yep, no wonder world leaders
Posted By: sm on 2008-09-12
In Reply to: More on Questionable Connections... - sam
supposedly want Obama in office -- he is in their back pockets.
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and when she sits across from world leaders?
everyone is supposed to what, bow down to her and protect her from the big bad men? I smell Hillary here. gotta see that one when she gets sent overseas to talk to some of these foreign leaders like Cheney does now.
I am open right now to vote either way; however, I was thinking of McCain actually until SP came on-board.
she is too scattered, spreads herself too thin, too many different directions, looks like she is some wort of a whirlwind all the time and the interview she looked like a deer caught in headlights, hate to say it she looked stumped.
why do we want someone in office who needs to be protected, I just don't get it.
Palin meets her first world leaders in New York. sm
Palin meets her first world leaders in New York
By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer Tue Sep 23, 7:30 PM ET
NEW YORK - Sarah Palin met her first world leaders Tuesday. It was a tightly controlled crash course on foreign policy for the Republican vice presidential candidate, the mayor-turned-governor who has been outside North America just once.
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Palin sat down with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The conversations were private, the pictures public, meant to build her resume for voters concerned about her lack of experience in world affairs.
"I found her quite a capable woman," Karzai said later. "She asked the right questions on Afghanistan."
The self-described "hockey mom" also asked former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for insights on Georgia, Russia, China and Iran, and she'll see more leaders Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings.
It was shuttle diplomacy, New York-style. At several points, Palin's motorcade got stuck in traffic and New Yorkers, unimpressed with the flashing lights, sirens and police officers in her group, simply walked between the vehicles to get across the street. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, three hours behind Palin in seeing Karzai, found herself overshadowed for a day as she made her own rounds.
John McCain's presidential campaign has shielded the first-term Alaska governor for weeks from spontaneous questions from voters and reporters, and went to striking lengths Tuesday to maintain that distance as Palin made her diplomatic debut.
The GOP campaign, applying more restrictive rules on access than even President Bush uses in the White House, banned reporters from the start of the meetings, so as not to risk a question being asked of Palin.
McCain aides relented after news organizations objected and CNN, which was supplying TV footage to a variety of networks, decided to pull its TV crew from Palin's meeting with Karzai.
Overheard: small talk.
Palin is studying foreign policy ahead of her one debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, a senator with deep credentials on that front. More broadly, the Republican ticket is trying to counter questions exploited by Democrats about her qualifications to serve as vice president and step into the presidency at a moment's notice if necessary.
There was no chance of putting such questions to rest with photo opportunities Tuesday.
But Palin, who got a passport only last year, no longer has to own up to a blank slate when asked about heads of state she has met.
She also got her first intelligence briefing Tuesday, over two hours.
Karzai generated light laughter when he told an audience at the Asia Society that, in addition to Rice and Norway's prime minister, he had seen Palin on Tuesday. Thomas Freston, a member of the society's board, drew loud applause and laughter when he responded: "You're probably the only person in the room who's met Gov. Palin."
Randy Scheunemann, a longtime McCain aide on foreign policy, was close at hand during her meetings. Another adviser, Stephen Biegun, also accompanied her at each meeting and briefed reporters later.
Karzai and Palin discussed security problems in Afghanistan, including cross-border insurgencies. They also talked about the need for more U.S. troops there, which both McCain and Democrat Barack Obama say is necessary, Biegun said.
With both Karzai and Uribe, Palin discussed the importance of energy security. With Uribe, the conversation also touched on the proposed U.S.-Colombian Free Trade Agreement that McCain and Palin support but Obama opposes.
Her meeting with Kissinger, which lasted more than an hour, covered a range of national security and foreign policy issues, specifically Russia, Iran and China, Biegun said.
"Rather than make specific policy prescriptions, she was largely listening, having an exchange of views and also very interested in forming a relationship with people she met with today," he said.
Before Palin's first meeting of the day, with Karzai, campaign aides had told reporters in the press pool that followed her they could not go into meetings where photographers and a video camera crew would be let in for pictures.
Bush and members of Congress routinely allow reporters to attend photo opportunities along with photographers, and the reporters sometimes are able to ask questions at the beginning of private meetings before they are ushered out.
At least two news organizations, including AP, objected to the exclusion of reporters and were told that the decision to have a "photo spray" only was not subject to discussion. After aides backed away from that, campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said the reporter ban was a "miscommunication."
On Wednesday, McCain and Palin are expected to meet jointly with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili and Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko. Palin is then to meet separately with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Palin, 44, has been to neighboring Canada and to Mexico, and made a brief trip to Kuwait and Germany to see Alaska National Guard troops.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZDU4OTdhMTFhN2YwZTY3MmMzNGFhYzc3ODdhOTA0ZjQ=
Which leaders? I didn't know that leaders of ...sm
any other countries had endorsed either candidate.
praying for our leaders
we are admonished to pray for our leaders ...sort of a political love your enemies :-) please do not forget to pray for and support our third party candidates as well - brave men and women have not shed blood for this country so that it can be "ruled" by one party masquerading as two. we are in a homeland security crisis - our own Wall Street is committing domestic financial terrorism, exactly what we were warned that foreign terrorists would do. why are we being protected from our "enemies, both foreign and domestic"?? the corruption of our financial stability is treasonous, and the names of the traitors are known.
