I hate traitors.

He should quit the human race.

How many countries has the Boston Globe freed?

What a maroon.

At least he's honest...

You don't want to hear what I have to say to this dillweed.

Trust me.

F*^$ you, Steve Almond.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

If only we could evolve into Organians.

Another day, another scumbag announces his presence with his media megaphone.

PERHAPS the most insidious byproduct of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has been a reflexive sanctification of the military. To put this in bumper stickerese: Support the Troops.

Hey douchebag, that's been my motto from day 1 on this planet. That and Semper Fi, Don't Tread on Me, Love or Leave it.

Here's one for Stevie:

Kiss my Ass

He's gotta' be a Marxist to believe in the ability of human beings to become perfect, that war will one day fade away.

Thats okay Mr Almondbutter.

My son, son-in-laugh, and daughter will still support your right to be a jerk and will protect you to the best of their ability now and in the future.

who is he calling a "chicken hawk?"

as far as most of us are concerned he is a "chicken shit"

General McAuliffe's reply to Almond: "Nuts."

What a pitiful spectacle.

Dear Stevie,

Please turn in your personal copy of the Bill of Rights (including your freedom of speech) at your nearest government facility.

You cannot rightfully lay claim to them if you reject the men and women who provided them to you.

Sincerely,

STFU

re: #11 MandyManners

He's gotta' be a Marxist to believe in the ability of human beings to become perfect, that war will one day fade away.

i'd like to buy the world a coke and keep it company.
we are the world, we are the children.

We are the bankroll

When somebody tells me they serve in the military... my first impulse is to say, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Please, PLEASE say this to the next Marine or Ranger you meet, Stevie. I fully support you! Go for the gusto.

Joel Stein of the LA Times beat this guy by two years. Warriors and Wusses.

I remember when it came out it was considered very subversive by the lefties, really got their rocks off.

I'm starting to despair for America. Really despair.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

Ugh. Where has this person been? Didn't they read history in school? What planet are they from? How many unicorns do they see in an average day?

Well, it would be nice to live in a lollypop world of eternal peace, happiness, and granola- BUT IT DOESN'T EXIST!

Therefore, I am volunteering for my seventh tour. So there.

It literally makes me sick to my stomach that my nephew died defending assholes like this ones right to freedom and free speech.
Man.

No, this guy isn't a traitor, but he's clearly ignorant of what sacrifices are made by those in the military to protect the free speech rights that enable him to show himself to be an ignoramus. That the military was used to protect US interests in the Middle East and remove a brutal dictator and gives the Iraqis the ability to become a more productive society doesn't even enter in to the equation for him.

He just thinks selfishly.

Fuck you, Steve Almond.

re: #19 Irene NYC

Joel Stein of the LA Times beat this guy by two years. Warriors and Wusses.

I remember when it came out it was considered very subversive by the lefties, really got their rocks off.

I'm starting to despair for America. Really despair.

do not despair for America. there is still a military in the US and as long as that military exists, it matters not what idiots think.

What, no "Thank You for protecting my sorry traitorous ass"? I'm shocked, shocked I tell ya.

He is sorry that we have a force in place to protect his sorry ass. renounce your citizenship and go find a country that is not willing to fight for its citizens or those with no hope or voice.

our species is still ruled by fear and aggression

Uhmm.... Duh?

re: #22 Typicalwhitey

sorry to hear about your nevvy. I didnt know.

Points to this fink for arrogant honesty, at least. I'm more exercised by soft-brains who tell me "I support our troops, but I don't support the war." And to them I like to say, "Since it would be inane for me to say the opposite, that I supported the war but didn't support our troops, what you just said means nothing."

re: #18 Occasional Reader

But there's no cost to saying such stupid things to Boston Globe readers. Who's the op-ed editor there?

re: #14 Occasional Reader

General McAuliffe's reply to Almond: "Nuts."

That's funny. I was in the middle of typing "Steve Almond - just another nut". Hehe.

Refreshingly, the reader comments to this drivel are OVERWHELMINGLY negative.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

Does this moron realize that the same applies to cops?

Just give Peace a chance. What a dreamer. Is it sad that some people think they have to enforce their will by terror bombings and head loppings? Sure it is.

Is it sad we have to put them down? It was sad to put down Old Yeller and he was a loving, brave dog. The day is far off when we won't need rough men.

"Good people sleep peacefully at night safe in the knowledge that rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf" Orwell.

Even your's Mr. Almond.

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.”

George Orwell.

re: #21 the jinxmedic

Well, it would be nice to live in a lollypop world of eternal peace, happiness, and granola- BUT IT DOESN'T EXIST!

Therefore, I am volunteering for my seventh tour. So there.

thank you.

Jews stand as a testament to Man's Imperfections. We know we're imperfect and don't try to think otherwise. And we kinda like being imperfect.

problem is all the Perfectionists have a problem with us being imperfect...

I rather hope there isn't perfection anywhere much like I hope the World isn't true fair. Because if it was fair, then all the nasty things that happen to us is because we deserve it. I therefore take great comfort in the randomness, hostility, and unfairness in the world

re: #22 Typicalwhitey

It literally makes me sick to my stomach that my nephew died defending assholes like this ones right to freedom and free speech.
Man.

My family appreciates immensely your nephew's service and his defense of our rights. I believe there are more people who appreciate it then people like this @#$% with his cushy job at the Globe. Unfortunately, people like this moron run most of the media pulpits right now so it seems like there are more of them.

That Almond boy is looking for a job in an Obama administration and is to cheap to pay for a stamp to send his resume in. The boy doesn't realize that his life's work isn't worth the price of a stamp and that he just self cancelled his ass.

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

If you can read this in english, thank our military.

re: #19 Irene NYC

Joel Stein of the LA Times beat this guy by two years. Warriors and Wusses.

I remember when it came out it was considered very subversive by the lefties, really got their rocks off.

I'm starting to despair for America. Really despair.

Don't despair, while this asshat thinks having a military is tragic, the military does not think defending him is tragic. They think it is their duty, something these lefties would never understand.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

As it ever was, as it ever shall be.

My first impulse is to say, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

And I am sorry to hear of your disconnect with history, reality, logic, biology, human nature...

Don't worry, Steve. My son is on his way for his 2nd tour. He'll cover you why you make an idiot out of your self. For now.

Humans have in fact been slowly evolving toward a less violent style. We see it in the thinner skulls of today's humans, and in the reduced death rate to violence. Despite all our wars, a smaller fraction of deaths today result from violence than at any time in the past.

We have a ways to go. There is still a built in tendency to resort to violence. As long as that exists, nations that wish peace will have to prepare for war. OK, it's tragic. But the American soldier, and for that matter, the soldiers of most of the civilized and reasonable nations of the world, are doing their own nations and the world community a favor by deterring the aggressive tendencies of rogue regimes and movements. And if that fails, by throwing back the aggression or punishing it.

Is our Boston Globe columnist sorry to hear it when he learns that somebody is a cop? When armies are outlawed, only outlaw regimes will have armies.

I request Mr. Steve Almond, who might look at this thread, to watch this video made by a soldier who "was there".

Another Self-Appointed Superior Being. Someone who is proud of the fact that not only does he not understand, he also does not want to understand.

Wars are caused by people who want to use other people as livestock.

Peace, as well as Liberty and Security, is caused by the systematic elimination of the self-appointed herders of humans.

Gee, if this Super Genius doesn't support the troops now, he'll really dislike them after McPalin get elected and merge the armed forces into one big Waffen-SS.

