Politics

[Anonymous]

What I do know is I would prefer a president who puts "my" and "our" desires first, not a president who puts forth his own personal agenda in the face of international outrage and alienation.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. you do make me laugh so muse.

[Anonymous]

HUH? wth?

As for America bringing about the downfall of mankind I say this: We will see.

[Anonymous]

Well, hey Soma, I have a dream... ;2)

[Anonymous]

I agree with you Muse, I'd love it if the American government was still for the people and by the people, unfortunatly it's no longer there... but hey wasn't it Jefferson that said "The tree of Liberty must be refreshed time to time by the blood of Patriots." .....

[Anonymous]

Now it's really "For corporations and by corporations" :-)

Washington is even full of lobbyists from overseas.  For instance Japanese lobbyists for pharmaceutical company that work to change US policy on prescription drugs because US decisions on that topic puts pressure on their own policies...

[Anonymous]

IMO, we need to ditch the electoral college, it's outdated and unnecessary.  That would be a HUGE step in the right direction.

[Anonymous]

I agree.

The electoral college was created to help communicate the will of the people of a state to Washington two centuries ago.  Most ordinary people of that time did not know who was running for president.  There was no CNN then :-)

So basically instead of electing an unknown president and VP, voters were electing people from their state, people they "somewhat" knew or at least heard of.  These people then had the mandate of choosing a president according to the will of the people.  So if a majority of candidates of one party were elected, odds were that the president of that party would be president of the united states.

Nowadays with cable news, newspapers, the internet and other mass medias, is there really anyone that doesn't know who is running for president ?  We get up-to-the minute results on election nights.  So information travels pretty well nowadays.  

I think the electoral college has past its usefulness.  It's just a relic of the past.

As you know, it can even be responsible for doing terrible things.  In 2000 the electoral college gave the presidency to the wrong guy !   The guy with the most votes nationwide lost !  Where's the will of the people there ?

I still can't believe that actually happened.  If that's not stealing an election, what is ?

[Anonymous]

Hate to tell you, but nowadays most people know little more than the names of who are running. Somewhere around 90% of voters are severely uninformed on the candidates and their policies.

[Anonymous]

That's where For orporations, by corporations come in. The media's controlled by money, as is everything.

If you look in history you'll find the major tragedies and atrocities of mankind happened because people let other people do their thinking for them. They were usually to lazy to take part in thier own government, and sometimes too much of a coward. All you have to do is think with your mind, and not believe with your ears. I think if more people were able to think on their own actually and just try to research the issue, or issues to find the best course of action rather then Democrat or Republican this nation would be better off. Also, if America got rid of some of this useless hate that it has hanging around...but then again it's not just America. It's society. Here, I know this isn't the thread for it, but let me share a revelation i've had with you guys. I'm sure most of you've already noticed it.

Society is a bully. It needs someone or something to pick on, so that they can judge it and not realise the crap that they're in all around them. Evidence? Aside from broad generalizations like invasions and war and what not - let's look at some of the specifics. Jews - Jews have been picked on since.....thousands and thousands of years ago. They've been conquered so many times that it's bewildering. Let's look at it from a more mainstream point of view, even if this does take place a while ago. I'm sure you've all heard of the Crusades. The "Christians," who personally I'd never call these people christians, would burn down houses chock full of Jewish familes while they held hands outside singing some freakin Combuya  (translated Come By Here in Jamaican) - or some other Christian hymn. You know what I find so funny? That not like a couple hundred years before, The Christians themselves were getting persecuted for what they believed, and who they were, by the Romans....it's incredible how the spirit of such a religion can be lost so fast. ESPECIALLY when they were killin the race of the freakin person who started the religion! May I remind you that Jesus WAS a Jew, but he WAS NOT a Christian. What about when America wa a young country? Who did it just mooooove on over so they can moooove on up? That's right....you got it. The NATIVE Americans. Who they promised many, many land rights, and actually gave them shit. Oh no, that's wrong, we actually gave them blankets full of the smallpox disease. Not to mention WW2 - that was just a large culmination of hate. Jews, Blacks, Gays, Japanese, Russian etc etc. (Also might I add the church's crimes to the Jews during WW2 - for which the Pope apologized. But to my knowledge he's never apologized for the Crusades. Also might I add here that the Native American's Navaho language was used as a code that the Germans could not figure out...just another way society uses and abuses) To move on, blacks were also persecuted during the slave trade, and then again in the civil rights movement. Now America also has new hatreds. Gays, dare I say it, and Middle Easterns, and I'm also noticing quite a large latino descrepency that's coming up. Now of course I'm generalizing here guys....I'm just saying the country as a whole, not any of you, and people you know, towns you live in...etc etc. But I'm sure that I haven't listed all of the things that have happened, but I'm very sure that if you look you will find only even more evidence to credit my claims.

ALL of these events have been because people allowed a person to tell them what to beleive. During the Crusades it was the pope, during WW2 it was hitler, during the slave trade it was the general disrespect of human beings between one another. During this time I believe it's partially owed to Osama, and that of George W.

