Vote, Ladies and gentlemen

Its your duty.

I remember back in high school

The teachers decided it would be a great idea to bring in local representatives of all political parties in the country for a debate and so the students could learn something about politics.

So in they came. The teachers had set up microphones so the students could ask questions and I decided to take part.

So I got up and waited in line calmly and politely just like everyone else. At this point, I hadn't made a decision on what side of the fence I stood. I was only 16 years old and I was quite curious.

So I asked my question "Everyone is talking about money, but I'm curious about something else. I'd like to know what you intend to do about the environmental issues facing us today". Now, I was quite embarrassed so I actually looked down at this point. I tend to be a bit shy and I don't like large numbers of people, and there were hundreds of kids and several adults looking at me as I said that.

Two of the party reps didn't even stand up. The first to do so was the Conservative party member who proceeded to insult me. He literally called me stupid and that the very question was idiotic "because Canada already has some of the best environmental initiatives in the world, and...". Well at this point, the Liberal party member stood up and told him off point blank "Don't you talk to her that way. She asked a valid question. The least you could do is answer it properly". And then HE actually answered the question with details. The Conservative decided to sit down and pout and didn't even finish what he was saying.

I immediately liked the Liberal rep and that has never changed. In fact, now that I've moved to the United States, its grown alot stronger. The more I see of the Republicans, the more disgusted I get. They are the most horrible people I've ever had the misfortune of meeting and they will destroy this country if they aren't brought in check. The Democrats aren't alot better but they ARE significantly better than the Republicans.

Don't believe me? Go watch the most recent commercials from the Republicans with the elections coming up.

You people disgust me. You are absolutely vile human beings and you should be ashamed of yourselves for the hatred and selfishness you promote while you hide it behind a religious facade that you don't even live by. Anyone who believes a word of it must be mentally retarded.

And the Canadian Conservatives? I may not agree with their philosophy but at least they aren't complete and utter mind blowing assholes like the Republicans.

Republicans

They preach about fiscal responsibility, yet the 10 billion a month cost of the war wasn't even reported during yearly budgets for 8 years. Thats not fiscally responsible. And it only scratches the surface of what they did that wasn't fiscally responsible. You can preach fiscal responsibility all you want but actions speak louder than words and the actions of the rethugs show them to be the worst sort of liars that say "who are you going to believe, your own eyes or what I tell you?". 

They need to change their tune. Maybe if people couldn't tell they were lying, it would be different.

They use the worst kind of tactics. 

And THAT is why they won't get all they think they will in November. Because they haven't learned a thing.

The Secrets of Obama's Underappreciated Success

Just because I'm not a selfish self centered arrogant stuck up Republican

DOES NOT make me a freeloading leech.

I pay my bills just like everyone else. I work full time just like everyone else.

Now knock off the insults, or I'm going to keep giving it back to you, Rethugs.

For all the slamming of Canada's waiting times for health care....

I have yet to see it any better in the United States even after living here for two years.

So you people can stop acting all high and mighty now.

In an emergency room, you're looking at a good three or four hours. For urgent care, the same.

For an appointment, its a good week. Even the dentist is at least 5-6 days (my bloody jaw HURTS dammit. I can barely sleep and have a constant sharp pain up the side of my face, I need that tooth pulled. I can't even chew on that side. The stupid thing collapsed in on itself and hollowed out).

Yes I, or a family member, has had to use ALL Of those at one time or another in the last two years.

Stop bragging about how great your health care system is America. So far, its been a bloody joke. The wait times are no better, the treatment is no better, and you get charged 5 times the amount for it. Get over yourselves.

Should Animal Abusers, like Sex Offenders, Be Registered?

Should Animal Abusers, like Sex Offenders, Be Registered?

YES, Yes they should be. And laws against animal abuse need to become a hell of alot harsher.

Replace Grant with Reagan on the $50 bill?

You have got to be kidding me.

The Republicans get stupider every day. I actually thought it wasn't even possible for people to get dumber but apparently they're managing.

A North Carolina Republican is trying to get Grant removed on the bill, and put Reagan in his place.

As a wonderful poster on CNN who calls himself jailwillis said.... 


