Just wondering if anyone here has any opinion on the political matters going on in the world today (The london bombings, War on Terror, G8 summit, Bush being a dumbass, etc). If you do, I'd love to hear what you've all got to say.
Politiks
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Terrorists have become the new communists in that America after 1941 needed a common enemy to become a world superpower. After communism fell in the late 80's early 90's we contuned to be internationalists (Gulf War, Bosnia, Latin America) in the name of world peace and humanitarianism but had no clear enemy to fear and hate. So after 9/11 terrorists fit this role nicely and here we are with our war on terror.
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loz,
I also find that hypocracy in America runs rampid. We condemed wars in other parts of the world, while we turned our backs to the slaughter of the nation of East Timor. Why? Because we made money selling weapons to Indonesia.
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Live8: https://www.live8live.com/whatsitabout/index.shtml
… think, and judge for yourselves!
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Participant
Its long been known that most countries nowadays only help countries that they can gain something from. In the middle east we are trying to set up a democracy, which by no stretch of the imgaination would make it easier for us to secure oil in the future. Unless Sudan finds a massive oil deposit or goes nuclear, chances are we won't step in to stop the Darfur genocide.
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Member
Live 8 is the biggest fkin joke ever. Enough said. America is on the down turn because of the socialists and communists running rampant in our country and consistently bringing down everything American and Western for that matter in general.
That is the stupidest thing I have ever read. It's people like you one on side, calling anyone the least bit liberal a socialist or a COMMUNIST(did you really type that. LMAO. Where are these communists?) and hippies on the left, who call anyone not in line with their thinking fascists, sexists who bring America down. This country is divided, and I don't know if it's going to come back together. Everyone has a you either with us or against us mentality. You must realize that there are many people in the middle who resent your Bill O'Reilly way of thinking and the hippies.
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Participant
I'm going to agree with 800mprince on that one. Way too many people are leaning too far to the right or left in this country today in order to make a fair and balanced judgement, and everyone on one side hates the other with a passion. Welcome to the Divided States of America.
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What we need to realize is that we are political OPPONENTS, not ENEMIES! This is what has gotten us into the situation we are currently in. We are all guilty of it. If we want to fix everything, we have to start here.
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Everyone who is able:
Watch comedy Central tonight at 8:00 PM EST or at 11:30 EST for an all-time classic of The daily show. Jon Stewart explains to an author about how Gov't, not Hollywood is in more consernable distress.
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If anyone does not understand where I am coming from, then they do not understand what Live8 is trying to do. Maybe if some people here had the understanding of how much aid is given to Africa and how much the great governments of Africa help the situation, we wouldn't have such a disagreement. I did say Communists. I am not saying with us or against us (although sometimes it doesn't seem like a bad idea), but when I see and hear some of the Socialistic shit being pulled in our country that is going to be our downfall it is pretty depressing. Continually, America becomes more and more Socialist. The Republicans being in power don't mean jack since there is virtually no difference between them and the Democrats. Bill O'Reilly way of thinking? Don't compare me to that scumbag. Most of the people in the "middle" lack a backbone to stand behind an idea. This goes for the majority of Republicans and "independents" in my book. The majority of the Democrats are just completely disillusioned completely.
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The problem with the system is not that Democrats and Republicans are too similar, it's us that is the problem! We won't elect a guy unless he is a politician, and there are very few good politicians I am fortunate enough to have one of them in my state. Russ Feingold in 2008. But guess what, he's had two divorces so say so long. The rich people are getting richer and more powerful, while the poor is getting poorer and larger in population. Eventually, we'll have about 10 rich people and 100 million poor people. This reminds me of something. Can you guess it? (Hint: 1919)
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Participant
The problem with the system is not that Democrats and Republicans are too similar, it's us that is the problem! We won't elect a guy unless he is a politician, and there are very few good politicians I am fortunate enough to have one of them in my state. Russ Feingold in 2008. But guess what, he's had two divorces so say so long. The rich people are getting richer and more powerful, while the poor is getting poorer and larger in population. Eventually, we'll have about 10 rich people and 100 million poor people. This reminds me of something. Can you guess it? (Hint: 1919)
My ass. I want stats on the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer and some LOGICAL explanations why. The average person in the US makes well over $35k a year and our "poverty" (it's not even poverty, just less money) line is $19k a year, which is more than some Western European countries and many other "first world" countries. On top of that, people at such a low pay level don't even pay taxes for the most part and receive far too many benefits. It's the middle that gets screwed over by the taxes (essentially punished for not being poor). The University of Chicago econ department should start making some literature for these folks jesus christ.