But of course this is all just my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Siren, Wasn't this "separate but equal" approach already proposed once in the United States with respect to a subject matter just as equally fraught with bias and prejudice?  And after the close of that embarassing chapter in our collective history books wasn't it determined by both our society and our laws that "separate but equal" treatment violated our constitution and our conscience?  I mean, I wasn't around when Rosa sat in the front of the bus, or when Martin marched for freedom, but even with my limited knowledge of history I know it cannot and must not succeed.

Rather than ask the question the way you did, one might ask why some in our society are so opposed to permitting gays to marry when they seem content to permit "unions."  If it is purely religious (and it is not), then I suggest that our government and our laws ought not get involved.  Let them take it up with God.

I couldn't agree with you more. Unfortunately, most of America doesn't think the way I do. I personally think separate but equal is a far cry from constitutional viability. And you're right, it hasn't worked in the past at all for anything close to a solution to the problem. But I do think that that is the first step. I would be thrilled if we could realistically make a jump like that - completely bypassing the nonsense we had with civil rights decades ago. I just don't think it can be done that quickly. I think more people would be likely to except a gradual approach to equality than something that would literally change society over night. I understand that this would irritate a lot of people who want gay marriages legalized now, but wouldn't it be better to take things at a sensible pace to ensure that everything is addressed thus making it harder for someone to over-turn it for being a rash decision?

Please understand, I honestly don't mean to offend anyone. This is just what I think.

[Anonymous]

What some people can't seem to see is the fact that, because of religious belief, marriage is something that is holy in many eyes. Thus the reasoning behind the lawful union approach. It's just a word, but a word that means everything in the eyes of christians.

I hate to sound cold-hearted but, If homosexuals want to hear marriage, their in the wrong lifestyle. Not to sound like i'm close-minded about it... just realistic. The problem is freedom of religion, err.. in this case. See, people think because they have a freedom of religion, they shouldn't pass a law directly changing the meaning/symbolism behind a religious tradition. By allowing homosexuals to take part in marriage, they're doing exactly that.

Hopefully, there will either be an agreement that makes lawful union acceptable, or they will completely denounce the right. Don't get me wrong...  let them be lawfully married. I just feel they shouldn't pass laws directly manipulating a religious term. What's next? Forcing churches to allow it is another step toward tainted freedom, as i call it. If businesses can refuse business to anyone they choose, minus the obvious reasons, why can't churches? It wouldn't be a reason of segregation or hate, but because the "rules" of the religion forbid it.

If it were easy, it would already be over with, i suppose.  I only hope that people realize just how serious this is. For every step you take to being more liberal, you take another step in being less free. -At least in cases such as these. Forcing anyone to change religious belief or manipulating them to fit the lifestyles of others is not freedom.

How would you feel if all of a sudden, the goverment told you that you have to allow a family you don't even know to live with you, and then says that you have to remodle your home so that they have enough room for their new baby? Or change what you eat because they don't like meat? It's stupid, I know.. but it's very close to what they're telling churches now. -You must marry this couple, regardless of your belief, going against everything you know, or else you go to jail for breaking the law.



I know a lot of people probably disagree with a lot of things i've said, but this is a touchy topic... it should be expected I guess.

[Anonymous]

I couldn't agree with you more, Crimson. It is perverted to try to force churches to do something that is against it's core belief. Personally, I think the world is going off the deep end. Like the bible said "In the end times people will say 'bad is good" and "good is bad", among other things. Straight people want to live together outside of marriage and gays want to get married-it's crazy!

there's a whole lot more to be said, but I'll leave it at that for the time being. w00t!

[Anonymous]

I heard a comedian saying that the best way to discourage gays from getting married is allowing them to do so.  As long as its "forbidden" they'll all want to do it.

If all the gay couples do it, they'll soon find out, as the straight couples did, that it's not all it's said to be.

Just thought that was funny.

[Anonymous]

That seems to be the popular argument for anything either illegal or soon to be illegal.  Just make it legal and then soon it won't be taboo anymore and people will just accept it as regular and it won't be a big deal anymore.  Personally I think this has some major possibilities, I agree that thing would go to shit for a generation or so while people got used to there not being a drinking age or making marijuana legal, but eventually things would settle and it would just become a normal part of society.  Plus, with things like alcohol being easily available, it will teach responsibility to those that choose to abuse that freedom.  Some people will go crazy and get plastered every night, but they'll pay for it and soon realize that it's not the way to go.  It would certainly be a fun social experiment though wouldn't it?

[Anonymous]

It's been proven time and time again that when enough people want something, they'll get organized and find a way to get it.

Whether it's booze, drugs, free cable or marriage they'll get it.  The police and government can't do squat.

We've been fighting drugs traffic for decades now and it's still pretty easy to get some (I guess).  Why ?  Because there is a market for it, good money to be made.  Find a way to make people lose interest in drugs, make the market disappear and the drug traffic will stop.

Prohibition failed miserably also.

If marriage is forbidden in the states, gays will go to Canada or somewhere else to get married.

I personally don't really care whether gays can get married or not, I just think fighting it will be fruitless.

Just my two cents.