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Norman Mattoon Thomas was a leading American socialist, pacifist, and six-time presidential candidate for the Socialist Party of America. The Socialist Party candidate for President of the U.S., he i...
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A few snippets from a brilliant article:
FTA: 'There is a long and sordid tradition of trying to socialise children by scaring them. The aim of such socialisation-through-fear is twofold: firstly,...
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Go figure... who would have thought that using the philosophy of Socialism to force the reduction of costs, artificially set prices, and provide for everyone would result in long-term problems? Oh, w...
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Technology is so grand. With the research from this experiment, we might finally be able to replace the lowest form of humans - politicians - with robots. After all, if you can teach robots to lie, t...
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How many of you learned about the Hitler Youth (aka HJ), the paramilitary group of the Nazis? Is the government building one for Obama? In Hitler's time, the stormtroopers were referred to as "brown...
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Considered the third, best-selling poet of all time, Khalil Gibran once said "Desire is half of life; indifference is half of death." Apathy is defined as having a lack of emotion, interest, or conce...
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Is it time for those who don't want to physically force their will upon others to part with those who prefer otherwise? If people attempt to secede and are physically prevented from doing so, would t...
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More than any other politician by a Grand Canyon-wide margin, Ron Paul is a man of impeccable character when it comes to supporting the ideas of freedom and "is a force for good." (He easily won his...
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From the "you can't make this shit up" files...
Statists have plenty of bad ideas: going to war for oil, setting up regulatory agencies that don't do their jobs, molesting people in the name of se...
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FTA: "U.S. colleges and universities, like their counterparts in other Western countries, are doing a poor job of preparing graduates for today's workplace. The biggest weakness in the postsecondary-...
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We know marijuana is "the most widely used illicit substance in the world" (which may be why "arrests are at a near-record high"). We know drug decriminalization works. Yet we still allow the governm...
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Today I learned Albert Einstein supported a one-world government and was a Socialist.
Einstein's passionate commitment to the cause of global peace led him to support the creation of a single, u...
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To paraphrase Pastor Martin Niemöller, "They came first for Wikileaks. But I didn't speak up because I hated politics. Then they came for pornography. But I didn't speak up because I didn't look at...
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The great political theorist and economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote in The State: "The oppressor no longer acts directly by his own force on the oppressed. No, our conscience has become too fastidiou...
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Remember the guy who talked about change? Where'd he go?
In 2006, Obama said this:
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a...
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Today I learned from "America's worst mom" that the earliest episodes of Sesame Street are "for adult viewing only" for fear they will give kids dangerous ideas (Sesame Street just couldn't bring its...
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As the adage goes: How do you know a politician is lying? His lips are moving. On Obama's White House website, he states: "My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of opennes...
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History repeats itself. Men have constantly fought and died in the war for equality throughout the centuries. However, not all of them had in mind the same idea of equality when they gave their lives...
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Let this sink in for a moment: the United States has the highest prisoner population rate in the world. That's right, even more than China. (And, no - that doesn't include all of the hidden prisons i...
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Hitler once said "Our strategy is to destroy the enemy from within, to conquer him through himself." US politicians, laws, and regulations are destroying people who live in America like a cancer. Her...
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Pastor Martin Niemöller criticized German intellectuals because they did nothing as the Nazis rose to power and eliminated anti-government groups. Please, learn from history. Please, don't ignore th...
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Is there a proper methodology to discuss politics with?
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Dec 13, 2009 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewblog.php?id=54
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Here's the scenario: there's a gang of thugs outside your house threatening you and your family. Your wife is calling the police while you grab your gun. You fire 4 shots into the grass to scare them...
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A few days ago, the US celebrated a holiday dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. A prominent leader of the civil rights movement, he was a huge proponent of civil disobedience. As the "did they kill...
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Politics. Morality. Religion. Relationships. Even science. These are examples of the many categories in which you will find disagreements. These debates occur just as much with intelligent people as...
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How do you make economics more fun so that people better understand basic concepts and, just as important, what the ramifications are from making poor economic choices?
FTA: "Who is better informe...
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I went to a high school in this district many years ago.
FTA: "Make sure you notice 'Codell, Neil C.' who is 4th from the top of the list. Career pension of $26,661,604. That's almost $27 million...
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Many women complain that they are discriminated against, yet they consider this fair. Let this sink in for a moment: "men accounted for 97 percent of the payers in alimony cases in 2008." How many wo...
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FTA: "People prefer to be lied to ably, than be told the truth, boldly. We prefer a colorful and clever story to a documentary filled with sharp and damning evidence; we prefer gossip to investigatio...
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School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home
School-sanctioned privacy intrusion? "Schools are only interested in a child's best interests" claim those who ignore knowledge...
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France is well-known for its protests, one of its most famous being the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille. There was violence. There was bloodshed. The king was executed. The French...
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Guess you can't call them hypocrites for this particular action, unlike most liberals who railed against Bush but now ignore the fact that Obama has continued with (and gone beyond) Bush’s anti-ter...
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So we had a great discussion earlier today about scientific theories vs. laws, physics, astronomy, and geometry. Science is so amazing! And then I read something like this and it makes me sick.
