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    marye
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    Here and there in the forums people are expressing their enthusiasm for particular candidates in the upcoming U.S. elections, while others are saying Enough Already, We Don't Want To Hear About It. So, this is the right place to discuss your favorites (or non-favorites) and other matters relevant to the campaign. If you're not into it, skip this topic! And as for all you non-U.S. residents, if you want a similar topic for what's going on in your part of the world, speak up and I'll start it. Thanks!

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  • sakparadise
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    The Vote
    This is an interesting thread. The beauty about politics is that everyone has a choice and everyone wants everyone else to vote for their choice, Gotta love it. Now, this nation is in dire need of universal health care. Also, this country needs to shore up it's borders and keep jobs here in the country instead of outsourcing. Greed--both corporate and personal--has ruined this country. I, for one, have a very good job, with benefits and a pension to boot, I earn a very good wage which enables me to provide for my family. My life views have changed as I have gotten older and I do not want to be taxed more in order to provide for others. That is how universal health care will work. That all being said, whomever is the Democratic nominee will be receiving my vote in November. I do believe that both parties have forgotten the common man, but I can live with Obama, Edwards, or Clinton.
  • c_c
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    Electoral College
    the only 'higher' education I ever had was when I went to Psychotic State University for half a semester. and I even flunked out of that... ) -; http://people.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college1.htm http://www.howstuffworks.com/electoral-college.htm check these (and other links) out. but my take on the whole system is that the founding father's and the framers and writers of the constitution, basically didn't trust the masses. so if-- for example, a nutter like CCj somehow got enough popular votes, he would not actually get to be president because the other politicians (senators and house members) can still decide who they will vote for in the electoral college regardless of what the popular vote in that state was. so, heavily populated states like Cali, for the same reason they have more house members because they have a higher population (every state has 2 senators regardless of population) they have more electoral votes. is this fair? another debate. we all saw what happened with the Florida fuck-up and the other bullshit. when Bobby did his 'register to vote' raps on The Dead tour, I remember him saying stuff like "if every deadhead had voted in Florida..." oh, hey, for the dude who met Al Gore at a show, what year roughly? what was the way the conversation went? he actually said he wanted to be 'Vice' president? what was he wearing? was he already involved in politics? did he inhale? ( -: peace.
  • Cub42
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    2008 Field
    The only way that anything that has been discussed here will change, is if more of the population gets involved and vote. The good news is that there was a record turnout in Iowa, with more young people getting involved in the process. My daughter is turning 18 soon and is eligble to vote in this election. I was very encouraged while talking with her and some of her friends, that they are all planning on voting, and they actually are talking about it! There seems to be many intelligent and positive voices on here. Don't be afraid to put your ideas out there in other mediums. This country is ready for change. Finally, now that I live in Florida, I found a way to try and make a difference. I sighned up to be a poll worker. I thought that since I still had some brain cells left, I could help prevent another debacle like in 2000. Thanks
  • iknowurider
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    I posted this some time ago, and I'm still wondering....
    Where was I during Gov't/Economics Class back in Highschool?Maybe I didn't pay enough attention back then, but I just don't get the Electoral College. What's the point of MY vote, with this system in place? To get into the higher ups of politics, it seems to me you'd have to be shady somewhere along the line, but damn, I'd vote for the lesser of the evils if I thought it counted. A good number of people in my state- SC- don't have the same views as myself- which is fine and most of our elected officals act like "good ol' boys", so should I even try to find out about Platforms? * and the whole world full of petty wars singing I got mine & you got yours while the current fashions set the pace loose your step, fall out of grace the radical he rants & rage(raves?) singing someone got to turn the page the rich man in his summer home singing just leave well enough alone but his pants are down, his cover's blown & the politicians throwing stones so the kids they dance & shake their bones 'cause it's all too clear we're on our own...... Picture a bright blue ball spinning spinning free... * * Sorry If I was rude '71, I find it gets me nowhere in life PEACE
  • Mr. Pid
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    Healthcare issue