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Oh poor you:
Little Sussie can't go to both Ballet and Soccer Camp because mommy and daddy have to give some of their hard earned money goes to feed a Vietnam vet without a leg that, surprisingly, can't get a job at Chuck E. Cheese. I thought this was America, and Joe and Joann American should keep every cent they make, lest they have to switch to running in Asics. You're right, rich people aren't getting richer, just more powerful, and no one gets money from power, right?
You're an incredible dumbass. I feel badly for everyone who ever tried to teach you anything outside that you were the center of the universe.
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Participant
Might I add:
Why don't you have your savior, George W. Bush, give the middle-class some tax cuts instead of to the rich, so they can have a CD player in their kid's Huggies. The "Trickle down effect" is a hypocritical crock of horse shit. Don't you get it, trickle down? They're PISSING ON US!!! Open you eyes.
PS. Karl Rove should resign right friggin' now.
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Participant
The problem with Americans is none other than our ignorance. We are, in our estimation, the most important nation on the planet and everyone else should thank their lucky stars (soon to be required on every flag) that we even let them keep from dying of thirst by drinking our piss. I wrote this for a class this year about what America thinks it's really all about (other than the Hokey Pokey)
Real Americans
The United States was founded in 1776 and from our humble beginnings as greatest nations on the planet, to the point we are now at, Jesus??? second home, we have been lead by truly incredible citizens. Sure, it hasn???t been perfect, what with folks like JFK and some one named ???Noam Chomsky,??? but even the late Dale Ernhartt lost a few. It takes a special person to be a Real American.
Not anyone can be a real American. Let???s look at the second word first, because looking at the first word first just wouldn???t make sense, like choosing a leader based on the popular vote. Americans are anyone who pushes their heads out of a 4-inch hole inside of their mother, who is a hardworking, Christian; McDonald???s loving American, or it does not count. Many have tried to bypass this law, for example Albert Einstein came to America in the thirties to work a blue color job here, but apparently, hE did not = an aMerican Citizen squared! Don???t worry if you do not understand, the No Child Left Behind Act assures you that, after just 13 years of education, you will be able to recite important facts, and not think for yourself. Won???t that be fun?
Ok, so you successfully endured nine months inside the womb living a lounging life of sucking of the umbilical cord and floating gaily (but still straight) in amniotic fluid. Be prepared for a hard life ahead, because Real Americans do not believe in welfare or ???Social Security.??? Just because those lazy old people can???t walk doesn???t mean Joe American should have to take food off his table, for his attractive wife and three scout children, just so Beatrice McOldfart can watch ???Matlock??? and treat her crippling arthritis and colon cancer. Not in my America!
You will begin educating by watching educational television programs such as ???Sesame Street??? and ???Barney,??? and never again watch Public Television again in your life, ???cuz River Dance is queer. You will enroll in our fine public elementary schools at age five and begin to think for yourself as we teach you to count and read and tell you when to eat and sleep. Each day at school will be an incredible new experience for you, but remember, questioning authority is futile. You will be given the opportunity to interact with your peers in programs like scouting, tee-ball, and dance, building bonds that will last a lifetime, assuming that you do not grow intellectually past the age of seven. You will continue to learn to repeat facts like a phonograph, maintaining the memory of an elephant, or else you will be an incredible, um Jag . And remember, the cooler people think you are, the more God loves you, so play sports that involve violence and keep on not asking questions! In high school, you will be defined forever as who you are, so be on your best behavior and comb that hair. The magical experiences of going to dances, athletic competitions and watching enormous TeeVees during your assigned food consumption period will guide you through your entire life. Your teachers, all incredibly trained in their field of expertise and well compensated for their services will assign you letters, remember those from 8 years ago, that will tell you how good of a person you are. Make sure you work hard, for these arbitrary estimates of your ability to spew facts like fuel from an on fire six cylinder, V-8 with a solid iron chasse, 450 horse power engine, plus a whole bunch of safety crap you don???t really need will follow you all through your life, determining everything about you.
