This midterm election is an absolute slaughter. Even here in Alabama, there were many candidates who were far better (but not Republican) who lost badly. One of whom, I consider a good friend. He said at the start of this election cycle that he didn't think he'd win because of the anti-Obama backlash. He campaigned hard, there's no one who met him who didn't vote for him. He had a huge grass roots campaign AND he was endorsed by the AEA (Teacher's Union) who also funded him eventually to the tune of 180k... and he was trounced by 20%. At the end, he was right. This entire election was and would be about a massive rejection of the heavy handed tactics of this Administration.
Indeed. This was a complete rejection of Obama and the Progressives. Their tactics of intimidation using the DOJ and IRS as weapons against the people, their constant race baiting, the never-ending class warfare, the demonization of business and their total ineptitude on the world stage finally caught up with them. Throw in the "do as I say, not as I do" persona they project and the realization of the voting public that, after six years of this social experiment, things are markedly worse in almost every way and you get results like this. Obama is completely neutered for the next two years. Hillary was probably damaged beyond repair as well. The Republicans still have two major issues internally, namely the weak leadership of McConnell and Boehner. If I were the GOP I would replace both. They are too weak. Unburdening the nation of Harry Reid is a win for all. he has single handedly turned the Senate into a laughinstock that has done absolutely nothing for six years.
I reject the notion, and always have, that Obama is a 'progressive.' I firmly believe he is a socialist. I think one of the things that helped the GOP in some of these swing states, was taking a new position on social issues. In my opinion, the economic debate is undeniable.. the Democrats don't know what to do with the ball. The problem a great many people my age have with the GOP is: -We don't believe in keeping weed illegal. -We do believe it's a woman's body and decision. -We don't give one flying W F*ck if 2 men (or women) want to be married. -We don't believe in replacing 1 full time job with 3 part time jobs and calling it 'economic growth' (both parties are horrid about this.) -We believe that social welfare is not killing this economy, corporate welfare is. If the GOP can soften, or embrace, the above, they will not lose another election in my life time. In fact, you'd pretty much split the younger 2 generations right down the middle at an age in which they should be voting Democrat (Sid knows what I mean). In fact, several of the candidates did change their viewpoints, or at least soften them, in this election. And for the love of God, stop with the public prayer and Jesus in the schools things. This may not be a big deal to some of you guys in states that are a mix, or blue, but in these deep red states (like Alabama) it's some Hitler youth kinda ****. That's not hyperbole. Whenever this issue comes up, I like to remind people of Matthew 6:5-7, which often draws a lot of silence in return...if they are even familiar enough with the Bible to know what I'm referring to. Until the GOP takes a good, long look at how they handle those 5 listed items above though, they will forever be at risk to electing another Obama. In my opinion.. So does anyone wanna investigate the polling industry? Jesus, how wrong could they be?
As an arrogant narcissist once said "elections have consequences." In their meeting this week I hope the Pubs tell him, "hey, we won."
hahahaha I don't know who this lesbian chick with a dead dog on her head is (CNN) but she has struggled for 10 hours to find a single good point. She finally found one (the younger vote stayed home, which is what usually happens) but now she's throwing it around like a threat. Good grief.
the home page of Mother Jones, which is not what anyone would call a 'conservative site'... Things better change for the Democrats, or in 2 years time, things will get ugly.
Perhaps when people grow up they'll start to understand that 1. Being strong enough economically and militarily to have respect and influence in the world is more important than being able to roll a joint legally. 2. When a woman chooses to not use contraception but risk starting another life it's not just her body any more. If it's solely her decision and body why does someone else have to give her money to support her choice? 3. If a guy wants to stick his dick up his boyfriend's ass who cares. But when they want to be mainstream by redefining the term "marriage" to suit them it offends many people who realize that marriage is a term with its roots in religion. It was the foundation of family and procreation. Now it's just a vehicle so that when the receptor gets AIDS or other gifts from his buddy, he can be on the buddy's health care plan. 4. In a world economy, corporations cannot compete if labor costs are restrictive. We have a tax structure that encourages companies to flee our shores, we have energy policies that make or energy costs non competitive, we have regulation that also cripples us in a world economy. While it used to be that an employee could increase his compensation but being a good, hard worker, today's workers instead petition their politicians to raise the minimum wage. Social welfare has destroyed generations of underclass Americans especially minorities. Socialism is destroying our economy. Employer mandated Obamacare and proposed regulation such as cap and trade are deadly to American business.