    Hal, I completely agree that the heathcare system needs a very fundamental overhaul. My great grandfather was a country doctor in central Maine, one of the only doctors in the county. When people in need called him, he would come and tend to them. If they couldn't pay in cash, then they would offer what they could. Pigs, eggs, potatoes, firewood, maple syrup, lobsters, whatever. And if they truly had nothing, well, that was fine too. They'd square up as best they could when things were going better for them. And how did that approach work out for him? Well, my parent's generation is still reinvesting his money, and I suspect that one day I will be doing so as well. So what's changed between then and now? The prevalence of insurance. The basic problem with creating large pools of available capital as the fundamental revenue model in a business system is that the focus of the business changes from effectively delivering the product to effectively extracting the revenue. And healthcare, like it or lump it, is a business system. I believe that by permanently embedding the insurance based revenue model, by means of a universal and mandatory government administrated system, that this problem will only be exacerbated. Instead, I think it makes more sense to have employer provided health care benefits liquidated and distributed into employee owned and controlled health care accounts. People should also be able to contribute to those accounts directly themselves. Gains earned on those accounts should be able to accumulate without tax liability. Disbursements from those accounts should be made only to registered health care providers. Accounts should only be transferable to another upon the death of the account owner, free of tax consequence. And the amount a person has in their account should not be the only source of payment available to the providers. A person in need of service who claims hardship or inability to pay should have to be prepared to be very transparent about the truth of their economic circumstances. Likewise, providers should not be able to deny reasonably necessary services to a person based on their ability to pay in a timely fashion, or at all. By decentralizing the revenue source available to the healthcare industry, it will refocus the business back towards the provisioning of the services rather than the efficiency in collecting the payment for those services. It will also reintroduce the notion of competition in delivering those services. Perhaps it's just me, but I happen to believe quite strongly in the power of markets. A marketplace is a brutally efficient and effective means of discovering relative value. They are the ultimate democracy. If something offered in a marketplace doesn't appear to be a value to you, you are free to not buy it. As far as I'm concerned, markets are the third most powerful force in the universe. As a concept, they've been around for a very long time. And that's because they work. I think they should be put to work to solve this particular issue. Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
  • Steve-O
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    Agreed!!!
    Points well taken!! I am not into politics, alls I know is that the wife and I work way to hard to be going backwards. Corporate greed, and the downright lazy are running this country and it's time for change. That's all I'm saying!!!!
  • GRTUD
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    Tom Wolfe
    IMO, Wolfe DID cover American politics - with one sentiment. If that makes me a pessimist, then I guess I have to accept that label. The reason I don't see any hope for American politics is illuminated by the plain fact that I still don't hear anyone, from any of the camps of front runners for office of presidency, asking for ideas to solve our current range of social and economic problems. In addition, those folks and businesses that will be hurt the most financially, in terms of lost income, and profits, if we follow the current trends and policies, also stand to gain the most from any solutions we find in the future. I've often said that in America (I can't speak for anywhere else) greed exists from the very poor to the very rich, in terms of mentality and I suppose the same applies to ignorance. Strike one! "Smokey, you're entering a world of pain... a world of PAIN!" "Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather, what you can do for your country!" Now that's "liberalism" folks! Or is it? My idea is that we've not seen true "liberalism" since JFK nor real "conservative" leadership since George H W Bush (# 41), which is ironic on many levels. Presidents Carter, Regan, Bush (41) and Clinton all have worked to achieve line item veto for the office of presidency, on a bipartisan basis, which was achieved then ultimately found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line-item_veto). Imo, this was the last hope for fiscal conservatism in the federal government. It certainly dashed the idea that voting for one person could have the effect most voters fantasize. Strike two! "Am I the only one who cares about the rules?" For the record folks, I'm not saying to NOT vote for Obama or anyone else, for that matter. I've said how and for whom I'd vote, given the circumstances, in another thread here @ dead.net but I'm not endorsing any politician, ever. I feel totally betrayed by both parties, at this point in time, and I would encourage the idea of abolishing the political party system, altogether. The Constitution exists to uphold balance in government, not to be used as a weapon against opponents, or to inhibit necessary and positive change by the "opposition party", while problems fester that could be solved or abated, at the very least. Health care is a HUGE issue in this country. Why can't we deduct all of our health care expenses from our taxes, when we complete our returns each year? The current tax law, in this regard, requires a person to spend 7 % of their income on health care BEFORE they can begin to deduct those expenses. WHY? This is simply an outdated law that needs to be changed, NOW. Talk about an incentive for working poor... OK, one problem solved. NEXT! "Am I wrong?" (Casey puts on his engineer's hat... and picks up a baseball bat.) "Will you just take it easy... man." "...calmer than you are..." (Casey walks towards home plate) As a change of pace to this thread, I say we think of "fantasy" politicians we'd love to run the country as President. At this point, I'm leaning toward Lesh/Molo in '08! "You're not wrong Walter, you're just an asshole!"
