JohnnyD

The point I was trying to make is this isn't a bad guy. He's just a guy like you and me. He was put into a very difficult situation and it was required that he do some bad things. When he did those things, he was thrown to the lions for doing them. My point is that on one level, this guy is also a victim not unlike all the others who have been put to trial before him. If our leadership would stop putting soldiers in these positions, we wouldn't have to put soldiers on trial for doing their jobs.

I don't even know what to say to that. How can you be in denial of the plainly obvious? That has got to be poorly worded and it came across wrong.

Hmm... If an enemy general in captivity does not qualify for POW status then who does? But you are probably right. They might even make that argument. They have - repeatedly. That is how we continue to hold hundreds captive at Gitmo without ever being charged with some form of crime or allowed to speak to some legal representative. That is how we hold ghost prisoners who do not get reported to the Red Cross. That is how we openly condone the use of dogs and other interrogation methods which may be against the conventions. Unfortunately, we are walking some very thin lines and when something goes wrong and becomes public, its always the guy on the bottom rung of the ladder that gets left holding the shit sack. Also something of interest: I believe it was at this trial that the commanding general of the base refused to testify on grounds that he may incriminate himself. Further proof that these are not guys just out there thinking they are Rambo and acting completely on their own. They are doing what they are told.

I agree, but what if the Attorney General believes the Geneva Conventions are outdated and don't actually apply in this case?

And a rifleman who shoots an enemy soldier in a fire fight is guilty of murder?

I know its very easy to look at this from the outside and say the guy is a bad apple and he was just given a slap on the wrist, but I don't think that is at all what is being said here. I think the current US administration has done an immeasurable disservice to its soldiers by openly encouraging or even requiring this type of behavior and techniques and then placing 100% of the blame on their shoulders when something goes wrong. This guy was just a soldier following orders. They were very bad orders, as is evident by his conviction. Again, he was just following orders, as is evident by the sentence. I truly hope American leadership will stop throwing its soldiers under the bus and appreciate the sacrifices they are making.

Were they in the latest Harry Potter book?

I wasn't aware that anyone was allowing a free-file in past years. Anyway, there is a laundry list of companies that do it now, turbo tax being one of the many. The IRS was going to do a version of it themselves, but there were so many others willing to do it that they decided not to. E-filing does some things for the IRS. It gives them a lot more information than they would have had if you file traditionally and it also allows them to quickly scrub returns for errors or omissions before they are "accepted". This cuts down on notices and audits.

Same software I think. The IRS has been sitting on this for at least a year per an agreement with Intuit.

Apparently you missed the one about cleaning his refrigerator. Obviously a ploy. I just haven't been able to crack it with my secret orphan annie decoder ring. CURSES!

Ron too? Free them both! That I disagree with - at least until he went postal

Represent

Damn, sorry. I misread that. I recant my statement. Now, it just looks like a street legal dunebuggy. NBD, you could very easily pick one up in SoCal. Pic - not street legal, but you get the point.

Looks like a slow, overpriced dunebuggy.

What's the context of the Clinton quote?

Power to the people.

In

Maybe I'm missing something here. He is planning his wedding. He is paying for the wedding. He wants to do it in Hawaii. What about his feelings? Why would his mother want to put that extra stress on him on his wedding day. Its not about his mother's feelings, its about his. Personally, I would tell her to get on board or get out of the way.

No offense, but if you're not mature enough to say this is my wedding that I'm paying for and this is how its going to be, are you really mature enough to be married?

When I am elected president or appointed US ambassador to Iran, I may be able to give you the exact answer you are looking for, but probably not. When will you say we should invade Iran?

I believe he deferred the compensation he was owed and his stock options until after his time in office is done. I've looked at his most recent tax return and there was no Halliburton money. I believe it is fair to say that Cheney's future financial prosperity will go hand in hand with Halliburton's. Thus, he absolutely has a vested interest in the success of that company.

When all other options have been exhausted, we will be left with no other choice. Not before. The distinction is that we didn't have to bomb Cuba or invade the then USSR to be victorious.

Which part are you struggling with?

They are all volunteers doing their jobs to protect their country. More soldiers died on the beaches of Normandy in one day than have died in Iraq. Not that either loss is more significant, people (like you) have grown less tolerant and that's a shame because sometimes, people die when fighting for what they believe in. >>Yes, they are volunteers. In exchange for putting their lives on the line for you, they get a miserable paycheck (some with families live below the poverty line), months at a time away from their families, and constant relocation. They don't ask for much save one thing. If they are going to die in the line of duty, it will have been worth it. We owe them all so very much more than they are currently getting. this is a gross exaggeration. modern technology, while not perfect, has cut the amount of "collateral" damage dramatically. >> You are just plain wrong. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7967-2004Oct28.html what is the cost of doing nothing? what is the cost of letting the enemy get the upper hand? >> The cost of doing nothing would return over 2000 of our young men and women to their families and the same for tens of thousands of Iraqis. It would save US taxpayers trillions of dollars. Dick Cheney has no ties to Halliburton. You don't like the oil industry, stop driving a car. It's YOUR choice. >> Again, just plain wrong. When Dick resigned as CEO, he deferred compensation and stock options. When his term as VP is up, he will again be on the Halliburton payroll and will be holding about 18 mil. in stock options. If that isn't a tie, I don't know what is. This is a completely unrealistic and cowardly line of thinking. How certain of ANYTHING are you? When will you draw your next breath? What time will you be home? Facts and reality are often not as concrete as we'd like. >> Before you call someone a coward, you should be sure that they are. I am very certain of a lot of things. There were no WMDs. Over two thousand of our young men and women have died. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have died. This will cost us trillions of dollars, which we will pass on to following generations. We were wrong. Saddam Hussein is no longer in power. He is no longer able to render aid to terrorist groups. "Oh Jones... He never did that"..... BS. Every Palestinian suicide bomber's family received a check from the Iraqi gov't. >> News flash: He was not a threat. He was not involved in 9/11 and he had no WMDs. The UN had him in check. I know, I know. Don't let the facts cloud your judgement.

I agree. In following generations, this may morph into a great thing. A beacon of freedom and democracy in the region. However, in the mean time it is unacceptable to provide someone the opportunity to debate whether the president is a visionary or a war criminal. Its easy to hope for the best when it doesn't look like it can get any worse. I stand by my statement. In a situation with consequences as grave as this, if you have to grasp for validation you've made the wrong decision.