Perhaps when people grow up: 1. They'll stop having imaginary friends and overlords that override their sense and sensibilities as a human being. They may even ask themselves why marijuana is illegal at all. Maybe they'll stop worrying about boogeyman and reefer madness. I do agree that national security is more important than all of those things, except the Constitution, which is what both sides seems to have forgotten. 2. Allowing a woman to choose actually reduces the amount of 'choices' that you'd have to support. You can use 3 different types of contraception and still get pregnant. There's also the very real matter of rape. So when a guy decides that it's 'not her body anymore' and decides to play the power game to rape a gal, and she winds up pregnant, was it ever her body to start with? And there's the real question, it's always her body. Always. 3. Marriage goes back further than the bible. It's always been a social contract, always. And who gives a **** if 'his buddy' gets a health care plan? If he's paying the premiums and deductibles, is that not better than you and I footing the bill? Also, let's not try to say we believe in the sanctity of marriage here. People have multiple wives/husbands and they still cheat on them. Then, they just go get another one.. and their religion says that's okay so long as they ask for forgiveness. Granted, not all religions say that but we don't get to have an official 'state religion.' The Constitution trumps that and it is what separates us from those seeking a return to the caliphate. 4. Agreed. At the same time, we would need government to take the same 'bottom line' to employee productivity as they do to employer productivity. The wage gap is a real thing. The distance between higher and lower income hasn't been this great in a long time, and I'd argue that the work force now is as educated and skilled as it has ever been. Everyone knows there's a dole to take, including the businesses.. but it's so much easier to blame the poor than it is to blame the guy who ran his business into the ground.
1. I tune out on the rape argument. 2. In the 70's Married (heterosexual) couples were paying a higher tax than single gays living together. They laughed at the "marriage tax" and there was absolutely no demand for same sex marriage. It wasn't until they started infecting themselves with AIDS and needed health coverage that the so called "Constitutional" right to marry came up. It wasn't about love, rights or anything else but money.
Some general observations: Nobody is denying any woman birth control access. Some are just suggesting that they purchase it themselves and not expect others to fund it. Just read the other day that the legal pot shops are having trouble making a profit becuase they are being taxed locally, state and federal over 70%. Plus now they have overhead of rent, payroll etc. that they did not have when they were selling out of their parents garage. The dumb asses will be tanking thanks to an overzealous government taxing them to death in combination with a complete lack of business skills. They can't sell that garbage fast enough. I should not that I am 100% anti-drug as I have watched way too many people, including one of my sons, start with pot and end up out of control. When I see news stories with 30 and 40 year olds laying in a park under a cloud of smoke I know how we get wingnuts like Obama elected. Don't even get me started on corporate taxes and over regulation. Doing business has never been more difficult than it is now. And let's leave personal faith and spirituality out of it. This government has systematically been removing all concept of God out of our lives now for 40 years. Have people been better for it? Just watch the news.
I have to agree with George...and so did the voting public in California where Sandra Fluke failed to win. She was a media creation. Nobody would have heard of her if she hadn't been given a spot in those hearings where she complained that she couldn't afford to buy condoms and birth control pills and I guess her boyfriend(s) couldn't afford them either. From their the media elevated her to a champion for womens rights and into that Calif State Senate race. You might say that if Rush Limbaugh hadn't called her a slut noobdy would even remember her name. Here in Texas Wendy Davis who nobody knew who she was till she stood in her Tennis Shoes all night ( I think) to fillibuster against changes to the laws regarding abortion clinics in Texas. Before that nobody had heard of her, but again the media got behind her and built her up and now she's been tromped by Greg Abbott who had real issues and experience to present to the people of Texas. I will say though she's hotter than Sarah Palin!
