"Doesn't sound very tough to me"

[beth]

So called security results in violations of liberties afforded us by our constitution. The founding fathers were wise men like no others in history and distrusted government and what it can do if left unchecked. Our constitution was never more neglected and abused than it is right now by our own elected leaders who have brainwashed America into sacrificing rights for the so-called elusive security. Making people always worry about "security" is a ploy used by "our" government to make us willingly give up more and more of our constitution.

There are 50k people on the no fly list who are going to be on the no-gun list? Wake up America.

The Republicans will be outed this election too. Most conservatives do not fall in line with party message anymore. Doesn't work.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I hate how Republicans are calling for more surveillance. But so is the left.

 

[2quills]

My idea of security is simply having a robust military and citizens capable of defending themselves if need be. I don't see how that equates to sacrificing our liberties.

Most conservative citizens don't want the survailance programs of citizens period. The collecting of phone records didn't do any good at protecting us from attacks. At best it was there to help connect the dots after the fact.

To be clear, it really comes down to the establishment parties that everyone is sick of. Conservatives in general want smaller government for these very reasons.

I hope the GOP is done. I'm sick of em too. But the last thing I want right now is to see Hillary or Sanders win the election.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I think the only reason to attack someone is in self defense... And I don't see that being done on a national scale. Terrorists are using our civil liberties against us and both parties, with the exception of Rand Paul, is calling for exceptions to our freedoms.

A small group of people is causing billions of tax payer dollars to be spent and money to be voted out of the Fed, inflating our dollar. How much longer can America continue this path?

We can't "love them till they stop fighting us" like what killary suggested. And I don't believe we need boots on the ground either... We are at a turning point.... What do we choose? Slavery to the state for security or freedom of individual choice?

 

[2quills]

Loving them till they stop will never work. And hasn't worked for thousands of years. Some folks just don't want to be part of the western world's plan. They have their own plans.

What we do is stick to what we do best. Stand by our liberties, secure our boarders, enforce imigration and quit attacking the second ammendment.

Fix our economy so that we will have the money to do these things.

And for heavens sake beef up our military. Even if it's for nothing else other than the deterant factor. But if and when someone attacks us then we must respond in kind with swift and overwhelming force in order to send a message. People are only provoking us now because they know we won't do anything about it. We should be waging a propaganda war bigger and better than the terrorists. There's a lot we could be doing we'rejust not doing it. Economic leverage is one of our greatest assets.

But I agree, we need to stay out of the business of toppling dictators for the sake of creating democracy for others.

 

[beth]

Protect our homeland. That is all that is needed. We should not be drumming up false ploys of terrorist threats (Iraq War) to invade other countries for the sole purpose of taking their resources for our own. We need our military to protect our homeland, not to use it as an imperialist tool to invade other countries for no legitimate reason. Men and women in our armed forces should not sacrifice life, limb, nor mental well-being for this reason.

 

[beth]

I hate how Republicans are calling for more surveillance. But so is the left.

If you really look at it, there is very little difference between establishment Republicans and Dems. What's the difference between Clinton and Jeb, for instance? Nothing much. Thank goodness it looks like Bush is canned. We are done with the Bush era of mass destruction to our constitution.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I'm thankful for that. But think about what Trump is calling for too,... Closing of certain parts of the internet... Which is a violation of the first amendment. Then there is banning or limiting the freedoms of a group of people because of their religion... Which is another attack on the first amendment. He is calling for more surveillance, which actually has not helped in catching a single terrorist to our knowledge. (The TSA gets to do rectal exams, but hasnt caught a single terrorist.) And if you have paid attention to Trump, he is also supporting a single payer government healthcare system. He is a liberal that is running on the Republican ticket! I can't believe though that killary is still leading him in the polls when its Trump Vs. killlary. Everyone thinks that Trump is a breath of fresh air and is saying things that people want to hear..... But I'm not buying a single bit of it. We have a constitution and a bill of rights to uphold and enforce as Americans.

 

[beth]

Trump appeals to the frustrated American citizenry who are clamoring for some real change in this country. He is good at loud mouthed proclamations that bear some semblance of a voice to the issues concerning many Americans, but he doesn't have a clue what to really do (other than be a loud mouth). Unfortunately, he is a bozo who will hopefully crash and burn politically (God help us if not).

 

[2quills]

Hillary, needs to be charged and ousted from running for public office period. If she isn't then it's just more of a reason for the people to be outraged. Especially since she used the excuse of using a private email server to oust one of our embassadors. Who coincidentally had a pretty distinguished career as a military general. But to hear her speak about him he was the worst embassador we'd ever had. It's this sort of double standard that the rules apply to everyone but her attitude that makes me sick.

Trump, is just playing the popularity game right now. No different than every other politician out there. He's just a little better at it. He really doesn't have much to say about actual policy. But he's a master at using the media. He said it himself in his book. He learned long ago that the more outrageous his rhetoric, the more attention it brought him and the more popular he got. So he's using that play to try and secure the nomination IMO. Hard to say what he really might do or how he would act when if really had to make the serious decisions for our country.

