John Prezioso

When is the Cost ÔÇ£Too HighÔÇØ? This is a particularly tough Memorial Day for me personally, for several reasons. ThereÔÇÖs the riot in Afghanistan, where apparently U.S. soldiers were forced to fire on a crowd of protesters. ThereÔÇÖs the report of another U.S. fighting man dead in Iraq as I write this. ThereÔÇÖs the investigation into the allegations that some marines went on a rampage, killing unarmed civilians. (One that IÔÇÖm praying is not true.) Here at home, I had to sit through another story of so-called ÔÇ£ChristiansÔÇØ protesting at the funeral of an American serviceman killed in Iraq, saying his death and the deaths of all US troops in our war on terror are GodÔÇÖs punishment for America allowing gays to exist and live here. (It hurts to say it, but sometimes IÔÇÖm ashamed to say IÔÇÖm ChristianÔǪ). There is the constant and growing negativity in America to the wars overseas, which historically always equates to increased disrespect and anger towards the troops who fight in them, as if they have any say in what their orders will be. All this is in addition to the sadness I feel every Memorial Day, thinking about all of the heroes who gave their lives fighting for a country that, more and more each year, is losing its identity, its pride in national sovereignty, and its very soul through apathy, ignorance, and downright resentment from its own people. All of which makes this Memorial Day all the more important. In keeping with my annual tradition of trying to say a few words in honor of AmericaÔÇÖs heroes, I thought IÔÇÖd address something IÔÇÖve been hearing over and over again in reference to the Iraq war;: something that was often said during the Vietnam War: The cost is too high. Whenever I hear that, it always makes me think: When is the cost NOT too high? Most of us can agree that the invasion of Normandy in 1944 was a critical and vital operation in the campaign to stop the spread of fascism. In the grand scheme of things, the beach had to be taken, literally at all costs, in order for any allied offensive to even be remotely possible. So, what was the cost? Actual historical casualty numbers differ, but by all accounts, the US death toll was between 2500 and 4500 soldiers killed. Now, historians and students of history look at the overall tactical importance of the operation, and indeed how the sacrifice of such a small number of men positively affected the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the world, and come to the conclusion that while tragic, the deaths were necessary and ÔÇ£for a good causeÔÇØ. In an operation as important as this one, where the outcome and far-reaching ramifications are crystal clear to this day, itÔÇÖs easy to find comfort in the well known passage from the Good Book: ÔÇ£No greater love hath man than when he lay his life down for another.ÔÇØ I myself have two separate, distinct, and ironically opposite ways of looking at the cost of war. On one hand, I view war as a numbers game, a game of gambles, losses and wins. It is in this way that I find myself viewing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan MOST OF THE TIME. It is from this standpoint that I say seemingly callous things like: ÔÇ£In a tactical sense, disregarding the politics of the situation, I am of the opinion that 3000 American soldiers dead is a relatively low cost for what is, again in my opinion, is a long overdue and critically important campaign to take the fight to terrorists across the world; one in which believe that we are winning, and winning decisively.ÔÇØ Others here have different opinions, and I respect them, as who knows if history will ultimately prove me wrong or right? Then there is the sobering and painful way that I view the cost of war. Maybe the war dead at Normandy did save the world from fascism, but those men were husbands, fathers, and sons. To the wives whose husband never came home, and to the little boys who never got to throw a ball around with their dads, the cost of taking what amounted to a few hundred yards of sand that day was definitely too high. To the pregnant widow of Lance Corporal Youngblood, (the corpsman of the Marines' Lima Company killed in Iraq last year for those of you who didnÔÇÖt watch the memorial day special on A&E) the cost of the war was equally too high. Both wars have similarities, and clearly both have differences (public opinion of the war being a notable one) but on Memorial Day, it is not oneÔÇÖs place to look at the howÔÇÖs, whyÔÇÖs, or whereÔÇÖs of the fallen. Something I remember very clearly from my military service was when, usually right before a deployment, I would be approached by members of Greenpeace and other anti-war activists who wanted to tell me how I would be responsible for the deaths of millions if my ship were ever to fulfill the mission it was designed for. (I was stationed on a nuclear ballistic missile submarine). Whenever I heard that, I have to say, on some level it hurt. DidnÔÇÖt people understand that I was just a grunt? What orders ultimately came down from the top brass were no more in my hands than they were in their own? What I did for a living could have very well resulted in death, true, but why couldnÔÇÖt people realize that what I was doing was making a SACRIFICE by doing what I was doing; one that I believed that if things went well, would preserve the peace, not destroy it? I mention this now because of some of the ideas I have heard bandied about in the last few years with regards to the Iraq war. I caution all Americans to be ever wary of how you engage in your dissent if that is what you choose to do. Our soldiers in harmÔÇÖs way listen to what Americans say back home. They pay attention to the attitudes of ÔÇÿJoe EverymanÔÇÖ, and take a lot of what they say to heart. Think how it must feel to a soldier deployed in Baghdad away from his or her loved ones when they hear Americans saying that they are being used as pawns by their government, or how it must hurt to hear it said by some Americans that they are responsible for the slaughter of innocent people. Dissent to the war is not un-American, but be careful not to get caught up in the rhetoric that insults the very ones whom we should be thanking, or hurt the ones who have already committed to making the ultimate sacrifice to protect YOUR way of life. Morale is as important as guns and ammo to soldier, but for different reasons. Today, on Memorial Day, every death is too much to bear. No dead soldier is rationalized away. I urge my fellow Americans to put aside the politics and honor not only the fallen, but the soldiers still living who may fall at any time, still trying to make their sacrifices and those of their comrades seem worthwhile to a country that seems to grow more apathetic, discontented, and accusing by the day. Let us honor the fallen, but let us also honor those still alive, who are in desperate need of our support and respect. Let us honor the wives, husbands, fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters who have suffered the greatest cost of war in the loss of their loved ones. Let us, if only for today, just be Americans. And let us, as Americans, honor those Americans soldiers, alive or dead, who have fought in many different countries, for many different causes, in may different wars. History will tell us if what we do today was wrong or right, as it has many times in our existence. But history will NEVER change the nobility and honor of our veterans throughout the history of our great nation. Happy Memorial Day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all who served and still serve. And may you who have died fallen heroes every one, rest in peace in God's eternal embrace.

