will Obama be a good President?

[Anna0499]

Maybe I''m giving PSers too much credit here, but I''m pretty sure that all of "us" care about more than the singular issue of tax increases in the upcoming election. People have very different values and personal circumstances which determines which issues are most important to them; if taxes happen to be the biggest issue for one voter then that is their perogative to vote accordingly based upon whom will serve their interests better. I also think that most PSers who are against tax increases (and are subsequently basing some of their vote on this issue) are also against wasteful government spending (I think everyone is). If a feasible plan is presented to the American people to implement any of the huge promises that Obama has made, i.e. universal health care, I think a lot of people would be more open to a fair tax increase. Without these plans, a tax increase does kind of seem like throwing money at a problem IMHO.

 

[diamondfan]

I have no issue with a small increase, but trim the fat please elsewhere and show me that this is needed.

I also think that some of Obama''s ideas, are something most people would say they want and are all things that cost a lot to implement and all of them cannot come to pass at least not in 4 years. Does that mean we should NOT try? Does that mean we should do nothing? Of course not. But let us also be a bit realistic as to what is likely. I applaud some of the things, but we also have to be real as to what Americans will handle. I agree back in the day people sacrificed more readily for the greater good. That has not been needed for so long that it is hard to relate to the concept. We feel somewhat entitled and loathe to do without anything. That is something that has to shift in order for some of the bigger issues to be tackled effectively.

 

[partgypsy]

diamondfan, I agree. I do think that politicians get into this promise all things to all people. When it comes down to brass tacks, presidents can really only pick 2 or 3 issues to be effective. We do know that a biggie for Obama is deescalate the conflict in Iraq and get out. For me that is enough of a difference between the two candidates to make it for me. What else he will end up focusing on, I agree with what direction he wants to go, but again realistically he will not be able to implement all of them.

Instead of being afraid because there IS a pleortha of areas he can work to improve, I am simply curious what will end up shuffling to the top if he is elected. My personal opinion is that (unfortunately) universal health care coverage will probably not be on the top (yet again) since it is not as big of a priority to him as compared to Clinton and Edwards, and it will be an upward battle. However his idea of young people who perform service for the country (either through the military or through civil service) being eligible for college tuition aid is something that he has been talking about for awhile.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 9/1/2008 9:05:25 AM
Author: part gypsy
An unfortunate outcome of the Bush administration was that he cut taxes, while expenditures were greatly raised. The biggest new expediture of course was the Iraq war, which was conveniently not even put in the regular budget so it was hard for people to know exactly how much money was being spent). (See any simularities with the Reagan administration?
Tax cuts are fun in the short term, but as we are seeing with the devaluing of the dollar (among other things) it is definitely not fun in the long term. This is the legacy that the next president, whoever it is, will be inheriting.

i see the simularities between Obama and Carter

i don''t hear any Dems bragging about the Carter yrs.

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 9/1/2008 2:38:44 PM
Author: part gypsy
However his idea of young people who perform service for the country (either through the military or through civil service) being eligible for college tuition aid is something that he has been talking about for awhile.

Doesn''t this already exist? My brother-in-law is in the Army and is getting money for college when he gets out and the recruiting booths always talk about it...just wondering...

Sorry for the threadjack.

 

[partgypsy]

Indygirl it is service for the country not just through the military but nonmilitary service. (Moderator, please remove if objectionable)
from
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/service/ :

Obama will expand AmeriCorps from 75,000 slots today to 250,000 and he will focus this expansion on addressing the great challenges facing the nation. He will establish a Classroom Corps to help teachers and students, with a priority placed on underserved schools; a Health Corps to improve public health outreach; a Clean Energy Corps to conduct weatherization and renewable energy projects; a Veterans Corps to assist veterans at hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters; and a Homeland Security Corps to help communities plan, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Also he proposes a tax credit for college students doing public service.


There''s really alot of information on his website if you want details about his specific policies, so I suggest looking there if you want information.

