Obama is U.S. President Elect

[Fightn Words]

Some of your views have merit, but I can't agree with everything. I understand that American's (even up here in the northern part) love to have their gun's, but if you want to chose one single statistic that contributes to lethal crime, it would be the guns. Look at other country's by comparison and you'll see what I mean. Not that I think this will EVER change, but I have to at least point it out.

Also, whether or not your a died in the wool Republican, you have to admit that the Republicans have really screwed the pooch politically. Their economic vision of allowing the economy to do 'whatever' and to ignore the needs of the lower & middle class- it's had it's day. Don't worry though, if history has taught us anything it's that the two party's balance of power shifts like a pendulum. Inevitably it'll shift back again.

Personally, I wouldn't mind if our country went back to isolationism and left the rest of the globe to it's own devices. If everything is not as far gone as I hope it is then it's still possible to stay out of police actions & wars. I understand the need for a certain amount of so called security, but our country is ridiculous with the amount of arms & weapons our military has. Don't kid yourself for a minute that it's for anything other then money/power. I agree with you about Child Registration & as for the Patriot Act- I'd call that thing anything but patriotic.

[NeneBuano]

All the American countries are now in the hands of Socialist leaders, I dont know what will happen now... 30 years ago we had all the military fascist goverments, it cant get worse than that...

Maybe, now that we are in a global crisis, people will see how stupid this sistem is...
Years and years of Right-BLue-Derecha-Destra-Republican goverments lead us to this, why not change? If is not working, lets change it!

[Damon Caskey]

......

We aren't as far from each other as you think. I should probably clarify though, I am NOT a died in the wool Republican. In fact I'm not even registered with a party; I'm an independent voter. What I am is a died in the wool conservative. There is a big difference. And by that, I mean I am a real conservative.

Basically, I'll run my beliefs down in a nutshell:

I believe in being left alone fiscally and leaving others alone in turn. Again, the government is there because it has to be. Without a government there is chaos. But that to me is as far as it goes. Anything else governments mess with, they screw up. So build roads, protect the borders, enforce the law, and otherwise stay the heck out of my life. That is their job. My job is to be an active participating citizen (monitor issues and vote), pay my taxes, and follow the rule of law.

I believe the rule of law is absolute, but the laws themselves should be kept to an absolute minimum. So did the founding fathers; the constitution is barely four pages long and has served as our foundation for 232 years; longer then any other standing sovereign government's framework. Kind of like how I administrate this forum. There aren't many rules, but they are absolute. In other words you can express whatever you want, just be clean and don't be a jerk. I see the real world in pretty much the same terms.

I'm not jealous of people who have more then me, and though I occasionally feel guilty, I don't think I've done anything wrong because I have more then others. I have a cushy position now, but I've worked jobs most people wouldn't go near, and I'd do it again if I had to. I feel thankful life is good to me and my family. By that same token, I'm all about helping others when left to my own volition. When it is forced on me though, that's another matter. I'm not one of those jerks who says "work harder, it always pays off". No, hard work doesn't always pay off. But I do think you should do it anyway. Do what you can, and then others will help you without being asked. Besides, work really is its own reward if you take pride in what you do.

Donating to local charities and giving time to help poverty stricken individuals? You bet. That's helping people. But
being taxed over money I don't really have just because it flows through me (the story of pretty much any small business) and then watching it get redistributed to someone thousands of miles away? That's just legalized robbery.

Financial responsibility is mine, not my banker's. I just bought a house two weeks ago. I waited 5 years for the right timing to get one. It's a nice place, but it isn't some lifeless overblown McMansion I can't afford. Had I gone and done that, I wouldn't expect you guys to come help me out. But that's essentially what the bailout is. If you let a salesman talk you into buying something you can't afford, who's fault is it? Loans are just another sold commodity. People bought more then they could afford, and the banks were simply doing what we, the shareholders were telling them to do. It's no different then when a retailer sells someone a 70" TV they can't afford, saturates their market by building three stores in a small town and goes under. Everybody had a hand in the mess and nobody deserves a bailout. Give it 2 years, and it would have sorted itself out with the smart investors who didn't speculate being the winners. And uhm, aren't those the ones you'd want running the banks?

On guns, well, yes, I want my guns. I was raised in a gun shop. But I explained my view on guns with smoke. I hate smoke. Smokers piss me off when they do it around me. But I wouldn't dream of supporting anything that takes their rights. Why? Well, that should be easy. If all you care about is me, me, me, and it's cool to take away someone else's rights because it doesn't affect you, well, who will care when they finally come for your sacred cow? Answer: no one.

