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Puddhe — FreedomsPrice_WP
Published: 2004-07-22 14:22:03 +0000 UTC; Views: 2360; Favourites: 22; Downloads: 425
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Just a little something to show my unwavering support for those in uniform.Related content
Comments: 33
great picture! I come from a big Military family & I thank you for ur service! I'm joining the service when I leave high school
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More good work trashed by the uneducated dumb asses of DA… I wish there where more people of intelligence like you on DA
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Wow. Thanks for the complement! I knew that placing anything like this on dA would bring heat. But my beliefs are strong enough to make such a statement regardless of what others would say. I question the legitacy of anyone who trashes someone else's beliefs without walking a mile in their shoes. My grandfather fought in the Second World War. I still remember seeing him going through night sweats and having flashbacks. One of my uncles went clinically insane while serving in Korea. He spent the rest of his life in the VA Hospital. Another uncle flew missions over North Vietnam. Both my mother and father served as a paratroopers. I've seen my family and friends deploy to combat zones over and other again. Some of them become physically scarred by their experiences, but all of them have been changed by the horrors that they have witnessed. Yes, war is an evil and horrible thing. But people need to realize that sometimes it is a necessary evil. When we went into Iraq, people complained that we had no right to be their, in spite of the fact that the Ba'athist regime their had laughed in the face of the international community for years. Now people point to the insurgency for justifying an end to military action, in spite of the fact that for the first time in their history the Iraqis have elected their own leaders and drafting their own constitution. And inspite of the fact that more Iraqis now have basic thing such as electricity and running water than ever in their history. So, do I think that my "good work" was "trashed"? Absolutely not. Because I know that people like you and I understand the true depth of the situation. And that's what makes it all worth wild.
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AWESOME! Thought I think it would be even nicer without the words on it. Would you be willing to share a version without the words for us all to have?
Thanks.
PS.
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I would be more than happy to if I can find the photoshop file 
-Puddhe
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Awesome! Thanks. If you can let me know, and If you can well dont worry to much.
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Well I've searched and searched man, and that psd file is AWOL. 
-Puddhe
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this pic is great, very cool angle and idea, too.
i would like it even better if the text would not be there.
but maybe that is just because i dont know how to take that message....are you pro war, pro troops or just ringing the alarm bell?
the picture could mean anything regarding that.
but i read you comments on posts above me and know, how you feel. though i dont share your views, i respect them and like the way you put them.
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Killing civilians makes us free! Yay!
Supporting the troops now means marching them to their death for no reason!
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I am a former service member. I've seen combat. I've been wounded and bled for my country. This is not a commentary on Iraq. This is a statement about how our freedom is due to the thousands of men and women who have died for our country throughout its history and how we should feel indebted to them. If I don't agree with someone or their work I don't post anything negative. It's childish, needless, and a waste of everyone's time. You should learn to do the same.
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I'm sorry if you were offended by my comment. My statement is that most of the wars and police actions in our recent history have had nothing to do with our freedom.
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That is very understandable. In my time in the military I (amoung many others I know) realized one thing that most don't understand. That there are greater things than yourself. While it has been a rarity in the last century that the US itself has been threated. But freedom is a beautiful thing. And it is most beautiful and desired by those who don't have it. It is the burden of all free people throughout the world to strive by any reasonable means (in some cases militarily) to ensure that others become economically, politically, socially, and religiously free. In those cases somebody should do something. All too often somebody has been the United States. Personally I believe other world and regional powers need to step up to the challange and commit themselves just as much as we have. Previous (and to an extent current) administration have become overzealious in their efforts. And eventually the original purpose became blurred. An amazingly high deployment rate (largest ever in peacetime) plus the cuting of funds and "downsizing" of the military is honestly what turned me against the Clinton Administration. In my time in service my unit was deployed sooooooo many fucking times that we were TDY 1/3-3/4 of the year. That's INSANE. Trust me, I know exactly what you are talking about.
