Carson, here's my definition of a good republican:

They all say they are "patriots" and "conservatives." Therefore, a good republican:

1. Patriotically conserves the environment, protect it from pollution, clean up the pollution that is already there, and put manufacturing processes in place that conserve the environment.

2. Patriotically conserves Americans' retirements by helping more Americans get jobs that pay a living wage instead of a starvation wage.

3. Patriotically conserves Americans' right to the truth about toxins in consumer goods.

4. Patriotically conserves America's God-given exceptionalism by NOT invading or occupying other countries, by NOT stealing other countries' natural resources, NOT interfering in other countries' politics, and NOT telling other countries what they should do.

That is my definition of a patriotic conservative. Which, interestingly, is also my definition of a patriotic democrat, a patriotic libertarian, a patriotic progressive, a patriotic Christian, a patriotic Muslim, a patriotic Jew, a patriotic agnostic, and a patriotic athiest.

Quote johnkk:
We seem to have great evidence that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against people. This is a real crime.

Really? What evidence is that? Same kind of evidence that the Bush administration told us of WMDs in Iraq?
What the heck, I seem to have evidence that suggests that the US government along with Britain..Saudi Arabia..Al Qaida and perhaps even Israel was actually behind the false flag chemical attack in Syria. Ever heard of Britam Defences? (not Britain Defences although it is largely a British company) Do a search on "hacked emails" and "Britam". Those emails allegedly from Britam Defences were posted on the internet (now largely deleted) in January of this year showing how CW (chemical warfare) agents were to be used in Syria and then blamed on Al Assad government in order to provide an excuse to invade Syria. Now, was someone a psychic and accurately predicted that this would happen and faked those emails? Or did a real hack take place as was done against Strafor, for an example? And now, much of the world is doubtful that this chem attack was done by Al Assad. Qui Bono!!!! Who stands to gain from an attack like this? Certainly not Al Assad! Especially when UN inspectors were present. How dumb would that be? Al Assad may be wicked, and the world may be better off without him, but he is not stupid. And if the US was behind this then how wicked is the US? Very, very wicked! But the US has a long history of wickedness. Murdering civilians!

I do, however agree with you on the fact that if we take military action against Syria, we will most probably end up killing a lot more innocent civilians. Given US history, I don't think that is a very high concern on the US agenda. The psychopaths that control our military don't really care that civilians are killed...all they care about is control as they see fit and don't care a whit about the sovereignty of other countries.

MMmmNachos: Sorry, MMmmNachos, I do try to read what everyone has to say and often agree with much of what you all have to say..eg: your #6. I got a bit of a giggle out of that one. I had been on a little trip that took me away from the keyboard just recently and that trip left me a bit tired..especially after doing some of the above information gathering on the new false flag operation the US/Britain/Israel/Saudi Arabia/Al Qaida has most likely carried out in Syria in order to justify attacking them like we did Iraq. Looks like the same Modus Operandi (MO) is being used as was used with Iraq..false flag tragedies (like 9/11) and lies told to scare the people to support invading Syria this time. Thank goodness that people have wised up and doubted the propaganda and will not fall for it again.

I was very happy to hear that Britain's Parliament rejected supporting the US on this one. No Poodle lap dog this time! Let's hear it for the Brits!!! Yay!!! I think Obama is looking more and more hawkish, and alone, especially since he has indicated that if no one will help..he'll just do the invasion himself. Yeah, by himself...give the blowhard murdering war criminal a battle axe and ship his @$$ over there to tough it out against Al Assad. Send the generals and not the troops..better yet..send the blowhard politicians. I bet the US will end up murdering many more civilians than their false flag chemical operation did.

Once I got back from my trip, I watched a little news on CNN and got a few giggles out of how they were now going all out to further scare the American public about the Hitlerian "evil menace" in Syria who is threatening retaliation...like massive hacking of internet web sites by "an army of hackers". The banksters will probably take this opportunity to wipe out our bank accounts and claim that some Syrian hackers did it.

