patrick.net

I really see nothing wrong about befriending oil-rich nations. That is very much in our best interest.

Guys, we need the oil.

One big reason for high tuition is simply government loan guarantees that encourage people to borrow more for college.

Thomas Sowell makes some good arguments about it here:

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=5171

We have an inefficient Education system that only has one answer for children. Go to college.

I totally agree. The society needs to be educated (pun intended) that degrees are NOT required in most jobs.

In fact, many jobs do not require anything beyond junior high.

A college degree will only turn a mediocre person into an indebted mediocre person.

It takes the will to thrive in the real world to transform someone into a great man.

Clarence 13X says

Go with the facts in your reply.
4X

Hi Lorenzo (or whatever your alias of the day is) Which fact is questionable in my previous post: Obama did not publish a single law paper and became a constitutional law scholar? Please spare us praises of Obama’s greatness if you are not willing to address a simple question on the topic. Could you create separate posts on Miscellaneous thread about each individual Obama’s policy you want to promote? It will be easier to debate separate issues rather than compiling everything into an unrelated topic.

Today i will be known as America the beautiful...I wasnt referencing this one line but the other 14 that were not as pointed. This is a somewhat true statement about Obama. It would be like a Liberal saying that Bush never fought in a War and or a conservative bringing up the Bill Clinton weed inhaling scandal. These points are not relevant to the betterment of our nation. How is Obama not writing a paper going to better our nation. Like I have said before, your attacks on Obama are the result of the negative tone taken towards Bush's presidency. The only difference is that Bush screwed up our nation by bringing us in this war....and from what is seems, Obama is preparing to do the same.

You wouldnt like me as your president because I would act too decisively with the following:

Cut all non-profit programs
Increase regulation on businesses in the financial sector
Cut all Welfare to immigrants
Cut all Welfare to citizens after 18 mos.
Increased penalties for gang crimes, if 1 member commits a crime then they all go to jail
Increased penalties for corporate fraud,
no profits = no bonuses
25% of all Oil revenues for IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN come to America as repayment for the buttkicking we put on those countries.
1 Month vacation for all American Workers
25% revenue penalty for all companies offshoring jobs, result would be an immediate decrease of the 10% unemployment
Pull out of Afghanistan and deal with the blowback
Pull out of IRAQ and deal with the blowback
Protect our interests in Afghanistan or Iraq...bring the Oil money here to the US

None of this has anything to do with Obama, Bush or your weak policies. America needs to exert her dominance and take control of the situation at hand.

Thunderlips:

Indian IT guys in India are 1/4 of the price of American IT guys. There is no way an American IT guy can be 400% more productive. But Indians live in India, where the cost of living is much lower. Americans live in America, where the cost of living - and college tuition - is much more expensive. 13X: Exactly, for this reason we have to bring the jobs back to America less we face further decline in housing and other markets. We cannot buy what we cannot afford. The services industry in America will never compete with Indians, Mexicans or other 3rd world countries. We are being lied to..

Economists conveniently forget that all of the Asian Tigers - Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, China - all have massive protectionist tariffs on imports - when they discuss how fast those countries grow. 13X: So its the tariffs that have been removed from our trade agreements while other countries still tax exports, heh? As I understand free trade agreements have little to do with offshoring although the two are intermingled in conversation. Please explain how free trade allows for a company to offshore and/or creates negative impact on our GDP?

thunderlips11 says

The origional bush picture you posted was chopped to make it look like a mouth kiss. This next pic you posted is the actual untouched picture showing a kiss on the cheek, probobly each cheek as is custom in different parts of the world. A very sad attempt on your part. And it doesn't offend my world views, just my photo chopping views. Carry on.

elvis says

What I can’t figure out is why our cost of living, college tuition prices etc. are so much more than other countries. What do you think caused our prices to be so high?

Perhaps the colleges should be asked that. Would we find many are unionized and have been pumping salaries higher
all the while crying that programs are being cut. For a non-profit entity, they have been growing their investments into billions.

If you guys could leave all the rhetoric of Bush - Obama - Clinton out of this we would be much better off.

Who cares is Bush held hands with another leader?
Who cares if Bush kiss him on the cheek?
Who cares if Obama has Muslim heritage?
Who cares if Obama doesnt have the long format birth certificate?
Who cares if Obama deserves the Nobel Prize?
Who cares if Clinton inhaled or not?
Who cares if Clinton slept around?
Who cares is Obama bowed or not?

We should only care about the direction of this nation, none of these factors have anything to do with positive growth of our economy. As you can see I am a PROGRESSIVE, Bush holding hands with the Saudi's showed that our President has respect for foreign cultures. America's culture of homophobia is not shared by many other nations. The scottish wear dresses "kilts", so if our president decided to wear one out of respect then so be it.

If that is what it takes to develop a strong relationship with foreign nations then that is what we do. Remember, you wouldnt want me as your president because my first actions would be to prepare our Military to wipe many nations off the planet and/or put them under border patrol by our military. We cannot afford to be a warring nation any longer.

Stick to the facts.

thunderlips11 says
But all we hear about from our elected officials - Democrat or Republican - and the Repeaters on the Mainstream Media is demonization of Iran, and worse atrocities from Saudi Arabia are seldom mentioned and when they are quickly passed over as an aside.

Saudi Arabia is not building a nuclear bomb and missiles to carry it. Their leaders did not threaten to wipe out Israel.

Saudi Arabia is 10x worse than Iran, where women can be doctors, have jobs in mixed-gender workplaces, attend co-ed colleges, and drive themselves, but all you ever hear about is how women are treated in Iran.