  • Hal R
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    Insurance etc.
    Steve -O. I work in a non-profit health agency and much of our clientele is poor, working and non-working. What I generally see is that there are more benefits for the unemployed or unemployable than for the working poor. I see families trying to dig themselves out of economic despair and lose benefits from the government when they go to work and then have to spend a large portion of income on insurance or go without. I would like our society to provide more protection and incentive for the working poor. That is why I am for universal health care for all in this country. I know it is socialistic, so I guess I am on this point. Medical costs for all of us have gone up in the past years with much of the privatization of the medical industry and non-profits becoming for profit and the rise of a whole batch of high paid legitimate scoundrels with masters degrees in Hospital Administration and business who cut jobs of lab technicians, nurses etc. and then give themselves a raise for doing so. Health care in this country has to change. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake
  • cosmicbadger
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    hmm this could get
    hmm this could get interesting just remember “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he will sit in the boat and drink beer all day.” :-)
  • D00Dah
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    Careful, Steve-O...
    That's not a popular view in these parts. You start talkin' about earning your own way, personal responsibility and not wanting the government to hold your hand, and you're looking to upset alot of folks around here. Give a man a fish, he eats for a day - TEACH him to fish, he eats for a lifetime. It's always interesting and a bit sad how divisive political talk can be. It seems curious to me that a site deadicated to something as positive as the GD, with everyone here drawn together by the MUSIC, would even have have a political debate topic. I used to look forward to the shows because there was no politics, no skin color, etc..., just MUSIC. The shows and tours were an oasis from the BS. I know - I don't have to read it if I don't want to - this is just an observation. I tend to agree with the train comparison, that the train rolls on the same tracks no matter who is wearing the Casey hat. Watch yer speed! His job is to shed light, not to master...
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Here and there in the forums people are expressing their enthusiasm for particular candidates in the upcoming U.S. elections, while others are saying Enough Already, We Don't Want To Hear About It. So, this is the right place to discuss your favorites (or non-favorites) and other matters relevant to the campaign. If you're not into it, skip this topic! And as for all you non-U.S. residents, if you want a similar topic for what's going on in your part of the world, speak up and I'll start it. Thanks!
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TrifectaYes I guess you would call me a small gov't libertarian as opposed to the anarchist libertarian wing. II am not against taxation however it would be quite low as compared to now, did you read David Friedmans book The Machinery of Freedom ? Its Miltons son Remember that polluters etc would not get a free ride-as an example there would be no gov't subsidy of the nuclear industry etc. you know what I want? !. A return to the gold standard impossible to have a big bloated war machine like we have now 2.An end to corporate welfare. 3. A true social Security trust fund earmarked strictly for that. 4. An end to our interventionist foreign policy. 5. an end to the victimless crime laws 6 A new 10 dollar bill with Jerrys pic on it ! And the road goes on forever.... BobbaLee
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your last message looks like you were talking dutch:-)(-:
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I keep vascilating between Obama and Hillary. they both have pros & cons and unfortunately, I think it won't matter because I think most of the US will vote McCain in regardless of his promise to stay in a war, despite the recession, outrageous joblessness rates, soon to be larger homelessness rates, etc... I want to believe that Obama is true and not another dirty politician from Chicago, big city politics often breed that old boy's networking, despite his saying he isn't part of that. To get where they are, any politician had to have friends that put them there, it isn't entirely on merit or altruism. I don't think the US is voting for anyone who isn't a white male- which is unfortunate, I think Hillary or barack would and could do the job well. Our primary is next week on the 22nd- supposedly this'll be the make it or break it state and we'll see. I'm still undecided between the two, they each do something publicized each day that pisses me off. I want Hillary and then she acts a bit rude or unsportsmanlike, then Barack does....my husband's with Barack all the way, I may too. He is a good speaker for sure Ami
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Ami - These are for you, enjoy! I feel much the same way you do about the Presidential race. Photobucket Something (recent) about this one made me LMFAO! Photobucket "All energy flows according to the whims of the Great Magnet. What a fool I was to defy him."