Hi...
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US soldier holds flag protest sign: "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people." Well put. Controversial?
US Soldier Holds American Flag Protest Sign
DISCUSS!...
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FTA: "...14 privacy groups filed a unfair-trade complaint with the FTC against Facebook on Wednesday... Facebook thinks that your notions of privacy - meaning your ability to control information abou...
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The folks at the Venus Project and the larger Zeitgeist movement think society has many problems, and they are concerned. Hard to disagree. When a doctor is trying to cure what ails you, he'll typica...
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If we are to believe UNICEF, there are about 158 million children aged 5-14 engaged in child labor, "working in hazardous situations or conditions." Most people give this a scary name like "child ex...
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Will wonders never cease? California now has mandatory DNA collection from anyone arrested for a felony, whether or not they are ever charged or convicted. Instead of being limited to serious, violen...
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Here's the backdrop: in 2005, the US Supreme Court ruled in Castle Rock v. Gonzales that a person does not have a constitutional right to police protection, even in the presence of a restraining orde...
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It's easy to predict the future. Take anything that the government says, reverse it, and you'll come pretty close to having a crystal ball. Why? Nietzsche knew: "The governments of the great States h...
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The latest weapon of mass destruction: starvation.
The situation is dire. It's the worst drought in Africa in 60 years. The UN is airlifting food to Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. It's estimated th...
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It's now official: subversives who think government is corrupt and should be controlled by the people face 10 years in prison and a $25,000 dollar fine if they fail to register with authorities in So...
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Do a search on the web and you'll find all sorts of criteria for what makes an effective leader. People can't even seem to agree on the definition of leadership. As a result, theories abound. But wha...
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Can you think of any other or, at this point, are we out of options? How do you convince and/or reason with people who think civility is no longer an option? What other ways do you suggest to people...
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They say that history repeats itself. Maybe that's the reason I'm never able to watch Schindler's List without bawling my eyes out. You don't have to be prescient to see the similarities already and...
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"I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.'...
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Don't even get me started on the vicious "family" laws and their completely immoral courts, but I couldn't pass up providing this particular continued proof of government stupidity:
"France to int...
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Capitalism gets a bad rap, often claimed to be the destroyer of everything good. One argument made is that capitalism creates class warfare - the rich against the poor. So-called "social crusaders,"...
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Today I learned one of the creators of Superman drew S&M and bondage comics that were banned by the Supreme Court, the creator of Star Trek created a show about a gym teacher having sex with his...
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Today I learned that Connecticut Supreme Court Justice Richard Palmer is "sorry" for the way he voted in the infamous eminent domain Kelo v. New London case.
In that case, the US Supreme Court aff...
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Voltaire once said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." In England, a Christian street preacher was arrested and locked in a cell for telling a passer-...
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FTV: "I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work, or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's worth. Banks are g...
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The Nazis and Joseph Stalin were famous for their show trials, where "guilt" was determined by the authorities before the trial. From the court jester files, we continue to find that the the American...
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One of the problems with democracy is that it leads to corporatism. "Corporatism is a system where businesses are nominally in private hands, but are in fact controlled by the government. In a corpor...
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When it comes to politics, it's difficult to say "liberals believe this" or "conservatives believe that." After all, within each political ideology, there are many views; sometimes even views that se...
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The so-called rule of law in the US is a big joke. You really need more proof? Dick Cheney, former vice president to George Bush, went on TV on Feb 14 to assert he is "a big supporter of waterboardin...
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In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout says to Jem: ’Naw, Jem, I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.’ With that in mind, has Morgan Freeman discovered the way to get rid of all racism...
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Liberals in the US are in an uproar, claiming that the recent murder of six individuals and the attempted murder of the Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords were the by-product of rhetoric by Sar...
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To claim that the US supports freedom (i.e., the absence of physical coercion) is nonsensical. Everything the US government does is anti-freedom. Take the situation in Egypt, for example. American ad...
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Why are so many children familiar with the adage "do as I say, not as I do?" The answer should be obvious - because we, as adults, often do things that we don't want our children doing. Let's face it...
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From the court jester files, we find supreme stupidity in the Ohio Supreme Court. If you live in Ohio, get ready to see police pulling everyone over for "speeding." After all, police never lie, right...
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Noam Chomsky said Ayn Rand was "... one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history." Yet I find Atlas Shrugged an amazing book (and so do many others, like the man who recently drove aro...
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The government is coming for your retirement accounts, 401Ks, and pension plan. After all, they want to make sure you have enough for retirement of course... It's all about your safety and well-being...
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Some people have problems understanding new ideas with which they are unfamiliar and so unintentionally misrepresent or summarize those ideas. Perhaps these are innocent errors. However, there are ot...
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People always complain that freedom, self-rule, and/or anarchy are unworkable and too extreme. Why are any of those more radical or extreme than going into $14 trillion of debt, being in a permanent...
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FTA: "Do some soldiers enjoy killing? If so, why? ...The reluctance of ordinary men to kill can be overcome by intensified training, direct commands from officers, long-range weapons and propaganda t...
