabag

Dear KK, Actuall I just tried to offer one tiny example. Perhaps I should have offered none, and kept it at When backstabbing becomes a virtue, you are worshipping the wrong God. Mammon.

Dear Stein and maplesyrup, Gwynne Dyer is one of the most 'straight-shooters' I have ever heard. I missed a recent opportunity to hear him speak, and regret it. I believe he has served in 3 different country's armed forces, and has a wealth of knowledge and dry wit that I respect greatly. Too bad he only has 'truth' to offer, and no real 'marketability value'.

Dear Elder, If I may, I would like to rephrase my question. Would banning pornography lead to an increase in sex-based crimes if no other outlet (such as pornography) was available for the fulfillment of sexual fantasy? A fine line, I should think. More porn...does it drive people to sex crimes or provide a release so that they do not try to act out what they might wish to see?

Dear rightturnonred, I suppose the UK was more guilty of fabricating evidence than the US in the WMD spectrum. There is a fine line between 'consipacy theories' and 'assessments of the National Security Council'. Often the difference is 'classified in the interests of National Defence.' While 'evidence' is difficult to come by, especially for those not cleared for official reports, the truth most often comes out later. I suppose I only have the track record of the US on which to judge them. Pres. G.H.W. Bush lied often, and was only caught at it later. Pres. Reagan forgot his wrongdoings. I suppose credit should go to Pres. GW. Bush for keeping his illegal actions out in the open.

Dear rightturnonred, The point I make is that the US has assumed that the truth is when it is more than likely that it is not at all the case.

Dear KK, It could only work if the majority were not Muslims. They may be able to keep out Sharia'a Law, though. The only Muslim 'democracy' is in Pakistan, which is ruled defacto by the military. The Phillipines might have to be next, even before Iran if the present course continues there.

Dear rightturnonred, The most critical factor has been idiotically overlooked. The US claims it as the catalyst, yet denies it has value to the enemy. It is "The reason to fight".

Dear KK, I have only one word in response to this. Orenthal.I believe that working parents are good overall. It is just that the pursuit of money has overtaken the pursuit of happiness. The 'moral high-jump bar' has been constantly lowered, in western society, to the point that what was unthinkable when I was a child has become acceptable today. I have a teacher as a client, and she told me that one of the big 'moral problems' today is teenage girls giving blowjobs for $20 dollars because it is easier money than babysitting. With neither parent around for moral guidance, the teens think' Well, Madonna would approve'. I believe to a large degree in 'tabula rasa' and I dislike who is doing the writing. I also see the results, and dislike it even more.

Dear all, The US (and UK0 Claimed that the 'real and credible threat of WMDs' was the impetus for invasion. Then they said, no, we meant regime change after no evidence of WMD's were forthcoming. Fabricated evidence, misleading the public and breaking international law were the foundations of the Iraqi invasion. Many people, even some of my friends that despise the US, said 'oh well, it might be a good thing for Iraq in the long run. The US (and the right-wing) say 'It has all been about democracy, and freeing the Iraqi people. Yet we find out now that democracy is not high up on the US' 'things to do list'. source:By NADIA ABOU EL-MAGD, Associated Press Writer

Dear Morgan, It would seem that the Israeli's have no intention of being a party to creating a Palestinian State. The Israeli's want all of it. 1oo,ooo marched to protest Sharon's 'freeze' of construction in 'Yesha' and dismantling a few settler outposts. They are screaming that G-d gave them this land. They have no intentions of ceding it to Palestinians. The only peace many Israeli's want is to have Palestinians aquiesce to occupation. Once the Palestinians cease resisting, then the Israeli's can occupy in peace.

Dear KK, I have never seen it, but I believe that backstabbing and personal greed are what 'wins'. Thereby making evil vitrous, if not at least rewardable. I believe that there is also lots of innuendo, and while I am not exactly a prude, I think that they use girls in bikinis to sell also. Perhaps our society has such wide paramaters of acceptance, nothing short of 'penetration' is considered 'sex' anymore. I agree, that was not my intention. I am against welfare, for I believe in the value of hard work and ambition. However, even that does not seem to suffice in the consumerist society of the US(especially).