 

[Anna0499]

Thanks for the info part gypsy. I knew the college aid for the military existed, so I was just confused at your post. Thanks for clarifying that for me.

His goals are certainly ambitious, I wish his website had actual plans for implementation though.

 

[Anna0499]

Wow...Obama on O'Reilly...should be interesting. I'll have to tivo this haha.

 

[partgypsy]

O''Reilly, another fine upstanding conservative, like Limbaugh, whose only skill is character assassination. All they have is cheap shots, cheap shots of people’s character and patriotism, yet again. Isn''t everyone tired of this? Apparently not. I don''t understand why people would contemplate voting in candidates who have supported this administration''s past 8 years of failed, damaging and politics by dividing, not uniting people. But I guess attack is easier than unity.

Seriously if the Republicans get in yet again I will barf, and I didn''t barf through 2 morning sickness-filled pregnancies and 2 natural births, one with potosin.

Dancing Fire, I agreed with you that there was a housing crisis, long before people acknowledged it, part due to very loose lending rules. Did you know that the Federal regulations in place were very lax, and even if states passed stricter regulations on mortgages, they were overruled by the more loose Federal regulations? Or the fact that those mortages and other lending instruments were packaged up in complex ways by corporations and sold and resold, which is having a big impact on the stock market? Which party was against passing regulations controlling corporations and lending companies? Yes the Republican party. But we are all paying for it.

I am an American, and I love my country, but I can''t stand what the Republican party has done to this country.

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:01:42 AM
Author: part gypsy
O''Reilly, another fine upstanding conservative, like Limbaugh, whose only skill is character assassination. All they have is cheap shots, cheap shots of people’s character and patriotism, yet again. Isn''t everyone tired of this? Apparently not. I don''t understand why people would contemplate voting in candidates who have supported this administration''s past 8 years of failed, damaging and politics by dividing, not uniting people. But I guess attack is easier than unity.

Seriously if the Republicans get in yet again I will barf, and I didn''t barf through 2 morning sickness-filled pregnancies and 2 natural births, one with potosin.

Dancing Fire, I agreed with you that there was a housing crisis, long before people acknowledged it, part due to very loose lending rules. Did you know that the Federal regulations in place were very lax, and even if states passed stricter regulations on mortgages, they were overruled by the more loose Federal regulations? Or the fact that those mortages and other lending instruments were packaged up in complex ways by corporations and sold and resold, which is having a big impact on the stock market? Which party was against passing regulations controlling corporations and lending companies? Yes the Republican party. But we are all paying for it.

I am an American, and I love my country, but I can''t stand what the Republican party has done to this country.

Yeah, that is why I was surprised that Obama would even go on the show after blasting it for so long. I guess they really want to get viewers away from McCain''s speech...

I vote for the candidate rather than the party, but I do like seeing *some* fresh faces for once in this election.

 

[partgypsy]

I agree, I do like Obama''s fresh face

.

 

[stone_seeker]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:01:42 AM
Author: part gypsy
O''Reilly, another fine upstanding conservative, like Limbaugh, whose only skill is character assassination. All they have is cheap shots, cheap shots of people’s character and patriotism, yet again. Isn''t everyone tired of this? Apparently not. I don''t understand why people would contemplate voting in candidates who have supported this administration''s past 8 years of failed, damaging and politics by dividing, not uniting people. But I guess attack is easier than unity.

Seriously if the Republicans get in yet again I will barf, and I didn''t barf through 2 morning sickness-filled pregnancies and 2 natural births, one with potosin.

Dancing Fire, I agreed with you that there was a housing crisis, long before people acknowledged it, part due to very loose lending rules. Did you know that the Federal regulations in place were very lax, and even if states passed stricter regulations on mortgages, they were overruled by the more loose Federal regulations? Or the fact that those mortages and other lending instruments were packaged up in complex ways by corporations and sold and resold, which is having a big impact on the stock market? Which party was against passing regulations controlling corporations and lending companies? Yes the Republican party. But we are all paying for it.