Why should we care how other countries treat their people? Saudi Arabia is more important to us because of something we want.

Why should we have any concern as to how the women are treated in other countries, especially with all the turmoil going on here in the US. I would not be concerned about my neighbors children when my own are going hungry?

Are you one of those far left liberals I have been reading about?...your making the progressive movement look bad, very bad.

So lemme get this straight, you touchy feely "Change" at the expense of others, Progressive libs, are really interested in Change for your self.

As for the pic the kissy face one was out side, not a photo shop, the second one, was taken indoors. It's not really a kiss, Bush leans in and whispered in the Prince's ear. "I can free up the rest of my afternoon, if you have a flat somewhere. "
To which the Prince replied."Let's go I'll make Falafel."

But Saudi Arabia is already trading with us. Of course we should try to befriend Iran too.

For the same reason, we must improve relationship with Russia. I am serious.

Our friendship with Western Europe may be over-rated. There is little we are get from EU anymore. At least nothing Russia cannot provide.

4x, perhaps you are really a conservative. Welcome to the club. :-)

Well-armed neutrality is my preferred policy.

I agree.

Peter:

I have always stated that I am conservative-progressive. I try to vote on what makes sense....and it doesnt make sense for us to put our focus elsewhere.

Tenounce:

So lemme get this straight, you touchy feely “Change” at the expense of others, Progressive libs, are really interested in Change for your self.

You really should read up the differences between PROGRESSIVE and LIBERAL. Liberals believe anything goes (GAY Marriage, Welfare, Lega Marijuana) where as PROGRESSIVE simply want improvements made (Civil Rights, Women Rights, NAFTA, Globalization) for the betterment of our society. Some progressive ideas are conservative in nature, which is why Clinton pushed NAFTA and GRAMM-LEACH-BLILEY. The problem is that most liberals are poor, do not understand business and vote based on racial/sexual preference. This is not to say conservatives dont, as when the 1964 Civil Rights act passed well over 25% of dems left the party and switched Replublican....this indicates a hint of racism exists within the Republican party. It also would give a clear answer as to why we find the REBEL flag flying at so many conservative rallys.

I am conservative in business, progressive in public policy....someone has to prevent big business from eating the American public alive with offshoring. You do realize that each of the corporations that exist in America would run their business without people if they could right? If all they needed was for the CEO to go into the office on a daily basis and press a green button then they would do just that.

I have always stated that I am conservative-progressive.

There is a political party in Canada for you. :-)

I guess a balance is always good.

If all they needed was for the CEO to go into the office on a daily basis and press a green button then they would do just that.

Power needs to go back to shareholders, the true master of the corporation.

Many problems are really caused by management having too much power and/or too little oversight. This is why I think privately-held companies tend to enjoy more longevity as successful businesses (e.g. Cargill, Bloomberg). Public companies are really just a bunch of numbers that are somehow linked to bonuses and/or stock options.

"You really should read up the differences between PROGRESSIVE and LIBERAL. Liberals believe anything goes (GAY Marriage, Welfare, Lega Marijuana) where as PROGRESSIVE simply want improvements made (Civil Rights, Women Rights, NAFTA, Globalization) for the betterment of our society."
Oh so one's a Pompous assbag!

now THAT was funny. Thanks.

“You really should read up the differences between PROGRESSIVE and LIBERAL. Liberals believe anything goes (GAY Marriage, Welfare, Lega Marijuana) where as PROGRESSIVE simply want improvements made (Civil Rights, Women Rights, NAFTA, Globalization) for the betterment of our society.”
Oh so one’s a Pompous assbag!

As I have said before, a 3rd grade education wont get you far in debate. You might want to try that name calling technique in your class tomorrow.

Ha, I love your failed logic, your retort to my zinger was some sanctimonious holier than thou response, suggesting that I only have a third grade education, whilst the gist of what you are saying. Is that I am some how inferior in a debate for my use of verbal wrangling, yet you call me a third grade drop out.

You really make my case sir.

Tenounce, have you read Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"?

Its pretty good. He offers some thoughts on how best to express ourselves plainly and directly. Here are the rules he offers:

1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
2. Never us a long word where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

and:

A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
1. What am I trying to say?
2. What words will express it?
3. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?
And he will probably ask himself two more:
1. Could I put it more shortly?

2. Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

So in keeping, whats wrong with this statement:

"I am not, indeed, sure whether it is not true to say that the Milton who once seemed not unlike a seventeenth-century Shelley had not become, out of an experience ever more bitter in each year, more alien [sic] to the founder of that Jesuit sect which nothing could induce him to tolerate."

or this one:

"Ha, I love your failed logic, you retort to my zinger with some sanctimonious holier than thou response, suggesting that I only have a third grade education, whilst the gist of what you are saying. Is that I am some how inferior in a debate for my use of verbal wrangling, yet you call me a third grade drop out.
You really make my case sir."

There's some pompous assbaggery for you from me. But you really should check out the article.

or this one: "As I have said before, a 3rd grade education wont get you far in debate. You might want to try that name calling technique in your class tomorrow."

kentm says

Tenounce, have you read Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”?

I have one rule when I write...

Do I believe what I'm writing?

I do want to believe in what Orson Wells once read I really do, but I just can't seem to muster up anything past, "I will drink no wine before it's time." how [sic] is that? Oh yeah! that's right, I don't give a crap.

kentm says

Tenounce, have you read Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language”?

Tenouncetrout says

I do want to believe in what Orson Wells once read I really do, but I just can’t seem to muster up anything past, “I will drink no wine before it’s time.”

Are we talking about George Orwell or Orson Wells?