Posts by LongHauler

I was not attempting to asert that the U.S. was not without fault. IT IS. I was hoping to point out that most of the countries who so vehemently speak out against our current conflict are countries that would likely not even exist at this point in time had the U.S. and its people not offered thier support and aid during the two world wars. France, Germany, and Russia lead the way in criticizing the U.S. for our use of force in Iraq claiming that we simply want control of Iraqs oil supplies, yet thier very reason for wanting Saddam in power was over oil. All three of those nations had contracts with Saddam himself. Yet they declare thier disgust for war and hold thier noses up at the imperialist Americans who are forcing the world to thier way of life. I've had bowel movments that were more compelling than that tired old song and dance.

Americas foriegn policy has certainly become a troubling issue. On this I agree wholeheartedly with you. Its a delicate balance trying to maintain you place in the world without stepping on too many toes. Who can say whay good foriegn policy is? Is it possible to please enough of the worlds population to give yourself a good standing in thier eyes without simultaneously giving away all that you have worked for as a nation?

Lastly, I realize this was not a polished book report presentation. But I was not trying to quote from some history book. Just to express my concern for the bashing America's name has been taking of late.

58

The passion of the Bush.....

by LongHauler in

jw
friends

ok, so this really has nothing to do with bush... .

at least directly.

ever since 9/11 and the begining of the iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-americanism.

LongHauler

Valis-

I post far more frequently on JWO then here. This started as an opportunity to get various points of view on what I had to say. Simon and Eman turned it into something else. Although it should be noted that at least on JWO I have gotten some honest replies to my post. Not bitter diatribes from small individuals resentful of those who have "Strayed from the flock" to quote an old JW line.

As for my career, I can assure you that I do not feel underappreciated nor do I need your condolences (or should that be condescension). My quarterly bonus check for 100% on-time delivery and safe driving took care of that.

Has anyone actually read what I wrote? I notice than Simon and Company are certainly para-phrasing parts of it, but certainly butchering it none the less. Was I unclear in the spirit in which it was written? Did no one understand that I was merely using a little life experience to explain my point of increased ignorancy, apathy, and selfishness in the general population of America and western civilization?

Perhaps some whistle blower (Blow Jobber more like it) that spies on JWO gave certain members of this forum an abridged version with just enough actual info to throw childish barbs?

My god, and this brain trust questions my intelligence?

58

The passion of the Bush.....

by LongHauler in

jw
friends

ok, so this really has nothing to do with bush... .

at least directly.

ever since 9/11 and the begining of the iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-americanism.

LongHauler

Englishman-

Whoa! Did you think that up all by yourself?

Simon-

How the hell did you come to that conclusion? You're as bad at paraphrasing as the writing comittee in Brooklyn. Did you even read what I wrote? or did your "Good Buddy" Eman send you a candygram to tell you someone wrote something unfavorable about you? If you have such a low threshhold for idiots how come you haven't deleted yourself?

58

The passion of the Bush.....

by LongHauler in

jw
friends

ok, so this really has nothing to do with bush... .

at least directly.

ever since 9/11 and the begining of the iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-americanism.

LongHauler

No doubt Donkey. As an Owner-Operator I'm feeling it. I'm responsible for my own fuel. Diesel is through the roof.

58

The passion of the Bush.....

by LongHauler in

jw
friends

ok, so this really has nothing to do with bush... .

at least directly.

ever since 9/11 and the begining of the iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-americanism.

LongHauler

Donkey-

Sorry dude. I didn't know you were joking. Nobody else was. I'm serious though- Prices would soar that bad if we operated under those restrictions. I wasn't lying though about prefering those hours. There's a lot less traffic on the roads during that time.

58

The passion of the Bush.....

by LongHauler in

jw
friends

ok, so this really has nothing to do with bush... .

at least directly.

ever since 9/11 and the begining of the iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-americanism.

LongHauler

Simon-

It must be nice to live in that shallow little world of yours. You can't even see past your own arrogance long enough to know the difference between hollywood history and actual history. My opinions are my own, developed after a long period of observing exchanges between certain individuals. I'm willing to bet you attitude towards a person would change if said person was saying hurtful things to people you cared about. Assuming that there is anyone else besides you that you truly give a rats ass about.

Donkey-

I would be happy to oblige you on that schedule. In fact I prefer it. I would sincerely enjoy watching smart asses like your self pay $10 for a loaf of bread. Are you so blindingly stupid you could not grasp the concept of the example in my post?

czarofmischief-

See Simon.

58

The passion of the Bush.....

by LongHauler in

jw
friends

ok, so this really has nothing to do with bush... .

at least directly.

ever since 9/11 and the begining of the iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-americanism.

