http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=786963&mesg_id=786963Here's a "let me be a public servant and bring out this 'interesting' fact about a candidate I don't support!" thread, or as I call it, the "concerned voter camouflage-bash":
Dean's Governorship of a population 608,000
http://www.vtliving.com/stats/
I thought it was important to get this info out and put things into perspective. Dean governed Vermont a population of 608,827. From my understanding he holds little if any experience in world affairs. This man now is trying to seak power to our highest office to look over and protect the worlds #1 superpower. This does make me take a step back.
Vermonts population is smaller then many cities in the USA. In my opinion, the primary goal of this thread is to tweak Dean supporters and to draw them into a lengthy and largely pointless debate. It has succeeded--the thread now reaches 255 replies.
Now, on the flipside, here is a 5 page article on wounded soldiers that I would consider a must-read for all of us who are concerned about Iraq policy--this is an important glimpse of the crushing cost of the war:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=103&topic_id=23262Facing the Horrific Every Day (Army Hospital Baghdad)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20034-2003Nov28.html
<snip>
Since the largest U.S. Army hospital in Iraq opened its doors on April 10, nearly all U.S. casualties have passed through its first-floor emergency room. Some come already dead. Some arrive with one arm instead of two, a shattered leg or a face wiped away by an explosion.
Assaults on U.S. troops have numbered as many as 45 a day in recent weeks. For the staff at the 28th Combat Support Hospital, located within the U.S.-led occupation authority's headquarters at one of former president Saddam Hussein's palaces, that translates into a dozen patients some days. Twenty-four hours in the hospital's emergency room with soldiers stripped of their uniforms and gritty exteriors revealed the physical and emotional toll.
About 70 percent of the hospital's patients are wounded soldiers; the rest are Iraqi civilians and prisoners, along with a small number of U.S. civilian contractors, said Maj. Mark White, director of patient administration.
The number of soldiers treated for serious combat injuries is not publicly disclosed. Instead, the hospital releases statistics on patient admissions -- a total of 1,659 U.S. soldiers through Oct. 30. The combined number of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi patients admitted per month has increased since September, and this month was expected to reach about 400, White said.
<snip>
The worst that Maj. Michael Hilliard, 33, an emergency physician, saw back home in San Antonio were car crash and gunshot victims. Here, he estimates that he has treated the broken bodies of more than 1,000 U.S. soldiers.
"The injuries are horrific," he said. "They are beyond anything that you see in a textbook, and they are the worst that I have ever seen." This thread has 6 replies. Only six. Which thread deserves more replies? I wonder how many will answer.
edit: I would like to add that the last thing I want to do is have a "holier than thou" attitude--we all are susceptible to the sucking power of the argument threads. I myself have to consciously avoid them, or I could spend all my time arguing with people inside, never getting any closer to victory, but never truly getting defeated either.