/snark, big eye-roll

I don't know whether to think this is a good thing that these wacko's are finally showing their true colors or to be alarmed that they feel that they don't need to hide it anymore. This either means they are desperate or that they think they are going to win in a landslide. Please be the former and not the latter.

Threats of violence are not permitted on the threads.
So, have a nice day.

I remember an NPR story from last year, in which they reported that the "Support the Troops" slogan came directly from the Pentagon itself; thus making it "evil". It was as if they were insinuating that it was jingoistic propaganda tool or something, which should be taken with a grain of salt.

re: #26 Eowyn2

do not despair for America. there is still a military in the US and as long as that military exists, it matters not what idiots think.

When almost 50% of our citizenry, our press and our elected officials do not understand the fundamentals of what America is and why it is what it is, we have almost run off the rails. And our wonderful military can't change that.

And in the case of "the press", make that 90%.

re: #17 Eowyn2

i'd like to buy the world a coke and keep it company.
we are the world, we are the children.

We are the bankroll

Those nice young men....

I am truly sorry that good harmless vegetables die to support this selfish ass.

re: #32 godfrey

But there's no cost to saying such stupid things to Boston Globe readers. Who's the op-ed editor there?

As noted above, check out the reader comments; there may indeed be a cost. This may be over the line even by Globe reader standards.

Example:

I am retired Army, and I have been to Iraq. I was born in Boston, and grew up in Weymouth. It saddens me to see that intellectually truncated persons like this author are allowed to publish their nonsense in the media. The author took his Bush and Cheney Derangement Syndrome and extended it into his hatred for the troops that provide for him the freedom to be an obnoxious jerk. I will not waste time debunking his stupidity, and merely note that the Globe chose to allow this screed, disrespectful to those who serve, to go forward. The irony is that the author will never know the strength, courage, integrity, and sense of honor it takes to serve one's country, while he disparages its servants from the position of safety and comfort given to him freely by those servants. I am retired Army, and I have been to Iraq. I was born in Boston, and grew up in Weymouth. It saddens me to see that intellectually truncated persons like this author are allowed to publish their nonsense in the media. The author took his Bush and Cheney Derangement Syndrome and extended it into his hatred for the troops that provide for him the freedom to be an obnoxious jerk. I will not waste time debunking his stupidity, and merely note that the Globe chose to allow this screed, disrespectful to those who serve, to go forward. The irony is that the author will never know the strength, courage, integrity, and sense of honor it takes to serve one's country, while he disparages its servants from the position of safety and comfort given to him freely by those servants.

re: #35 karmic_inquisitor

Does this moron realize that the same applies to cops?

And community organizers?

Heh.

re: #30 Eowyn2

Thanks

re: #18 Occasional Reader

Please, PLEASE say this to the next Marine or Ranger you meet, Stevie. I fully support you! Go for the gusto.

But thats the thing. They would stand there and take it and conduct themselves in a manner fitting a member of the armed services. They wouldn't lower themselves to his level.

re: #55 lifeofthemind

I am truly sorry that good harmless vegetables die to support this selfish ass.

Make that good harmless organic vegetables.

I wonder if Steve feels the same about those who are firefighters, law enforcement and such. Obviously anyone who is willing to sacrifice their life for others is offensive to him.

Wonder if he is the brother of that Code Pinko chick who picketed the Marine Recruiters' Station, but then when some menacing scary dude walked toward her, she called out "HEY MARINE! YOU, MARINE! HELP!"

Betcha they're at least first cousins.

re: #29 Spenser (with an S)

Uhmm.... Duh?

That's why I say he's a Marxist.

re: #23 lawhawk

He just thinks selfishly.

He's gone into full blown narcissism.

re: #40 livefreeor die

Thanks and you are right.

If I see anyone in uniform, no matter where they are, I offer a handshake and tell them thank you.
And I do it in front of my daughter so she will respect them too.

When questioned why he did something stupid, the great Charles Barkley said something like, "I'm young. I'm supposed to be stupid."

The same thing applies to this guy.

I pity the fool.

The bubble headed pacifism Mr. Almond espouses is merely an exalted, morally acceptable form of nihilism.

I'd suggest conscription for Steve Almond's cure, but I'm certain he'd be rejected outright.

Guess this guy has never brushed up on world history. Every society, kingdom, nation has either had a military to defend itself from invaders or had allies to help them if they in the modern world, don't have a military of their own. Its part of the human story. Even our bodies have a military defense system to fight off deadly invaders that could kill us.

re: #31 Pullus Iulius

Points to this fink for arrogant honesty, at least. I'm more exercised by soft-brains who tell me "I support our troops, but I don't support the war." And to them I like to say, "Since it would be inane for me to say the opposite, that I supported the war but didn't support our troops, what you just said means nothing."

As I recall, what I highlighted in bold sums up the majority of CongressCritters.

re: #39 Jewels (AKA Julian)

Who's imperfect? My beast tells me I make the sun rise. Thought I was wrong once but .. ah hell you know the rest.

re: #35 karmic_inquisitor

Does this moron realize that the same applies to cops?

With the advent of the rule of the proletariat, there will be no crime because crime is based on fear and need.

re: #6 mama winger

...dillweed.

Unfamilar with that one. Some sort of a GreenScumGrowth?

"It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression".

Late adulthood?

re: #38 Eowyn2

You're welcome!

Seriously, sitting out of rotation for the last couple of years has been driving me CRAZY. It's tme to go back to the box and do my job.

TJM

re: #45 barb42

Salute barb42 and yes THANK YOU and your families service to this country.

What the f*ck is wrong with Massachusetts? The American Revolution started there, for God's sake.

And to add insult to injury, it keeps electing narcissistic morons like Kennedy, Kerry and Frank.

Marjorie Pritchard was the Globe's op-ed page editor in '05. Not sure if she's still there, and I'm too hungry and lazy now that it's lunchtime to look. However, she did say some things about her approach here, if anyone actually cares.

re: #65 Typicalwhitey

Thanks and you are right.

If I see anyone in uniform, no matter where they are, I offer a handshake and tell them thank you.
And I do it in front of my daughter so she will respect them too.

That's what I do with my sons watching. I explained to them how my father and grandfather were treated when they returned from Vietnam. Now they think it's really cool when I thank people in uniform and they chime in with me.

If I ever see a service man or woman in a restaurant, I summon the waitress and tell them to give me the check for them, and don't tell them. But, the last five or six times I have tried this, the waitress tells me that someone already did.

re: #56 Occasional Reader

As noted above, check out the reader comments; there may indeed be a cost. This may be over the line even by Globe reader standards.

Well, I'd say you can say that again, but I see from your post that he already did.

re: #77 Irene NYC

What the f*ck is wrong with Massachusetts? The American Revolution started there, for God's sake.

And to add insult to injury, it keeps electing narcissistic morons like Kennedy, Kerry and Frank.

Quakers, or Friends church, I am thinking.

The masked face of the left promises the masses that they will take from the rich and give to the poor. They will end greed and economic cycles and human misery of all sorts. It is a very enticing promise to people unaware of history or the mechanations of the complex world we live in.

Only those of us who really pay attention to politics and history know the unmasked face of the left. The faces of Pol Pot, Mao and Stalin come to mind. The faces of those willing to sacrifice a few of the masses inorder to create utopia.

Everyday one of those progressives drops the mask is a good day, because it makes it less likely we will have to sacrifice some of the masses before the masses see the left for who they really are.

re: #18 Occasional Reader

Well - I rang your bell on that one, sir.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

How's that re-engineering the human species project going for you there, Steve? Have you managed to undo 100,000 years of evolution yet? Apparently you've performed a successful auto-orchidectomy, but you just can't seem to get the rest of the planet to sign up yet. Moron.