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Good luck with your vote, Ami. The Democratic Leaders of Michigan went against the rules and now my vote does not count. And the Dems wonder why people vote Republican. I have to laugh at the Democrats and their stupidity and elitist attitude. McCain probably will win because of the stupid remarks like Obama's bashing of small town America--being bitter, gun toters and religious fanatics. That's us all right, just call us the Taliban. I voted for and support Hillary, I know what I get with her. Obama for whatever reason, I just do not trust. He reminds me of Kerry and his elitist attitude. Neither party understands what the middle class and lower income families are facing--the cost of gas is staggering, but what kills me is the cost of groceries with three teenagers. Now my daughter is starting driver's training and I wonder where the money is going to come from. But once again, our "leaders" are truly clueless. One more thing, if the Dems don't get it together by the convention we could be witnessing the end of the Democratic party.
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...with Pennsyl-tucky in the middle. between the 2 sides, Philly & Pittsburgh, there's a lot of Alabama. big time hunters, NRA, skinheads, religious right wingers... and I feel like McCain will take the state in the end. I'm still in limbo as to who to go with but know it won't be McCain. I've never voted republican in my life. Funny, i was invited to 2 different forums for Hillary & Barack for tonight! I'm a past union president for my teacher's union and I guess I'm on the democratic list...so I am going to meet Obama. I chose his rally because I'm more skeptical of him. His comments don't bother me, I think it's understandable for any politician who's campaigning 15 hours a day to be examined under a microscope- god knows I couldn't be analyzed so well after 15 minutes! I just think he's a good speaker talking the talk, but then what? Ami
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Looking forward to your report from the trenches. Conversation is always more interesting than recitation, so speak your mind and not someone else's.
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anyone who is not bought and paid for... ooops... those candidates were all ready marginalized. Obama is a fraud, Hillary is a snake, and McCain is angry. Personally the worse person out of the bunch is Obama, with the belief that he is anti war, when he wants to expand wars in central asia and replace the redeployed troops with private security forces. Shameful and dishonest.
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Made my vote count today. I went with experience, hope it's the right choice. I take a little bit of offense to the backwoods remark, but it'll be alright because I don't think McCain stands a snowball chance in hell of winning the Presidency. My humble opinion!!
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I got a bad case I can't shake off of meThe fevered walking round wondering how it ought to be You work in the system You see possibilities and your glistening Eyes show the hell you're gonna give 'em When they back off the mic for once and give it to a woman
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the PA primary gone and I voted for Hillary, my husband canceled me out and voted for Barack. It was back and forth with me for weeks. I got invited to a big to-do for Obama and went and left thinking that he is a great speaker, but didn't really have plans. Hillary spoke in plans of how she'd accomplish things VS Obama's saying we'll allocate the war money to cover this and that. I've been in politics myself and know that you can't keep allocating here and there- especially when the reserve is tapped. I also like Hillary's take on public education better, Barack is for merit pay/performance based pay in several cases, and that doesn't work and isn't fair to those in lower income districts or schools. My school houses all the spec. ed classes in the district and is the lower income school, so our test scores never hit those of the other schools in our district, let a lone the area. We'll see, I just hope my gut is wrong, but I still think McCain will win. Scary, but true. Ami

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http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/DeadheadsForObama Here are seven reasons Hillary's done. Pass 'em on. (1) Ohio Dem voters 65 and older: 14 percent. Pennsylvania: 27 percent. That's 27 percent! Pennsylvania is the second oldest state in the country. It does not look like America. In fact, viewed from this perspective, it's a miracle Obama held the margin to 10, which was the same as the Ohio margin. Putting that another way -- Obama's support grew substantially among all other groups, considering he weathered a doubling of old people without a scratch. (2) Hillary gained maybe a dozen delegates and roughly 210k votes. Not enough and not enough. Obama will still win the most pledged delegates, the most states and the most raw votes. Florida and Michigan don't count because that's what the rules were; Hillary's case that they should count is roughly as intellectually sound as an argument that she should be the nominee because her name comes first in alphabetical order. (3) Meanwhile, based on the Pennsylvania results, Obama will cruise past Hillary in North Carolina and beat her in Indiana. Sure, Indiana's as white and midwesty. But