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Group Combats Military Recruitment In Schools
EAST WENATCHEE - The "counter recruiters" are on a mission; their fight is over the military's access to students at school.
Marion Ward, president of the Seattle-based group Washington Truth in Recruiting. (Photo: Rachel Schleif) "Is it the mission of schools to provide for the national defense? That's the question," said Marion Ward, president of Washington Truth in Recruiting.
The Seattle-area non-profit held its second workshop this year in East Wenatchee, trying to warn parents about a little-known requirement of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The federal law mandates schools to release student contact information - addresses, cell and home phone numbers - upon the request of military recruiters. Schools that refuse risk losing federal funding.
Schools must also honor opt-out requests from students and parents who want their names left off the list.
"To me, this is just as important as the abortion issue or teaching evolution; it's a core moral issue," said Todd Boyle, a Kirkland father and WATIR member. "The schools' job is to provide my student an education, not to introduce them to outside agencies, especially military recruiters."
The group told seven parents, activists and educators at the workshop Saturday about some tactics military recruiters use statewide: Taking students off campus to treat them for lunch, dinner or paintball; setting up rock-climbing walls at schools or local parks; becoming involved in after-school sports to form relationships with children; or taking students out of class to a military-themed trailer parked outside the school.
Local military recruiters say they carry out their duty with integrity and respect, and they include families as much as possible.
"We don't want parents to believe we're stealing their kids away without telling them," said Sgt. 1st Class Alejandro Fierro, the Army's head recruiter in Chelan and Douglas counties. "It's important to us to invite the parents and see what they believe."
The Navy, Marines, Air Force Army and state National Guard have recruiters based in the Wenatchee Valley. The branches operate separately from each other.
No military recruiters attended the meeting Saturday; they were interviewed earlier that week.
"They have the right to assemble," Fierro said Thursday. "That's why we're in this uniform, to give people that right. I'm all for it."
The active-duty Army has the largest recruiting force, with three officers covering schools from Chelan to Leavenworth.
The Army will typically recruit three students a year from larger schools, such as Eastmont and Wenatchee, and one from smaller high schools.
"The young people we recruit, when 9/11 happened they were 11 and 12," Fierro said. "All they know is a country at war."
Recruiters typically visit schools about once a month, where they stand around and wait for students to approach them, Fierro said. Recruiters also visit the mall and other places kids hang out.
They'll also cold-call students at home, and if they're not interested recruiters won't call again.
"There's no need to embellish. Everything can be checked in our policies or the Web site," Fierro said. "We tell them up front, there's a 60- to 70-percent chance you're going to Iraq."
At Wenatchee and Eastmont high schools, each military branch is allowed to set up a table in the commons area once a month, on separate days if they choose. Recruiters also attend events such as open house, career fairs and Veteran's Day.
Wenatchee High School will notify parents of opting out of the military's directory in every monthly Panther Paws newsletter this year, guidance counselor Mary Parsley said Friday.
About 20 Wenatchee students already submitted opt-out letters this school year, Parsley said.
Wenatchee parent Mike Bangs said his son opted out as a freshmen and hasn't received a recruiter phone call since.
"My son is a sophomore and high school I've talked to him for years and his friends," Bangs said at the workshop on Saturday. He said he told his son: "Don't just sign up without telling me you've studied history and understand the people who have the authority to put you in harm's way, and also allow you the ability to kill others. Understand their reasons. Would you support them if you really knew?"
Laura Jaecks, a Wenatchee School Board member and parent, said she respected WATIR's views but her experience was different.
"On the positive side of military recruiters, my son was very focused on being a Marine," Jaecks said. "Through his experience of having exposure to the different recruiters, what he found was the Marines were not really in alignment with what his values are and what he wanted to do."
Her son is an airman first class in the Air Force Special Forces, Pararescue unit.
At Eastmont, the opt-out is announced over the daily bulletin, Principal Mark Marney said Thursday. About 12 students opted out this year.
"We've never had complaints," Marney said. "We don't put them in classroom and we don't interrupt school day for them. They come during lunch hours when kids have freedom to partake or walk away."