Wow. Just.... wow. If we all chip in a dollar we should be able to get him a one way ticket to anywhere else but here. What an a$$.

Well, at least he's honest. One thing I hate is lefties that say they support our troops, but then say they are victims with psychological problems that need to be coddled.

The personal rancor reflected in that remark I don’t intend to dignify with comment. But I would like to address this idiots general attitude of hopeless negativism. Consider the lillies of the goddammed field. Or hell, take a look at Obama here as your paradigm of hope.

man I just love pulling that quote out every not and again!

Hoffmonster

On the bright side - the comments are very reassuring.

OR

They won't pull it. All those comments (negative doesn't matter) are actually indicative of success, according to Pritchard. She wants eyeballs more than sense.

Yet another paternalistic commie who thinks that America is the only source of evil in the universe. I mean, the Nazi's had their reasons, you know.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

We he prefer we not "admit it" in such a way? How does admission or denial change the fact that ours is a world governed by the aggressive use of force. I for one am glad we "admit it", and in doing so can remain free, and free others, rather than to "deny it" and be ruled by an iron fist.

re: #75 the jinxmedic

We're proud of you.

Asshole. Of the highest order of assholes.

re: #21 the jinxmedic

And a BIG Thank You for your continued service.

Of course it would be a better world if the only weapons available were boulders, spears and men on horses.

Does the Globe have a picture of this guy? I picture puffy, still coddled even though middle aged Mama's boy or faux "deep" look with John Lennon glasses.

re: #59 Creeping Eruption

They would stand there and take it and conduct themselves in a manner fitting a member of the armed services.

I'd like Stevie to say it to a Ranger outside a bar in Fayetteville one night. I think he'd be cordially invited around to the alley behind the bar, to repeat his statement.

I didn't read this the same way. From halfway down the article he rails against profiteering from the implicit position that this is widespread and reflects widely on the US, and this is the part that seems too simplistic and cutesy to trust, knocking the institution not so as to better it but so as to distract from the larger argument. The quoted part, however, about how the existence of an army testifies to enduring tragedies of the human condition, to be regretted rather than celebrated, but morally supported so long as they do no wrong... I can agree with that. It didn't strike me as necessarily partisan comment.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

I agree completely.

re: #98 Occasional Reader

I'd like Stevie to say it to a Ranger outside a bar in Fayetteville one night. I think he'd be cordially invited around to the alley behind the bar, to repeat his statement.

In that case . . . :)

re: #47 Ojoe

I request Mr. Steve Almond, who might look at this thread, to watch this video made by a soldier who "was there".

Nut-boy wouldn't get it.

The last sentence in this jerk's "essay" explains it all:

It's about the childish desire to feel morally exempt from the violence carried out in our names.

Yes, that's exactly it. He is prepared to live in a country blessed with freedom but he still wants to feel morally superior to those who won & protect that freedom.

re: #99 Dom

I didn't read this the same way. From halfway down the article he rails against profiteering from the implicit position that this is widespread and reflects widely on the US, and this is the part that seems too simplistic and cutesy to trust, knocking the institution not so as to better it but so as to distract from the larger argument. The quoted part, however, about how the existence of an army testifies to enduring tragedies of the human condition, to be regretted rather than celebrated, but morally supported so long as they do no wrong... I can agree with that. It didn't strike me as necessarily partisan comment.

I'm sure "Do no wrong" means killing civilians which is going to happen in any war. The whole point of war is kill people and break things.

To all the men and women who have bravely served in our military I say "Thank you for your service."

To the newspaper writer guy I say "Steve Who?...Boston What?"

re: #63 MandyManners

That's why I say he's a Marxist.

Which means that he's one of the self-appointed herders of humans.

Which is to say that he an obstacle to real peace.

re: #63 MandyManners

re: #29 Spenser (with an S)

Uhmm.... Duh?

That's why I say he's a Marxist.

Yep. Here's where my Reformed theology kicks in. Man is not born good and then is ruined by the world. Man is born selfish, cowardly and mean. The key is to use free will combined with grace to fight against that every day as we try to climb the ladder. This creature obviously never started this fight.

Why is it that these people who don't have the balls to put their lives on the line for a cause that is bigger than themselves resent the people who do?

re: #107 Spenser (with an S)

Yep. Here's where my Reformed theology kicks in. Man is not born good and then is ruined by the world. Man is born selfish, cowardly and mean. The key is to use free will combined with grace to fight against that every day as we try to climb the ladder. This creature obviously never started this fight.

Bravo. Truer words I have rarely seen.

Don't have time to read the other comments, but last week, the Globe published an op-ed piece (of sh*t) saying we shouldn't even have an embargo with Iran. No where did it say WHY we want one.
And of course, they ignored my letter to the editor (and probably others) who explained their errors.
After this, it is time for me to tell them where they can stick their paper. I only get the Sunday one, but I've been getting annoyed with them a LONG time.

Steve Almond locks his door at night. He probably keeps an eye on his wallet, and doesn't lend his car to strangers who need a ride.
It's unfortunate that Steve Almond is so ruled by fear and aggression.

re: #90 godfrey

OR

They won't pull it. All those comments (negative doesn't matter) are actually indicative of success, according to Pritchard. She wants eyeballs more than sense.

She'll get eyeballs, and eventually, subscription cancellations.

I mean, if the newspaper I subscribed to one day started promoting Nazism on its editorial page, that would certainly attract my attention, but not in the way the paper's management would probably like.

re: #108 Ford_Prefect

Why is it that these people who don't have the balls to put their lives on the line for a cause that is bigger than themselves resent the people who do?

Because they don't have the balls to put their lives on the line for a cause bigger than themselves.

re: #108 Ford_Prefect

Why is it that these people who don't have the balls to put their lives on the line for a cause that is bigger than themselves resent the people who do?

They get a horrible sense of inferiority. Our soldiers represent the ultimate in noble, and that offends leftists to the nth-degree.

re: #59 Creeping Eruption

But thats the thing. They would stand there and take it and conduct themselves in a manner fitting a member of the armed services. They wouldn't lower themselves to his level.

I'm not a member of the armed services so I would... let's not go there.

re: #11 MandyManners

He's gotta' be a Marxist to believe in the ability of human beings to become perfect, that war will one day fade away.

Has he EVER read Hobbes?

re: #39 Jewels (AKA Julian)

I rather hope there isn't perfection anywhere much like I hope the World isn't true fair. Because if it was fair, then all the nasty things that happen to us is because we deserve it. I therefore take great comfort in the randomness, hostility, and unfairness in the world

One of my favorite movie lines:

"In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed -- but they produced Michaelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love; they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock." - Orson Welles, The Third Man

Formulaic:

Social studies (minus) history (yields) Steve Almond

Typical Boston Globe. They are going under, they cannot give away subscriptions anymore. When they call me with a "great deal", I just laugh and hang up.
Good morning lizards, hope everyone is hale and hearty!

re: #104 EIDE_Interface

The whole point of war is kill people and break things.

No. It is not.

Has anyone suggested you seek medical / psychiatric help?

re: #64 The Other Les

He's gone into full blown narcissism.

They're coming out of the woodwork now that one of their own is front and center.

BHO, I'M TALKING ABOUT *YOU*.

"i have an UGLY confession to make: i don't support the troops.'

this assh*le has obviously never read any history or looked around the world at what is going on. what a naive fool.
he has no idea why is can sit in a nice office in a modern city and spew such stupidity, unmolested by a conquering horde.