it's not nearly as old. And -- see above -- without a quarter of the vote having been old folks, Obama would have won Pennsylvania, which is the second oldest state in the country. (4) The pundits like drama before the vote and decisive outcomes after it. What I mean is that even if it's close, to hear the pundits tell it, one of the two candidates won 100 to 0. That happened last night for Hillary, just as it happened seven weeks ago for Hillary (after Ohio and Texas). Good for her, but it cuts both ways; when Obama wins Indiana and North Carolina on the same night May 6, the pundits will read the outcome as a 100 to 0 win for Obama, and they will write her campaign's obituary that night. (5) People are all nervous because of the Wright controversy and Bittergate. But most different kinds of voters came to *like Obama more* over these past seven weeks. The only ones who have been put off by Wright and Bittergate in large numbers are older voters -- and again, they don't matter on a national scale the way they do in Pennsylvania! (If you're wondering -- this, by the way, is how to reconcile Obama's 10-points-and-growing lead in the national polls with his 10-point loss last night. The difference is that more than a quarter of Pennsylvania is over 65, but not nearly as much of America is over 65.) (6) Hillary is broke, broke, broke. She can't continue past May 6. Really, Hillary? You raised $2.5 million last night? Really? Good for you. Now, if you do that for like four more nights in a row, you'll be OUT OF DEBT. This money thing is a reality of the race. I admire Hillary's supporters who are willing to work without pay, but she can't buy TV time or send mail to voters on credit. If Hillary had money, she could carry on regardless of her chances of winning. She doesn't, so she can't. (7) Most importantly -- because of #1 through #6 above -- everything is fine, we can all take a deep breath and we can STOP OURSELVES FROM GOING CRAZY NEGATIVE ON HILLARY LIKE HILLARY HAS ON US. I sense a lot of anger out there this morning. Simmer down, y'all. A little disappointment is okay, but this was a meaningless fourth quarter touchdown for Hillary. She can't win. No reason to lower ourselves or the campaign we're proud of. We are two weeks from wrapping up this victory. It would have been nice if it could have been sooner, but on May 6, it's still going to be awfully nice.
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I would love to hear Hillary --and the rest of them for that matter-- give me a good reason I should vote for them rather than simply tearing down the other candidate. Maybe I'm naive and deluded, but I think people are ready for something besides the fear-and-smear tactics the Bushies have used to their advantage these past way too many years.
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I'll be voting for Elmer Fudd if the Dems put him up. Can't take another 4 to 8 years of the Republicans..............
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i'm only 16, so i won't be able to vote by November anyway, but i always follow the campaigns. i have to say, i liked Barack for a long time, but now i feel that the longer this campaign lasts, the less i like either of them. i'm not really what you'd call in the fold of any mainstream american politics -- but i preferred Barack because he seemed more interested in having a positive effect on things than in power or in being a capital-P Politician. I was sad when Edwards dropped out -- he kept Hillary and Barack in check when they started bickering, and i liked his politics, i think, more than either of theirs. I didn't mind Hillary for a while -- she speaks intelligently and specifically about issues. and i hated how everything she said and did was looked at by the mainstream media in the context of her being female. but now it seems like everything she says is calculated to boost her ratings, or blowing some minor thing out of proportion to make Obama look bad. I've been disillusioned with American politics for a long time. this whole battle hasn't helped. i can no longer watch the news. everything CNN says just makes it worse. don't even get me started on the whole Jeremiah Wright thing. http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=167429&title=fest…
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OK, Barrak got the nomination.
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The Race Is On I feel tears welling up from down deep inside, Like my heart's got a big break And a stab of loneliness sharp and painful that I may never shake. You might think that I'm taking it hard since you broke me off with a call, You might wager that I'll hide in sorrow and I might lay right down and bawl. Now the race is on and here comes Obama up the back stretch, McCain a goin' to the inside, my tears are holding back, tryin' not to fall. My heart's our of the running, true love scratched for another's sake, The race is on and it looks like heartaches, and the winner loses all. One day I ventured in politics never once suspecting What the final result would be. Now I live in fear of waking up each morning, And finding that you're gonna be my president. There's an aching pain in my heart for the name of the one that I hated to face, Someone else came out to win Obama, andHillary came out in second place.
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cool Mom!! thankx. I wonder if Hillary, after saying 'Shame on you, Barak Obama, will be asked to be the vp??

