Agreed. Out of curiosity, are many Canadians as perceptive of American politics as you are? I have to admit that, as an American, I am completely ignorant of Canadian political affairs (i.e. I have to reference Wikipedia for the name of your elected leader, let alone his philosophy) despite being an avid reader of ForeignPolicy.com, as well as having some family actually living up there.



Yes, "man on the street" interviews are always horrifying. I truly think we need to reconsider some test of knowledge to be eligible to vote. People should at least be capable of identifying one or two distinct policy proposals (e.g. "Raise taxes on people earning $250k/year" or "Lower the corporate tax rate," but not simply "Create jobs" or "Fix the deficit") associated with each major candidate. Maybe this would encourage candidates to spend more time proposing ideas instead of just trying to discredit each other. Being able to identify sitting elected officials (e.g. your senators and house rep) would be a good start too. I don't know that this would hurt one party more than the other. A lot of people will vote for Obama just because they know his skin color is black. A lot of people will vote for Romney just because they "know" that Obama is a Muslim.



I voted for the Libertarian ticket last time and will probably do so again because (1) they are more consistent with my philosophy than either Democrats or Republicans and (2) it is sort of a protest vote - kind of a waste, but if Libertarians get an increasing share of the vote then maybe there will be some long-term impact on American politics.

Tim

Been somewhat busy and haven’t had a chance to get back to this thread. Wow there’s been a lot of posts. I was out of pocket for work.

@ Vintek – Re: Obama 2016 - Those were good links VinTek on dispelling FUD related to this thread. Not sure I buy into all of it but still it was informative.

@ Northern Light – Obama is not a socialist or communist… – Are you implying I’m affiliated with the Tea Party? Or that the Dinesh D'Souza is part of the Tea Party? You and others are quite funny in implying that I don’t believe people evolve. I never said that. In fact I do believe that people learn, grow, and change over time. Just as companies or industries learn, grow, and change over time. I just said I didn’t believe a species could evolve from another. And as to your claim Obama is “right” as far as the political spectrum goes please enlighten us. Where is the evidence for this and how do you define “right”? Also I'd love to hear some of your thoughts on how socialism and communism has affected other countries. Where are you from again?

@ Northern Light, VinTek, & DoingHomework – Re: Manufacturing Jobs & People Evolving - Actually I agree we need better education amongst machinists. The suppliers I work with would agree with you as well. Once again I’m not against people or industries growing/evolving (micro-evolution). There is evidence in nature for this type of evolution. I just don’t believe one species can evolve from another (macro-evolution).

@ iDude & DoingHomework – Interesting discussion on libertarian ideology.

I would say more people will vote for Obama because he is black than for Romney because Obama is a "Muslim." Even though there is word in the African-American community of possible dissention I imagine no less than 90% of AA's will vote for Obama. I'm not aware of any expert that would indicate otherwise. I believe that Caucasian people who voted for Obama in 2008 and will vote for Obama in 2012 purely because of his race believing and/or proving themselves to be free of racism. After all look at America! After just 53 years after the civil Rights Movement began in the U.S. began we elected our first AA President. Let's pat ourselves on the back.



That is curious. So basically you won't choose a side of the fence? Not sure it will do any good in the long run either.

@ DoingHomework – Re: Colonialism - Understanding Obama from the perspective on an anti-colonialist makes a lot more sense than a communist or Muslim as some have claimed he is. The Falkland Islands are relevant because England is (was) one of our few remaining supporters in Europe. It seems to me now that we’ve even alienated England. Further where is the evidence that most English would want to give back the Falklands to Argentina? Is there some study done on the subject? The point about Obama being an anti-colonialist is that it indicates that he believes the U.S. is the 1% or cream of the crop. Obama in my opinion doesn’t mean to merely re-distribute wealth in the U.S. but also across the board in the world. Btw, that is very curious about Johnson v. McIntosh. I’ll take a look at it today.

@ DoingHomework – Re: Mormonism - My point in speaking about Romney’s religion was that it is really no better than Obama’s. Obama claimed to be a Christian. Obama has turned his back on Christianity and embraced a form of universalism. This is not surprising though. So in other words neither really is appealing based on their religious beliefs. So yes I agree Romney being a Mormon doesn’t really matter.

@ DoingHomework – Re: U.S. Debt - Okay I concede on the W. Bush tax cuts. However, how much has the Obama administration spend on bail outs?

@ DoingHomework – Re: Jobs & Unemployment - I’d really like to see some hard evidence (or a link would suffice) that points to a reduction in government jobs and an increase in private sector jobs. It would also be very interesting to see data on how many people have just stopped looking for jobs in the last 3-4 years. Further, it would be really great to see on average how much income these new “private” sector jobs provide for citizens. What journals would you recommend?

