My reply...

All right…now we’re debating!! I’ve got to confess…I love this shit…even though we won’t change each other’s minds…here goes!!

Please tell me you were joking or egging me on with your Germany theory…I don’t see how you can credibly present that theory in today’s world…but here goes in case you’re serious…
Germany is one of the strongest economic members of the EU & a war would seriously threaten their economic & political well-being. They did have a history of starting 2 world wars (over 60 years ago btw!!)…but the stimulus for both were poor economic conditions…the direct opposite of their affairs today. Obviously, Germany and all nations in the world are feeling the effects of the global recession but I do not see how a political party in Germany gains a majority and sufficient momentum to start a regional conflict that could escalate to global?!?!

You’re right about the retaliation part…even more reason to not make decisions in anger & think of the long-term ramifications of our actions.

I missed how we got onto genocide & its effectiveness? Just because something is effective does not warrant a positive argument for it. That’s where your religious morals should kick in…

I disagree on your religion argument. Religious faith is a vehicle to find peace or meaning in your life. If that’s what you need, then more power to you. Why must I believe in God to recognize and defend against a religion, cult, or group that is devoted to my demise? Likewise, hope, confidence and faith are not exclusively the domain of religion. I can have hope that I will prosper & succeed in my endeavors, have confidence in my natural abilities, & have faith that my wife & children will always be there for me without being religious in any way.
I am not demeaning your faith in any way…I respect all religious people & feel they have every right to believe in whomever God or Gods they find comfort in. My issue with religions is when they tell their faithful that their religion is “the one” or even worse…”recruit!! Save the ignorant!!”

If there is a God I believe he is truly benevolent…so if I live my life correctly he will accept me when the time comes whether or not I was baptized or made a pilgrimage or whatever the current price of admission is…

The American dream is a paradox. We all romanticize how we could be that hard working…sweat on the brow…honest man that works extra hard & gets the American dream by owning his own business & making millions. That just doesn’t happen…only 16% of Americans own their own business (the majority of those are private practice firms of lawyers, doctors, & accountants). That means 84% of Americans work for someone else & a total of 30% of all Americans (1 in 3) work for a corporation (larger than 50 employees).
So the government is not taxing the shit out all those Americans…only those that have disposable income…the good of the many outweigh the good few. I would be interested in how many of the people on your email list are NOT getting a tax credit or some type of tax relief under the stimulus bill just passed?!?!

I agree 100% with you on the carriers…but do we need 11 in commission with 3 more being built? I realize that 1 or 2 are always being retrofitted in dry dock but come on…America doesn’t need to patrol every sea all the time to be safe. 9/11 was cause by 19 guys on commercial jets…U.S. Fleet carriers were all over the world that day…for what?

I keep repeating this…I DO NOT WANT TO GET RID OF OUR MILITARY…just to realistically assess the threats & tailor our military to be able to respond effectively to those threats:

---We are currently fighting insurgencies by going door-to door & destroying IEDs but the Army has spent over $35 billion & ten years on a state of the art battle management system (FCS) that links vehicles & commanders & planes & artillery & God himself to fight as an effective “power brigade”…?!?!?! By the way…it’s still not ready to be field tested!!

---We have the F-22 raptor that has been in progress since 1994 & as of 2006 had cost a total of $62 billion. We now have almost 100 of them at $361 million each but…and this amazes me…it still has not flown a single real world combat mission!!! Don’t worry though…we already have $10 billion invested in the F-35 Lightening II program that’s designed to replace the F-22!!!

You mentioned something about the government taxing the shit out of Americans…whatever could they be spending that money on?!?!?!

Over to you my friend…