LongHauler

I would praise your article even more if it hadn't been for the horseshit that you posted about Onacruise and myself elswhere. It would seem that in that regard your research is limited to whatever gossip you pick up. Pity really, it gives everyone the impression that basically you might just be an asshole without a mind of your own.
Unless of course, someone has filched this article and is pretending to be you on another site. In that case I apologise unreservedly

No need to apologize. I do not hide in shadows behind multiple user accounts to conceal my activities. I use the same handle on both JWO and JWD. In the post to which you refer on JWO, let me say this now. I whole heartedly believe what I wrote. You might also choose to notice that I have posted more there in the last week than I have in all of the time I have been registered here. Most of my time here was spent in chat or in private messages with certain users (mostly former users now) that I had developed friendships with. I will admit that my opinion is largely based on said friendships and the circumstances that led to thier expulsion from this board. The only exception to that rule is Simon himself. His attitude is quite frankly reminicent of old nazi propoganda films I once watched in history class. He holds himself above others and would dictate to them what they should think or believe. His post on the bombings in Madrid is a prime example of this.

Maybe if the nations simply stop jerking around with people's lives things will get better.
Perhaps if someone seizes control of the USA and makes it behave, things will get better.
Stop assuming that America is gods blessed land, you are his chosen people and you even have a clue what the answers are, never mind what your contribution to the problem is.
Your "solution" of seizing control is exactly why we have the mess we have now.

I realize that you didn't particularly agree with Simon on this issue Englishman. Frankly, I hope I was wrong about you. If I am I will apologize. But as I said, my attitude towards certain individuals was based on actions I did not witness first hand. Only in transcripts and forwarded e-mails.

Most of my inspiration for writing this post revolved around what Simon and many others have said about the country I love. (Mostly Simon) I thought it was high time some of these ignorant, piss ant Europeans were reminded of what the U.S. has done for not only them, but the world at large. But remember that this is my opinion, and I stand behind it.

58

The passion of the Bush.....

by LongHauler in

jw
friends

ok, so this really has nothing to do with bush... .

at least directly.

ever since 9/11 and the begining of the iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-americanism.

LongHauler

Ok, so this really has nothing to do with Bush...
At least directly.

Ever since 9/11 and the begining of the Iraq war there has been a growing tide of anti-Americanism. Enough. War is never a great thing. No matter what war from our history you may point to, Any time two or more nations must rely on armed combat to solve a problem there has been an unacceptable failure of diplomacy on someones part. Does this mean war is unnecessary? Hardly. In fact, I'll bet if you asked someone who lived through daily bombings in London from the German Airforce I doubt that they would say they were opposed to the American Army and Airforce that fought alongside thier fathers and sons to defeat Hitler and his Nazi party.

Which brings me to this point.

Perhaps what we need here is a history lesson about what America stands for. In the 1700's British soldiers began an invasion of thirteen colonies that eventually would be known as the United States of America. Farmers with pitchforks, militia and what was known at the time as the Continental Army sent the British back to the Island from which they came.

Now fast forward to the beginning of the twentieth century.

The German Kaiser was marching across Europe with the German Army conquering everthing in thier path. Did the U.S. say to Britain and the rest of Europe "Tough shit"?
NO. American soldiers came to Europes aid, defeated the Kaiser and spent American dollars to rebuild Europe.

Now comes 1941. Once again Europe was in the throes of a major war. America was already sending millons of dollars in equipment to help in the war effort. When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, did Americas war effort become a conflict between America and Japan only? NO. America began fighting a war on two fronts, against the Japanesse in the pacific and the Germans in Europe and northern Africa. Once again at the conclusion of the war, America began spending millons to help rebuild countries that were devestated by war.

America has a long history of helping people in need. Both with our Military and our money. Even today, when problems arise in other countries the United States is often first on the scene to pick up the pieces.

What kind of shape would the entire European continent be in today had Americans not volounteered thier lives to defend freedom?
What kind of shape would the Iraqi people be in if the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein continued?
How much suffering on the part of the Afgan people would still be continuing today if the Taliban was still in power?

Have we become so biased to our own self interest that we would refuse to rescue people who are being tortured and slain with impunity by a mad man?

Who on this planet really has the right to criticize a nation with a proud history of putting our own best interest asside to come to the aid of our fellow man?

What has led to this mockery?

In my opinion there are two main causes for this.
The first is a problem that is widespread here in America as much as the rest of the world. SELF-CENTERED ARROGANCE. As a truck driver I see it every day in the way people drive, and there general attitude towards trucks. When people drive they are oblivious to the world around them. They have no respect for the effects of thier actions on the drivers around them. The attitude towards trucks is far worse. They have no idea how much we affect thier lives.

The first thing you hear from people is "Trucks are so slow. They're so big I can't see around them. Why do we need them anyway? I can get everything I need at a store". That statment gave me a migraine the first time I heard it.