I believe in religious freedom, but also that there has to be some form of majority rule. I will NOT call anything a "holiday whatever". It's a Christmas tree, a Christmas party, etc. Nobody makes you participate if you are of a differing religion, there just happens to be more of the Christian persuasion here because that is how the country was founded. So how about learning to look away for a month? Does the lighted garland and a nativity scene hurt your eyes that much? If I were in Japan, I wouldn't dream of suing someone for seeing a Buddha statue in town square.

That's pretty much it. Do the Republicans follow that? NO WAY. But they are closer the the Democrats, so that's why I usually vote red. No matter what I'm gonna vote, but I don't see a reason to waste a vote on an unelectable third party, and so I usually go Republican as the lesser of two evils.


*Please keep in mind this is simply me stating my personal beliefs; I make no claim as to whether they or the thoughts of others are "right" or "wrong". It's merely how I think and see the world (in relation to politics anyway).

DC

[Hanzo]

The political from both parties are different but they share a common interest and that is money.

[danno]

 

[Legend76]

First off I want to say appreciative I am of this thread and its awesome to see that as usual we can all contribute our view points and weather or not we agree with with all the posted points made we can do so civilly.

I have lived out side of Chicago almost all of my life so I have a lot of exposer to the more liberal side of politics, referred to as the combine or chicago machine here in IL. However I was raised in a fairly traditional and conservative family so as I have matured and now have a family of my own I find myself drawn further to the moderate side of things. I agree that government should leave us alone for the most part. I feel that our nation was founded on the principles of those personal freedoms that DC had described.

I would add to those principles, and here is were this become relevant to this election, the Judicial branch of our government was devised to INTERPRITE the Constitution make decisions on laws pasted by the legislative and executive branches as to there constitutional validity.

In my opinion "the far left" tends to appoint judges that use there power to pass rulings on laws or cases based on an agenda rather that rendering there decisions based on wether or not a case is justified constitutional or not.

I also feel strongly about accountability for individuals as well as companies here, Again right along with DC, I feel that a dangerous precedence was set with the now $850 Billion bailout as bad brokers, high risk lenders, delinquent home owners and greedy hedgefunders should all be held accountable for there actions. I would love to by a 90k Nissan R35 GTR but the insurance alone would bankrupt me so I'll stick with my little fun to drive Tiburon because its something I can AFORD.

Now I here that the big three are asking for a hand out form the government.
Sorry but they relied on big fuel thirsty SUV's as their cash cow for too long. Not to mention I feel that if you make a crappy product ( as a tech I can't tell you how many GM intake gaskets or Chrysler Transmissions I've done ) that fails a lot then you deserve to fail. To bottom line it this falls short of a free market economy and is more in line with socialism.

I'll end my rant for now

[DJGameFreakTheIguana]

Politics Isn't my thing so I can't make a Giant post about it, but I wanted to Vote for Obama Cause I felt his Views were better than McCains, at least to Me, but I wasn't registered. I actually watched the Election on Comedy Central where Jon Stewert and Colbert was coverin' it for an hour

[Legend76]

No offence to DJGameFreakTheIguana, I know that you said politics isn't your thing and although I do find Stewert funny, I often worry about people who form their political opinions from what is depicted in shows like SNL and the daily show. I fear that they are missing the point of these shows which is satire and so anything depicted on these programs should be taken with a grain of salt.

Again I'm nothing against DJGameFreakTheIguana for watching Stewert.

[Fightn Words]

I'm not jealous of people who have more then me, and though I occasionally feel guilty, I don't think I've done anything wrong because I have more then others. I have a cushy position now, but I've worked jobs most people wouldn't go near, and I'd do it again if I had to. I feel thankful life is good to me and my family. By that same token, I'm all about helping others when left to my own volition. When it is forced on me though, that's another matter. I'm not one of those jerks who says "work harder, it always pays off". No, hard work doesn't always pay off. But I do think you should do it anyway. Do what you can, and then others will help you without being asked. Besides, work really is its own reward if you take pride in what you do.

I don't think your success is anything to be ashamed of, quite the contrary. I totally agree. You get what you put in, sometimes it's not fair but that's life. I admit, you have a solid point about smoking. I think the consensus is that it 'hurts' people and so is therefore bad to encourage.

In my opinion "the far left" tends to appoint judges that use there power to pass rulings on laws or cases based on an agenda rather that rendering there decisions based on wether or not a case is justified constitutional or not.

I also feel strongly about accountability for individuals as well as companies here, Again right along with DC, I feel that a dangerous precedence was set with the now $850 Billion bailout as bad brokers, high risk lenders, delinquent home owners and greedy hedgefunders should all be held accountable for there actions. I would love to by a 90k Nissan R35 GTR but the insurance alone would bankrupt me so I'll stick with my little fun to drive Tiburon because its something I can AFORD.

Now I here that the big three are asking for a hand out form the government.
Sorry but they relied on big fuel thirsty SUV's as their cash cow for too long. Not to mention I feel that if you make a crappy product ( as a tech I can't tell you how many GM intake gaskets or Chrysler Transmissions I've done  ) that fails a lot then you deserve to fail. To bottom line it this falls short of a free market economy and is more in line with socialism.

