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American mythology (Ref: Fred Thompson) [Barf Alert]
The Ottawa Citizen ^ | September 21, 2007 | Dan Gardner

Posted on 09/24/2007 2:00:31 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

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To: 2ndDivisionVet

This guy says it was the USSR who broke the Nazi’s back and that the USSR only invades when attacked. What about Poland?

What about all the countries under Communism which were made part of the USSR after WWII? Can Mr. Gardner likewise show which countries we ‘claimed’ for the USA? USSR took half of Germany. If we hadn’t been there, all of Europe would have been behind the ‘iron curtain’.

This Gardner guy is NO student of history OR facts. Someone needs to confront him and teach him the difference between truth and lies.


21 posted on 09/24/2007 6:18:28 AM PDT by Dudoight
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Soviets won WWII for us -

straight out of the USSR History books.


22 posted on 09/24/2007 6:20:56 AM PDT by MrB (You can't reason people out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place)
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To: elizabetty

But that’s not Fred’s point (denigrating others’ troops).

He’s simply responding to the left’s anti-America viewpoint of “America: always wrong”.

And yes, we on the right want to see that viewpoint CONFRONTED.


23 posted on 09/24/2007 6:23:02 AM PDT by MrB (You can't reason people out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Nothing to apologize for. Never did anything wrong in 231 years of history. Nothing.

Oh, you have to love leftists.

Let me re-phrase the above into what we hear from the left:
"Nothing to be proud of. Never did anything noble in 231 years of history. Nothing."

You know, this is great, actually. A leftist getting upset because a candidate isn't trashing his country. All we have to do, folks, is draw them out and expose them, and the battle is won.

24 posted on 09/24/2007 6:25:54 AM PDT by MrB (You can't reason people out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place)
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To: MNJohnnie

But what about the claim that more British died in the 2nd world war than Americans in all of our wars?

I’m accepting for this argument your rejection of the soviet claim, although fred’s statement wasn’t about who gave the most support, but about how many people died, so does it matter what boots those dead russians were wearing?

Also, while I love my country, and believe we have our hearts in the right place most of the time, and certainly in modern times have little interest in aquiring territory, our history is not without the occasional military conquest. We did take over this country from the natives (not saying we didn’t have a right to do so, but we didn’t buy it from them), and there was the whole Philipine thing.

Still, what this really shows is that it’s better as a politician to speak in generalities when making general statements of our greatness. Nobody could argue that we have a history of fighting for other people’s freedom. IT’s only the specific claim of the number of dead Americans that can be questioned.


25 posted on 09/24/2007 6:48:09 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: CharlesWayneCT

The Russians died to enslave, not liberate people


26 posted on 09/24/2007 6:51:16 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/)
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To: CharlesWayneCT
The British, and their empire forces like the Canadians, died to protect their empire, not liberate it.
27 posted on 09/24/2007 6:53:08 AM PDT by MNJohnnie (http://www.vetsforfreedom.org/)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
'You know," drawled Fred Thompson at a recent rally in Des Moines, Iowa,...

Imagine the liberal press beginning an article this way...

Okay so there isn't an "s" in 'You know', but you get my point.

28 posted on 09/24/2007 7:06:06 AM PDT by FreeReign
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To: CharlesWayneCT
But what about the claim that more British died in the 2nd world war than Americans in all of our wars?

The author cleverly pulls a sleight of hand here. He actually claims more casualties for the "British Empire". That apparently includes Canadians, Australians, S. Africans, Indians, Singapore, Hong Kong, and likely the civilian casualties in the Blitz. He then compares that to the military casualties of just the U.S.

Now, he may be right and Thompson may be wrong with the actual numbers, but when I see statistical hanky-panky like this, I suspect the numbers are thoroughly cooked.

29 posted on 09/24/2007 7:17:07 AM PDT by LexBaird (Behold, thou hast drinken of the Aide of Kool, and are lost unto Men.)
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To: MNJohnnie

The Canadians were certainly not their “empire forces” in World War 2.

And while the British were in more danger of the war than we were, we WERE attacked by the Japanese before we entered the war, and we WERE attacked by the Germans before we sent our troops to Europe.

And while it is true that many British died defending their own country, many of them also died retaking France and pushing the Germans back and eventually defeating them.

