Off-Topic Discussion

After reading one particular thread this forum needed doing. Go for it friends!

I am stumped as to how to answer the other posters at another forum. I will not reveal the forum's name but a poster nicknamed "Nepenthe" had this to say: Assuming you're not trolling for a minute (and for the record my suspicions are not caused by your views but the timing of expressing them and your general tone) but ANYWAY: American politics has long been skewed to the right. We've had this conversation before ages ago but it was a while back so here's a refresher: the fact that liberalism is considered left-wing in America indicates this skew. Internationally liberalism occupies the dead centre of the political axis. American politics disavows socialism and communism as legitimate political positions and its history reflects this, but the fact is people can quite easily take those positions. For example, myself: I occupy a point on the political spectrum that puts me in the socialist libertarian camp, apparently. The irony of that contradiction is not lost on me, I assure you, but it does reflect my views in brief. It's also why I don't label myself politically because I'm pretty sure that contradictory label is inaccurate by default, but I'm definitely far too left to be a liberal. I absolutely believe in governments being able to meddle directly in business' affairs and forcibly shut them down if necessary and that's no liberal position. ;) Back to political skew: from what I hear of the Tea Party they lean right in an already right-leaning climate. It's mentioned in another thread that the Democrats are right-wing Conservatives by international standards which you may find surprising, but I suppose that's why many Americans call Europe socialist when most of it isn't. (France apparently is actually if the recent election is anything to go by.) Indeed a lot of Democrat policy reminds me of the UK Conservative party, except the UK Conservative party has openly gay members in Parliament which you may find even more surprising.

The gay marriage issue has never been about equal rights, marriage nor religion. It is about gay activists’ desires to tear down Americas wholesome institutions out of frustration that they are not included. Gay activists also desire to raise a ruckus and get national attention. The proof is the term “gay marriage”. “Gay marriage” is an oxymoron. It is an attempt to “redefine” the word marriage. During all of recorded history, the word marriage (in every language) has been defined as the union between a man and a woman (or multiple women in some cases). Marriage has always been the foundation for families and it provides the means to care for the resulting children. Although there are some childless marriages, there would no necessity for the legal institution of marriage if not for the probability of raising children. Virtually every civilization in recorded history has instituted marriage to insure that both parents are responsible for raising their children. Most all Americans that I know, whether conservative or liberal, whether agnostic or religious are not opposed to civil unions between consenting adults. Civil unions give gays all of the legal rights and responsibilities of marriage without re-defining the word “marriage”. Many states, including California, currently have civil unions available for gay couple. Gay activists reject civil unions for no logical reason what-so-ever. Their reason is emotional, not logical. Gay activists say that only the word “marriage” would give them equality. IMHO, this is absurd. The only objection that most Americans have to gay marriage is the redefinition of the WORD “marriage”. Therefore I suggest a reasonable compromise. Instead of re-defining the word marriage to include gays, we should create a new word to define gay marriage. I propose the word “garriage”. Gay couples can get “garried” while straight straight couples can get “married”. Many languages use different words for feminine and masculine genders. Some languages even assign genders for inanimate objects such as car or boat. In English say him or her, he or she, count and countess, king and queen, etc. Since a gay union is technically different than straight union, there is no reason why we can’t use different words to define them. Unfortunately gay activists will not accept this compromise under the guise of equality because they are unwilling to accept the fact that they ARE different in significant ways when it comes to marriage. They will compare using different words to define different unions as “separate but equal” which was a term used for segregation of blacks. This is excuse is a ridiculous as saying it is not fair to differentiate between apples and oranges, men and women, or whisky and rum. Traditional marriage, as it has been defined for 5,000 years, IS different than gay unions. A different name will be widely accepted and it is very reasonable.

