The politics thread - keep it in here!

[LilBwana]

well said Frothy...

 

[pullbangdead]

The current political climate in the US is really something amazing, in a bad way. The highest approval rating ever received by a US President? Bush. The lowest approval rating ever received by a US President? Bush, the same guy just a few years later. The lowest approval rating given for a US Congress? The current Democratic Congress. The next lowest? The Republican Congress that they replaced. And the majority party in the current lowest-approval-rating-ever Congress is going to win more seats and a larger majority this year, even though so few people actually think they're doing a good job.

I just don't see how politicians can't see that the US people, by and large, aren't happy with EITHER political party. The most recent Congress had approval ratings in the SINGLE digits, and yet they still sit around saying philosophizing about what America wants or needs or how it's always the last guy's fault.

Our current economic situation is the fault of a LOT a people. A democrat President with a Republican Congress passed finance industry deregulation in the 90s, a Republican President was prevented from passing regulations by minority Democrats in a Republican Congress that didn't care enough to try to push it harder in the 2000s. Democrats and Republicans have both undertaken inaction and actions that got us to where we are, and none of them will acknowledge it, just blaming everyone else for the problems and blaming even more when the proposed solution gets voted down.

The one thing that scares me aplenty is if one party, either party, gains a filibuster-proof majority in Congress while also holding the Presidency. We could see some crazy stuff being pushed through if that happens and the party in power can't be checked; and if Obama wins, a filibuster-proof majority for the Democrats in Congress is not out of reason either. If that happens, the entire nature of the laws being passed, the entire direction of the nation and government, and the very nature of the Supreme Court deciding on those laws, can change. (Again, this isn't me afraid of Democrats, it's me afraid of EITHER party having that power, it's just that it looks like the Democrats could be getting there. Remember the Republicans never had a filibuster-proof majority at any time under Bush.)

 

[LRMNmeyer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU&feature=related See this first. (Read the comments and look at the # of views)
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65I0HNvTDH4[/media] Then this.

 

[hydrogenman15]

I think everybody posting here has voiced their opinion. Please don't discount their statements in favor of yours. I find your opinion actually very hollow. You make broad and sweeping comments about voting for a Republican. I'm a Republican but if you voted for me I an assure you I would not be George Bush so such a statement is false. I'm not discounting your opinion, I'm simply suggesting that without any kind of justification of your position your statements don't mean much. If you have a position, add some teeth to it by providing some evidence. If you think Obama would be better than McCain then explain why that is the case. I think one of the most dangerous positions to have is that of a false dilemma. Being totally polarized eliminates the reality of governmental interaction. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Pointing fingers at one person may feel good but action by our government is a team sport.

One of my favorite arguments is how the President lied to Congress about Iraq. The president can lie through his teeth but the intelligence committees of both houses received the same intelligence briefs. That information is not filtered through the White House and then distributed to Congress. Congress sees the same raw intelligence from the CIA, NSA, Joint Chiefs, Defense Secretary, NRO, and other agencies. So who was playing who for chumps? Did the president really lie to Congress? Did Congress agree regarding the intelligence? Is there some powerful lobby spinning the facts to the American people? These are the questions one must delve into before making a sweeping generalization not only for my example but for all your opinions. Then you can be sure any statements you make have substance as you can now back them up.

This is the basis for real critical thinking. It's something difficult to find in the American populace as it is not something taught in American schools except as an elective in college or a course or two on the path to a philosophy degree.

Why did I post that?
What the hell is wrong with me?
Why didn't I just click the general section and learn how to make more lasers?
I should NOT say things like that on the internet.
NOBODY LISTEN to me when I say stuff like that.

--hydrogenman15

 

[rkcstr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU&feature=related

Hey, wait... did I just get Rickrolled?

The Obama one was funny, though ;D

 

[FrothyChimp]

I almost cried watching "The REAL Sarah Palin" when Vladimir Putin says, "Your thighs are strong...like Russian bear." and then smiles. Too bad the guy is nothing more than a Stalin wannabe. It'll be nice when the last of the hardcore totalitarian communists and former directors of the KGB die. Only then will they be in a position to participate in world affairs. And much to their disbelief they will be welcomed.