Well thats why the status quo of politics just won't cut it anymore; that is- the Republican viewpoint of allowing businesses free reign to make dumb mistakes with no consequences, it's written on the wall. I'm not a one party man either, I'm more or less one of the 'inbetween' types. This is what people have essentially forgotten in this country, that the Constitution sais We The People- as in us, we are the government. That means we have the power to fight corruption if it's something we really want. There are a great many ways in which this could be accomplished- but I digress.

I often worry about people who form their political opinions from what is depicted in shows like SNL and the daily show. I fear that they are missing the point of these shows which is satire and so anything depicted on these programs should be taken with a grain of salt.

Infotainment! I do think people like Rush Limbaugh or Bill O' Reilly are worse, but it's all just nonsense anyway.

Danno, I get the feeling you have something to say but your holding back. 

[Legend76]

Infotainment! I do think people like Rush Limbaugh or Bill O' Reilly are worse, but it's all just nonsense anyway.

The point I'm making is that the daily show and SNL are satire O' Reilly and Limbaugh are commentators they are up front about there positions on politics. You need to find a reporter who reports from an objective "just the facts" stand point.

[Damon Caskey]

The problem with that is there is no such thing. 90% of media is liberally biased, and the part that isn't tends to be filled with hypocritical nuts like Limbaugh who give conservatives a bad image.

It's no wonder the left is always winning. A conservative message is a tougher sell on its own. It doesn't help when your "spokespeople" are outnumbered 200 to 1 and are all obtuse morons with diarrhea of the mouth.

DC

[DJGameFreakTheIguana]

No offence to DJGameFreakTheIguana, I know that you said politics isn't your thing and although I do find Stewert funny, I often worry about people who form their political opinions from what is depicted in shows like SNL and the daily show. I fear that they are missing the point of these shows which is satire and so anything depicted on these programs should be taken with a grain of salt.

Again I'm nothing against DJGameFreakTheIguana for watching Stewert.

I get what Your sayin, And even though I do what the 2 shows almost every night, my Opinion on Obama and McCain wasn't based on the two shows alone. but then agian I learned lots of things from Comidiens, but I digress.

[Legend76]

The problem with that is there is no such thing. 90% of media is liberally biased, and the part that isn't tends to be filled with hypocritical nuts like Limbaugh who give conservatives a bad image.

Tell me about it! That is a lot of what I see on all of the major networks.

I think that if there is anything positive that conservatives can take away from this election its that this will serve as a notice that they need to reach out to younger voters and minorities. I think that was a major key to Obama's campane success. I may not agree with a lot of his ideas, but I can give him credit for running a well organised campain. 

I get what Your sayin, And even though I do what the 2 shows almost every night, my Opinion on Obama and McCain wasn't based on the two shows alone. but then agian I learned lots of things from Comidiens, but I digress.

I'm glad to here that, DJGameFreakTheIguana. I think that when you get more sources to form your opinions than the more informed your decisions in the voting box will be. And I have to say that comics like Chris Rock and Ron White have a raw honesty that I find enlightening.

[kbandressen]

Tch. The sad thing is hardly anyone who voted for the guy even took the time of day to look him up. They see the "change" signs and they checked a few things at his FactCheck.org and they were sold.

This is so true.  I've got this online class that I'm taking for the sole purpose of fulfilling my diversity requirement where we're supposed to learn about diversity by talking with each other.  Anyhow, I was just about the one in there this week not having an Obamagasm.  They're just like "OMG OBAMA WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING I'M SO HAPPY" and I was just groaning.

I mean I like Obama well enough and if I'd had time to vote I'd have voted for him as an anti-Palin defense shield, but there's plenty of stuff, most of it already covered in this thread, to be concerned about.  One of the things that bugged me the most was how much he talked about fixing the economy; it just felt like he was taking advantage of the situation.  It's something that's affecting a lot of people, but it's not something that he's going to be able to fix much better than McCain would have.  Though I'll take back those words if he creates a magical new economy where we never have recessions.

Not that the right wing people are any better than the left:

BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA IS THE ANTICHRIST HIS NAME IS 18 LETTERS WHICH IS 6+6+6!!!!!!

Oh, people.

[Fightn Words]

I won't disagree that he's a consummate politician (don't hate the player hate the game), but I'd rather we have someone who knows how to grease the wheels then the alternative. He made a lot of promises and common sense will tell you that theirs no way all or even half of them is likely to come to pass, so I'm just as skeptical as anyone as to what he'll actually accomplish. As I understand it he just got elected and isn't technically in office yet- I guess time will tell what happens. If he turns out to be a frog we can always elect another President.