i wish i were 20 again

[Jscotty]

So when you hear about a terrorist attack on the news that took place overseas and then the news reporter says, "The Acme Terrorist Group is has claimed responsibility for the attack" how do they REALLY know that this is the case and not just some teenager making a prank call from the middle east?

I mean do they have an inter-connected phone network where the terrorists can call the state department on the phone and say the did it? I can see the scenario now-

Rrrrrring....

Terrorist Receptionist: "Thank you for calling the Al-Ahmad-Muhammad terrorist organization- How may I direct your call?"

US Govt: "Uhhh.. I am calling because our embasy in Pakistan has been bombed and I need to see who is claiming responsibility for it."

Terrorist Receptionist: "Please hold- Hey Akbad.. do you know anything about the US embassy in Pakistan?"

Akbad: "Uhhh.. no.. tell him to try the Sharachabad Empire. I think their number is in information.

[whiltebeitel]

...dear lord...

Many groups announce their claim on networks such as Al-Jazeera (sp?) by sending the network a tape from their base of operations. The publicly announce this to show how "powerful" they are.

[Mike_Duncan]

America seems to have a problem with insecurity it seems, this country is essentially that school yard bully who thinks they can just tell everybody else what they can and can't do. The Nazis? did they attack our turf? nope, we just jumped in there, "oh but if we didn't take action what would've happened to all the jews? what would have happened to America?" well the Nazi's might have invaded us, but you know what, we could've have fought back if such a thing happened but we jumped the gun and more than likely made things worse than it could've been. The jews? why are we the ones that HAVE to "save" them? hmm? we didn't have to be the hero, you could say. The Imperial Japanese Army, another example, they hadn't fucked with us one bit, but oh no, we had to tell them to stop fighting with the Chinese, Taiwanese, Koreans, ect, even though they had been fighting the Chinese many MANY generations beforehand, yeah, they were basically doing the whole genocide thing but you know what? it wasn't our fucking business, but we just had to stick our noses in there and tell them to stop. And naturally they were like "oh hell no, fuck that". People always come back with the "oh if we didn't jump in and take initiative we wouldn't be the country we are now, America wouldn't be America" How the fuck do you know that? for all we know they might have not even attacke dus at all if we hadn't barked at them, and even if they did, them attacking us first makes us the underdog? I do not agree with many things our military/government has done, one thing that pisses me off more than any other is the bombings of Osaka and Nagasaki, it gets my blood boiling my nerves going, that shit was not needed.

And on the whole imigration thing and so on, simply put, America is the Melting pot, all the Hispanics all over the place, the Asians, ect ... they are essentially part of this country and have been for a long time. I certainly am against illiegal immigration though, border patrol is needed, if I have to spend a shitload of money on Visas for years and years to become a citizen of another country then you can damn sure do the same. I'm all for legal immigration. BUT some things that do indeed piss me off, well let's just say healthcare ^_- why should someone of Hispanic origin illegal or legal get free healthcare but not me? the white male, the guy born in the United States of America? I certainly am NOT the least bit racist, but I simply think some of these things are just pathetic, I don't care what fucking color you are, what language you speak, your ancestry, ect ... if you are an American citizen, you shall be treated the same as me mother fucker, you get no special priviledges compared to me, you don't get any more slack than me. We are equal, and we are treated equal. Sadly that is not how it is, but hopefully someday.

Also, a side note, I do get pissed off about the language issue, you wanna move here? get things done easier? well maybe you should consider learning the primary language dumbass.

Yes, I'm 19, yes, that is young, but I hold my opinion strongly, I know my history. Now flame away :hitler: :p

[JasonC]

