The Nuts Are Running The Squirrel House

8 Responses to: “A Few of My Favorite Things”

1. minijonb responds:
   Posted: April 18th, 2006 at 11:20 pm →

   You’ve been tagged!

2. Rachel responds:
   Posted: April 19th, 2006 at 8:29 am →

   Amen Sistah!!!!!

3. Jay responds:
   Posted: April 19th, 2006 at 12:39 pm →

   Out of serious curiousity, where does the “12 times the death toll of 9/11″ number come from? That’d be … what, some 35,000 deaths? I’m not being flippant; I’m seriously wondering (I’m asking a question, just like you said to!).

4. Playtah responds:
   Posted: April 20th, 2006 at 8:17 am →

   Hi, Jay! No, I didn’t think you were being flippant at all. It was an great question. Twelve times was actually a somewhat conservative estimate. I am counting the US soldiers who died, and the Iraqi civilians (not the terrrorists). Here are some sites where you can confirm the numbers.

   This is from the US DoD. It is a .pdf file of the casualties for US soldiers: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf

   And here is another one regarding military deaths: http://icasualties.org/oif/

   Here are some sites where you can confirm the death toll of Iraqi civilians:

   From the president himself (about 2/3 of the way down the page): http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/12/20051212-4.html

   http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

   http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4525412.stm

   http://www.jhsph.edu/PublicHealthNews/Press_Releases/PR_2004/Burnham_Iraq.html

   http://www.infoshout.com/iraq%20death%20toll.htm

   http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6596

   http://www.theage.com.au/news/iraq/new-study-raises-iraq-death-toll/2005/07/12/1120934238541.html

   http://www2.cla.umn.edu/news/for_media/press_release_archive/docs/LesRoberts110105.pdf

   http://www.onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_643.shtml

   http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,187486,00.html

   http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002874731_iraqdead19.html

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

   http://www.time.com/time/columnist/karon/article/0,9565,933405,00.html

   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11861155/site/newsweek/

5. Chad Zaucha responds:
   Posted: April 20th, 2006 at 10:24 am →

   There is no question that the President is an easy target for criticism. But criticism is easy. Leading is hard. As POTUS, how would you protect our nation against terrorists? How would you handle the situation with North Korea and Iran? How would you diplomatically secure peace with world leaders who do not want peace and are bent on the destruction to the United States and Israel?

6. Playtah responds:
   Posted: April 20th, 2006 at 11:04 am →

   Thanks for your comments, Pastor Chad! Hope you are doing well out in sunny CA!

   Honestly, I would start by first surrounding myself with wise council, not people who are embroiled in conspiracy and financial turmoil. I would listen to advisors not only from my country, but also from the United Nations and world community. The US does not have the market cornered on truth and morality, so I would take into account what others are saying. I would attack the proper country. As much as we dislike Saddam (and rightfully so)it was Bin Laden who orchestrated 9/11. I would have much more troops over there in Afghanistan scouring the mountains. To protect our nation against terrorists, we must correctly identify who the terrorists are, and where they are coming from. Attacking Iraq does nothing to help find Bin Laden, and nothing to guarantee that we are protecting ourselves from terrorists. If anything, we are giving the terrorists a better reason to hate us. As far as North Korea and Iran, we need to decide what to do as the United Nations. The US is not the “watchdog” of the world. Also, is it fair for a country who has nuclear weapons (us) to tell another country they can’t? The thought of those countries with nuclear weapons scares me, but we have to look at it from all sides. What if they told us they’d give up their nukes if we gave up ours? What would you do? (Here is an article about this: http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0604&article=060441a )

   Where the POTUS has gone wrong is to arrogantly insist that he’s right no matter what and keep going down a path even though evidence surfaces to the contrary. It is much like driving on the wrong road, passing a sign that says “Bridge Out” and then still driving on.

   We need to let our voices be heard and let our government know that we will not let them lead us into another mess like Iraq. We will not let them kill our soldiers and others so that they can get their agenda accomplished. We must speak out, write our congressmen, and do what we can to promote peace.
   Is it worth it to kill 35k+ innocent people, destroy a country, and ruin our relationship with the rest of the world just to attack the wrong country because…”what if?”
   I say no.

7. Chad Zaucha responds:
   Posted: April 20th, 2006 at 12:07 pm →

   Wendy,

   I appreciate your thinking. You make some very valid points. Maybe public office is in your future?

   I can’t imagine being the President. Unbelievable responsiblity. Amazingly complicated issues. Rarely is it as cut-and-dried as supporters or detractors make it.

8. Playtah responds:
   Posted: April 20th, 2006 at 12:22 pm →

   Thanks, Pastor Chad! I appreciate your comments. I love it when people make me think.

   I don’t think I’m gifted in the public office sense. I think especially with my love of comedy, I am more suited for for political humor (and other types of humor) that makes people think (Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, Conan, etc.) . If we can bring issues to light and get people thinking, maybe we can come up with solutions to our challenges. It will have to be a group effort.

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