rethinking the surge ... maybe not such a bad idea after all

[welshTerrier2]

you know, i may actually be having second thoughts about this surge business ... the problem is, though, that it seems like the military is just so damned short-handed ... if there was just some magic way to get a bunch of new volunteers ...

and then it hit me ... back in 2004, bush got roughly 60 million votes ... now probably only about one-third of those people still support him ... but that's still 20 million ... of course, in that 20 million you have all kinds of people who couldn't possibly serve ... but even still, let's say just one-percent of those gung ho'ers signed right up to be part of the great surge they support ... just one-percent ...

well, my math puts the headcount of all those warriors at 200,000 ... so what's all this concern about weakening the military? nonsense ... c'mon boys ... don't abandon the president when he needs you the most ... step right up ...

you know, maybe they'll even be enough left over for Iran ... or ... hmmmmmm ... where did i put that atlas??

[Caoimhe]

1. Charlie Rangel will introduce the Draft Bill AGAIN tomorrow

it's the only way to make them wake up.

Outside of that, just reading your post title made my stomach turn. Thanks for not being that.

[Stinky The Clown]

2. I'm right there with ya, Welshie ......

'sabout damned time the armchair warriors turned their armchairs into brand new on-the-ground Boots For Bush.

Your 200k estimate may be very low. The draft bill Charlie wants to introduce tomorrow will go from 18 to 42. Must be at least a million able bodied butt cracks in that 20 million you started with.

[welshTerrier2]

4. how about a "modified" draft?

in keeping with your earlier caution about avoiding black and white thinking, how about this one:

let's not be totally for or totally against the draft ... let's only draft those who believe the war is worth fighting ... that way, we're drafting those people who will believe what they're fighting for ...

maybe i could support a draft like that ... and that would get you way more than even the 1 million you mentioned ... i'll bet we could come close to 20 million or so ... unless, of course, the war suddenly became much, much less popular ...

i wonder if that would happen if we instituted a "modified" draft ... guess there's only one way to find out ...

[calimary]

5. Oh, MAN, I REALLY love that one! Let them who so badly want this war to

rage on - put their money where their mouths are. They want the war? Then let them suit up and go fight it.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. I can go with that ...... it does a few things ......

.... it gets our military back to some semblence of full strength and it removes a whole bunch of creeps from the streets. Less road rage. Fewer bumper sticker pollutants. Less wait in line to buy video games. Reduced porn prices due to reduced domestic demand.

Lotsa good resons to follow your plan. :)

[welshTerrier2]

9. now you're scaring me!!

first thing in the morning, i'm calling my broker and dumping all my shares of Conglomerated Pork Rinds ...

[Tellurian]

10. Something I came across today.. (possible reason for the surge?)

repost from another blog.

The ME is quickly destabilizing into total chaos.. NOT ..just Iraq..


Oilfield Production Decline Rates are Worse than Expected

7-Jan-07

From SurvivalBlog.com


I wish I could say Happy New Year, but i just learned some terrible news in the oil business. The big fields where most of the USA and world get their oil are declining at much faster rates than expected, and the companies are willing to admit to high numbers.

In summary:

Burgan field in Kuwait dropping at 11% per year.

Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia (biggest in the world) dropping at 8%, which is 5.5% higher than expected.

Cantarell field in Mexico (source of most US oil) is dropping at 14% rather than the 6% they thought was a worst case scenario back in September. That's an 8% increase in decline in only 3 months. That's very bad.
Cantarell could collapse and abruptly stop producing oil.
It almost certainly will later this year.

Venezuela is declining at an unknown rate.

Nigeria is suffering a civil war which reduces its oil production.
"Youths?" Call them rebels; its more honest.

And to make matters worse, there's some kind of infighting going on in Saudi Arabia. If this rises to the point of even interrupting production in the oil terminals controlled by Saudi Arabia, a conservative 16% of world oil production will suddenly be shut off. This would immediately result in a bidding war for oil tanker deliveries and drive the price of a barrel past $100, probably a lot more, like $170 or so. Maybe higher in the panic buying stage. Gasoline can be expected to pass $8 per gallon and probably go higher.

The entire 3rd world, except oil producers themselves, won't have gasoline or diesel anymore. Expect severe collapse and famine to begin almost immediately.

And the really bad news? Even without a collapse in Saudi Arabia, the decline in production from those big fields will cause this to happen over the duration of 2007. It may be a more "slow motion" collapse than a fast one, but the price of oil will rise to destroy consumption, which will hurt the poorest nations most, those least able to afford modern conveniences. Full expect civil wars to break out there over this collapse. I am sad about this prospect. My medication comes from New Jersey. I really hope they keep shipping it through the coming troubles.

Sincerely, - InyoKern

...we aren't aware of half the news going on outside our little cubicles. We certainly aren't going to hear it on msn...are we?

[welshTerrier2]

11. this has always been about oil ...

here's a hint: we need a real energy policy that treats our use of fossil fuels as if there soon won't be any left ...

what do we get from politicians? "well, do you expect everyone to ride a bicycle?" ...

we need to place real controls on the use of fuel ... we need to start very aggressively ... right now, we're still in idiotic arguments over whether peak oil exists and whether global warming exists ...

we need to start "engineering" our society with an energy sensitive redesign ... this will take generations to implement ... we need to move agriculture closer to the end consumer ... agriculture is the number one use of fuel (more than autos) ... we need to re-engineer how we work and drastically reduce commuter miles ... we need to move employers closer to residences and find ways to have more people work from home ... and of course, we need real mass transit ... if we have any sense of justice, and we don't, we will not allow those with the most money to buy the most fuel ... fuel should be rationed pro rata ...

all of this, coupled with technological change, is desperately necessary ... but no one who wants to get elected wants to spend much time talking about "the big hurt" ... this is going to be incredibly disruptive to the entire society and the entire world ... if we keep doing nothing, as we have been, it's going to be many times worse ... there is so much urgency to the crisis and yet, our institutions, and our own awareness of what is surely coming, is sadly lacking ...

[Tellurian]

12. Now I know why..

About a month ago, a friend from out west (Ev. Christian) said the pastor of her church issued a directive to the parishioners telling them to start stocking up on canned goods, bottled water and dried foodstuffs, enough to last for three months. He didn't give a reason, he just said "do it", and do it now. She told me to do likewise.. I didn't put too much stock in the urgency of it. But was slowly picking up a few extras at the super..and squirreling them away in bins in the basement.

After reading that blog post today, the fear in the man's voice was evident, something big is coming down, and soon.. So, I'm passing this info along to any and all readers here if you want to put a little something away, just in case. Nothing to lose by playing it safe.

Those people know whats going on.. before we do.

And yes, I agree with you, Welsh Terrier2. The old family Trusts have been in denial their OIL Trust funds are going to dry up sooner rather than later. When all along, they could have been investing in bio-fuels (corn/soybean oil) and wind turbines, solar etc. Making a whole new economy (new Trust funds) for the next generation.

[orleans]

13. haha

"let's only draft those who believe the war is worth fighting "

there goes utah!

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. "I have a lot of shit to do!"

Reply from some freeper republican college asshole wen asked if he was ready to join up.

[xxqqqzme]

6. Sounds good - my sister has 3 kids just the prime age

The oldest - son - just turned 22; her daughter is 20; I'm certain she'll postpone her law degree to enlist for the president she voted for; her youngest daughter will graduate in June. My sister should be encouraging all three to enlist.

[jen4clark]

7. This is a great idea.

I wish we could make it so.