Red banners flying across the bottom of the TV screen announced that our banks and dams and electrical grids might all be at risk from an army of Syrian hackers...oh my. I thought I was watching FOX NEWS and not CNN..but no...it was CNN. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! If I only had a heart! If I only had a brain! Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore! ;-O

Yes, there may very well come a day when blow back could very well be such a bitch that it will make these Ivy League educated dandies ( or those who are dumber than $h!t but who just inherited all their wealth) who rule the roost (the 1%) and those who run our government wet their pants. We'll all be wetting our pants! That'll sure take the bravado and testosterone out of all those American Jingoes!

Chemical weapons, biological weapons, suitcase nukes! And taking away our fingernail clippers and babies bottle formulas at the airports, before or after they use their porno scanners on us or grope our semi naked bodies will just not matter anymore.

We'll all be dying in the streets, in the malls, in our homes from VX nerve gas or a cocktail of biological death or radiating from nukes going off in our cities that our illustrious Homeland Insecurity failed to detect.

The whole thing starts when one country tries to bully other countries out of their natural resources or tries to impose their religion or type of government (ie: meddling) on other countries. The many civilian deaths that inevitably ensues amplifies the hatreds and fosters their will to pay back the aggressors for the crimes committed against them.

There is just no way that the United States can expect to prevent some kind of attack in the future. All of the human traffic and movement of materials in and out of our airports and harbors will eventually let slip some kind of WMD into our country one day. In fact, it may already have happened... lying in wait to be triggered in the event of yet another aggression the US tries against another country. The US needs to be way more kinder to other countries and try not to be such a meddling bully and thief. And especially, stop mass murdering civilians.

Yes, I know I type too much...sorry! I just get worked up over these things. Guess I should get back to meditating using my hemi-sync CDs. Ooouuummmmmmmm!!!! That's better!

More than any specific post, DAM, I mainly was just expressing that I noticed you had not engaged any of my post in a while and was feeling a bit left out of the semi-intellagent banter and mix.
Two things I like about this blog; Most of the people that post on Thom's Blog have something more than just spoon fed opinions. It's good to know that there are still some that are capable of critical thinking...using that gray matter between their ears, as well as the opposing and/or favorable replys to eachother that insights banter and debate.
In other words I post not just to "hear" myself, but to hear what others have to say.

namasté

Thank you DAnneMarc! Very much appreciated. I had to, since my last posts from yesterday (or maybe it was the day before that?), go on a little trip about 600 miles round trip all in one day...got back at about 3:00am this morning so I am also very tired.

By the way, here is another quote from a more recent article from The New American web site:

Quote The New American:.... evidence suggesting that the foreign-funded-and-trained rebels may have perpetrated the attack continues to mount. Writing in WND, author and respected analyst Jerome Corsi compiled a series of videos from Middle Eastern sources that show opposition fighters involved in chemical weapons attacks.

One of the videos, for example, shows “Free Syrian Army” forces launching a Sarin gas attack on a village. Another appears to record “rebels” loading a canister of nerve gas on a rocket. A third, recorded from Syrian television, shows a rebel arsenal of what appears to be Saudi-made chemical weapons seized by government forces. More evidence cited in the report came from a recorded phone conversation between a rebel terrorist and a Saudi financier, who discussed past and future use of chemical weapons by opposition forces.

Examining recent history and events may also yield some clues as to who could have been responsible for the attack, according to analysts. Consider, for example, the numerous atrocities — mass murder of civilians, for example — perpetrated by rebels but blamed on the Assad regime. As The New American has documented extensively, there have been more than a few confirmed instances of opposition forces staging brutal attacks and blaming the carnage on the Syrian dictatorship before the truth eventually emerged. After the last chemical weapons attack blamed on Assad, UN investigators concluded that it was likely the work of rebel forces. Videos have also emerged apparently showing “rebels” testing chemical weapons on animals.

