Actually Nick I knew what a carpetbagger is and I am making a metaphor between the people 'reconstructing' Iraq and the people who 'reconstructed' the South after the Civil War.
You see, in the North, they didn't call them carpetbaggers. They called them 'contractors'. In the South they wanted to kill them, because they made all the money in the 'reconstruction' of the South and told everyone what to do and how to act.
Just like the 'contractors' are taking our 87 billion dollars and rebuilding Iraq from a fascist dictatorship led by Saddam Hussein into a capitalist dictatorship led by the good ole USA.
I hope that clears it up. The point I was trying to make was that the USA is fucking everything up and that is why the Iraqis and the fundamentalist Muslims are so intent on killing the 'contractors' who are simply opportunists trying to make a buck off of people's misfortunes. More power to the fucking Islamic militants at this point. It's their fucking land. We train to kill them on our land, so why shouldn't they be able to train to kill us on their land?
It's not all pills, thrills, and bellyaches here at Pax Acidus. Maybe I need some more happy pills. Lately its been 50% drinking and 40% thinking.
Today is Grisly
Oh, and 10% writing.
Nick, what did you think I meant by carpetbagger if not a negative connotation for the contractors rebuilding Iraq?
I think its a quite appropriate metaphor. The US press likes to paint everything in black and white. We are 'good' and they are 'evil'.
And then when it turns out that we are much worse than they are... basically a fascist invading army... we say 'war is hell' and 'they had it coming'.
What do your friends say about the war? What are they teaching you in school?
Nick, what did you think I meant by carpetbagger if not a negative connotation for the contractors rebuilding Iraq?
I think its a quite appropriate metaphor. The US press likes to paint everything in black and white. We are 'good' and they are 'evil'.
And then when it turns out that we are much worse than they are... basically a fascist invading army... we say 'war is hell' and 'they had it coming'.
What do your friends say about the war? What are they teaching you in school?
Nick, never apologize for having knowledge, especially when you are certain your facts are straight.
The word "carpetbagger" makes me think of Mary Poppins...wasn't there some kind of children's movie called The Carpetbaggers or something?
Main Entry: car·pet·bag·ger
Pronunciation: -"ba-g&r
Function: noun
Etymology: from their carrying all their belongings in carpetbags
1 : a Northerner in the South after the American Civil War usually seeking private gain under the reconstruction governments
2 : OUTSIDER; especially : a nonresident or new resident who meddles in politics
- car·pet·bag·gery /-"ba-g(&-)rE/ noun
The word "carpetbagger" makes me think of Mary Poppins...wasn't there some kind of children's movie called The Carpetbaggers or something?
Main Entry: car·pet·bag·ger
Pronunciation: -"ba-g&r
Function: noun
Etymology: from their carrying all their belongings in carpetbags
1 : a Northerner in the South after the American Civil War usually seeking private gain under the reconstruction governments
2 : OUTSIDER; especially : a nonresident or new resident who meddles in politics
- car·pet·bag·gery /-"ba-g(&-)rE/ noun
And I don't know if its fair to call this Berg character a carpetbagger... unlike all the other corporations going in there. He was a Bush supporter... and a proponent of the war... but others say he was a kind man who meant to do well.
Still, if some Iraqi came here after his government invaded my country and arested my leader and raped and tortured my sisters and brother on my own soil... I might have to saw some heads off too.
Still, if some Iraqi came here after his government invaded my country and arested my leader and raped and tortured my sisters and brother on my own soil... I might have to saw some heads off too.
Also, I just wanted to say to Nick how ironic it seems to me that I just got done with an American history course that started with the Reconstruction and yet I never saw that word in my book. In fact, I still have the book cause I haven't been able to sell it online yet, so let me see if it appears in the index...sure enough it is. I think I skipped that chapter on purpose cause we had a snow day and started the course already behind.
Also, I found that long McC post very enlightening because from the story I read about Berg in the paper today, I had just assumed he was a soldier rather than a contractor, and I didn't know his dad/done had said all that anti-Bush stuff.
I didn't get to read all of the paper today, (rudely interrupted by having to go to work) but I do recall a story in there with the headline saying Bush's approval rating fell to 44%. I realize polls are a bit dodgy, but hey...we can hope can't we? And if some anti-Bush people spin some lies, it would only be well in order wouldn't it?
I am happy to hear Sloth contributed to Kerry's campaign. I confess I didn't go to the register to vote drive, but the Move On email I got about the results sounded really fabulous. Obviously a lot of good volunteer work got done around the country in the battleground states. It inspired me to give money to MoveOn, because apparently they are trying to hire some people to keep this sort of thing up, something like that. I don't have money now but I will and I'm commited to giving.
I didn't get to read all of the paper today, (rudely interrupted by having to go to work) but I do recall a story in there with the headline saying Bush's approval rating fell to 44%. I realize polls are a bit dodgy, but hey...we can hope can't we? And if some anti-Bush people spin some lies, it would only be well in order wouldn't it?
I am happy to hear Sloth contributed to Kerry's campaign. I confess I didn't go to the register to vote drive, but the Move On email I got about the results sounded really fabulous. Obviously a lot of good volunteer work got done around the country in the battleground states. It inspired me to give money to MoveOn, because apparently they are trying to hire some people to keep this sort of thing up, something like that. I don't have money now but I will and I'm commited to giving.
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now that I think about it, carpetbagger is actually a really good term to use, it's so multifaceted like it has good and bad connotations and that is exactly what he had, so excuse my definition if it sounded like i was trying to make a contradiction out of your statement.