Just as racism should not be required by law as in the Jim Crowe laws and slavery laws, racism should also not be outlawed. The government should make NO laws regarding race, religion or creed. If one business forbids blacks, that provides an opportunity for other businessmen to create businesses that cater to blacks. Big deal if someone is racist. It doesn’t matter very much. Racism is not an obstacle in today’s America. We DO have the right to offend. There are much, much, much worse things than hurting peoples feelings. There should be no laws requiring people to be "nice". We have the freedom to choose whether to be nice or not without government interference. All People discriminate. This is a good thing. Discrimination merely means that people discern what they believe to be in their best interest. You discriminate when you shop, when you marry, when you choose a place to live, when you decide which schools to apply to, when you decide which jobs to apply for, when you decide which clubs to belong to, etc. Many of these decisions have a racial component. Race may be a factor in these decisions. There is noting inherently wrong or right about that. It is a matter of taste and personal experience.This is perfectly normal and part of human nature. This is neither good nor bad, this is just the way it is.

I will keep this short and simple, but I will respond to your comments. For years I have been writing that most bad behavior comes from the left. In this day and age, can anyone disagree with this?

Should the Republicans keep the Primary system? Is there something better we should replace it with?

 

Share your ideas and thoughts on the subject.

I was surprised to find the following at the Harvard Kennedy news and events page.

New Report Finds Low Family Income Not a Major Reason For Poor Student Achievement
March 09, 2012

CAMBRIDGE, MA – Family income is associated with student achievement, but careful studies show little causal connection. School factors – teacher quality, school accountability, school choice – have bigger causal impacts than family income per se, according to a new analysis by Harvard’s Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG).

The analysis, prepared by PEPG director Paul E. Peterson, calls into question the Broader, Bolder Approach (BBA) to educational reform that has been advanced by a group of education scholars, teacher union leaders, and non-profit groups. The BBA recommends that proposals to enhance teacher quality, school accountability and student choice be dropped in favor of policies that would redistribute income and provide support services to families outside the regular school day.

[...]

Interesting read.

Folks, our friends at All State and Sears are among those who have decided to abandon Rush. I think this calls for us to abandon them. I was an All State customer for the last decade or so. That will all change tomorrow, when I switch to Liberty Mutual. Two things will happen : I will save money, and I will punish those who seek to punish Rush. All of you can do this as well. None of these businesses deserve one iota of conservative support. Cut them off and tell them why you are cutting them off. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/more_sponsors_flee_rush_6UC5hszRXI...

What with Rick Santorum, Barack Obama, and Mitt Romney (to name just a few) bringing it to the forefront of news coverage, it will be interesting to me to see how much of an impact Christianity makes between now and Election Day 2012.

Thoughts?

--Mike

I'm taking my second break in the past six years from NB and I just wanted to say thank you to all the people here for the wonderful debate and comments over the years. The first time I took a break it was because two posters were dominating the boards to the point that NB lost interest for me. This time it is because MSNBC and a limited number of social issues are dominating the boards. This is not criticism as the members are free to discuss what ever they feel and there are wonderful debates still occuring on this subjects. But there have been five stories, mostly unreported/under reported, that have a substantial impact in the last few days and they have not been seen on NB. This is driving me to spend my allocated time for 'political entertainment' doing more research on sites that are focused outside the US and any studies being focused on what happens if the US economy falls a second time in the next decade.

The following letter was posted and passed around the Internet as a article written by Dr. Walter Williams which was quickly and very obviously deduced to be a fraud. The interesting part of the fraudulent article is not that it was spread across the Internet but the fact that so many people agree the points are pertinent to the upcoming elections and that they actually have merit. I will c&p the letter below and after that I will add a couple of items of my own concern. The idea we are in deep trouble as a nation is common but I would like to see is if anyone can think of ways we can turn around any of the issues mentioned (realizing that new leadership is needed).

 

The article:

“No Matter What – Obama Wins in 2012″

By Dr. Walter Williams

Can President Obama be defeated in 2012? No. He can’t. I am going on record as saying that President Barak Obama will win a second term. The media won’t tell you this because a good election campaign means hundreds of millions (or in Obama’s case billions) of dollars to them in advertising. But the truth is, there simply are no conditions under which Barak Obama can be defeated in 2012.