Here we go again:

The problem with the knee-jerk militarism of the past several years is that it has led to an absence of financial and moral oversight that is fundamentally undemocratic. Our troops have become human shields for war criminals and profiteers.

Consider the $1.39 billion contract awarded in 2003 to a subsidiary of Halliburton. The reconstruction project was secretly bid - to one company. There was much tough talk in Congress about preventing such sweetheart deals. But five years later, the US government continues to pay vast sums of our money to firms with ties to the administration.

You might want to check a few facts before you shit out your missives, Mr. Almond. Halliburton was awarded no bid contracts for work in Bosnia and Kosovo under the Clinton administration. And they weren't "sweetheart" deals. Halliburton is simply the best company in the world at what they do.

re: #121 Racer X

No. It is not.

Has anyone suggested you seek medical / psychiatric help?

Are you suggesting Rush Limbaugh needs it? I'm just quoting him.

re: #121 Racer X

No. It is not.

Has anyone suggested you seek medical / psychiatric help?

Not the point of war no, merely the best method by which they are won.

re: #61 Scorch

I wonder if Steve feels the same about those who are firefighters, law enforcement and such. Obviously anyone who is willing to sacrifice their life for others is offensive to him.

And to think he invokes Christianity, whose founder made the ultimate sacrifice. Or maybe he subscribes to some new-age Christianity lite in which sacrifice is unnecessary and we're all just striving to be Lightworkers or something.

"Three hundred million Americans are being protected by 1.2 million men and women who have a sense of patriotism".

Army General Richard Cody

re: #69 Teacake!

Guess this guy has never brushed up on world history. Every society, kingdom, nation has either had a military to defend itself from invaders or had allies to help them if they in the modern world, don't have a military of their own. Its part of the human story. Even our bodies have a military defense system to fight off deadly invaders that could kill us.

He's a Marxist. He and his fellow travelers realize that we've always had armed conflict but it's gonna' stop once the state withers away.

re: #114 buzzsawmonkey

I'd re-post last night's song, in that it has a few lines that might apply to this clown, but that seems like overkill.

My thanks to everyone who expressed their pleasure.

Didn't find it 'til late last night...both my husband and I applaud you!

This is the progressive mindset,we need a military because"our species is still ruled by fear and agression."
they are always listening to their"Better Angels" & talking about human perfectability. This is the kind of crap that is cocktail conversation among the Obamas & their friends.
If it were not for the military this cretin would probably be scheduled for a beheading.

We used to live in the Boston area and have never been surrounded by so much liberal blather. It is such a part of the culture there that I don't see how it can ever be undone. There were alot of nice people too but they were outnumbered by the smug, morally superior, hypocrites that thrive there. The Globe is just playing to their audience.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

Welcome to Planet Earth!

re: #126 rhino2

Not the point of war no, merely the best method by which they are won.

The goal of war is to win. The tactic is to kill people and break things until victory is achieved.

I have sadly concluded that not all humans are cut out to be citizens. Some are made for serfdom. This guy proves my point.

re: #57 Slumbering Behemoth

And community organizers?

Heh.

Maybe we could send could an army of community organizers into enemy territory, but that would probably be considered a war crime.

re: #107 Spenser (with an S)

Yep. Here's where my Reformed theology kicks in. Man is not born good and then is ruined by the world. Man is born selfish, cowardly and mean. The key is to use free will combined with grace to fight against that every day as we try to climb the ladder. This creature obviously never started this fight.

He has no understanding of what it means to have a servant's heart.

re: #109 vxbush

re: #107 Spenser (with an S)

Yep. Here's where my Reformed theology kicks in. Man is not born good and then is ruined by the world. Man is born selfish, cowardly and mean. The key is to use free will combined with grace to fight against that every day as we try to climb the ladder. This creature obviously never started this fight.

Bravo. Truer words I have rarely seen.

Thanks, I'll tell my Mom you said so. I was taught well.

re: #125 EIDE_Interface

Are you suggesting Rush Limbaugh needs it? I'm just quoting him.

Rush's quote is more accurately "The job of the military is to kill people and break things". Not that that is the only point of war. The point of the war in Iraq was to liberate a nation and thusly enhance the security of our own nation.

Almond needs some special one-on-one time with R. Lee Ermey.

It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression

Gee. Maybe that will change.

/How long is an eon?

re: #91 IPLaw

Yet another paternalistic commie who thinks that America is the only source of evil in the universe. I mean, the Nazi's had their reasons, you know.

Really? The last time someone in a concentration camp asked why the response was, "there is no why."

When somebody tells me they serve in the military, my first impulse isn’t to say, “Thank you for your service!”

Mine isn't, either. It's to say, "thank you for defending our country".

re: #50 redheadredstate

I don't know whether to think this is a good thing that these wacko's are finally showing their true colors or to be alarmed that they feel that they don't need to hide it anymore. This either means they are desperate or that they think they are going to win in a landslide. Please be the former and not the latter.

I think it means they want to be "hip" by being "different like everyone else"

re: #104 EIDE_Interface

I'm sure "Do no wrong" means killing civilians which is going to happen in any war. The whole point of war is kill people and break things.

I disagree. The point of war is either to gain dominance over another or avoid having someone gain dominance over you, depending on which side you are on.

Here's this puke's Web site. Surprise: he's another navel-gazing, snark-addicted auteur.

Sorry about the typo. It should read "Maybe we could send an army of community organizers..."

re: #90 godfrey

OR

They won't pull it. All those comments (negative doesn't matter) are actually indicative of success, according to Pritchard. She wants eyeballs more than sense.

Revenue!

re: #121 Racer X

Beg to differ. That is the raw, undiluted objective of war. Like it or not, that's how victory is achieved in battle. That is how wars are won. It's a harsh reality, but it is fact.

re: #146 Ford_Prefect

I disagree. The point of war is either to gain dominance over another or avoid having someone gain dominance over you, depending on which side you are on.

Yeah, the military is a tactical tool for achieving a political goal. Read Clausewitz.

"The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression."

Idiot. Fear and aggression are necessary traits that all animals share, that go back at least a billion years. And they in part, define us as a species. Balancing these traits with our noble qualities is what defines our humanity. To deny it is to deny reality.

It's the basic grasp of reality that these idiots lack. They are the Darwinian ejecta of the human race, their silly opinions superficial. Like nail-polish on the pinkie toe of a hedonistic society.

re: #124 David Simon

Here we go again:

You might want to check a few facts before you shit out your missives, Mr. Almond. Halliburton was awarded no bid contracts for work in Bosnia and Kosovo under the Clinton administration. And they weren't "sweetheart" deals. Halliburton is simply the best company in the world at what they do.

Al Gore praised them effusively as a model contractor during the Clinton years.

re: #147 mikalm

Here's this puke's Web site. Surprise: he's another navel-gazing, snark-addicted auteur.

Good grief! He's just another infantile idiot...

re: #104 EIDE_Interface

The whole point of war is kill people and break things.

No, the point of war is to break the enemy's will to fight. Killing people and breaking things is the usual methodology by which this is done. Key distinction.

"Kill people and break things" is not the raison d'etre of our armed forces, but rather their core competency. Which is as it should be; if it can't do that, it's not a military.

What a beautiful dream, Stevie. I, however, prefer to base my ideology on reality.

re: #94 EIDE_Interface

Order of the Asshole with Oak Leaf Cluster and Cubic Zirconia

re: #152 jamsler

"The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression."

Idiot. Fear and aggression are necessary traits that all animals share, that go back at least a billion years. And they in part, define us as a species. Balancing these traits with our noble qualities is what defines our humanity. To deny it is to deny reality.