I think Fred’s point was accurate, but your defense illustrates the difficulty of the quote as pointed out by Mark Steyn.

In order to defend what Fred said, you had to resort to claiming that the British and Canadians weren’t fighting for others, but simply to save their own butts.

So why are the British fighting side-by-side with us in Iraq? Why are the Canadians in Afghanistan?

We are NOT the only country in the world who is willing to send our own people to die to help others. We can praise our own selfless sacrifice without making it a contest or denigrating the sacrifice of others.


30 posted on 09/24/2007 7:18:27 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: MNJohnnie

‘The British, and their empire forces like the Canadians, died to protect their empire, not liberate it.’

What nonsense. So far as I can recall, neither Poland, France, Holland or Denmark were in the British Empire.

When Britains allies were attacked, Britain declared war on Hitler. When Americas allies were attacked they ummed and arrhhed and eventually sent some weapons. I don’t blame America for one second for putting it’s own best interests ahead of it’s allies, but please, enough with the moral high gorund.


31 posted on 09/24/2007 7:35:12 AM PDT by britemp
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To: LexBaird

‘Now, he may be right and Thompson may be wrong with the actual numbers, but when I see statistical hanky-panky like this, I suspect the numbers are thoroughly cooked.’

Here are some more historically accurate figures:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties


32 posted on 09/24/2007 7:38:00 AM PDT by britemp
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To: MNJohnnie

‘Pure Marxist BS.’

Not pure BS.

The battle of kursk makes the D-Day landings look like a minor skirmish. I don’t think allied forces would’ve landed on that fateful June day if there had been no eastern front to exhaust and dilute the nazi forces.


33 posted on 09/24/2007 7:41:51 AM PDT by britemp
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To: elizabetty

‘Steyn wrote, “Sorry, guys, if that’s the level of bragadocio required, include me out. It should not be necessary in “supporting our troops” to denigrate everybody’s else.”’

What a refreshing attitude for this forum where ones ally is often more hated than ones enemy.


34 posted on 09/24/2007 7:43:11 AM PDT by britemp
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To: britemp

While Britain and France DID declare war on Germany after the invasion of Poland, they didn’t actually DO anything until France was attacked.

The British (quite rightly) believed that forward defense (fighting the Germans in France) was preferable to allowing the Germans to solidify their positions there. The result was Dunkirk.

Nobody went to war in WWII JUST to liberate Poland...


35 posted on 09/24/2007 7:51:38 AM PDT by Philistone (Your existence as a non-believer offends the Prophet(MPBUH).)
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To: Elsie
...husband...

In Hillary's case, I think Bill is the 'wife'.   ;-)

36 posted on 09/24/2007 8:19:41 AM PDT by 6SJ7
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To: LexBaird

I see that now. A quick glance of online sources shows the United States had more military deaths than the United Kingdom, but fewer civilian deaths. Most countries involved in the war had a greater number of deaths per capita than we did, but we gave a lot of lives to end that war.

The total casualty count of WW2 is staggering, especially when you add the Axis powers.

We balk at 3800 deaths in Iraq. Germany lost 5 million soldiers, China had 15 million civilians killed. France had 212,000 soldiers killed (which is fewer than we lost, pretty interesting given that their country was overrun by the Germans and we had to take it back).


37 posted on 09/24/2007 8:21:31 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: Philistone
Nobody went to war in WWII JUST to liberate Poland...

Least of all the Soviets.

38 posted on 09/24/2007 8:21:43 AM PDT by Charles Martel (The Tree of Liberty thirsts.)
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To: Charles Martel

They’d already “liberated” half of it in 1939 before Hitler got greedy. In fact, if Hitler had stopped there, we might still be living with the 3rd Reich.


39 posted on 09/24/2007 8:24:05 AM PDT by Philistone (Your existence as a non-believer offends the Prophet(MPBUH).)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Dan Gardner.

Small little man with a small little mind, in a small little cubicle, somewhere in Ottawa,

Fiercely typing away, on a spittle specked keyboard, about his rabid jealousy of, and hatred for, America and Americans.

Sad little fellow.

Pity him if you can.

40 posted on 09/24/2007 9:30:11 AM PDT by Col Freeper
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