Grassroots Wisdom

I am often amazed at the insight proved by the common man(woman). So much so that I have gathered some for your perusal.

War in general
A secure and prosperous future cannot be achieved for or by a single country; the conditions for security and prosperity are of necessity a shared endeavor. In that sense, war doesn't expand a country's options, it limits them. With the military technology available today, regardless of how unevenly it is distributed, war in fact limits a country's options to two: defeat or genocide. In the case of evenly matched opponents, choosing the latter option includes the former as a probable consequence as well.

Making peace rather than war is a complex undertaking. Because establishing trust between two societies with conflicting interests takes a great deal of time, a lasting peace isn't accomplished quickly. That it's worth the trouble should be obvious to anyone who doesn't have severe ego problems.

War, or the threat of it will not go away as far into the future as any of us can see, and a prudent society, even one which sincerely embarks on the making of peace, must retain a credible military to keep both its partners and adversaries honest. That said, the first rule of statecraft must be this: if you are forced to use your military, you have failed; if you use it without being forced to, you are a failure. There is a corollary as well: If you are not honest with yourself about what forced means in the previous sentence, you are, quite simply, doomed.


War strategy
As Justice Warren wrote in U.S. v. Robel, 389 U.S. 258 (1967):"Implicit in the term national defense is the notion of defending those values and ideas which set this Nation apart. . . . It would indeed be ironic if, in the name of national defense, we would sanction the subversion of . . . those liberties . . . which makes the defense of the Nation worthwhile."
But wussy cappuccino-sipping 'law enforcement' doesn't make the neo-cons and semi-literate Bush base feel like he-men. Only bombing and shooting foreigners can ever assuage their sense of manly inadequacy. Think of how much has been wasted and frittered away in this pointless war:-hundreds of billions of dollars-thousands of lives-American credibility and goodwill towards our nation-rule of law and civil liberties.

We have insulted our friends, emboldened our enemies, and antagonized everyone who was sitting on the fence. "Less safe" doesn't begin to encompass the consequences.
America has failed to capture Bin Laden, and failed to decrease terrorism. The Republican policies for 2 terms have failed the American people and bankrupted the nation. We need to think intelligently and not bombastically or arrogantly about the most effective ways to deal with terrorism. We need to work with other nations, not exclude them, in order to effectively gather intelligence.

All of this and we've created MORE terrorism and oh by the way, where's Osama?
If this is the 'strong leadership' the Republicans provide on foreign policy, we can't take much more of it.

Response to the religious right on the morning after pill

Yesterday, they said life begins with conception.
Today, they say life begins with intercourse.
Tomorrow, they will tell us life begins with dinner and a movie.

These are comments from various blogs I visit. There are many more. I may make it a regular feature.