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Reply to Michael Moore Isn't the Enemy in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Smartaz: You say they are not supposed to lean... Doesn't everyone lean? I mean, isn't it human for all of us to feel that a certain path is the correct one? So, if that is true, "fair and balanced" is ridiculous. Many people call Foxnews and Drudge Report conservative and CNN and the networks liberal. That's ok. The point is that if they don't do their job investigating, just reporting, the American public decides it has been done then

Reply to Michael Moore Isn't the Enemy in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Madine: First you say that the information is anecdotal than you off anecdotal evidence as proof? Hehehe. Isn't that incongrous? Or is it in-congress? The point that Mr. Moore is making is not so much that Congresspeople are trying to avoid military service for their children but rather, as Congresspeople; how much stake do they have in saying "yeah, stay in Iraq for the next 18 months, it's no problem for us.

Michael Moore Isn't the Enemy in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I reviewed Fahrenheit 9/11 last Friday and you may wish to read that blog before this one. The people of the United States are good, decent human beings who over 225 years ago embarked on a great experiment in government and society untried in human history. It was an experiment based on the premise that every part of government would provi

Reply to Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movie Review in Movie Reviews JoeUser Forums

CS Guy: I have no problem with building weapons to secure the country. But the issue is really whether we need the numbers of weapons we have. Isn't it true that Lockheed sells weapons to other countries that have much less security for those weapons than we do and in fact, couldn't those weapons themselves be sold to either unfriendly governments or even terrorist sources? Don't get me wrong, I am not blaming you for such actions, nor Lock

Reply to Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movie Review in Movie Reviews JoeUser Forums

David St. Hubbins: We were in Ottawa for Canada Day! Nice party up on Parliament Hill. Couldn't get to see the Parliament Kitties because security was so tight, but I guess the security people's hearts were in the right place, after all, those kitties are mighty important!

Reply to Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movie Review in Movie Reviews JoeUser Forums

CS Guy: I think it is important to remember what "we" stand for. People who choose to live in peace as individuals and as a society should always be welcome, even if they have a culture far different from our own. Man has not yet exhausted the possibilities of life so that we can say "democracy or die" have we?

Reply to Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movie Review in Movie Reviews JoeUser Forums

Draginol: Well, I plan on writing about the politics of the film on Monday. In the meantime, I will pose this question: Do you believe that nuclear weapons will not be in the hands of terrorists or terrorist governments (those that oppose us and are not of Western culture) because we took out Saddam? I mean, if you look at "Eastern Civilization" (which would include most of Africa and Asia, except for Japan) it seems to me that sooner or la

Fahrenheit 9/11: A Movie Review in Movie Reviews JoeUser Forums

( Note: Minor Spoilers included ) Considering the uproar over Fahrenheit 9/11 I went to the film expecting to see something between a very flawed film with no redemptive social value and the second coming of Cecil B. DeMille (the film did win the jury prize at Cannes). However, the film is neither what the neocons want you to avoid or what the

Reply to Dissent is Decent not Traitorous in Politics JoeUser Forums

BakerStreet: One of the things you have to consider (as my dear mother always said) is the source. For example, if a Republican candidate shows pictures of aborted fetuses (hope I didn't spoil your lunch) as a campaign tool that doesn't make all Republicans pro-life or shockingly vulgar people. What it says is that the candidate weighed his options and decided that showing the pics was more likely to get him votes than not. Michael Moore, i

Dissent is Decent not Traitorous in Politics JoeUser Forums

The new Michael Moore film is being painted two distinct colors, black and white. The 9/11 Committee has been called both wrong and superb. The foes of Mr. Cheney claim he is a vile blasphemer and unworthy of being Vice-President, the friends say his tirade on the Senate floor was long overdue. Why are people taking all of these things so seriously? Have we truly

Reply to Know your Enemy in International JoeUser Forums

ShadowWar: One of the things that you seem to think is that you can't question foreign policy and still be united in opposition to terrorism. You mean to say that we must accept everything the administration says without question in order to obtain victory. Are you suggesting that it is in asking the question that we show we are not united and therefore cannot win? You know, there has NEVER been a U.S. conflict where there has not

Is the Economy worth more in the Bush? in Business JoeUser Forums

The Current Accounts shortfall of $144 billion (that for January through March) is a reminder of how the government (pick a devil there) has expanded business by pumping cash into an economy on the verge of overload in terms of being propped up on borrowed time. This occurs when Presidents run for re-election almost every 4 years and a tip in the stock market to the

Reply to Cheney And The F-Bomb in Politics Stardock Forums

You know, it's interesting anyone would equate swearing and cussing with "being a man" or "being assertive". I was always of the understanding that swearing was a sign that a person had run out of intelligent things to say and was falling back on insults as a way of responding to valid criticism. Perhaps that's what we want in government. We want someone who is not afraid to say f*** you, even if we tell our children it's wrong, even if we

Reply to Is Healthcare the Issue that will Doom President Bush? in Politics Stardock Forums

MadPoet41: Thanks for the input. My daughter is an OT at a public school in the midwest and some of the horror stories she has told me about costs for helping disabled children and the care they get, especially for the very ill like yourself would make Charles Dickens cringe. Thanks for the encouragement on blogging!