whoa whoa whoa whoa fellas... 1. You tune out on the rape argument. Fair enough, I guess. What about those who use multiple forms of contraception and still get pregnant? You still avoided the entire point that a woman's body belongs to her. 2. In the 1970s, gays were beaten openly for being homosexual. They were drug behind pickup trucks. They were routinely targeted by bullies and punks looking to get away with an assault that they knew the police wouldn't prosecute. They were pushed away from family and society and marginalized into their own pocket communities. You treat people like animals, you get animals in return. As a people, we've been almost treating them like human beings for about 20 years. They've come pretty far and you do totally neglect the very real monogamous gay couples that can now officially live life like the rest of us. George, Actually, people are denying them birth control (or trying). I understand and respect entirely your perspective being in the region you're in, but some of these red states would love nothing more than to keep women breeding machines just like the good lord intended. The IRS is hammering the profit margins of those weed shops and I say good. Maybe those people will finally see that taxation is not always the solution they thought it was. We'll have to agree to disagree about the gateway drug thing. It's true only in so much that it is pushing people to the fringe element of society when there's no good god damned reason for them to be there. Buying booze was once considered to be a gateway to the vices of the underworld. It was, because the law put you there next to opium dens, smugglers and murderers. Let's not also forget the absolute comical selective memory of the generation that praises their lifestyle of the 1960s and 1970s only to turn around and act like they (a responsible member of society) never did any of those things themselves. As far as the personal faith thing goes. I never once ever had prayer in school at the public schools I attended. NEVER. I never once saw a public school pray after a sporting event. That stuff was NEVER an issue until the 90s. Every now and then, some asshole atheist would sue over the Christmas display and he'd get stalled out in court until he'd eventually win 10 years later and then we'd put up something for every faith. No one truly cared either way. Now, here I am in the heart of Dixie. We have public school prayer EVERYWHERE. You have prayer BEFORE AND AFTER YOUTH SPORTING EVENTS. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus everywhere you look and all anyone talks about is how people are trying to take their Jesus away. Meanwhile, heroin abuse in this state is absolutely exploding. Meth is everywhere. Violent and property crime has been rising steadily and higher than the national average. There's probably a lot of reasons for this, but we can start with the fact that we're busy praying for a solution instead of finding one.
Wendy Davis... Ugh, I feel dirty just for typing than name. She's from up here. Thank God this state didn't totally lose it's mind and elect her. I have to ask... how much was that chick from Cali getting busy? You can't afford a 24 pack of rubbers for <$10??? I'm sure the smokes took precidence... :wink:
Corey, I guess how one approaches abortion depends on how you view the fetus. Of course a woman's body is her own, but what about when it is supporting another life? I got my views on this issue back in a class in college. For fun the prof had us debate abortion. (he was a sick bastard!) We had all walks in that class (from a baptist member of the Corps to a goth feminist chick)so it made for a spirited week of the class. In the end, what it came down to (for me) was this: How do you determine if the fetus is a "life" or not? Should the mother be allowed to decide she doesn't want that child the day it's born and have it "aborted"? The universal answer to that is no. So... back up one day prior to birth. Should the mother be allowed to decide she doesn't want that child and abort it one day prior to birth? Again, the answer is no. What about 2 days, or 3? So, you walk that timeline back one day at a time, and it is impossible (for me)to tell when it goes from a baby to something that is a mistake and needs to be deleted. Sure, there's a difference in a baby about to breach, and the embryo that embeds, but finding a real hard cutoff for that difference is very sketchy. Of course rape, and high risk to the mother complicate things, but if you take those items out of the equation, I can't see how it's not straight up killing? Just MHO... I'm not a "brandish the sword" kind of guy on this issue, but since it was being discussed, I thought I'd toss in.
Well I wish I had the answer for every possible situation with regards to pregnancy and abortion. I'm in general against abortion, esp abortion on demand. I'm not however for going back to no abortion being legal. I just want to reduce them to a very low number. I don't know what to tell the woman who is pregnant via rape, or who is carrying a handicapped child or other very special situations. I tend to want to make exceptions for those cases, esp rape where the woman could take a morning after pill and prevent implantation. I know many people, the Catholic Church and others would consider this abortion...but I'm willing to let this be between God and that woman. I do feel for women who are carrying handicapped children and know it, I don't know what to tell them. I do know from having a handicapped nephew (mus dystrophy) that they truly can be a blessing. From the outside they frequently look like a burden, but they truly can add to your life and enrich it with their spirit and life view even though life has short changed them. But again I think I'd be ok with letting this one be between the woman and God. As far as that ******** that it's a womans body and she owns it, sure...but she doesn't own that other body developing inside it and just because it's inconvenient doesn't give her the right to terminate that life. I'll never forget the scene outside a Houston abortion clinic where a young woman was approached by Pro-Life people to try and talk to her about her baby and she responded to the suggestion that she give the baby up for adoption is that she would never give up her baby to strangers...so she went inside and killed it. Gee I wonder how the baby might have voted.