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These police actions that we undertake, though often there is a guise of "bringing freedom to these poor souls", the reasoning behind the actions has nothing to do with freedom. I can understand that there are things greater than myself. I don't consider these wars a great cause- for the most part, I find them to be wholely wrong and *dare i use the word* evil. How can we go to these countries and pretend to be liberators and freedom fighters when we have for years been the ones to hurt them the most? There are things greater than ourselves... like protecting other people- even if that means protecting them from our government.
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As a former member of the United States Air Force and someone who served during Operation Iraqi Freedom can tell you that you need an education. Please for the love of god do not speak unless you understand facts real world truths and geopolitical knowledge, your perverted thinking insults me and all who where a military uniform from any democratic nation. I have never killed a innocent The plane I crewed and sent into combat with a pilot counting on my maintenance Never killed a innocent, however innocent blood will be spilt in war, that’s its nature, and War is human nature.
Evil will always win, when good men do nothing…
Plato I believed said that and it is very true.
The only thing Pacifism will get you is conquered by evil.
An Iraqi I met said this.
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You are entitled to your opinion. So am I. Please don't tell me to get an education when you can't or won't present your own reasoned opinion. I respect your experiences and your beliefs. I disagree. If you'd like to have a conversation, I'm happy to do so.
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Nice try, but I will pass on the so-called conversation, if I wanted to buy an argument I would watch some Monty Python. Your opinion is clueless and perverted, I have no need to deal with your kind nor do I wish too. Yes you and I are entitled to opinions, welcome to a world of freedom, a concept that might be beyond your understanding entirely. However there is a difference between mine and yours, I objectively and calmly look at all facts Placing my Libertarian Political stance, Moral stance, ethical stance secondary. I do not deny that I use them in forming my “Opinion” but they are not the main factor. You, you have NO creditable facts, no evidence behind your claim, just flat out gut opinion with as much fact as Michael Moore film. So yes I ask for you to get a proper education never stop learning, I haven’t. I always look to better myself and you should too, not waste away in the cesspool of liberal ideology which will give you as much freedom as a Stalin Gulag or a Nazi Concentration Cam. Please note that a Democrat is not a Liberal, Liberal is a gross perversion of there ideology a sickening look at what ignorance can create.
So I end with this read books lots of books read books buy authors you hate I have copies of everything to Rush Limbaugh latest book to Hillary Clintons book. This is the only way you can call yourself educated.
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Everything you've said is ideology, which you swear is supported by facts that you conveniently omit. I've posted several reliable sources with confirmed evidence supporting my views [If you'd like to check it out, my gallery is a click away]. When you can say the same, come tell me I need to get an education. Clearly, you either didn't read what I wrote or you misunderstood something.
I'm a student, and I keep myself pretty well informed from a variety of sources. You don't know what my political leanings are... and the political spectrum is far more diverse than the things in between Rush Limbaugh and Hillary Clinton.
You can throw around all the buzzwords you want, but being impolite to complete strangers doesn't further your cause. You're trying to tell me to educate myself... educated people don't make assumptions about strangers, and they make efforts to engage in rational discourse rather than making groundless accusations.
So, you've shown me no facts, you've assumed a lot about me without any basis, and you've put me into a little stereotyped box.
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Sigh....
Why the Liberals are Wrong
American liberals have said much about the U.S. economy and understood so little. They do not yet know that economics is not the complex monster that they and the economists of big government persuasion are peddling. With all the talk about economics, with all the verbiage about this theory and that, the liberals have not explained much about the basic economic theories that drive their policies and recommended programs.
Indeed, the liberal press has for decades failed to ask the fundamental questions that would convince Americans that a socialist system is right for them – for it is socialism that the liberals advocate. Questions like: What justifies taking the money of one person and giving it to another? Is using government to “solve” social problems the constitutional thing to do? What happens to the people whose dollars are taken away? How does that affect their standard of living and is it right for them to suffer so that others may enjoy the luxury of not caring for themselves? Are there better non-coercive ways for people to solve their "social" problems? What gives the government the right to confiscate the hard earned money of citizens? What about all the waste and corruption? How are these lost funds going to be recovered and why is no one making an effort to recover them? Name one government program that has been successful? Why isn’t the media making an issue of all the waste and corruption? That no one is asking these questions is a scandal bigger than any - it has the makings of draining our ability to fight some real dangers - terrorism for one.
