No, I'm not suggesting we not fight the war on terror, but I do question the need for sneak and peek searches and illegal wire taps.......recently, the courts said the executive branch has the authority to order such things.........and clearly the executive branch of government has more power than any other time in American history.
This is a different time we live in…….computers with almost unthinkable power…..satellites in space…..technology, technology, technology……..The capability to monitor the citizens becomes easier each day……the government seems willing to use the technology whenever and however it wants…….this is something the founding fathers never dreamed of………how, when, and why the government should be allowed to use the technology is a growing concern. The war on terror is testing those limits….but don’t worry uncle Sam says…..we’re only looking at the bad guys…….anyone believe that?
The Old WWII vet didn't seem to mind the fact that the government forced him to have his car emission tested, but found it particularly disturbing the lack of respect the $7.50 per hour part time workers gave him. Me, on the other hand find the emission test to be an unneeded tax forced on the local residents by the federal government. I try to treat all men with dignity and respect and had absolutely no problems with the people conducting the test......actually, the cute little black gal was kind of flirty and I found it some what flattering.........My 95 Nissan, which has never been tuned and has 186,000 miles on it, when tested on the first test was at .5% of max. The second condition they looked at was 0.0%.......so the old beater truck came in so low that it was almost not measurable. It appears to me, the EPA is accusing me of having a faulty vehicle and I have to pay to prove I don't, all while the corporate power producers pump 100 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the same air every year.........It's clearly a feel good program.........but I can stick my chest out and boast about how I did my part to make sure we all have clean air to breath........this program doesn't affect the affluent who drive new cars under warranty but is a hard ship on a young family with kids who are lucky to have a car........it's a tax on the poor......and a perfect example of how the agency continues to reach for more and more control over the citizens.
When the program first came in a couple of years ago the county outsourced it to a private company.....now, the county want to operate it themselves.......so, instead of beating down a private company to reduce cost, my bet is if the county takes control the rates will rise every few years..........
Anyway, the WWII Vet doesn't have a problem with what ever the government does as far as the war on terror......and cited the way they horded the Japanese Americans off to incarceration camps........he said it was "necessary".....and therefore okay.....that's when he came up with the statement that you young fellows (again, I was flattered) just don't have the grit to win the war on terror.....you young fellows just aren’t willing to make the sacrifice necessary to win.........
This is the part that seems to confuse me.........What sacrifices? Liberty? He talked about the tire rationing and the things collected to support the troops...........I guess the problem I have with this argument is there are only 135000 troops in Iraq and the IG no longer allows the private purchase of equipment such as body armor and radios etc..........so what is it I'm suppose to sacrifice?
I don't have a problem with the war in Iraq........and I don't have a problem with the Israelis cleaning up there back yard.......I'd do the same thing should someone, with malice, continue to shoot at my house, and it wouldn't take very many shots to make me shoot back..........
I also agree that this war is really more of a sparing match than a street fight and there could be many more rounds in the match...........
TM7 has made some good points about the interest that drive the war...........
Again, the question keeps popping in my head......from the WWII vet......what is it I need to sacrifice in order to win the war on terror? I keep coming up with the same answer.........my liberty.
Who was it that said when we sacrifice liberty for security we wind up with neither?