The quality of the Republican candidate doesn’t matter. Obama gets reelected. Nine percent unemployment? No problem. Obama will win. Gas prices moving toward five dollars a gallon? He still wins. The economy soars or goes into the gutter. Obama wins. War in the Middle East ? He wins a second term. America ‘s role as the leading Superpower disappears? Hurrah for Barak Obama! The U.S. government rushes toward bankruptcy, the dollar continues to sink on world markets and the price of daily goods and services soars due to inflation fueled by Obama’s extraordinary deficit spending? Obama wins handily.

You are crazy Williams. Don’t you understand how volatile politics can be when overall economic, government, and world conditions are declining? Sure I do. And that’s why I know Obama will win. The American people are notoriously ignorant of economics. And economics is the key to why Obama should be defeated. Even when Obama’s policies lead the nation to final ruin, the majority of the American people are going to believe the bait-and-switch tactics Obama and his supporters in the media will use to explain why it isn’t his fault. After all, things were much worse than understood when he took office.

Obama’s reelection is really a very, very simple math problem. Consider the following:

1) Blacks will vote for Obama blindly. Period. Doesn’t matter what he does. It’s a race thing. He’s one of us,

2) College educated women will vote for Obama. Though they will be offended by this, they swoon at his oratory. It’s really not more complex than that,

3) Liberals will vote for Obama. He is their great hope,

4) Democrats will vote for Obama. He is the leader of their party and his coattails will carry them to victory nationwide,

5) Hispanics will vote for Obama. He is the path to citizenship for those who are illegal and Hispanic leaders recognize the political clout they carry in the Democratic Party,

6) Union members will vote overwhelmingly for Obama. He is their key to money and power in business, state and local politics,

7) Big Business will support Obama. They already have. He has almost $1 Billion dollars in his reelection purse gained largely from his connections with Big Business and is gaining more everyday. Big Business loves Obama because he gives them access to taxpayer money so long as they support his social and political agenda,

8) The media love him. They may attack the people who work for him, but they love him. After all, to not love him would be racist,

9) Most other minorities and special interest groups will vote for him. Oddly, the overwhelming majority of Jews and Muslims will support him because they won’t vote Republican. American Indians will support him. Obviously homosexuals tend to vote Democratic. And lastly,

10) Approximately half of independents will vote for Obama. And he doesn’t need anywhere near that number because he has all of the groups previously mentioned. The President will win an overwhelming victory in 2012.

__________________________________________

(If you've read Dr. Williams you know why it was an obvious fraud)

My two cents:

11) The DOJ sent a message to the nation when a free pass was allotted to the NBP for voter intimidation and the NBP, the unions and other 99% groups around the nation heard that message and know they will be free to 'express' their opinions at polling stations.

12) Only about 20-25% of the states are really questionable as to which party will carry their vote and the demographic trend shows that those percentages will get smaller and smaller as more liberalism is fostered in the nation.

13) The race card will be pounded by the media to influence the number of 'Independents'

14) The economy will be an enigma in the media - continually getting better regardless of the numbers. Couple this with the fact that the economy will probably actually get better because of two reasons: 1) with the campaigning going on there won't be the constant downward pressure from new policies and 2) the media will be talking up the economy which will lend some confidence to the economic system

I started visiting the official White House schedule for The Won.  Contrary to Lady M's assertions that Buh-rock is exhausting himself with work, I've discovered he's even lazier than we thought....he apparently can roll himself out of bed to occasionally take his first meeting of the day as early as 9:30!

So I've decided to post the daily schedules here (every day can be found at the link above, which has selectable criteria for day/or week).  Since it's the beginning of the year, I'm going to c/p all of last week here, in the main body of the Forum, and I'll try to update daily (if anyone wants to help out by posting the daily update, be my guest)!

I think it's important we see how hard The Won is while not sacrificin' on vacay for us.

A couple of things to keep in mind:  Note on that the staff "fills" much of the schedule up with THE PRESIDENT'S arrivals and departures to make it look like he's actually doing something!!!  All items in italics are fund-raising or election related. (Add further observations below).