Indeed, the so-called great liberal economists continue to talk about an economy as if it were some sort of gadget, a machine that must be primed (inflation) and pumped (taxes) and oiled and fueled (gas) and moved (automobiles), to such an extent that they have failed to mention or realize that the machine is made up of parts--living human parts. Their blindness on this issue has led them to complaining about unemployment but advocating policies that have and will create more unemployment.
In fact, the liberals really don’t have a socialist ideology today. Their advocacy of socialism is a veiled effort to buy votes, and to accept force as a valid means of dealing with people. After all, who is it that the planners are going to plan? Behind their figures and charts they have yet to find the people who make this economy what it is - in spite of the fact that they claim to champion the ignored middle class.
Government planning means planning lives, and no life is productive which has no individual incentive. What is the contradiction in a planned economy? It is man's basic nature as a rational being that makes economic planning impossible. No planner can replace his thinking for the thinking of millions of people in the hundreds of decisions each of them has to make in every day of their lives. The apathy many people feel about government comes from government taking an increasingly more commanding role in peoples' lives. Don't blame that apathy on people, blame it on government coercion.
Planning does not mean a benevolent judgment based upon the sophisticated opinion of highly skilled economists. It means a gun that backs up a law, regulation, or economic adjustment that the American citizen will have to comply with whether he likes it or not. It was an American who said, "Give me Liberty of give me death." It is time for a modern American to say, "Give me a free economy and I'll produce my own standard of living, thank you."
We've come a long way since the founding of this country. American technology has given us a high standard of living, and we should be proud of America's productive capacity. We should not forget, however, that freedom means economic freedom too, that in order for some men to have bread, other men must be free to have caviar, or to go to space, that we all, especially the poor, benefit from the riches accumulated by those far-sighted men who are able to bring those riches into being--by means of making all our lives easier. We should remember that freedom means economic freedom, and not bureaucratic freedom--and yes--a businessman has rights too. We should remember that hatred of the rich for being rich will not bring electricity, or television, or frozen foods into our houses, that envy never made any man rich or happy.
Decline and malaise are the results of government planning. Yet supposedly distinguished professors all over our country, who have spent years of study of economic issues, are somehow convinced that if we plan things correctly we can be prosperous.
Let us not make the mistake that our esteemed professors are trying to push into us; that of absentmindedly rejecting the system which is responsible for practically all the advantages that Americans share. Free enterprise is the only system compatible with man, his needs, and his method of survival (reason). When socialist (liberal) professors and liberal politicians talk of planning, when their ambiguities seem persuasive only to the extent of the smile upon their faces, let us remind them that it is our freedom they are talking about. When they smile again and tell us that planning has been proven to work, that any number of statistics can be summoned in its favor, let us remind them that statistics can be manipulated to favor any viewpoint, and finally let us manipulate one statistic of our own: the number of people in their classrooms and the number of votes they win.
Indeed, in spite of their meaningless platitudes at their convention, the liberals today are truly uncomfortable standing for the individual. The 2004 Democratic Convention has shown that their dedication to individual rights is now limited merely to the right to an abortion. They have forgotten the individual in all other areas and when they start using the language of individualism, as they did at the convention, it only proves that individualism is the real movement in our country that they have hated to watch - it is represented by George Bush (in their minds).
The undercurrent that is moving toward more freedom in our country is the last thing the liberals want and the one thing they must prevent...by gaining power. So they will use the language of freedom and patriotism to gain power in order that they can later take that freedom away in a morass of social responsibility and the coercive imposition of socialism. That they are uncomfortable with the language of freedom shows how far they have gone and how radicalized they have become. They are unfit to lead because they have no connection to the practical aspects of leadership. They are a bunch of radicals who have been out of the mainstream in a practical sense for decades and have never actually led...which was a problem for the Clintons as well...and why they lost power. They did not lead. Today, liberals can only educate in our schools and they do a poor job of that because they don't teach skills but instead brainwash children and college students with "socially responsible" ideology. Look at the results.