I do believe he would attempt to do much of what he claims. Hard to say what he'd actually get away with though and be able to do realistically though.

 

[darthtang aw]

Someday, you guys will understand the big picture. This discussion is full of small viewed comments. Which is exactly why trump is leading In The polls. No one understands the complex nature of the world we live and how it affects the daily lives of those in this nation. Oil independence? Not at the cost you will pay for gas. We have to be involved in the Middle East. Like it or not it is simple economics

 

[snakeblitz33]

Would it be better to pay$5-7 at the gas pump if we weren't 20 trillion dollars in debt and the money spent on wars and debt could be in the middle classes pockets instead? The dollar has lost so much value over the last 30 years, its ridiculous.

 

[2quills]

Don't mind him Seth. As usual he comes in with nothing but insults and offers no real solutions. Just like Trump.

 

[snakeblitz33]

If the US didn't print nearly a trillion dollars a year for circulation, the value of the dollar would have held. Gas might have been even cheaper than it is now because the value of the dollar would have held.

 

[2quills]

Gas is cheap now because the Saudis have been waging war against the U.S. oil companies.

Flooding the market with cheap oil in an effort to drive American oil companies out of business so that they can maintain a dominant influence.

But it's backfired on them. Causing U.S. companies to consolidate and grow leaner and meaner.

 

[beth]

Gas is cheap now because the Saudis have been waging war against the U.S. oil companies.

Flooding the market with cheap oil in an effort to drive American oil companies out of business so that they can maintain a dominant influence.

But it's backfired on them. Causing U.S. companies to consolidate and grow leaner and meaner.

Are you sure its the Saudis waging war against American oil companies?

 

[darthtang aw]

You want solutions? I got solutions. Let's start with the oil industry and truly gaining oil independence. Right now Saudi is pumping heavy crude. More so than ever to keep the cost down. We pump light crude. Currently the bulk of our refineries refine heavy crude. It takes roughly five years and a boat ton of money to retro fit refineries for light crude.

We recently passed a bill allowing for exportation of unrefined crude. Before it had to be refined for exportation with exception of Canada. This law does not allow for oil independence. It furthers the problem. It allows refineries to not retro fit and keep importing Saudi heavy crude for refinement and allows the oil companies here to by pass local refinement for exportation. This equals no independence and also kills potential jobs in the oil industry. Forcing us to remain involved in the Middle East. Because we won't advance our refineries here.

But the people and many here think this is a good thing.

There are currently a little over 100 companies that pump on average 10,000 barrels of light crude a day each. Due to the cost of oil barrels they can not do any more oil exploration and set up new rigs for future pumping. Many are just barely paying the bills because the cost of shale drilling is easily twice that of standard drilling. Sure they might stay a float because they can sell overseas with out refinement but this further increases our nation's reliance on foreign oil. Thus requiring us to be involved. You want oil independence. Give a tax break to every refinery company that retrofits to process light crude. In five years we would no longer need to import from the Middle East.

 

[darthtang aw]

Terrorism. Hate to say it but air strikes do nothing against ISIS. It is in effective. Can everyone agree on this? We don't need to nation build. But we can severely hurt ISIS with a single campaign of boots on the ground much in the way we initially toppled Iraq.

Go in with a thirty day campaign of 100000 troops and sweep the area quickly. Once cleared. Leave. If it comes back again we go back in. We increase our support for the Kurds. They have proven if given equipment they will not back down or run In The face of a threat.

This does two things. It keeps the fighting of jihad focused in the region it needs to stay. And does not rack up long term costs to the effect of our last wars.

 

[darthtang aw]

Would it be better to pay$5-7 at the gas pump if we weren't 20 trillion dollars in debt and the money spent on wars and debt could be in the middle classes pockets instead? The dollar has lost so much value over the last 30 years, its ridiculous.

As they say this ship has sailed. Can't change that situation in a quick manner at all. It is what it is. The debt is there. The monetary devaluation is there. Therefore this is what we have to deal with. Sure we can defund a lot of stuff. But first and foremost in the world today for economic and national security we have to be involved with matters around the world. It is a global economy and that ship has sailed. Thus requiring our presence globally to keep things stable.

Our oil production has been increasing steadily for 8 years. Yet gas did not drop noticeably until Saudi started increasing output. Why is that?

 

[2quills]

Are you sure its the Saudis waging war against American oil companies?

Well I don't think there is any question that they have been a huge driver behind the drop in prices. The drop is partly associated with a soft market and demand has slowed down in recent years due to weak economies in western nations and the Asian market

But they have continued to flood the market with cheap oil anyways as a strategic play driven by their geo political motivations.

Much of which was most likely aimed at Russia and Iran. But they also have a vested interest in hurting American shale companies that have been on the rise as well.

There are some theories floating around that it was a coordinated effort on part of the U.S. and OPEC nations aimed at Russia and Iran. But our relations with the Saudis aren't terribly great right now. Especially after Obamas deal with Iran which is in no way a good thing for the Saudis. So that idea doesn't hold much water IMO.

It could have started out that way but much has changed over the last 7-8 years.