97 Comments so far
Show All"... a country at war" That statement alone pains me. At war with whom? The invasion of a non-threatening country for its oil reserves and to establish military bases to project Bush's imperilistic policies? At war with a hnadful of terrorists responsible for the only terrorist attck on U.S. who could be anywhere EXCEPT where the U.S. has troops? At war against a vague threat of 'terrorists' who have killed less Americans in the past five years than lightning has?
The recruiters should be honest and tell the potential soldiers something along these lines...
"How would you like to have universal healthcare, a guaranteed pension, free prescription drugs, a guaranteed job for life, clothing and shelter provided, all-you-can-eat, benefits for your spouse and children and a free education? All you have to do is help us destroy countries that want the same things for themselves!
The reality is corporate America is in a war with other corporations and national governments. They have shareholders to answer to and the geniuses in their boardrooms have decided that waging perpetual war to secure oil and other resources can be very, very profitable. But they need loyal kids who are willing to blow up people in far off lands to achieve these objectives. Now you can actually murder weird looking people who talk funny with zero consequences while getting paid in the process. And by the way, you'll never have to defend your country because no one is threatening us. In fact the US spends more on their military that the rest of the world combined. But if you want, you can fool yourself and pretend that you're fighting to defend our way of freedom. We do it all the time!
I'm sure all you kid’s have watched lots of movies and TV and know that killing bad guys is cool. Let us determine who the bad guys are and I promise you we will give you lots of targets to shoot at. It's like a video game... except with million dollar toys! It's a dog-eat-dog world out there and unless you want to join the army to serve Exxon and Halliburton, you'll never get the type of socialist benefits in your own country that the rest of the developed world regularly provides to all of their citizens.
Oh, one last thing, we don't care if you get hammered all the time guzzling corporate beer and whiskey, but if you dare smoke a joint or use any drugs that corporate America doesn't endorse, we'll throw your ass in jail, take away all of your benefits and kick you out once you've served your time.
So are you ready to join?"
Maybe the truth wouldn’t be an effective recruiting tool afterall.
MMhehmm, chew, slurp, gnaw, gnaw, crack of bone, echhhcechh, slup.
When do I get another stripe, Sarge? And since I got dis here gun, locked and loaded, I know ya'all ain't gonna tell me anotha fuckin' yeara. Right, Sarge?
By the way, where's my ration of single malt Islay Scotch?
Excellently stated, SpaceCadet.
There is a more realistic and achievable approach offering a counter point to the "sermons" the recruiters give. These "sermons" to young people of the middle and lower income families who are serving in a disproportionate level in the "all volunteer" forces, are meant to appeal to the "patriotism", and then the needs these recruits will have when they graduate from HS---job training, college etc.
Require---through whatever means necessary----each of those young people who are usually herded into an auditorium to listen to the recruiters--------to spend an equal amount of time at a Veteran Affairs Medical Center. You could train as a highly paid specialist----or a PhD---- and if your legs,or arms, or face are blown off----you might as well have not taken the training---if you will be dependent upon the VA for future medical care----you are in serious trouble.
If knowledge is power---and information is knowledge---then give them ALL of the information they would need to make a decision.
We, as Veterans for Peace do all of your suggestions and much more. When you listen to men/women that put boots-to-ground and know what is for real real the kids listen because these are people that have been and done shameful egregious acts and we spend our lives trying to show people we do know and try to listen to us just give us a way in and we will give you truth. It doesn't mean we are good and this erases our atrocities it means we never want you to experience it.
Peace
RLH
VFP
BillofRights
I went numb the other day when my 13 year old nephew who lives in the South told me the US is fighting communists in Iraq, and that he wants to join the military once he gets out of high school.
The recruiters are just waiting to close the deal when this kid enters high school.
That's chilling. Ignorance kills.
Yes...the Islamists are more dangerous than the Communists...Communists weren't that fanatical...and I think most given the chance would have become capitalists
.Indeed, the thirty or so thousand radical fundamentalists that are members of AlQaeda and related extremist groups are very dangerous, to everyone including the 1.4 billion peaceful followers of Islam.