@ DoingHomework – Re: Fire the CEO - While I’m sure the illustration breaks down at some point the CEO/President of most any company has to work with a board of directors. So I think we’ll have to agree to disagree. I agree to some extent that politicians seem to be more interested in promoting their own and/or party’s agenda than actually getting things done. That goes for both Democrats and Republicans.

@ DoingHomework – Re: Communism - Please list another President in U.S. history who has been so influenced by Marxists and socialists. Everyone has a right to believe what they want. I just think most Americans have no clue as to who they voted for in 2008 and have the chance to re-elect in 2012.

1. Barack Hussein Obama II – I just thought it was amusing he was “Junior” is all.

2. The count is 5 according to some. Of course the detail that Obama Sr. was married already when he married Obama Jr’s mother is interesting. President Obama has about 10 brothers and sisters. Obama Sr. was not even 50 when he died.

3. University of Hawaii, University of Columbia, Harvard University.

Isn't it sad that with 300+ million people we have such a hard time finding a few capable people to lead?

Eagle, you still haven't addressed the central question of why you form your beliefs on the basis of what this movie shows. But since you're engaging DH in some of this discussion, I'll chime in a bit.


Oh for pity's sake, where did you get the idea that we've alienated the British and advocated for the return of the Falklands? From that idiotic movie? Even the British know that Obama backs the Falklands remaining in British. Here's an article in The Telegraph (a British newspaper) about that.


And the basis for that opinion? Where are your links and facts?


The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008. Since I'm limited to 1 link per post, you can look up the recipients and the amounts yourself. Obama has only spent TARP funds (including money for AIG and the car companies) authorized by the Bush administration.


Try the Bureau of Labor Statistics for a relatively pure look at the data, both on jobs created/lost, and the income provided by the new jobs. And before you even go there, note that a large number of the low-wage jobs are in *ahem* Texas, where the governor there likes to brag about the employment numbers.


Why don't you pony up some evidence that the influence is there? You make the assertion, you back it up. And by influence, that means actions such as policy decisions. Guilt by association isn't valid. If you want to go that route, let me know what church you attend; I'll bet I could dig up a bit of dirt there and link you to it.

Oh, I'm not asking you to buy into all or any of it. But if you don't buy into it, I'd really like to see counter-facts. I'm pretty open about revealing what information I use to form my opinions. I'm open to disagreements to my opinions, but need to understand the basis of those disagreements so I can alter my own opinions if appropriate. So yeah, if you don't buy into some of it, I'd really like to understand why.

I refuse to reinforce the false dichotomy of American politics. Just one example: both parties have proven to be increasingly interventionist with foreign policy. Where is the alternative? If enough of us vote Libertarian then maybe one of the parties will adopt a more restrictive definition of "American interests overseas" in order to bring us into their fold.

Tim

My theory is that the ones who would be good for the job, wouldn't take it. They would probably find their talents better suited to more satisfying endeavors. Plus, I never have figured out why people would want to subject their self and their family to the intense scruitiny.

Besides, you have to really really want it to run. IMO anyone who wants to be President (or Senator, etc.) that bad, probably shouldn't be.

Why are African-American voters in lockstep with Democrats?

http://video.foxnews.com/v/184295558100 ... p=obinsite

This is an interesting interview with a Republican African-American. AA unemployment 14.1%.

Inside Obama's dream for America

http://video.foxnews.com/v/185054373900 ... t_id=86858

Interview with Dinesh D'Souza. I liked the quote from Obama in redistribution from 1998.

Fox News AGAIN?

Let’s put aside the fact that the Obama tape is 14 years old – though, as The New Republic’s Timothy Noah points out, back then Romney was “still pro-choice, still pro-gun control, still pro-stem cell research, and still in favor of gays serving openly in the military.”

Here’s the complete text of Obama’s comments (as opposed to the shortened clip circulated by Republicans), which was tracked down by NBC News:





Geez Eagle, you really don't think for yourself, do you?

Edit: seriously, look at the time stamp between your post and mine. It took me 15 minutes to de-FUD your post. Try putting a little thought into what you do. The next time you post anything from Fox News, I'm calling you out as a troll because you know they disseminate FUD.

I just think it's great when you guys get all worked up over FN. After all it is just a short clip...

So you are trolling.

Actually, we think you're doing a great job helping us make the GOP look bad. Have you already spent the last check? The next one is already in the mail. With Mitt working at the national level and you doing the grassroots work, the Dems will be assured of victory in November.

Okay let's add some variety. ABC news:

White House Says Benghazi Consulate a ‘Terrorist Attack’

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/20 ... st-attack/



What is the Obama administration doing? See next post about France. Maybe we should take a hint from their government that things are going from bad to worse?