Among the most explosive allegations this year were documents supposedly obtained by hackers claiming that the Obama administration had previously approved a chemical weapons false-flag attack in Syria to be blamed on the regime. According to the ANI news wire, an alleged e-mail exchange between two senior officials at British-based contractor Britam Defence documented a scheme to have Sunni Arab regimes “fund rebel forces in Syria to use chemical weapons.” The plan for a false-flag attack to be blamed on Assad was allegedly “approved by Washington.” The company denied the allegations and successfully sued a leading British paper that published them, but some analysts were not convinced by the denials and continue citing the alleged e-mails.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/asia/item/16419-doubts-grow-abo...
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Quote jerome corsi web site:
With the assistance of former PLO member and native Arabic-speaker Walid Shoebat, WND has assembled evidence from various Middle Eastern sources that cast doubt on Obama administration claims the Assad government is responsible for last week’s attack.

On Aug. 23, LiveLeak.com hosted an audio recording of a phone call broadcast on Syrian TV between a terrorist affiliated with the rebel civilian militia “Shuhada al-Bayada Battalion” in Homs, Syria, and his Saudi Arabian boss, identified as “Abulbasit.” The phone call indicates rebel-affiliated terrorists in Syria, not the Assad government, launched the chemical weapons attack in Deir Ballba in the Homs, Syria, countryside.

http://www.wnd.com/2013/08/video-shows-rebels-launching-gas-attack-in-sy...

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Document that shows that Britam Defence LTD exists and that they have done business with Halliburton.

http://i50.tinypic.com/21ad4k9.png

Another discussion from back in January of this year about the leaked documents as viewed by witnesses who read those documents before they were deleted from pastebin.com.

http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1242490

http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/asia/item/16419-doubts-grow-abo...

This January 24th, 2013 post on the cyberwarenews.info web site from a hacker who hacked into a British company's (BritAm Defense) servers and got some really interesting information (also internal emails--sounds like the Stratfor email hack) that seems to indicate that the current situation in Syria was actually a plot by the US to use chemical weapons against civilians in Syria and blame it on Al-Assad as a pretext for invasion by the US.

There will be references to a web site called pastebin.com saying that a lot of these documents show all of this....from all those link sites anyway. But, the contents has been removed from Pastebin. Do a Pastebin search on BritAm or Syria and all the links that are supposed to contain documents are all deleted if you go to those links.

Britam Defence is British private military company, operates mainly in the Middle East. It killed Arabs in Iraq and plans to invade in Iran and Syria.
Look through leaked documents carefully. CW means chemical weapon, g-shell is short for a gas shell I guess.
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Phil

We’ve got a new offer. It’s about Syria again. Qataris propose an attractive deal and swear that the idea is approved by Washington.
We’ll have to deliver a CW to Homs, a Soviet origin g-shell from Libya similar to those that Assad should have.
They want us to deploy our Ukrainian personnel that should speak Russian and make a video record.
Frankly, I don’t think it’s a good idea but the sums proposed are enormous. Your opinion?

Kind regards

David

http://www.cyberwarnews.info/2013/01/24/britam-defence-hacked-confidenti...
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Heres an interesting blog site: http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=30406.0

http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-backed-plan-to-launch-chemical-weapon-at...

Syria: U.S. Aided Terrorists in Chemical Attack, Europe Next
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pdomq8iaZs

http://www.storyleak.com/

So, are we still at DEFCON 3 or has it been increased to DEFCON 4 yet?

Interesting info on Hastings and the Syria chemical attack here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezEP33y1RvA
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Dennis Kucinich says attack on Syria would make U.S. "al Qaida's air force"

Kucinich also "raised doubts" about claims the Syrian military - which is controlled by Assad - killed hundreds of people with chemical weapons last week. He accused the Obama administration of “rushing” into a potential “World War Three” based on questionable evidence.

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2013/08/dennis_kucinich_says_att...

I wonder what Edward Snowden knows about all of this???

Those who made that march and so many other marches in the fight for racial equality were very, very brave people. I was a teenager then and, like ginico55’s “we lived in Huntsville” post above, I can easily recall the horrible, un-Christian words and deeds that plagued the black citizens in that era. I, too, lived in the south. I can still see the TV news showing the fire hose spraying and street beatings that those courageous black men and women endured in their marches.