Let me clear the air. EVERYTHING you buy at a store arrived there by truck. Even products shipped by rail must be offloaded to a truck at some point. Heres an excercise for you: Next time you are at a grocery store, go to the can goods aisle and pick up a can of corn. Now try and guess how many trucks it took to get that can in your hand. Any guesses? Conservatively at least four trucks were involved. One truck brought the raw corn to a manufacturing plant which processed and canned it. A second truck took it to a staging warehouse. A third truck shipped it to a grocery warehouse. A fourth truck delivered it to the store. Get the point?

The second thing you hear is why should I care how the government treats truckers? What has fuel prices got to do with me? Well when I heard that for the first time, blood shot out of my nose.

Lets clear the air again, shall we? Anything that effects how a driver does his job, be it a change in truck regulations or a jump in fuel price will make it hard and expensive to do your job. The driver passes that cost to the truck company, which passes that expense to the shipper, who passes that expense to the reciever, who in turn passes that expense to the consumer. For those who are a bit slow, that means YOU.

All of us are so consumed with our own agendas and self interest that we can't stand for something to happen that we didn't agree with. Today everyone forgets the good things that happened since 9/11 because we can't see past the nose on our faces. "But Bush lied!". Imagine that. A politican that lied. My god, get my bible. It's the first sign of the appocolypse. He lied. Get over it. Americans are so pissed that Al Gore lost that if Bush farts the wrong way its a national crisis. Has anyone bothered to stop and consider what the soldiers who actually fought the war while we watched on CNN thought about operation Iraqi Freedom?
Has anyone seen the tears in thier eyes as they discoverd mass graves where hundreds of thousands of Iraqis rest in pieces? Did anyone hear the cries of joy and celebration when Saddam was caught? Food for thought.

The second and slightly more disturbing reason for this anti-American sentiment is more primal and selfish yet. JEALOUSY. (One of the seven deadlies if any even reads a bible anymore) America is one of the youngest countries on earth, yet is the worlds only remaining super-power. Before any of you get too pissed off, I am not attempting to insult Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China etc. etc. As a boy in school there was a formula to it. It went something like this:

1. The ability to gain superiority on land sea and air.
2. The ability to fight multple wars at once.
3. The in-ability of an aggressor nation to single-handedly conquer it.
4. A large economic force.

Number 3 basicly means that no single country could successfully invade and conquer. I'm not saying America is invulnerable, just that even countries like China could not do the job alone. Nuclear powers do not count. Even if Russia, for instance, were to launch a nuclear attack they would be destroyed seconds later. And for the rest of the world a slow death by nuclear winter.

America has also been home to some of the most stunning break-throughs in science and technology. Even the Internet we are using now was first developed by American universities and adapted first for the U.S. Military. America is still the only country to have landed men on the moon. We are the only country to have landed a craft on mars. Although I personally was pulling for Britains Beagle. The European Space Agency has been a great partner with NASA, like with SKYLAB and the ISS.

Osama and company are extremely jealous of America and her wealth. Thier main fight against the U.S. is centered on their belief that they should have it. Make no mistake about it, no matter how you may personally feel about Bush he is right about one thing. This is not America's War. If America were to fall to the forces of terror they will not stop there. England's next. Then France, Germany, and the rest of the world. They believe it is God's will that they rule this world. Must we find ourselves living as the Iraqi or Afgan people were to put our differences aside long enough to defeat terrorism? Remember, If Osama had his way to speak out as so many have against the war would mean a death sentence.

As a post script to my above post, I might add that anyone who would like to learn more about what the Vietnam war meant to the South Vietnam patriot, there is a wonderful book by Cao Ky Nguyen called "Buddah's Child". Nguyen is the former prime minister of South Vietnam and offically wrote himself out of office after penning the country's first constitution. Vietnam is long considered an example of American aggression. It's worth it to learn what was going on before U.S. troops began to set foot in Souteast Asia.

Doug

of the "I'm tired of the USA bashing" class

119

Is Mankind Born Evil....or Good?

by Farkel in

many ancients including confucious and lao tzu took opposing views about this subject and their arguments are fascinating to read.

their arguments are nearly 2,500 years old.

the greeks also lively debated this question.. of course, as dubs (and in fact, in most christian faiths) we were taught that man was born inherently evil, and the quest is to overcome that and work towards the good.

LongHauler

It can not be as simple as good or bad from birth. Some people live thier whole lives as what we would consider to be good, while others turn out as serial killers. Our environment during our formative childhood has great bearing on our lives. And how we as individuals react to the events of our lives shapes us as to the kind of person we will be. Nothing is cut and dried, at best we are born as imperfect and flawed human beings. It is up to each of us how we choose to live our lives. Not everyone will achieve greatness, but at the same time not all of us will become serial killers.

As for myself,

I will not go down in history.

But I will go down on a lady.