"Reagan is directly responsible for every major crisis we face. He armed Saddam, his people armed Ossama, he was taken completely by surprise when Gorbachev dismantled the USSR which led to nuclear proliferation and destabilized the world, his trickle down economics BS is the epitome of elitism, 
he lied to congress and the american people about illegally selling weapons to terrorists. Iran Contra. He signed off on murders and assassinations all over South America that led to the current anti-americanism there. He supported the worst dictators & terrorists. On top of it all he had Alzheimer's disease while he was in office, he was the perfect prop up puppet. His legacy was completely rewritten during he Bush years, he was a terrible president."

Why the hell would anyone be dumb enough to put Reagan on the dollar? He doesn't deserve it.

"I've never heard of a credit card authorization form"

What a load of crap.

You people must think we in the hotel business are stupid. I've worked in 10 different hotels in two different countries and every single one of them require a credit authorization form for a reservation thats using your credit card when you won't be there yourself.

Why?

Its called "protection from identity theft" and "protection for the hotel to make sure you pay your bill".

Would you rather we let people charge your credit card to the hilt?

Use your brains and stop being stupid.

Contrary to stupid rumor...

HOTELS DO NOT SAVE ROOMS FOR EMERGENCY USE ON BUSY DAYS.

Sorry to burst your bubble. If we say we're sold out, WE ARE SOLD OUT. Its not a joke, its not "hiding things", its the bloody truth.

And if we say that we have "no rates available", its either too far in advance for you to book or WE ARE SOLD OUT.

Avatar: A Triumph in movie making

This film... there is simply no words that can describe the beauty of this film.

Its not often a person gets to see an evolution in entertainment. This movie, no this film, is just such a moment.

No, its not the greatest story ever, but it is a story that tries to teach a lesson. That of the fact that we are having a seriously hard time learning from the past, and those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The story is a classic one, and one often told, though not set in the same time and with such emotion.

The acting is heartfelt and gut wrenching. That's part of what makes any movie mean the most.

But its more than just that. It is simply completely beautiful. A rich and fantastic world is populated with creatures that have only existed in dreams and nightmares. Some are dark and vicious, and others... well... they glow with bio-luminescence usually only seen in the deepest of Earth's seas and are simply breathtaking.

The society created by James Cameron feels so incredibly real and vibrant and amazing. One that you want to learn more of, and I'm sure will spawn dozens if not hundreds of novels and several sequels.

But even that doesn't begin to cover it. This movie made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me cheer. But most of all it made me shiver from the intense feeling that I was watching history in the making and from the utter beauty of what was before me.

This movie is going to change film making forever. Its a triumph for James Cameron, and for the film industry at large. I have no more words, and what I've said doesn't even remotely begin to describe the truth. And so I say simply... see it. You know you want to.

Christians oppressed? Seriously?

You are NOT being oppressed.

Who is stopping you from exercising your right to believe as you wish?

When so-called Christians launched the Crusades and put people in iron maidens if they didn't think right, THAT was oppression. When women were given the choice between drowning (to prove they weren't witches) or being burned at the stake (or hanged, depending on which country you were in) if they were deemed to be witches, THAT was oppression. When people of one religious bent slaughter those of another even today, THAT is oppression.

Retailers wishing you a happy holidays instead of Merry Christmas, and an enforcement of the CONSTITUTION which states that the government will not endorse any one religion, does NOT constitute oppression.

The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell

The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell

Ways to stay motivated when the perks disappear courtesy of CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/11/23/cb.perks.disappear.motivation/index.html

Here's an idea to stay motivated... realize that you are damned lucky to even have a job because there are hundreds or even thousands of people lining up on the street to take your job from you so you should suck it up and deal with it.

People freak out over Adam Lambert kissing a man

Usually I talk about politics, but I really feel the need to speak out when I see this kind of thing.

When Adam Lambert first burst on the scene, we all knew immediately that this was a flamboyant man, and his sexuality was immediately questioned. No one was surprised when we found out that he was gay.

Each and every time he was on stage, you could feel that he would be a controversial star. We all knew it. And no one even remembers the other guys name, while we're all still talking about Adam. He's constantly in the news for doing something controversial, before this it was his album cover (its very androgynous).

He's quite fascinating and everyone wants to watch him.

Yet for some reason, alot of people expected him to be the "clean good rock n roll type" when we all knew better.


And whats worse we're hearing "oh my god, my kid was watching".

So everyone is acting all shocked that he did some sexual moves and kissed a man on stage.

