• TinSoldier said on Feb 27, 2008....

  Well, it's only because life is like a movie or a morality play and the sides are very clear cut.
  
  After all, you're either with the good guys or you're with the bad guys, right?
  
  I blame the media.
  

• bloc said on Feb 27, 2008....

  yes, life is just like GI Joe ;)

• Lucytorial said on Feb 27, 2008....

  I can't stop laughing... I am going to wet myself.....
  
  I think its such an intelligent thing to say... it er... it it it
  
  Still can't stop laughing
  
  
  I can't even get the words out bloc because I'm laughing so hard.....
  

• TinSoldier said on Feb 27, 2008....

  On the other hand, a part of me agrees with him. That we should be the good guys. We have a long history of trying to be so, usually for good but sometimes for ill.
  
  But we should realize that being "the good guys" is a goal to strive for, not a destination we arrive at. And it is never, ever, a reason for turning a blind eye to or to justify the wrongs that we have committed. Just the opposite in fact -- being self-critical and making an effort to correct wrongs that have been committed in your name is one of the marks of a "good guy".
  
  Rationalization is not.
  

• kelly said on Feb 27, 2008....

  Exactly.  So well said, Tin.  Bloc, I think smb has mixed up his comic books with the newspapers.

• SeanRenaud said on Feb 28, 2008....

  I don't know, it's an interesting statement.  I mean I don't think that any of the soldiers out in the field go out saying.  "Well it's ok if those guys on the side are trying to kill me.  No big!"
   
  They are saying "This guy is evil, I need to kill/capture him and if he'd just do the right thing and surrender/come over to my way of thinking we wouldn't be in this situation."
   
  I think it falls under nationalism/patriotism and while you may argue that we have too much I think a certain amount is absolutely required to keeping a country.

• crybabylu said on Feb 28, 2008....

  I don't think it is nearly the stupidist thing I ever read on Soul Cast.  I suggest you start reading outside the box. bloc.

• Antimatter said on Feb 28, 2008....

  How long have you been reading SoulCast? ;)

• travelr712 said on Feb 28, 2008....

  i saw an interesting documentary about a year ago. it was based on a reunion of two soldiers. they met on the battlefield where they had waged war 40 years before, during WW2. they shared memories of friends, of despairation, of the fact that they both felt blessed to have made it through and still be alive. of how they in their youth had fought for their country, for their honor, for their unit and their friends. it was really quite touching.
   
  the thing that got me was, the battlefield was the hurtgen forest, one of the least well known and bloodiest battles of WW2.
   
  the other thing was that one soldier was american, the other was german. they had been on opposite sides of the line.
   
  my point is this. to the soldier, they are fighting for what they believe in, they are fighting the war their captains, majors, generals, leaders tell them to fight. they are fighting the 'evil' that they believe in. each one on each side thinks the other side 'evil'. until after the first battle. then they understand, their lot is a fight for survival, and the reasons don't matter, because they have no choice.
   
  and when all is said and done, they no longer hate the enemy, at least most of them don't.
   
  and keep in mind. americans have been an invasion force in foreign countries for nearly 70 years now. we are going to other nations with our armies and weapons and trying to enforce our ideals on them. wouldn't we think it evil if islamists had the better weapons? wouldn't we think it was the height of injustice if the vietnamese put 1 million troups in our back yards, destroying our cities, killing our people? wouldn't many of us grab a weapon, or a bomb, to defend our homefront? so why is it evil for people in other countries to do the same? just because they believe something other than what we do?

• SeanRenaud said on Feb 28, 2008....

  Are you counting WW2 as america invading another country and imposing our will?  While I don't agree with some of the things we've done but tell me I read that wrong.

• travelr712 said on Feb 28, 2008....

  well sean, it wasn't the same scenario as korea, or vietnam, or kosavo, or iraq, that's true. but it is also true that we invaded foreign countries, several of them, with our armed forces. when the fighting was done, america, england and russia sat around the table and split up the land, including zoning germany. none of those countries, including japan, put a single soldier on our soil. the closest anyone came was hawaii, an island in the middle of the pacific ocean that we had invaded and then taken over in 1893 when queen liliuokalani surrendered the kingdom to america under protest, and that was limited to an air attack. we are a nation of conquest. we are a nation that feels compelled to force our beliefs on the rest of the world. we are a nation that believes it has a 'divine right' to tell other people what to think, how to act, and how to govern themselves. not everyone agrees with that viewpoint. just because they don't, doesn't make them evil.

