Monday, June 04, 2007

Bataan Death March


The Iraq War is crossing another threshold in terms of US casualties -- 3,500 killed. In terms of American battle deaths, the ongoing war is nowhere near yet as cataclysmic as the world wars, the American Civil War, Vietnam, Korea, or the American Revolution. But, to put American losses in perspective, it is now bloodier than the War of 1812, the Seminole Wars, the Mexican-American War, and the Spanish-American War. Furthermore, it is only because of changes in science and technology that many more wounded have survived (albeit maimed for life) than in the past, and far fewer have died from diseases.

If anyone can do the math, if the US government has spent approximately $432,000,000,000 on Iraq so far and the population of the USA is about 300,000,000 people, what has been spent per person?

Today's Rune: Separation.

Birthdays: Angelina Jolie, Ana Carolina Reston.

7 comments:

Johnny Yen said...

$1440 per man, woman and child in the United States. About $5760 per family.

Assuming a cost of $100,000, it could have sent 4,320,000 people to college. Good colleges.

How much safer would our country be if we'd spent a quarter of that tutoring ghetto kids? My guess is that it would have been a better use. Or vocational training and counseling for the 2,000,000 people we have incarcerated in this country. How much better would our quality of life be if we'd spent $100 billion building mass transit, high speed rail and light rail lines throughout the country?

Danny Tagalog said...

If this doesn't tell you that your government is ruling for their own means then nothing will.

The only answer lays in stopping making tacit worth of their system. It's rigged, and crooked and all eyes can see.

When something is that corrupt, it must be pulled down. But people are poorly focused and apathetic when they least need to be...

P.S I haven't met one American who believes in your authoritarian shrubbage

Anonymous said...

Yea Danny, and the SOB got reelected. As if the first four years was not enough!!! johnny I am a vocational teacher in a prison and agree with your statements. Money not spent educating children from the beginning will be spent by the state incarcerating them. Erik
nice post. At least Libby will get 30 months in prison. Maybe MW

Charles Gramlich said...

Or space explortation, or research, or...etc.

the walking man said...

Danny I only have to disagree with one thing you said
"people are poorly focused and apathetic when they least need to be"

The American middle class has been decimated by sending our jobs to foreign countries, damn near destroyed to pay for this fools folly, most of us who were the back bone and strength of this country are now doing all we can to simply pay the monthly bills and semi yearly taxes and necessary insurances, as well as put decent amounts of food on the table. all the while carrying an average credit deficit of seven to ten thousand dollars.

Americans are losing their homes at rates not seen since the depression of 1929 to 1941. This is part of the industrial economic control that is exercising it's power to keep us quiet.

While some of us are focused and ready to hit the streets and revolt we also know that bush would suspend posse comitatus and use American troops against American dissenters who showed any mass revolt.

Currently at any venue this prick shows up at any protesters are kept at least a half mile from his view. He has not seen any real protest in this country since his first day in office when thousands showed up at his motorcade to protest the election,pelting his limo with eggs and rotten fruit.

And the white House had the temerity to mock Jimmy Carter, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient when he said directly that this was the worst administration in American history.

No sir we know, we hate it, but this is a Stalinist administration and it will do anything to hide or destroy any dissent.

Erik Donald France said...

Thank you all for the comments, and Johnny for doing the math.

WM (Mark): The two times my computer was assaulted by spyware (that I'm aware of only b/c of updated antivirus defenses):
1. Istanbulwitchy's link after she was disappeared from blogging.
2. Looking up the text of a Bush speech about Iraq to verify the text on the official White House site.

It does seem harder to sustain a decent quality of life, and dissent/criticism is scoffed away to the sidelines, yes.

But now what do we do? Get more pummeling? p.s. I do like the USA, but I also would like to get away for even just a week to see somewhere else, critical distance. It's been quite a little while, except for Canada.

the walking man said...

Erik Yesterdays comments were not criticism, hell millions love to be able to travel abroad a family member owns a home in France...just for me, having seen by ground how vast and huge this country is, I prefer to stay here. I know a smattering of Spanish and enough Quebec French to order a diner meal and find the bathroom.

funniest thing ws as soon as i posted my last post i temporarily lost my internet connection a wired DSL connection. I love that maybe they read what i write about them, i wish they would come and kick in my door and drag me out in front of my neighbors, for one even the drug dealers give me my respect and for two there would probably be gun play involved between the bush haters and the gov. and for three i can commit random acts of zen in their isolation as well as in my own. This is a criminal administration and should be treated as such before the world court in the Hague, regardless of whatever rules it set up to protect itself from that very thing.

WE INVADED A SOVEREIGN NATION, WITH BY ALL RULES OF GOVERNMENT, HAD A LEGAL GOVERNMENT IN PLACE. THAT ALONE MAKES THIS BUSH ADMINISTRATION CRIMINAL AND BENEATH CONTEMPT AND ALL THOSE THAT PAID FOR THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THEM DESERVE A NUKE. HEAR THAT SAUDI ARABIA YOU MAY BE BUSHES MASTER BUT YOU ARE NOT MINE.