It's the basic grasp of reality that these idiots lack. They are the Darwinian ejecta of the human race, their silly opinions superficial. Like nail-polish on the pinkie toe of a hedonistic society.

It's really sad that the Daily Kos crowd is so filled with "Fear and aggression", they make me sad to be a part of humanity. Interesting how the puke singles out our military, but exempts the Kos kidz.

re: #99 Dom

I didn't read this the same way. From halfway down the article he rails against profiteering from the implicit position that this is widespread and reflects widely on the US, and this is the part that seems too simplistic and cutesy to trust, knocking the institution not so as to better it but so as to distract from the larger argument. The quoted part, however, about how the existence of an army testifies to enduring tragedies of the human condition, to be regretted rather than celebrated, but morally supported so long as they do no wrong... I can agree with that. It didn't strike me as necessarily partisan comment.

Who the hell made bucks off of Saddam? Who is making them off of ShortShit? The same countries.

re: #114 buzzsawmonkey

I'd re-post last night's song, in that it has a few lines that might apply to this clown, but that seems like overkill.

My thanks to everyone who expressed their pleasure.

Post it again - I missed it and am too lazy to go look for it.

re: #106 The Other Les

Which means that he's one of the self-appointed herders of humans.

Which is to say that he an obstacle to real peace.

In Pol Pot's time, he'd be one of the first shot. He's an "intellectual".

re: #140 rhino2

Rush's quote is more accurately "The job of the military is to kill people and break things".

And I don't even agree with that quote. It's what they need to be ABLE to do, but it's not their core job. If they never have to fight, because no enemy raises his hand against us, they're doing their job.

re: #150 Cartman

Beg to differ. That is the raw, undiluted objective of war. Like it or not, that's how victory is achieved in battle. That is how wars are won. It's a harsh reality, but it is fact.

I believe most people's problem with the statement is the wording. The 'point' of war, is not to kill people and break things. It is the objective of the military to do that in a way which assures victory, but wars are not started because the military and its leaders were bored and just wanted to do some killin and breakin. No one is arguing that is how you win a war, we are arguing that is not the expressed 'point' of a war.

re: #147 mikalm

Here's this puke's Web site. Surprise: he's another navel-gazing, snark-addicted auteur.

Oh, okay it was my second guess-faux deep look with John Lennon glasses.

Boy is his website annoying.

re: #121 Racer X

Actually, I will be on the level with you.

During basic training, our chief made no bones about the ultimate job of the Navy was to kill shit.

War is not pretty, it never has been, it never will be.

Realizing life is like anything broken down to a molecular level, even bacteria try to kill each other off in an effort to dominate.

One major difference as I see it with us, is we realize our security, our safety, relies upon our steadfast ability to kill off whatever challenges our status quo.

Please use the Forum to express your disappointment in any of the following bullies (assuming you can distinguish them from one another): Fox News Patriots, Bush and friends, corporate America, the radical religous right.

So young Steve hates FOX, republicans, anybody gainfully employed and church goers.

re: #151 EIDE_Interface

Yeah, the military is a tactical tool for achieving a political goal. Read Clausewitz.

I agree on that.

re: #107 Spenser (with an S)

Yep. Here's where my Reformed theology kicks in. Man is not born good and then is ruined by the world. Man is born selfish, cowardly and mean. The key is to use free will combined with grace to fight against that every day as we try to climb the ladder. This creature obviously never started this fight.

I think we're born both good and bad. The key is which path we choose.

re: #164 buzzsawmonkey

#6 at the top of last night's Palin thread.

Thanks...I'm goin' down now.
;-)

Like I've always said.....I love nuts, especially almonds.

My first impulse is to say, “I’m sorry GLAD to hear that.” Because I am. I’m sorry HAPPY to know that the person I’m talking to might someday be maimed or killed on the job, or might someday kill someone else. Or refuel a plane that drops bombs on buildings.

There you go Steve Almond, just correcting your statement to reflect whats really on your mind.....BTW: as an ex-soldier and with my oldest boy in Army bootcamp, we don't want your support, but don't make the mistake of expressing your views to me face-to-face.

re: #166 rhino2

I believe most people's problem with the statement is the wording. The 'point' of war, is not to kill people and break things. It is the objective of the military to do that in a way which assures victory, but wars are not started because the military and its leaders were bored and just wanted to do some killin and breakin. No one is arguing that is how you win a war, we are arguing that is not the expressed 'point' of a war.

That's the goal of the American military. Obviously there are other militaries out there that are not honorable.

"The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression."

Duh! Like we have been for the last 10,000 years and will continue to do so for the next 10,000. It's in the bi-pedal hominid's DNA.

irony = his ability to safely say what he thinks defended by those he feels sorry for.

The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

This is the mindset that is going to get us all killed. They have internalized decades of psychobabble and turned the end result into a "virtue".

The sad thing is, I know people who agree with Almond's statement 100%. John Lennon's Imagine has become their personal mantra. One of them said to me in all seriousness that she could not possibly vote for McCain because he'd served in the military, and former military men always see war as the answer to every problem.

I am truly afraid of what will happen if Obama wins the election.

re: #166 rhino2

I guess this discussion is above my pay grade. Oh, wait...I don't have one.

re: #165 Occasional Reader

And I don't even agree with that quote. It's what they need to be ABLE to do, but it's not their core job. If they never have to fight, because no enemy raises his hand against us, they're doing their job.

I agree, I would have to listen to Rush again to be sure of the context, but I believe his context was referring to when the military is being employed in a combat situation/war, and not just overall.

I guess it is time for the troops to stop supporting arrogant self-righteous assholes like the writer of this screed.

Oh lord, kum ba yah.

DUMBASS!

re: #170 Occasional Reader

I agree on that.

Of course, looting and raping can be a side-effect. That's what the Red Army did in Germany 1945-1946.

re: #169 experiencedtraveller
Please use the Forum to express your disappointment in any of the following bullies (assuming you can distinguish them from one another): Fox News Patriots, Bush and friends, corporate America, the radical religous right.

So young Steve hates FOX, republicans, anybody gainfully employed and church goers.

I bet this guy has never done a day of real work or service to others in his life. His site is a trench of narcissism.

Hey all y'all - um, what's wrong with this sentence:

"The problem with the knee-jerk militarism of the past several years is that it has led to an absence of financial and moral oversight that is fundamentally undemocratic."

Well it seems to me that the "financial oversight" is supposed to be conducted by Congress, isn't it? Ya know, the Congress that, for the last two years has been controlled by the Democrats Leftists and has a public approval rating which, I believe, has finally climbed up to 11%?
And as for Moral Oversight - please, get a grip - does "Haditha" ring any bells with you? You know, that incident where Congressman John Fucking Murhta (D L-Pa) tried and convicted a dozen or so U.S. Marines in the court of public opinion, and then when they each got their day in court, they were exonerated?
Please, Mr. Almond, sir, what exactly are YOUR qualifications to make moral judgements of OUR military - the Military that gives it's all so trash like you can spew forth the bile that you do?

re: #114 buzzsawmonkey

I'd re-post last night's song, in that it has a few lines that might apply to this clown, but that seems like overkill.

My thanks to everyone who expressed their pleasure.

I can't give you another + there so, I'll give you one here.

re: #158 buzzsawmonkey

When did "callow undergraduate" become a lifetime job description?

Nice.

(I'm stealing, BTW.)

Well as someone who is in the Reserves, all I can say is: Fuck You. And that is from the bottom of my heart.

re: #175 EIDE_Interface

That's the goal of the American military. Obviously there are other militaries out there that are not honorable.