• sheltercrow said on Feb 29, 2008....

  I know this is presumptuous of me but I couldn't help stopping by.
  
  The way SMB sodomizes the English language I find it terribly hard to find a thing it/he/she writes that isn't... well stupid.
  
  We are winning in Iraq and it should be the generals on the ground that determine when the job is done.
  
  Denver Post Flap on Protecting America [entire post]
  
  Democrats Have Put America At Risk [entire post]
  
  Hidden Progress In Iraq [entire post]
  
  

• stopmediabias said on Mar 03, 2008....

  So I've earned the #1 stupid spot and D6 is earned #2.  Hmmm

  It shows bloc can't keep his side of the debate up so he must design these little hit pieces. 

  This means nothing and only shows the character of some of the people here on soulcast.

• sheltercrow said on Mar 03, 2008....

  

• sheltercrow said on Mar 03, 2008....

  
   
  you can delete this after you have seen it...it is funny...

• curmudgeon said on Mar 03, 2008....

  bloc's favortie form of argument is to call someone's statement silly and offer little else.
   
  quite frankly I don't even bother with it. I'm sick of his broken record on torture and his utterly baised sourcing.
   
  I respect his service to our country and his right to express his opinions, but his snide responses are beneath contempt and unworthy of response.
   
  However, I must say that this wearing of military service on one's sleeve is wearing a bit thin. We all have an equal right - whether we've served in the military or not - to our opinions. Just because you've served does not entitle you to any greater measure of authority than any other American.
   
  Think and vote your way, dude. I'll do the same and we'll see what happens at the polls. Nuff said.

• stopmediabias said on Mar 03, 2008....

  What I find interesting is no-one seems to pick up on bloc's question. 

  In the context of the debate we were having we were talking about torture and since President Bush has pissed everyone off the "torture" we were talking about is on the Al Qaeda members.  Buy Bloc asking if it is ok for other countries to waterboard Americans I took it as meaning is it ok for Al Qaeda to waterboard Americans. 

  Stupid question.  1st-Buy saying this you are implying that we are the same and on a level playing field as Travel eloquently alluded too.  To me this is monumentally ridiculous.  Al Qaeda members plain and simple are animals.  If people in our society have gotten to the point they believe God wants them to send a retarded person into a store with an exposive vest or intentionally kill small children they have become animals and need to be put down.

  2nd-Look at our enemies in the past realistically, The Vietcong, The Nazis, The Cambodians, to ask if it is ok if they waterboard Americans is a stupid question because these enemies were the most brutal torturers in the world and we are on the right side.

  We have a set of rules we follow and they follow none.

  America is a source for good in the world far more than a source of bad.

• bloc said on Mar 03, 2008....

  waterboarding is or isn't torture regardless of the person doing it. My question makes it clear whether someone believes it is torture. I love how smb calls my question stupid when the same question is used by the Army in their field manual to teach soldiers how to decide if a technique is over the line.
  
  This is what the Army field manual says:
  
  5-76. While using legitimate interrogation techniques, certain applications of approaches and techniques may approach the line between permissible actions and prohibited actions. It may often be difficult to determine where permissible actions end and prohibited actions begin. In attempting to determine if a contemplated approach or technique should be considered prohibited, and therefore should not be included in an interrogation plan, consider these two tests before submitting the plan for approval:
  

  •     If the proposed approach technique were used by the enemy against  one of your fellow soldiers, would you believe the soldier had been abused?
  

  •     Could your conduct in carrying out the proposed technique violate a law or regulation? Keep in mind that even if you personally would not consider your actions to constitute abuse, the law may be more restrictive.
  

  5-77. If you answer yes to either of these tests, the contemplated action should not be conducted.
  
  @curm
  
  "bloc's favortie form of argument is to call someone's statement silly and offer little else."
  
  This is immensely ironic because you are the one offering "little else". You refuse to discuss the specifics and simply insult me personally. As you can see form what I wrote above, quoting the text from the actual army field manual, that I almost always offer a real argument.
  

