General Music Chat

agreed we needed something like that when we had conceived this nation in an era where news traveled on the back of a horse but now when it takes a blink of an eye and the speech is being broadcast across the nation, the need for an electoral officiating office is nothing more then a method of control

Bob, I'm also for getting rid of the Electoral College (I could do a whole thread on that one, but will refrain). It's time to have the people vote in the Chief Executive instead of relying on some antiquated math game based on state population.

This we can agree on.

There is a Senator proposing this right now.

It will be HUGELY difficult to accomplish as it requires an amendment to the Constitution, which is not taken lightly by many. If enough Americans demanded it, without stopping. I think it is possible to do.

I'm surprised at you Irminsul.

What do you have against McCain?

He is one of the most respected Senators on the right, in the opinion of many Democrats.

He is a well known moderate, which is what most Americans consider themselves, and he has a tremendous working relationship with Democratic leaders of the Senate. He is willing to listen and compromise in order to get bills passed for us, which, supposedly, is a bane of both houses, that Americans feel they don't do anything but bicker. McCain is usually above this, and works well with both parties.

He is not an extremist.

He often riles the ultraconservatives, because he rises above politics, to get things done, rather than just try and please the far right.

He has been an advocate for campaign finance reform. He has tried to free the party from the deathgrip that the religious right (read extremists) have often had on the Republican party.

I mean seriously. If you can't find respect for McCain and how he has performed in his political career, there is unlikely to be ANY Republican you feel worthy of respect.

That's pretty extremist if true.

I know that, personally, I can name a good number of Democrats I respect. I find there to be reasonable voices on both sides of the aisle.

McCain is a son of Bush....he intends to carry on every financially and morally bankrupt policy of GWB, only worse.

100 years of US soldiers in Iraq...nice touch!

I saw a bumpersticker recently that put it well - "McCain. Not Tougher. Dumber."

No thanks. The GOP has f**k up this nation enough. Time for them to be a political memory for awhile.

McCain is a son of Bush....

Son of Ronald Reagan maybe.

100 years of US soldiers in Iraq

Not sure what the problem with that is? Unless, you are believing Obama's lie, that McCain was speaking of the war continuing for 100 years, or our fighting in Iraq for 100 years, which of course, is NOT what McCain said or meant.

But since we are on the subject... It just doesn't bother you at all, that Obama admitted he knew what McCain was talking about, and STILL continues to practice demagogery, lying to the public, and using the false assumption as a political ploy against McCain to those who don't know any better?

I saw a bumpersticker recently that put it well - "McCain. Not Tougher. Dumber."

Clearly, McCain is both tougher and more intelligent than Bush. As an intelligent person yourself, clearly you realize McCain is smarter. This is why I can't take you seriously half the time. You waste your intellect with narrow minded ridiculousness, in blind pursuit of whatever cause you espouse. It's almost cult-like. I'd think you were brainwashed except for the fact, that I think you just spew the bullshit on purpose out of hatred, but sadly, you lose your moral compass of being straight with the facts in the process.

No thanks. The GOP has f**k up this nation enough. Time for them to be a political memory for awhile.

Well, that may or may not have merit, depending on which topic you have in mind. As to domestic policy, the Democrats have been in control of congress for a while now. If you are referring to international policy, then Bush is certainly fair game for the bulk of the blame.

What is amazing though, and this probably speaks to McCain's cross-aisle appeal as much as it does to the infighting of the Democrats right now, McCain is leading BOTH Clinton and Obama (within the margin of error) for the general election. That should NOT be happening, with an unpopular president, a nation still at war, and the economy in recession (not technically, but in effect, it is)

McCain should be double digits below the Democrats.

Instead, he's ahead, or statiscally even with them.

It is possible that the Dems unite and the party rallies behind whoever the nominee is, but I think that is in some doubt. More than 20 percent of both candidate's supporters say they will vote McCain if their candidate is not chosen. They are furious with each other.

I think this is probably momentary though, and will likely unite behind a clear nominee and maybe with some powerful speeches at the convention, everyone could be back on board. But who knows? We'll see.

Also, Nader being in the fray can change things, if he gets organized enough, and has enough percentage of support to participate in the debates when the general rolls around.

What do you think?

