Oh, yeah, the Surge is working
Posted on November 18th, 2007 by ecthompson
Another roadside bomb targeted children. American troops were handing out presents to children when a roadside bomb killed 3 children.
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From CNN.com:
A roadside bomb killed three Iraqi children and injured seven as they gathered around American troops handing out toys on Sunday, police and government officials told CNN.
Three U.S.soldiers were also killed in the explosion in Baquba, about 12 miles (60 kilometers) north of Baghdad, a police official said.
Other insurgent attacks on Sunday hit a government security convoy and an Iraqi military academy, officials said. (more…)
Michael Yon has a bigger picture than the one you are looking at, why not give it read?
Where is the outrage is right. Why is there not outrage when they kill children? But when our troops kill children, there are protests in the streets. Why are there no protests of the insurgents bombs? Troop hater.
Defenda -
It is always possible for one person to find whatever they are looking for if they look hard enough. If you want to show that America is graduating nothing but Ivy League brainiacs one reporter can do that. A truer picture only comes into view when you take in multiple points of view.
Take in the positive stories of Michael Yon and Fox news then take in GAO reports and the main stream media. Also look at reports from the BBC. The overall picture becomes clear. There have been millions of Iraqi’s displaced. Hundreds of neighborhoods have been cleansed. Billions of American dollars have lost or looted or stolen. Most of the projects that we have built have been poorly constructed.
Dan -
We have been numb to all of the kills in Iraq. So many roadside bombs and suicidal bombers.
I have to agree with Errington on both counts. The reason people still protect Bush and Cheney haven’t read enough or seen enough on all sides of the issue. If you only view FOX then you miss out on the whole discussion. There are protests in Iraq over the children being killed there. People in the US also protest in the Peace Rallies across the country. But you have to want to know about them in order for you to see them.
I read papers on the Web from all over the world and what they think of what the US has done and is doing. You have to want to hear or read the otherside of the issues and then make up your mind for yourself. You also have to have had a close family member who had been in harms way in this stupid war to have an accurate opinion of all sides if you support this war.And that soldier has to come back in one piece with NO problems. Then and only then can you call someone a troop hater for wanting this action to continue.
I have to agree with Errington on both counts. The reason people still protect Bush and Cheney haven’t read enough or seen enough on all sides of the issue. If you only view FOX then you miss out on the whole discussion. There are protests in Iraq over the children being killed there. People in the US also protest in the Peace Rallies across the country. But you have to want to know about them in order for you to see them.
I read papers on the Web from all over the world and what they think of what the US has done and is doing. You have to want to hear or read the otherside of the issues and then make up your mind for yourself. You also have to have had a close family member who had been in harms way in this stupid war to have an accurate opinion of all sides if you support this war.And that soldier has to come back in one piece with NO problems. Then and only then can you call someone a troop hater for wanting this action not to continue.
War is War, good and bad comes from it. We need to win this one and stay long enough for them to take care of their own security. Complain about the money, elect a Democrat and watch it get wasted anyway and your taxes will go up. To many people complain and the news reports are so misleading and if you base your oppinions on what you read you are a fool.
Dean’O
I wonder what will happen when the countries we are borrowing the money for this war will ask for us to pay the debt? I wonder where are we going to get the money? When the social security falters where is the money going to come from when you keep giving the rich tax breaks? I guess I wonder because I will need the SS I paid in over these years to help me when I retire if there is anything less. The returning soldiers are STILL not getting the medical attention they need. WHY NOT? Not enought money and they will need care for a long time. I do not live off the riches of the republicans who cut the taxes on the people who can afford it.The government already reimburses states for the healthcare they give the uninsured. But this is only provided once the emergency care is given. Wouldn’t it make more sense to give them preventive care up front and the cost would be so much less. The Schip is supported by Democrats and Republicans but not the president. The realty is you need to read and listen and attend your city council meetings and get the info for yourself. Speak up at them if you see something you don’t agree with. The same thing with the war. If you agree with it then volunteer encourage your family to volunteer. Send your money to the refugee funds. Volunteer to sponsor a refugee family. But don’t tell the soldiers who want to leave they can’t because there isn’t enough to replace them and they will be prosicuted if they desert. Look at the statistics for the men and women who are not reenlisting from WestPoint and how they have to lower the standards so low that the imcompetence is severe. and explain to me what winning this war means. The terrorists are in Afghanistan not Iraq. The world knows this why don’t you?
Margaret-
Completely away from the soldier subject, but does anyone you know make over $50,000 per year? Do you make that much? Do you consider yourself or anyone else making that kind of money wealthy? I know I sure don’t and those are the people who got the tax breaks. Those same people make up a little less than the top quarter in earners in this country and they pay roughly 2/3 of the personal income tax bill. The bottom 50% pays 4.3%. How can you possibly give 75 million or so who pay just 4.3% of the tax bill a break? Do you understand our tax system? If you have 20 people and they need to pay $100 to live, that means the ‘richest’ person has to pay $50, the 5 ‘richest’ pay $80 between them and the 10 ‘poorest’ pay $4 between them. How much can you cut from the poorest 10?
http://www.house.gov/jec/fiscal/tax/fig-6.gif
You do understand that federal tax revenue is the highest ever, due in part to the tax cuts, do you not?