I am an American, and I love my country, but I can''t stand what the Republican party has done to this country.

no one was complaining when their house was going up in value or that non-rich middle americans were able to afford a home for the first time. only now people are upset. if congress passed regulations, people would complain that the regs are unfair to poor people and doesnt allow them to buy homes and democrats would then say republicans only want the rich to own homes. everyone wants to have a cake and eat it too but when the end result is bad - blamer the party in power. dont blame the people who wanted to buy a 10,000 sq foot home for $2 million when they only made $35K a year.

some people prefer government telling people what they can and cant do (democratic party) and others prefer people to make their own decisions.

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:11:53 AM
Author: part gypsy
I agree, I do like Obama''s fresh face

.

Yeah, and I like Palin''s; the youngsters are representing well...

 

[partgypsy]

http://www.safetyresearch.net/Library/SRS048.pdf

There has been a systematic policy in the past administration to overrule states laws with less strict Federal regulations, in favor of corporations over citizens. The states only redress when the Feds did this for example for lending, is to shut down all lending for the entire state which they were obviously unwilling to do. But states have sued over this. I think this is interesting as alot of conservatives say they are for states rights.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:01:42 AM
Author: part gypsy

Dancing Fire, I agreed with you that there was a housing crisis, long before people acknowledged it, part due to very loose lending rules. Did you know that the Federal regulations in place were very lax, and even if states passed stricter regulations on mortgages, they were overruled by the more loose Federal regulations? Or the fact that those mortages and other lending instruments were packaged up in complex ways by corporations and sold and resold, which is having a big impact on the stock market? Which party was against passing regulations controlling corporations and lending companies? Yes the Republican party. But we are all paying for it.

I am an American, and I love my country, but I can''t stand what the Republican party has done to this country.

i don''t care which party....i''m just not in favor of using taxpayer''s $$$''s to bail out homeowners or Co''s like Bear Stern,Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac....just let them die.

 

[stone_seeker]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:01:42 AM
Author: part gypsy
O''Reilly, another fine upstanding conservative, like Limbaugh, whose only skill is character assassination. All they have is cheap shots, cheap shots of people’s character and patriotism, yet again. Isn''t everyone tired of this? Apparently not. I don''t understand why people would contemplate voting in candidates who have supported this administration''s past 8 years of failed, damaging and politics by dividing, not uniting people. But I guess attack is easier than unity.

Seriously if the Republicans get in yet again I will barf, and I didn''t barf through 2 morning sickness-filled pregnancies and 2 natural births, one with potosin.

Dancing Fire, I agreed with you that there was a housing crisis, long before people acknowledged it, part due to very loose lending rules. Did you know that the Federal regulations in place were very lax, and even if states passed stricter regulations on mortgages, they were overruled by the more loose Federal regulations? Or the fact that those mortages and other lending instruments were packaged up in complex ways by corporations and sold and resold, which is having a big impact on the stock market? Which party was against passing regulations controlling corporations and lending companies? Yes the Republican party. But we are all paying for it.

I am an American, and I love my country, but I can''t stand what the Republican party has done to this country.

Who was in party when the dot com bubble was created? Clinton and the Dems. When that burst hundreds of thousands lost their jobs, a recession ensued and then rates needed to be lowered which created the housing bubble. There is always an ebb and flow and timing is everything. Healthy markets move in cycles and the party in power has little to do with it since both parties have always been in power at one point or another.

With all due respect part gypsy, you need to start looking at things more broadly before blaming an entire group of people. I am not defending nor supporting Bush''s policies and he has been anything but conservative, but the Republican party has done some great things over time and if you look back a few years, you will see that the housing crisis you speak of was started as a result of the Clinton tech bubble. Furthermore, NO ONE wanted regulations on housing. What congressperson would say - i want you to NOT give my district loans because they cant afford it? The sad fact about Washington is that regulation ALWAYS comes after a crisis and then the pendulum swings too far and we are over-regulated. Then people start to demand deregulation because no one can afford mortgages.