That Obama called individualism "famous" during his convention speech is the point where the mask drops. Since it is "famous" it must be acknowledged, but for a liberal, individualism is an uncomfortable, almost dirty idea. It reeks of egoism and "can do" rugged self-alienation...they would feel so uncomfortable around people like that. So they will call it "famous," but that's all they will say that is good about it. That it is "famous" means that it is a factor to be acknowledged and dealt with. Those for whom it is "famous" must be pandered to and fooled into believing that the liberals are really just good ole Americans living the American dream. Don't be fooled; their American dream is at the expense of hard-working Americans and on behalf of the "chosen" few.
They will acknowledge the roots of our nation, sing praises to the power of self-reliance and hard work, call it important because it is important to others, not to them. They will, instead, talk more enthusiastically about the freedom to "sacrifice" and the right to "give to others" in a true "bait and switch." Imagine what they would be saying if the ideas of freedom and rugged individualism had never been "famous." I'm sure you know, they'd be talking about the "famous" idea of "to each according to his need, from each according to his ability." We would not have listen to them defending themselves against "false" accusations that they are communists. They would be what they are: communists.
Why Liberals Are Wrong About Church-State Issues
It is flabbergasting to watch liberals use the “establishment of religion clause” in the First Amendment to virtually nullify the existence of the “free exercise of religion clause.”
Because, in essence, they have taken a constitutional phrase designed to prevent the official establishment of a Church of the United States, similar to the Church of England, and are using it to wipe out and prohibit every vestige of Christian thought and influence in public life.
But the truth is, the Founding Fathers intended only to prohibit the government from establishing a national church, either formally or on a de facto basis by dictating rituals or articles of faith, or by favoring one sect or denomination of Christianity over another.
Moreover, if the Founding Fathers truly had intended for the "establishment of religion clause" to be interpreted the way that liberals are now claiming, there would not have been any reason for the “free exercise of religion clause” to even be in the First Amendment anyway since it would have been rendered null and void by the clause immediately preceding it.
As a reminder, here is what the First Amendment actually states, in relevant part: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."
In other words, the "establishment clause" prohibits the government from imposing any type of religious belief or ritual or association on people against their will, but the "free exercise clause" demands that the government should never try to prevent or discourage any religious belief or activity that is peaceful and voluntary and non-harmful.
So, we must conclude that liberals just simply refuse to understand the singular truth that the Founding Fathers did not intend to separate church and state intellectually, only institutionally — as evidenced by their numerous official actions and statements when they founded this country on the basis of biblical Christian moral values.
That is why, for example, George Washington made the following statements in his Farewell Address:
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.
"In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens.
"The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and to cherish them...
"And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion..."
As further corroboration, Thomas Jefferson often attended church services in the halls of the House of Representatives or in the north wing of the Capitol when he was president.
When the federal legislature convened in 1789, it appointed chaplains for both houses of Congress as one of its first official actions.
On the very same day that Congress approved the wording of the First Amendment, it resolved to request that President Washington declare a day of public thanksgiving and prayer for the peaceful manner in which the Constitution was created.
And that same Congress, a month earlier, passed the Northwest Ordinance which read, in part, "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."
On March 6, 1799, President John Adams, second President of the United States and signer of the Declaration of Independence, proclaimed a national day of prayer and fasting so that America might “call to mind our numerous offenses against the most high God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, imploring his pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past transgression, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience.” — National Proclamation for a Day of Fasting and Prayer.
Then finally, in 1892, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered a decision which included a survey of numerous historical evidences proving the Christian heritage of our country. Here is what they concluded:
“These and many other matters which might be noticed, add a volume of unofficial declarations to the mass of organic utterances that this is a Christian nation.”