Heres something to read for that rant

Theodore Roosevelt Advocates Americanism, 1915

... There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all. This is just as true of the man who puts "native" before the hyphen as of the man who puts German or Irish or English or French before the hyphen. Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance. But if he is heartily and singly loyal to this Republic, then no matter where he was born, he is just as good an American as any one else.
The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic. The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans; and there ought to be no room for them in this country. The man who calls himself an American citizen and who yet shows by his actions that he is primarily the citizen of a foreign land, plays a thoroughly mischievous part in the life of our body politic. He has no place here; and the sooner he returns to the land to which he feels his real heart-allegiance, the better it will be for every good American. There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.
For an American citizen to vote as a German-American, an Irish-American, or an English-American, is to be a traitor to American institutions; and those hyphenated Americans who terrorize American politicians by threats of the foreign vote are engaged in treason to the American Republic.
Americanization
The foreign-born population of this country must be an Americanized population - no other kind can fight the battles of America either in war or peace. It must talk the language of its native-born fellow-citizens, it must possess American citizenship and American ideals. It must stand firm by its oath of allegiance in word and deed and must show that in very fact it has renounced allegiance to every prince, potentate, or foreign government. It must be maintained on an American standard of living so as to prevent labor disturbances in important plants and at critical times. None of these objects can be secured as long as we have immigrant colonies, ghettos, and immigrant sections, and above all they cannot be assured so long as we consider the immigrant only as an industrial asset. The immigrant must not be allowed to drift or to be put at the mercy of the exploiter. Our object is to not to imitate one of the older racial types, but to maintain a new American type and then to secure loyalty to this type. We cannot secure such loyalty unless we make this a country where men shall feel that they have justice and also where they shall feel that they are required to perform the duties imposed upon them. The policy of "Let alone" which we have hitherto pursued is thoroughly vicious from two stand-points. By this policy we have permitted the immigrants, and too often the native-born laborers as well, to suffer injustice. Moreover, by this policy we have failed to impress upon the immigrant and upon the native-born as well that they are expected to do justice as well as to receive justice, that they are expected to be heartily and actively and single-mindedly loyal to the flag no less than to benefit by living under it.
We cannot afford to continue to use hundreds of thousands of immigrants merely as industrial assets while they remain social outcasts and menaces any more than fifty years ago we could afford to keep the black man merely as an industrial asset and not as a human being. We cannot afford to build a big industrial plant and herd men and women about it without care for their welfare. We cannot afford to permit squalid overcrowding or the kind of living system which makes impossible the decencies and necessities of life. We cannot afford the low wage rates and the merely seasonal industries which mean the sacrifice of both individual and family life and morals to the industrial machinery. We cannot afford to leave American mines, munitions plants, and general resources in the hands of alien workmen, alien to America and even likely to be made hostile to America by machinations such as have recently been provided in the case of the two foreign embassies in Washington. We cannot afford to run the risk of having in time of war men working on our railways or working in our munition plants who would in the name of duty to their own foreign countries bring destruction to us. Recent events have shown us that incitements to sabotage and strikes are in the view of at least two of the great foreign powers of Europe within their definition of neutral practices. What would be done to us in the name of war if these things are done to us in the name of neutrality?
One America
All of us, no matter from what land our parents came, no matter in what way we may severally worship our Creator, must stand shoulder to shoulder in a united America for the elimination of race and religious prejudice. We must stand for a reign of equal justice to both big and small. We must insist on the maintenance of the American standard of living. We must stand for an adequate national control which shall secure a better training of our young men in time of peace, both for the work of peace and for the work of war. We must direct every national resource, material and spiritual, to the task not of shirking difficulties, but of training our people to overcome difficulties. Our aim must be, not to make life easy and soft, not to soften soul and body, but to fit us in virile fashion to do a great work for all mankind. This great work can only be done by a mighty democracy, with these qualities of soul, guided by those qualities of mind, which will both make it refuse to do injustice to any other nation, and also enable it to hold its own against aggression by any other nation. In our relations with the outside world, we must abhor wrongdoing, and disdain to commit it, and we must no less disdain the baseness of spirit which lamely submits to wrongdoing. Finally and most important of all, we must strive for the establishment within our own borders of that stern and lofty standard of personal and public neutrality which shall guarantee to each man his rights, and which shall insist in return upon the full performance by each man of his duties both to his neighbor and to the great nation whose flag must symbolize in the future as it has symbolized in the past the highest hopes of all mankind.

From Philip Davis (ed.), Immigration and Americanization (Boston: Ginn and Company, 1920)

Back to Proud to be an American
"History doesn't repeat itself - but it rhymes."
- Mark Twain

[rwh11385]

America seems to have a problem with insecurity it seems, this country is essentially that school yard bully who thinks they can just tell everybody else what they can and can't do. The Nazis? did they attack our turf? nope, we just jumped in there, "oh but if we didn't take action what would've happened to all the jews? what would have happened to America?" well the Nazi's might have invaded us, but you know what, we could've have fought back if such a thing happened but we jumped the gun and more than likely made things worse than it could've been. The jews? why are we the ones that HAVE to "save" them? hmm? we didn't have to be the hero, you could say. The Imperial Japanese Army, another example, they hadn't fucked with us one bit, but oh no, we had to tell them to stop fighting with the Chinese, Taiwanese, Koreans, ect, even though they had been fighting the Chinese many MANY generations beforehand, yeah, they were basically doing the whole genocide thing but you know what? it wasn't our fucking business, but we just had to stick our noses in there and tell them to stop. And naturally they were like "oh hell no, fuck that". People always come back with the "oh if we didn't jump in and take initiative we wouldn't be the country we are now, America wouldn't be America" How the fuck do you know that? for all we know they might have not even attacke dus at all if we hadn't barked at them, and even if they did, them attacking us first makes us the underdog? I do not agree with many things our military/government has done, one thing that pisses me off more than any other is the bombings of Osaka and Nagasaki, it gets my blood boiling my nerves going, that shit was not needed.

