straightUp Loc: California

All branches? The Air Force wasn't established until AFTER WW2... I'm pretty sure there was an America before that and I'm pretty sure freedom existed before then too. In fact America was established as a free nation before ANY of the military branches were established. The American Revolution was fought by the Continental Army, not the U.S. Army. The Continental Army was a temporary army organize out of state militias and it was disbanded after the war. The top general, George Washington did not believe there should be a standing army at all and the founders created the 2nd Amendment so that militias could be organized quickly when the need arises, so that we would not NEED a standing army.

The military branches were only established when we started pushing our frontiers westward and we wanted the capacity to invade neighbors.

I'm not drinking Kool-Aid my friend, I'm just paying attention to details that get smeared by patriotic circle-jerking.


That sounds more like angry insults than fact.

straightUp Loc: California

I don't know enough about that to comment, except that FDR was trying to get Congress to declare war on Hitler and he was getting resistance because so many influential Americans were pro-Nazi. That's why America didn't join the war until the Japanese attacked Perl Harbor and by that time, WW2 was already half over. BTW, Communist Russia was on our side during that war which is a good thing because without the Russians, Germany probably would have won.


Yes, they fought bravely in those wars but those wars had nothing to do with our freedom. All those wars were fought over resources in other places that our plutocracy wanted to control. Fighting the spread of communism during the Cold War was just an excuse that sounded more justified to the American people than world domination.

Think about it... We never won in Korea - did we loose our freedom? We capitulated in Vietnam - did we loose our freedom? Iraq wasn't a threat to our freedom either and nor was Afghanistan. Again, I'm not trying to insult anyone... I'm just pointing out the elephant in the room.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

You cleverly hid your comment about the Air Force. There was no branch offically called the air force until after WW-2 when the Army air force wing was split off into it's separate force.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

If you check the facts every war since WW-2 (and including WW-2) WAS A DEMOCRATIC WAR.

archie bunker Loc: Texas

You're barking up an empty tree here.
This guy will argue that your dog isn't actually brown in color while petting the brown dog.

nwtk2007 Loc: Texas

I didn't write that comment attributed to me. That was Mr straightup.

straightUp Loc: California

Well, everyone has an opinion.


Perhaps you need to hit the history books again... The Germans and Russians were allies at the start of the war, not enemies. When France fell and Britain stood alone they weren't kidding. The German-Russian alliance didn't fail until after the British served Hitler his first defeat in the Battle of Britain during the summer of 1940.


The bitter winter helped, but it was mostly the massive Red Army that stopped Germany and the American supplies didn't arrive until it was almost over.


Yes, there was a lot of contention between FDR and Congress. Like I said, many in Congress were pro-Nazi and didn't agree with Roosevelt's desire to help Britain.


Oh don't be so dramatic - it's an insult to the American people and our republic to portray America as something so delicate that loosing WW2 would have taken our identity and our freedoms away. Besides, (for us) it was a foreign war not a defensive one. Hitler had no interest in "taking over" or destroying America. He was interested in a specific region to the east of Germany, based on old Germanic claims. (He was trying to Make Germany Great Again). The allies entered the war in Europe as interventionists.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

Then the history books are wrong and you are right? OK if you think that.

I'll take the history books word for it.

straightUp Loc: California

Can you explain what you mean by democratic war?

straightUp Loc: California

History books don't all say the same thing.. In fact they often have different stories to tell depending on the intended readers. For very young children who haven't developed the capacity to understand the forces that shape history the intention is often to simply to introduce basic concepts like freedom while instilling a healthy respect for the services. This is considered by many to be a prerequisite for good citizenship. On the other hand, some accounts of history are aimed at college-level readers that are more interested in what actually happened.These books tend to be less apologetic and none of the ones I've read make the same connections between the U.S. Military and American freedom that you are making.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

Didn't those California schools teach you any thing about history? Or do all they teach you is hate the Republicans.

I am not Socialist Democrat, Republicn or Independent. I vote for whom I feel will best follow the constitution and laws.

The President can not declare war, he must ask Congress to declare war. All wars since the 1898
Spanish-American war had a Democrat President. Even the "Police Actions" like Vietnam and all the other engagement.

Their backers got rich on sales of guns and all the other supplies the military needed to fight their wars

straightUp Loc: California

California has more Republicans than any other state; the schools here certainly don't teach you to hate them. As for history, I already explained the difference between grade-school history and college-grade history. It sounds like your experience is limited to the former.


Yes, you told me... I do remember. And I commend you for it. The only fault I see in this statement is the assumption that Democrats are socialists. That's like saying Republicans are black. Yes, there are some black Republicans but they are relatively few. Same for socialists... relatively few Democrats are socialist. The other point to mention is that there isn't anything inherently wrong with socialism anyway. In fact, the military branches that you feel so compelled to defend are technically socialist systems because they are managed and funded by the state. So, we can talk about socialism if you are ready to step up to the grownup discussion, but if socialism is just a derogatory term for you, then I'd rather not bother.


This is what I was asking you to clear up... The fact that a President has to ask Congress to declare war, is what makes any resulting war, a democratic war, because Congress represents our democracy. But I was suspecting your reference was more along the line of that old, partisan BS where Republicans like to say that all our wars were started by Democrats. (I can remember hearing that in the 5th grade, 48 years ago). Well, first of all, it's not even true... Clearly, Republican Bush started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Spanish-American War AND the 13-year war against the Philippines that grade-school history books skip entirely were started by Republican Theodore Roosevelt. So, I just did a little research and here's what I found... Since 1900, 35 conflicts have been launched by Republican administrations compared to 23 by Democrats, with 10 (out of 12) GOP presidents launching one or more conflicts, compared to 8 (out of 8) Democrats.

Sorry man... Those shallow, partisan wives-tales just don't work on me. If you're going to tell me something I don't already know, you're going to need a solid argument. And BTW, for someone who claims not to be associated with a political party you sure sound like a defensive Republican.


Well, yes - you got that part right. War is a thriving business. One of the better Republican presidents, Dwight D. Eisenhower mentioned that in his farewell address when he warned Americans about the military-industrial complex.

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

8 years of a Socialest Muslim traitor may be the reason I lean more to the loyal American side.

straightUp Loc: California

Eight years of a socialist Muslim traitor? That sounds horrible. When did that happen?

old marine Loc: America home of the brave

From 2008 to 2016. When trillions of taxpayers money disappeared from government accounts.
Most all Staff during that time frame all became multiple millionaires. Obama and the Clinton's mafia ended up with most of it. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton couldn't account for several BILLION OF DOLLARS THAT WERE MISSING.