Equally dangerous are extremists in this nation who use the presence of such Islamist extremism to advance an equally dangerous extremism of their own. Ever since the events of 9/11 we have seen these dangerous extremists in our own government, abetted by those who think with their testosterone instead of their intellect, shred our constitution, endanger our democratic processess and use every opportunity to increase the anger of those who would do us harm in order to continue to loot our treasury and keep our population fearful and docile.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
Dear SnowWolf:
"Oceania is at war with Eastasia. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia."
- George Orwell, "1984"
"Is it the mission of schools to provide for the national defense?"
Translation:
Is it the mission of schools to provide cannon fodder for the M/I/I complex?
So 'ezechair,'
What was that you were saying about a draft? Your drool escaping your flaccid lips as you leer at the victims inability to escape the superimposed death knell from the uninvolved, coarseness of a dead culture and the reptiles that feed off the corpses?
Quote from this article:
“To me, this is just as important as the abortion issue or teaching evolution; it's a core moral issue," said Todd Boyle, a Kirkland father and WATIR member.”
It seems to me that this is a far more important issue than abortion. Our sons and daughter are fully formed human beings in the prime of their lives. I find it odd how many people are against abortion, calling it murder, but don’t object to military recruitment, which surely is murder on a much larger scale. I applaud Todd Boyle for admitting that it is at least as important. But I wish he had stated that it was more important.
This reminds of a wonderful bumper sticker I have seen on a couple occasions:
"Oh, look honey! Another pro-lifer for war!"
Too often, discussions of military recruitment lack an adequate context.
So, allow me to ask this question: Would recruitment on college campuses (high schools?) be appropriate IF you agreed with the ways in which the military was being used?
In the current context, all efforts should be made to block military recruitment because the military is being used for illicit purposes. Regardless of how patriotic or how well-meaning those who join the military may be, that does NOT change the reality that the US military has been used as an empire-building force against sovereign nations and against the best interests of the American people. Recruiting the young, who are too often indoctrinated with pro-US propaganda in our public and private schools, is unconscionable.
But such discussions are too easy. Is military recruiting on campuses ALWAYS wrong? Is military recruiting of the young ALWAYS wrong?
Would a militant resistance organization formed to resist the imposition of martial law in the US be wrong for seeking supporters on college campuses? Would foreign countries trying to resist an occupation by US forces be wrong to recruit troops on their college campuses?
Pacifists might well oppose military recruitment of any person for any reason. It's not clear, however, that military recruitment of either high school students or college students should be viewed as inherently evil. One might argue that such determinations should be made based on the morality or immorality of the government controlling the military.
Comments?
This sort of thing has always perplexed me...
I guess I'm biased...I had a reasonably good 20 year Military Career that I am proud of...
SOMEBODY has to defend America...they whined about stopping the draft and getting an All Volunteer Force and now they seem to be saying they don't want that either...
I have no problem with presenting alternative views to Military Service...I do get offended when they try to throw the recruiters off campus though
we are either going to have a draft or a volunteer force...we are not NOT going to have a Military...that would be preposterous
"This sort of thing has always perplexed me..."
I suspect you are perplexed because, overall, you see the US military as a force for good and not a force for evil. Read books like Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" or Chalmers Johnson's "The Sorrows of Empire" or even John Perkins' "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" and perhaps, whether you agree with them or not, you will no longer be perplexed as to why others hold the opinions they do.
"I had a reasonably good 20 year Military Career that I am proud of..."
It always concerns me when someone personalizes the discussion in this way. I surmise from your statement that you believe your military service contributed, even in a small way, to what was good for the US and the values of its people. While I respect your good intentions, and I do NOT criticize you for "serving your country", my belief is that the US military, in many circumstances, has been a force for empire and evil. The criticism comes, not against those who serve, but rather against those who define the missions.
I noted your comment above about "Islamists." Why do you think these "Islamists" chose to attack the US? Do they hate us because most Americans follow a different religion? Do they hate us because we have a culture they don't approve of? That's the kind of nonsense that was sold to the American people. Notice that they didn't attack Thailand or India or Bolivia. The US was attacked because it is an empire that deploys its military into sovereign nations for the purpose of exploiting foreign peoples and their resources.
