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No disagreement there.Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkThanos
But there was more to the Reagan Admin's policies than military spending.
If nothing else, Reagan's manhandling of the state's rights on the drinking age shows his true colors, as far as "big government" goes.
I think he set his expectations a little high. Four million new or saved jobs in two years. I think he set the bar a little bit too high. Even by his own admission, he said that it might or it might not work. I think that he should take a closer look at this bill before he signs it. Also the new jobs he is talking about with going green and everything like that. Well what happens when the job is over, then the construction people will be out of work. Why not drill for oil now (to get our dependence off of foreign oil), natural gas or coal. Those will guarantee jobs. Also he did say "uhhh" a lot. He was probably uncomfortable, but he could smooth talk the gown off of Mother Teresa.
The representation is the people that we vote in Congress and the Senate.Quote:
Originally Posted by El Nino
Iīve noticed your comment on communism but decided to avoid any discussion on this topic since Iīm certain that you donīt possess any basic knowledge about communism, socialism or even anarchosyndicalism. Although itīs hopeless to lead a discussion with someone who claims to hate communism, also portraying herself as a Reagan-loyal republican, Iīd like to type a few words on this topic without any intention of pointless arguing.Quote:
Originally Posted by BrendaQG
Iīm afraid the communism youīre talking about is based on a Tom Clancy novel or a 80ies trash movie with Chuck Norris. Thatīs at least the impression you leave. I donīt blame you for that since the socialist idea has been specifically demonized in the US from the very beginning of the Cold War. The average American was simply told that communism is something un-American which was enough to keep the "Red Scare" alive until these days.
To understand the opression in the Soviet Union or China, you need to explore the Russian history from Peter I (1672-1725). The Soviet Union was continuing old Russiaīs imperial politics towards East Asia and Southeastern Europe while neglecting itīs economy. It was occupied with the puppet states in Eastern Europe for which a strong military presense is highly required and this costs. It was not Reagan who "won the Cold War" but the Soviet Union destroying itself.
They never had communism there. The Soviet Union was more of a monarchy with a staged socialist image. They just gave you and many other communism-haters the excuse to bash any leftist ideal. And as for "collective slavery", I can tell you that slavery has no consistent definition. Weīre slaves of the free market nowdays, hypnotized to consume and often left without any other option. And btw, shall I remind you of the racist American slavery history? Or, although it was constitutionally banned, the racist opression in America until the late 60ies? You hopefully donīt experience this today but the US government never stopped to benefit opressing regimes in South America and Asia for example. There was also a case in Europe: right after WWII, a civil war broke out in Greece, between the fascist government (monarchists and former quislings) and leftists. However, Truman decided to support the fascist government with 500 million dollars, telling the public world that this support was supposed to boost the Greek national economy.
But fact was that he tried to stem to Soviet influence on Greece and used to finance the Greek government. There was no help coming from the Soviets anyways because Stalin ceded Greece to Churchill. They made an agreement at the Yalta Conference (1945) to divide Greece into influence spheres: 90% for the British and 10% for the Soviets.
Another famous American interventions are the assassination of Che Guevara and the military putsch in Chile against a democratic government (Salvador Allende).
Whatever, if you wish to talk about communism as a seperate topic, you need to get your facts straight. The media or popular culture are not the best source, and so isnīt the Republican indoctrination. I donīt mean to offend you but you seem to be confused in many ways. Youīre a conservative republican, anti-communist, a Muslima, transsexual and a pseudo-scientist. All I see are contradictions because thereīs no place for people like you in the conservative and inhuman ideologies like religion, especially islam.
Cheers.
Thanks, Coroner. Well said.
I know plenty about Communism. I know that real comunism has never been achieved by any socialist state. I know about
The hard labor of the Gulag for any political dissidents -USSR
The destruction of Classic Chinese culture in the Cultral Revolution-PRC
The Genocide and killing fields of Cambodia - The KhmerRouge
The persecutions of Catholics in IndoChina - The VietMinh, and latter the state of Vietnam.
The cult of personality that Kim Jong Il set up forhimself based on communist ideology.
As for socialism. Just look at socialized medicine, how many people come to the USA so they can just buy the care they need rather than wait in a very very long line.