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http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/DeadheadsForObama I think Hillary done burned that bridge! If she wasn't so nasty all the time like her "and the skys going to open up" speech, and just peddled her agenda instead of making personal attacks, she might have had a chance at VP. She really showcased her mood swings during the campaign; one minute civil, the next flying off the handle with inappropriate jabs. She can go from tears to laughing like a hyena in a matter of minutes. As a fan of the Clintons myself, I have to say that I lost a ton of respect for both Hillary and Bill this past year. There's many more responsible VP choices for Barack.
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Looks like Obama be the man. Can't take McSame as Bush.
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Now let's talk about some real issues...finally.Not only are the primaries over, the whole race is over, imo. Obama's the next No.1 and anyone that takes a few moments can easily see and understand the graffiti on the White House walls these daze and understand why oil is rocketing to new highs every week. The Greedheads are taking anything that isn't glued down and, at this point in Washington, D.C., it's looking like Saigon late April, 1975, to me. The class action lawyers are gearing up to crash the Presidential gates (and well they should, imo) and I suspect Big Oil is in their crosshairs, to pay for the effort. I just hope that they decide to take criminal actions as well, against Cheney and his cartel, before they make their way to Ken Lay's palace in Dubai. My idea is, after Obama takes the oath, to freeze all assets of these offshore behemoths (including the utility conglomerates, where they launder their ill gotten booty) until we can figure out how to proceed in a world without crude oil as the staple it has become, as the direct result of market rigging by these cry baby, 4th generation, industrialists. After that, we won't have to worry about terrorists spoon fed stereotypical hatred of the West, with OUR own money and get back to a relatively free society, we once enjoyed. What I wonder is who Obama will appoint as Attorney General because that's where the real action is going to take place, after the current plague disappears back into the wood work. Whoever gets that appointment better have balls the size of Texas (or the equivalent). The last guy capable of those actions was paid off in lead, just like his brother. My fear is we'll get another Pelosi along with so called "Universal Healthcare" instead (which would be great if it actually happens... without becoming ANOTHER government entitlement, "white elephant"). On the matter of the government running heath care, Jack Nicholson's character, Melvin Udall, said it best in the movie, "As Good As It Get's", "Go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here."
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McSame is pro-life = anti abortion / anti pro-choice. I don't remember who is on the supreme court, or who thinks what over there, but sure as shootin, if McSame gets to appoint somebody,that Roe v. Wade (1973) might be changed. hopefully that issue will bring all of the Hillary folks over to Obama henceforth and post haste. I don't think Hillary will be chosen as Obama's VP, too much 'whitewater' under that burned bridge in my most humble of humbolt opinions. Choosing another woman as his running mate, I hope, will not be seen as a slap in Hillary's face or a snub against Hillary, but in the end, Obama's gotta pick somebody who can do the 'swing' with one or more key states to turn them blue. peace.
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there are bookies laying odds about who will be chosen as the running mates... McSame -- Romney Obama -- Nunn as far as Jimmy "The Fish" is concerned, Rommey and Nunn have the best chance of getting chosen as the vp. peace.
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You know, I'm reasonably cynical about politicians. I don't expect them to agree with me about everything, etc. But I am simply aghast to learn that after promising last year to join the filibuster against the FISA bill giving telecom companies immunity for their criminal behavior in helping the feds conduct warrantless wiretaps against their customers (for which our own Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing AT&T in court, among others), Barack is now saying that he'll vote for the current bill that lets the telcos off the hook instead of joining his filibustering colleagues. If we expect our soldiers to refuse unlawful orders, for which the penalty to them might be quite high, we should certainly expect the telcos to keep faith with their customers and demand the warrant the law and the constitution require. Indeed one of them, Qwest I believe, stood up to the feds and did just that. Kudos to Senator Feingold and the other spineful legislators prepared to filibuster this atrocity, and shame, shame, shame on Obama, who is showing himself to be yet another sleazeball willing to do and say anything to get power. I am reminded of all Bill Clinton's fine campaign promises to all the constituencies he sold out the minute he was in office. Don't ask, don't tell, anyone? (For that matter, shame on him for seizing the photo op and talking about how he supports the death penalty for child rapists in the face of the Supremes saying it's unconstitutional, too. Shades of effing Bill Clinton signing the death warrant for the Arkansas criminal who was so retarded he said he was saving the ice cream in his last meal for later.) I hate to see Barack degenerate into just another creepy opportunist, so I hope he straightens out. But I'm not all that hopeful, and wondering who I'll be writing in.