"SOMEBODY has to defend America..." Yes, somebody does. The first step in defending American has to be to stop the recruitment and deployment of "empire forces" that have made all of us far less safe. I'm all for a strong defense ... a very strong defense. To argue that the US military has been assembled and deployed for DEFENSIVE purposes, however, badly fails to understand our history. The US military is an offensive force ... a very offensive force.
It is not clear exactly what the appropriate size of military forces should be. What is clear, however, is that a truly defensive force would be many multiples smaller than the current offensive, two war troop levels we currently have.
"They whined about stopping the draft and getting an All Volunteer Force and now they seem to be saying they don't want that either..."
Whined??? Is that really necessary??? Many of us "exercised our Constitutional rights", as good citizens should, to protest the draft. We did so for many reasons. The main reason, however, was that the draft was being used to wage the war in Vietnam. Suffice it to say that we saw that war as immoral. Suffice it to say that we saw the horrible things that were being done to the Vietnamese people. Suffice it to say that we saw the war as a profit-making, pro-corporate enterprise. Suffice it to say that we saw that war ripping apart our own country and lessening our standing in the world.
To call speaking out against such wrongs "whining" is most unfortunate.
thats your opinion and you are entitled to it...
I have had this argument many times with people on the left...They love to say that the Military takes advantage of Poor people and Minorities...but if you check your statistics you'll find that we were primarily from the middle class...and always have been..
and as much as even I don't l;ike it...there are going to be more wars...regardless of who is elected in november...the world is at one of those tipping points it seems to come to every 50 years or so
The issue I raised did not reference the exploitation of "poor people and minorities" in the US military although I don't necessarily disagree with the premise. The far larger point is the damage done to this country and to the cause of international peace and cooperation by those who deploy the US military for illicit purposes. The fact that you can always find mercenaries for a price is hardly comforting. That the poorer classes can be had at discounted rates or bribed with an education is also not comforting.
I don't at all disagree with your statement that "there are going to be more wars...regardless of who is elected in november." Obama and McCain are falling all over each other to see who will spend more on the military, build a larger military, and continue the "war on terrorism." Where I suspect we strongly disagree, however, is whether the current wars are justified and whether the future wars are inevitable.
While the world, indeed, might be "at one of those tipping points", it is only there because globalized, greedy interests, empowered by the strength of the military, hold far too much power. A world, badly overpopulated and severely short of resources, need not choose war as its only method of conflict resolution.
Until more of us understand that we must "live within our means", i.e., we must build sustainable systems (e.g. agricultural, economic, energy, etc), war may indeed be inevitable. Greed, empowered by an ill-informed electorate and an ill-informed military, is destroying our country and our planet. I don't blame most of those in the military for that any more than I blame citizens who fail to learn and who fail to participate beyond mere voting. I see it as my job, and our job, to awaken them. I do, however, blame those who exploit their ignorance. When the guillotines are ready, let us ensure that it is they who get the first haircuts.
"...the world is at one of those tipping points it seems to come to every 50 years or so"
Are you circling a black hole or something equally massive and dense, such as the president's head? We seem to be at war once or twice every decade. My how time just flies. Always an excuse. The domino theory for the Vietnam, bogus. Fighting terrorism now, bogus also. You don't stop terrorism by inflicting terror on other people, especially when they had nothing to do with it in the first place. And before you start talking about 9/11, know this: 9/11 was a crime, not an act of war. It should have been treated as a crime. What do you do with criminals? You hunt them down, take them alive, hopefully and PROSECUTE them. You don't bomb people who had nothing to do with the criminal act in the first place. How does dropping a bomb on a neighborhood, or a wedding, for example, help catch Osama bin Laden? Most people seem to forget that the US had a golden opportunity to negotiate with the Taliban to turn bin Laden over to us and all they wanted was just some proof that we could connect the event to him. Proof as in the sense of just enough to warrant an indictment. But your commander-in-thief refused. Wasn't even willing to have a small chat. Just wasn't interested. We could have gotten permission to send in special teams to hunt him down and bring him to justice, in just about any country he chose to locate himself in but it was more important to build that pipeline across Afghanistan, to liberate those oppressed oil fields in Iraq. And the idiot in the oval office, and the two chief knuckleheads vying to take his place are looking to do the same to other countries, ie. Iran, Syria...
