<DIV>Chas,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I guess we just have a difference of opinion on how the world operates. I don't think my wealth creates poverty anywhere in the world. In fact, I think the opposite. I think the wealth of the US creates wealth elsewhere in the world. You buying a bad Doritos produces jobs and stability in our and other countries around the world, it fills a need.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>If someone demanded a car in exchange for the life of a little girl and we gave it to them, the world would soon be out of little girls and cars. On the other hand, if we put a bullet in the head of everyone that takes little girls hostage, we would soon be out people taking girls hostage. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think Bush invaded Iraq for several reasons, which he honestly believes are legitimate reasons. But I also think he is was wrong. He believes that invading Iraq would be worth the cost. He underestimated the cost and the profits. People say
we are now "winning the war in Iraq" now. But nobody will tell me what exactly it is that we are winning for $1 trillion spent, not to mention the lives lost. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The United States should reduce its reliance on oil for its own security and future. Making your country dependent on foreign nations that don't like you for its basic needs is a bad position to be in. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I don't think you got the message of Jesus if don't believe the fact that he actually existed.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best Regards,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Donovan</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><BR><B><I>Chasuk <chasuk@gmail.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid">Donovan,<BR><BR>I don't have time to address all of your misapprehensions<BR>specifically, because you introduce so many tangents
and make so many<BR>spurious assumptions that it would require weeks to unravel them.<BR><BR>You suggested that our military commandeer abandoned (and disused) oil<BR>rigs. Like Sunil, I interpreted this suggestion differently, as I<BR>have since made clear. Based on my own admitted misinterpretation, I<BR>objected to your proposal, still thinking that you were referring to<BR>our forces in Iraq.<BR><BR>Now, keeping my misinterpretation in mind, I (then and now) would<BR>object to our military becoming professional bandits. My objections<BR>were based on humanitarian reasons, keeping also in mind that USians<BR>are not the only humans. I don't subscribe to heliocentricity or any<BR>version of geocentricity. I am family-and-loved-one-centric. Again,<BR>I have made this clear in subsequent postings, even though it was<BR>largely tangential, but I was trying, at that point, to address your<BR>many irrelevant branches.<BR><BR>I didn't say that you were rich if you owned a
television, only that<BR>you weren't "poor" when compared to the population of most of the<BR>world. I made this point manifestly clear.<BR><BR>My morals don't allow me to dispossess others merely to increase my<BR>comfort level. Those "others" don't have to be in Moscow, Idaho --<BR>they could be in Bangladesh.<BR><BR>Suppose that a psychopath came to you in the middle of the night, and<BR>he was holding a 6-year old Moscow, Idaho girl by her shoulder, with a<BR>gun pointed at her head.<BR><BR>He says to you: "Give me your car, or I will blow her brains out."<BR><BR>Presumably, you would give Mr. Psychopath your car, without hesitation.<BR><BR>The same man calls you from Pullman with the same condition, except<BR>that this time the girl is the child of a couple from Pullman,<BR>Washington. She has actually never been to Moscow. You've never seen<BR>her. But you know that he will kill her.<BR><BR>Presumably, you would give Mr. Psychopath your car, without
hesitation.<BR><BR>The same man calls you from New York with the same condition, except<BR>that this time the girl is the child of a couple from New York, New<BR>York. She has actually never been to Moscow. You've never seen her.<BR>But you know that he will kill her.<BR><BR>Presumably, you would give Mr. Psychopath your car, without hesitation.<BR><BR>The same man calls you from Mumbai with the same condition, except<BR>that this time the girl is the child of a couple from Mumbai, India.<BR>She has actually never been to Moscow. You've never seen her. But<BR>you know that he will kill her.<BR><BR>Presumably, you would give Mr. Psychopath your car, without hesitation.<BR><BR>In Iraq, right now, our psychopathic president is holding a gun to the<BR>heads of thousands of little girls in exchange for oil. He is doing<BR>it under a deceptive guise, but that is what he is doing, nonetheless.<BR>He makes himself feel better by referring to these little girls as<BR>"collateral
damage." I prefer to think of collateral damage as<BR>murder.<BR><BR>Yes, I am using the term psychopath loosely. I am sure that there is<BR>some psychopathy checklist somewhere that defines it precisely. Yes,<BR>I know that war is sometimes justified. Increasing my level of<BR>comfort is not adequate justification.<BR><BR>I would gladly live in a world in with a greatly reduced<BR>standard-of-living, with no savings, no health care, and no security<BR>of a job tomorrow than take the life of a single person, even by<BR>collateral damage.<BR><BR>if Mr. Psychopath were holding a gun to your head, I would choose<BR>Donovan over a satisfactory standard-of-living, a good savings,<BR>adequate health care, and the guarantee of a job tomorrow. If<BR>wouldn't die for you, and I wouldn't sacrifice my family or loved ones<BR>over you, but I would sacrifice all of my creature comforts. I would<BR>do the same for anyone on Vision2020, or in Mumbai, or anywhere
else.<BR><BR>Hypocritically, I still eat Doritos rather than send my money to feed<BR>the starving in Somalia. I should be, but that is a little too<BR>proactive for my undisciplined self to manage, except for rarely,<BR>whereas it should be the norm.<BR><BR>I don't necessarily even believe in the historicity of Jesus, but I do<BR>believe in his message. His message arguably would have condemned my<BR>inaction, but it inarguably would have condemned holding guns to<BR>children's head to live better than the majority of the world, whether<BR>you call it collateral damage or murder.<BR><BR>Chas<BR><BR>=======================================================<BR>List services made available by First Step Internet, <BR>serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <BR>http://www.fsr.net <BR>mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com<BR>=======================================================<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p> 
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