Foreign leaders
I've seen a lot of the video clips and pictures also. You know there is so much hoopla about everything in politics, it's really hard for me to believe anything I see much less anything I hear. I think we've sunk so low in our politics that the one who can throw the most mud is the one who will win. I don't care about Obama's association of 40 years ago. I do care about his recent so-called church affiliation. I do not care if Palin fired the guy for not firing her ex-brother-in-law (of course she did). I do care that all she can talk about is how "bad" Obama is and how "saintly" John McCain is. Pull the string and see what Sarah says.
The common sense side of me tells me that most of the garbage we hear from both campaigns is stuff dug up by the other side trying to discredit the other candidate.
A MOST aggravating thing happened this morning.......a REPUBLICAN acquaintance stopped by to see us this morning. The unexpected call was to campaign for John McCain. He got ANGRY when I told him I wasn't voting for either candidate. Pretty much called me a redneck hillbilly for not agreeing with him. LOL
VOTING WITH A WRITE IN VOTE FOR LOU DOBBS.
Being from hurricane country, our leaders do not
nm
Since when does talking with other country leaders
Better brush up on your reading skills.
When leaders get messiah complexes...sm
When Leaders Get Messiah Complexes
Thursday, October 23, 2008
By Col. Oliver North
Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday this week, I was an unwilling eyewitness to a dramatic political event and it made me wonder where we are headed as a nation. More on that in a moment. First, a little background.
There is no doubt that leadership matters. The study of human history provides evidence that empires — even entire civilizations — rise and fall on the ideas, virtues and skills of great leaders. From Mesopotamia to the European continent, those who chronicled the triumphs and failures of great leaders in the Western world measured success based on military prowess and territory conquered. Herodotus detailed how the Persian Empire, built by Darius, eventually succumbed to Alexander the Great in the 5th Century B.C. That vision of leadership began to change in what is now Israel.
Old Testament prophets described a Messiah — in Aramaic, měshīhā — a leader — a savior who would deliver the Jewish people from their travails. For more than two millennia, Christians have believed that the Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth and that at the appointed time he will come again in triumph. Unfortunately, in the modern era there have many other leaders who perceived that they had messianic qualities that only they could provide.
Napoleon, in the aftermath of the bloody French Revolution, described himself as "essential" to the future of France – and was appointed dictator. The aftermath was a disaster for his countrymen and much of Europe.
Adolf Hitler was elected by the German people and then given absolute power because he claimed that only he could "preserve the Aryan race." The result was a global conflagration that resulted in the death of more than 25 million.
More recently — from Idi Amin in Uganda, to Pol Pot in Cambodia, Kim Jung IL in Korea and Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe — all have "led" their people to perdition after describing themselves as the only men capable of leading their populations through difficult times. Yet, all their people were ultimately worse off.
It is notable that until the 20th century, the American people managed to avoid selecting leaders who held messianic self-esteem. Neither George Washington nor Abraham Lincoln — arguably two of this nation's greatest leaders through the toughest crises in our history — described themselves in such terms. In fact, the record of what they said and wrote is replete with humility.
Not until Franklin Delano Roosevelt decided in 1940 that our country needed his "seasoned leadership," did any U.S. president even contemplate a third successive term in office. While FDR rose to become a great wartime leader, there is also little doubt that he amassed far more power in the office of chief executive than any of his predecessors. Roosevelt's authority was so great that his successor, Harry Truman, the modest man from Missouri, saw fit to endorse a constitutional amendment limiting presidents to two terms.
Given America's history of limiting executive power in government — if by no other means than term limits — it is interesting to note how much hope some people now vest in such office. And it's not just the presidency.
New York City, where FOX News Channel is headquartered, has a public law limiting the mayor to a tenure of two terms. Despite this ordinance, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, citing the current "economic crisis," insists that he should have a third stint in office. Though he was once a believer in term limits he now claims that, "Given the enormous challenges we face, I don't want to walk away from a city I feel I can help lead through these tough times."
That's messianic thinking. But apparently the Big Apple isn't the only place it's happening.
During Wednesday afternoon's rush hour, I was making my way home on the "Dulles Greenway" when a phalanx of police motorcycles and cruisers stopped all traffic and ordered us to pull our vehicles off the highway onto the shoulders. Over a loudspeaker we were told to stay put until the Obama campaign convoy passed, on the way to a rally in Leesburg, Virginia.
