Joesocwork

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Originally posted by: SkiGeek Originally posted by: Joesocwork The opposition, in collusion with the media and entertainment industries, was furious of the image of a real working woman with a full-fledged family who could still be a politician and not hold their views. quote> huh? Who was furious when? I totally missed that. (I won't even go into the conspiracy theory part of that statement.)quote> Not conspiratorial, institutional. The media started on her from the get-go and we heard a lot of goofy irrelevant but hurtful rumors about her family, her teenage daughter, whether or not she actually had her son, whether or not she could be a good family person while working. Totally idiotic sexist stuff that would not be tolerated if it were geared toward somebody else. She was not handled well for the interviews and unlike with Biden, let alone Obama, the interviews were totally adverserial. She knew things the interviewers obviously didn't and they were still condescending. And while I can't speak for specific individuals such as yourself, it did take its toll on the polls. Representing middle America is fine. But the average middle American has no business negotiating with world leaders. We need someone who is at least conversant in the issues. She did not come across as someone who knew what she was talking about. We've had eight years of a bumbling President who sounds clueless. We do not need another four. quote>Actually I want someone who can stand up to others in private regardless of how well they charismatically speak in public. Her tenure as a governor has shown to me that she can do that. She also fitted McCain's "maverick" image by taking on corruption w/in her party; again something that Obama or Biden has not shown any inclination of ever doing. quote> No one was believing the "maverick" schtick anyway. With McCain's record of voting along with Bush 90% of the time, the maverick thing sounded delusional.quote> Obama's campaign strategy was tar McCain as Bush III no matter what. So all the things that McCain did to anger his party from campaign finance to handling illegal immigration to the initial rejection of Bush tax cuts weakened his base but did not matter to the public. So the strategy worked. We Republicans should have picked someone who was proud of our conservative principles, highlighted strengths of the Bush administration such as no further 9/11's and taught how they would benefit American more fully if actually implemented and let Obama's tar and feather fall where it may. Here's the dirty secret: except for a brief recession right after 9/11, and the problems we've been facing recently with the double whammy of housing prices going down and gas prices going up -the economy did quite well ! Likewise, regardless of one's feelings about the war front in Iraq, The Surge worked!!! And we have been ready to get troops out of Iraq anway! A much stronger Republican candidate would have embraced the positives of the past eight years as a whole, focus blame problems within the specific past nine months on the Democratic congress. Instead McCain ran away and tried to say that he's not George Bush. We conservatives know he's not, but we weren't ashamed of George Bush anyway. And the more skilled politician could have taken Barack Obama's bait and say "George Bush III? Fine! A lot better than the next Democratic presidency!" In my movement I look forward to potential leaders such as Sarah Pallin or a Bobby Jindal, among others, to help lead and teach why conservatism works. quote> How, exactly, have the last eight years been "working"?quote> The overwhelming majority of Americans (and other people on the planet) believe the last eight years have been a disaster. quote> Other than the tax cuts which did help the economy, I don't see where conservatism was practiced by anybody the past eight years. That's a hidden culture of which the president-elect and others entrenched with government are a part of that the media doesn't expose. The "party of the rich" will be be the party of whomever happens to be power af the time. In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government/business hybrids that were created by a Democratic congress that exploited people's desires to have homes w/out worrying about debt. They added a bureaucratic layer that hid the risk while benefitting the chiefs of the program. quote> quote> They did not let the auditors do their jobs. I promise you that the bank auditors have been screaming for years. quote>