To the question of what my friends think of the war:
they don't care, it doesn't effect them, just their parents and gas prices. it's hard to care about a war that no one talks about or if they cover it up too because there is nothing to talk about
What we are being taught in school:
NOTHING, like i said in the last question, no one ever says anything about it, it's just happening and that's all we know
as for me, I don't believe in the war at all, it's our faults that it even began because we went against George Washington's advice "Avoid entangling alliances." i.e. don't spread yourself too far with too many people because you are bound to piss someone off. that's exactly what happened.
Timeline of why the middle east hates us:
---------------
We make a country called Israel for all the Jews IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR LAND, like if someone went to your neighborhood and drew lines wherever they pleased and whoever was in the line had to leave because this was all of a sudden a community only for a certain race... how would you feel?
We help the Israeli people in a war against Iraq... Iraq is mad at us, but they lose so they can't do anything about it
We help Israel again in another war against Iraq, this time we lose and Iraq hits us up with insane gas prices and holds two war grudges
Iraq is fighting Iran, we are "Allies" and then we go behind their back and sell weapons to Iran... !?
We have businesses all throughout Iraq and Iraqi people hate us because we are EVERYWHERE and they want the thorn (The U.S.A) taken out of their belly, and we are sucking up all their oil
---------------
then there are all the smaller events in between... bottom line.. we F'ed up and we have to pay for it, it's our fault... yes, we should fight and not just sit here and get killed, but we should fight, win, and LEAVE, not try and freaking turn the place into a colony... CAN WE SAY THE U.S. IS BEING A HYPOCRITE BY FIGHTING A REVOLUTION TO NOT BE A COLONY AND THEN MAKING OTHERS................
in my opinion, i think that there should be no fighting, war solves NOTHING, and it should never be used, i guess you can call me a pacifist, but i just can't help loving people for who they are, life isn't for fighting and stress it's for loving your neighbors and accepting them for who they are and NOT for fighting them!
Nick has stepped of his soap box...
To the question of what my friends think of the war:
they don't care, it doesn't effect them, just their parents and gas prices. it's hard to care about a war that no one talks about or if they cover it up too because there is nothing to talk about
What we are being taught in school:
NOTHING, like i said in the last question, no one ever says anything about it, it's just happening and that's all we know
as for me, I don't believe in the war at all, it's our faults that it even began because we went against George Washington's advice "Avoid entangling alliances." i.e. don't spread yourself too far with too many people because you are bound to piss someone off. that's exactly what happened.
Timeline of why the middle east hates us:
---------------
We make a country called Israel for all the Jews IN THE MIDDLE OF THEIR LAND, like if someone went to your neighborhood and drew lines wherever they pleased and whoever was in the line had to leave because this was all of a sudden a community only for a certain race... how would you feel?
We help the Israeli people in a war against Iraq... Iraq is mad at us, but they lose so they can't do anything about it
We help Israel again in another war against Iraq, this time we lose and Iraq hits us up with insane gas prices and holds two war grudges
Iraq is fighting Iran, we are "Allies" and then we go behind their back and sell weapons to Iran... !?
We have businesses all throughout Iraq and Iraqi people hate us because we are EVERYWHERE and they want the thorn (The U.S.A) taken out of their belly, and we are sucking up all their oil
---------------
then there are all the smaller events in between... bottom line.. we F'ed up and we have to pay for it, it's our fault... yes, we should fight and not just sit here and get killed, but we should fight, win, and LEAVE, not try and freaking turn the place into a colony... CAN WE SAY THE U.S. IS BEING A HYPOCRITE BY FIGHTING A REVOLUTION TO NOT BE A COLONY AND THEN MAKING OTHERS................
in my opinion, i think that there should be no fighting, war solves NOTHING, and it should never be used, i guess you can call me a pacifist, but i just can't help loving people for who they are, life isn't for fighting and stress it's for loving your neighbors and accepting them for who they are and NOT for fighting them!
Nick has stepped of his soap box...
Email: Nick999@alltlel.net
AIM: pedroisthelion
AIM: pedroisthelion
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Nick Carraway
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mccutcheon
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free free set them free like Mav having sex
what I don't get is that they let all the people in prison go. I mean if they deserved to be in jail shoudn't we keep them there even if we did some abuse? maybe they were innocent and being tortured by the US government and once it went public we had to set them free.
Insert Lame Sting or U2 song lyric here...
McCutcheon Humor aside, this whole situation has made me much less the patriotic than I usually am. Those of you who read my posts regularly know that although I have never liked GWB or the timing and execution of the Iraq war, I tend to be rather right of the majority of posters here.
Well, that is no longer the case. AndsI'm not the only one. Many much more conservative than I have ever been are leaning more and more left due to the horrible decisions and actions of the Bush administration.
To sum up...Carpetmunching, good, carpetbagging, bad. Bush in the 80's slang for vagina, good, Bush in the presidential sense...bad.
And as for what they teach kids about the war, one of my 18 year old employees the other day said "There's a war happening? Where? By the way, when do you think gas prices will go down?"
Well, that is no longer the case. AndsI'm not the only one. Many much more conservative than I have ever been are leaning more and more left due to the horrible decisions and actions of the Bush administration.
To sum up...Carpetmunching, good, carpetbagging, bad. Bush in the 80's slang for vagina, good, Bush in the presidential sense...bad.
And as for what they teach kids about the war, one of my 18 year old employees the other day said "There's a war happening? Where? By the way, when do you think gas prices will go down?"