Week 1:

Monday, January 2, 2012

No official Schedule

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

7:15 am  The First Family arrives at Andrews Air Force Base

7:30 am    The First Family arrives at the White House

11:30 am  The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

12:00 pm  The President meets with senior advisors

12:30 pm  The President and the Vice President meet for lunch

4:30 pm    The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary of Defense Panetta

8:15 pm    The President participates in a video teleconference with Iowa Caucus attendees

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

9:30 am     The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

10:05 am   The President departs the White House en route Joint Base Andrews

10:20 am   The President departs Joint Base Andrews en route Cleveland, OH

11:35 am   The President arrives Cleveland, OH

12:05 pm   The President participates in a discussion with a family at a private residence

1:15 pm    The President delivers remarks on the economy

2:35 pm    The President departs Cleveland, OH en route Joint Base Andrews

3:50 pm    The President arrives Joint Base Andrews

4:05 pm    The President arrives the White House

Thursday, January 5, 2012

10:00 am   The President receives the Presidential Daily Briefing

10:50 am   The President delivers remarks on the Defense Strategic Review

3:30 pm     The President and the Vice President meet with Secretary Geithner

Friday, January 6, 2012

9:50 am    The President and the Vice President receive the Presidential Daily Briefing

11:40 am   The President visits staff and delivers brief remarks at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

12:15 pm   The President has lunch with winners of a campaign contest

 

Whew!  That first week of the year was exhasting!!!!  Is anyone else seeing a pattern (other than terminal laziness) here?

   

Saw Church Nativity Scene With Gay Figures Vandalized on Fox News.

Vandalism of a church's Nativity display that includes depictions of gay and lesbian couples was being investigated as a hate crime, police said.

Now my question is.. Was the hate crime before or after the Nativity display was "vandalized"?

To be sure, regular readers of NewsBusters are already fully aware of the line that is supposed to exist between the opinion pages and the news pages in print media and that it has not only bled together but is also pretty much gone afer bleeding to death. But check this out......

My local newspaper, the State Journal Register (Springfield Illinois, ummmm well, printed in Peoria Illinois now) has stepped it up to a new level recently. They don't even try, anymore, to hide the reality that opinion is presented as news, indeed, they are quite up front about it - in a semi covert kind of way.

Look to their front page online, which changes several times throughout the day, and you will see, at some point during the day, the "Latest News" section that consists of several links to different news stories. Daily, I have watched as a link to the "Our Opinion" page, which is the State Journal Register's editorial column, is presented within the "Latest News" category. The kicker? Hilariously, there is already a tab, front and center atop the webpage to "Opinions", complete with a rollover function that presents a link directly to the "Our Opinion" page.

And they actually wonder why subscriptions are falling off and why they are printing smaller numbers of papers to sell as each month and year passes. Really?

Are newspapers in your area, fellow NewBusters readers, doing this too? Have others done this for some time now?

A couple of other questions - When will embarrassment set in upon those folks who have spent their lives working toward a career they could be proud of? When do the real journalists stand up and take back their profession from those so intentionally perverting it? Have all the folks who still care about the reputation of the "journalist" profession went to the web instead to bolster the "blogger" profession because "journalist" as a term is just so far gone that it cannot be revived?

Good Tidings! I decided upon my own volition to start a poetry thread. I feel that this would really class up the place. Please note- if you want to post original material; watch your language. Other than the one caveat, any material is welcome! Here is a little poem to get things started! An Ode to Free Speech By: Henry Clay The chanting sounds in dim moonlight, became a beacon to begin our fight. With deceitful tongues in full barrage, we spoke the truth and exposed a mirage. Of the Badin Barons and Wall Street Huns; they sent their police with loaded guns! But we’ll stand our ground and won’t go mute! For the one percent power is not absolute!

Went to Crusin' the Coast this morning with Mrs. Rukus. It was sweet! Took about 90 pics of some of the cherriest cars and trucks.  I posted them on flikr for your perusal.  