Originally posted by: SkiGeek Originally posted by: Joesocwork She gave me and many others within the base a reason to vote for John McCain other than to vote against what Barack Obama was promising. She totally energized us. quote> So . . . she energized people who were going to vote Republican anyway while inspiring moderates who might have voted for McCain to run screaming in the other direction. As Dr. Phil likes to ask: How is that working for you? quote> quote> Originally posted by: PhilsCafe She wasn't the only liabilty in the McCain campaign though, McCain's move towards the conservatives and religious fundamentalists probably played a role in that defeat too.quote> I agree completely. If McCain had maintained his own values as the moderate he is, he might have won this election. By refusing to give a little, the conservatives and religious fundamentalists lost a lot. quote> I strongly suspect that so-called moderates or independents of either party who advocated for McCain in the primaries weren't going to vote for him anyway as long he still had an [r] to his name. They along with the media, helped make it easier to pick a candidate who was more of a sitting duck that still needed to shore up his base. The fact is there were a lot of conservatives who weren't going to vote for McCain or at the very least weren't going to help out the campaign b/c we felt he had deserted us a lot of key issues. The choice of Sarah Pallin changed that for quite a many of us in the grassroots. Until she got hammered by the media and by the Saturday Night Live parody (which is where I believe the stereotypes about her came from) the polls were showing that Sarah Pallin was doing well among "moderates", middle America, and some of Hillary Clinton supporters. Again, unlike Obama, she represented, not snobbishly poked fun at while simultaneously patronized, middle America. She also fitted McCain's "maverick" image by taking on corruption w/in her party; again something that Obama or Biden has not shown any inclination of ever doing. I do believe the campaign failed her in preparation for what was in store. The opposition, in collusion with the media and entertainment industries, was furious of the image of a real working woman with a full-fledged family who could still be a politician and not hold their views. It's the similar problem that African-American conservatives also have to face. She had less than a week to prepare for what was in store and she held up remarkably well; not perfect, but at least as well as her gaffe-proned Democratic counterpart who had decades of exposure w/out the intense media scrutiny. People in the campaign who are scapegoating her should indeed be looking at themselves instead. I hope she continues to articulate our points of view . . . quote> I'm trying to figure a way to type this nicely because I really don't mean to sound harsh here. . . If someone doesn't already understand your points of view, her articulating them isn't going to help. quote> No. The thing about political issues coming from any persuasion is that for them to succeed then successive people and generations have to be taught in order to keep the respective movements going. I shouldn't expect current newer generations to understand what was important or intellectually appealing about the Reagan revolution of the 80's or the Contract of America of the 90's anymore others should expect the peace movement of the 60's to be understood by current generation, nor the 3rd party appeal of Ross Perot in the 90's either. And a decade from now, future citizens won't have the same grasp of the moment of Obama's presidency. In my movement I look forward to potential leaders such as Sarah Pallin or a Bobby Jindal, among others, to help lead and teach why conservatism works. . . .and expose the hypocrisy of a political movement that comes across as thinking average citizens don't know to best spend our own money. quote> Actually, I believe it's more about thinking average citizens being fed up with CEO draining companies dry, running off with million dollar bonuses, and expecting the rest of us to clean up the mess. But that's another subject.quote> I don't disagree with that. I'm disgusted with it too. But the CEO's were as much in collusion with Democrats as well as Republicans and they tried to have it both ways. That's a hidden culture of which the president-elect and others entrenched with government are a part of that the media doesn't expose. The "party of the rich" will be be the party of whomever happens to be power af the time. In addition, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government/business hybrids that were created by a Democratic congress that exploited people's desires to have homes w/out worrying about debt. They added a bureaucratic layer that hid the risk while benefitting the chiefs of the program. Sorry, but a liberal form of government is not Robin Hood. In reality it's taking from the rich and the borderline rich/middle class, using most of the resources to enlargen the government and giving it more power, while patronizingly giving a few morsels to others to consolidate its power. If I'm an entrepreneur w/ a $300k budget to run a business or if i've otherwise earned it fair and square I'd rather make the decisions about how to spend my own hard earned money. Conservatism may not be popular at the moment, but if you look through the history of the presidency, it goes back and forth. So while liberalism is popular at this point in time, history has shown it'll swing back to conservatism at some point in the near future and the 'ring around the rosy' will continue.quote> Exactly. The pendulum swings one way and then it swings back again. quote> That's probably the one thing we agree on totally.