Instantly, hundreds of people were out of their cars. Directly in front of me a group of supporters — evident by their bumper-stickers — jumped out with cameras, cell-phones and banners. They began chanting: "The Messiah! He's coming! Obama is coming!" The shouting only intensified as the candidate and his entourage — motorcycles, police cars, black Secret Service Suburbans and busses — roared past us.
What I found so disturbing was seeing so many of my countrymen who apparently think — or believe — or hope — that the next president of the United States will save us from ourselves. Senator Obama has said we can not, "Wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for." He would do well to remember that unfulfilled expectations are the greatest cause of anger on the planet. That's true whether it is between a husband and wife, students and teacher, employers and employees, or leaders and the led. He might also recall that humility is a virtue that has distinguished our greatest leaders.
What all this means to the future of this republic, I don't know. I'm a military historian, not a prophet. But I do know the first name of the Messiah. It's not Mike. And it isn't Barack, either.
Oliver North hosts War Stories on FOX News Channel and is the author of the new best-seller, "American Heroes: In The War Against Radical Islam." He has just returned from assignment in Afghanistan.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,443829,00.html
No other leaders of other countries bowed
At least none that I'm finding. I could be wrong but I've been searching to see if other world leaders like France, PM Gordon Brown, Swiss, or any other leaders that attended the summit if they bowed. I'm not finding anything. Only the One.
You can't talk to the Iranian leaders
They are the cleric and they are the ones who rule the country. They rule with an iron fist and by the power of Islam. The president of their country is only a puppet just like in the U.S.
We should NOT get involved unless asked, which probably will not happen. Sure, there are some in this country who thinks we should and it's both sides who have that opinion, not just the pubs. President A will be the winner, you can be sure of that, since they are only doing recounts on certain areas of the country (probably those that voted for President A.
The military leaders are threatening to resign sm
From today's London Times:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1434540.ece
Praying, trusting and respecting leaders?
I'm curious as to why one would consider this a viable option for change. Maybe I'm taking the remark out of context? No one just "deserves" respect. You earn that. It is not an entitlement. Neither is trust. Nothing is really, except for basic human decency. An example would be our soldiers. They earn their respect....most of them anyway. Our leaders are another story entirely.
Kicking and screaming and ranting is part of dissent, not only a right, but a responsibility. Folks need to have a look at our Declaration of Independence. Seriously.
Let our leaders hear us loud and clear
Reading all the posts it seems like everyone agrees on the same thing. None of us likes either candidate. What I'm reading a lot of is "I'm democrat so I'm voting democrat no matter what" or "I'm republican so I'm voting republican no matter what". The country has developed over the years into believing our vote counts. Whether you want to believe it or not, it doesn't. The country has been run not by who the people want elected but by big government and big corporations. People who have thousands and thousands of dollars to spend (if not millions) donate that money to ensure who they want to be elected is elected. Also, do some research on the "mysterious group" that meets each year yet the public is not allowed to be in those meetings and there are armed guards enforcing that. Those are the people who decide the fate of the country. Just the way it is and I accepted it a long time ago. If Americans truly did have a say in what goes on with our politicians we would see more and more of them fired, but they aren't. They still remain in office. I say let our leaders hear us loud and clear. We are against both candidates. If voting dropped or nobody went to vote I think they'd get the message loud and clear that we are disatisfied.
Obama will do just fine with hostile leaders.
Actually, understanding Islamic principles will serve the man of his intelligence quite well when up against either Ahmadinejad or with Israel. Obama knows exactly what to do with facing hostility. He certainly has faced enough of it on the home front here during the filthy word wars waged by the media and in fanatic chat room posts and has demonstrated the capacity to stoop to those low levels with the best of them. However, beyond the election, he will have not use for such petty, meaningless tactics and strategies. He is calm, collected and calculated in his responses, or lack there of, and has an uncanny ability to be conciliatory without having to compromise his basic values or objectives. Will be a breath of fresh air to see somebody at least try an approach that is not designed to promote US imperialism, world economic domination or the war of the civilizations.
Second paragraph of your post. It's all in the perspective, point-of-view and public perceptions. Being a good democrat does not necessarily make him a Washington insider, despite his long career. It only means that he knows his way around there and that his constituents continue to send him back there election, after election after election. Somebody somewhere must like him a lot. No further comment on your personal opinion. Sour grapes over an excellent pick. Let's see if McCain can show as much good judgment.
Why do all of a sudden want to hold leaders accountable?
wHat about Bill Clinton committing felony perjury? Having sex with an intern in the oval office? Where was the personal responsibility and who is holding him accountable? WHen are you going to drop the double standard and apply the same set of rules to everyone?
How do Arab leaders make their speeches? (sm)
If you could post a link to a video it would be appreciated. I really would like to see what you're talking about here.