Well clearly, but I thought we were speaking of the American military?

Rush says the ad will air in NM. Dumb. What Rush finds insulting is that he is being linked with McCain.

re: #180 rhino2

I agree, I would have to listen to Rush again to be sure of the context, but I believe his context was referring to when the military is being employed in a combat situation/war, and not just overall.

Probably a response to some liberal who thinks our military are social workers or something. No, that's the Peace Corps!

re: #117 DisturbedEma

Has he EVER read Hobbes?

I guarantee.

and by the way since Joe Biden thinks paying higher taxes is patriotic.....with what I pay...start chiseling my mug on Mt Rushmore!

re: #150 Cartman

Beg to differ. That is the raw, undiluted objective of war. Like it or not, that's how victory is achieved in battle. That is how wars are won. It's a harsh reality, but it is fact.

Not the objective; it may be a tactic.

OT: Mofaz out of Politics

re: #189 rhino2

Well clearly, but I thought we were speaking of the American military?

Just saying that our military is different from others. Because we try to select the higher quality people who won't engage in atrocities and will refuse orders to do so. Our military doesn't "just follow orders" no matter what. We obey the Geneva convention.

re: #176 obageegee

"The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression."

Duh! Like we have been for the last 10,000 years and will continue to do so for the next 10,000. It's in the bi-pedal hominid's DNA.

Yeah but your assuming evolution is true. Nobody around here believes that crap...

/could.not.resist

re: #177 big steve
Hey big steve- good to see you out here again! Some of us were worried about you and the effects of Hurricane Ike!
I guess maybe we are on different schedules now, cause I haven't seen you posting, but are you ok?

re: #195 Racer X

Not the objective; it may be a tactic.

Agreed. Objective was a poor choice of words on my part.

I'm confused about many things, mainly though about the Loony Left's idea or belief that WE the first to stand up and defend our country need an enemy to justify our stance towards the world. The problem is Americans don't need to name enemies to justify its policies, our Enemies do the naming for us. They declare us the enemy that needs to be destroyed. They act aggressively toward us not because of our policies but because we are Infidels and Capitalists. We do not lock step with the Socialists and Islamic Fascists of the World so we are to be punished for daring to be individual trying to live our own lives the way WE feel is right. So when I hear people like Steve Almond speak or read what they right I at least respect their honesty about their true feelings. That's as far as my courtesy goes, they really need to flush out their head gear of such BS that Active Military and Veterans are something to fear or pity. WE DO NOT WANT IT. Steve Almond and his ilk can stay in their Ivory Towers. The REAL men and women of America know when it's time to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. I've had my meals bought me by perfect strangers, it's my turn to welcome my brothers and sisters to the table.

re: #53 Irene NYC

When almost 50% of our citizenry, our press and our elected officials do not understand the fundamentals of what America is and why it is what it is, we have almost run off the rails. And our wonderful military can't change that.

And in the case of "the press", make that 90%.

over 50% of the people of this country DO support our wonderful military, our form of government. The press is trying to make news rather than report it.
Our elected officials will, eventually, learn the truth of history. probably not soon enough to save their careers.

Washington sees what is happening on the major coastal cities. they do not see what is happening in the burbs, the or the urbs. There may be 50,000 -100,000 new yorker's at a pink rally in central park but what percentage of the 5 burroughs is that? Not to mention the areas within a 2-3 hour drive of NYC? its a pitance.

The same rally format in a town of 40K in middle America MIGHT draw 20 people.

totally clueless

re: #199 realwest

Yeah Big'un. Good to see you made it okay!

re: #99 Dom

I didn't read this the same way. From halfway down the article he rails against profiteering from the implicit position that this is widespread and reflects widely on the US, and this is the part that seems too simplistic and cutesy to trust, knocking the institution not so as to better it but so as to distract from the larger argument. The quoted part, however, about how the existence of an army testifies to enduring tragedies of the human condition, to be regretted rather than celebrated, but morally supported so long as they do no wrong... I can agree with that. It didn't strike me as necessarily partisan comment.

WOW! STOP THE PRESSES! THE HUMAN CONDITION IS TRAGIC!

And this is something that definitely needs to be heralded from the op-ed page of the Boston Globe since, after all, we can use it as the hook to disparage our military.

If you notice, his rail against a very vague $1.39 billion dollar contract to a subsidiary of Halliburton is just garbage. If memory serves, this contract was awarded outright because they were the only company in the world - except possibly one in France - able to take on the project. Of course, had Mr. Almond been a wee bit more specific and listed the contract I wouldn't have to rely on either my memory or conjectures.

Then there's his claim that:

It remains unthinkable for a politician (or public official of any sort) to say aloud that our troops sometimes commit atrocities, that they are not all worthy of support, that some of them - faced with a terrifying and ethically incoherent mission - are driven to savagery. This grim duty has been left to the soldiers themselves.

Out of over 100,000 US troops in Iraq alone, there have been exactly how many cases of proven rape, outright murder, pillaging, etc. in 5 years?

I could go on and on about this piece, but, in sum, this is nothing but an ad hoc hatchet piece, using innuendo, libel and snideness to disparage our troops and anybody and anything connected to their mission.

Why defend any part of this piece of sh*t?

re: #196 Creeping Eruption

OT: Mofaz out of Politics

Temporary withdrawal from Politics? Whatever that means?

re: #80 rawmuse

If I ever see a service man or woman in a restaurant, I summon the waitress and tell them to give me the check for them, and don't tell them. But, the last five or six times I have tried this, the waitress tells me that someone already did.

Rawmuse:
You make us proud. I also make an effort to pick up the check for traveling service men and women at airport eateries. On most occasions these folks are thankful and humble, but decline. I will try your technique of working directly with the wait-staff.
R

re: #201 Idle Drifter

I'm confused about many things, mainly though about the Loony Left's idea or belief that WE the first to stand up and defend our country need an enemy to justify our stance towards the world. The problem is Americans don't need to name enemies to justify its policies, our Enemies do the naming for us. They declare us the enemy that needs to be destroyed. They act aggressively toward us not because of our policies but because we are Infidels and Capitalists. We do not lock step with the Socialists and Islamic Fascists of the World so we are to be punished for daring to be individual trying to live our own lives the way WE feel is right. So when I hear people like Steve Almond speak or read what they right I at least respect their honesty about their true feelings. That's as far as my courtesy goes, they really need to flush out their head gear of such BS that Active Military and Veterans are something to fear or pity. WE DO NOT WANT IT. Steve Almond and his ilk can stay in their Ivory Towers. The REAL men and women of America know when it's time to roll up their sleeves and get dirty. I've had my meals bought me by perfect strangers, it's my turn to welcome my brothers and sisters to the table.

The left does not believe in the legitimacy of the American government. Naturally they don't support the military. Now if we had a communist revolution, they WOULD def support the new American Red Army whole heart.

re: #127 doppelganglander

And to think he invokes Christianity, whose founder made the ultimate sacrifice. Or maybe he subscribes to some new-age Christianity lite in which sacrifice is unnecessary and we're all just striving to be Lightworkers or something.

Or, maybe he's like that CBC writer Heather Millikin (?) quoted on the DT who says that God allows hatred of certain people and who downs shots of liquor.

re: #197 EIDE_Interface

Just saying that our military is different from others. Because we try to select the higher quality people who won't engage in atrocities and will refuse orders to do so. Our military doesn't "just follow orders" no matter what. We obey the Geneva convention.

