A disgusting vat of filth that no self-respecting intelligent person would wade into.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Except Gates, while making nice sound bites for the left by saying we "aren't winning the war" (which is different from "losing", but the Associated Press isn't as smart as me) ,and the other "wise men" are basically saying to stay the course.

How is that changing anything?

Are you fucking kidding me? I don't think they are saying "stay the course, don't change anything." They are saying we can't pull our military out immediately. That's a really, really different thing than continuing to do the same thing. I think that Gates and the committee or group or whatever are advocating changes in policy regarding diplomacy, tactics, and what needs to happen for us to pull out. The current policy seems to be "we will keep doing basically the same thing until whenever we determine Iraq is stable/democratic/etc."

[notcasesensitive]

Originally posted by Spanky
The fraction was 3/20. But since the number is not so easy to conceptualize, I averaged it up to 1/5. Since I was trying to point out what a small number it was, averaging the number so it was a larger number seemed like the honest way to go when averaging.

I know it is hard for you to focus on what I am posting because you have that massive stick shoved so far up your derriere, but I thought you might be able to understand that.

I had you on ignore but once I saw that you had posted I had a sneaking suspicion it had something do with me. Itl/Fb's post quoting you confirmed that. Why else would you post here except to snipe at something I said?

Why are you so obsessed with me? I throw out a mild insult and you are so massively insecure that now you just lurk around waiting for opportunities to make little jabs at me. How long were you stewing about my hostility comment to you before you found an opening to bring it up on the FB board again? Weeks or even months? How long were you lurking on the politics board waiting for an opportunity when this fraction presented itself?

I guess I won't get a chance to see your answer unless someone else quotes it. Oh well. Such a loss.

Does this count as an attempt to change the way math works? At least the re: line is accurate.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
I bet the soldiers in Iraq care.

you mean the ones who enlisted within the last 2 years, and could probably have read the same polls beforehand?

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
It's statements like this that make me glad that the commission pointed out that divisive rhetoric at home is part of the problem.

Of course, I'm sure the neo-con crowd interpreted "divisive rhetoric" as "criticism of the Bush Administration's glorious conduct of this Great War on Terror". The leopard can't change its spots.

Your complaining about my rhetoric on this board is just as ripe as the Democrats complaining about Repubican rhetoric.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Does this count as an attempt to change the way math works? At least the re: line is accurate.

Actually, my 3rd grader has been getting taught "estimation" in school. They don't have to figure out the answer, just give an approximation. She actually got criticized for getting the answer exactly right, because it meant she did the math instead of estimating.

Is Spanky in 3rd grade?

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Spanky
Your complaining about my rhetoric on this board is just as ripe as the Democrats complaining about Repubican rhetoric.

Wow. "I know you are but what am I?"

Spanky is in third grade.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
I don't think we have to factor out the body armor. I'm just thinking that (aside from psychological effects) in the past it's been more that there have been a relatively large proportion of soldiers who survived with no debilitating, expensive, permanent or long-lasting injury; a chunk of soldiers who died; and a relatively small number of soldiers who survive but have debilitating, expensive, permanent or long-lasting injuries.

I'm thinking the proportions of the groups may have changed, with a shift toward a greater proportion of survivors, but of those survivors, a greater number are kinda really severely fucked up. I mean, yes, they are doing amazing amazing things with artificial limbs, etc., but that is really expensive and not the same thing as being whole-ish.

Seems you are mostly correct:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/ar...538621,00.html [higher percentage of casualties are amputees than in 20th c. conflicts]

[Cletus Miller]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Does this count as an attempt to change the way math works? At least the re: line is accurate.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by notcasesensitive
Does this count as an attempt to change the way math works? At least the re: line is accurate.

you have the point. snap the next play before someone asks for a review.

[Cletus Miller]

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
Actually, my 3rd grader has been getting taught "estimation" in school. They don't have to figure out the answer, just give an approximation. She actually got criticized for getting the answer exactly right, because it meant she did the math instead of estimating.

Teacher's have been doing that for 30 years. I had the same thing happen (scarred me for life, btw)--why is it wrong if you can do the math and get an exact answer as fast as others can estimate?

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
You haven't hung around the military much, have you?

Although I do try and avoid my extended family as much as possible, I still end up spending a lot of time with them. So no, I have spent a lot of time around the military (active and retired). In my family the lines are very stark. If you are in the military or you are a veteran you support the Iraq war. It is only if you don't fit into either of those two catagories that you oppose the war. Of course some non military types support the war.

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
Identify winnable objectives in the real world and I'm all for it. Wishing it won't make it so. Spend a little time looking at those polls and tell me how we convert the population to people who trust western style Democracy. It is time to pull the troops out and send the businesspeople in -- I have more faith in building support for Democracy in Iraq through trade than military force at this point, because there are not identifiable military objectives that help the cause.

Without military protection won't Al Queda try and kill them all?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Cletus Miller
Teacher's have been doing that for 30 years. I had the same thing happen (scarred me for life, btw)--why is it wrong if you can do the math and get an exact answer as fast as others can estimate?

you miss the point. how fast could you have estimated?

[Spanky]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
Except Gates, while making nice sound bites for the left by saying we "aren't winning the war" (which is different from "losing", but the Associated Press isn't as smart as me) ,and the other "wise men" are basically saying to stay the course.

How is that changing anything?

Exactly. Good question.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Spanky
I thought the lack of WMDs came out before the 2004 election? Is my memory faulty?

I think a lot of people were willing to give them a pass on this because Saddam Hussein is a very, very, very bad man. I was talking about the lies of cost, duration, etc.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
you mean the ones who enlisted within the last 2 years, and could probably have read the same polls beforehand?

Don't you think they'd prefer it if the Iraqis were happy to have them there?