Let's Make Some Noise Against US Meddling In Georgia/Russia's Business

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

So, largely because of increasing tensions between the US and Russia due to our meddling in the Georgian conflict and our entangling European alliances with countries like Poland, it looks like gas prices, once dropping, are now going back up over these concerns. The dollars that are being poured into Eastern Europe and Georgia are causing our currency to devalue as well, which is an equally large factor in the price of gas rising once again. It's time to stop this.

Please, everyone, take two minutes out of your schedule to contact your congressperson and both of your senators to tell them their constituents want their tax dollars to stop going to Eurasia and that we want our national reputation and peace with foreign countries to stop going down the tube as the Bush administration and Congress continually harass Russia. We simply can't afford this.

Here's where you contact your Congressperson: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

Here's where you contact your Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Be polite, but articulate and firm.

They're on break for now, so they should have plenty of time to read their constituents' messages and be ready to take action when Congress reconvenes.

 

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

Here's the email I sent my Republican Congressman and my Republican Senator:

Recently, I noticed gas prices were beginning to go back down thanks to the work that Republicans did in pushing domestic oil drilling back into the discussion. However, as a result of increasing US-Russia tensions and the devaluation of our dollar, gas prices are heading back up again it seems. Times are tough economically, and to be honest, I do not want my tax dollars being poured into provocative military entanglements in Georgia, or Poland, or the rest of Europe. Our meddling in the Russia-Georgia conflict is raising US-Russia tensions and putting oil supplies into uncertainty, which is causing gas prices to go up for us. I do not feel that we have the need or the authority to be involved in this kind of interventionist foreign policy, and I'm frustrated that this is being done in my name and with my tax dollars. Please lead the charge to bring some fiscal responsibility and foreign policy sanity back to our government...

I tweaked my first sentence a bit for my Democratic Senator.

 

[freelance]

Let's Make Some Noise Against US Meddling In Georgia/Russia's Business

Because that's been SO darned effective in the past...

 

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

Let's Make Some Noise Against US Meddling In Georgia/Russia's Business

Because that's been SO darned effective in the past...

Are you implying that sitting on our asses and NOT speaking out HAS been effective in the past...?

 

[newyearsrevolution08]

I say let them go to war, the sooner Americans realize what we are doing is WRONG the sooner they might wise the fuck up and stop this stuff.

We need to approach it from a different standpoint

 

[newyearsrevolution08]

Sitting on our asses and yelling at a brick wall does the same thing.

We need to approach this differently.

Instead of the politicians we need to get to the VOTERS and those jumping into the military to help protect our country. Those are the people we need to get to so we can THEN get these politicians out of office.

Are you implying that sitting on our asses and NOT speaking out HAS been effective in the past...?

 

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

Sitting on our asses and yelling at a brick wall does the same thing.

We need to approach this differently.

Instead of the politicians we need to get to the VOTERS and those jumping into the military to help protect our country. Those are the people we need to get to so we can THEN get these politicians out of office.

As though we're NOT trying to reach out to voters as well? Are getting to voters and getting to our elected representatives mutually exclusive courses of action?

"Let it not be said that no one cared, that no one objected once it’s realized that our liberties and wealth are in jeopardy." -- Ron Paul

I'm not ever going to allow any of my elected representatives to be able to say with a clean conscience that none of their constituents ever spoke out to them on issues like this.

 

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

bump

 

[kombayn]

I really don't know why the hell people are supporting Russia in this matter. First off, it was wrong that Georgia attacked South Ossetia, but for anyone who is dumb enough to think that Russia was trying to protect South Ossetia from Georgia is a fool. They saw a golden opportunity to occupy a former soviet nation, and they still won't withdrawal after two separate cease-fire agreements.

Russia is no joke, and to back them in this situation is foolish. At least the United States has the balls to say that they're being aggressors while the U.K., France, Spain, Germany and other pussy European nations that weren't former soviet republics won't say anything because they don't to lose there precious energy.

You can't just sit there and say, "Sure Russia, rebuild the Soviet Republic... We don't care. We're isolationists. Take over the whole world, as long as you don't fuck with us." Come on... Get a clue. Non-intervention isn't always the best policy.

