Terrorism IS NOT the only issue!

[crazytimes]

I mean honestly, in a typical day terrorism does not cross my mind ONCE. The only times I DO think about it are when they are talking it on the news or politicians are talking about. I don't feel unsafe. I'm more scared of driving on county roads than I am that some terrorist is going to attack me.

I know we have to do something about it, but does it have to be the #1, top of the mountain, single most important issue of all time?

[bobbcat]

It is an important issue by virtue of its nature, crazytimes. Terrorist networks are widely disseminated. Our borders are as open as crab traps. Our gov't policies towards immigration are very lax, to say the least. The intelligence community is multi-factioned and doesn't work too well. Islamofascist terrorist networks are very sophisticated and have oodles of money to spend on their misguided endeavors.

Albeit I feel relatively safe, I also feel pretty confident that there will be another attack on the scale of 9-11, if not worse. It is just a matter of time. Fighting these terrorist elements is going to be like fixing holes in a sinking ship.

[luvmetender]

Hey, but we are so much safer now that we have attacked Iraq for no reason and Bin Laden is probably lining up more terrorist attacks. That Bin Laden must be a very tricky guy to elude all the US troops trying to find him.

[bobbcat]

You know, I am still not sure OBL isn't dead. The evidence that has come out to support the notion that he is still alive has been all circumstantial (in other words, no eyewitness accounts by people who know the man well, in fact, no eyewitness accounts at all that I know of).

Toppling Saddam Hussein was a good idea. He was a destabilizing force in the ME and he was working on a nuclear weapons program. People from the last 2 presidential administrations have acknowledged that. It is a shame that poor intelligence and poor handling of the aftermath of Hussein's fall have besmirched the whole affair. It is now waaaay too late to abort the mission. Our officials need to stick with the plan until the goal is reached (a sovereign, relatively secure Iraq).

[luvmetender]

Originally Posted by bobbcat

It is now waaaay too late to abort the mission. Our officials need to stick with the plan until the goal is reached (a sovereign, relatively secure Iraq).

Agreed, but Bush should have sent enough troops over to get it done properly.

[crazytimes]

I agree that terrorism is a very real threat. But in all honesty, I don't think the war in Iraq made us that much safer. They just reported on the news SPECIFIC BUILDINGS the terrorists are targeting!

In all honesty if we had spent the money we spent in Iraq, or even a portion of it, we could improve security here. I don't mind a lot of the money, because rebuilding schools, etc. I think is a very important thing to do and I am glad that my tax dollars could do something helpful like that. But the bill is pretty enormous, you have to admit.

I think the #1 priority NEEDS to be HERE in the UNITED STATES! After we have improved security at the borders, ports, etc. and have plans in place, THEN I think we need to start thinking of future threats, i.e. who/what/when, etc.

But my point is, terrorism cannot trump all other issues. We still have medical problems and need medical care. We still need to educate kids. We still need to fix our roads.

I just think there needs to be a balance.

[luvmetender]

crazytimes, you sure have your head on straight! Speaking of educating kids...

Just had a conversation with my neighbor's DIL (they are visiting from WV) We were talking about how she wants to move back here so badly because of the schools in WV. Here is an example of just how bad it is:

The validictorian in their high school had a 4.0 average. Guess what she got on her SAT's?

An 860.....

How sad is that?

[mrbowler]

Originally Posted by bobbcat

Our borders are as open as crab traps. Our gov't policies towards immigration are very lax, to say the least. The intelligence community is multi-factioned and doesn't work too well. Islamofascist terrorist networks are very sophisticated and have oodles of money to spend on their misguided endeavors.

Albeit I feel relatively safe, I also feel pretty confident that there will be another attack on the scale of 9-11, if not worse. It is just a matter of time. Fighting these terrorist elements is going to be like fixing holes in a sinking ship.

I would assume that our "borders are as open as crab traps" are not the result of the current administrations efforts? I was glad to read that they did start using the drone planes on the border.

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[MrsLisaP]

Originally Posted by luvmetender

crazytimes, you sure have your head on straight! Speaking of educating kids...

Just had a conversation with my neighbor's DIL (they are visiting from WV) We were talking about how she wants to move back here so badly because of the schools in WV. Here is an example of just how bad it is:

The validictorian in their high school had a 4.0 average. Guess what she got on her SAT's?

An 860.....

How sad is that?

That is pretty sad. I didn't even graduate from HS (personal reasons not educational reasons) and I scored a 1320 on the SAT.

I just read on average a person who scored 840 would have a 2.4 grade average.

[luvmetender]

Wow, Lisa, 1320 is awesome!

[bobbcat]

Smart gal, Lisa.