# I'm Sorry, But I Refuse to Share Your Defeatest Attitude **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 8, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237 "2007-05-08T14:08:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/41 "2007-05-08T20:32:23Z")
[QUOTE=lowbrass] defeat, defeater, defeatest. Does that mean the most defeat? 😉 [/QUOTE] Only an athiest would nitpick like that! ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/42 "2007-05-08T20:34:13Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I don’t hear a lot of talk about how the righties and lefties would react differently after such an attack. [/QUOTE] Well, I hear it fairly often; I hear people say that Gore or any other Democrat would have done nothing about 9-11, except perhaps lobbed a missle somewhere and complained. Of course, these are the same sort of people who claim the CIA is stuffed full of Democrats who are sabotaging the war in Iraq in order to make Bush look bad. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/43 "2007-05-08T20:42:33Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] Well, I hear it fairly often; I hear people say that Gore or any other Democrat would have done nothing about 9-11, except perhaps lobbed a missle somewhere and complained. Of course, these are the same sort of people who claim the CIA is stuffed full of Democrats who are sabotaging the war in Iraq in order to make Bush look bad. [/QUOTE] Which ones claim that the Secret Service will stage a coup on any president who doesn’t retaliate with nuclear slag? ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/44 "2007-05-08T21:01:56Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Me: I have giant flaming testicles You: Cite that you have giant flaming testicles. [/QUOTE] Goodness gracious GREAT balls of fire! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/45 "2007-05-08T21:55:04Z")
[QUOTE=Duke of Rat] Which ones claim that the Secret Service will stage a coup on any president who doesn’t retaliate with nuclear slag? [/QUOTE] Probably the same ones who have a President who thinks that sending terrorists Rainbow Monkey[sup]TM[/sup] dolls is a good idea. (i.e. None.) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/46 "2007-05-08T22:55:12Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Oh, and my memory may be faulty, but I _wasn’t_ talking about a back channel declaration that the Taleban had made, but a public pronouncement. [/quote] So, what public announcement did the Taliban make that you were referring to? > [@](#): > > I’m sure you’ll agree that it’s entirely possible that the Taleban would publicly say one thing and do another? (As would we, nor does that prove I was right about what the Taleban said.) You would agree, however, that the Taleban’s requests for evidence and offers to try Osama in an Islamic court were less than genuine, would you not? Probably so. But that’s still exactly what you said all the other governments (those not involved) would be saying in the OP. So it doesn’t distinguish the Taliban in any way. > [@](#): > > Do you have any reason to believe that if, for example, Iran were to give Osama a nuke, which he then detonated in the US, that the Iranians would act any different than the Taleban did when we demanded that Osama be turned over to us? I suspect they would, but how is that saying “neener neener neener”? Had we accused Canada of being involved, they would also claim that they had nothing to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2007, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/47 "2007-05-09T01:22:16Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] So, what public announcement did the Taliban make that you were referring to? [/quote] That they’d unleash Osama on us. > [@](#): > > Probably so. But that’s still exactly what you said all the other governments (those not involved) would be saying in the OP. So it doesn’t distinguish the Taliban in any way. Somehow, I don’t think that on 9/11 the Taliban bothered to call the White House and say that they were genuinely sorry such a fate had befallen us and that if there was anything they could do to help for us to just ask. > [@](#): > > I suspect they would, but how is that saying “neener neener neener”? Had we accused Canada of being involved, they would also claim that they had nothing to do with it. Canada would also volunteer to allow us to inspect their facilities unconditionally and go out of their way to make the inspection easy. Do you _really_ think Iran would do the same kind of thing if they’d given Osama & Co a nuke to use against us? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/48 "2007-05-09T02:04:37Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Canada would also volunteer to allow us to inspect their facilities unconditionally and go out of their way to make the inspection easy. [/QUOTE] :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2007, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/49 "2007-05-09T03:58:53Z")
> [@](#): > > **Tuckerfan** : I happen to know that every freakin’ redneck in America is going to whip out almost as much firepower as the US military has and begin shooting anyone who looks vaguely middle eastern. (I know that plenty of non-rednecks will do this as well, but let’s just stay with the rednecks, shall we?) How can I “know” such a thing, you ask? It’s pretty fuckin’ simple, really. I live in redneck central… Not really. Gallatin is on the outskirts of Nashville which voted liberal in the 2004 Presidential election. I believe that Nashville also voted in support of Democrat Harold Ford in the Tennessee Senate race in 2006. Tennessee’s governor, a Democrat, won reelection by a huge majority. Further, Nashville has one of the highest concentrations of Iraqis outside of Iraq itself. Three years ago it was cool to witness the Iraqi election taking place in my own neighborhood. If you want to live in “redneck central,” you are in the wrong place. You need to get away from work more. Seriously. You have nothing to fear but beer itself. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2007, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/50 "2007-05-09T12:39:29Z")
[QUOTE=Zoe] Not really. Gallatin is on the outskirts of Nashville which voted liberal in the 2004 Presidential election. I believe that Nashville also voted in support of Democrat Harold Ford in the Tennessee Senate race in 2006. Tennessee’s governor, a Democrat, won reelection by a huge majority. Further, Nashville has one of the highest concentrations of Iraqis outside of Iraq itself. Three years ago it was cool to witness the Iraqi election taking place in my own neighborhood. If you want to live in “redneck central,” you are in the wrong place. You need to get away from work more. Seriously. You have nothing to fear but beer itself. [/QUOTE] Gallatin’s a lot closer (at least philosophically if not geographically) to Lafayette, where men are men and sheep are nervous. **Frank** , the Canucks are our buddies, and I’m sure we wouldn’t bother asking them to allow us to inspect their facilities, since we’d know damn good and well the nuclear material couldn’t have come from there, but if we did ask, I’m sure that they’d be cool with it. After all, they happily put up with a bunch of us surly 'Merkins on 9/11. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2007, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/51 "2007-05-10T00:39:30Z")
[QUOTE=Cowboy8467] Well **that** is certainly comforting. :eek: [/QUOTE] Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of things the U.S. should be doing to fight terrorism, and it’s doing almost none of those. The very first thing we should be doing is going after loose nukes as best we can, using diplomacy and pressure in the Former USSR, Pakistan and other places. Reforms in intelligence and counter-terrorism wouldn’t hurt too. Neither of the major parties seems to be making counter-terror a priority, for reasons that escape me. The stupid war is only making things worse. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237/52 "2007-05-10T04:26:15Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] **Frank** , the Canucks are our buddies, and I’m sure we wouldn’t bother asking them to allow us to inspect their facilities, since we’d know damn good and well the nuclear material couldn’t have come from there, but if we did ask, I’m sure that they’d be cool with it. After all, they happily put up with a bunch of us surly 'Merkins on 9/11. [/QUOTE] Back in late 2001 or early 2002, before Bush squandered the goodwill of the ENTIRE FUCKING PLANET to pursue his desire to wage war in Iraq, I think most other nations would have allowed America to inspect their top-secret facilities if a nuclear weapon had been detonated in America. These days, not so much. I get the impression our national image has been somewhat tarnished by our four-year fuckup in Iraq. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-sorry-but-i-refuse-to-share-your-defeatest-attitude/403237.md?page=2)