Brave America, facing down the bad man all by itself again. You know the Americans single-handedly fought the bosch, Johnny Jap and Tommy Turk too! They alone won WWI and WWII, not to mention Korea and oh wait, not quite Vietnam, but they were alone there too, just like they have been in Iraq and Afghanistan, of course. I’ve seen it on the movies. they are awesome!
HG
[quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]
Sorry, any European complaining or commenting about American military spending should go directly to jail, should not pass go, and should not collect $200. Part of why Europeans were able to grow so decadent in the latter half of the 20th Century was because America picked up the tab for the military spending they wouldn’t pay for with their own armies that should have been deterring the Soviet Union and its satellite states.[/quote]
I dislike the European ignorance when it comes to the US as well, but you’re off the mark here. The US military in Europe was more about protecting American interests than European ones. Europe was in the middle of the cold war, not turning a blind eye to it, and the American Empire would not be what it is today without the cold war. The US had more to lose with the spread of communism than any other country as it is in direct competition to the capitalist ideal which is the very reason the US army is what it is to keep the US profitable by championing capitalism and democracy.
Simple question, when did conscription end in the US? When did it end in most European democracies?
HG
[quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Simple question, when did conscription end in the US? When did it end in most European democracies?
HG[/quote]
1975
I just graduated from high school and went down to register for the draft and they told me I didn’t have to.
[quote=“Dr. McCoy”][quote=“Huang Guang Chen”]Simple question, when did conscription end in the US? When did it end in most European democracies?
HG[/quote]
1975
I just graduated from high school and went down to register for the draft and they told me I didn’t have to.[/quote]
They lied to you, Doc.
[quote]Register for the Draft: It’s Still the Law
Males 18 through 25 are required to register
The Selective Service System wants you to know that the requirement to register for the military draft did not go away with the end of the Vietnam War. Under the law, virtually all male U.S. citizens, and male aliens living in the U.S., who are ages 18 through 25, are required to register with Selective Service.
Since there is no draft currently in effect, and men are not being classified for service, disabled men, clergymen, and men who believe themselves to be conscientiously opposed to war must also register.
Penalties for Failure to Register for the Draft
Men who do not register could be prosecuted and, if convicted, fined up to $250,000 and/or serve up to five years in prison. In addition, men who fail to register with Selective Service before turning age 26, even if not prosecuted, will become ineligible for:
* Student Financial Aid - including Pell Grants, College Work Study, Guaranteed Student/Plus Loans, and National Direct Student Loans.
* U.S. Citizenship - if the man first arrived in the U.S. before his 26th birthday.
* Federal Job Training - The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) offers programs that can train young men for jobs in auto mechanics and other skills. This program is only open to those men who register with Selective Service.
* Federal Jobs - men born after December 31, 1959 must be registered to be eligible for jobs in the Executive Branch of the Federal government and the U.S. Postal Service.
In addition, several states have added additional penalties for those who fail to register.
[/quote]
[quote=“spook”][quote]Register for the Draft: It’s Still the Law
Males 18 through 25 are required to register
The Selective Service System wants you to know that the requirement to register for the military draft did not go away with the end of the Vietnam War. Under the law, virtually all male U.S. citizens, and male aliens living in the U.S., who are ages 18 through 25, are required to register with Selective Service.
[/quote][/quote]
You can register as a conscientious objector. I did.
What I don’t get is…if registration is compulsory, why doesn’t the government just automatically register all young men? Why do you have to sign up, if you have no choice?
Also, wouldn’t required registration for men but not for women be sex discrimination?
I find the entire Selective Service concept to be anti- :braveheart: .
[quote=“Deuce Dropper”][quote=“GuyInTaiwan”]
Sorry, any European complaining or commenting about American military spending should go directly to jail, should not pass go, and should not collect $200. Part of why Europeans were able to grow so decadent in the latter half of the 20th Century was because America picked up the tab for the military spending they wouldn’t pay for with their own armies that should have been deterring the Soviet Union and its satellite states.[/quote]
I dislike the European ignorance when it comes to the US as well, but you’re off the mark here. The US military in Europe was more about protecting American interests than European ones. Europe was in the middle of the cold war, not turning a blind eye to it, and the American Empire would not be what it is today without the cold war. The US had more to lose with the spread of communism than any other country as it is in direct competition to the capitalist ideal which is the very reason the US army is what it is to keep the US profitable by championing capitalism and democracy.[/quote]
I’m not actually suggesting American foreign policy has ever been motivated by altruism. No country ever acts in anything other than its own self-interests.
America did not have more to lose with the spread of communism than any other country. That flies in the face of what happened in Eastern Europe. I’d say the Hungarians in 1956, amongst others, would dispute your claim. America’s interests were at threat, but other nations’ very sovereignties or existences were at threat. There were plenty of European nations that came right down to the wire in the Cold War including Finland, Austria, Greece and even Italy, and obviously West Berlin.