Bush, military leaders let bin Laden escape
CIA operative says Bush, military leaders let bin Laden escape
Capitol Hill Blue | January 2 2006
The top CIA counterterrorism officer who tracked Osama bin Laden through the mountains of Afghanistan says the United States could have captured the terrorist leader if President George W. Bush and the American military had devoted the necessary resources to the hunt and capture.
In addition, says Gary Bernsten, a decorated espionage officer, the post-Cold War downturn in recruitment and attention to espionage has left a crippled spy agency that will need a decade or more to build up its clandestine service for the U.S. war on terrorism.
Berntsen led a paramilitary unit code-named Jawbreaker in the war that toppled the Taliban after the September 11 attacks.
He says his Jawbreaker team tracked bin Laden to Afghanistan's Tora Bora region late in 2001 and could have killed or captured the al Qaeda leader there if military officials had agreed to his request for an additional force of about 800 U.S. troops. But the administration was already gearing up for war with Iraq and troops were never sent, allowing bin Laden was able to escape.
His account contradicts public statements by Bush and former Gen. Tommy Franks, who maintained that U.S. officials were never sure bin Laden was at Tora Bora.
Berntsen says CIA Director Porter Goss faces an uphill battle to fill the agency's senior ranks with aggressive, seasoned operatives.
He's probably more aggressive than most of the senior officers in the clandestine service. So I think he's having to pull them along a bit, Berntsen said in an interview.
(Goss) is trying to improve the situation. But it's going to be tough. The rebuilding is going to take years. A decade, at least, he told Reuters late last week.
The CIA, widely criticized for lapses involving prewar Iraq and the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, has seen its clandestine staff dwindle to less than 5,000 employees from a peak of over 7,000, intelligence sources say.
Experts blame a post-Cold War downturn in recruitment for a current lack of seasoned clandestine operatives that has been exacerbated by a rush to lucrative private sector jobs in recent years.
We have a smaller number of really, really aggressive, creative members of our leadership in the senior service, said Berntsen, who recently published a book about his exploits in the war on terrorism, titled Jawbreaker (Crown Publishing).
Former CIA Director George Tenet told the September 11 commission in April 2004 the CIA would need five years to produce a clandestine service fully capable of tackling the terrorism threat.
Goss later said at his September 2004 Senate confirmation hearings that rebuilding the clandestine operation would be a long build-out, a long haul.
President George W. Bush issued an order last year that called for a 50 percent increase in CIA clandestine officers and analysts to be completed as soon as feasible.
The CIA is moving aggressively to rebuild and enhance its capabilities across the board, CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano said.
But intelligence sources say the rebuilding process has been complicated by disaffection for Goss' leadership within the clandestine service.
Years of double-digit growth in federal spending on intelligence that followed the September 11 attacks may also be about to end.
John Negroponte, the new U.S. director of national intelligence, has endorsed an intelligence budget for fiscal year 2007 that is relatively flat, with current spending levels believed to total about $44 billion for the 15-agency intelligence community. Fiscal 2007 begins in October.
Berntsen, 48, who also led the CIA Counterterrorism Center's response to the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, sued the CIA in July, accusing the spy agency of trying to stop him from publishing his book.
Gimigliano said the CIA reviewed Bernsten's book before publication only to ensure that it contained no classified information.
In the book, Berntsen says his Jawbreaker team tracked bin Laden to Afghanistan's Tora Bora region late in 2001 and could have killed or captured the al Qaeda leader there if military officials had agreed to his request for an additional force of about 800 U.S. troops.
But the troops were never sent and bin Laden was able to escape, he said.
His account contradicts public statements by Bush and former Gen. Tommy Franks, who maintained that U.S. officials were never sure bin Laden was at Tora Bora.
We're pussycats compared to some foreign leaders. sm
What's she going to do with them, and anyone else she can't just bully and fire?
GOP blanket bombs on Chicago's dem civic leaders
Right-wing rants that cite email sources are suspect at best. Google any one heading included in yesterday's post and discover links to the "common sense" of the Getting' After Left show and a barrage of right-wing blogs. Surprise, surprise.
BODY COUNT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_rate
Despite being the 3rd largest US city, Chicago's murder rate ranks 20th behind much less populous cities Baltimore MD, Newark NJ, St. Louis MO, Oakland CA, Cincinnati OH, Buffalo NY, Kansas City MO, Miami FL, Pittsburg PA, and Cleveland OH. Guess who is ranked #21 (same general category)? That would be McC's hometown of Phoenix Arizona. Chicago has experienced an overall decline in crime since the 1990s.
http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/
You seem to be equating Iraq fatalities to murder. I agree. On that Iraq body count figure, since you are talking civilians in Chicago, it is only fair to include those folks in your first six months of 2008 figure. In 2008, the average daily violent occupation-related loss of life via suicide attacks, vehicle bombs, gunfire and executions is 27 x 182.5 days in first six months = 4,927 + you 221 = 5148. While we are at it, may as well throw out that total civilian body count in Iraq, the very most conservative documented count being 88,373, or World Trade Center x30.