These are what socialism and communism bring in real life without any exception. Communist states have killed more of their own people than the capital west has killed communist, everywhere but possibly in Vietnam.
As for my being a "Muslima, transsexual and a pseudo-scientist. All I see are contradictions because thereīs no place for people like you in the conservative and inhuman ideologies like religion, especially islam. "
That could not be more wrong. The facts are that republicans, Muslims, and other scientist. Have treated me way better than any so called accepting tolerant liberals ever have. Case in point your need to shout down and try to silence any dissent with completely irrelevant ad hominem's.
I forgot to add. To my list
The brutal invasion of Afganistan by the Soviet Union which tried to impose it's communism there. Then had it's ass kicked by a muslim people who are known to have, open sexual relationships between men, and a long history of accepting the transgendered among them. Who were helped by a Democrat Congressman named Charlie Wilson. Defeated the communist with the help of Allah, and US money! (I had Wilson down as a republican, turns out he was a democrat. What happend to your party? How did so many of you become socialist?)
LMAOQuote:
Originally Posted by BrendaQG
I guess that's why pre-ops rush to Thailand for GRS. I guess that's why tgirls and ggirls rush to Mexico for breast enhancement. I guess that's why many Americans are flying to all corners of the world for various medical treatment. The US has fallen behind in both the quality of healthcare and the cost. One of the things propping it up are the old tired canards that the right wing nutjobs keep repeating over and over, until others repeat it for them.
Nonetheless there is a kernel of truth in there, I have lived near the Canadian boarder and for preventative care, Canadians do (or used to?) come over in droves as cash customers for our Dr offices (GPs, endos, dentists, allergy/asthma specialists, eyecare, etc.).Quote:
Originally Posted by Odelay
Ontario specifically has had problems in the past when dealing with dental, eye care etc- and going to NY as a cash customer w/out private insurance is actually cheaper & faster than what they have gotten, in the past, threw NHS. As to whether or not that was a short term glitch that has since been resolved, or a continuing problem- I cannot accurately say.
NHS works great when 1- the policymakers take it seriously, and 2- its properly funded.
Canada has had problems in the past, especially in some Providences, in funding everything. When that happens, people with certain specific needs get fucked. This is also why its so hard to get SRS paid for under NHS in some parts of Canada & some parts of the UK. They'll flat out say to patients "we don't have the funding to pay for your srs unless you're a really extreme case."
Extreme case? by that they mean "if you're not going to slit your wrists or jump off a building by not having srs, go save up the money and go overseas for it."
If we're to judge the American system based on how many trans patients go to Thailand or Mexico, we need to be equally harsh for the droves of Canadians or British trans patients who go private, and then go to these same overseas doctors themselves... also I am going to speculate that perhaps, just perhaps, some people chose overseas doctors because that's who they're comfortable using, not just simple economics.
Edit: Does anyone have accurate figures showing how many patients get their ENTIRE transitions funded for via a NHS program* versus how many end up going private? Do we have any way to know what the #'s are for this in the UK or Canada?
*This is partly a trick question, as NHS doesn't pay for everything in these two countries.
Barack is our President and we're stuck with him. I did not vote for him, but will support him and wish him success.
Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank should be sent to Guantanamo and left to rot. The are the reasons for our problems and Barack had better get control of these idiots or we will never get out of this mess. Working together is not in their vocabulary.....remember when Reagan and Tip O'Neal fought and argued, then had a drink and did what was best for our country ??????
I miss TR!
Yes - I haven't had medical care in the US, other than emergencies, since I got out of the Army a lifetime ago. Last time I had a bad migraine it cost me nearly $700.Quote:
Originally Posted by Odelay
My dentist of 17 years is in Tijuana. ($25 filling vs $95+) I used to get my glasses there too, until WalMart opened up out here. I do my hormone blood testing there ($15-70 vs $250-400) and bought my boobs in Guadalajara ($3,500 vs $6,500 at the time). And I'll go to Thailand for SRS ($10,000 vs $30,000).
The $40,000 Jessica and I will save will buy us a new Mercedes when we return.
Yes many Americans do go overseas for elective and even some major treatment, and yes there are some wealthy foreigners who come here for treatment too. And yes some public health services are slow - but at least they are there.
Even though I can afford it, I CAN'T GET INSURANCE here in the US at any cost.