 

[partgypsy]

stone seeker, if you read the article what the Bush administration did was pass Federal regulations that were more lax and overruled (preempted) EXISTING stricter state regulations. The regulations were in place, but made weaker by the Feds. This happened during the Bush adminstration. I don''t think anyone wanted rules that were working, to be taken out of action. Surely you are not saying that you think that wholesale deregulation was a good thing, for the housing market, for the stock market, for our economy in general? If so, you might want to talk to the homeowners whose equity in their houses took a big hit, or people whose retirement funds are underminded and have no idea how deep the trading of these financial instruments went. I played by all the rules, didn''t get a house I couldn''t afford, fixed rate mortgage and so on, but I am still affected, as all citizens, by what happened. This is simply one example among many where this administration when having to choose between the profits of of big money lobbyists versus the interests of everyday American person, the American citizen loses.


Ps Here''s another reason to vote Democratic: It''s the economy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/business/31view.html?em

 

[partgypsy]

The overruling that I was talking about is by an obscure federal agency OCC, which invoked what is called a preemption rule, overruling states laws, particularly in predatory lending. It was hard to find a reference but here is one from the National Association of Realtors discussing it.

http://rodomino.realtor.org/vlibrary.nsf/pages/occrule

Dancing Fire, no matter what your beliefs believe it or not it will be all of us (the taxpayers) who will be having to pay for the fallout from this

.

OK really need to get some work done.

 

[trillionaire]

Barack Obama, Harvard Law Review editor, March 19, 1990


Barack Obama''s Law Personality:
Harvard Law Review''s first black president plans a life of public service. His multicultural background gives him unique perspective.


By Tammerlin Drummond
Times Staff Writer

Barack Obama stares silently at a wall of fading black-and-white photographs in the muggy second-floor offices of the Harvard Law Review. He lingers over one row of solemn faces, his predecessors of 40 years ago.

All are men. All are dressed in dark-colored suits and ties. All are white.

It is a sobering moment for Obama, 28, who in February became the first black to be elected president in the 102-year history of the prestigious student-run law journal.

The post, considered the highest honor a student can attain at Harvard Law School, almost always leads to a coveted clerkship with the U.S. Supreme Court after graduation and a lucrative offer from the law firm of one''s choice.

Yet Obama, who has gone deep into debt to meet the $25,000-a-year cost of a Harvard Law School education, has left many in disbelief by asserting that he wants neither.

"One of the luxuries of going to Harvard Law School is it means you can take risks in your life," Obama said recently. "You can try to do things to improve society and still land on your feet. That''s what a Harvard education should buy-enough confidence and security to pursue your dreams and give something back."

After graduation next year, Obama says he probably will spend two years at a corporate law firm, then look for community work. Down the road, he plans to run for public office.

The son of a Kenyan economist and an American anthropologist, Obama is a tall man with a quick, boyish smile whose fellow students rib him about his trademark tattered blue jeans.

"I come from a lot of worlds and I have had the unique opportunity to move through different circles," Obama said. "I have worked and lived in poor black communities and I can translate some of their concerns into words that the larger society can embrace."

His own upbringing is a blending of diverse cultures. Born in Hawaii, where his parents met in college, Obama was named Barack (blessed in Arabic) after his father. The elder Obama was among a generation of young Africans who came to the United States to study engineering, finance and medicine, skills that could be taken back home to build a new, strong Africa. In Hawaii, he married Obama''s mother, a white American from Wichita, Kan.

Two years later, Obama''s parents separated and he moved to a small village outside Jakarta, Indonesia, with his mother, an anthropologist. There, he spent his boyhood playing with the sons and daughters of rice farmers and rickshaw drivers, attending an Indonesian-speaking school, where he had little contact with Americans.

Every morning at 5, his mother would wake him to take correspondence classes for fear he would forget his English.

It was in Indonesia, Obama said, where he first became aware of abject poverty and despair.

"It left a very strong mark on me living there because you got a real sense of just how poor folks can get," he said. "You''d have some army general with 24 cars and if he drove one once then eight servants would come around and wash it right away. But on the next block, you''d have children with distended bellies who just couldn''t eat."