"COMBAT ZONE"
Naturally, no reliable data is available on this claim, it being a subjective pronouncement that seeks to pontificate.
STATE PENSION FUND
Here we see the smear leap from the Chicago to the state level...an apples to oranges, smoke and mirrors maneuver the GOP attack machine thought they might slip by unattentive readers. OK. Let's go there. As recently as February of this year, we find the following: http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2008/02/25/daily29.html
Center on Budget and Policy and Priorities: McCain's red state: Arizona Budget Deficit Worst in the Country. Follow link for all the fascinating details.
http://www.cbpp.org/1-15-08sfp.htm Info updated 08/05/08
For starters, state budget deficits are ranked in terms of shortfall percentages.
In the US, 29 states face budget shortfalls totaling 48 billion in 2009. Notice how similar this 29-state total is to the amount in the GOP smear that claimed a $44 BILLION dollar deficit IL pension plan funds. Arizona's shortfall percentage = 17.8%, now in second place behind the nations most populous state, California. Illinois' shortfall percentage = 6.6%, making AZ's budget deficit nearly 3 times that of IL. So, if we hold dems (and by pub logic, O) responsible for Chicago, then who, pray tell is responsible for Arizona, the political culture from which JM comes from?
COUNTY SALES TAX
To suggest that any party's local (especially municipal or county) tax schemes would be reproduced on a national level is downright ridiculous. Tax structures are entirely different and wildly varied from state to state. Speaking of states, I came across this link http://www.fairtaxation.org/facts/sales_tax_rank.php which shows the Arizona sales tax rate ranks higher (#10) at 7.8% than Illinois at 7.6%.
CHICAGO SCHOOLS WORST IN NATION
I bit hard to address this second subjective pronouncement that seeks to pontificate. In terms of WHAT exactly is it the worst? They are certainly not an uneducated bunch of folks:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a80Zfbu_.k4g&refer=us University of Chicago has produced 82 Nobel prize winners and 10 Nobel Prize winners in economics, more than any university in the US. The John Bates Clark Medal, bestowed every two years, recognizes the nation's most outstanding economist under 40. U of Chicago has produced more than any other US institution, 6 out of the 31 recipients. Seems like those Chicago economists are sort of, well....exceptional.
I really could go on and on about Chicago's booming economy but I am out of time here. Maybe later then.
High expectations for leaders...nah, Clinton pretty much blew that. No pun intended. nm
we should destroy any country that has missile parades or giant posters of their leaders?
Glenn Beck: I Think We Should Destroy Any Country That Has Missile Parades Or Giant Posters Of Their Leaders
The statement was creepy enough but the look of glee on Glenn Beck's face as he joked about destroying Iran, the country whose traditions he didn't like, was extremely troubling for a national news host. By the way, despite his enthusiasm for having other people engage in mass killing, I could not find any evidence that Mr. Destroyer ever put his own flabby fanny on the line for his country.
In a 2/10/09 discussion with author Joel C. Rosenberg, Beck sounded almost giddy as he said, "I think we should destroy any country that has missile parades or giant posters of their leaders. They never turn out like good friends. You know that? And (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) looks a little too spooky."
Rosenberg replied, "I don't want to destroy the country but I would like to remove the leadership."
"I could go either way," Beck said, with all the gravity of someone deciding whether he wanted red or white wine. "How irresponsible!" he joked.
Copy-cat campaign strategies; copy cat leaders.
amfm
What in the world are you
talking about ??? Oh, wait, I get it. The writer above said his mother said If Roe v. Wade is overturned, that's it for me. Out of that entire article that one sentence is what jumped out at you??? Our country is in a really really big mess both domestically and foreign policy-wise. The full and total attention directed towards the empire the Bush administration is so desperate to build will be what finally does us in and Roe v Wade is the most important issue on the table for you??. Prioritize, and by the way, we are killing babies, ones who are already here, the unborn ones in Iraq, in their mothers' wombs when their mothers are shot, men and women, American and Iraqi, British, Italian, etc. right now. Killing is killing is killing. It is what it is. It is not wrong in the US to kill the unborn but just fine and dandy in Iraq.
World War III....sm
With the news of Israeli conflict, Iran's missles, Iraqi War, I feared we were entering WWIII, so when I read this article today it confirmed my suspicions.
I don't know how in the world...
you turned this article which is about the major cheerleaders for the Iraq war, the neocons, into something that maligns the left. The only thing left about this article is me and the fact that I posted it on the liberal board. This article says neocons are upset. Neocons think the current administration is incompetent. Neocons regret what they have done in the past and would not do it again. None of this has anything to do with the American left or all those worldwide who thought attascking Iraq was a farce from the beginning. We have not turned on public opinion. We have been anti-war since before it started. Public opinion was very much against us in the early days of the war, in this country anyway, but some of us knew this would turn out to be the disaster it is. I myself was flabberghasted when I read what these neocons said. I never thought I would see the day Richard Perle or David Frum would have regrets and voice them to the public.