People say that we should honor the troops. I could see that when we had conscription and a person didn't have a choice in the matter. But with this all-volunteer army, they are choosing to learn to kill other people and then going out and doing so. Yes, in many cases the recruiters aren't completely forthright to their victims, I mean potential soldiers, which is how they see high school students, not as people; people who could die and people who they will be sending off to kill other people. But it is still a choice, and IMHO they made the worst possible choice. Nothing is more precious than life and it should not be squandered eliminating the lives of others.
Don't be stealin' my lines!:)
snowflake,
Get real, duder. No military dunce knows his right from his left and vice versa. It is an established fact. If they could, they would have made that right turn, before the inductee/re-enlistment office, leading to the Rectory of Franciscan monks and became whatever it is those dudes do without weapons, stripes, dormitories with 87 radios playing 87 stations amid other technological 'mind massages' full of mass pablum.
No? Besides, the only poor people and minorities the military takes advantage of are the poor SOB it kills in some backward humble home that stopped 600,000 Russian troops and armament!
Yet the chimp retard 'decider' of this clusterfuck of rubes, thinks he and his minion generals, who can add and subtract, can conquer the world with Jesus on his shoulder and enough toilet paper for wiping his face of the shit he eats daily.
Ahh, was I too coarse of tongue? Well, living through 8 years of documented criminal behavior from the most powerful mental dwarf on the planet tends to make a sane man short of politeness to the repetition of rightwing snotnosed shitheads spewing their vomit, their lame attempts at intimidation like their coward of a leader and his dead 'Jesus' bobblehead.
Is that pretty clear to you trolls?
Are you military, or contractor? Cause, I think that there is a big difference.
.None so blind...
Currently the military recruits in South America more zealously than it does here. The military has always been populated by those in need of job training or those who cannot find a job in the civilian sector, as well as those whose families consider it a tradition to serve.
Noone with any sense castigates the rank and file, many of us on the left served as well. My own service led me to my progressive politics in fact. Using patriotism as an excuse to blind yourself to the way our military has been missused by the leaders of this nation serves noone and accomplishes nothing.
.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
It was a mistake to get rid of the draft. Senator Gravel is making up for that mistake with his National Initiative for Democracy.
Well I guess I need to point out that it was the anti-military "Left" that urged an end to the Draft...and an All Volunteer Force...which is what they got...
in fact they got the most professional and best trained Military in the History of Earth...One might Argue that Sparta had that title but Spartans weren't volunteers...they were born into it.
The Military doesn't want a draft because they know it would degrade it...so good luck with that one...
I think every young person coming out of High School but not wanting College should volunteer for 3 or 4 years ...I see them daily...they grow...they get responsible...they get pride and self esteem...yeah it can be a dangerouns job but probably not the most dangerous...
O.K. 'Snowflake,'
On a few conditions, you ready?
Disease-free prostitutes three times a month, paid for by the religious right televangical daily collections via any media.
Primo food from world famous chefs, paid for by right wing Christians and Congress persons,
Unlimited supply of single malt, Islay Scotch.
Good to excellent smoke,:)
No interference from any green horn 2nd and 1st Lts.
Automatic Commissioned Officer at the rank of Captain and above status for any person absconded by the gov. with a B.A./B.S. degree. Any person with an advanced degree is brought in with at least a Major rank or higher. No bootcamp, no O.C.S., no humiliation by 'bend over, spread'em' exams, 24 hour drill marching and physical training, increased ration of single malt, Islay Scotch and increased THC ration and quality 'Spiffies.'
How's that for a start? Oh, yeah, and at least a salary of $6000.00 Euros a month with full med, dental, 80% retirement after 3 years, full legal representation for any and all transactions, free gasoline for life, solar powered housing being architecturally designed by non-military architects...let's see, did I leave anything out?
Yeah. A Ferrari, any, with a mid-rear engined V12, with a list price of at least $250,000.00 Euros, free, insurance and maintenance paid by the Oral Roberts Foundation and/or any combination of religious right wing entities not paying taxes for their 'freedom of religion.'
O.K. 'Snowflake,'
On a few conditions, you ready?
Disease-free prostitutes three times a month, paid for by the religious right televangical daily collections via any media.
