Übergeek 바둑이: torture is a bad deal...but so is war and terrorism.

Bwild: lol...recipients

Bwild: Thats what I am saying...... they want to make a law for us to be screened for drugs, well, fine let them be screened as well! Same for health insurance.... if its good enough for us, then good enough for them too,

They like their pensions, and want different for us????

There is plenty more...

Tuesday: Maybe we should implement that 5% of food stamps be specially designated for splurge items...

Tuesday: It seems like more than ever, fro England and the US especially, that people are ready to come together in the name of forget these politicians, forget politics, it seems like politicians, the career type that give themselves good health insurance and pensions and lifetime pay and garanteed raises.... as they sit there and complain about corporate fat cats??????


They are really no different from the selfish bastards that they want to regulate!

but didnt banks cause the recession to start with

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8514650.stm

Artful Dodger: But, she has been tested as Governor of Alaska & on 3rd grade geography. She failed both rather miserably.

Artful Dodger: And only the "right" call her a successful governor. Political savyness does not always mean intelligence.

Artful Dodger: I've seen alot of politicians,some I like some I don't, but even amongst the ones I disdain I have never in my life seen such a charicature of a politician as Palin.She tosses out phrases and talking points, but sounds like even she doesn't understand many of the words she uses,it's mind bending..She sounds like a 3rd grader reciting Shakespeare when she talks politics

Tuesday: I keep waiting for everyone who supports her to wake up from the dream.I reminds me of the Partridge Family episode where Keith is so taken by a girl he can't hear how badly she sings

I think that how any politician would do as president could easily be determined if we asked ourselves how that person would react in a given circumstance. What would Sarah Palin do if ...

1. Iran tested and detonated a nuclear bomb.

2. Russia decided to become aggressive and retake some of its former republics such as Georgia, Adzerbaijan, etc.

3. China decided that the US dollar has lost too much value and decided to dump all the debt they hold in treasury bonds.

4. Opec became tired of the low value and instability of the USD and decided to switch its oil trading currency to the Euro.

5. Venezuela decided to entirely expel all American oil and banking companies and nationalize those industries completely.

6. The current recession is not abated and there is a massive shortfall in tax revenue for the treasury, forcing the government to cut services. Which services would she cut, and how?

7. The rising costs of healthcare and elderly care force the government to cut pensions for the elderly. (A warning that Allan Greenspan gave to the goverment about 8 years ago.)

8. Latin American countries, disillusioned with the failure of American capitalism to improve the lives of the poor, decide to form their own economic block and independent banking system, thereby cutting off the US from its most lucrative business revenue since WW II.

9. The rising drug and violence in the drug trade causes the massive violence experienced in Mexico and Central America to spill into the US.

10. There is some natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina that leaves thousands of Americans in danger.

We could go on and on with real amd imaginary threats to the US. Those 10 I listed are a few of the ones that I can pick out of the top of my head. Many of them are completely unknown to the American public, such as economic threats in Latim America, China and Opec.

I think at this point there is no candidate out there capable of handling all that. Even Barrack Obama is having a hard time with this, and in the last election he was clearly the best choice Americans were presented with (even if many Republicans disagree, Obama was the better candidate). Could Sarah Palin be the person to tackle this kind of problems? I think she is very capable in many ways, and lacks experience in others. It would be foolish to underestimate her, and ever more foolish to overestimate her.

Elton John says Jesus was/is gay.....any thoughts on this?

Artful Dodger: Is there any evidence he was straight?

I personally believe that Jesus was a bit retarded and a junkie (ergotism victim). :)

Pedro Martínez: I feel that if he was gay, his detractors would have used that against him....Jesus never actually addressed the topic of "being gay" but then, who is to say LOL

Bernice: I think that at the time when Jesus lived, it was definitely more “normal” to be gay than it is now. It took quite some time for people to get under the influence of those bigoted Christian beliefs.

Bernice:

> Elton John says Jesus was/is gay.....any thoughts on this?

Let's say that somebody found full evidence of Jesus being gay (or married, or something not in line with traditional Christian dogma). Would that make Jesus' message any less relevant? By his message I mean not the interpretations of one particular church or another, but the actual content of the Sermon on the Mount:

http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/matthew/matthew5.htm

I am not a Christian. I don't even believe in God. But I can appreciate what Jesus was trying to teach people. Stop being rotten to one another. That is a good message, whether it comes from a gay man or not.

Artful Dodger: I must ask of Sarah, "What ideas". LOLOL

As far as Jesus being Gay. It doesn't matter. He was inclusive of all peoples including race, ethnic background. IMHO, today, that would include sexual orientation. I agree w/ Pedro. I don't think people in Jesus's time were as paranoid about homosexuality as they are today. I also doubt they had much understanding about it.

Übergeek 바둑이: In my original post on this, I was aking for an opinion, not giving one :)

Artful Dodger: If you would feel comfortable with her as president, be my guest.I personally wouldn't want her to babysit my cats, let alone president.

Artful Dodger: I hope Palin leads a long and healthy life on this planet.I just hope she is kept a safe distance from any impactful political position

Tuesday: She must be related to Ed Rendell

kinda like a man who thinks their are 57 states shouldn't be president

Artful Dodger: Obama?
He has been a wimp,.Americans like strength, not some guy who allows the republicans to bully him

Artful Dodger: I agree,she has support,but it is very marginal

Artful Dodger: When McCain chose her as runningmate it gave her credability, as it should.People trust the position of Vice Presidential running mate not to be taken lightly.McCain clearly felt she was ready to be President over a year ago,people trusted his judgement

Artful Dodger: I understand she just got a whopping 7% of the vote in a presidential straw poll within CPAC, a conservative group. That would not indicate much support even from the "right". Maybe people are starting see through her charades.

Artful Dodger: " Well if you read my post below you would see what I already had to say about that"

So you are saying she makes a good town crier

even in the guise of a village idiot?

Artful Dodger: I f my purpose for posting was the need to measure up to anyone elses opinions,I'd be hurt.

Artful Dodger: You Betcha!

Artful Dodger: he said he been in 57 states with one left to go.....would he be counting the multiple visits?

Artful Dodger: He meant 47 states, with one more to go, plus Alaska and Hawaii which he was not allowed to go to.