Just in your little world....
you are rather ad nauseum in your hate and bile...keep it up, you'll help her get elected....
How do you know what my world is.....
You make that assumption when in fact, you know nothing about my life. I come from a home where we were dirt poor but it was all I knew, so I didn't know we were poor. And there was no 2 of us as in your home. There was a single mom with two children. She worked a factory job where ladies there were treated horribly, making very little. We grew our own food when we could and I ate the same stuff over and over until I was sick of looking at it. But it was ours. No one said it was easy to get a job but my uneducated mother found a job and because she had no college education, she worked her butt off for very very very little. My clothes were homemade and not store bought like the girls I went to school with. She worked 2 or more jobs to have something under the tree at Christmas. She took a cheese sandwich to lunch everyday (and nothing else) and went to work burning up with a fever because as far as the boss cared, they could find somebody else to put in your place. My mother gave and gave and hasn't gotten anything financially to show for it to this day. Work is all I knew. I applied for a PELL grant to go to college (and for the poor, they can also get those, even those that aren't really considered poor can get them). I worked more than one job, went to classes, and then went to work again. I didn't know what a free ride was and never knew anything about welfare, etc. My mother NEVER took a dime from the government. I bought a piece of a junk car to get around in...seemed good enough for me, because that's all my mother had as well. You just prayed it kept running.
"we are just not buying into the mentality that we should just be lucky to have jobs and we should just work hard for our money" That is called entitlement mentality. Our community is packed full of those that feel entitled. Have another child, feel entitled. Too good to flip hambugers?, no problem, feel entitled.
"I totally disagree with you and I am not all that intereseted in what people who have money think or what their opinions are about what to do with my money." Really? Obama is rich and feels perfectly at ease telling you what to do with your money and what he wants to do with your money! That doesn't bother you? I have no problem with a social program for those unemployed who needs food/clothing/shelter until they get back on their feet. That is not what happens....it becomes a way of life for millions who get very used to not having to do anything but feel "entitled".
"I am talking about rich people who do not pay taxes and get all the tax breaks and credits while I pay higher in percentage of taxes on everything, such that I cannot even survive on what I am making now." Obama is one of those.
I don't know where you live but there are PLENTY of help for the disadvantaged in my community. Taxpayer dollars have built new low income housing, single family housing at that, to the tune of millions. While my mother still lives in a home over 100 years old, those living in a brand new home (complements of taxpayers) at a reduced price, while they are able to ride around in a brand new vehicle. They have 24 hour security protection even though I am already paying for that once by the name of local police.(I don't have private security protection). They have ellaborate wrought iron fences that surrounds their little estate that costs taxpayers to the tune of thousands and thousands (I don't have a wrought iron fence around my home). Like this is going to keep out any unsavory people. Right!! THey just drive right in.
In addition, the people who really need this are the single moms and elderly who are struggling. This type of housing takes any incentive away to do anymore than they have to to to live there. After all, just one spouse has to work so they can say they don't make anymore than they do, and this affords them free housing, food, healthcare, and free babysitter by the name of Head Start. Why isn't the other spouse working? Because they may hit that magic number by a couple of dollars that put them over the "entitlement" line. My mother's highest grossing income ever was 11,000 dollars and she NEVER took a handout. She is now of Medicare age and living paycheck to paycheck. If I offer to help her pay bills, she will not accept it. I have gone in and taken her electric bill and just went down and paid it before she knew it.
"have you ever had to decide whether to buy groceries or to pay the electric bill that is going to be shut off" You make 40K a year and can't pay your electric bill? I'm certainly not implying that's a lot of money, but sister, my mother's total for the year is $10,800 and she pays her electricity, buys her groceries, pays home insurance, pays gas bill, small phone bill all with that. And that's on top of her health care bills and medication. She has just underwent breast cancer and mastectomy and still has managed, so don't tell me you can't afford to live on 40K a year. My husband and I raised two children on less than that and he didn't want me working for a lot of those years so I could be there with the children. And there are two of you working. Mother drives around in a jalopy of a car without air conditioning and we are in the humid south. She now has watched her beautiful neighborhood turn into HUD housing (also paid for by me), loud obnoxious children who manage to walk around in Tommy Hilfiger and other such expensive clothes but their two parents can't afford to pay their own rent? Same parents have new model vehicles sitting in their front yard while mother drives around in a wreck. Nobody paying for her house.
My daughter and her husband didn't make that until just recently and they still managed to put money away for hard times just in case and good thing, he lost two jobs back to back with downsizing and mergers. They never went to a movie, ate at home every night, no newer vehicles, just what they already had.