After six years in Indonesia, Obama was sent back to the United States to live with his maternal grandparents in Hawaii in preparation for college. It was then that he began to correspond with his father, a senior economist for the Kenyan finance ministry who recounted intriguing tales of an African heritage that Obama knew little about.

Obama treasured his father''s tales of walking miles to school, using a machete to hack a path through the elephant grass-the legends and traditions of the Luo tribe, a proud people who inhabited the shores of Lake Victoria.

He still carries a passbook that belonged to his grandfather, an herbalist who was the first family member to leave the small Kenyan village of Alego, move to the city and don Western clothes.

"He was a cook and he used to have to carry this passbook to work for the English," Obama recalls. "At the age of 46 it had this description of him that said, `He''s a colored boy, he''s responsible and he''s a good cook.'' "

Two generations later, at the most widely respected legal journal in the country, the grandson of the cook is giving the orders.

Yet some of Obama''s peers question the motives of this second-year law student. They find it puzzling that despite Obama''s openly progressive views on social issues, he has also won support from staunch conservatives. Ironically, he has come under the most criticism from fellow black students for being too conciliatory toward conservatives and not choosing more blacks to other top positions on the law review.

"He''s willing to talk to them (the conservatives) and he has a grasp of where they are coming from, which is something a lot of blacks don''t have and don''t care to have," said Christine Lee, a second-year law student who is black. "His election was significant at the time, but now it''s meaningless because he''s becoming just like all the others (in the Establishment)."

Although some question what personal goals motivate Obama, his interest in social issues is deeply grounded.

At Occidental College in Los Angeles, Obama studied international relations and spent much of his time helping to organize anti-apartheid protests. In his junior year, he transferred to Columbia University, "more for what (New York City) had to offer than for the education," he said.

After graduating, Obama landed a job writing manuals for a New York-based international trade publication. Once his college loans were paid off, he took a $13,000-a-year job as director for the Developing Communities Project, a church-based social action group in Chicago.

There, he and a coalition of ministers set out to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued by crime and high unemployment. Obama helped form a tenants'' rights group in the housing projects and established a job training program.

"I took a chance and it paid off," he said. "It was probably the best education that I''ve ever had."

After four years, Obama decided it was time to move on. He wanted to learn how to use the political system to effect social change. He set his sights on Harvard Law School, where he quickly distinguished himself as a top student. He was soon chosen through the strength of his writing and grades to serve as one of 80 student editors on the law review.

Unlike many peer-review professional journals, the law review is run solely by students. It is widely considered the major forum for current legal debate and consequently is watched closely by courts around the country.

In his second year at law school, Obama decided to run for law review president after a conversation with a black friend.

"I said I was not planning to run and he said, `Yes you are because that is a door that needs to be kicked down and you can take it down.'' "

It was a marathon selection process, an arcane throwback to the early days of the review. The students editors deliberated behind closed doors from 8:30 a.m. until early the next day. The 19 anxious candidates took turns cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner for the selection committee, whose members emerged with a historic decision.

"Before I could say a word, another black student who was running just came up and grabbed me and hugged me real hard," Obama recalled. "It was then that I knew it was more than just about me. It was about us. And I am walking through a lot of doors that had already been opened by others."

But few students at the law review were prepared for the deluge of interview requests for Obama from newspapers, radio and television stations. Strange letters of congratulations began arriving.

Shortly after the elections, a package turned up at the law review office with no return address. Obama said he hesitated to open it because of the spree of recent mail bombings targeted at civil rights activists nationwide. When the package was finally opened, inside were two packages of dim sum, with no explanation. Some students made light of the media invasion, posting a memo titled "The Barack Obama Story, a Made for TV Movie, Starring Blair Underwood as Barack Obama."

Yet tensions were building. White students grumbled about the attention paid to Obama''s race. Black students criticized him for not choosing more blacks for other top positions at the review. Caught in the cross-fire, Obama, who has a tendency toward understatement, downplayed his own achievements.