Even to the point of our own detriment.

re: #185 realwest

From your Stevie Almond quote:

The problem with the knee-jerk militarism of the past several years is that it has led to an absence of financial and moral oversight

It's funny how people are trying to shoehorn in all their favorite pet grievances into "explaining" this week's Wall Street turmoil. Joe Biden thinks that tax cuts caused the Fannie/Freddie/AIG failures, although he can't explain why. Now, Steve Almond thinks the US Marines caused Sarbanes-Oxley, or something like that.

re: #208 EIDE_Interface

The left does not believe in the legitimacy of the American government. Naturally they don't support the military. Now if we had a communist revolution, they WOULD def support the new American Red Army whole heart.

Methinks they would make it blue.

re: #5 Pickles

Yup, exactly what I was thinking. I actually think higher of him than of most on the left. The rest of his ilk would rather perpetuate the lie that they aren't anti-military.

BHG

re: #184 livefreeor die
Ha!

re: #169 experiencedtraveller
Please use the Forum to express your disappointment in any of the following bullies (assuming you can distinguish them from one another): Fox News Patriots, Bush and friends, corporate America, the radical religous right.

So young Steve hates FOX, republicans, anybody gainfully employed and church goers.

I bet this guy has never done a day of real work or service to others in his life. His site is a trench of narcissism.

Absolutely spot on post!

The sad truth is that J schools have become refuge for math challenged, elitist Lefties.
Of course they hate the military. The are humbled by their courage and sacrafice. I think everyone here is as well. The difference is we admire the troops, we do not resent them.

re: #213 buzzsawmonkey

It all depends whose Oxley is being gored.

Don't start with that bull

re: #159 taxfreekiller

some one send this freek this link,
he needs a real story

[Link: www.usdoj.gov...]

One of the suspects in that bust is Uriel Palacios, the guy who ran from Dallas Police after a traffic stop (DWI) on Labor Day. He then crashed into and killed a newlywed couple.

LOSERS VS. Workers

Worker: "I'm a police officer working on a joint DEA case..."

Loser: "I'm sorry to hear that."

Worker: "I'm a border patrol agent fighting drug dealers and kidnappers."

Loser: "I'm sorry to hear that."

Worker: "I'm a Blackwater contractor that protects supply convoys bringing in food and medicine to vulnerable villages in the Afghanistan."

Loser: "I'm sorry to hear that."

Worker: "As a fireman I run toward fires and save men, women and children."

Loser: "I'm sorry to hear that."

Worker: "You pretty much disgust me."

Loser: "I'm, sorry to hear that."

I just got this email from Obama, 9yes, Scarlet & I are on his contacts list):

The economy hit a new low this week, and in every part of the country, people like you are feeling it.

The recent financial disasters -- from the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the historic drop in the stock market -- are not just a string of bad luck. They are the result of years of bad decisions made in favor of big corporate special interests instead of America's working families...

The "collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac" must have hit Obama particularly hard as they were major contributors to his campaign. But hush, the One has a solution for all this strife:

.

..I'm calling for a $1,000 tax break for middle-class families -- not just because they need help dealing with the rising costs of gas, food, and health care, but also because our economy needs to be reinvigorated from the bottom up, not the top down.

I'm proposing a second stimulus package to save over one million jobs and provide immediate relief to struggling families.

The problem is the US cannot afford either tax cuts nor a major new spending program, and certainly not both. The global credit crisis just removed those options from the next administration, whoever wins the election. The only way Obama can even attempt such a program is to start printing more money and invite rapid inflation.

It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression.

Wake up and smell the coffee. This is how human beings operate. There is no utopia.

re: #147 mikalm

Here's this puke's Web site. Surprise: he's another navel-gazing, snark-addicted auteur.

Diagnosis confirmed: narcissist.

re: #132 livefreeor die

We used to live in the Boston area and have never been surrounded by so much liberal blather. It is such a part of the culture there that I don't see how it can ever be undone. There were alot of nice people too but they were outnumbered by the smug, morally superior, hypocrites that thrive there. The Globe is just playing to their audience.

This supports my theory that the modern left are descendants of the Puritans. You can trace a long line of people who presumed to tell everyone else how to live from Plymouth Rock, through Harvard University, to Bronson Alcott's commune, by way of the abolitionists (a good thing, of course) right to today's nosy leftists who want to ban smoking and transfats and tag at recess. Even when an idea might actually be good, they manage to present it in a smug, schoolmarmish way.

re: #220 Kenneth

Obama will pander to anything and anyone to win this election. McCain should point out this reckless pandering.

re: #213 buzzsawmonkey

It all depends whose Oxley is being gored.

If you think it's someone else's, the yoke's on you.

re: #161 MandyManners

Who the hell made bucks off of Saddam? Who is making them off of ShortShit? The same countries.

Hiya!

Sure, if I understood right (ShortShit=Iran?). But I just do agree with the humanitarian angle in the first half of his article, reflecting on the horror of war and unimpressed with blind patriotism over enforcing ethics. I would say that is the more philosophical part of the article. Further down he starts pointing fingers without any serious backup, and turns out not to be going very deeply into the subject, but as a philosophical premise I can easily agree with what he starts out saying, which is the part Charles quoted.

"Moral oversight"? As if that guy knows anything about morals.

re: #223 doppelganglander

This supports my theory that the modern left are descendants of the Puritans. You can trace a long line of people who presumed to tell everyone else how to live from Plymouth Rock, through Harvard University, to Bronson Alcott's commune, by way of the abolitionists (a good thing, of course) right to today's nosy leftists who want to ban smoking and transfats and tag at recess. Even when an idea might actually be good, they manage to present it in a smug, schoolmarmish way.

I think the Puritans would have been patriots. Also a lot of German and Irish immigrants to Boston area the last 150 years mixing in with the original Puritan stock.

re: #227 Ward Cleaver

"Moral oversight"? As if that guy knows anything about morals.

Only leftists have "Moral authority".

re: #220 Kenneth

The only way Obama can even attempt such a program is to start printing more money and invite rapid inflation.

"Done and done!"

-Obama

This column is an odd mix of true and not-so true.

At least the guy is, for one, being honest about his feelings. Nothing makes my skin crawl more than seeing the likes of Barbara Streisand claim to "support the troops." So he does seem to have a better grasp of the phrase.

And yes, of course any decent citizen -- Christian or otherwise -- feels a certain somberness for any soldier, knowing the possibility he or she might be hurt or killed.

And finally, yes, there have been some fantastic screw-ups in Iraq, including the breathtaking mismanagement of funds that he mentions.

But no -- and this is most important -- heroism isn't a childish grasp for exemption from "violence carried out in our names." What utter bunk. Any such violence isn't for the sake of violence, but rather in an effort toward greater peace; just ask the mutilated people of Rwanda whether they might have preferred some "violence" from the United Nations just before the genocide there. And when the violence isn't toward a greater peace, we arrest, imprison, and sometimes kill the people responsible.

So don't talk down to America, Almond. You hold no exclusive right to moral reason.

Steve Almond, you are an utter and complete asshole

re: #223 doppelganglander

This supports my theory that the modern left are descendants of the Puritans. You can trace a long line of people who presumed to tell everyone else how to live from Plymouth Rock, through Harvard University, to Bronson Alcott's commune, by way of the abolitionists (a good thing, of course) right to today's nosy leftists who want to ban smoking and transfats and tag at recess. Even when an idea might actually be good, they manage to present it in a smug, schoolmarmish way.

Born and reared in New England...couldn't agree with you more...

pussy's like this guy stand by when genocide is going on...as far I am concerned, he can go fuck himself...I'm not trying to get fucked and stand by and be enslaved by other people willing to kill to get that power...