"the republicans just seem to want to get rid of dead weight and just use people as servants" (Where have you been?) When Obama gets through taxing you to death to pay for his own "social programs", just who do you think will be dead weight. Who do you think will be servants then? How in the world could you possibly think you will be better off financially by being taxed more to pay for more garbage programs? You will then definitely be a servant....to the government!! That's what welfare states are....that's what our public education system is.....they can't turn a page in a book without the government telling them it's okay. They can't teach what needs to be taught unless the government tells them what to read, how to teach. This didn't start with Bush...it started a long time ago. Public education is completely dependent on government funds and that is what has turned all the students in them into servants. It's a reality now, not after the next election. It's been a reality for several decades now.
As far as crime is concerned, even our local police chief (who is black) said the people committing crimes are and will continue to be just plain thugs, criminals. They have no excuse. Honest hardworking people do not just start going out and committing crimes because the economy is bad. What happens is little Johnny can't get his $200 sneakers and $80 jeans anymore (which is the parent's fault in the first place), so he feels "entitled" and goes out and robs, steals, and kills for money to buy them. Those who will do those things will do them regardless. It has nothing to do with the economy.
I'm not saying it is easy but if my mother can live o less than $11,000 a year, I feel 40K a year is doable, unless for some reason you have out of control debt through no fault of your own (credit cards, expensive vehicles, luxury items, etc.). I know unexpected medical bills can put many right over the top and I understand that. My husband's medical bills due to a chronic condition is growing every day and that is a concern for us but I see people with things they want but don't need and they complain they don't have enough money. I was listenign to a cashier at WalMart the other day griping about how she just didn't know how she was going to buy her baby's Bday present, and yet, she had hair braids that cost $180 to get done (I asked her, while she went on and on about how long it took to get it done)and salon nails to the tune of $50 a pop and yet she couldn't afford her baby a birthday present?!!
How in the world
can they compare the republicans to Hitler. I do believe that McCain wants smaller government.....not bigger government. A comparison of Hitler and Obama sounds much more feasible.
Why in the world does he need one
Is he running for office too?
How in the world
can you say the economy was doing great before the Dems took control of Congress? Bush has borrowed, borrowed, borrowed and now he's borrowing even more so his cronies can take billions before he leaves office.
What in the world
is this country coming to????? For goodness sake! I did not vote for Obama, but the man is human. I was nervous. Good grief!!! He is about to take a very big step in his life with responsibility that most of us in our right minds would not take. He looked nervous and excited to me coming towards the steps, and I am sure he was very nervous when he was being sworn in. I wish you people would just grow up.
Many of you sound like high school girls - - did you see Michelle's dress.... blah, blah, blah..... Bush had an embarrassed look on his face..... blah, blah, blah.....
GROW UP!
In a PC world, you
have to be politically correct at all times. Many people are sensitive about their children with disabilities. I could see where his comment could be offensive. However, it does not personally offend me and I have an autistic son myself.
I think a lot of people need to simmer down. Yes, it was a bad joke and he probably should not have said it, but his main point was that he sucks at bowling....nothing more.
Political correctness has really hurt our country. Any time someone says anything about color, sex, or race.....certain people will jump up and scream about it. Being the president, you are under a much bigger magnifying glass.
It is my opinion that he probably shouldn't have said it....but it isn't the end of the world. However, I'm sure if this had been Bush's goof.....the liberal media and dems would all be screaming about it.
So what? Not everyone in the world wants to become
N/M
How in the world is
this going to boost the economy? Joe Biden said yesterday that he would tell his family not to go anywhere in confined spaces like airplanes, subways, etc. The White House had to back peddle and rephrase what he said but I personally agree with Biden. You won't see me flying anywhere, etc. until I know for sure how serious this is. Less people are flying. No one is flying to Mexico. Do you know how devastating this will be to airlines, etc. if more and more people don't fly because of this? The airlines are already hurting.
Blame Mexico? It is true that this started in Mexico, but things happen. I don't hate Mexicans. I'm just tired of paying for illegal ones. I don't blame them for this flu. It could have started anywhere, etc. and as much as people travel...something like this was bound to happen some time.
I think your post sounds more like a conspiracy theory and I don't get into those. Besides, we have no vaccine for this. Money may have been given for research into a new flu vaccine but there is currently no vaccine for swine flu. So I really don't see where you get that we got a vaccine and now all of sudden....boom....everyone has the swine flu.
This is something that cannot be blamed on the current administration. I personally don't like the idea of Obama having been in Mexico with this all going on but we didn't know at the time. I personally feel that Obama has handled this swine flu thing well. He has tried to be informative yet to keep people from panicking at the same time. I personally do not feel that this is something we can hold over Obama by saying he hasn't kept us safe because the swine flu is in the US. I think that is just insane to say. Besides, the normal flu strain kills thousands of Americans each year and no one thinks a thing about that.
Why in the world would say
something like that? I know for a fact that these people take their religion very seriously. I don't think we should be making rude comments about other religions.