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NOW he says he'll call the DEA goons off the medical marijuana clinics in places where they're allowed by state law. What do you bet he finds some reason to renege on that one too?
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I'm thinking the same.
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Political discussions can ruffle feathers so I tread lightly. I will probably write in Alice Cooper. He ran in 73'. Don't like Obama. Too liberal in his views--no experience--wants to "talk" with Iran . .etc...etc. After having a daughter born premature at 27 weeks (the last age I think allowed to be "partially aborted" supported by Obama) has changed my views on this forever. You know of course that Alice Cooper & Gene Simmons generally support Bush and McCain. Go search it on-line. I believe Gene's mom was in a German concentration camp, and she was freed by allied troops. That had an impact on his political views.
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17 years 6 months
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I'd really like to write in JPB's name, for U.S. President, but I'm fairly confident he's smart enough to know he can do much more for our country in another capacity. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is one of the most underrated organizations that has ever existed and every person in this country benefits from the work those folks do every day. "Thank you" to all involved in the real war on terror. Financial greed is becoming the new Gestapo of our age, imo, no matter what it hides itself behind. To think that we have to fight this battle without folks like Jerry, HST, Kurt Vonnegut and others means, at some point, we all have to fill those vacant shoes and I don't see anyone in the status quo giving up their place in the buffet line for the honor of doing what's necessary, in those terms. Hopefully Obama is merely doing the political fence dance and he returns to the correct spirit to achieve the political changes needed and promised. If Obama delivers anything less than what he's advertised so far, he'll be judged worse than those responsible for the current climate of fear, anger and hatred. "You know what the trouble about real life is? There's no danger music."
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17 years 6 months
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this forum is becoming very interesting and educative to this befuddled outsider. Thanks and please keep on keeping on :-)
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17 years 6 months
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I learn this morning that there is considerable ire about this in the Obama camp and that there is a new group on the Obama site dedicated to the issue: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SenatorObama-PleaseVoteAgainstFISA From what some posters have said, it's the fastest-growing group on the Obama site. fwiw and all. I've already posted MY screed there.
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Hope he is listening. We need candidates who listen and learn and are not afraid to rethink a (not thought through)position. Hope this fica goes against his every molecule of his being and he see's that he just needs to focus and see it.
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17 years 6 months
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this is the first test of Obama's presidency and he's not doing so well. I hope he realizes his error before it's too late.
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17 years 5 months
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I see in the news that Bob Barr has chosen Wayne Alan Root to be his running mate: Wayne lives in Las Vegas and has a TV show on Saturday's during football season where he offers gambling advice and picks to consider for placing wagers.... I won't touch this underdog. http://www.bobbarr2008.com/splash/video/?s0618 "...the bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began..."
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17 years 6 months
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let's just say I am not Vegas Girl. I would hope Obama develops a spine and gets a clue. I certainly prefer The Audacity of Hope to Same S--- Different Day, which is what he's showing himself to be at the moment.
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16 years 5 months
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In connection of our topic... Well, the housing market crisis is a major issue in the upcoming election. Both candidates are attempting to address the issue and differentiate their positions from one another. I found this head-to-head video from Clash/Presidential Candidates on the Housing Market. How do they compare? ______ :- )
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"If Obama delivers anything less than what he's advertised so far, he'll be judged worse than those responsible for the current climate of fear, anger and hatred." correct...and its a given ...drag ....but real now what? Keep on rockin in the free world

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http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/DeadheadsForObama Virginia Governer Tim Kaine is a stylin' choice for Obama's VP. Sometimes you don't have to micro-scrutinize a man to understand who he is. When I first heard Obama speak in December 2006, I started Deadheads for Obama two months later. When I saw Tim Kaine humbly jammin' with several different bluegrass bands and fluently speaking Spanish on youtube I knew that he was the man. A year or so ago I sure did want to see my Governer, Joe Manchin of West Virginia get the nod; but after attending the Democratic State Convention in Charleston this summer as an electoral delegate I realized that good ol' Joe is still pining for Hillary. You know Joe served us up some good fried chicken, soup beans, and corn bread (no lie) during the convention but he's not the one for the job. He is a great friend and Governer. Another great Appalachian, Governer Tim Kaine of Virginia is as real as they come. Dude loves his music, Family, and state. He will bring the rural and Latino vote for the Dems this fall. My neighbors in Ohio and Pennsylvania might warm up to Barack with Tim in his corner.