"For every one of me, there are thousands of young black kids with the same energies, enthusiasm and talent that I have who have not gotten the opportunity because of crime, drugs and poverty," he said. "I think my election does symbolize progress but I don''t want people to forget that there is still a lot of work to be done."

Describing Obama, fellow students and professors point to a self-confidence tempered by modesty as one of his greatest attributes.

"He''s very unusual, in the sense that other students who might have something approximating his degree of insight are very intimidating to other students or inconsiderate and thoughtless," said Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor. "He''s able to build upon what other students say and see what''s valuable in their comments without belittling them."

But what truly distinguishes Obama from other bright students at Harvard Law, Tribe said, is his ability to make sense of complex legal arguments and translate them into current social concerns. For example, Tribe said, Obama wrote an insightful research article showing how contrasting views in the abortion debate are a direct result of cultural and sociological differences.

As law review president, Obama is the last person to edit student articles, as well as longer pieces by accomplished legal scholars. The review publishes eight times a year and receives about 600 free-lance articles each year.

Referring to his fellow students at the review, whom he edits, he said: "These are the people who will be running the country in some form or other when they graduate. If I''m talking to a white conservative who wants to dismantle the welfare state, he has the respect to listen to me and I to him. That''s the biggest value of the Harvard Law Review. Ideas get fleshed out and there is no party line to follow."

Obama spends 50 to 60 hours each week on law review business. The full-time volunteer job leaves little time for an additional 12 hours of class, plus homework. When it comes to choosing between the two, as it often does, Obama usually misses class.

One of Obama''s most difficult tasks as editor in chief is keeping the peace amid the clashing egos of writers and editors.

"He is very, very diplomatic," said Radhika Rao, 24, a third-year law student from Lexington, Ind. "He is very outgoing and has a lot of experience in handling people, which stands him in good stead."

Tina Ulrich, 24, a third-year student, wrote an article for the review that went through several editors before her final draft landed on Obama''s desk.

"When he sent it back, it had lots of tiny print all over it and I was just furious," she said. "My heart just sank. But it was accompanied by specific examples of how parts could be made better. He wound up getting an enthusiastic response from a very tired writer."

Outside the review, other blacks at Harvard are skeptical that Obama''s appointment will change much at the Ivy League institution, where 180 out of 1,601 law students are black.

"While I applaud Obama''s achievement, I guess I am not as hopeful for what this will mean for other blacks at Harvard," said Derrick Bell, the school''s first black tenured law professor.

"There is a strange character to this black achievement. When you have someone that reaches this high level, you find that he is just deemed exceptional and it does not change society''s view of all of the rest."

Posted by Larry Harnisch on September 4, 2008 in Courts , Current Affairs , Politics | Permalink

 

[galeteia]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:13:03 AM
Author: stone_seeker

some people prefer government telling people what they can and cant do (democratic party) and others prefer people to make their own decisions.

You mean like taking away our freedom of choice so women die in back alley abortions, and forcing our children to learn ONE religion''s beliefs as ''science''?

Also, if I hear one more comment about how the Republicans will ''Shake Up Washington'' I am going to have a hernia- shake up Washington?! You already ARE Washington, and what exactly will you shake up? Make any already endangered society MORE conservative than it already is? Look what the last 8 years have done to the country, I''ve had all the conservative ''shaking up'' I can handle.

And Palin''s ''energy issue'' handling that McCain just mentioned? Nice to know that he supports ravaging the shrinking, irreplaceable wilderness preserves as ''good energy policies''. Did anyone read about the huge section of the Canadian ice shelf that just disappeared? Now we have the prospect of a person who think global warming is a ''farce'' in charge of the USA at any moment.

I am aghast. I used to think that McCain would be a decent choice, but now that he''s picked a frighteningly right-wing second-in-command to take his place should his fragile health fail, I am appalled. I have no faith in Palin not to give America a work-over that will make the last eight years look like a cakewalk.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:50:25 PM
Author: Galateia

Date: 9/4/2008 10:13:03 AM
Author: stone_seeker

some people prefer government telling people what they can and cant do (democratic party) and others prefer people to make their own decisions.