Oh come on now... this is the worst thing you people have ever seen? Alice Cooper bit the heads off live chickens, groups like The Who not only went on stage high but advocated drug use and even smoked joints on stage, Madonna practically had sex on stage, and Michael Jackson rubbed himself on stage. And yet kissing a man is so horrible? What is wrong with your brains that you'd be so utterly stupid?

This? Its a small thing. We've all seen alot worse. And none of us flipped out over it either.

People its time to grow up and stop being childish jerks.

And people, if your kid is such a big baby that they can't watch someone kissing, there is something wrong with your kid, not with whats on screen. You KNEW what to expect when you turned it on. We all did. We all KNEW he'd do something controversial. Obviously its how he's managed to keep his name on everyones lips for months. And frankly, its just plain good promotions.

Stop treating your kids like babies. You're supposed to be raising functional members of society, not childish whiners.

Patience is something Americans desperately need to learn.

I'm not even quite sure how to begin this post.

I always thought I had very little patience.I simply cannot stand to be forced to wait for anything and I get bored rather easily. But even I understand that there are some things that just take time. Things that you simply cannot rush, no matter how much you try.

One of the things that is frustrating to me about living in the United States is that the culture has perpetuated this intense belief that EVERYTHING HAS TO HAPPEN RIGHT THIS SECOND. Its like most of the population has lost their capacity for patience.

Now I won't say that doesn't happen back in Canada, of course it does, but its just so much more pronounced in the United States.

One of those things is the government. Unless its a life-or-death-be-bombed instance, there's little to no chance of the government moving quickly on anything, no matter how you try. Thats why some people (like President Obama) push so hard to get things done but seldom succeed in it.

Time. We humans have very little of it, but we have more than most. There are animals out there that live only hours or days to breed and die out there. And there are animals that can live hundreds of years. We humans fall somewhere in the middle, so where did this "it must happen NOW or not happen at all" mentality come from.

This is the mindset of a child, not of an adult. Adults are supposed to have the capacity to understand that some things take time. A child should not be in control of anything because they are children. Americans, its time to grow up and learn that things take time. That includes the economic recovery, and the creation of a health care bill thats going to change the way of life for every American in the country.

The Government cannot say "The health care bill will be finished for good, with no need for change, on December 13, 2009". Thats not life. Thats not the way the world works. Things happen. For all we know, we'll suffer terrorist attacks, for all we know, the H1N1 will mutate and begin killing thousands of Americans in weeks decimating the population, for all we know, we'll all just suddenly drop dead of no known cause. They simply cannot give a definite answer. So "we hope to have it done sometime this year" IS a valid answer. To give a definite date would totally screw them if they were proven wrong for any reason at all even if the reason was that a nuclear bomb destroyed the White House.

Star Wars gave us a great quote... "Only Sith deal in absolutes". In this case, it would be "Only fools and children deal in absolutes". This is life, it is not a fantasy and so the second saying would apply.

Patience, young Padawan.

More hotel booking advice.

Ladies and gentlemen, I understand that money matters right now. However, if you are booking for a special event in your destination city (such as Mardi Gras), or during a special event (since you will be paying the same price regardless), and you want... No NEED... a specific room type (like two double beds because you are going to have four people in the room), then book the specific room type even though it means more money.

Requesting two double beds when you have two people and booking only a standard room type (which usually means you get what a hotel has on checkin depending on the hotel availability) means that you will get a single queen bed. Especially during a special event.

And let me remind you of something. We are not stupid. We know that if you book as one person for a room with two double beds it probably means that you are lying to us and are actually planning on having extra people there. You WILL be discovered, and you WILL be charged for the additional people.

You are NOT guaranteed a room type just because you requested it no matter how far in advance you booked it. If you want a specific room type, then bloody well pay for it or be happy with what you get.

If you smoke in a non-smoking room, you WILL be charged the cleaning fee (which means hundreds of extra dollars on your bill). No if's, and's or but's. Any room that you have smoked in will smell of smoke and require intense cleaning to get rid of it. There are people that are allergic to cigarette smoke out there. Have a little compassion for others. You are renting that room, it does NOT belong to you. If you want a room where you can do whatever you please, then rent an RV and park in an RV park.

Quotes courtesy of JFK AND an answer to them.

