Back then, we would have just reduced Iraq to rubble, moved in if we wanted to, colonized the country, taken its resources, etc.

Now we have to do things like avoid accidentally killing civilians and immediately rebuild anything we screw up, and not lose any lives on our side in the process either, because the war is unpopular at home.

We wouldn’t have a diminishing return in Iraq if we’d just invaded in order to take over their oil.

Of course the military does waste money, but we’re also not getting any spoils of war either.

Brilliant, flamboyant, great speaker.
When the University of California held a system-wide “how do we respond research-wise to global warming” conference in 1989, he was a keynote speaker. Not much respected– he had good ideas instead of abstruse ones, but as the Couric interview points out, he changed the world by changing California, by changing abstruse appliance and building codes.
http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/Lab-Rosenfeld-wins-Fermi.html
http://www.energy.ca.gov/commission/commissioners/rosenfeld.html

And if you want to see proof of the 10/10 proposition, read his autobiography– amazing!
(at least the first ten pages– took me a while to write this comment)
http://www.energy.ca.gov/commission/commissioners/rosenfeld_docs/2000-10_ROSENFELD_AUTOBIO.PDF

Also, my ex-neighbor, also a retired Special Forces vet, told me one night on the porch over rum and cokes (a common vice between the two of us) that his son – a Special Forces member, but could not tell me which group – was in Iraq months ahead of the drive to war. His son has also been in Iran.

Has the good intention and patriotism of the U.S. military been repeatedly abused? I’ll recount an anecdote from a WW II vet.

I was at a good friends wedding and on this fine July day while waiting for the bride and groom pictures to be taken I struck up a conversation with the groom’s older relatives. Mostly, (as it turns out the fella was the groom’s great-uncle), he reminded me of my grandfather, a WW II vet, who had passed away recently. I had just completed reading the book ‘A Man Called Intrepid’ by Stevenson.

I said, “Wow, I can’t believe the U.S. government knew days ahead of time of the Japanese attack” (More than one government passed on the information, but in the book the British government gave the Americans 72 hours notice).

He said, “I know it was a set up.”

Me, shocked, “Why?”

“I was in the Canadian Navy then and we were in port in Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7th. We got a call to quarters at 6:30 a.m. and sailed by 8. The Canadian Navy never sails on a Sunday!”

So, where are the records of the Canadian Navy being in Pearl Harbor on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1949? I had to check the day of the week myself to ensure the story was sound.

Now, can we castigate FDR for pulling the U.S. into the war? That is beyond my analysis. Either he was a true hero or a villain, and perhaps the differences may never be resolved. However, one aspect is certain, he did choose correctly.

What does this mean to the Marines, and the U.S. military in general? Stop being pawns! They use the command structure to manipulate. There are many intelligent and well educated people in the U.S. military now, (I know because I read their material and I am suitably impressed). It may run against the Constitution, but the politicians have clearly taken the law beyond The Looking Glass. The most glaring instance was Colin Powell’s adherence to the Administration because he had be drilled to obey the Commander In Chief although all his instincts and experience told him different.

I could see it in his eyes.

I don’t THINK I dreamed him up- he was saying stuff nobody believed, or wanted to hear, and he wasn’t very charismatic- just terribly sincere.

I wrote about it on my blog at http://peterattwood.blogspot.com/2008/06/support-our-troops-how-about-listening.html

I know my household decreased direct energy usage 50% just by replacing some old appliances as they wore out with high-efficiency (but still mainstream) appliances, including the furnace, hot water heater, electric washer, and a 15 year old desk top computer that was replaced with a laptop that uses 30 watts of power when it’s charging or running.

That’s without insulation, changes in habits (we got down to 25% of our previous usage with some extra habit changes that I know not everyone will do) or any of the super-high-efficiency stuff you can get if you really look.

If we wanted to, we could conserve a lot…but do we want to bad enough?