Christmas Eve 2015… Almost fifty years ago I was part of a small group that went out to conduct a pre-emptive strike because we just knew that “Nagoolian” (Bush for North Vietnamese Army) was going to violate the Christmas Ceasefire and we were up to destroying their will and ability to do that. Half way through the ensuing firefight I found myself lying on my back in a 81 or 82 millimeter mortar crater watching their green and our red tracer rounds crossing maybe 18″ above me. Honest!, I was humming “Deck the Halls…” and YES they had violated the ceasefire when we attacked them!
I truly pray that America will tire of finding excuses to wage, participate in, or supply war in 2016. The lines are getting blurrier every day that separates the “good guys” and the “bad guys” but there is no question about which nation contributes the most equipment and lethality to war in the world; it ain’t okay with me that it’s the US of A! We have the ability to end all life if we decided to do that, so does China and Russia. A few other nations have the ability to make a run at ending it all and, best case, make surviving a pretty grim outcome. I think it’s ridiculous to believe that any nation with Armageddon capabilities would attack the US. Hell, “Doomsday Devices” were perfected in the 60 ‘ s and I’m sure have been upgraded continually; if an adventuresome enemy hit any of 50 cities in America once, or any more than one American city…poof! “Hello WW III!” ISIS? I really believe the want a Moslem Caliphate over there and mess with us because we won’t let the Middle East self-determine; the same thing that all Empires have done on their way to the crapper. Pull out, give the bases we built to the nations where we built them in lieu of ANY more “foreign aid” or reparations payments, take our weapons back with us, and make it clear that America is done fighting on foreign soil. Make sure they remember that we are the only nation who has ever used Nukes on an enemy so that IS part of our war strategies so they’ll want to consider attacking us VERY CAREFULLY. The rest of the world can do what they want to do and China and Russia can referee from now on just leave us out of war and conquest. We’re gonna focus on meds and mental health; gonna cure cancer, alzheimer’s, American hunger, crime, addictions, and ignorance. We’ll still be part of the world community, if you want to buy any of our new industry we”ll be glad to sell it (for Shiny Rocks, we no longer value gold it’s become too much of a problem), if you’d rather spend on health instead of hell. But don’t bring war to US or we’ll extinct you. If Americans feel the need to mess around in foreign or warring countries, bodyguarding or building irrigation and wells, and they get killed that was their choice, kill Americans here, we’ll extinct you! Light off any nukes upwind of us, maybe we’ll extinct you…go ahead roll the dice.
Let’s quit buying and selling the old bullshit that America needs to fight wars either for ourselves or our allies; we fought the wars we needed to fight and fought a couple that we should have learned from that we’re more suited to being lovers than tyrants. Ultimately survival is a do-it-yourself project, bullies go looking for trouble and always find it. I love America, I went to war under the American flag, and believe me, I learned! Please go to YouTube and listen to Train, “Calling All Angels”
Merry Christmas, may 2016 be better for all the world than 2015 was, may we learn to live from our hearts instead of our fear, my we rely more on our backs than on our banks, and may God bless America with the remembrance of why he franchised us originally.
The S.T.A.R. Forum 
With Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Lord and Savior of the world. He has many names, among them, the “Prince of Peace”. At His birth in Bethlehem, Angels appeared to the shepherds in the hills around this city, saying “Peace on Earth to men of good will”. According to experts in Ancient Scriptures, this quote was interpreted incorrectly in the Bible we know today as “good will toward men.” Christ came to bring peace to men (and women) of goodwill. As the world becomes less godly and more worldly, with little goodwill existing in men’s hearts, there can be no peace on earth. America is a nation with a long tradition of good will towards other nations, and tries to hold onto peace as long as possible. However, in order to maintain freedom and preserve our nation as a country of life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness, and to protect and nurture our families, we must not fail to defend ourselves when all is threatened, from outside or from within.
I cannot agree with you that if an American travels outside his country, if he is killed by terrorists, it is not our concern, as he understood the risks of traveling abroad. Then you say that if Russia, China or Islam decides to conquer a particular country, eg. In Eastern Europe, we should be content to let “them” decide the fate of that country. In this example, one of the evil empires in question is the bully, not America as you posit. By “them” you can’t be referring to the people of the country being swallowed up by a superpower bully. You know they would have little say as to their disposition. You can only mean that you think that the bully, evil empire’s aggression might be checked by one of the other bully, evil empires, or that “they” would decide among themselves how to divide up the territory and the spoils of war. This is OK with you? Would it be OK with you if the country being devoured was yours and your family was taken away and you were imprisoned and beaten every day?
If America becomes involved in such an incident, an attempt to prevent a big, powerful bully from dominating and enslaving the populace of a smaller, less powerful country, it would not be acting primarily for the benefit of the U.S., but to assist the smaller country in its defense. The only benefit for America is that a country not under the thumb of a tyrant would become, without the help of the world community, including the U.S., a part of the larger evil empire which would make evil stronger, more likely to pursue further such military adventures and a bigger threat to the U.S. and other free people around the globe.
You say that if an enemy should attack us on U.S. soil (do you mean the continental U.S. where Alaska and Hawaii would not be defended?), we would then be justified in defending ourselves. Newsflash for you: Over 3,000 Americans were killed by Islamic terrorists flying airliners into buildings in 2001, and there have been numerous terrorist attacks since, including the recent murder of 14 people in San Bernardino. How many have to die at the hands of these butchers before you’ll recognize that defending your country and your family is justified by the very first hostage taken and the very first journalist beheaded? Eventually, they’ll be coming for you and your loved ones to chop off your heads and hold them up by the hair for the camera.
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You’ve got to be kidding me Mr Ogden! It seems you may be suffering from acute anal-cranial inversion. Can you really believe that there is ANY good outcomes from America’s invasion of the Middle East??? All of Europe and now California are totally under siege by Islamic crazies! Mr. Bin Laden warned us long before the towers came down that if we didn’t get out of the Middle East’s business he would get in America’s business and hurt us badly; we didn’t and he did! Of course you’ll say he was lying and he would have hit us anyway but you don’t know anymore about that than you do about killing third-world civilians in the name of pedalling freedom. You probably believe that the Afghani’s could choose Taliban rule. They couldn’t sir, we wouldn’t give them that freedom.
I’ll agree that the 3,000 that died in the towers is a total tragedy as is the 29 in Bedroom but that 3,029 is a drop in the bucket compared to how many Islamicen, women, and children have died under American fired and supplied munitions.
Strap on some body armor and weaponry, do some of the dirty work, then talk to me about justifying empire building!
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