Hey Steve, you're a fucking moron.

re: #227 Ward Cleaver

"Moral oversight"? As if that guy knows anything about morals.

Are you kidding? He's an arbiter of Christian morality. He said so. Didn't you read the column?

re: #220 Kenneth

The only way Obama can even attempt such a program is to start printing more money

And don't you doubt for one miunte that this will be considered an option for an 0bama administration.

re: #226 Dom

Hiya!

Sure, if I understood right (ShortShit=Iran?). But I just do agree with the humanitarian angle in the first half of his article, reflecting on the horror of war and unimpressed with blind patriotism over enforcing ethics.

What ethics aren't being enforced, pray tell?

re: #202 Eowyn2

Washington sees what is happening on the major coastal cities. they do not see what is happening in the burbs, the or the urbs. There may be 50,000 -100,000 new yorker's at a pink rally in central park but what percentage of the 5 burroughs is that? Not to mention the areas within a 2-3 hour drive of NYC? its a pitance.

The same rally format in a town of 40K in middle America MIGHT draw 20 people.

Absolutely correct. Great post.

Metro State College is investigating a professor who asked students to write an essay critical of Republican vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin. One student said the instructor singled out Republican students in the class and allowed others to ridicule them.

[Link: cbs4denver.com...]

And you wonder were the Steve Almonds of this world come from?

re: #231 Cognito

Good post.

Steve Almond writes the following:

And here it's worth making a point often overlooked. Anyone who pays taxes in this country "supports the troops." We're the ones who subsidize their training and equipment and medical care and education.

What is so striking about the sentence above to me? Of all the interviews done with Osama bin Laden prior to 9-11, the one I recall most was in a tent with an ABC reporter in which the turban-headed pig uttered almost the same exact words and rationale as Almond.

It's obvious that Almond is a nut.

re: #236 experiencedtraveller

Welcome back Jimmy Carter. On steroids. 10-15% unemployment, 20% inflation, degraded military, $1 trillion deficits, economic collapse, depression. That's what's in store the next 4 years.

re: #211 Occasional Reader

From your Stevie Almond quote:

It's funny how people are trying to shoehorn in all their favorite pet grievances into "explaining" this week's Wall Street turmoil. Joe Biden thinks that tax cuts caused the Fannie/Freddie/AIG failures, although he can't explain why. Now, Steve Almond thinks the US Marines caused Sarbanes-Oxley, or something like that.

I think he was talking about financial mismanagement in Iraq.

Headline News, CNN just spent the last 15 minutes on the OJ trial. Well, must be a slow news day.

Hotel Lobby television. I can not turn it.

Apparently, this guy, like a good liberal, only wants his opinions and those of the MSM to be available to us-here's an anti-blog article he wrote last year.

Apparently, blogs aren't up to his journalistic "standards".

re: #204 Fat Bastard Vegetarian Uh, thanks. But I just took Mom to get some tests done - no big deal for me!

re: #209 MandyManners

Or, maybe he's like that CBC writer Heather Millikin (?) quoted on the DT who says that God allows hatred of certain people and who downs shots of liquor.

I missed that one. Is she a Muslim?

re: #228 EIDE_Interface

I think the Puritans would have been patriots. Also a lot of German and Irish immigrants to Boston area the last 150 years mixing in with the original Puritan stock.

Of course they would have been, that was back when honor and loyalty to ones country meant something. That and they would actually hang those convicted of treason, not send them back to hollywood.

Obama is lying to Hispanics.

/Rush

Trying to manipulate. What candidate has so much disrespect for a people that he can lie so blatantly for their votes. Saul Lawinski. Stoking racism. He is a disgrace.

If I were a woman I would never date this man. He would stand with his arms crossed while you were being mugged, then write a column about it.

re: #147 mikalm

Here's this puke's Web site. Surprise: he's another navel-gazing, snark-addicted auteur.

Wow, that's a window into a lost soul.

Hi real!

Gorgeous day in NYC - and I'm about to go out and enjoy some of it.

Hope you and yours are well.
;)

"The fact that we have an army, that we need an army, is inherently tragic. It’s an admission that our species is still ruled by fear and aggression."

We need an army because there are regimes out there that are intent on expanding their own interests and taking what does not belong to them - see Russia's invasion of Georgia as exhibit A. We need a military because there are evil regimes that must be stopped before they do more harm and take from us the rights and everything that we hold dear.

See Iran as an example of a regime using religious fundamentalism to further its goals - and using the military to further their Islamic agenda.

That we still have a military is not because it's in our DNA; we have a military because so many other regimes have interests antithetical to the American experiment. They still do whatever they can to undermine the American experiment.

re: #246 realwest

Uh, thanks. But I just took Mom to get some tests done - no big deal for me!

I was referring to Big Steve! Glad you're okay too.

re: #13 cybermonk

who is he calling a "chicken hawk?"

as far as most of us are concerned he is a "chicken shit"

Projecting his narcissistic cowardice onto us.

re: #202 Eowyn2

There may be 50,000 -100,000 new yorker's at a pink rally in central park but what percentage of the 5 burroughs is that?

In fact, many of those areas support conservative values, exemplified by J. Edgar Hoover and Condi Rice. They're known as the Edgar/Rice Burroughs.

re: #249 Rancher

Obama is the worst panderer in American history. Panders on class, race. Missing anything?

re: #205 Irene NYC

there have been exactly how many cases of proven rape, outright murder, pillaging, etc. in 5 years?

There was a case in which soldiers from Ft. Campbell are now serving long sentences.

At least the guy is honest. I wish more lefties were that upfront. Just think if Obama was that upfront about his true belief. He wouldn't have a prayer of being elected.

re: #244 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Headline News, CNN just spent the last 15 minutes on the OJ trial. Well, must be a slow news day.

Hotel Lobby television. I can not turn it.

To them, that's news.

re: #256 Occasional Reader

In fact, many of those areas support conservative values, exemplified by J. Edgar Hoover and Condi Rice. They're known as the Edgar/Rice Burroughs.

groan...

I remember people like this guy from when I was in ROTC. Dirty looks, muttering under breath, negative vibrations. I ignored them, but I know some of the guys got really ticked off about this. Never mind that some of the finest people I've ever known were the guys I met in ROTC.

These troop haters consider themselves better than the troops and have all kinds of reasons for looking down on them that have absolutely nothing to do with war.

re: #235 Occasional Reader

Are you kidding? He's an arbiter of Christian morality. He said so. Didn't you read the column?

I have GOT to get a new

Jesus is coming and BOY IS HE PISSED

bumpersticker, just to keep up with the sudden surge of "spirituality" in this country, specifically the left that worries about blowing up terrorists but applauds abortion of any sort at any time.

re: #243 Cognito

I think he was talking about financial mismanagement in Iraq.

Yep, my mistake.

re: #205 Irene NYC
Hey, hi Irene! "Why defend any part of this piece of sh*t?" Let's see.............well there's, no, not that.
Or maybe............no absolutely not that.
Yup, you're correct, no reason to defend this piece of shit! (sorry, I hate using * when the word works so much better without them!).

re: #256 Occasional Reader

In fact, many of those areas support conservative values, exemplified by J. Edgar Hoover and Condi Rice. They're known as the Edgar/Rice Burroughs.

Groan.

what a douche

re: #258 MandyManners

There was a case in which soldiers from Ft. Campbell are now serving long sentences.

One case, eh? In a population of between 100,000 and 150,000?

I stand corrected. Not.
;)

re: #247 doppelganglander

Heather Malik is deranged Canadian moonbat "journalist".