If I were king for a week...the first 100 hours...

[TexKan]

well - I hope youfeel better! Didn't know you were so passionate about makin friends or enemies. Course everyone is entitled to an opinion. That don't make em pricks but we all get riled now and agian. Nice attack from both posters......... can ya'll talk now???

[Outofdodge]

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

I'm not in the 30% bracket yet....but working on it...lol. ?

I hope you make it if that is your goal. It's not all it's cracked up to be. Doesn't change my central tenet though. I don't care if taxes get raised or spending gets cut or if the balance falls somewhere in the middle.

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

When people stop working for that wage then maybe it needs to go up. MOST minimum wage jobs are unskilled labor and should be paid as such. ?

Minimum wage hikes, IMO create an issue on the mom and pop business but exceedingly even the McDonalds of the world are having to pay higher. I'm not even sure if *most* lo wage jobs are what used to be called unskilled. The trades don't pay as much as they did historically but there's quite a few folks trying to make due on it. It's not meant as a flame but can you honestly recognize the need for this when for the past 18 or so years you've been covered for health care, steady employment, some other assistance to go with your below market salary in exchange for possibly getting shot at job?

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

No one could predict the things that are happening now in Iraq.?

I think many people predicted it but kept their mouths shut. I think it is fairly obvious that on the same day Bush is out speaking things aren't as bad as they seem, his generals are testifying to Congress that a civil war is neigh then there have been more than a few mistakes in this process.

I think a defense secretary who forces his men and women....and they are HIS men and women....to attempt to do a job without the appropriate resources and protection should be relieved. I could go on but i've already went off on someone else tonight.

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

"THIS ADMINISTRATION" has the balls to confront terror instead of turning their back on the attacks that have happened in the past. (see prior adminstration).?

You mean the army in Afghanistan now under NATO control with a British general in command fighting a resurgent Taliban? You know Iraq and terror aren't related and they dropped any pretense of that a long time ago.

Originally Posted by Army_of_One

What would YOU have done differently? What would you do NOW? It's easy to be critical but offer a solution. Would you pull out? Add troops? What?

I would evaluate what my military leaders told me and give them the benefit of the doubt in terms of resources-within reason. I would not insert my own theories on troop resources just to prove I'm the boss. And if my military men tell me they can't control it then yes, I consider pulling out and letting them kill each other over there. Regardless I would come clean with the American people.

Yes, part of being in the military service carries the possibility of getting shot. Being a Civilian leader of the military sometimes mean you have to make decisions which will result in that possibility of getting killed. But if you're a leader you damned well better make sure that kid you're putting in harms way has the tools, logisitics, and related forces able to do the job. And you let them do the job. Otherwise, IMO you are wasting a valuable resource just for political gain. And that's what I believe this administration has done.

And that right now, more than anything else Iraq po's me. I can debate the merits of invading all night long as long as I don't get insulted with the terrorism lie. It's a moot point, we're an occupying country. Give the people the resources to fix it, if it's fixable and move on.