"Communism has never come to power in a country that was not disrupted by war or corruption, or both. " So we disrupt several countries by war (Iraq & Afghanistan) and allow many be disrupted by their corruption as well as ours (Blackwater & Haliburton).

"Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth." Yet Republicans believe that if you don't conform to their ideology, you're a traitor (even when the USA PATRIOT ACT attempted to undermine the Bill of Rights)

"I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone. " Yet they think Bush was a great president (and the best speaker ever - according to FOX)

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. " Compared to the new Republican motto "If we can't make the rich richer, why should we give a damn about the poor?"

"Israel was not created in order to disappear - Israel will endure and flourish. It is the child of hope and the home of the brave. It can neither be broken by adversity nor demoralized by success. It carries the shield of democracy and it honors the sword of freedom." When he said that Israel was just a teenager; everyone changes as they grow up. He might see things differently now.

"It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war. " Preparing for war is different from going to war at the drop of a hat. Besides, do we have to spend 41.5% of the entire planet's military budget. We spend more than the next 14 countries put together.

"It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now ... Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus." Regan raise taxes, Bush 1 raised taxes, taxes were a lot more in decades past. Taxes go up and down depending on growth, stagnation, and inflation. Bush 2 thought spending trillion$ while cutting everyones taxes would make us rich. How's that working for you?

"Lower rates of taxation will stimulate economic activity and so raise the levels of personal and corporate income as to yield within a few years an increased – not a reduced – flow of revenues to the federal government." See Above.

"A tax cut means higher family income and higher business profits and a balanced federal budget. Every taxpayer and his family will have more money left over after taxes for a new car, a new home, new conveniences, education and investment. Every businessman can keep a higher percentage of his profits in his cash register or put it to work expanding or improving his business, and as the national income grows, the federal government will ultimately end up with more revenues." Giving a $1000 tax cut, but raising my medical, gas & food expenses by $3000 doesn't end up on the positive. Besides, Bush did it & we went from a plus under Clinton to a huge negative after W.

Source(s):

http://www.globalissues.org/article/75/w…

 

- from singletrack65 on Yahoo Answers

PolitiFact | GOP health care reform: A simple explanation

PolitiFact | GOP health care reform: A simple explanation

Posted using ShareThis

Ok, so the short version is... screw over the little people, favor the corporations. Gee thanks for nothing Republicans.

Presidential Approval Ratings -- Barack Obama

Presidential Approval Ratings -- Barack Obama

PolitiFact | California Republican lumps Obama in with Hoover in his approach to fighting recession

PolitiFact | California Republican lumps Obama in with Hoover in his approach to fighting recession

Posted using ShareThis

Public option: Options

Currently there are three options for the public option for health care in the United States.

1. Public Option

2. Trigger Option

3. Opt Out plan

Lets examine these shall we?

1. Everyone gets covered equally, no one gets refused and individuals don't go bankrupt and homeless because of medical debt.

2. A satisfactory option, but only if the company's are given ONE YEAR ONLY to change their practices, and if they are NOT allowed to increase rates in any possible way so they can't sleaze as much money as possible from the public before the government trigger takes effect.

3. No way no how. This means that all the Republican states would go without while unemployment and bankruptcies get higher and higher forcing all the Democrat states to cover their butts.

No more Republican stupid ideas.

If you are asked to remove your veil.... THEN REMOVE YOUR BLOODY VEIL.

This isn't the Middle East, its North America, and HERE women do NOT walk around in public places wearing a veil that hides their faces. Its not about modesty. In fact, it has NOTHING to do with modesty or lack of it.

This is about protection. Both for you and for the businesses you frequent. There has been a great deal of trouble on this continent from Muslims, the biggest being that they (and yes, it was Muslims, no matter how much Muslims deny it, they were just extremists) attacked the United States on September 11, and killed thousands of people by ramming planes into buildings.

Women are NOT exempt from this fear, just because the ones that actually did it are men.

Those veils hide your face, and they hide your body. That means no one can identify you if you do something wrong, or if you are injured somehow. This is very very bad, and it doesn't matter which religion you belong to. For all we know, you have a great big bomb strapped to your chest, or around your neck, thats going to explode and kill us all.

REMOVE YOUR VEIL IF YOU ARE ASKED.

EVERYONE ELSES RIGHT TO LIVE SUPERCEDES YOUR RIGHT TO YOUR RELIGION.