Originally posted by: Barbarossa Originally posted by: Joesocwork Originally posted by: SkiGeek Now regarding Sarah Palin, I think it's very sad that the piling on and scapegoating continues. She made history too and despite the extreme media bias against her I think she has a wonderful career ahead of her. quote> A career as what? Maybe you can explain it to me. I can't stand the gosh, golly cutesy routine when people pull it on 5 year olds. I certainly can't take it seriously in an elected official. John McCain could have had my vote. When this all started, he seemed to be a responsible moderate. But then he sold out to his handlers and their bad judgment. quote> Sounds like you don't like her style; to each their own. Sarah Palin stood up to corruption in her own party and to corporate interests in her state while maintaining her conservative principles. I found her populist way of speaking very refreshing in contrast to the elitism I was seeing by much of the Democratic leadership, including the president-elect himself. She gave me and many others within the base a reason to vote for John McCain other than to vote against what Barack Obama was promising. She totally energized us. And she had to do this while under blistering media coverage, blatant stereotyping, and media interviews that the press and the entertainment industry wouldn't dream of giving to Obama. I hope she continues to articulate our points of view and expose the hypocrisy of a political movement that comes across as thinking average citizens don't know to best spend our own money.quote> LOL,, everyone is entitled to their opinion. My opinion is that Palin is a Big Idiot. She can't define the Bush Doctrine, she doesn't know what so-called "maverick" things McCain has done in his tenure, and she can't even identify the media she reads (or does not read, IMO, otherwise she wouldn't be so stupid). To further the point, she has this idea that Africa is a country and questioned whether Sout Africa was "a region of the country". Look it up. I have also stated in the past that she inherited a mayorship for a town in the black and left it in the red ($22 million, at that). Your statement of elitism is laughable. Obama owns one home. Biden owns one home. McCain doesn't know how many homes he owns. McCain thinks that income of $5 million a year means your rich, less means otherwise. I won't bother going into clothing expenses for Cindy and Caribou Barbie. Joe the Plumber, which came up in a previous post, was a sham. A set-up of the Republican Party that was poorly done and only gained weight with those who did not read the news. A married-in acquaintance of Charles Keating (remember the Keating 5?), a man who does not even have a plumber's license, is behind in his taxes, and makes nowhere near the $250k tax hike espoused by Obama. This idiot is about as dumb as Palin. Little does he know, or acknowledge, he will SAVE MONEY under Obama. Of course, if his country music career kicks off, then he will probably have to pay more. So much the better. Barbarossaquote> I'll take Palin's gaffes over Biden's gaffes anytime. Biden makes Dan Quayle look like Albert Einstein. He was the campaign gift that kept on giving if the media would have focused on it. Joe the Plumber was a set up and the guy who asked McCain about his houses was not? Obama's elitism comes from his own statements and his own background. He grew up in a rich family, went to rich school, entered into a lucrative profession as an attorney, had (and still has) rich friends, and owned a rich home in a neighborhood (one or not). He has made the money I would like to earn but he would tax, let alone the $250K/$200K/$150K/(anyone for $100k or less in the future?) they have been talking about taxing. It was him that made condescending snobbish comments that described small-town Pennsylvanians as "bitter," distrustful have-nots who "cling to guns or religion". And it was Obama's comments to Joe The Plumber that he wants to spread the wealth around that showed where the candidate is coming from, regardless of who asked the question. If you're into it, then more power to you; we might come closer to the socialist dream.

