What a Luxurious War we are fighting and not stopping

Hitler and Bush-no self doubt, what a lousy trait to have, it is indecent and in human. It is the sign of a megalomaniac.

What a luxurious war, while people are dying in combat, on the home front no one does without. WWII lasted six years and there was rationing. The US sends thank you notes to the troops but actions speak louder than words. Surely a rationing of gas and oil early on could have helped the war in some way and keep the government from having to cut Medicaid and Medicare. Our grandparents who already fought wars and sacrificed and rationed should not be given a hard time in their later years.

World War II conquered the Depression, re industrialized the country and built the middle class. But that was special. The U.S. fought WWII with full mobilization, super-high taxes, super-low interest rates, big deficits, price controls and rationing. It was over in six year and the 1950's boom happened. This war has no end in sight and when it's over, we won't be booming. It is being fought on credit dontcha know.....

This war should be stopped, end it, or at the very least institute the draft and rationing and then see who wants it to continue.

BEN STEIN: Here's how it goes: The nightly news grimly reports that the terrorists in Iraq or Afghanistan have detonated a bomb that has killed seven American soldiers. A few seconds later, the announcer says that the Dow closed at yet another record high, and we see men and women cheering at the rostrum of the New York Stock Exchange. This combination of stories tells us exactly what's wrong here in the U.S. of A. The nation is not fighting the war on terrorism. The nation is partying hearty and living it up — at least the high end of the nation, money wise. The word "sacrifice" never even comes up. The grunts and jarhead Marines who don't get a hot meal for days on end, and who sleep in their vehicles, and never get a night without being mortared or sniped at — they're fighting the war. The women whose husbands come home in a box (or not at all), the kids who will never see mom or dad again, the parents who invested a lifetime in bringing up their kids right — they're fighting the war. Our enemy is united against us. If we keep acting as if we can win this war just by sending over the other guy's son or daughter, while we pay attention to our tax cuts and the stock market, we're on a long, disastrous downhill slide. Instead of all of that cheering on Wall Street for the already rich getting richer, let's see some solidarity with the guys whose blood and lives defend our economic interests around the world, safeguard the oil supply, maintain Pax Americana... to at least some extent. The military builds the wall Wall Street and the whole economy play games behind. Let's start thinking about a draft where the children of the investment bankers might even have to go fight. This might concentrate our thinking about the war considerably and might make us a bit more cautious next time. Right now, the frantic making of money here at home while the other guy's kid gets his head blown off in Ramadi is not a pretty picture, or a winning picture.

BEN STEIN: For the rich in this country, things have never been better. There are over 500 billionaires. There is a long waiting list for Bentleys and high end yachts. Wall Street powers routinely make $50 million a year and more. They have birthday parties with statues gushing champagne. But we live in a small bubble of freedom and prosperity on this mad, dangerous earth, and it's protected by the men and women of the military and their families. They live on a pittance. While the rich get in line for Ferraris and $10 million co-ops, the men and women who save our lives get paid in a year what Wall Streeters make in a minute. I know these military families. They put their lives and their families' future on the line for us every day. But somehow, at least partly because of lowered federal revenue because of tax cuts for the very rich, the military cannot get adequate pay, adequate training, adequate equipment when they go off to fight for us. This is just an outrage, to have such opulence at home while the people who defend us in our bubble live in such dire straits. Here's one thing we know for sure: The people who give their blood and their lives for us need more money, and there are more than enough rich in this country, and they've got more than enough money to pay a bit more tax. That's partly economics and partly just basic decency.

We are definitely heading for a depression, does no one see this? When it hits,no one is going to be ready. Not many in this country know how to live within their means.