My point is simply that American interests aside, America being in (and protecting) Western Europe allowed Europeans to spend money on other things (such as social programmes) because they didn’t have to bear the full burden of funding the required military to deter the U.S.S.R. There can be more than one outcome (protecting American interests, defending European sovereignty) from one action (American military funding to Europe). It’s not either/or.
Man, I knew expats were haters, but this is ridiculous. I mean, I get the fact that you’re all leftists, but my god, these people are not all ignorant morons. If you can’t recognize that at the very least, the people participating in these protests have a valid point, then I feel sorry for you. I’m not an old guy, so I’ve only really lived under a Republican President with a Republican congress, but is this really how the Left acts once in power? You guys are pathetic. The hate and hostility in the big media and among the expat community is disgusting. What the hell is wrong with you guys. I remember the Iraq war protests and I sure as hell remember the media coverage and it sure as hell was not like this. I didn’t live overseas then, but I’m sure all you pompous leftists weren’t posting like this about them.
Okay, getting back to the OP My impression of the protests is that it was caused by the outrageous bailouts and stimulus bill. The final text of the stimulus bill was presented and within 48 hours it was passed. This was a bill of several thousand pages with a budge of almost a trillion dollars, and most law-makers didn’t read it all. Obama said that if the bill was not passed promptly that America faced a grave threat of economic collapse. The outrage for the tea party protests started on that day. You can make ad hominem attacks on the protesters all you want, but you’re ignoring the fact that government spending is out of control. The deficit in Obama’s first few months of office is triple that of under Bush. This is very pertinent to the Taiwan situation because the money that is paying for this is coming from China. The protests had their share of wackos, sure, but we need some catalyst to get out of the spiraling debt. Okay, so that’s my $.02
Two reasons.
Firstly, the act of compliance is itself a form of social conditioning.
Secondly (partly arising from the first, but also an objective in its own right), requiring active compliance implies acceptance, and therefore lends legitimacy. In Australia, there is compulsory voting. I fundamentally disagree with the concept of voting (and I also don’t support anyone who would ever get elected, so it wouldn’t matter even if I did believe in voting), especially the preferential voting system in Australia where every candidate must be numbered, so eventually my vote would go to one of the major parties, both of whom I loathe. However, to not be registered to vote and to not vote in elections whilst residing in Australia is punishable by a fine. For the better part of the past decade (some time of which I have been overseas), I have been unregistered and during that time, I managed to evade being fined. My father has often spoilt his ballot and has always told me to do the same, but that’s just more of the same. That implies legitimacy on the part of the politicians. I know for sure that it largely doesn’t matter what I do, since those crooks will feather their own nests, so why pretend they have a right to exist, which is what spoiling one’s ballot still does.
Sorry, can we say U.S.A. Patriot Act? Same rhetoric, same idiots in power (yes, the Republicans and Democrats are the same crooks in the F.U. Party) feathering their own nests and telling people what’s good for them. I’m not sure whether to be amused, bored or disgusted by the way in which these partisan mobs turn a blind eye when their mob is in power and squeal like stuck pigs when the other mob are in power.
If you’re out of Aust for more than 12 months, you can legally be removed from the electoral register.
cfimages: The AEC never really managed to track me down anyway. They sent me some warnings at one residence. I don’t know if they were planning on following them up, but I moved anyway for other reasons, and then six months or so after that, I came to Taiwan. I have virtually no plans to move back to Australia at any point in the conceivable future. Presumably if I moved back to Australia, they’d surely want to put me back on their list anyway as I’d most likely be registered somewhere for the purposes of paying tax, health coverage, even utility bills, etc.
Numbers from the Tea Party rallies are starting to some in. Good initial turn-outs with people of all demographics attending and speaking their minds.
Good overview with links to specifics here:
1 million attend tea parties in 50 states -
‘Obama has awakened a sleeping giant’
“An estimated 1 million Americans participated in at least 1,000 tea parties, according to reports by organizers tabulating the nationwide numbers, with documented protests held in 50 states.”
1 million…out of 300 million.
All sad dupes and nutcases.
What a load of horseshit. That’s an average of 1,000 participants per tea party. I doubt more than a dozen saw that many people show up.
Still, someone is playing with fire. Imagine the result if these astroturf protests actually take root: anyone with an interest in responsible gov’t will be having conniptions. Oh it might be fun for a while, but then, so were the Paris banquets.
What exactly are these idiots supposed to be protesting, anyway? Especially since Obama will be lowering taxes for pretty much everyone taking part in the protests.
Something about tea, which is sort of odd given I thought most Americans preferred coffee.
HG
The sleeping giant has awoken!
Did someone just unironically link and quote WorldNetDaily?