This country

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by Capri306

Mr. 5.0, have you read Ann Coulter's book yet? Yeah, that one. If you have, would you suggest picking up a copy?

I've read every book that the lovely and witty Ann Coulter has written and I never miss her weekly column. I'm a fan. I especially loved 'Treason', which was full of facts that I had never read before and cast a new light on the forever-demonized Senator Joe McCarthy. It also portrays liberal as basically anti-American at heart - and always on the side of the enemy. No news to me. Even today, the far left is more concerned with terrorists alleged 'rights' in Guantanomo than the security of their fellow Americans and blame America for 9/11. They have power in academia, the media and in the old 'mainline' churches but Bill Clinton pretty much killed their majority in congress, probably for good...one hopes.

TW, I don't like the fact that nine lawyers in black robes dictate the course of our nation, either. However, I thank God we still have the power to elect the men in charge of appointing them. Remember Clinton (heil Clintler! ) and the Court striking down his line-item veto? Whew!

I remember it well. They do get a few things right.

I only hope that President Bush can appoint two or three (Justice Stevens is now 83 years old) more Supreme Court Justices that will read the constitution as it is written and apply it to their decisions fairly and stop trying to change society according to their personal whims and then pretend to 'find' some hitherto unknown 'right' in the constitution to justify what they have already decided - not on the basis of the constitution - but their own personal preferences. That's wrong - yet it's been the pattern of the Supreme Court for 40 years or more.

Let me hasten to note that I don't necessarily want all Republican/conservative ideologues as Supreme Court Justices, either. Just fair-minded men or women who read the constitution and apply it sensibly to their rulings, without any ideological bias. That was the original intent of the founders and if we could get the Supreme Court back to that line of reasoning - making the actual words of the constitution our guide instead of what we wish it said - this nation would be well served.

[HoodStrype]

Quote-Liberalism I feel still has a role in America, but a much smaller role than 100 yrs ago, like I said earlier. The biggest issue that I feel they are just in fighting for is Gay Marriage. In another hundered or so years from now (or whenever it is allowed) I feel it will be looked back apon by future generations with shame, much like racism is today. -

...I believe that may happen one day, but not because it is right. Back in some Roman (and/or Egyptian) times it was quite common to be with the same sex, but they were not of the same religion or 'value set' that most people have been under for hundreds of years now.
I think it will happen because of the fall of Christianity these days. The US used to be a major Christian strong hold. Even from its birth.

When I was a kid (I'm only 26 but I do live in the "Bible Belt") WalMart and everything except fast food closed on Sunday. No one mowed the law, or hunted or fished on Sunday either. These days people are becoming bored with the Bible and thanks to Television/Radio/Internet, we've seen a 120 year decline of Religion in general and are much more open to new possibilities and ideas- whether or not you think they are or are not correct. We see violence on a more localized scale such as schools and homes now. It used to be the divorced woman/man across town and now half of marraiges end in the same fate. I'd say to stick with the morals.

Now, if you bring racism into this... that's the same. Slavery has unfortunately been common for all the Earth's history. Sad to think about, and almost down right depressing.

As for me... I'll stick with the Bible. I like what I've read of it, though it's really hard to stick to... especially the "Turn the other cheek" part! Lol!

[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by HoodStrype

...I believe that may happen one day, but not because it is right. Back in some Roman (and/or Egyptian) times it was quite common to be with the same sex, but they were not of the same religion or 'value set' that most people have been under for hundreds of years now. I think it will happen because of the fall of Christianity these days. The US used to be a major Christian strong hold. Even from its birth.

The majority of Americans still are Christian, a broad term that covers everything from the Roman Catholic Church to the most backwoods fundamentalist Baptist church you can find.

Religion may be less important to some people today than it once was but the evangelistic Christian churches are booming in membership and most fundamentalist Christian churches are doing very well, too. Only the old-line churches are dying out and most of that is due to their foolishly attempting to adopt liberal positions that their members see as running counter to the bible they are supposed to be based on. The Congregational Church's insistence on appointing a gay Bishop has torn that denomination apart - and they are losing members all the time. They haven't followed the bibical warning that you cannot serve two master: God and man. Their loss.

When I was a kid (I'm only 26 but I do live in the "Bible Belt") WalMart and everything except fast food closed on Sunday. No one mowed the law, or hunted or fished on Sunday either. These days people are becoming bored with the Bible and thanks to Television/Radio/Internet, we've seen a 120 year decline of Religion in general and are much more open to new possibilities and ideas- whether or not you think they are or are not correct. We see violence on a more localized scale such as schools and homes now. It used to be the divorced woman/man across town and now half of marraiges end in the same fate. I'd say to stick with the morals.