quote: People shouldn't be just throwing something out there and discussing it like facts without reading up and becoming KNOWLEDGEABLE on the subject. An experiment such as "My drive was fine, then I installed a game with starforce and it becamse slow" is NOT proof that Starforce is responsible.I agree. Which is why I admitted upfront that this was specualtion on my part. quote: Read those articles, one of them is from MICROSOFT, which DETAILS the error, EXPLAINS it, and gives you directions to CORRECT it.I followed every instruction to the letter. My drive was not slowed down to PMIO by XP. I still was running at UDMA 3 while experiencing the problem. The problem that only went away after running the SF removal tool. Again, this in and of itself proves nothing, but it IS worth considering... On a related note, the makers of Starforce are simply not a reputable company, given their recent shenanigans. Any software that does not uninstall itself when the application it came with is uninstalled is malware in my opinion.

LOL!

I too am VERY suspicious of Starforce. I had some pretty severe cd accessing slowdowns (puntuated by the occassional crash). I ran "crap cleaner", system mechanic, Spybot, AVG, checked for spyware, malware, viruses trojans... I checked for IRQ conflicts and hardware problems.... I tried different disks, tried an optical drive cleaner -- nothing. On a whim I ran the SF removal tool available at the Starforce website, and the problem disappeared. Could this have been coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not. For what it's worth, after running AWA again, and having SF re-install itself, the trouble has not manifested itself again. Food for thought, though... Ultimately, I am of the opinion that anti-piracy software has NO positive bearing whatsoever on the sales of a PC game. Look at Galciv 2 and Oblivion - two games with virtually no anti-piracy methods at all (Oblivion uses a simple cd-check which could easily be cracked by anyone with a brain). Selling like hotcakes.

quote: Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: I dunno man, reading that whole Rennes business gave me a massive headache. As I got to the code part, I felt my - otherwise high intellect and IQ - slowly ebbing away. In other words, I felt stupid. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the club. Feh - cry me a river. You guys only felt stupid after watching a movie. Try walking around feeling stupid ALL THE TIME like I do!!!

