Well, I agree that there has not yet been any meaningful DEBATE in this thread. I posted something funny and got more or less attacked for being on the left. Then there was a bunch of talk about people on both sides not being open minded. It is my opinion that Bush is more or less an idiot. And it is my opinion that this war Iraq is wrong. And it is my opinion that the Republicans often speak more for big business than for the needs of the people. But just because I HAVE opinions does not make me close minded. It does not mean I'm unwilling to debate the issues. It just means I know what I think, and I'm sure you know what you think as well. If you would like to debate the issues then let's do so. However, I have a feeling that in this environment we will get dragged down to the lowest common denominator. Here's the definition of Debate: v.intr. 1. To consider something; deliberate. 2. To engage in argument by discussing opposing points. 3. To engage in a formal discussion or argument.
No worries, Rivergirl. U.S. politics and diverse mores have been frequently debated here before, so am sure that more civil discourse will come. Just everyone count to ten before answering anything that bruises your sense of right/wrong.
Under the government of GW I see the following things I would rather not see 1. Gas prices keep rising. Should someone (by someone I mean Georgie and his political cronies) who has millions of dollars invested in the oil companies and their subsidiaries be able to dictate public energy policy? If he was to find a viable way to get the country off of oil, he would be bankrupt. I wonder where his allegiance lies????? 2. More soldiers have died in Iraq than the total killed on 9/11. ITS NOT WORTH IT!!!!!!!! It may sound callous, but the freedom education prosperity and all the other blah blah blah of the Iraqi people is not worth the life of one soldier. I would like to see the people of Iraq having a better life, but not at our expense 3. Georgie has spent more public money that any recent Democrat. My money. 4. As an athiest, I cringe when I hear our President say that God is directing his decisions. If there is a god I highly doubt he/she is as stupid as Gerogie is making him/her out to be. The separation of church and state is getting more and more blurry with the current President. I always vote according to the candidate and not their party affiliations. To do otherwise is extremely irresponsible and short-sighted in my opinion. Being a republican does not always mean you are Satan's roommate, and being a Democrat does not always mean you are a godless heathen who wants to tax everything and everyone.
Apologies if you felt like I was attacking you or calling you closed minded. You ost certainly were not who I was referring to. Your opinion is your opinion and just because we don't agree doesn't mean either of us is closed minded. I think that we can agree on, LOL. Unfortunately, not everyone is open minded and I was referring to those people in my post..certainly not you.
This bothers me too. And it looks to me as though securing rights to oil might have been Bush's real reason for going into Iraq. I think the US should be as self-sufficient as possible energy-wise. Will someone who supports the Bush Administration's position on Iraq please tell me WHY we are over there? If it's not to secure oil then what? How in the world does it relate to 9/11? The 9/11 terrorists were not from Iraq! Osama is not Iraqi. There are no WMDs? So what is it? If it's to bring Democracy to Iraq (which I don't think it's our place to do) then why do it NOW? Saddam was a cretin for many years before we went in there. Back in the 80's Amnesty International was prattling on and on about his atrocities and no one did anything about it. Now it looks to me as though the US used 9/11 as an excuse to go into Iraq and get cheap oil... When Clinton was in office the stock market did well (I made gobs of money in it) and the budget was, more or less, balanced. At least the US had far less debt then. It seems to me that the Republicans preach fiscal conservativeness but don't practice it. Some folks say they war is good for the economy b/c of all the money that flows to the defense contractors, but to me that puts money into a sector of the economy which needs war to keep it going, not healthy imho. And having huge amounts of debt is not healthy. This scares me too. I've heard psychologists talk about how Bush portrays his relationship with god in terms of him being somehow "chosen", as if he's somehow better than the rest of us, instead of being one of us. I firmly believe in the separation of church and state. And do not think that my religious views have any place in my politics. When someone in power acts as though his relationship with god puts him above the rest of the people that scares me. That's zealotry, and seen in a certain it looks dangerous to me. If I tell people that "God told me to do it" they would lock me up!
Well said. Its not that I want to see the people of Iraq live in horrid conditions. Its more that it is not our job or right to fix it. The liberation of the people of Iraq was just a convenient shift of focus when there were not any piles of WMDs showing up. Before we invaded Iraq, the sole reason given was that there were dangerous weapons all over that country. When no weapons were found the liberation of the Iraqi people from the clutches of Saddam was th "real" reason for the invasion. The invasion to get rid of the weapons did not have a name. When no weapons were found it suddenly became known as "Operation Enduring Freedom".
I Love a great debate Currently I just see someone posts a topic and those that agree with the topic clap their hands and those that disagree with the topic point to the other side raise a few points and then clap their hands. Then it begins degenerating into a "I sit on this side of the political spectrum and I beleive this so I am right and you are wrong"..."Oh Yeah, well I sit on this side of the political spectrum and because of that I am right and you are wrong, and further more you are a moron for thinking it" Reminds me of the 40 year old virgin "Do you know how I know that your gay" "Oh yeah, well do you know how I know your gay" "Oh Yeah...." Just turns into, your favorite band sucks so you must be gay or wrong or whatever. In reality most of the view presented are very myopic. Basically all I am hearing is"My parents voted for the Red side (or the Blue side) so that is what I vote for" I know one thing, there was a whole lot of truth in some of Rivergirls and Lamberts quotes. One of the biggest problems that I see as an outsider is Bush's willingness to allow his personal spiritual beliefs govern his country. We have seen through radical islamic clerics and their brethen what happens when religion shapes your policies. I don't know how much I can comment on because I sit in Canada and observe you guys in the States with a lot of fondness, but some of your policies make me scratch my head. The religion and the massive debt for starters. I would love to see you guys debate without the insults however, please continue. Thanks
i said no bush slams for me :announce: see am a lover not a fighter :lotsoflove: but river girl has got it going on. you go girl :bow: keep up the good word :claphappy: it is to sad that some people blow up when :banghead: a realaty check on there understanding of what is wrong is droped on there lap so much for a good debate :bash: cus you know rush is wrong :doh!: soory