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"... I knew right away she was not like other girls....other girls'..."Our governor in Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, is an attractive choice as well. Barack's mom and grandparents are from Kansas! Rock Chalk Barack!!
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17 years 6 months
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I had this strange thought over the weekend. You know how a few months back, Obama's pastor gave this flaming sermon on not God Bless America, God Damn America if it behaves in this and that way. This caused a huge stir and one of Obama's earliest ditchings of his friends for political expediency. Before he caved on warrantless wiretaps and offshore oil drilling and lord knows what else. It occurred to me that the pastor in question was following in the admirable and well-established footsteps of, say, the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet Elijah. And a whole lot of other revered Old Testament types who called their authority figures on their shit and warned of divine retribution. In short, there was a fine Bible-belting rebuttal to the pastor's detractors, and Obama missed a hellacious opportunity to use it.
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regarding Palin's past as Mayor. Here is a list of books that Sarah Palin tried to have banned from the Wasilla Public Library, according to the official minutes of the Library Board. When she was unsuccessful at having these books banned, and she tried to have the librarian fired. Interesting selection of authors/books. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner Blubber by Judy Blume Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Carrie by Stephen King Catch-22 by Joseph Heller Christine by Stephen King Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Cujo by Stephen King Curses, Hexes, and Spells by Daniel Cohen Daddy's Roommate by Michael Willhoite Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller Decameron by Boccaccio East of Eden by John Steinbeck Fallen Angels by Walter Myers Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) by John Cleland Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes Forever by Judy Blume Grendel by John Champlin Gardner Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling Have to Go by Robert Munsch Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Impressions edited by Jack Booth In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak It's Okay if You Don't Love Me by Norma Klein James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Lord of the Flies by William Golding Love is One of the Choices by Norma Klein Lysistrata by Aristophanes More Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier My House by Nikki Giovanni My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara Night Chills by Dean Koontz Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez Ordinary People by Judith Guest Our Bodies, Ourselves by Boston Women's Health Collective Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your Bones by Alvin Schwartz Scary Stories in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz Separate Peace by John Knowles Silas Marner by George Eliot Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain The Bastard by John Jakes The Catcher in the Rye b y J.D. Salinger The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier The Color Purple by Alice Walker The Devil's Alternative by Frederick Forsyth The Figure in the Shadows by John Bellairs The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Snyder The Learning Tree by Gordon Parks The Living Bible by William C. Bower The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare The New Teenage Body Book by Kathy McCoy and Charles Wibbelsman The Pigman by Paul Zindel The Seduction of Peter S. by Lawrence Sanders The Shining by Stephen King The Witches by Roald Dahl The Witches of Worm by Zilpha Snyder Then Again, Maybe I Won't by Judy Blume To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary by the Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff Witches, Pumpkins, and Grinning Ghosts: The Story of the Halloween Symbols by Edna Barth Palin mainstream? Not in this neck of the woods. And I live in one of the reddest states around.
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she didn't go after "eletric kool aid" or gonzo's stuff... looks like she pasted over the cookoo's nest
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17 years 6 months
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there are certainly books on that list that I cannot stand at any price, but, yeesh! this probably deserves wider circulation.
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17 years 6 months
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No really, wow. Banning books seems the polar opposite of free thought. Free thought leads to a free exchange of ideas, which leads to better relations between all people, which leads to peace and a better world. Banning books leads to ignorance and the ability to circumnavigate the planet from the south pole to the north pole by ship for the first time in human existance. peace,pk
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of all persuasions are very threatened by free thought. Not a left-right thing, a control-freak vs. freedom thing.
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17 years 6 months
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Freedom scares the stars out of some people, from both sides absolutly.Pretty sad. Like not watering the plants in your garden and wondering why it doesn't produce you a beautiful meal.
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17 years 6 months
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As I sit here, I realize that I learn things and grow on a constant basis hearing the thoughts and discussions of the many folks here. When I sit back and look at it. It is a real gift to our consiousness that we have this avenue. Just wanted to say that it's not taken for granted and is a source of the constant yearning to learn and grow. Thanks to all involved. peace,pk