On some level, I can understand why a Christian would be a little upset by the premise of the 'Davinci Code'(I'm a Christian myself, but I really don't have much of a problem with it, seeing as how it is a work of fiction...) Having said that, I have to ask: When are people going to learn that calling for a boycott of a movie is the best way to ensure it gets more publicity and makes more money than it otherwise would have? Hence you end up helping that which you despise. It's ridiculous.

It's kind of sickening to me that this kind of discourse has to wait for an election year. This subject should have been addressed by Congress 9/12/01, not 5 years later. Politics as usual, I guess. Anyway, I think it's pretty much understood that English is the national language. I'm all for making at least a passable fluency in English a requirement for citizenship, though. It can only help the immigrants imho. I don't believe it's "racist" to say that English is our official language; I believe it's self-evident.

I'm VERY surprised at this. I was expecting this to be a blockbuster. Maybe this movie will turn out to be one of those few critic-proof films because of it's subject matter?

I don't care if it's butt-ugly. It's a spiritual successor to SYSTEM SHOCK!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!

Awesome Ben! I am thrilled for you!!!!

Kinda stinks having to leave the newborn alone with mommy though... I always hate being away from my kids , especially when they're small. The biggest reason I got out of the military instead of making it a career.

Agreed. The problem is not so much with Communism itself, but the spread of Communism. If China is content to keep to itself (which I know won't last forever, Taiwan being as close as it is...) then leave her alone.

I am sooo excited about the X-men movie. Superman not so much, but neither was I all that interested in 'Batman' until the reviews started rolling in. Wow, was I surprised! Maybe it'll be the same with 'Superman'. Lol! I never thought that age 36 I would be getting all a-twitter about the same things that excited me when I was 6!! I guess I am truly "forever young".

Thanks for the update, SC.

Parenthood is one of the greatest blessings in life. My family's prayers are with you, Ben. I can't wait for the news you're a Daddy again! Let us know as soon as you can.

Wow. I didn't see this coming at all. And the release date is so soon! Have I just not been paying enough attention, or has this been a really well kept secret up until now?

I don't know how I could ever be as impressed as I was with the 'Batman' remake. Here's hoping I'm pleasantly surprised!

quote: It wasn't... you can't defeat an idea ...Precisely. So Reagan did the next best thing - he defeated the world's largest communist regime in a war of wills. Communism was reduced from a very real and scary threat to a nuisance. China has remained very strong, but there are many different factors involved. At the risk of oversimplifying the issue, China prospers in spite of communism, not because of it. As far as 'commies' in the legisature, I can only say that our system inheritantly precludes the possibility of communist ideology from warping the principles of the Republic. If communist ideals are being forwarded, and not immediately defeated, then one or more of the 3 branches of our government are not doing their jobs and it's time for a change. I for one think this Congress is the biggest bunch of scaredy do-nothings I've seen in a while. ALL of their butts ought to be voted out.

About the border - I couldn't agree more. As far as 'ending' terrorism (a complete abolishment is an utter impossibility - I'm talking about the largest mitigation possible of the threat on a national scale) --- Probably wouldn't happen in our grandkids' lifetime. But the biggest task has to have a beginning if it's going to have an end. Not saying Bush is even CLOSE to Reagan, but 'Ronaldus Magnus' was very used to hearing communism couldn't be defeated either during his administration.