Dear maplesyrup, I have tremendous respect for Gwynne Dyer. He is probably the most truthful and honest 'reporter'/columnist I have heard for a long time. However, not sure what sort of debate you hope to arouse by referring to him, or his articles. I expect that they would all be true. Are you for or against overseas manufacturing? Sure, jobs may be lost in the US, but upper management will be created in the US as marketing execs will 'pimp' the product here. Lots more profit that way, without the overhead.

Dear KK, But the people are Islamic. The Koran often gets memorized by age 7. I don't see how 'democracy' will replace the Muslim majority rgarding the rules one has to live by. I have read most of the Koran, and it tries to cover every aspect of life. From inheritance laws to food allotment. The US has made some terrible blunders here. From declaring 'hostilities over' without securing the zone, to trying to cement longevity in the country by awarding itself all the oil and construction contracts. Forget Vietnam, the US has another Afghanistan on their hands.

Dear KK, My point was that your quote was from the Kurds. The US, Iraq and Turkey all are against the notion of Kurdish independence. The 'money' won't find it's way into Kurdish pockets, no matter how smart or ingenious. To this I must diagree. Islam and it's fervor override whatever the west might try to do. To renounce part of the Koran would be to renounce it all.

Dear KK, I must admit I have digressed a bit with regard to your topic. To get back to the simple basics, of the Degeneration of Morals in Society (in which I believe the US leads the way): The Family unit: While most of you claim to put family ahead of all else, it is family that has been the 'second casualty'. As the 'greed system' perpetually demands 'more', both parents in a relationship must work. Not always, but I believe it has become the norm. Moral values start in the home. If there is no one in the home, the values develop from outside. Television is probably the biggest culprit in the debasement of values. 'If it doesn't have sex and violence, it won't sell' is the watchword of the entertainment industry. Thus, the pursuit of larger profits is allowed and enabled to dictate the 'moral compass' of those within the 'greed system'. (Which is pretty much all of us). Individual rights: There is few more noble causes and rights than this one, but it is also open to severe abuse. Nowadays, individual rights usurps the rights of society, and thereby other's individual's rights. For example, (and this is a true one) a burglar slips and falls on someone's property while breaking and entering, sues the property owner, and wins a cash settlement. If there were no monies to be made through compensation, this case would have been laughed out of court. The burglar would have been expected to make his way about the prison yard on crutches. But, instead, money played the largest role of determining right versus wrong. Rgiht, I believe, in this case, lost. I believe some rights of society at large are greater than those of the individual.

Dear Mr. Read, That is both the purpose of propaganda and the job of the media. Right or left wing.Not to sound too 'Nietzsche-ian', but I am above manipulation by the media, for I can see it. From higher moral ground.

Dear KK, Apart from everyone's wish to destroy the country that gave us cod-liver oil(j/k), I believe the only reason Osama would hate Norway would be the 1993 Oslo Accords. While Israel hates the accords, (Many in Israel call the conflict in the 'occupied territories' as "The Oslo War") it did begin the legitimate process of no-go-tiation[sic] between Israel and The Palestinian National Authority to establish borders. This would, to Osama et al, given 'The Zionist Entity' (how they refer to 'Y'Israel') a legitimate, bordered country called Israel. Anathema to Osama. Just a theory, mind you.