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Obama has broken many promises. That's par for the course when you're a politician. People know (and sadly accept) that politicians aren't going to do everything they promise.
But then there are m...
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Today I Learned that the media can legally lie.
FTA:
In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or...
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Make everyone equal. It is a common battle cry across the centuries. Just look at the current class warfare that Obama is pushing because we are not all equal. (Or, as Orwell famously put it in Anima...
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For the most part, public education in the US is a disaster. Where the blame lies will be forever debated, but to claim otherwise is to sleep undisturbed in a fantasy world with "stark wake-up calls"...
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Will someone please remind me again why the Europeans and Americans are at war with Iraq and Afghanistan, killing anywhere from hundreds of thousands of people to, by some estimates, over 1 million?...
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There's an old Russian political joke where an American and a Soviet car salesmen are arguing about who makes better cars. The American asks: "How many decades does an average Soviet man need to work...
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Another one in honor of V-day tomorrow:
What is the purpose of getting married anymore? Why can't you just be in a monogamous relationships with someone that you love? Why do you need a piece of ...
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Politics destroys all things, it's latest casualty being scientific truth. When the global warming science fraud didn't work out, the propoganda artists changed the name to climate change. Here's a s...
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Is it really so hard to believe? After all, when you support the government stealing your money (though taxes) and giving it to someone else, who are you to object what they decide to spend it on? No...
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In the adventure film Sahara, General Kazim states: "Don't worry. It's Africa. Nobody cares about Africa." In 2009, it's estimated that 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, with almost 70% liv...
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Atlas Shrugged was not intended to be an instruction manual. Ayn Rand talked through Francisco d'Anconia about what it took to kill the motor of the world: "He stepped to the window and pointed to th...
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And the court jesters speak: Yes, we know your client is innocent of sexual abuse and sodomy... don't speak to us about irrelevant ideas like innocence - we don't care. I am physically sick to my sto...
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Is it proper for companies like BP to use prison labor - jobs without pay - to cleanup the oil spill? Are there any moral issues?
FTA: "In the first few days after BP's Deepwater Horizon wellhead...
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From the "all governments are stupid" files, Italy brings us this: Sticking out your tongue ruled illegal
ROME, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Italy's highest court of appeal affirmed the illegality of insu...
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For those who missed SNL the other night, this was pretty funny: Saturday Night Live Rips Obama Over China Trip, Spending, And The Deficit
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second...
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Throughout most of human civilization, centuries of men have starved, died from the elements (for lack of proper housing), suffered terrible health, and barely lived. Even today, starvation kills mil...
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In light of the claim that Osama bin Laden has now been killed, we thought it might be a good idea to remind everyone of George Orwell's famous character in the novel 1984: Emmanuel Goldstein....
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Tthe last election in which I voted was for Ross Perot for president in 1992. About 11 years later, I officially became an anarchist. In fact, even 8 years ago, I was arguing with an anarchist that,...
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Today I learned that the Flying Spaghetti Monster was a humorous protest against the government's decision to permit the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public school...
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Obama's die-hard base is continuing to turn on him and abandon him... for the right reasons. (And Obama's administration is lashing out angrily at liberals, claiming that they should be "drug tested"...
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Ron Paul nails it again in the simplest of terms. Is it acceptable for someone to incur debt on your behalf and in your name if you don't know about it or, even worse, are opposed to it? Does it matt...
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UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who "passionately" believes in the welfare system, is lashing out at parents who are raising their children through social welfare programs. He thinks the issue is a...
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Robert Heinlein once wrote: "Being intelligent is not a felony. But most societies evaluate it as at least a misdemeanor."
The number of students going to UK universities is falling. Additionally,...
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Ron Paul famously said of neocons:
The neoconservative ethos, steeped in the teachings of Leo Strauss, cannot abide an America where individuals simply pursue their happy, peaceful, prosperous l...
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"Facts don't necessarily have the power to change our minds. In fact, quite the opposite."
Before you read this article to determine where that conclusion came from, ponder that quote for a moment...
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Ayn Rand once wrote that "Definitions are the guardians of rationality, the first line of defense against the chaos of mental disintegration." Perhaps that's one of the reasons politics always appear...
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Today I learned that Communism, "the greatest social engineering experiment we have ever seen," is responsible for approximately over 100 million deaths. The Communists tried to construct a "utopia.....
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Sometimes you have to wonder if the sole reason that the law requires children go to school is because very few would go if not forced. If schools are intended to give children training as to the wor...
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When it comes to non-violent, ideological leaders, Mahatma Gandhi has got to be toward the very top of the list. His resistance to British tyranny through mass civil disobedience is famous. Needless...
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The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore aren't going to be happy. Scientists are messing up their politics.
So it turns out that the only thing man-made about global warming is t...
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Randolph Bourne warned us that "war is the health of the state." So how does the state keep healthy? By declaring wars on everything. The war in Afghanistan is a disaster. The war in Iraq is a disast...
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Why aren't liberals abandoning Obama when he does the same things for which they screamed at Bush (e.g., indefinite detention at Guantanamo, approving torture)? Because they have nowhere else to go....