You mean like taking away our freedom of choice so women die in back alley abortions, and forcing our children to learn ONE religion''s beliefs as ''science''?

Also, if I hear one more comment about how the Republicans will ''Shake Up Washington'' I am going to have a hernia- shake up Washington?! You already ARE Washington, and what exactly will you shake up? Make any already endangered society MORE conservative than it already is? Look what the last 8 years have done to the country, I''ve had all the conservative ''shaking up'' I can handle.

And Palin''s ''energy issue'' handling that McCain just mentioned? Nice to know that he supports ravaging the shrinking, irreplaceable wilderness preserves as ''good energy policies''. Did anyone read about the huge section of the Canadian ice shelf that just disappeared? Now we have the prospect of a person who think global warming is a ''farce'' in charge of the USA at any moment.

I am aghast. I used to think that McCain would be a decent choice, but now that he''s picked a frighteningly right-wing second-in-command to take his place should his fragile health fail, I am appalled. I have no faith in Palin not to give America a work-over that will make the last eight years look like a cakewalk.

LOL, I don''t know why, but this made me laugh. Made me think of those good ole days on PS with you, Galateia. Remember to breathe...I know I do when I read these threads. Hee.

 

[galeteia]

Date: 9/4/2008 10:53:20 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 9/4/2008 10:50:25 PM

Author: Galateia

Date: 9/4/2008 10:13:03 AM

Author: stone_seeker


some people prefer government telling people what they can and cant do (democratic party) and others prefer people to make their own decisions.

You mean like taking away our freedom of choice so women die in back alley abortions, and forcing our children to learn ONE religion''s beliefs as ''science''?


Also, if I hear one more comment about how the Republicans will ''Shake Up Washington'' I am going to have a hernia- shake up Washington?! You already ARE Washington, and what exactly will you shake up? Make any already endangered society MORE conservative than it already is? Look what the last 8 years have done to the country, I''ve had all the conservative ''shaking up'' I can handle.


And Palin''s ''energy issue'' handling that McCain just mentioned? Nice to know that he supports ravaging the shrinking, irreplaceable wilderness preserves as ''good energy policies''. Did anyone read about the huge section of the Canadian ice shelf that just disappeared? Now we have the prospect of a person who think global warming is a ''farce'' in charge of the USA at any moment.


I am aghast. I used to think that McCain would be a decent choice, but now that he''s picked a frighteningly right-wing second-in-command to take his place should his fragile health fail, I am appalled. I have no faith in Palin not to give America a work-over that will make the last eight years look like a cakewalk.

LOL, I don''t know why, but this made me laugh. Made me think of those good ole days on PS with you, Galateia. Remember to breathe...I know I do when I read these threads. Hee.

Tonight is the first night I have said "I want to go home."

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/4/2008 11:11:15 PM
Author: Galateia


Tonight is the first night I have said ''I want to go home.''

Aww...

This is where "for better or for worse" comes in.

 

[diamondfan]

Palin says we can drill in Alaska with very little environmental impact, she lives there but I am still not sure how much is an okay amount to lose. I cannot imagine that we cannot figure out a way to get that oil out of the ground without damaging the landscape. Let''s work on that, so we can avoid getting so much oil from the middle east, and then have the alternatives being worked on in the meantime.

I would hope we would never have to go back to those back alley abortions. I mean, making it illegal is beyond stupid as women will still need and get them, but will be put at risk in doing so. Those with money will go to Europe to have one, those without money will resort to extreme measures to not be pregnant. I think making it illegal does not change the likelihood of an abortion, and let''s say the woman keeps a baby and cannot care for the or harms the baby, we are perpetuating a bad cycle.

I also think that just because the Republicans are there now, it does not preclude that another Republican cannot come in and change things. I think the status quo needs to change, for sure, just really having such a tough time with this choice. I do not think ONLY a Democrat can do it, it is possible with the right PERSON, whatever their party, as long as they can identify the problems and get to work on them.

