Wow Neo.  I thought that was pretty articulate and compelling!

Surprises the hell out of me, coming from someone from a military background, but I guess that says something about my tendency to paint with a broad brush.

Wow.

Four years of Lincoln-Douglas debate can do many things. One, it provides one with the knowledge that an eloquent presentation of any argument is worth review. Two, it allows an individual to create a moral vaccuum in order to view any matter without prejudice. Finally, it allows one to advance an argument based soley on its individual merits.

As for a military background, I failed to read some of John’s posts and had no idea he is a 22 year Navy veteran. For that, I applaud him. I have the utmost respect for our nation’s veterans, and although we may disagree in principle, I know we both wish for nothing more than the honor and the privilege of serving our country.

John:

“Would we still be sitting here waiting for the next Iraqi financed attack?”

You have proven yourself to be an uninformed parrot/pawn of the Rovian Revolution. And thus not worthy of any attention on this blog. How about Saudi financed attack? That would be infinitely more accurate.

Go sell crazy somewhere else we are full up here!

“Would we still be sitting here waiting for the next Iraqi financed attack?”

Way to provide the evidence that the Bush-supporters are uninformed, or rather misinformed.

“You have proven yourself to be an uninformed parrot/pawn of the Rovian Revolution. And thus not worthy of any attention on this blog. How about Saudi financed attack? That would be infinitely more accurate.

Go sell crazy somewhere else we are full up here!”

Well said Eggman.

I feel compelled to respond to all with a little information not known to the general public but first I must respond to Neo.
Neo, Your family has obviously distinguished themselves as honorable servants of our great nation in their various services. Your ambition to join them in service of your country is at the utmost admirable. Good luck shipmate. You and yours have my most honorable respect. Myself, a veteran and still serving in a civilian capacity, have seen the might of the US on more than 1 occasion, Libya, Iran, Red Sea, Gulf War and with 9-11 was deeply involved in the security of our nations east coast ports. Unfortunately, due to certain reasons, I cannot go into details. That said, I can say there are numerous bits of information that the general public hasn’t seen or heard with respect to 9-11, Al Quada, etc. Yes, Bin Laden is Saudi. Yes his money came from Saudi oil, but there are and were other interests involved that are still unknown to the general public and probably never be released.
As for me being an “uninformed parrot/pawn of the Rovian Revolution”, I do not sit around following the democratic based media and the biased information they put out. Although they may give out tid bits, they do not provide the “full story”. Research is required of which I happily conduct when time permits.
If you read all of my posts you will see and I will repeat for you again, I do not question Kerry’s service record, nor do I question Bush’s. Neither of their records are spotless. Both have issues with their service in the military. Nor do I agree with Neo that protesting a unjust war should label you a traitor. Kerry did many other things, which are common knowledge and can be found if you look for it, in addition to his protesting of the war. I personally know quit a few Vietnam veterans, have heard their stories and agree most times with them. Many will tell you that Kerry did not represent their best interests at home and hurt them more than helped them.
Do I agree with the Iraq War. Can’t really say yes or no. Some issues, which compelled us to attack, were valid. Some have proven not. BUT, I myself, due to my position as a veteran, stand behind the decisions of My president and Congress, who I might remind all of you voted to give the President permission to proceed with this war. Democrats and Republicans alike voted to do this. I do not have the numbers in front of me but if memory serves me, it was not a close vote in either the House or the Senate.

I must say, after Bush’s press confrerence today, as a young person & a teacher, I’m optimistic about fixing SS & our schools

John- You say you “feel compelled to respond to all with a little information not known to the general public”.  Fine- we’re all ears.  Do you have information that vindicates Bush’s decision to invade Iraq? Not only do we “fucking stupid people with our heads up our asses” (I guess you mean liberals by this) want to know, but the 9/11 Commission, the Republicans, and even Bush would love to have had a better justification for the war than they’ve offered us so far.

But what is this information?  “...there are and were other interests involved that are still unknown to the general public and probably never be released.” So, you’re saying that Saddam’s support for Al Quaeda, or his WMD’s, or something else really evil about Iraq, is a Military Secret?  Right.  This is exactly the sort of thing the Administration really has to keep under wraps.

Standing behind the decisions of the President and Congress is fine, if the decisions are good ones.  If they are demonstrably bad, or disastrous as in this case, then such patriotism is not necessarily a good position.  One might even argue (although one would probably have to be a “liberal” to do so) that a lot of misery we humans have inflicted on ourselves could have been avoided if more people had followed their conscience and not their leaders.