• sheltercrow said on Mar 04, 2008....

  
  The simple fact I recognize is that if torture is allowed by law, for any reason, it will eventually be allowed to be used for any reason.

• sheltercrow said on Mar 04, 2008....

  
  StopMyBrain:
  
  

  
  

  
  If people in our society have gotten to the point they believe God wants them to send a retarded person into a store with an [explosive] vest or intentionally kill small children they have become animals and need to be put down.

  
  Are you referring to the anti-abortion crowd?

• sheltercrow said on Mar 04, 2008....

  
  
  StopMyBrain:
  
  

  
  

  
  2nd-Look at our enemies in the past realistically, The Vietcong, The Nazis, The Cambodians, to ask if it is OK if they water-board Americans is a stupid question because these enemies were the most brutal torturers in the world and we are on the right side.

  
  The Cambodians?

• bloc said on Mar 04, 2008....

  shelter, please ease off the images and animations. I ruins the flow of the conversation. I tune out immediately when I see them.

• stopmediabias said on Mar 04, 2008....

  Holy shit bloc!  We can agree on something :>

• travelr712 said on Mar 04, 2008....

  personally i liked the one where the guy beats himself to a bloody pulp on his keyboard, but hey, it's your blog dude!

• bloc said on Mar 04, 2008....

  @smb
  i guess miracles can happen ;)
  

• SeanRenaud said on Mar 04, 2008....

  No they can't.  I'm checking to see if any other signs of the apocalapse have shown up recently.

• sheltercrow said on Mar 04, 2008....

  Bloc: I was concerned with placing a little levity in the post. it's hard to remain serious when confronted with such down right stupidity.

• stopmediabias said on Mar 05, 2008....

  Shelterdork-"it's hard to remain serious when confronted with such down right stupidity. "

  Here's an idea, take the mirror away.

• sheltercrow said on Mar 05, 2008....

  StopMyBrain: Don't you have some Cambodians to fight?

• bloc said on Mar 05, 2008....

  @shelter
  but you lose the audience when you do it, and remember that smb isn't the audience.
  

• silverwhisper said on Mar 06, 2008....

  having had some time to think about it...
  
  i'm not a fan of these "stupidest thing ever said on soulcast" blog entries, bloc. what you do by posting it is hold up smb for ridicule. i think that does little but to breed more animosity and you should know that, without needing anyone else to tell you so.
  
  now, having said that: i think smb's quoted statement is dangerously naive. indeed, it's the single most naive and idealistic statement i recall ever encountering in my life (hence my own blog entry re: that quotation).
  
  TS: very well said, sir.
  
  ed

• bloc said on Mar 06, 2008....

  @ed
  you are probably right. My feeling though is that there needs to be some social pressure against dishonestly spewing crap over and over and over again. Maybe my method isn't optimal, but I think this is one of the problems with our political system. We've grown to accept dishonesty and stupidity.
  

• sheltercrow said on Mar 06, 2008....

  Let me cogitate here:

  The purpose of these posts is to explore and enjoy. It's not an audience I am looking for but the sheer pleasure of the engagement. Like I said before if I agree with an assertion I usually don't comment. To be honest I find more pleasure in the wrangles with a nit whit than with the echos of a choir chamber.

  I get more out of an exchange with media-bias than most because he/she allows me to think and try and find the truth. dfer and alien are a twin set of a closed system and become meaningless.

  You bloc have allowed us to post here what we cannot post elsewhere and have a little fun doing it. It's not like you post and block media-bias.

  Lets have fun with these exchanges.

  crow

• bloc said on Mar 07, 2008....

  @shelter
  your point about blocking is interesting. I put a lot of thought at one point into blocking people that do nothing but say, " but but but clinton got a blowjob" on posts about things like torture. In the end I decided not to, but I think our society needs to ridicule chronic liars and chronic bullshitters. Ridicule plays a significant role in enforcing our mores. Maybe I'm not doing that effectively with these posts, but we need something.
  

• sheltercrow said on Mar 07, 2008....

  Here here

  The point of all this madness is to enjoy the struggle. This post is as interesting as any I have been to.

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