Reply to Is Healthcare the Issue that will Doom President Bush? in Politics Stardock Forums

Madine: But, as you can see from the analysis that I have for the one couple: $600 would not be much by comparison to their total bill and since the benefits drop off fairly significantly on the amount over $16,000 the benefit (small to begin with) is essentially not a talking point for seniors. If President Bush tries to sell the prescription drug benefit as something he's "proud" of, I think voters will be moved to vote for Kerry.

Reply to Is Healthcare the Issue that will Doom President Bush? in Politics Stardock Forums

The new law protects families on very low income and in fact is no help at all to most. The maximum income for a couple to receive any benefits is $16,000 so if you are making more than $1250 per month, no benefits or $12,000 for an individual ($1000 per month). Once again, Congress passes a law that will benefit no one, then claims it is being benevolent in doing so.

Reply to Terrorist take U.S. Women and Children Hostage.... in Misc Stardock Forums

ShadowWar: I think if it were 10 days before the election the vote would swing to Bush's favor because when Americans get angry they vote the incubent in. However, if it were July 4th, I think anger by November would be replaced by despair and it would work the opposite way because by then we would think "the President can't protect the people so the President must be replaced." I don't think they would call off the election, no ma

Is Healthcare the Issue that will Doom President Bush? in Politics JoeUser Forums

The American healthcare systems (it would be inappropriate to say there was only one) have begun to reach the point where the costs to the retired (actually, those over 40 probably qualify) that Americans are beginning to see that comprehensive reform of the system(s) is necessary before they become bankrupt. Most Americans are fairly sure it is not on the Republican

Reply to Election Voting Strategy in Politics Stardock Forums

I would suggest that whatever party you are signed up as that you read any literature or whatever you can on the candidates in that party to see if they fit with your general concept for what the candidate should stand for. Obviously if you can't find out any information pretty much any system would be as good as any other. People who just vote a straight ticket are either well informed or non-informed. Guess which one happens more often?

Reply to Why Make the Decision Now? in Politics Stardock Forums

Madine: I think the party platform had a plank in '88 against raising taxes which is what Bush alluded to in the famous "read my lips" speech

Reply to Fahrenheit 911 aims to indoctrinate in Politics JoeUser Forums

Draginol: Interviews and clips can be misleading and presentation is something that is very important. Movies are meant to get us to think, feel, look at the world in a way we might not have previously. Most reviewers, even those who disliked it say that it did elicit a response from them. Dismiss it if you wish personally, but not seeing it because of what you say you have seems a bit shortsighted.

Reply to Why Make the Decision Now? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Madine: You seem to be on the conservative side of things, which is fine with me. So, let me ask in regards to the statement that the Republican Congress forced reduced spending on Clinton, I thought it was always that "Clinton read the polls and did what he thought they suggested." Isn't more likely than Clinton read the polls and then worked with Congress (something Mr. Bush seems to have a hard time with) to get done what he thought would

Reply to Why Make the Decision Now? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Mediator: I think Kerry reaches out to the middle by saying he will not pull American forces out of Iraq or the Middle East. Many in the liberal camp would love to hear Kerry say that he has heard the call of the marches held around the U.S. last summer and is ready to pull out. I also think Kerry would have never have invaded Iraq without more provocation although I think Afghanistan was such an overwhelming argument that he would have inva

Reply to Islam a peaceful religion?? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

I would just add that you consider such racist hate groups in the present day as the Ku Klux Klan and the John Birch Society, both of which advocate racial and religious hatred against Blacks, the Jewish, and Immigrants. Hate knows know religious base. Consider the song "Winchester Cathedral" by Crosby, Stills and Nash who sing: Too many people have died in the name of Christ for anyone to heed the call." Hate knows no racial bounds, nor r

Reply to Why Make the Decision Now? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Well, I think investors like President Bush because he has a cheap labor policy (low minimum wages inside U.S., no restrictions on moving jobs overseas, and an open border policy with China) but Kerry has been in the Senate for a long time with no significant legislation to show for his time. I think it is interesting that you note that the President has abandoned conservative principles on issues that play well to the non-affiliated voters