Al has an epiphany!

[Al Swearengen]

So there we were..."LateNight" and myself...bellied up to the LateNight Bar, drinks and cigars in hand...and discussing the world's heady, lofty issues. Specifically, I think the discussion had been about our G.I.s being on foreign soil. We were pretty much in agreement that having our servicemen and women fighting someone else's battles is just bad for bidness, when suddenly the lightbulb went off in my head. My idea was this: if we're gonna be sending our military to foreign lands, lets send them to protect the flora and fauna...the wildlife! Can you think of a better use for our troops than say, protecting endangered species and ecosystems? THATS what we should be doing! We should be taking a proactive role in conservation, we should be setting the example for good stewardship of the planet. Now thats something we can all get behind..a truly worthy cause! I'm sober now, and it STILL seems like a great idea. Comments?

[Bob]

Wow... sounds pretty Star Trek like :-)
we spend our time protecting the planet etc.. nobody worries about money anymore, and star ships don't have bathrooms LOL

And the rest of us just spend our time bettering our selves.

Other than that. sure I could get into that.

[Al Swearengen]

If one of our brave G.I.s has to die, I want it to be because he got into a firefight with some ivory poachers or the like. When I was in the army, I would've been much more enthusiastic about protecting our fellow creatures than fighting to oust some dictator...something the people that live there should be doing for themselves!

[geodood]

You're shooting at poachers and hit an elephant by accident... "friendly fire"... Highly (and I mean *highly*) politically incorrect! Then it's all over with, and you have to go home......

[Al Swearengen]

LOL...yeah, we'd need to be real careful about that. But seriously, our military medical personnel could tend to injured or sick wildlife...our engineers could help solve drought/irrigation issues...we have a responsibility to do this, and as the proverbial 400 lb gorilla of the world, we have the means.

[geodood]

Seriously, I was making a statement. Good deeds are good, up to a point when they are proven to be imperfect. And if something isn't black, then it must be white right? Isn't that what political correctness (and political incorrectness) is all about?

As for the finest military on the planet, they are having a hard enough time being the mediocre police of the world much less becoming veterinarians for the planet. But I do admire you thinking "outside the box" so to speak.

[rhertz]

Our military is trained to do one thing and only one thing; KILL. That is what a military does, like it or not. They kill the other guy, period. If you don't believe me, check out our arsonal. Unless you need to exterminate some varmin, leave the military out of it! I bet their 50mm cannons would be quite effective against nutria infestation.

I don't mean to sound cold, but if we ever are hit on our own soil, (like Pearl Harbor) I have no problem putting politics on hold while we defend our own soil by any means at our disposal. Once the threat is over, we can go back to the regularly scheduled program of fleecing taxpayers and debating politics.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by Al Swearengen

our engineers could help solve drought/irrigation issues..

I got a feeling that at some point.. be it over population or drought conditions brought on by Global Warming or some @#$@ etc.. we'll all be fighting wars over drinkable water and oil before its all over with.

But hey, I agree.. it be nice if we had the time and the resources to do what you describe. It would mean all this other #@$@ @#@# was over with and we got onto better issues. The Next Phase.

so what happened to ol' JoePole ?

[LateNight]

Originally Posted by Al Swearengen

So there we were..."LateNight" and myself...bellied up to the LateNight Bar, drinks and cigars in hand...and discussing the world's heady, lofty issues. Specifically, I think the discussion had been about our G.I.s being on foreign soil.

So how many drinks into the night we talkin' about ?? I seem to recall talking about the Mayflower and Thanksgiving ? LOL

[Al Swearengen]

Ok, I think everyone might be missing the point here. If we dont do something about the damage we're causing to our environment and the fellow creatures we share this planet with, all of the other problems wont amount to a fart in the wind. Even a dog knows not to crap where it eats. We just have the one Earth..."planet, life-sustaining general purpose, count: one" would be the nomenclature. And we dont yet have the ability to search out and colonize other planets, and likely wont have that option for several centuries. Meanwhile, we're hellbent on trashing the place. Oil spills, medical and toxic wastes being dumped into our oceans, the murderous practice that is whaling, nets that ensnare dolphins and porposes...these are things our navy could address. Rain forests being bulldozed...what happens when some superbug strikes the world's population and the cure is some obscure plant or animal that gets plowed under? As far as the military only serving one purpose (to kill people and blow things up), not true. That might be it's primary purpose (I wont even get into the concept that maybe THAT is something we need to address in itself), but there are MANY occupational specialties that have other uses, that is, when we're not actively engaged in killing each other. One example would be the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. And the National Guard are frequently called on for reasons such as relief efforts and aid. It just so happens that the military is ideally suited for such tasks. They have the budget, the equipment and the manpower, and they're in the ideal physical condition necessary to meet the challenges they face. Would'nt you rather have our military doing something worthwhile besides needlessly dying while trying to solve someone else's political problems? I cant even begin to tell you how many hours I spent at the motorpool putting a spitshine on a jeep. The whole "KILL KILL KILL" thing is fine for when someone needs killin (and I'm not sayin there aint plenty of people who need killin)...but what about the rest of the time? Nothing man ever does is perfect, but thats a pretty weak reason not to make the effort, and that'll be scant consolation when we've polluted/contaminated/killed off everything and all we have left is this big ruined/spoiled/wasted spent rock.

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by Al Swearengen

Even a dog knows not to crap where it eats.

You obviously don't own a Pug! My dog somtimes eats her crap! She'll chew up anything! (sometimes more than once)

Not to make light of your subject there Al.... You go right ahead and rant on about the global environment... I'm with ya. Back in the 80's, I gave $100 to Greenpeace once. I figure that'll do me for a while....

[Al Swearengen]

LOVED PUGS ever since Milo and Otis! Yeah, as I said, these are the sort of high-minded things we end up discussing at the LateNight Bar. Personally, I'm too old and tired to save the world, but I figure I could supervise Never gave any money to GreenPeace (I applaud you for doing so, rhertz...maybe I'll cut em a check), although I was always pullin for em...but we DO separate our trash into plastics/metals/cardboard for recycling. And the wife volunteers at Chimp Haven.

[Isaac-Saxxon]

Greenpeace has been highjacked by the socialist agenda. I agree we need to keep our bed clean and anything will help. What about the other countries that crap in there own bed at our expense ? China and Russia top of the list and then there is the slash and burn down in South America they don't care.
Isaac

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by Al Swearengen

The whole "KILL KILL KILL" thing is fine for when someone needs killin (and I'm not sayin there aint plenty of people who need killin)...but what about the rest of the time?

Ok, I'm convinced. I'm serious. After Bin Ladin is dead, and Kim Jong Il, and Ahmadinejad too, then I'm all for sending the idle troops to save the rain forests which indeed need saving.. But that might mean taking out Hugo Chavez as well. My two environmental pet peaves are "mercury poisoning at the top of the food chain in predator fish such as tuna and swordfish" (and you and me) and second would have to be that stinking meat processing plant off North Market! That sucker stinks to high heaven! Please allow me a third. The Lucas wastewasser plant on hwy 1... Smells bad too.

[Hattie Thomas]

Originally Posted by Al Swearengen

... I'm sober now, and it STILL seems like a great idea. Comments?

Yes less booze and more clarity.