Deal with it and stop whining.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa091025_wz_coverup.252101bf6.html

The Traditional Family Role

Normally I give my opinion on things rather than share something of my past, but this post will be a bit different, though it is, as per usual, based on something from CNN/Time. This might be long so bare with me.

As you can see, the article I sited as the link in the title is an article about how we all hold on to the 'Traditional Family". So let me tell you what my "Traditional Family" life was like when I was growing up.

I had a father and a mother, of course. My dad worked, my mother stayed home and took care of the home and children. They are both members of the Baby Boom Generation where such things were idealized into things like the television show "Leave it to Beaver". They, as many members of their generation, grew up to want that more than anything in the world.

The only problem is, it never existed.

As I was growing up, my mother worked in the yard building beautiful flower beds for us to play in. We had a garden the size of a small house, and a back yard that was so large, you could fit a total of three of the house that I grew up in, inside it. We always had fresh vegetables and fruit to eat, and my mother canned them in the fall so we never bought out. We used to go into the garden to pick fresh peas and carrots in the summer when we wanted a snack and I rarely ever saw sweets, except on the holidays when my mother gathered my sister and I, and baked so many cookies, cakes, pies, and other sweets that we couldn't eat at the kitchen table for weeks for all the food.

At Christmas, she'd  get us, and (sometimes) some of our friends together, and we'd make homemade ornaments for the Christmas tree (baked and shellacked bread shaped like dough bears for example). On Easter, we'd dye eggs (Ukrainian Easter Eggs one year, that I turned out to be allergic to the dye) and on Easter morning, we'd wake to chocolate and candy eggs hidden all over the house and have candy for weeks. On Halloween, my mother made hand sewn costumes for us, and my dad took us trick or treating.

My mother used to come to our figure skating lessons with us, and at one point got roped into running the music for practice.

It sounds ideal, doesn't it? Only it leaves a great deal out.

For one thing, where exactly was my father in all this? He was working. And he was out with his friends. Most of the time, except when he wanted to eat and sleep (and maybe a few other things from my mother), we never saw him. He wasn't interested in anything we did. He could have been, he had the time, but his friends were more important to him

And then there's the fact that he was an alcoholic. He was also an abuser. Barely a night went by (he came home at 4 and 5 am most nights) when he wasn't drunk, and angry at nothing. The last ten years that they were together, we barely had a night go by when they weren't screaming at each other, throwing things at each other, or my father wasn't doing something like shoving my mother into the wall screaming at her. The neighbors knew this was going on. Family knew this was going on. Heck, even the police knew it. No one ever did anything to help, even when my sister and I called them begging them to come and stop my parents before they killed them. The police were notorious for driving him around the block a few times, and then dropping him back off, because he was their friend (small town).

When they finally split when I was 14, it was a blessing. To this day, my sister and I wish that they had done so years before that. The fighting stopped. There was peace in the house again.

But that only lasted for so long because you see, my mother hadn't worked in 17 years. She had no idea how to even go about starting to do that, never mind actually how to balance a check book and pay bills. My father had done all those things.

She went to work but could only find a part time job. We couldn't pay the mortgage much less have food in the house. And trying to get money from my father was like getting blood from a stone, and she had to find a way to pay a lawyer so the law could force my father to pay for child support. And even then, most months, he missed. Eventually they garnished his wages, but by that time, he owed us $18,000 in back payments and we had been on welfare for two years.

We were forced to move from my childhood home.

When I was 15, I went to work part time in the public library. My mother couldn't afford to pay my way through high school, so I paid it myself (including my prom dress). The rest of my money went to the household, things like buying food and paying for a phone in my house. We never had a car so I never learned how to drive because my father took his with him and we couldn't afford the $480 cost the schools were charging and my mother had never learned.

When I finally graduated school, I was able to start working full time to help pay the bills. By this time, my mother had had a breakdown. I'm the only thing that kept the family together and I was too scared to tell anyone what happened, when she was rocking back and forth on our front step crying her eyes out. She once tried to walk "home" in bare feet, despite the fact that when she said "home", she meant my grandmothers house, over a half hour highways drive away. If I hadn't been there, there's no telling what would have happened. Throughout all this, I was forced to be the adult in the house, and took care of paying the bills (I actually started taking her paycheck at one point, and depositing it after getting her to sign it), took care of the house (I even know how to fix a leaky tap because we couldn't pay for someone to fix it for us), and took care of my little sister (though she probably doesn't remember much of that).