I think the Dems get it together by convention and remind the party who they should really be hating. I think this holds true even if it goes all the way to convention, which, with Hillary, it may. I think they get over it, shortly after convention though, either way. Although... Hillary may pull out the popular vote by convention, and if she does, she will use it as a moral imperative for the super delegates to switch to her. If they did that, the anger of Obama Dems may stay longer. But she would be right in making such a plea, after all, it was the Dems who were beside themselves, when Gore won the popular vote but lost in delegate count. I bet many Dems would practice a double standard, and hate her for a victory in that manner, claiming she "stole" the nomination.

But what about Nader? He generally helps Republicans as opposed to Democrats. Do you think he will figure into this destructively for the Dems?

The Great Land has taken a hit from bad governance by the instalment of poor statesmen from BOTH political parties.

Irmy,
Recall what the great man, "J.C." is quoted as saying 2000 years ago.
"Divide and Conquer"

Craig,
You strike me as a passionate but tolerant Southern Man.
Don't throw the "states rights baby" out with the bath water.

I ALWAYS vote.

still undecided, but i'm leanin' toward THE HERO.

Diiinngggggg!

one point for Mr Maxim....

I have simply HAD IT with the republicrats & the demicans!

I'm writing myself in for every elected post. Do ya think they'd get the message if we all did that?

I truly believe that both parties are owned lock stock & barrel by Corporate America, to the detriment of us all.

Last time I voted was for Reagan in '80. I haven't trusted my judgement since...but considering all the alternatives, well, one's as bad as the next and the next...

If there were a viable option in American politics, I'd gladly go for it, but there is NO ONE who represents me - the little guy.

I'm sick to death of being ashamed of my country for the things we do both overseas & to our own. We're a nation of busybodies who has to have it's grubby little paws in everyone's pie.

Thus we have an immoral war, an equally immoral foriegn policy that hurts real ppl out there, as well as an immoral domestic policy that only serves to keep the weak, well, WEAK, & the powerbase in place.

I'm for the things this country was based upon - freedom for the individual. Stay the hell outta my medicine cabinet, my bedroom, my car & my headbone. Stop protecting corporate interests over the rights of the individual. It's way past time for us to return to freedom of choice for good OR ill.

Yeah, I know - blabbetty blabbetty bloo - I could go on, but I hafta go work...have a nice day.

Piper,

I attended the Pocono Community Church service this past Sunday.
The Church is new and currently has service at the public school were my oldest son is employed. One of his jobs at the school is doing sound and lights , and he gets overtime to set up for the Church, who rent the auditorium from the school until their new church is constructed.

It so happens that a potential sax player I've contacted on BandMix was playing at the service in a Gospel choir and band. I decided to attend service to "check him out".(not to worry, my agnostic brethren, I survived the church experience).anyways....
The band was ASTOUNDING!...best band in the Poconos.

Looks like your group won't be the only ones "singin' praises" in the highlands of Penn's Woods this summer!

I don't know guys. It seems the leaders of the Democrats have a terrible habit of shooting themselves in the foot where presidential elections are concerned. Recall Dukakis? An ultra-liberal who sealed his fate with really only a few snafus that the public couldn't swallow. He was haunted by the negative "revolving door" commercial which portrayed him as having a history of letting violent criminals out of prison early, only to have them kill again, once out. He looked like an idiot riding in a tank with his name on a helmet that was bigger than his head was.

And a big one was his absolutist stance against capital punishment, which made him look unmanly when he was asked in debate whether he would still be against the death penalty if his own wife were murdered by a violent criminal. He said "yes" without much explanation. Whoever was handling him back then was an idiot, because to resolve that situation, all he would have had to say was...

"Well, you know, as a husband, I would probably want to be the one pushing the button myself... but... sometimes, being a man, means maintaining your character and beliefs, even in the most impossible of situations. So, to be true to my values, I would have to dig deep, overrule my emotions with the character that comes from maturity, be true to the greater cause of being principled in my actions, and yes, even in that most trying of circumstances, be faithful to those principles, and honor them. It's easy to create traps in a debate such as this, that are good television, but in the end, I really believe America wants a president to be true to his convictions, even when there seems to be a personal justification to hide from them. And while my fellow citizens might forgive such an abrogation of character in a circumstance such as that, well, honestly, I just couldn't forgive myself for it. So the answer is...yes, I would find the strength to do what was right, even in such a personally trying situation."


A response like that, would have turned that question on it's head, allowed him to publicly remain firm on his position, and rather than looking like a wimp for doing so, he would have looked like a person of even more strength... strength of character.

Thankfully though, I wasn't on his payroll, and he flopped.