Originally posted by: SkiGeek Now regarding Sarah Palin, I think it's very sad that the piling on and scapegoating continues. She made history too and despite the extreme media bias against her I think she has a wonderful career ahead of her. quote> A career as what? Maybe you can explain it to me. I can't stand the gosh, golly cutesy routine when people pull it on 5 year olds. I certainly can't take it seriously in an elected official. John McCain could have had my vote. When this all started, he seemed to be a responsible moderate. But then he sold out to his handlers and their bad judgment. quote> Sounds like you don't like her style; to each their own. Sarah Palin stood up to corruption in her own party and to corporate interests in her state while maintaining her conservative principles. I found her populist way of speaking very refreshing in contrast to the elitism I was seeing by much of the Democratic leadership, including the president-elect himself. She gave me and many others within the base a reason to vote for John McCain other than to vote against what Barack Obama was promising. She totally energized us. And she had to do this while under blistering media coverage, blatant stereotyping, and media interviews that the press and the entertainment industry wouldn't dream of giving to Obama. I hope she continues to articulate our points of view and expose the hypocrisy of a political movement that comes across as thinking average citizens don't know to best spend our own money.

I'm originally from Indiana; born and raised. I've been living in the metropolitan Washington, DC area for 20+ years though. In my heart I'll always be a Hooser, whether or not I move back. I'm passionate about the Colts and continue to root for the Pacers, Hoosiers, Boilermakers, and other Indiana colleges. (I still root for DC area teams too.) I love seeing Indiana license plates over here.

I decided to post this from the Indianapolis Star this morning. Tony Dungy is one of my heroes, along with many other African-American conservatives who I consider to be among the more braver people in the United States, including The Magistrate and her parents. For their sakes, despite the politics and the differences thereof, I respect what the election means for the history of the country. But I still hope President Obama has the intestinal fortitude to stand up to Iran and Russia and to not grease the skids towards socialism. Dungy knows true history isn't his title in Super Bowl Posted: November 7, 2008 It seemed like such a big deal two years ago. It seemed like such an amazing step forward for our country, the first two black head football coaches reaching the Super Bowl -- Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears. On Wednesday, one day removed from the election of Barack Obama as president of the United States, Dungy stood in the hallway at the Colts' practice facility, laughing at how utterly insignificant that sports milestone must now seem. "Not even in the same universe, was it?" Dungy said, smiling and laughing. "Not even close." Like so many of us Wednesday, Dungy was a little bit bleary-eyed. He couldn't take his eyes off the television all evening Tuesday, even after the networks made their projections and both candidates offered their concession and acceptance speeches before midnight. Even if you held to the opposing political line -- and Dungy does not count himself as a Democrat -- it was enough to know that you were watching American history unfolding. As Dungy spoke privately Wednesday, he wondered if his players, most of them in their 20s, truly understood what had happened one night earlier. They surely knew about Martin Luther King Jr., understood some of the broad historical outlines of the struggle for equality, but did they know -- could they know -- just what it meant to people like Dungy, or to two of his assistant coaches, both black, Jim Caldwell and Gene Huey? Dungy was born in 1955, just one year after the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka (Kan.) ruling that overturned educational segregation. "At that time, my father (Wilbur, who died in 2004), taught science in an all-black school in Alexandria, Va.," Dungy said. "The building right next door was all-white. He'd always say, 'I've got to get my students to learn just as much as the students in that building over there.' " For those who grew up during the age of segregation, both legalized and otherwise, the images of that time remain burned into the mind's eye. "I can still remember, maybe I was 5 or 6 years old, but watching on black-and-white TV, the clips of the hoses and the dogs (being turned loose on protesters) and asking my dad what's going on," Dungy said. "He'd say, 'They're fighting for some things that we take for granted. Like eating at certain restaurants. Like voting.' I was only 5 or 6, so I didn't fully comprehend, but I always had those images. "(At age 8 in 1963), I remember watching when (then-Alabama Gov. George) Wallace stood at the doorway at the University of Alabama, saying we'll never have a black student at Alabama." During his playing career, Dungy played football with the first black man to play at Florida State and the first black man to play at Alabama. For him and for people of a certain age, the history of the struggle is a living, breathing thing and not a compilation of grainy footage from some bygone era. "The younger people, some of them understand, and I'm sure all our guys know about Dr. King, but it's tough to know unless you grew up and actually saw people marching and protesting just for the right to vote," Dungy said. "That's just something maybe they've read about in a history book, but it's not real to them." Before Wednesday's practice, Raheem Brock counted himself among a number of Colts who spent election night glued to the television. "I didn't think I'd be alive to see this day," he said. "This gives kids another person to look up to, a black role model who's doing great things. He (Obama) made history." Just two years ago, it was a big thing when Dungy and Smith made sports history. Two years later, it feels like ancient history. A footnote to history, really. "I remember when we won the Super Bowl, people told me they cried," Dungy said. "But it's got to be 100,000 times more after this. I was very emotional, too (after Obama won). I thought a lot about all the people who fought to make this day happen. One of the CNN commentators, Roland Martin, he talked about Viola Liuzzo, (a white civil rights activist from Michigan who was murdered by Ku Klux Klansmen) and I was thinking about exactly the same person. "Young people know Dr. King, but they don't know about Viola Liuzzo. But people like her were the ones who fought the fight. That was the battle. Not just the famous people you read about, but quiet heroes who gave their lives to the fight." Nobody is naïve enough to proclaim that racism is dead or that true equality is around the corner. But as a man who has made a difference in smaller ways -- excelling in his profession and by promoting young black coaches like Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin -- Dungy can appreciate more than most what Tuesday meant to this country. As Dungy spoke on the phone Tuesday to his 7-year-old daughter and answered her questions about electoral votes and the new president, he smiled with pride. A new day was dawning. quote> quote> ----- Now regarding Sarah Palin, I think it's very sad that the piling on and scapegoating continues. She made history too and despite the extreme media bias against her I think she has a wonderful career ahead of her. Regarding the California Initiative: The semantics of marriage and civil union are not the same. Proposition 8 does not deny benefits to people in a committed relationship. This isn't a civil rights issue. Over the years I've been naively surprised over how annoyed most African Americans have been about trying to equate such measures with civil rights for people of color. Proposition 8 was voted for by 70% of African American, including 75% of African American women, according to CNN, while 50% of whites voted for it.

