I vote,

I volunteer

I raise healthy, productive, happy children who will be part of our future leaders,,,


..some of the ways I 'serve'

good for you mn. i suppose most of us serve in similar ways. i suppose most folks in most countries do likewise, but my question is, since this thread is thaking those who didn't serve in the military and it was mentioned that there were other ways to serve amreica, other than everyday efforts most everybody does, what sacrifices and risk taking do we do other than serving in the military? for the most part, i've heard some served earning a salary at a defense contractor, you vote as many do, you garden for america and raise children. all great stuff. what do you volunteer that servas aemerica. anybody??

hey, not for me to judge what counts. i do thank you, though, if you worked for less than standard wages and benefits because of your patriotism and the contractor gave a the navy a discount.

What does wage have to do with it? Do enlisties have more patriotism because they make less than the officers?

I work above and beyond the call of duty every day to keep good paying union middle class jobs in america.

Without a strong middle class america and its freedoms are worthless.

What does wage have to do with it? Do enlisties have more patriotism because they make less than the officers?

well, if you didn't work for less wages and the government did not gain because of it i just wonder how you feel that you've servered your country any more than any other wage earner. as you emplied, wages have nothing to do with patriotism unless i suppose one were to take less pay or perhaps donate some of their pay so that america does benefit. church goers do that, no? benefits the church to drop a twenty in the basket? so no, enlistees have no more or less patriotism because of wage differences. but who mentioned patriotism anyway? i thought the topic was about serving, or not serving america? what both the army captain and the first class petty officer do have in common that most other wage earners in america do not is that they swore to put their life on the line to "protect and defend the constitution." did you take such an oath upon accepting the helicopter mechanic job?

So, don't vote AndyBgood ... check. Way to be completely and utterly evil.

Really, the best way to handle countries that "hide among civilian populations" that "endanger our men and women" is ... well, not to get involved in a war in those countries because ... well, none of them can touch us militarily. And we are not the World Police (America! F*** yeah!).

"Harboring our enemy" ... right. Because random people have a say in what oppressive governments do, politically. You know those same citizens which militants hide amongst aren't necessarily CHOOSING to be human shields, right?

By this reasoning, the US government should have firebombed the entire city of Waco because it was "harboring" David Koresh, right? (Reasoning: Cult is to Regime, as City is to Country). I'm sure that would have been just fine with you right? So long as you weren't living in Waco at the time.



Basically what you're saying is, if you were in charge you would turn America into an engine of fear in the world? You really think the rest of the world is going to say "Yay, America!" at that point? Several countries hate us now ... start leveling nations that don't agree with your personal doctrines and see how quickly the world as a whole unites against us. Sorry, if we're going to survive, we need to set an example of how to "play nice" ... not be the schoolyard bullies that beat up smaller nations because they don't like our "Girls Gone Wild" and "American Idol" culture.

Grow up. People who spout the above propaganda believe the USA can withstand whatever the world throws at it ... including the entirety of the world itself. Sorry, not going to happen. Choose your battles ... and try not to choose only those with third world countries just because "we can take 'em!"

hey, ever think that if "good paying UNION middle class jobs" were good paying middle class jobs without the unions there'd be fewer jobs going overseas? no need to answer. just one of those rhetorical questions. so what do you do to serve your country bestshow?

Several countries hate us now ... start leveling nations that don't agree with your personal doctrines and see how quickly the world as a whole unites against us.

I think most employers will go to the lowest wage possible regardless of what country they are in.

I like to look towards Germany as an example of a country that is verry unionised and enjoys a high standerd of liveing.

The american form of capitalism cant compete in the real world and we have to cut corners by cutting wages and increasing wages to the CEO's.

Maybe I am a dinasour but I enjoy four weeks of paid vacation a year. I have cadilac health care plan and a pension with a nice social security income on top being I have paid into it since I was fifteen and make top dollar now.

My most rescent contribution was buying a new rideing lawnmower and two new garage doors helping to stimulate the economy.

Last week I employed a local mechanic to fix my daughters car.


I purhcases three pieces of lumber and some paint all purchased localy.

I served in the Army did basic at Ft Knox and advanced training at Aberdeen Proveing grounds.

I work hard week in and week out being the most productive worker I can be so my employer continues to pay me and my union a fair wage.

I know this is important I understand that if we do not out produce our non union competition our jobs will go away.