[Waits to be flamed for an "unpopular" opinion.]

 

[aspiringconstitutionalist]

I really don't know why the hell people are supporting Russia in this matter. First off, it was wrong that Georgia attacked South Ossetia, but for anyone who is dumb enough to think that Russia was trying to protect South Ossetia from Georgia is a fool. They saw a golden opportunity to occupy a former soviet nation, and they still won't withdrawal after two separate cease-fire agreements.

Russia is no joke, and to back them in this situation is foolish. At least the United States has the balls to say that they're being aggressors while the U.K., France, Spain, Germany and other pussy European nations that weren't former soviet republics won't say anything because they don't to lose there precious energy.

You can't just sit there and say, "Sure Russia, rebuild the Soviet Republic... We don't care. We're isolationists. Take over the whole world, as long as you don't fuck with us." Come on... Get a clue. Non-intervention isn't always the best policy.

[Waits to be flamed for an "unpopular" opinion.]

Lol, I'm not going to "flame" you. You don't have an unpopular opinion--probably 90% of Americans agree with you there. I don't happen to agree with you, however.

You're right when you say people shouldn't be supporting Russia in this action (or Georgia, for that matter). However, thinking that Russia will (or can) "take over the whole world" is [hilariously] ludicrous. They do want more control over the old Soviet satellite countries, it's true. However, they are not trying to take over the world, and I don't really know of any one who honestly thinks they are. They're feeling very threatened by America and Europe, who are plopping all kinds of weapons and missile silos right around Russia's borders. Yeah, they're acting pretty belligerent, but it makes all the sense in the world for them to act this way. They're feeling insulted and threatened. That, like I said before, doesn't justify them invading their neighbors and starting wars of aggression. But we do have to understand why they're doing what they're doing.

As far as America getting involved:

A). Russia's not trying to take over the world, like I said before. Russia's military got overstretched and collapsed just trying to take over tiny little Afghanistan in the 80's. And that was back in their "glory" days. They simply don't have the capability or the desire for "global domination." That's just totally silly.
B). What makes you think we in the US have the wisdom or knowledge or authority or ability to solve some foreign border dispute, thousands of miles away, having nothing to do with us? It's a very complex and deep-rooted dispute with beginnings that reach back hundreds of years. There's not even a clear "good guy" or "bad guy" in this dispute. We don't know what we're doing. Only the parties immediately involved can solve this problem. No one else can solve it for them.
C). The US Constitution does not grant the federal government the power to send our troops or our tax money to Georgia or Poland or the UN or what-have-you. The Constitutional authority is simply not there. If you feel it is, please show me (and Ron Paul for that matter) where.
D). From a moral/philosophical perspective, what would give the US government the right to forcibly take money from one group of people and just hand it to another group of people? What moral authority does the US government have to do that? The people from whom the tax money is forcibly taken did not consent to this taking, nor does the object to which their tax money is going benefit them in any way at all.
E). Getting ourselves involved in foreign entanglements almost always results in blowback. The weapons and dollars we're pouring into Georgia and Eastern Europe right now may very well be used against us one day. It's an unwise policy and it can only stir up foreign hatred of us.

 

[kombayn]

It's a much different situation then in the 80's. Russia controls a HUGE supply of energy right now and is threatening neighboring countries to cut off there energy supplies. Our military is stretched out, Putin and the Russians know it. Plus, threatening Poland for accepting our missile deal is also a jack-ass move by the Russians. These guys see a golden opportunity to break-down neighboring countries economic infrastructures so the people have no other choice but seek help from Russia. It's much more calculated by this country. I just don't think the Western governments should just sit by and watch Russia break-down these countries and make us look like the bad-guy in the end because we didn't at least give our support to them. They haven't put any troops in Georgia but they have sent aid, I'm alright with my tax dollars going to at least helping them a bit. Because if Russia gets to the end of the year without a withdrawal, they'll destroy Georgia and they'll have nothing left but to seek Russian Federation help. Do you think any country can afford that? And them taking over another pipeline of oil? Iraq & Afghanistan was a stupid-stupid-stupid foreign policy mistake.