After high school, most of you young folks will attend college or wind up as poor, wifeless hobos. You will meet new people and find just one super girl or keen guy that you will spend your life with. You???ll graduate with a BA and get a nice job back in the suburbs where you grew up. After you settle down and buy a modest home, work at your jobs from 9-5, with weekends and holidays off, while the kids are at day care, you will have the ultimate privilege: voting. It is so popular, that over 110% of all citizens vote for every single election. You, the sterling genius of the republic that you are, will have a say in who does what for who and when. Only a select few get the privilege of having one vote, some of you may get two, if you are in the right clubs#.
A few of you may even be lucky enough to have the honor of representing our country in our clean-burning, efficient machine that is the United States government. You will be especially scrutinized for your ability to shake hands, kiss babies, repeat talking point smart people give you, and, most importantly, how your hair and teeth look. Despite the high pay and extraordinary power, this will not be easy. The average United States Senator works 120 days per year! That???s almost once every three days. One day, you may be able to climb the ladder of power, by death, impeachment, sex scandal, or even war, all the way to the top: the Presidency.
Though each American dreams of being president, only 43 have succeeded, forcing the other hundreds of millions to find pointless busy work, like back in history class. This would probably be a good time to point out that if you???re Jewish, a minority, a chick or don???t believe in God, find another gig. This leader of the entire world has a tough job, including but not limited to; pardoning a turkey, throwing out the first pitch at the Nationals game, choosing who we should secretly go to war with, and how much his fellow people pay for everything. Some have abused this power. The aforementioned John F. Kennedy was known for getting tons of booty and God smited him for these unspeakable acts while he was in the great state of Texas. Yeeeee Haaaw!!! Bill Clinton or ???Slick Willy*??? was also known to be quite the ladies man and was impeached by the Congress, but the Senate, which was filled with pimps and gigolos and Ted Kennedy, let him hang around. But he got his when his memoirs were outsold by the latest Harry Potter adventure after a pathetic 13 weeks atop the New York Times list. If you still don???t know what a book is or even the New York Times, don???t worry, worst case scenario, you grow up to be a two-term, war time president.
Your reign as king will not last long, for after the nightmare of the depression-ending, WWII-winning, fireside chattin??? twelve years that was the Roosevelt Administration. But don???t worry; you can still get gigs speaking to Rotarians and third-graders, and be paid less than Shattner. That is when those seven years at Yale really pay off! Keep on not asking questions too. They only lead to trouble.
By this time, you will probably very old. Start golfing and jogging. Hopefully, you socked away enough cash in surplus campaign contributions to live in the life of luxury with your 27-year-old wife. Poke your head in at the White House once in a while and, just for kicks, make a cameo in the latest Charlie???s Angel flick. Cameron Diaz will still be hott then, don???t worry, and you cant spell House of Representatives without HOTT. Other than that, relax and enjoy your extraordinarily golden years eating dodo eggs and playing in space. Maybe get your picture on some cash.
The life of a Real American is a noble one. If you meet all of the criteria^, enjoy your life of being hated by the rest of the world. Make sure that you do all of these things and just nod and smile when we tell you to do something. If anyone questions how much of a Real American, toss out these immortal quotes: ???Freedom isn???t free,??? ???Support our troops,??? ???USA, USA, USA,??? and of course, ???$h!+ happens.??? God Bless America! That???s a good one too. Now, go out there and enjoy that beautiful American life, and don???t worry about taxes or gas prices. Any questions? Very good, you???re learning quickly.# Freemason
* Not what you think it means, or is it?
^ Note: If you have read this far, you are ineligible to be a Real American. Drink Coke. Play again. -
Participant
Let's see, I ask for proof (that's all I asked for) of the poor getting poorer and the rich getting richer and you call me a dumbass. My savior George Bush? I have been critical of him for being far too liberal and socialist with his ideas. I think the upper class tax cuts are great and more for EVERYONE upper, middle, and hell even lower are great. My father (RIP) was a Vietnam vet and didn't even graduate highschool before going and he was able to get a very well paying job after by working his ass off and doing some studying when he got back. There are people who are in awful predicaments and that sucks and they should hae help, but that does not somehow justify the amount taken away from the people, which is more than enough to fund the military and any veterans (by the way, what % of our tax dollars go to the military and veterans, genius).