But now, it appears the Dems are going to shoot themselves in the foot again, and nominate an EVEN MORE liberal politician in Obama.

The anti-American rhetoric of Wright is going to haunt him in the general election, and by that time, there will be even more salacious sound bites of the "good" Reverend's sermons, to be used in negative ads against him. The voluminous number of Obama's lies will also come back to bite him in the ass. Not to mention all the flip-flopping, where for example, he claimed he would take ALL the troops out of Iraq IMMEDIATELY, and then claimed he would send them back to Iraq if Al Qaeda formed a base there (Which McCain rightly pointed out that THERE ALREADY IS a base there, so, why would you send them home now, only to send them right back?) so now Obama is claiming that he would leave a "strike force" of American soldiers in Iraq, but in more limited numbers.

LMAO!

This is going to be our president?

Obama:

"Let's bring ALL the troops home right now, and then send them back right away again, since there is an Al Qaeda base there already, and my position is to send the troops to Iraq if an Al Qaeda base exists. Oh crap, I guess that doesn't make sense does it? So, instead, I know.... let's leave a smaller fighting force of American soldiers, to be there as a "strike force", and rather than call them "American soldiers", we'll just call them "sitting ducks", since they won't be as heavily manned now! Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket!" That's my Iraq solution! Good idea? I've got a million of 'em America! Change, change and more change!"


ShortCHANGED is more like it.

I have simply HAD IT with the republicrats & the demicans!

I'd like to see America get serious about a third party option.

Thus we have an immoral war,

Are you talking "Iraq" or the "War on terror" or both aspects? While the information which led us into Iraq was faulty, nevertheless, the Iraqi people were clearly elated to be rid of Sadaam.

an equally immoral foriegn policy

Our foreign policy has often been attrocious. A mixed bag, of genuinely honorable intentions, mixed with things like supporting brutal dictators because they were "friendly" to whatever we "needed" out of that country, while their dictators raped and pillaged their own people and their country's resources in order to maintain their personal wealth and power. We have profitted from starting or maintaining wars between other countries, so we could sell them weapons or keep them occupied with one another, and therefore not be a threat to us economically.

As a nation, we may have invested as much effort in honoring our stated principles, as we have in violating them.

I was encouraged when Condoleezza Rice admitted almost as much in a speech she gave, saying in effect, that we have made sometimes shameful errors in our foreign policy.

I hoped it was a step in the right direction.

Ok guys to your corners till the next round and Irmy you keep dropping that right guard when you throw the jab. Craig your waisting energy throwing flurries when a simple combo will do.
This election cycle is screwed, we need a party of and for the people. I been looking into our options. I like what I see so far from the Constatutional Party, though they do not carry enough clout yet to influence an election. We the people dont have to win but we have to have greater influence. My problem is the only people I can really trust are the dead. No hidden agenda there.

blabbetty blabbetty bloo

that's awesome!

see?
you CAN speak in tongues!
funny, our church is in the same boat right now.
We're about to move from the school we're in, to the High School, & into the auditorium.
I'm the sound guy/instrumentalist etc.
I can't WAIT to have our own digs....

r

As you can see, politics has no truth. Just fervent, sometimes insanely defended, opinions. My opinions:

f**k McCain, f**k the GOP. Enough with their damage. Time to overhaul and give others a chance.

I like mango schnapps.

I like doing simple piano renditions of some of my quartet work.

My cats need to be brushed.


Over.

"But since we are on the subject... It just doesn't bother you at all, that Obama admitted he knew what McCain was talking about, and STILL continues to practice demagogery, lying to the public, and using the false assumption as a political ploy against McCain to those who don't know any better?"
-cmon now craig... like he'd be the first politician that will do ANYTHING to win.

AFA dumber than bush...
-cmon now irminsul do you really believe anyone on earth is dumber than bush? Keep in mind he thinks that people in mexico speak mexican.
(is dumber a real word? It feels awkward.)

I am not a politically inclined person, and my vote is based on gut more than anything else I guess... so... here's what my gut says:

Hilary wouldn't even be in the race if not for bill.

Barac wouldn't be in the race except for his race.

Mccain spent time in a prison camp, and regardless of what you might say about his time there... an event like that changes a man.

I'd like to be convinced that either democratic cand has some credibility...
but I just don't see it in either of them.

So my bleading heart liberal values will have to go on the shelf for a four more years, unless there is a miracle between now and the vote.