Again, I have to say, I agree to a point. Like it or not, we as a country are oil whores. The middle east is more important than for just spreading democracy to. If we began mass-producing an alternative energy source infrastructure today, we would still be oil-dependent for at least ten more years by my estimation. I still believe the MOST important benefit of the war in Iraq is through planting the seed of freedom there, however painful initially, we are helping our own future through the forced obsolecence of terrorism. A democratic republic nation , at least in theory,will : A) Cause freedom to manifest itself in all facets of national life and become a contagion that spreads throughout a region Virtually eliminate the perceived need for violent insurgency - grass roots efforts to elect a new government will almost always be a better solution than a bloody coup. C) Cause the virtual elimination of terrorist breeding grounds through a massive shift in national and international paradigms and perceptions. Once citizens have a sense of their own sovereignty, terrorism can do nothing but die out. Needless to say, and in fact it has often times been painfully evident, that things never work as well or go as smoothly in real life as they do 'in theory', but dammit, you've got to try.

quote:Off topic: It is widely acknowledged that this wasn't a murder. Even Starr says so. You are correct. You either missed my point, or I didn't make it well enough. I probably should have put 'murder' in quotes. To reiterate, I was alluding to how it was "definitely" a murder made to LOOK like a suicide according to right wing extremist groups, fake note and all. The "evidence" was supposedly irrefutable. Yeah, right. I bought into it for a while, but not any more. My point was everyone buying into this 9/11 conspiracy silliness will feel as silly as I do for ever giving any of that Vince Foster conspiracy junk any credence. quote: POSTED BY SILK Then on the other side - I believe that 9/11 was just capitalized on in order to justify support for PNAC policies in the Middle East.In essence, I think we agree on that. I just don't see that being as heinous as you do. I happen to agree with the ideology of PNAC, though I'm sure that will make me an evil bastard. That would be a good topic, but probably not in this thread, as it is sort of off topic. Or maybe not, if the 9/11 conspiracy "pod people" think that 9/11 was staged exactly for the purpose of implementing PNAC policies, I guess it's all relevant.

Being a stand-up guy, I'll be the first to admit I am wrong if it turns out differently. But I DO have history on my side.

Nothing is going to come to light. This is going to die a slow quiet death and people years from now will distance themselves from ever having bought into yet another silly conspiracy. Like Clinton's Meena Arkansas Drug ring, and Vince Foster's suicide/murder. And the Michigan Militia's claim that the U.S. Gov't has weather control equipment and uses it regularly to wipe out large swathes of plains folk.

That's interesting stuff. Let me tell you the first hand account of an eyewitness at the WTC that day. It might shed some light on the accounts given by some people referred to on that site. My father said that the mood in the building (he was not in the first tower hit) was mostly of stunned silence but relative calm. The announcement passed through rather calmly that the buildings immediately surrounding the one burning tower were to be evacuated. After he was outside for a few minutes, at the base of the WTC towers, the second plane hit. People not already aware then began to realize in large quantities that this was not just a horrible accident, and panic started to set in rather rapidly. After hearing the sound of the jumpers hitting the ground 6 or 7 times, sheer terror began taking over the group my dad was in. (I can imagine). Minutes after the second plane hit, my father says an F-15 (he's no aviation expert but he thinks that what it was) flying so low that he was amazed it didn't hit another building swooped over at ridiculous speed. In his opinion, and I would tend to agree, this jet was scrambled on an intercept mission - to destroy the second plane. Once its trajectory was clear, the plane must have been scrambled to do just that. My father said it then flew up and away, but stayed in sight for a while longer. (He stopped tracking it once the first tower collapsed, for obvious reasons). The point is, if you were the president, and you knew that a plane loaded full of innocents was going to be used as a guided fuel bomb to potentially murder tens of thousands of people, what would you do? What could you do? Suppose a jet DID shoot down Flight 93. What else could have been done? To quote everyone's favorite Vulcan, the needs of the many will ALWAYS outweigh the needs of the few. The death of the people on the plane, while horrible, would save the lives of hundreds if not thousands of people. At any rate, if the worst thing the government is covering up is that 93 was shot down instead of put down, I can live with that. What good would it do for the families to know the truth, as opposed to the harm it would surely do?

Yup. Got it now.