A couple of notes:  The composition/cropping is somewhat iffy in many of the pics. I took most from the street and had to deal with crowds and traffic. Many times it was hurry, take a pic, get out of the way.

Another is that what with all the highly polished chrome/paint and it being such a beautiful, sunny day, many of the pictures have various amounts of star-burst effects.

Other than that, hope y'all enjoy all the awesomeness from Crusin' the Coast 2011.  

Note: These pics probably amount to about 2% of the total vehicles at hand, if that.

Just a friendly nudge, think about donating some money to aid groups working in Somalia. The UN estimates that 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in this famine, and it is expected to spread to all areas of southern Somalia. The photos coming out of there are heartbreaking. Save the Children is out there, so is Unicef, the World Food Programme, Catholic Relief Services, and Oxfam.

While looking over the various campaign sites for GOP contenders, I have seen some well done campaign ads that target Obama. Given the creative juices flowing this season for the Nov 2012 election, I am providing this thread as a general resource to post nominations for the best political ad of the 2012 campaign season.

Sometimes you need a little humor to get through the daily grind. http://socyberty.com/politics/view-from-the-cheap-seats-the-real-planet-...

The following is something that was forwarded to me by my wife. Not sure where it came from it really says a lot about where we are headed as a society and country.  I pray for us.

 

When will it matter?

When Obama wrote a book and said he was mentored as a youth by Frank (Frank Marshall Davis) an avowed Communist, people said it didn't matter.

Assuming Congress got serious about cutting spending, what should be cut?

My list of programs and projects to cut include the following:

Amtrac subsidies

Ethanol subsidies

Tax credits for solar panels

National Endowment for the Arts

National Public Radio

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

All of the Department of Education

The elderly are not a burden, they are an asset. Only when the government "takes care" of the elderly, they become a burden. Before SS, most elderly people lived with their children and grandchildren. They helped raise several generations. They provided day care (baby sitting), prepared traditional meals and most importantly they helped raise, supervise and guide their grandchildren through childhood and adolescence. They provided love and made their grandchildren feel special.

The recent Supreme Court ruling regarding video games has sparked some debate here on NB (here and here).

I didn't want to derail Tim's excellent thread (even though it wasn't totally off topic) so I decided to make this forum about one of my favorite things:  FOOD!

What are you planning for our glorious holiday? I will start with the Tater Salad recipe I tried to derail Tim's blog with:

Southern style Tater Salad:

CLICK HERE FOR THE ALWAYS UPDATED LIST OF OBAMA'S GAFFES & GOOFS

 

And here is how it all started.....

Earlier today, we had a post on Bachman's gaffes, then on BiteMe's gaffes.  We had a couple of great lists on Obama's gaffes, written by MinneMike and gailannr....who inspired me to hunt down as many as I could find, and put the videos, pictures, and articles together with the gaffe. 

So here is the beginning of my Handy Dandy Obama Gaffe Library:

“The Bomb” that fell on Pearl Harbor

“The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries.”

10,000 People (A Whole Town!) Died in Kansas ~ Oops, Overstated by 9,988

Admits His Plan would Necessarily Cause Energy Prices to Skyrocket

Air Raiding Villages a la Yankee Air Pirates: Destroys Whole Afghan Villages!

Another Senior Moment

ATMs Cause Unemployment

Blames Hugo Chavez’s Election on (ta da) BUSH!  Oops.

Blows off the Salute To Heroes (MOH) Inaugural Ball

Botched Toast ~ Babbles over “God Save The Queen”

Bowls like a Special Olympian

Bows to the Chicom President

Bows to the Emperor of Japan

Bows to the Saudi King

Burns up 9,000 gallons of Jet Fuel on Earth Day

Can’t Keep MOH Recipients Straight

Celebrates the Fifth of the Fourth

Claims to be the only President in History to Try to Eliminate Unnecessary Regulations

Confuses “his” Christianity for “his Muslim faith”

Congratulates the FBI's First Hundred Days

Constitutional Principles on Judiciary Written 20 Centuries Ago

Cops Acted Stupidly (@ 1:30)

Date Nights at a Quarter of a Million a Pop

Did He REALLY just call Palin a "Pig"??????