It wasn't until I was fairly into my adulthood that things started to change. She found a full time job, and eventually met my stepdad (whom my sister and I simply adore. A very good former military man, and current policy officer). She died of lung cancer in 2003.

My sister married, and then divorced (lets just say her ex is the worst possible man imaginable and leave it at that). She has a wonderful little boy who is much loved fathered by the douche bag ex husband of hers.

As for me? I'm on my second marriage. The first was with an abusive man. It took alot for me to learn that I didn't have to put up with it just because "Traditional Values" told me that I should. With this second marriage, I don't think I've ever been this happy in my whole life. Its anything but Traditional. I'm a computer geek, and work full time. My husband loves role playing games and also works full time. We are both Liberals and I don't see us having kids.

So this "Traditional Family Life" that everyone reveres? It doesn't exist, and it never did. Its all imaginary.

I'm so tired of the promotion of "traditional family life". You saw what this idiotic idea did to my immediate family, never mind my aunts, uncles, and cousins who had their own oddyssey to go through.

Its time to chart new paths, not wallow in the old.

The economy is not nearly as bad as people are pretending it is.

I work in the hotel industry and we have been getting our butts kicked for at least a month every day. And I work in a tourist area.

I'm a little confused.

The United States claims to love its freedoms more than anything. And yet, there is no referendum function so the people can be asked what they want inside their constitution. And yet its something that other first world Democratic countries use all the time.

Seems more like fascism than Democracy to me. The words "of the people by the people" seem to be nothing more than words.

Disappointing. Odd that I had more say in my government in Canada, which is a much more socialist nation than the United States, than the American people have in theirs despite their claims.

A simple reply to a commentary on CNN.

John Avlon (click his name to read the link) made a commentary today. As per usual with CNN, whenever something deserves a reply, they don't open it up to comments from the public, and whenever it doesn't (or will stir controversy and hence ratings), they open it up but choose the most odd answers to post.

This commentary is about the extremist "wingnuts" that seem to have become common.

I'd like to say something in reply to what he said in the commentary.

As an immigrant, what I'm seeing in this country is extremely frightening. For years, a policy of fear and anger has been fed by the extremist factions so that its almost become the normal way of life.

Why? Because its being fed not only by politicians, but also by the media who feel it gives them good ratings and hence gives them money. And thats the whole problem with the country. Money is god here, even among those that claim to believe in a god themselves (call them hypocrites like they deserve).

On the internet there is a word for the people you see behaving like this... that word is "troll".

Now most people who have been on the internet for any length of time understand what the term means but for those that don't, I'll explain.

A troll is someone who "trolls for trouble, the way you troll through water in a boat". They are those people that you get the feeling are waiting underneath the bridge to pounce on you and make you miserable. A troll feeds on controversy and anger. They find it maliciously funny when you get upset by what they're saying.

There is only one way to deal with trolls.

Stop feeding them.

While Mr. Avlon says that exposing them to the light will destroy them, he's dead wrong. What needs to be done is for them to disappear back to the fringes they came from. Stop feeding them. The media needs to let them disappear, and stop covering every nasty thing they do. Even more, it needs to denounce this behavior loudly and thoroughly. Instead of devoting so much time to them, they need to start encouraging that we all work together to solve problems.

The media has intense power. They have more power than any person, any group of people, and any country in the world. They have the power to stir feelings and emotions. Now the question is, what emotions and feelings are they stirring. What they're doing right now is stirring all the negative ones just so they can make a buck.

It needs to stop. The media needs to start taking responsibility for their actions. It doesn't matter is you CAN do something as much as if you SHOULD. Is it right to stir hatred? No, of course not. We all know this, but for some reason the media thinks they're exempt, and the politicians encourage it by their own behavior.

Remember the old adage, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The media is becoming as corrupt as the government. There was a time when a good story meant only telling the truth, not spinning it to mean something it doesn't. No longer. Now a good story means pissing people off and stirring the pot.

The wingnuts have become more common because, like trolls that live under bridges, they are being fed and will only get bigger.

If it doesn't stop, we may see a civil war sometime in the future. It wouldn't be the first time. And the anger is slowly reaching the boiling point.