And I would agree with you.

Most of the 'new possibilities' seem to include casual, serial sexual relationships and bearing multiple illegitimate children, co-habitation, drug use and other destructive lifestyles that destroy families and harm the people engaging in them, in the long run. The growing violence and continual gutter-talk we hear now all around us as well as the rejection of authority and downgrading of our collective culture is a partial result of some of those 'new possibilities'.

Now, if you bring racism into this... that's the same. Slavery has unfortunately been common for all the Earth's history. Sad to think about, and almost down right depressing.

Cheer up. While almost all of the world practiced slavery 200 years ago, Great Britian and The United States of America were the first to renounce it and make it illegal in the 19th century. A few countries like the Sudan still have slavery and that is depressing.

As for me... I'll stick with the Bible. I like what I've read of it, though it's really hard to stick to... especially the "Turn the other cheek" part! Lol!

The bible is a wonderful guide for living as well as salvation. Anything worth having is worth the effort needed to obtain it. While salvation is free, living a life modeled on Jesus is hard, I'll admit. It's still a worthy model and like you, I'll take the bible as my guide.

[Unit 5302]

There is very little difference between a democrat and republican in government, currently. They don't care about standing for what they believe. They simply hold the party line, which is to oppose the other party line.

The federal reserve controls the economy, with the government having a significant impact as well. While controlling inflation and interest rates, the federal reserve attempts to keep the economy in a state of controlled growth.

Job outsourcing is most certainly not all low paying positions. Most are middle class wage jobs that are going out the door. Low paying jobs remain, and are largely what our economy has been able to produce in replacement of the middle class jobs that have left. NAFTA has been a complete failure. Not only have millions of US jobs been outsourced since it's inception, but working conditions in Mexico have NOT improved. Illegal immigration from Mexico into the US is up dramatically, and the percentage of poor people in Mexico has actually increased with no positive impact on their wages. That is the result when you create a free trade policy without protecting the people of the target country or your own home country. Simply put, the United States government intentionally exploited the workers in Mexico in an effort to improve corporate profitability. The corporate profitability led to nothing more than a dramatic increase in executive level compensation. In many cases the executive compensation skyrockets because of stock incentive programs which gives even more power to the companies executives and presents a conflict of interest with shareholders. CAFTA will result in exactly the same scenario. It will make a few people in the US, and a few people in Central America very rich while most people suffer.

While lower-middle and true middle class families have deteriorated in buying power as a result of weak and corrupt unions along with a direct failure of the United States government to protect citizens from corporate policies which stand directly in the face of capitalism such as mergers that create monopolies. Exxon-Mobil ring a bell? Peoplesoft-Oracle? Compaq-Hewlitt Packard? Washington Mutual-Providian? JP Morgan-Bank One? Bank of America-MBNA? Wells Fargo-Norwest? AOL-Time Warner? Bell Atlantic-GTE to form Verizon? Verizon-MCI? Sprint-Nextel? One of the most important concepts to capitalism is competition. The anti-trust commissions have turned their back on dozens of dangerous mergers that will or have resulted in a negative impact on consumers. While industries like oil continue to report record profits after a huge merger between Exxon and Mobile, the US government decides to give them a few billion dollars as a subsidy! Companies like GE pay no taxes because they had "losses." Meanwhile our judical system is allowing bankrupt companies that screwed their investors to emerge from bankruptcy into industries so competitive they can't possibly compete, and while they're at it, why not ax all the pensions to help the "working class" people in America.

A conservative movement seems to be sweeping across this country pushing ever harder to grab control of the government and force their opinions and religion onto all citizens through the passage of laws and legislation that turn social norms into laws. We have a congress that stops work in order to debate creating laws to stop life support being removed from a dead woman with no brain. Maybe it's good that our government spends more time debating how to police the actions of private sport leagues than how to create a free trade agreement that not only protects US citizens but also helps the people in the region it's targeting.

Oh, and if we could oppress a few defenseless countries because they don't think the best way to live is our way, that'd be great. Hey Cuba, I know you haven't done anything to us in 50 years, but we really need to keep that embargo up because... umm... because you made rich people in the US angry 50 years ago, and they still run the government!

Anybody that has faith remaining in the executive, judicial or legislative branches of this country is simply blind or stupid. The American people need to spend a little time educating themselves and a lot less time letting the media educate them. Perhaps then we'll have the wisdom to rise up, go to the polls and force necessary changes in the government so we can keep our way of life.

As of today... right now? It doesn't look real good to me. US citizens are stupid. They believe the garbage they see on CNN and in the mainstream media. That's proof enough for me.