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The German and Japanese governments, who are 100% responsible for EVERY atrocity of the war that THEY started, could have averted these tragedies at any time by calling an end to hostilities.
The first part of this is ludicrous. If an American GI in Germany during WWII tore a German baby from it's mother and shot it in the head, how would Hitler be "100% responsible" for that? Don't get me wrong--nobody condemns Hitler more than I do--but your reasoning is absurd.
The second part of this is basically a straw man. No one (well, no one other than neo-Nazis and such) disputed that the fire-bombings and atomic bombings wouldn't have happened if Germany and Japan had surrendered earlier. But this doesn't automatically mean that the Allies were justified in doing those bombings. And whether they were or not is what's controversial.
In order not to have anarchy, governments are required. In order to operate governments, money is required. In order to raise the needed money, taxes are required.
.
Says who? And why? Why did America get along well without income taxes from 1776 to 1860 and 1871 to 1913? Were there not governments then? You learned well from government schools to repeat a meme.
I say so because I am convinced that civilization beats the hell out of anarchy. If you think differently, I suggest giving anarchy a try and seeing how you like life with no rules or societal protections.
We have always had taxation, income tax is just one more form, no more outrageous or preposterous than sales tax, tariffs, bridge tolls or parking meters. Getting bent out of shape over one form of taxation while having no problem with the rest, is not a complaint which strikes me as valid.
There is no evidence that disease was introduced into native American society as a form of biological warfare.
There was no real knowledge or understanding at the time of how disease and germs were transferred from one person to another.
Certainly blankets and clothing may have been infected, but they may very well have been given to Indians as good-will gestures or legitimate trade.
I agree.
However, I don't have as much faith as you do!
Originally Posted by Howard Roark Excuse me, but slavery was institutionalized in 1913 with the 16th amendment to the constitution and became colorblind. We are all slaves to government, working 50% of the time for government to steal the fruits of our labors and redistribute as favors to voters. We don't even own property. We rent it from government.
Here are my picks:
1. Sedition act of 1798
2. Sedition act of 1918
3. The 16th Amendment which institutionalized slavery
4. The Patriot Act (first signed in 2001)
5. The NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act)
6. The endless wars (which were all caused by the USA to establish the acts in number 4 and 5)
7. The NSA spying on all our social media and phone calls and e-mails (see Glenn Greenwald's "No Place to Hide").
When the general public uses the term "slavery," it's almost always about blacks working on plantations in the South in the 1700s and 1800s. It never is about the taxation. Taxation is theft.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShakenStirred
I'd like to add:
8. Modern day America - An ongoing time period in which the general public is so blindingly misinformed, biased and polarized that they fail to see the implications of #1-7.
Thank you.
SS
Yes all of this. But especially #8. SO many people don't even know history. They think that all slaves were black, when in fact there were white slaves in colonial America, before blacks were imported in the 1600's. There were also Native American slaves. (Read J.C. Furnas, he has written several excellent American history books).
And there has been a gradual chipping away at our freedoms, combined with politically motivated attempts to change our history into a black vs. white dichotomy, which ignores how racially mixed many Americans are (Native, black, white, carib Indian). We need to preserve the truth.
Thinking of the history of this country, I think the most shameful periods are the following:
1. The intrusion, decimation of the native American
2. Slavery
3. The Great Depression
4. Jim Crow
5. The 60s with the Assassination of Malcolm X, JFK, RFK, MLK
6. George W. Bush presidency and the Right wing obstruction tactics thereafter (tea party, McConnell, Boehner, Justice Roberts, etc.)
What say you?
The selection of Obama by low information voters and those dependent upon public money when given the alternative of Mitt Romney.
I will go with:
Kiss not being indoctrinated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until 2014.
A travesty.
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