Primo food from world famous chefs, paid for by right wing Christians and Congress persons,
Unlimited supply of single malt, Islay Scotch.
Good to excellent smoke,:)
No interference from any green horn 2nd and 1st Lts.
Automatic Commissioned Officer at the rank of Captain and above status for any person absconded by the gov. with a B.A./B.S. degree. Any person with an advanced degree is brought in with at least a Major rank or higher. No bootcamp, no O.C.S., no humiliation by 'bend over, spread'em' exams, 24 hour drill marching and physical training, increased ration of single malt, Islay Scotch and increased THC ration and quality 'Spiffies.'
How's that for a start? Oh, yeah, and at least a salary of $6000.00 Euros a month with full med, dental, 80% retirement after 3 years, full legal representation for any and all transactions, free gasoline for life, solar powered housing being architecturally designed by non-military architects...let's see, did I leave anything out?
Yeah. A Ferrari, any, with a mid-rear engined V12, with a list price of at least $250,000.00 Euros, free, insurance and maintenance paid by the Oral Roberts Foundation and/or any combination of religious right wing entities not paying taxes for their 'freedom of religion.'
In the public park next to our town's HS, I watched an Army recruiter in uniform walk up to a round-faced young student who was sitting alone at a picnic table eating his lunch.
The boy couldn't have been more than 14 years old. He looked confused and intimidated, as though he didn't know how to say "no" to a conversation with an adult- a man in a military uniform lurking, then looming over him.
Our kids are coerced, seduced with free swag and false promises and all too often outright lied to. They have recruiters of one branch of the armed forces or the other (sometimes more than one at a time) on campus nearly EVERY week.
Our local counter-recruiters (no surprise) are lucky to have a handful of people (sometimes veterans) able to come in to the schools 1-2x a YEAR to offer another viewpoint.
There are many ways to serve our country: Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Vista, Habitat for Humanity. And many ways to do good in the world: through church groups like the Mennonites and other pacifist faiths.
Yet, it is a struggle for kids to hear about these non-lethal alternatives to community service.
Maybe the military is right for some, but isn't it only fair that our youth have the full menu of options and good, reliable advice?
The military should NOT have easy and TOTAL access to our kids!
There should not be military recruiters on a high school campus PERIOD, no ifs, ands or Bush's ass. If the Federal government wants to take away taxpayer money for not allowing it, just go ahead and by the time the media or a hell of a lot of local taxpayers start treating their Congress people like total shitheads, we will see how long it lasts.
As for you, 'snowflake,' twenty years in the service only means one thing, "Dumb as a fucking brick."
As for you, 'snowflake,' twenty years in the service only means one thing, "Dumb as a fucking brick."
Well actually it means "Uncle Sugar" is paying my mortgage every month and my "Tricare" Retired Medical is $115 a quarter...
Thats actually what it means
Heh, heh, heh.
As a teacher, I just ran a truck over your head. I know...!
No. I don't want to make you feel bad about your retirement and bennies, but, gee, I'll match mine to yours and my net worth!
I think they should have as much access as the anti-military people...I would have no problem with letting both sides be heard...
Well the sad truth is that today's US Military is no longer about defending this country. It is about invading, destroying and occupying third world countries with lucrative mineral deposits. It is about empire.
It is a pity that this country could not heed Ike's warning back in 1961.
"It is a pity that this country could not heed Ike's warning back in 1961."
Yeah...maybe we should have just lost WWII and not had to shoulder the responsibility to make sure nothing like that ever happened again...would have been SO much easier...
More stupidity from 'snowflake.' Ahemmm. Sweetheart you need to get a grip on the ole cajones, hombre! Your brains are leaking out your ass. And...
Guess what?
Everybody here knows it!
Chuckle.
But, I hear our war hero pressednuts is givin' away them real pretty 'whatchem a call its medals over at Wallmart today. Sheeit with your 20 yers of manifest stoopidity he might promote ya to, what? Corporal? Damn, duder, reu-up for another 20.
How come Lefties always resort to personal attack when they have no legitimate answer?
If you think this is somehow making your shallow little arguments seem superior...tsk tsk
It is toooo much funnn to wait for your viral mouthed reply of infinite, cosmic knowledge, duder!