And on the whole imigration thing and so on, simply put, America is the Melting pot, all the Hispanics all over the place, the Asians, ect ... they are essentially part of this country and have been for a long time. I certainly am against illiegal immigration though, border patrol is needed, if I have to spend a shitload of money on Visas for years and years to become a citizen of another country then you can damn sure do the same. I'm all for legal immigration. BUT some things that do indeed piss me off, well let's just say healthcare ^_- why should someone of Hispanic origin illegal or legal get free healthcare but not me? the white male, the guy born in the United States of America? I certainly am NOT the least bit racist, but I simply think some of these things are just pathetic, I don't care what fucking color you are, what language you speak, your ancestry, ect ... if you are an American citizen, you shall be treated the same as me mother fucker, you get no special priviledges compared to me, you don't get any more slack than me. We are equal, and we are treated equal. Sadly that is not how it is, but hopefully someday.

Also, a side note, I do get pissed off about the language issue, you wanna move here? get things done easier? well maybe you should consider learning the primary language dumbass.

Yes, I'm 19, yes, that is young, but I hold my opinion strongly, I know my history. Now flame away :hitler: :p

kid, you are a fucking dumbass. graduation-requirement historial surveys don't replace real history education and understanding, or actual intelligence. STFU and masterbate with razor blades - you'd be more useful and better for society

[MattE30]

America seems to have a problem with insecurity it seems, this country is essentially that school yard bully who thinks they can just tell everybody else what they can and can't do. The Nazis? did they attack our turf? nope, we just jumped in there, "oh but if we didn't take action what would've happened to all the jews? what would have happened to America?" well the Nazi's might have invaded us, but you know what, we could've have fought back if such a thing happened but we jumped the gun and more than likely made things worse than it could've been. The jews? why are we the ones that HAVE to "save" them? hmm? we didn't have to be the hero, you could say. The Imperial Japanese Army, another example, they hadn't fucked with us one bit, but oh no, we had to tell them to stop fighting with the Chinese, Taiwanese, Koreans, ect, even though they had been fighting the Chinese many MANY generations beforehand, yeah, they were basically doing the whole genocide thing but you know what? it wasn't our fucking business, but we just had to stick our noses in there and tell them to stop. And naturally they were like "oh hell no, fuck that". People always come back with the "oh if we didn't jump in and take initiative we wouldn't be the country we are now, America wouldn't be America" How the fuck do you know that? for all we know they might have not even attacke dus at all if we hadn't barked at them, and even if they did, them attacking us first makes us the underdog? I do not agree with many things our military/government has done, one thing that pisses me off more than any other is the bombings of Osaka and Nagasaki, it gets my blood boiling my nerves going, that shit was not needed.

SHUT UP YOU waffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffleswaffles LIBERAL

[Jscotty]

He brings up one good point- Why is it that America is so afraid of the "what-if" circumstances? We brag and boast about having the strongest, most technologically sophisticated, and overall best military in the world yet its almost like we are running scared. We gotta go out and get them before they get us even though we have more than enough military might to be able to eliminate the enemy even before they come within 1000 miles of the shore line.

It all comes down to money, power, influence and the ability to control it all. Thats the main reason why we go to war and invade other countries that mind their own business.

[MattE30]

It all comes down to money, power, influence and the ability to control it all. Thats the main reason why we go to war and invade other countries that mind their own business.

"The corporations are bleeding the world of its love and innocence!" Put your pipe down, stop acting like a hippie, and join us in the real world. I'm quite liberal, but statements like this make me wonder why I even admit I am.

[MikeE30325i]

god damn.

we might need a subforum for "E30 owners who like to discuss politics"

drop it.

[Jscotty]

I'm quite liberal, but statements like this make me wonder why I even admit I am.

One thing that you cannot do is put yourself in a box and determine that you are only supposed to think a certain way and have certain opinions about something simply because you categorize yourself within a particular organization.

Also if you represent yourself as being of a particular affiliation, you cannot decide that you do not want to make that known simply because someone else decides to express an opinion that you do not agree with.

\

[blunttech]

One thing that you cannot do is put yourself in a box and determine that you are only supposed to think a certain way and have certain opinions about something simply because you categorize yourself within a particular organization.

Also if you represent yourself as being of a particular affiliation, you cannot decide that you do not want to make that known simply because someone else decides to express an opinion that you do not agree with.

\

huh?

[Jscotty]

Don't worry about it. You wouldn't be capable of understanding.

[MattE30]

One thing that you cannot do is put yourself in a box and determine that you are only supposed to think a certain way and have certain opinions about something simply because you categorize yourself within a particular organization.

Also if you represent yourself as being of a particular affiliation, you cannot decide that you do not want to make that known simply because someone else decides to express an opinion that you do not agree with.

\

I agree.

[Ryan Stewart]

the whole 'thank god russia isnt nationalist' yeah, thats called sarcasm.

We should invade Russia. Natural gas motherfuckers!

Besides, that would do more good. Russia is trying to hold all the former republic nations hostage with it.