 

[trillionaire]

A comment from an article on Palin:

"I’m a “working soccer mom” (is that like being a hockey mom?), and was horrified by Palin’s belligerent swaggering.

My eight year old son–yes, in cleats–happened to walk by the T.V., stopped, and said in wonder, “she sounds so mean”.

From the mouths of babes."

 

[ksinger]

Date: 9/5/2008 3:11:55 AM
Author: trillionaire
A comment from an article on Palin:

''I’m a “working soccer mom” (is that like being a hockey mom?), and was horrified by Palin’s belligerent swaggering.

My eight year old son–yes, in cleats–happened to walk by the T.V., stopped, and said in wonder, “she sounds so mean”.

From the mouths of babes.''

Ouch. Yeah, it''s hard to fool kids (and animals): they aren''t responding to what you say but what you SAY....

 

[ksinger]

Date: 9/4/2008 11:44:37 PM
Author: diamondfan
Palin says we can drill in Alaska with very little environmental impact, she lives there but I am still not sure how much is an okay amount to lose. I cannot imagine that we cannot figure out a way to get that oil out of the ground without damaging the landscape. Let''s work on that, so we can avoid getting so much oil from the middle east, and then have the alternatives being worked on in the meantime.

I would hope we would never have to go back to those back alley abortions. I mean, making it illegal is beyond stupid as women will still need and get them, but will be put at risk in doing so. Those with money will go to Europe to have one, those without money will resort to extreme measures to not be pregnant. I think making it illegal does not change the likelihood of an abortion, and let''s say the woman keeps a baby and cannot care for the or harms the baby, we are perpetuating a bad cycle.

I also think that just because the Republicans are there now, it does not preclude that another Republican cannot come in and change things. I think the status quo needs to change, for sure, just really having such a tough time with this choice. I do not think ONLY a Democrat can do it, it is possible with the right PERSON, whatever their party, as long as they can identify the problems and get to work on them.

You think the ideologues trying to restrict the right to abortion clean out of existence CARE about stupid? Or YOU? They''re typically the ones who tout the sanctity of human life out of one side of their mouths, while happily cutting all programs benefitting single moms and children, (kinda like Palin in fact) and glorifying war as "God''s plan" out of the other.

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 9/4/2008 11:44:37 PM
Author: diamondfan
Palin says we can drill in Alaska with very little environmental impact, she lives there but I am still not sure how much is an okay amount to lose. I cannot imagine that we cannot figure out a way to get that oil out of the ground without damaging the landscape. Let''s work on that, so we can avoid getting so much oil from the middle east, and then have the alternatives being worked on in the meantime.

I agree. People (conveniently) forget that Obama has said he is also open to offshore drilling. Why are we so eager to pay others and depend on others for our energy? We can''t be at their mercy for much longer.

 

[MoonWater]

this may have been said before but did anyone notice the huge blaring contradiction/conflict of interest going on during the RNC? are they stupid or do they just think we are? how can they rant and rave about change (really, couldn''t they be a bit more original) when they had the White House for the last 8 years and until recently, had Congress? how can you fix the problems in Washington while supporting the guy and Administration that was part of said problem? How can you diss Bush and praise him at the same time?

i dun git it.

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 9/5/2008 9:46:03 AM
Author: MoonWater
this may have been said before but did anyone notice the huge blaring contradiction/conflict of interest going on during the RNC? are they stupid or do they just think we are? how can they rant and rave about change (really, couldn't they be a bit more original) when they had the White House for the last 8 years and until recently, had Congress? how can you fix the problems in Washington while supporting the guy and Administration that was part of said problem? How can you diss Bush and praise him at the same time?

i dun git it.

Because they believe, as those who will vote for McCain do, that having the same party in the White House doesn't necessarily mean you will have the same administration. Some people don't vote for the party, but the person. I must say it is a great strategy for Obama to attack McCain through Bush...slamming Bush and then equating McCain with Bush is a nicer way of doing things.

And remember, Democrats had the congressional majority...