Dear Mr Hardner, I agree. The spirit of McCarthyism is less predominant and intense than is was. However, the American public was not then, and is not now fully informed of the 'dirty tricks' that go on. The gov't of the US (and the 'raison d'etre' of it's God and culture[sic]) serves Mammon. That means industry and the media must fall in line with foriegn (and to a lesser degree domestic) policy. For example, If I may, (because this would be 'ancient history to some') the Invasion of Panama. It was condemned worldwide as a 'flagrant violation of international law' and a UN resolution was passed DEMANDING the US cease the invasion, and FURTHER DEMANDING all US troops be immediately withdrawn, and finally EXPECTING that the US live up to it's treaty obligations with regard to returning control of the Canal Zone to Panama as rep the Carter-Truillos treaty. The US media did not report one word of the international condemnation to it's own people. (Actually one major news network, I think ABC, gave it about 9 seconds). If the people are kept unaware, what is there to protest? The 'right-wing' seem to think that the left protest victory. Nonsense. We question motivations, think of the best end to arrive at, and believe means cannot justify an end. The truest end can only be arrived at by the truest path.

Dear Mr. Hardner, I believe I have always (in my adult life) been against those South American and African US ventures, but only recently has electronic communication made a vast audience possible. ( I didn't have your phone#, 20 yrs ago, lol) I must have missed the announcement when the US said it was no longer putting it's own interests first.

Dear Greg, I believe snakeyes has, for all intents and purposes, uttered racial slander. However, for the sake of argument, I did not clue in to the group those slandered belong to. I have also seen people behave like animals. Worse, sometimes. The business that I own is on one of the busiest 'crack cocaine' streets in my city. It is appalling how low some people can go. They live by the basest rules of 'survival of the fittest', the one who beats the s@#$ out of the other gets to reproduce with the crack-whore for free. I have seen a dead body beside my business. I have confronted crack dealers and have been told to 'mind my own business'. I have called the police, my Alderman and Mayor. Nothing has been done. The police told me that they (the crack heads) are like cockroaches, scattering when they see the lights of a police car, only to regroup whaen the danger has passed. These people are the animals of society, for I respect the rights of dogs and cats, etc, for they cannot choose their lot. These people choose to live, often far below, the standards humankind has set. As it stands, I do not know whether I have the right to treat them as dangerous animals, but I do know that if my business is threatened with extinction, I will have no recourse but to act with extreme prejudice. In self defence. The problem is I can see it coming, but cannot as a private individual act under the auspices of 'pre-emptive self defence'. If I cannot, no one should.

Dear KK, I cannot fathom the fact that you would bring to light the Kurdish plight as an anti-Iraqi(Saddam) issue and not regard the fact that the US has , as of yet, refused to acknowledge them as a people. You, yourself, called me to account about how 'it was all the US could do to keep Turkey out of the conflict' with regards to the Kurds, and yet you don't defend them now!

Dear KK, Let's take Angola (or the Congo) for example. The large corporations of the US (and thereby the gov't through lobby pressure) covet it's natural resources. The US gov't will support (whichever one is 'moderate')a brutal dictator that through arms and intelligence will guarantee profits for a US based company. The people will be subjugated to 'terror' to relinquish farmland in view of 'the greater good'. Terrorized, tortured and murdered to move off of their farmland, how many do you expect would worry about a flood in Kansas? Please round off your answer to the nearest 1.

Dear Mr Read, Ann Coulter aside, I expect you must be a fan of Ayn Rand. In regards to Israel and Jews, I suggest you read the Talmud and the Torah. Then go to www.israelnationalnews.com and read "Ask The Rabbi". it is not the wacky 'old laws' that are to be a concern, but rather the interpretation of both Jewish and Islamic law that are going to mankind's downfall.

Dear KK, Here you have said it all, but how does one reach the 'population' without adhering to the 'laws of profit' that govern the media? Under the current system, it cannot be done. the only way to the 'hearts and minds' of the populace would be if they chose to look elsewhere for their 'truth'. Hence the term 'Messiah'. Although, everyone knows it takes a man longer to come 'the second time'.

Dear KK, I do not read or post here very often, but I thank you for giving this idea the gravity it deserves. It is the classic human causal argument. Individualism must be respected, yet it has been 'common goals' that has allowed mankind to flourish. Only greed can usurp the common goal of survival, and only by acknowledging the needs of all can equality come to the fore.