Sorry about not replying sooner.
Been busy at the courthouse. Those dimwits don't know thier left from thier right. Oh well.
Atrocities, I do agree Iraq was a possible threat, but bush's way of going about it was idiotic. The entire shock and awe campaign was a joke (I would prefered to see a MOAB go off just outside the city limits then a couple of cruise missiles). Of course, had the Iraqi army put up an actual fight....
Realistic threats are places like Somolia, Ethiopia, Syria, and Quebec (kidding on the Last one). And the Bush Administration turns a blind eye.
While bush cannot be held at fault for Clinton's mistakes, Bush has to be made accountable for not preventing it. In the Last year my income taxes have gone up by almost 500 dollars while my income itself has gone by nearly 9000. No one can say 'tax relief' helped me unless it was a relief from my income tax refund!
As for some of his laws, and this is also a fault of the Clinton Administration, are flat out unconstitutional. I understand the need to protect america, but tossing aside the highest laws of the land shows contempt for America itself. Laws of Ex Post Facto were forbidden because of thier usage during Colonial Occupation for a reason.
Kerry, I have to agree with. He's not totally the right man for the job, but he's better than bush. Kerry has been to war, unlike bush how got waivers to stay stateside, and seen what it does to people and families. Bush has not seen this with his own eyes and, imo, lacks the fortitude to properly direct our military.
Now if only both candidates could be reasonable enough to actually discuss thier platforms. Maybe a debate where bashing each other is forbidden and mentioning 9/11 is a foul. Then maybe we'll actually see the real candidates.
Kwok,
The two party system, no amtter how messed up it is, works because it's stable. That's why Nader, Perot, etc never have a chance. Multi-Party nations (more than 2 main parties) typically build coalition governments and that always seems to be a disaster in the making. One wrong move and the entire gov't goes to pieces. Then again, the politicans actually have to work in those systems...
Renegade 13,
Canada? Self Defense? what! Impossible!
eol,
I agree with you on the other threats. What is needed in Isreal is a democratic government, not a one-sided government. Give everyone equal represenation and a government mandate to remain religiously neutral and let's see what happens. Maybe instead of dividing people into different countries the US should try uniting them.
That is how you build a nation, Last time I checked.
However, keep in mind the loss of civil liberities here will effect you. I'll direct your attention to the Antiterrorism & Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. As a result of the actions of an american, tim mcvay, and his bombing of a federal building, immigrants to the US now face deportation from things as little as a littering fine, DUI, or even bad credit. Is that fair to people coming to the US for business, work, or pleasure? I think not. By turning low level crimes into felonies foreigners, people can unkowningly be arrested and held in the immigration deportation system for any number of stupid reasons. And if you think that's bad, they can use anything from the 20 years prior to the date of the law going into effect just to make sure. Then we got the Secret Evidence Act, guess what that is used for
Plus 9/11 is a reminder that jsut because it doesn't happen in my back yard now doesn't mean it won't happen in the future.
As for the skull and bones, it might be more surprising to learn that GWB's grandfather, Prescott Bush was fined a million dollars for aiding the Nazi's in WW1. It's funny how the California recall brought up arnold's father being a Nazi armyman, but no one ever mentions Prescott Bush. Then again, the Bush Family shares a line to King George the III and that's amusing because Powell's family does too.
Geo,
I'll bet you there isn't enough money in the world to pay the US to take Chirac.
Atrocities, David,
On my Last vacation abroad in 95, I found the easiest way to get through customs is to look exhausted and half awake and to have about 30 suitcases loaded on one trolly. Works best if you are entering at a Miami, LA, Texas, or Pheonix airport. The heat and the sweat will get anyone stinking up the high heaven and they'll wave you through with the air freshner can. lol
Wombat,
The tax cuts didn't help me. Don't assume everyone was helped just because the president keeps saying so. Myself and a number of my friends all got hit hard by the tax relief.
As for the debt, In real life, when someone runs up a huge debt and doesn't pay for it, it goes into collections. This is one way wars have started. I do recall Mexico was invaded once for not repaying thier debts. One of the causes of Hitler's rise was the fact Germany was placed into collections at the end of WW1. Going from a 5 trillion surplus to a 5 billion debt means a lot of money was lost real fast and someone wasn't keeping a tab on the account balance while writing bad checks.
Oil drilling does harm the enviroment. Of course, greenpeace using disel-powered boats doesn't help it. Take the tundra where it takes over a century for a footprint to fade in some places. What would oil drilling do to that ecosystem and all the frozen freshwater there? I like my ice without texas crude.
Forest fires are also a natural process of nature. By preventing them with logging operations we risk making the forest fires worse, or even speeding up growth of various deserts. A simply solution would be to make it mandatory that for every tree cut down, two or three saplings must be planted and left to grow.
Hydrogen fuel cells development, like Mars Mission and Moon Base and immigration visas for illegal workers are all fallacies produced for gaining votes. It simply won't happen. Gas prices can rise up to 10 bucks a gallon, and it still won't happen. Not until law makers get decisive.
Abortion, I can agree with you on. However, it should be allowed incase the mother's life is in danger and nother can be done to save the fetus. I have serious moral concerns about gay adoptions as it may hidner a child's emotional and social development.
Gay marriage I'm half and half, but not because it's supposed to be between a man and a women, but because it shouldn't be an issue. Leave it to the states to decide and the Full Faith and Credit clause of the constitution to enforce. Issue resolved. To me, civil unions is jsut a way of saying 'common law marriage' and de-politicalize it. Safe way out for bush.
Anyways, now my arm is gonna hurt because I typed too damn much in one sitting.
As for who will win, I say whoever takes Dixieville Notch in upstate New Hampshire. Last year was bush and the year before was clinton. Hopefully they are back into thier stride because up until 50 years ago, they always predicted the outcome of every election.
Re: OT: Election 2004
but most likely I will have more later. And everyone this is a thread about politics, lets make sure it stays that way and not into a flame war as many threads like this do(I have seen this happen on other forums and highly doubt it could happen here but it doesn't hurt to be careful)
Hybrid Mode