Furthermore, the American Declaration of Independence was created to serve as the philosophical justification and foundation for our legal contract with government, i.e., the U.S. Constitution, and it unequivocally based all of our rights as human beings on God the Creator and Divine Providence.
Accordingly, the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit religious people from influencing our government and public life; it only prohibits Congress from passing any laws that restrict religious thought and activities in any way whatsoever.
One caveat however. Because moral values, including freedom, are not autonomous and unrestrained, true religious freedom should not embrace or condone violent or fraudulent activities that endanger the lives or safety of people or their right to individual freedom and sovereignty and property rights. Nor should religious freedom include cruelty to animals.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that the Church-State issue provides yet another example of how our government has greatly exceeded its original constitutional mandate to exercise only a very few, limited, and carefully-defined powers divided among the three branches of government.
This is apparent because at least most church-state conflicts would disappear overnight if the Federal Government did not continually violate the U.S. Constitution everyday by interfering in almost every aspect of people's lives, including the education of their children
Liberals are wrong about conservatives
Republicans are all for the rich and don't care about the poor. They burn down forests and want us breathing polluted air and drinking dirty water. If one simply sits back and thinks about these statements objectively, sooner or later one will come to the realization that it is not true.
The true nature of your typical conservative Republican is far different.
It is pretty simple to classify the parties today. The Democrats seem to believe that we should all be equal and share everything. They also believe it's up to the federal government to decide what's in your best interest and direct where your money goes. Somehow this will make us all happy.
Republicans believe that you cannot make everyone equal because people are unique. We believe that you can take care of your family and your community better than a bunch of bureaucrats in Washington D.C.
Republicans believe that people are intelligent enough to manage their own lives and that if you are mentally and physically able to work you had better do so because the rest of us don't want to support your sitting-on-the-couch-all-day-slamming-40s habit.
One must also understand that the Republican party of today is not for disbanding the government or many of the social programs that it runs. Rather, we are for a more efficient, accountable government that wishes to support the peoples' freedom, rather than micromanage their lives. The premise for lower taxes is not because we all want to be selfish, but rather because we do not want a bureaucracy exploding at the seams, simply throwing money at problems without an acceptable degree of operational efficiency.
We typically support being pro-life not because we want to restrict freedom, but because we believe that all human beings should be granted life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We support policies like the conceal and carry law because we believe lawful citizens are intelligent enough to defend themselves without randomly shooting each other. We also support having a strong military because being free and creating freedom for others is a cause worth fighting and dying for.
President Bush believes in these principles. In the last four years, he has done his very best to stand by them.
Under his leadership, two countries have been liberated from brutal governments, the economic downturn has been reversed and we have had no further terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Look at the dignity he has returned to the office of the president as well.
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have you any idea how brainwashed you sound??? dear oh dear. you sound like a robot.
not that i care a whole lot of course.
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Please, if you wish to speak please do so in a professional and mature way… “Brainwashing” is such an immature response; if you have any proper counters to my statements I have made please bring up a different way to correct, on subjects like Education and/or Social Security. If you cannot, you have no political intelligence and not worth the time of day to talk to. Pulling the “Brainwashed” routine makes you sound like a twelve year old who just got beat up at the playground. So please do not respond unless you have something intelligent to say
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like i said, i don't really care that much. i certainly know there is no point trying to argue with another jingoist american. you're either with us or against us, to coin a phrase.
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Nope. I found it on the USAF website and was just moved by it.
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Reminds of a piece of mine... only alot better... excellent contrasts and the color flag puts in alot of emotion.. and since I did the "Honor Guard" for a while this is a definite
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hey~~~ i agree with that picture... i just want to say.... why do ppl say that we have no right to be over in iraq right now... do they even realize what they have been doing to us for YEARS on end??? oh and are you in the army or are you a marine??? oorah or hoorah!:
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The war in indochina is over you know.
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Thank you. I had no idea.
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Just making sure. Never know when you'll run into one of those crazies
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Don't needs to be sure Berner is crazy
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