Democrats versus Republicans

[capecodphyllis]

Originally Posted by sailaway21

...The one that never rings true to me is the, "they're all the same, dem or rep". The red headed step-child to that one is, "two partys don't work, they're both the same, we need more political partys".

[....]

Now to the "they're all the same" complaint. They are demonstrably not all the same and, in fact, we are now engaged in the highlighting of their differences. Near as I can tell, there are about 8 canidates seeking each party's nomination for the '08 presidential election. Are the people who claim their "sameness" watching, questioning, or campaigning for their most desirable canidate?

[....]

The canidates chosen reflect the will of the people.

[....]

Do you make your own decisions in your life?

[....]

And, if you think it is all pre-determined by the big boys...

We have political candidates, political leaders, who are afraid to provide real leadership and, in fact, have no interest in providing real leadership. They simply want to be popular. They simply want to win votes. They want to figure out what will get them elected, and then build a campaign platform accordingly. And the reason they want to be elected is not so that they can lead the country or lead their people, but rather so that they can have the power and the perks that come with being elected. And there are lots of perks. Once you've been elected President -- once you've been elected even to the U.S. Senate for only one term -- you're in the lap of luxury for the rest of your life. Corporations will pay you huge sums just to be on their board of directors and do nothing. You can go on the speaking circuit and collect $25,000 a shot to give speeches.

This is the inevitable disease of party politics. Getting elected, not policy or principle, becomes the only goal, and there is no leadership. The country drifts in whatever direction the behind-the-scenes manipulators want it to go. The real power lies in the television age: in media, and there is not a politician in America who dares to try to buck that media.

The one good thing which has come out of the Bush/Gore election fiasco is a weakening of the faith of some voters in the system: not most, but some. That's a good thing, because only when a lot more of them have given up on the system and realized finally that they must act is there any reasonable likelihood that the system will be rebuilt.

Suppose a third party is led by genuine patriots who are good politicians and also are willing to use deception just the way the Republicans and Democrats do. Suppose the third party has a candidate who is much more charismatic than the Republican or Democratic candidate, and that this third party candidate is willing to lie to the voters, is willing to promise everything to everyone in order to get votes. He will promise the Blacks more Affirmative Action. He will promise the homosexuals that he will support the decriminalization of pedophilia. He will promise the feminists that he will make a woman commandant of the Marine Corps. He will promise the welfare class bigger Social Security checks, free prescription drugs, and more food stamps, with no restrictions on using the food stamps for liquor and cigarettes.

He still won't win if he is a genuine patriot, because he will have to tell his lies to the voters through the mass media, and the mass media won't be fooled. They are not about to allow a Trojan Horse into the government. They check out every candidate for high public office more carefully than the head of the CIA is checked out by the FBI. Unless a man has demonstrated beyond any doubt that he is an unprincipled crook, that he has no loyalty to his country, and that he will follow their lead, he won't be permitted to charm the voters through the mass media, and without the mass media there is no way he can win the votes of the sheeple: Democrat, Republican, or independent.

If we had ten political parties, and everyone voted, it wouldn't make a bit of difference as long as we have a media that strictly enforces its own nation-wrecking political agenda. We have a one-party media. -- The same gang signs the paycheck of both Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann .

The illusion of choice. The illusion of debate. When none exists.

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[camaraderie]

Liberals Fleeing Across Border!

The flood of American liberals sneaking across the border into Canada has intensified in the past week, sparking calls for increased patrols to stop the illegal immigration. The unflinching arrogance of the Bush Administration is prompting the exodus among liberal citizens who fear they'll soon be required to hunt, pray, and agree with Bill O'Reilly. Canadian border farmers say it's not uncommon to see dozens of sociology professors, animal-rights activists, and Unitarians crossing their fields at night. "I went out to milk the cows the other day, and there was a Hollywood producer huddled in the barn," said Manitoba farmer Red Greenfield, whose acreage borders North Dakota . The producer was cold, exhausted and hungry. "He asked me if I could spare a latte and some free-range chicken. When I said I didn't have any, he left. Didn't even get a chance to show him my screenplay." In an effort to stop the illegal aliens, Greenfield erected higher fences, but the liberals scaled them. So, he tried installing speakers that blare Rush Limbaugh across the fields. "Not real effective," he said. "The liberals still got through, and Rush annoyed the cows so much they wouldn't give milk" Officials are particularly concerned about smugglers who meet liberals near the Canadian border, pack them into Volvo station wagons, drive them across the border and leave them to fend for themselves. "A lot of these people are not prepared for rugged conditions," an Ontario border patrolman said. "I found one carload without a drop of drinking water. They did have a pleasant little Napa Valley cabernet, though." When liberals are caught, they're sent back across the border, often wailing loudly that they fear retribution from conservatives. Rumours have been circulating about the Bush administration establishing re-education camps in which liberals will be forced to drink domestic beer and watch NASCAR. Liberals have turned to sometimes-ingenious ways of crossing the border. Some have taken to posing as senior citizens on bus trips to buy cheap Canadian prescription drugs. After catching a half-dozen young vegans disguised in powdered wigs, Canadian immigration authorities began stopping buses and quizzing the supposed senior-citizen passengers. "If they can't identify the accordion player on The Lawrence Walk Show, we get suspicious about their age," an official said. Canadian citizens have complained that the illegal immigrants are creating an organic-broccoli shortage and renting all the good Susan Sarandon movies. "I feel sorry for American liberals, but the Canadian economy just can't support them," an Ottawa resident said. "How many art-history majors does one country need?" In an effort to ease tensions between the United States and Canada , Vice President Dick Cheney met with the Canadian ambassador and pledged that the administration would take steps to reassure liberals, a source close to Cheney said. "We're going to have some Peter, Paul & Mary concerts. And, we might put some endangered species on postage stamps. The president is determined to reach out."