I want proof of how the country with the wealthiest poverty line (over $19k a year is considered effing poverty), the highest average income (with the only nations close including Norway which subsidizes its citizens with oil) is somehow making the poor poorer when the US continually is on top for all of these marks, even though our economic freedom is being lowered on a daily basis (goes to show how far a little bit of capitalism will do for a society). I want you to try to argue with the Nobel prize winners fron the University of Chicago with your non-existent arguments. You would get slammed so fast, I don't know why I even bring it up.
Again, if you want to debate, let's bring some facts to the table instead of calling me a dumbass and saying Bush is my savior (when he is at the most a lesser evil among current politicians). Give me some examples of policy changes that are going to have a positive effect on our well being as a nation. Give me some examples of what is going to boost our economy and how, not just bullshit. Again, you can't do it. I know you can't. If you could, you'd win some prizes and be teaching at a great university, but you CAN'T. So, shut it or bring some facts out (not old rhetoric).
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runningman:
dude, you are screwed up. What's wrong with america is the quick fix syndrome that has invaded every form of our life. Nothing else can be corrected until that thinking is changed. The War on Terror is not even 4 years old, it took over 5 years to ensure the defeat of the Nazi's. Yet we complain. Patience is a virtue and americans are no longer virtuous. Also, how can a six cylinder be V-8? Are we removing 2 cylinders from the V-8?
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First of all, genius, I'm 15. I apoligize about your father, I just used Vietnam (an incredibly bad war fought by brave men and women because they were told/wanted to, just like what's happening now) to make a point. The point I'm trying to make is not just about the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer, it's that we're turning into Rome. It's not Democrats and Republicans so much as it's Coke vs. Pepsi. They are very similar, trying to accomplish similar things. And how about this little chestnut, 96% of congressmen and Senators are reelected. 96%! That's crazy. And those who leave are usually replaced by their son, daughter, or wife. Add to that, the Supreme Court of the United States decided who won the Presidency in 2000. After the complications that are make up the Electoral College, they just say "Fuck the system, we want that guy." And aside from a couple thousand protesters, what did we do, jackshit.
Bush is too liberal? Are you kidding me? He's cuttin' down forests to make money for his oil buddies, pushing for no gay marriage andscrewing over social security and universal health care. Yeah, I can hardly tell the difference between him, and Karl Marx.
You want facts, here you go, sift through them: http://www.chomsky.info
Poverty isn't the only problem, it's underemployment (who get little to no federal money). It's just as bad to try and raise two kids as a single parent on the 8 bucks an hour you make at Pizza Hut (roughly $16,000 before taxes, above the current poverty line, $15,219 according to https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/threshld/thresh04.html) not to mention how rampant inflation is, so that if he has any money saved up, it's virtually useless.Facts aren't the problem, it's the way we a) don't really know them, b) don't care about them, c) have them swept under the rug by those who want us to think things are going well, or d) all of the above.
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Let's just say that I'm a bright eyed youngster who thinks that facts should dictate what we do, not personal agendas. We are currently ignoring the Downing Street Memo almost entirely here in the States, while England has jumped all over it. If Sadaam was an Adolph Hitler, then by all means we should take care of him, but let's prove it and do it the right way. Yes, Sadaam was a bad guy, but there are worse things going on now than what he was doing. I'm just trying to find out why.
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We're America, we can afford to do the research on this kind of thing, but it didnt go our way. Boo hoo. Lets face it davan and danimal, I'm not gunna change, neither are you. We're different. Now, I'm going to go play XBox, or else I might start WWIII because the prom Queen won't go out with me.
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Chomsky is a retard that the leftist make out to be a genius.
I could randomly quote other famous philosophers with a PHd and teach at Harvard and be published because I am a wack job that has never worked a real day in my life. CHomsky has no friggin clue what poverty is.
Who's at fault for the person working at Pizza Hut with 2 kids? It is their fault and no one elses, with every decision you make in life there are consequences that you must deal with, if you cannot deal with what can happen when you do something then don't do it. Chomsky rips existentialists like Heidigger, but they have a sounder and more logical argument than he can make. To Chomsky the system produces the poor results, not the individual who chooses to make poor decisioins that make poor results.
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Participant
The Downing Street Memo applies more to the brits than us. It was their intel service telling them that Iraq may not be as harmful with WMDs as they first thought. Considering that british intel did not share this information and they went ahead anyways suggests to me that a statement had to be made about state sponsored terrorism. Good decision or bad decision neither of us are in the position to make that assertation. Time will tell.
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Participant
Has anyone ever thought that maybe the Africans might want to be left alone?
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