The Business of War

Today's Headline:

Car bombing targeting Shiites in Pakistan kills 19

I'm a liberal. Voted Democrat since the 80s. Ronnie Reagan and his 'Trickle Down' economics did it for me as a Republican. Trickle Down made absolutely no sense to me at the time and still doesn't. Giving money to the rich just isn't logical. Giving tax breaks to the people who have everything makes no sense to me either. So, I dropped out of the Republican party realizing, of course, my father would roll over in his grave because I did.

But, let's get down to what's bothering me today. As y'all know, the biggie in the news is gun control. Get those semi-autos out of people's hands. Get rid of those 30 round mags and the killing will stop. Rework the mental health system; take the crazies off the streets and the killing will stop. This thinking – to me at least – makes about as much sense as the 'Trickle Down' economic policy of good ol' Ronnie Reagan.

If people want to kill people, people WILL kill people...period. There are a host of delivery systems every bit as dangerous – some more dangerous – than guns. Take bombs for instance, I.E.D.'s in particular. How hard do you think they are to make? [rhetorical question] Actually, they are very easy to make and they kill dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people. Imagine if you can what would have happened in those schools if the shooter was a bomber instead. In a crowded classroom, everybody would die and the bomber needn't even be in the room at the time of the explosion.

Take poison, for example. There are some easily created airborne poisons out there that would kill hundreds of people. Imagine a school's air-conditioning system saturated with one of those fast acting poisons, hundreds would die.

My point is, people DO kill people with all kinds of death dealing instruments [guns excluded]. Will banning semi-autos stop it? I seriously doubt it. Ban, 'em. Get 'em out of everybody's hands. The killing will not stop...sorry, but it won't.

In our history [since 1776], our country has been in one or another war every generation since the United States' was created.

1775-1783 American Revolution English Colonists vs. Great Britain

1798-1800 Franco-American Naval War United States vs. France

1801-1815 Barbary Wars United States vs. Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli

1812-1815 War of 1812 United States vs. Great Britain

1813-1814 Creek War United States vs. Creek Indians

1836 War of Texas Independence Texas vs. Mexico

1846-1848 Mexican-American War United States vs. Mexico

1861-1865 U.S. Civil War Union vs. Confederacy

1898 Spanish-American War United States vs. Spain

1914-1918 World War I

1939-1945 World War II Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan vs. Major Allied Powers: United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia

1950-1953 Korean War United States (as part of the United Nations) and South Korea vs. North Korea and Communist China

1960-1975 Vietnam War United States and South Vietnam vs. North Vietnam

1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion United States vs. Cuba

1983 Grenada United States Intervention

1989 US Invasion of Panama

United States vs. Panama

1990-1991 Persian Gulf War

United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq

1995-1996 Intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina United States as part of NATO acted peacekeepers in former Yugoslavia

2001 Invasion of Afghanistan

United States and Coalition Forces vs. the Taliban regime in Afghanistan to fight terrorism.

2003 Invasion of Iraq

United States and Coalition Forces vs. Iraq

In my opinion, the United States needs to get out of the business of war. I call it a business, because it is. Why are we constantly fighting someone somewhere when we have had nobody invading our shores by any armed force? Why are we involved with people who don't like us and don't want us in their countries? Ban guns? How bout we ban war? If there were no wars, thousands of lives would be saved; men, women AND children. No wonder everybody has guns, it's called self preservation.