You want to know what to do about your retirement? Take care of it yourself. Why rely on someone else when you could do it yourself? I have no problem paying into SS so that the Greatest Generation can survive as they age. But I am not counting on anyone who isn’t born yet to pay for my retirement. Why would you? Why would you want anyone else to pay for anything you do, now or in the future?
And if people were protesting the terrorists actions in large numbers, as you claim, wouldn’t that be on the Fox agenda? I hear you calling our troops murderers, but I never hear anyone from your side calling those who carried out this bombing child killers. Like you, I read world newspapers. I do business all across the country and have contacts across the world. Rarely do I see the ones who started this held to the same accountability standards as our men and women are.
Let me clarify. I know I sure don’t consider myself or anyone else I know who is in the 25% tax bracket (or higher) rich. I wouldn’t work my tail off 320 days a year if I was rich. I benefit from the tax cuts. No one I know who makes that kind of money considers themselves rich either.
Dan,
So who is going to pay for the war when the people who are loaning us the money want to collect?
With the dollar falling and the cost of this war rising and the care of the veterans unpaid for I just wonder what will happen.
When you hear how many more millionares there are in the country and the ceo’s make more money than ever.It is hard not to wonder why the tax credits were placed in the first place. I remember that the benefits were suppose to trickle down.
When my son came back from the war he was told he could qualify for a educational tax credit in Utah to help supplement his GI bill. In order for him to get the credit he has to make 35000. Now tell me how that will help him. He is 23 and going to school full time and works fulltime during the summer. The GI bill only pays for tuition and books at the state school. But if he could earn that much money during the 3 months of summer break then he wouldn’t need the 2500 tax credit would he?
There was also a whole unit of soldiers that served 249 days in Iraq. 1 day short of qualifing for educational funds. The government is trying to save money in the wrong places. And it isn’t the democrats who passed this measure.
Dan -
Congratulations. You have bought the Republican talking points hook, line and sinker. Tax cuts equal increased revenue. That’s a good one. How? Please tell me how does that work? The average American has seen no…NO increase in wages over the past 5 - 6 years. Could it be that revenue is up because there are simply more people paying into the pot? That what Alan Greenspan has said.
Dan, supply-side economics doesn’t work. It has never worked. Reagan realized that after the first year of his tax cuts that’s why he quietly increased tax rates the following year. You are right that folks making $50,000 did get money back from Bush’s Tax cut. They got $1100 (Use the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation’s tax cut calculator.) Basically they got back 2% of their total income.
What about someone making $250,000 (all people in this example are married, filing jointly with 2 children under the age of 17 and are taking standard deductions)? They get over $5000 back or just over 2% of their income. Now, if you make over one million dollars here where Bush’s tax cuts kick in. You got over $30,000 back. Over 3% of your total income. These are the folks that can afford to pay more. Yet, they are paying less of a percentage of their income. Finally, the icing on the cake, if you make over $2.5 million the president gave you over 3.4% of your income back or $84,000. None of these calculations included capital gains windfalls. If you were worth over $2.5 million in 2001 and haven’t double your net worth under the bush administation you weren’t trying.
Finally, it is very nice to say that people should be responsible for their actions but that girl that waited on me in Appleby’s had trouble just giving me the right change. The average American watches over 2 hours of television per day and reads just over 7 minutes per day. The average American doesn’t have the education to make complex financial decisions. This is a fact.
First, let me say that I could care less about Democrat vs. Republican. I simply vote for what I feel is right and what I believe. I have voted 3 times now for the same Democratic mayor in the city where I live.
How do we pay Marg? It’s simple. You are going to elect a Democrat as president and they are going to raise our taxes a couple of trillion dollars.
You complain about ceo’s making too much, and I am not really disagreeing with you. But do you know that if you cut the CEO of Walmart’s pay by 90% the company saves roughly $20 million a year? Do you know that if Walmart raises wages by $1/hour, it costs them $20 million a month? In the grand scheme, cutting CEO’s salaries doesn’t save corporations that much money.
If your son only works during the summer months, why again does he deserve a tax credit? What does he make, $10,000 in those 3 months? He hardly pays any taxes to get a break from. I understand if he was told something and doesn’t get it, and cutting him 1 day short is so wrong it isn’t funny. The GI Bill ONLY pays for tuition and books?!? You do know that millions of people, (including my wife and myself) go to or went to college without getting tuition and books paid for. He is getting a free education, yet you still want more? That is more opportunity than most people could ever dream of. Yeah, maybe he gets the shaft on part of the deal, but he is still getting a darn good deal. He should take it and run.
Dan -
thanks again for your comments.
It seems to me that you should know what is right and not “feel” it. You should believe in God but use information and data to make thoughtful decisions.
It sounds great to say that lowering tax cuts cause the rich to spend more money and hire more people. It doesn’t work like that. There is a mountain of data showing that cutting taxes don’t increase revenue. Maybe the increase in revenue is because the population has grown? There are more people paying taxes.
CEO’s are clearly making too much but then look at the other executives. You are looking at the problem completely wrong. Data reveals that an increase in the minimum wage will increase the bottom-line to businesses like Wal-Mart, Target and Sears. Folks who are making minimum wage don’t save for a rainy day. They spend. Small businesses and large businesses benefit.