[RAGNAR]

ppp

[camaraderie]

Rags...can't fault the list but with Rudy...the devil is in the details! He's certainly better than the alternate choices from NY (clinton/bloomberg) but I'm kinda hoping for more of a "law and order" guy at this point! (G)

[CapnHand]

Googlefight puts the republicans ahead.
Google Fight : Make this fight with googleFight republican VS democrat

France wins over Portugal.
Google Fight : Make this fight with googleFight portugal VS france

It's basically a way to settle any argument. The Yankees beat the Dodgers, beauty is more important than brains, experience kicks youth's ass.

[RAGNAR]

ppp

[camaraderie]

Rags...my "law and order" was a joke...meaning I like Fred Thompson...star of "law and order". I agree with you on Rudy's pragmatism. I don't see him with deeply held beliefs on a lot of conservative issues...like economics, individual liberty, strict constructionism etc. ...as you say...pragmatic. Still...the MOST pragmatic candidate who can win is HILLARY...and she bothers me a lot more than Rudy ever will. And I would like Rudy in there better than GWB right now too!

[RAGNAR]

iii

[capecodphyllis]

Originally Posted by camaraderie

Rags...can't fault the list but with Rudy...the devil is in the details! He's certainly better than the alternate choices from NY (clinton/bloomberg) but I'm kinda hoping for more of a "law and order" guy at this point! (G)

Here's an interesting story about Giuliani and the press:

The whole front page of the October 12, 2001 issue of New York's Daily News was taken up by a photograph of Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal viewing the wreckage of the World Trade Center just after he had given a personal check for $10 million to Giuliani to be used in the recovery effort. Under the prince's photo, in a huge headline, were the words, "Shove It!"

Why the newspaper's hatred for the prince, who is one of the world's wealthiest men? Is it because he is an Arab, and the newspaper's editor believed he may have had some link to Osama bin Laden? No, it hardly could be that: the editor understands that the fundamentalist Muslims hate people like the Saudi prince, whom they consider a traitor.

What caused the nasty headline was a comment the prince made as he was touring the wreckage of the World Trade Center. After denouncing Osama bin Laden and calling the attack "a tremendous crime," the prince said, and I quote: "I came here to show my allegiance to New York. We are here to tell America and to tell New York that Saudi Arabia is with the United States wholeheartedly."

But then a minute later the prince said, and again I quote: "At times like this one we must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack. I believe the government of the United States of America should reexamine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause. Our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of Israelis while the world turns the other cheek." -- end of quote --

Giuliani, as soon as he was told of the prince's words, angrily ordered an aide to return the prince's $10 million check and announced that the city would not accept the prince's "tainted" money. Commentary about the prince in other New York newspapers was just as nasty as that in the Daily News. Columnists and editorial writers expressed not just disapproval of the prince's statement; they were hysterical with hatred and rage.

Two journalists in Oneida, New York, in an area of the state more than 250 miles from Giuliani's turf, didn't toe the party line closely enough and learned to their sorrow what happens to those naïve enough to believe in freedom of the press. Jean Ryan, managing editor of the Oneida Daily Dispatch, and Dale Seth, the paper's city editor, were fired by the paper's publisher because they ran an editorial that quoted a Pakistani who pointed out that throughout the Middle East Israelis were looked on as the region's preeminent terrorists. They drew no conclusions, they quoted him in conext. The fact that Seth is Jewish shows that we have no more power of the press than gentiles when it comes to pissing certain people off. One "irresponsible" slip, and you're unemployable.


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[sailaway21]

Good post, Rags. Sounds like a coherent outline for a strategy of dealing with the most pressing issue of our day.