YOU, however, are not usually not such an asshole. I say you are high. What say you?
You must stop this consorting, no matter how emotionally purging it may seem!!lol
Truly--are you high?
K-delphi,
It matters not one wit, whether I imbibe any muse. What matters is, "Am I enjoying this verbal crotch rocket, irrespective of the bastards that have no problem destroying the decency of this country, but then whine when called to the carpet?"
I'm happy you are paying attention.
Cause we just wish our country loved us as much as we love it!
How much money did you make this year? The Wall Sr. slump doesnt apply to WMDs, right? Doin' pretty good there, in the daddy warbucks market?
Please explain this nonsensical response. Perhaps you don't understand the Eisenhower quote? You really believe that all of our invasions over the past fifty years have been justifiable? Please tell me which of the dozens of countries posed an imminent threat of invasion of our country? You may have served 20 years in the military but you haven't done much reading of history.
I am grateful to groups like WaTiR who take the time to get information out to towns large and small that the recruiters have much more access to the children of this nation than they realize. I do not believe that recruiters should be allowed to approach 14 year old children. If any other stranger approached a 14 year old they'd be in a heap of trouble....
Peggy
Don't forget all that Afghanistan opium, boys and girls.
And if you think it is a joke: where is it?
Afghanistan produces like 90% of the worlds' opium.
Would you leave it lying around for the tribal leaders? No. You would confiscate for the global market. The press would say the U.S. is cracking down on the drug market producers. Since that is all a journalist would see or know.
Now, why is it we don't get to see those coffins, body bags from the Middle East?
It would not matter.
There are plenty of ways to filter it into civilization.
I can smell that money.
Can't you?
Whenever I see a discussion about military recruiters it always seems to revolve
around "we are at war" or "defending the country" etc. Rubbish, we aren't at war
and the military has nothing to do with defending the country, it never did. Wars
are never fought for political reasons, they are fought for economic reasons.
Leaders from the begining have known that if you tell a citizen he has to fight and die in a war so you can get filthy rich he might object. So you create an enemy, tell him he's under attack and then tell him that he has to a patriot and kill a complete stranger you identify or he'll never be safe again. Sound familiar? It should, standard "Empire" play book. The little detail they leave out is that the "enemy" always seems to live over a sea of oil or a mountain of copper or bauxite. What a coinsidence huh? So we aren't fighting a war. We are engaged in
a war crime in trying to steal geo-strategic control of the energy resources
in the Caspian basin. We are defending the profits of Exxon, nothing more.
These are the guys, BTW who made $40B last quarter but still need tax breaks while
you get hammered into the ground at every turn. The US government is really the worlds biggest organized crime syndicate when you think about it. You have the "bosses", they are the plutocrats who own this country. Then you have the consigliere's, the politicians that are beholden to the bosses because they vet them and let then get "elected". You want proof of that just take a look at the $700B bank heist that happened last week. Usually a bank heist is when the banks get robbed, but in this case they did the robbing. Overwhelming public opposition and still it passes. If that doesn't fail the "sniff" test, nothing will. They also give the public the illusion that they actually choose their leaders. They don't. Then you get to the enforcers. They are the US military. They are nothing more than hired killers who pave the way for the "bosses" financial interests. Don't believe me? try looking up the real history of Hawaii, the extermination of the Moro people in the Phillipines in 1901-2, who over threw President Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, who was behind operation Ajax in Iran in 1953, Allende in 72. The list is long. So when your child expresses any interest in the military, tell him the truth about what his job is really going to be and who really benefits should he die or get maimed.
Fred54
Well...
As I am fond of saying
SOMEBODIES gotta Defend America, the Hippies ain't gonna do it
And neither are you 'snowflake.'
Whatever Dude
That's right 'snowflake.'
I'm the Dude.
And you are the somnambulist.
What have all of the wars of aggression which have been perpetrated on others by the US through our military to do with Defending America? When did Grenada threaten us? Good grief, man, read some real history. Lay off Fox News, please.
Peggy
This guy is a junior Rambo-super lifer Peggy. Back off Rambo!! Down boy!
Did you have your plastic surgery yet to make you look like Sylvester Stallone?
Maybe you could play his body double.