Now, as I look back and see the progress, I smile and think -- Mr. King, you did it, you won. You led protests in a peaceful; tolerant way as you demanded rightful change. As a result, we are different today, we are a better people.

To today's topic I would add... Racism is a two way street. It takes two to tango. Racism begins and ends in each and every one of us. We have total control over racism. It is one thing to be a racist. It is another thing to not be a racist. To embody the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is another thing altogether...

I say to you, that to react to racism is worse than racism itself. Responding to racism in kind is to give validation to the credibility of racism. Here is the patients taught by Dr. Martin Luther King. This patients, discipline and dedication to equality is the responsibility of every individual in the world. Only through complete denial of racism can racism cease to exist.

In these troubled times my brothers, remember--Reaction only encourages the behavior, your response dictates the future. Banish racism from your consciousness and banish racism from the face of the world. Show by your example and your example will become the benchmark. The meek will inherit the Earth and the patient will inherit eternity.

Racism begins and ends in the hearts of each of us. Let us all have the strength, courage, devotion, and conviction of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that we may someday find him on the other side of the mountain of which he spoke so eloquently--united as a people, as a part of his beautiful dream.

REEEEEALYYYYY...You want to thank a snake tongue corporate puppet for who you are, and for your future? You think Obama is to thank for that?
I'm not sure I can accept your compliment from yesterdays thread. Not becasue of a "difference of opinion", more because you make judgments based on lip service rather than a person's actions.

obama may be able to give a good speach but his actions are what define him.

We lived in Huntsville, AL in 1960, 100 miles away from Birmingham - we were there when the church was bombed. Huntsville at that time was "different" because so many people were moving in from all over the country for the development of the Saturn rocket to put the man on the moon! But that didn't shield us from ALL of the discrimination that was going on down there. We witnessed the separate drinking fountains and the poverty that the black people lived in. No story tells it more than the HELP book and movie! I remember the church bombing when the four little girls were killed, the march on Selma. George Wallace standing i the school door to prevent the blacks from entering. Unfortunately, the discrimination is still alive and well in the South - I think the embers were fired up by the right when President Obama was elected. I have witnessed people that I would never suspect of being racist . . . racist. The public schools in Alabama have been neglected because "that's where all the colored go" . . . the white people now have "private" schools to attend. The Congressional members are racist and it's very sad!

Originally from Ohio, I attended segregated schools from day one, so I learned to respect people of color early on. I guess I led a sheltered life because I knew little about gay people - I learned a lot while attending cosmetology school and became friends with a few. Later in life, God gave me a gay daughter . . . so I guess that in His way, he primed me to know that we are ALL His children and to respect everyone.

Now in my twilight years, I fear for my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, but I try my best to overcome that fear and trust that God will show us a way to come together in this world.

God Bless President Obama for his foresight - I pray that there will be more understanding of and for him from the American people!

Flopot ~ I'd go one step further--we need international involvement. This is a job for the UN not the US. Our Congress has nothing more to say in this matter than our President. We are a part of the international community not it's representative. We, the United States of America, count for one vote in the UN. That is the only say we have in this matter. Only through UN investigation, consensus, and action can we even begin to formulate a legitimate reason to use any force. Only through a majority vote of the UN do we have the blessing of the international community.

Sanctions and embargos work better than any direct military force and does not directly kill anyone. The UN has the power to authorize military blockades of supplies, such as weapons and artillery; and even goods such as industrial material, finance, and oil. That is where the focus should be made in this matter, and all similar foreign diplomatic humanitarian issues. Direct military intervention is a blatant act of fascism--even as a last resort after every other alternative is exhausted. As a first resort it is nothing more than unrestrained imperialistic totalitarian tyranny.

nachos -- I am more of a one world guy than a USA chauvinist. However, I think the one world solution can be best attained by each country creating policy (balancing of environment and economy) on their own. Both the Eurozone and the US charter mongering show how bad things are if you have a mixed bag, even if it is only a common currency and separate policy.