God damn Americans.. why do they always act like they own the world.. I mean what the hell, they are so god damn arrogant thinking they are better than everyone else, trying to impose thier beliefs and culture on the rest of........ oh.. sorry.. thats my 1/8 french side talking..









(for those how don't know.. the above is sarcasm meant in jest to piss off all of the American hating people out there that can't lift a finger to try and make the world a better place....)

Why do we have to rebuild them? We didn't blow em up.

we don't "have to" But considering our relationship with countries in the middle east it might be a way to achieve another friend... or at least place a little doubt that American is the great Satan. Besides that, in a world where every country is becoming more and more interconnected, and globalization is only becoming more popular, leaving a country devastated by war does nothing but serve to create more instability and hate.

we didn't have to help Russia at the end of the cold war.. we didn't have to help japan at the end of WWII. we did so because of lessons we learned at the end of WWI. In that case, we learned that its not the people of the country the country that are our enemy, it was the government. To penalize the people for the actions of their government only serves to create future generations born of the same hatred. I believe the same applies in this case.

I think this could be a good idea. However....

I cannot agree with it when we have millions of homeless people here in America. We have people who can't go to the doctor even when they are seriously ill. We have children going to bed at night hungry, without a teddy bear to hold. We have mentally ill people who just get worse because they cannot afford the meds they need to stay healthy. Some people are working two or three jobs just trying to make ends meet.

First you take care of your own family. Then you worry about your neighbors.

What I dont get is, Israel is one of our top military allies, and probably the ONLY Air Force in the World that can give us a run for our money, and how are they going to feel when we are pledging all this money to the guys who they just rocked?? Kinda a slap in their faces maybe?

Well that is nice... BUT we need to fix the issues here FIRST in America before trying to help other countries not to be rude =(

There is still alot of people without jobs and being laid off from work and going in and doing this isn't helping much at all.

-RMS Carpathia-

its not really a slap in there face because we are helping Lebanon not Hezbollah. in the attacks Israel's focus, at least to the public, was to defeat Hezbollah, not take over Lebanon.

granted the two countries are not friends or allies, but, there is really no ground for Israel to make a case for us helping their enemy, because we are mostly just trying to help the people of that country.

@Adri, I agree that our government should do more to help those suffering in this country, however, within the confines of this country there are far too many politics and far too much money rapped up in the health care/insurance business to accommodate for politicians growing the balls they need to set up a public health care system. besides that, there is an inherent flaw in welfare systems that usually causes them to be abused by people who don't want to "work" for a living. this flaw also tends to inhibit people who have good intentions from getting the help.

the sad fact is throwing money at the problems we have in this country isn't going to solve anything. IMHO what we need is more communities stepping up and helping out there own and stop waiting for Washington, because politicians that were born with a sliver spoon in their mouths have no idea how to solve the hard problems that face those suffering in this country.

I'm not suggesting we just throw money at people. That would be stupid. The money could be used to do things like open more free/low cost clinics, for example. Food banks, shelters, help with paying for medications, or rent and utilities and such. There are things that can be done here to help people. It just irritates me. No child should ever have to go to bed hungry. Yet if you make minimum wage, you can't qualify for welfare or other assistance.

Because I am considered disabled, I can get help getting my medications. Without that help, I would have to do without, because my meds total over $800 a month. If I get sick, or have some kind of problem that does not qualify for the ER, then I am just screwed. I can't afford a trip to the dentist any time soon... money like that is set aside for my kid to go to her dentist.

I was homeless at one point in my life. Not by choice, or anything else. I did just about anything I could trying to get myself out of that situation. I couldn't find a job because I had to address or phone number. I applied for low income housing, but the waiting list was about 3 years long. Food banks and churches were nice enough to give me food so I could eat. No human being should have to live like that. America is one of the richest countries in the world. Why can't we do something, heck, ANY thing, to help the people we have here now?

Don't get me wrong, I completely agree that something needs to be done. The problem is the politics of it all. for example, public health care. with all the money in privatized health care, no politician is willing to really fight for it.

one thing tho, although 230million seems like a lot of money to people. but as far as our government is concerned, there is no reason we can't afford to do both.

I still think that more local communities have to step up and pull together for their own sake. like you said, food banks and churches. If our communities were filled with people trying to help each other and sacrificing some of their free time and money to help those suffering, less people would suffer. I'm not knocking the charities and volenteer groups out there right now, I'm just saying it seems to me that far too many people turn a blind eye to the people around them. its a shame, but until the people start reflecting the type of society we (as in you and me) want to live in, our government will continue to reflect the elitist, classist society we do live in.