It still is difficult for me to believe that abortion is a losing position. In a CNN poll earlier this year 58% of Americans opposed abortion. http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2014/03/10/cnn-poll-58-percent-of-americans-oppose-abortion-in-all-or-most-circumstances-n1806283 The problem is of course is that crotch voters are one issue voters. I see with the abortion numbers being what they are the Democrats have moved onto to the equal pay mantra to continue the "war on women." That apparently was the tact used by the Dems in Colorado and it failed. Of course there is always the racist issue. Of course the "racists" in South Carolina just elected Rep. Tim Scott to the Senate where I might add, there are no black or Hispanic Democratic Senators.
So here's a fun story for you guys, that Gip won't hear because his ears are closed I mentioned before that I volunteered for a battered women's shelter. Perhaps my single greatest attribute to help this cause is that I am a few sandwiches shy of a picnic and will go/say/do things that other people are afraid to do. It's why I refused to accept praise, although appreciated, from Bill. Onto the story. I had to pick up this woman at the Mississippi state line. I couldn't cross the state line for legal reasons and you'll soon see why. The woman I picked up was a 'graduate' of a shelter in the Jackson area. She had left her husband who liked to use her as a pinata, cigarette ash tray and many other terrible things. She'd been out and on her own (in the Oxford area) for right about a year. She was just starting a new life. She was in a good neighborhood, had a new job and the kids were settling in nicely. She had even just started dating...and by dating, she went on one date. The reason I know those little details are because that woman's (now) ex-husband found her. He had been stalking her and when she went on a single date, he lost it. He beat her senseless and decided to give her a ride one last time just to show who she really belonged to. As terrible as that sounds, it turns out she was pregnant as a result of this rape. There is 1 abortion clinic in the state of Mississippi. We don't know for sure, but we suspect that a member of law enforcement, or a nurse who is strictly pro-life, leaked the information about her intentions. She could not be transported immediately due to her injuries and the hospital would not perform the procedure. She even had protesters while in recovery. The protesters began a series of actions that could best be described as vandalism. What followed was a series of half-hearted attempts by people dragging their feet who were clearly pushing their value set on this woman. The Jackson center had contacted the center I volunteered for to see if they had any ideas or resources. They set up an appointment for her in Huntsville and that's when people in her own family began to threaten legal action to file injunctions to prevent her from removing 'this blessing.' They were trying to say she wasn't in a right frame of mind from the attack and therefore couldn't form a valid legal opinion on the matter. One of the ladies from the center faked a private consultation and whisked her away to the state line. I picked her up there and took her the rest of the way to Huntsville. When we arrived at the center in HSV, we were met by protesters who didn't know who she was. They were just well meaning believers. They threw things at us and I had to cover her with my coat. I sat there with her until she was called back. The staff informed me that they could sneak her out the back. That worked out pretty well. I had to drive her back to Memphis as there is/was a women's center that was going to attempt to relocate her and her family again there. As tired as I was (it's a lot of driving), I couldn't even fathom making small talk with her. She cried the entire way from Huntsville, Alabama to Memphis. Tennessee. Sometimes, it went down to a whimper but the sobbing never stopped. I couldn't think of anything to say, which for me is amazing, but I just couldn't get past the thought... 'how horribly lonely must it be for her, all because she's a girl?' I still haven't gotten past that thought. Oh, and Scott/Terry, solid points all but to be honest, I'm good with calling it in the embryo stage. Did anyone else see that arrogant press conference by Obama?
Less than 1 Less than 1% of abortions are performed because of rape. When someone drags out that argument, I figure that their only argument is the outlier.
Considering that a staggering (probably more than half) of rapes go unreported, I'm gonna have to throw a ******** flag on the 1% figure.
I make a distinction between "reported" to police and information gathered by medical personal. The statistics start with the abortions not the rapes.