We were challenged one time in our field by a non union outfit with seriouse financial backing and after three years they were out of business.

I like to think it was our know how based on generations of experience that prevailed and our vested interest in the company.

I pay my taxes every year without a complaint after all someone has to fix the potholes, inspect the food supply and keep an eye on the nuclear reactors.


I would like to think that if we were not supporting a parasitic military industrial estabishment we could actualy build a country worth defending.

Its great you get a fair wage but Unions are NOT REQUIRED for a fair wage.

I have life experience that tells me differant.

We have a local company called Lincoln Electric maybe you have heard of them.

They are a large employer localy probably one of the largest and non union and they have a bonus system.

It was set up to keep the unions out and it worked well due to the large bonuses given.

When all else fails for a young man Lincoln electric is allways hireing and its a brutal place to work.

If you can hang you can make 70k a year after five years on the job.

the past five years have seen the bonuses shrink due to the economic downturns as the bonuses shrunk the men began to talk union.

Last year the bonuses returned to the larger amounts and the union talk stopped.

I have friends who work there now and I also work with people now who have spent some time there.

This is one example there are many.

I can think of a number of jobs here that are not unionized. I also know a lot of business owners who are making their employees sign labor contracts forbidding them to unionize or they will close shop and leave.

Unions were supposed to be watch dog agencies to protect workers, not become a CORPORATE FOR PROFIT body and likewise wield political power.

And likewise comparing the German workplace and their Unions to ours is comparing apples to oranges and is fallacious! There are quite a few differences in the way Germany handles labor compared to here.

So no waving Germany's unions in our faces as an example we CAN'T possibly compare ourselves too. They handle insurance and health care WAY differently than we do. For one ALL INSURANCE AND ALL HEALTHCARE in Germany is (READ CAREFULLY AND USE A DICTIONARY FOR THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE SO THIS DOES NOT GO OVER YOUR HEAD) NOT FOR PROFIT!!! Here is is "FOR PROFIT."



And true to form we can see who has cultural knowledge of the world vs. those who think they do. Chazter, you know things these liberals refuse to understand. A lot of Koreans think they are better than everyone else, same with the Chinese. Even Japan considered all non Japanese as barbarians like China did (and does to this day!). All of them hate Filipinos. Japan has come a LONG way since they were brought into the world arena. China and Korea are coming around gradually. But these Liberal ID10Ts are self righteous know it alls who sit behind computers pretending to have all the answers. It is little wonder why we have such screwed up foreign policies. These same a$$holes think that monetary hand outs makes friends. And has this worked for real so far? I know it hasn't. PAKISTAN PAKISTAN PAKISTAN!

And to think, Liberal Arts deserves a degree! What a waste of education dollars! At least an Art degree counts for something!


Liberals, Gods answer to functional retardation!

Dude I have allways been an advocate for non profit healthcare as have most progresives.

The german worker enjoys on averge a higher standerd of liveing, more vacation time and are better educated and they have better beer

.

I would say that alot of jobs benefit from the threat of a union and employers pay a higher wage to avoid being unionised.

The largest employer in america is wallmart do you think the richest family in america pays a fair wage? Of course not.


Wallmart workers cant even afford insurence.

If you look at all the jobs in america you have to factor in every job there is.

Fast food and retail workers cant afford to live on 40 hours.

If you look at the jobs that pay a liveing wage I am sure you will find most of them are union and many others are paying a higher wage to avoid a union.

I just want to say a few things. 1. Fast food jobs were not meant to support a family. Not all jobs are meant for that. Such as news paper delivery etc. If fast food workers were paid that much no one would buy fast food. It would be too expensive then. That is a completely unskilled job that someone without even a GED could get. I would say the same for many jobs at stores in general. Unless you are there a long time and a manager or you make commission you won't be able to support a family. Again its an unskilled job that doesn't require any education.

2. I disagree somewhat about what Andy said about Asia. Japan and S. Korea are allies and Japanese people and Korean people tend to get along. I will say they both have strong dislikes for N. Korea and China though. I think most of the dislike comes from the older Generations. This was my experience living in Asia. There were many Japanese people vacationing in Seoul when I was there and in the touristy areas almost all shop owners speak Japanese.

3. Write this down because I am gonna agree with Bestinshow on something. I agree healthcare should be nonprofit. There is no incentive to cure diseases when you have a for profit medical industry.