Disrespects the Flag and the National Anthem

Doesn't Know How Old His Daughter Is

Exaggerates about Military Small Unit Methods, Weapons, and Tactics in Afghanistan

Expects to be President for “Eight to Ten Years”

Faux White Sox Fan Can't Name Favorite Players, Loves "Cominskey" Park

Flippantly Answers the "When Does Life Begin" Question ~ Above His Pay Grade

Forgot to Duck ~ Too Busy Waving

Gins up the Reason for his Birth In Selma (Bonus…Jive Accent)

Gives a Shout out to MOH who Isn't

Gives the Queen an iPod

Gives Thoughtless Gifts to Brit PM Brown and his Children

Had an Imaginary Assignment to the Senate Banking Committee

Had an Uncle who Liberated Auschwitz

Has Visited 57 States

Harvard Degree ~ Mechanical Engineering?  No, Definitely NOT!

Hates Old People

How to Keep All Those Wars Straight?

Identifies a Whole New State (Eau Claire)

If I Can't Dazzle Them With Brilliance, I'll Baffle 'em With BS

Inhaled Frequently.  That was the Point.

Israel is a Strong Friend of Israel’s ~ Whilst being Perfectly Clear

Makes a Nasty Joke about Nancy Reagan and Seances

Medical Genius (Off Prompter)

Mistakes a Window for a Door

Mocks Joe the Plumber

Navy Corpse Man

Oaf of Office

Ogles La Derriere Like a Frenchman

Oh Wait…Robots Create Jobs with Unions (@ 1:35)

Panders to Hispanics...Rewrites History Again

Pitches Like a Girl Whilst Wearing Mom Jeans....Wheeeee!!!!!

Refused to Visit the Troops Because No Media Was Allowed

Scares the Crap out of New Yorkers

Scares a Marine Guard by Shaking His Hand

Screw Our Allies ~ I'm going with Hugo and Ortega on This One

Seeks Greater Inefficiencies in the Health Care System via Obamacare

Sees Dead People

Signs the Wrong Year in Guest Book at Westminster Abbey

Shankopotamus (check out the Crackberry)

Snubs Brits by Returning the Bust of Winston Churchill

Someone Waging a KMA can’t Spell “Libya” (h/t our own Warner Todd Houston)

Staff Incompetence ~ Obama’s Limo Gets Stuck

The Time has Changed for Come

Thinks “Victory” is a 4 Letter Word

Thinks Austrian is a Language

Thinks Europe is a Country

Throws Out the Honored Guest with the Trash

Wants to Halt the Rise of Privacy

We are the Ones We've Been Waiting For

We Can't Balance The Budget...w/o Tax Increases  ~  Um, Bernanke Disagrees

When in Ireland, Do as the Irish Do....NO WAIT....BYOB (non-alcoholic)

Will Halt The Rise of the Oceans

Wouldn't "Punish" His Daughters with a Baby AND Equates Pregnancy to an STD

WTF of the Day

You Might be a Filthy Rich Cretin If....Oh Never Mind, the Math Doesn't Really Work

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.  A partial list of The Stupidity That is Obama.

What's with the fake outrage?

Is Media Matters legally tax exempt under 501(c)(3)? Yes

You know who else is tax exempt under 501(c)(3)? The Media Research Center! That's right! You know the ones who own NewsBusters: Exposing and Combating Liberal Media Bias. And the MRC's stated mission is to educate the public and media on bias in the media.

Why Santorum has no chance.

Bigotry has bit him back

1. The frothy mixture of ****** and ******* that is sometimes the by-product of ******.

Vulgar porno spam removed and user booted.

Why won't the MRC debate Media Matters?

I wrote about this before. Now that Van Jones has challenged Glenn Beck to a debate, the question has come back to me.

Will they debate? Should they? If so why or why not?