Why in the world would they
create such a program when common sense tells you that you have to give people more than what they paid in. Did they really think this was going to be sustainable? I'm sorry but free Viagra? I can't even get birth control covered by any health plan I've ever had and Medicare is making sure old farts can get a hard on for free.
I think if it was God' will to take him out of the world
He would have done it a lot more gentleman-like than this...heart attack at night...take him in his sleep...etc. I don't think He would have done it this way.
Of course, I cannot say what God does or doesn't do, because I'm not Him, but I just don't believe He would do it this way. I believe this was Satan's work, because it obviously hurt the pro-life movement instead of helping it. There will always be another Dr. Tiller around the corner, so killing them does not help anything, except to paint us as extremists (which we're not).
I just feel horrible for his family. I couldn't imagine losing my husband this way. It always terrifies me to think that I may not get to say goodbye.
I believe this man was wrong for what he was doing, but he didn't deserve this. I do hope they sentence the guy who did it appropriately.
Why in the world would we allow
people who aren't citizens have a say in our elections? If you want the right to vote, become a citizen....sheesh.
Exactly! At the end of WW I. (World war One)nm
nm
The world is going
x
too complicated of a world
In this complicated multifaceted world, nothing is black-white, good-evil..everything has to be weighed and judged..
They obviously believe there's only one terrorist in the world
I just don't understand why they think Bin Laden is the only terrorists. There are several major terror cells in the world all bent on destroying Western culture and Israel. I personally think Bin Laden is dead anyway.
How in the world did you get that from that post?
I mean REALLY! Talk about overreacting!
Starting a world war?
No, your President is doing that for you.
We are not world police
So Saddam was a bad person..so what..that means we are supposed to sacrifice our hard earned taxes to pay for a war in Iraq? That means we are supposed to sacrifice our brave military to invade a nonthreatening country? There are many places in this old tired world where people are being brutalized..It is not our responsibility to be the world police, it is not our place to save the world from itself. If Iraq was a threat to America, that would have been a different story. This invasion and control of a Middle Eastern country was thought up in the early 1990s by Cheney, Perle, Wolfowitz. On the other hand, we are no better than Saddam now..We have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis, destroyed an ancient country, we cant even give them full time electricity or fresh water or safe secure homes and jobs. The war was wrong, the situation in Iraq is worse than when Saddam ruled. Iraq was better off with Saddam in power. However, keep trying to justify the war..It provides me a chuckle daily when I see the republican spinmeisters come up with a different reason for invasion almost daily. Bush says Iraq will be a comma in the history books..I disagree, Bush will be looked upon as a warmonger who got it so wrong, a failed presidency
Where in the world do you get your "facts." SM
Please name the socialist states that are enjoying economic success. Name just one.
World War I flying ace...sm
Good evening everyone.
I would suggest ya'll take time and volunteer at any VA hospital....It'll give you a different perspective to hear what all generations of veterans are thinking about many issues you're debating....Considering we listen for a living you can glean quite a bit of information.... Cat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlf---13Q0g
Your living in your own little world
Anyone who doesn't believe this is happening are living in their own world. Am sure you probably believe what the government tells you also. We are living in end times, however, the religious fanatics need to cool it as a lot of people don't believe in the "left behind" garbage that is spewed. Another prime example of lies to keep the people preoccupied.
In your world....thank God not in mine. nm
nm
Yes - and then it would be a perfect world
Yeeee-haaaaaa
Not our job to police the world...
Clinton - Kosovo. Clinton - Somalia. People died there too. If we had stayed in Somalia and nipped AL Qaeda in the bud there...if Clinton had accepted bin Laden from the Sudan...if, if, if. Have you read the Iraq Liberation bill? The idea for invading Iraq to topple saddam was born during Clinton's term...Bush did not invent it. All the same people who protest it now voted it into law. How would you expect anyone to take you seriously? It is never the liberal's fault. That is the one thread that remains true.
Yes, it is a matter of CHOICE. Why, though, is it only YOUR choice?
You danced around it, but it is very true...because there were some botched abortions in the 40's and 50's, we now have abortion on demand, our own genocide to the tune of 1.2 million a year, and somehow this is acceptable to you in the name of CHOICE. TO some of us, it isn't. You get choice, we don't. You need to change the name of your party, because it has little to do with democracy. If abortion was put to a vote of the people it would fail. Precisely why your party will not allow that to happen.
Because of this war we have ignited the fires of extremists and terrorists? Where were you for the first world trade center bombing? Where were you for Khobar Towers...the USS Cole, the african embassies? Somalia when your soliders bodies were dragged through the streets? They have been ignited for years, but were ignored for 8 of those years by Bill Clinton!
You enable abortion in the name of choice...you advocate it. If it went to ballot, you would vote for it. That is advocating it, no matter how you try to parse words.
Why is it easier to get incensed about war than about abortion? Do you think those infants want to be killed? Do they not have a right to life? Where is their choice?
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