Well, generally put (I'm dyslexic and prefer pithy btw ) is that tax revenues increase with tax cuts when the economy grows. The injection of money by businesses being allowed to keep what they earn allows them to invest more, which spurs growth, which spurs their profits, which spurs more money to give back in taxes. It's not limited to any one party of politicians; it's been exercised and has worked for Democrat and Republican administrations alike. ------ For my fellow world citizens, I'm glad to see the love and joy for my country with the election of Barack Obama as President of The United States. But will that love still be there when the U.S., led by President Obama, continues to require support, money, and troops from other nations?

First of congratulations to Senator Obama and his supporters. The election truly was history in the making. I hope that certain chapters in American history can be closed for once and for all. I believe that Deity is in charge regardless of who the leaders are of any nation. And I continue to feel very blessed to be a United States citizen. Having said that, as someone who supported Senator McCain, I hope President-Elect Obama will be judicious how he addressses many of the promises he made and issues that he said he supports. I have fears that if he and Congress carry out what all that was stated by him, by congress, or by supporters, that our current economic problems will worsen, that United States citizens will potentially lose economic and civil liberties, that the status of the United States will weaken with many nations, and that many international foes will strengthen in their aims against our country. But like I said, God is in control regardless, so I'll pray Deity's will is done no matter what and that in the process we also don't suffer the negative consequences I fear.

Just came back from voting. I got there 20 minutes early and the line took about an hour and a half. The Magistrate jabbed at me stating we should have left at 5:00 not get up at 5:00! I found the poll workers to be very gracious and helpful and absolutely no one in line was in a foul mood during the wait.

I thought I'd go here and give our general reminder that we do from time to time to say that... Harrassment of others within SimTropolis will not be tolerated! And, if you believe that you are being harrassed then please report it to a staff person immediately. Thanks!