So... the GOP want to hurry on war, but not on taking care of their own people

What the hell?

This is completely insane.

CNN

Are you people crazy?

"Special Needs", My Ass

Brace yourself, I'm going to reveal a bit of prejudice of my own, but not for the reasons I imagine you're thinking. I imagine alot of people are pretty angry reading this right now but let me explain before you reply.

When I was a kid, it was school policy that most classes had one child that was "special needs". That one child would usually be quiet and non-disruptive. But then there were those children that needed to be in their own classes and away from the rest of us because they would disrupt our ability to learn, but for some reason, parents and teachers thought it would be more advantageous to this ONE student to disrupt every other students ability to learn by screaming and banging their heads or hands, by throwing things (like their desks), and more.

One boy in particular comes to mind. Frankly, he made me scared of the "special needs" kids for the rest of my life. And not just kids. These are people that don't know their own strength.

So let me explain...

We all have recess in school. Its part of the normal day of a child.

That day it was cold and rainy out and I didn't want to go outside so I snuck back in when the teachers weren't looking. Just to hang out just inside the doors out of the rain (I've never been an outdoor type person). And HE was standing there.

I didn't say anything to him. I barely glanced at him. But he came up to me, grabbed my head by the hair, pushed me to the ground, and started beating my head into the floor. Good thing one of the teachers heard me screaming. It took three grown teachers to pull him off me.

And who got blamed for it? Me. Even though I didn't do anything, they wanted to calm him down and kiss his butt, despite the fact that he nearly hospitalized me. They felt that I should be understanding and tolerant just because he was mentally undeveloped. They said they thought that I must have done something to provoke him. If standing in the corner, looking out the window and ignoring him is provocation, then he shouldn't have been there.

Here's the thing, I never have nor will I ever be, understanding of it. Their genes are a danger to society, and its become more prevalent as time goes on.

Many of these times, these children aren't "developmentally disabled". No, their parents simply let them behave in ways that are not acceptable because they are more concerned with being their kids friends than with making them grow up as useful people. Instead, they drug them, or make excuses for them because "their child doesn't understand".

Here's a hint, if you stopped kissing their butt, they'd learn to understand. If they simply can't understand, then they should be in a special school (or even a special class) created for your child's type instead of forcibly subjecting other kids to your child's behavior.

This has got to stop. There isn't nearly as "developmentally disabled" children as many people would like us to believe. If thats the case, then everyone is "developmentally disabled". The difference is that everyone else's parents MADE their children behave themselves, and stop being lazy spoiled brats. We ALL have to learn to deal with life, kissing your kids butts or drugging them just because they aren't behaving the way you'd prefer isn't the answer.

Incidentally, that boy should never have been in my school with me. He had a history of violence towards others, including him own family. I'm lucky he didn't kill me. I'd have probably been dead if not for those teachers, or at the very least permanently brain damaged.

YOU are to blame for your child's behavior in school, so stop making excuses just so you can be a bad or lazy parent.

I am not supporting destroying all people that are like that, I'm saying that parents need to start taking more responsibility for their own kids behavior and start showing these kids consequences for their behavior.

http://www.kfoxtv.com/news/21211677/detail.html

Who are the Republicans to think they have anything to say

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/10/05/new-gop-ad-hits-deeds-on-remark-to-female-reporter/

Better to be called "young lady", "ma'am" or "miss" than to be called "dear", "honey", or "sweetheart". At least "young lady" is respectful.

The Republicans have no right to say anything considering they think women should be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

There's something wrong when an immigrant is more patriotic to their new country than the people who were born there

Growing up in Canada, you're given the idea by the media that Americans are fanatically loyal to their country, and its people. Movies, books, television, even the internet promote this idea.

Imagine my surprise when I moved to this country only to find out that its anything but what they claim. Or rather, the people are anything but what all the media has claimed it is.

Americans are loyal to this idiotic idea that they've built up in their heads, through many years of brainwashing by one particular party, that the only thing that should matter is money, and power, and that they should do anything they can to get both.

Now thats not say that all Americans are that way, because frankly that would be incredibly stupid. Of course not all Americans are that way.

The problem is that the ones that are just happen to be the vocal minority with pretty much all the power, and they have managed to convince the redneck population (of which there are many, unfortunately) that caring about anyone other than themselves is a bad thing. Here, money appears to be god, and the insane radical Christian right has been suckered into believing that one single party actually believes in what they support.

And myself, as an immigrant to the United States? Well I find this attitude simply despicable and shameful. Frankly, that disturbs me. Not that I find it despicable and shameful, but that I am more loyal to the people of this country than the people born in this country are.

I actually care about what happens to them. I actually care when I see them suffering. Far too many Americans don't seem to care about other members of their country, but only about insane ideals that mean nothing in the end.

Equality and freedom don't come by anarchy. Anarchy simply promotes injustice because there is no one to stop it. No, equality and freedom come by working together. They seem to have forgotten the first paragraph of words in the Constitution they hold so dear.

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

The words "we" and "union" are in there somewhere. Nowhere does it talk about how the people of the country should be fighting amongst each other. No, it talks about a union. Unions are about people working together for the common good, not about promoting screwing other people over to get as much as you can for yourself.

Lets remember "domestic tranquility" is in there. Does it seem to you that this country is full of domestic tranquility? Or is a certain party promoting fighting with each other every chance they get. I believe they've recently begun to be called "teabaggers", though thats only one term. Versus another party thats promoting actually taking care of other people, for everyones benefit.

Do you remember what this is about? Do you remember that government isn't the enemy? The Founding Fathers did not create government just so that you'd have something to fight. They created it to try to make sure everyone couldn't screw each other over.

The United States people have become exactly what the country was created to avoid. Corrupt, greedy, and feeding on itself. You must stop. If you don't, it will destroy you. You will destroy yourselves.

Don't you remember why people left Europe to settle in the United States? To escape exactly the behaviors you are currently promoting. To escape religious persecution for ALL religions, not just one. To escape the top (usually royalty) ruling over the bottom with an iron fist that often meant death. Yes, the circumstances are slightly different now, but not by that much. Only the method is different, not the result.

This country must unify if it is to survive. Not to the point of insanity, but to the point that it stops eating itself alive.

Illegal Immigration

This particular post was prompted by this article on CNN,

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/22/illegal.immigrants.healthcare/index.html

Though it is by no means the only reason to post it, just the latest.

Now, as you can see from what I have said, I'm a legal immigrant to the United States. I'm also a Democrat/Liberal that fully supports humanitarian efforts, peace initiatives, and the betterment of all people.

However, I have to say this...

If you are an illegal immigrant, this country cannot afford to pay for you. This country, and its people, have suffered the greatest blow to its economy that it has seen since the devastation of the Dirty 30's and the Great Depression. IT CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY FOR YOU.

If you are here illegally, you are a burden to its people, you are a burden to its economy, and you are a burden period. Your presence is taking away things its citizens need, like jobs, and money for THEIR health care.

Either get legal and pay taxes like everyone else, or GET THE HELL OUT. Even if it means death. Better you than the people in this country.

And that goes for all country's. If you aren't there legally, get the hell out of any country you are in, and stop being a goddamned burden on the citizens. Whether you are Canadian, American, British, Nigerian, Lithuanian, Russian, Chinese, or from any other country in the world, get the hell out and stop being a burden on the country you are in. If you cannot help to better the country that you are living in because you just want to leech off them like a bloodsucker, then you have no business being there. Go fix your own damned country by actually gathering those around you who agree with you, and making it happen.

Fox News - Slimeball liars in action

Its time to change the animal cruelty laws.

From the pitt bull that was lit on fire, to the cat that was duct taped up like a mummy, to the cats that were tortured in various ways including being cut up into little pieces and thrown on their owners lawns, right down to the horse murders (and lets face it, they WERE murders, as the vandals were chopping bits of their body's off them while the animals were still alive), animal cruelty seems to have taken on new meaning this year.

Never have I heard of so much of it in such a short space of time.

Its not a joke. Its not funny. Its a sign of more sadistic behavior to come.

Its not that far a jump from animals to human beings, and anyone that can do this to pets can easily do it to us.

The punishments need to be harsher.

I've seen "community service" as punishment. I've seen fine's. I've seen a few months to a couple years in the lowest level of prison (though thats extremely rare) as punishment.

This is not enough by a long shot. Serial murderers usually start out torturing animals. Its time that torturing animals, ANY animal, is no longer a slap on the wrist.