I would far rather have SOME kind of national health service, than what I have now which is cash on the barrel head or DIE. I would rather have to wait a few weeks to be seen, and a least GET seen, than what I have now, which is either self diagnose, go to Mexico, or go broke in the Emergency Room.
Sigh,
TS Jamie :-(
Really.
Come to Chicago, experience going to Cook County Hospital for healthcare. You'll be waiting in the emergency room for a loooong time. IT's not unheard of for some people to die while waiting because their condition was not properly assesed in the first place.
The cook county system of hospitals and clinics is plagued with waste, corruption, and does not deliver quality care.
If that's what you think is so great then why aren't people from all over comming here to go to Cook County Hospital (or any other public hospital here)? They would not turn you away due to residency either, nor do you have to be near death, they have even treated people for routine things.
let us just agree to disagree about this.
Bringing this thread back on topic, there is nothing wrong with saying "umm" in public speaking. You people need to take some speech classes. It's all about the context and how it is used. I have no idea how well this is gonna go, and neither does anyone else, but you CANNOT bust Obama's speaking skills. He came across as someone who was "speaking", not someone who was repeating one liners and cliches that he was drilled on.
If you can't admit that the former president was an awful speaker (that stupid little laugh showed more nervousness than any "umm" ever could), then you're part of the problem.
The fundament of both communism and socialism is marxism. I used to read the philosophical publications by Karl Marx, his "Capital" (Das Kapital) and the "manifesto" (Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei) which he wrote together with Friedrich Engels, who was an industrialist and I havenīt found one passage where Marx asserted the cult of personality or labor camps for dissidents. We have to blame Stalin and his loyalists in Eastern Europe, Mao Zedong, Kim Jong Il etc., not the communist idea. Stalin for example imprisoned true communists. This remembers me of an old movie with Burt Lancester and Alain Delon, called "Scorpio", where Lancaster meets an old Russian friend from the KGB in Vienna. This friend tells him "no matter what they did to me in the camps, I think Iīm still a communist. They imprisoned true communists there."Quote:
Originally Posted by BrendaQG
You canīt seriously relativise communism to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. They were the only government in the history of mankind that was operating from the underground. No one ever saw the people who ruled Cambodia. Pol Potīs identity was exposed after he was overthrown. The Angkar were just ridiculously crazy and far away from being communists. Communism seeks itīs foundation in the working class and industry but the Khmer wanted to destroy cities and build Cambodia upon a "stone age" agriculture. And again: the cult of personality has not been promoted by communism. Libertarian socialists (anarchosyndicalists) even fight every indication of authority.
A very questionable "socialized medicine". Those who buy their medical care have the money but most cannot afford it. Chuck Schuldiner, a Metal guitarist, died in 2001 from cancer because he couldnīt afford the necessary surgery that wouldīve saved his life, so they just left him to perish.Quote:
As for socialism. Just look at socialized medicine, how many people come to the USA so they can just buy the care they need rather than wait in a very very long line.
Hereīs an example of a capitalist genocide, just out of many: the Great Famine in Ireland claimed 1 million dead because Britain refused to accept every proposal to reform the Irish agriculture. 70% of the Irish lived from agriculture. The reason why Britain refused to help the Irish is simple: it didnīt fit into their economical principals based on the laissez-faire. They thought the starvation and deaths were a natural cause and will boost the Irish economy later. Connect this with the case of Chuck Schuldiner: if you canīt pay - die. The main principle of liberalism says "everyone has the right to do whatever he wants, as long as he doesnīt offend the freedom of another". A paradox because those who have the money have the power and they do with those who donīt have the money whatever they want. This might sound naive and ragged formulated but itīs a fact.Quote:
These are what socialism and communism bring in real life without any exception. Communist states have killed more of their own people than the capital west has killed communist, everywhere but possibly in Vietnam.
Well, why donīt you move to Saudi-Arabia and tell us how they treat you or try with a hicksville in Utah or Louisiana? Being member of a party doesnīt necessary mean that a personīs a convinced republican and conservative. A republican from Chicago or New York must be more open-minded than a republican from a small village in Alabama or another southern state. But the fundamental conservative doctrine does not accept homosexuals and transsexuals. Theyīd pay you a sex change surgery in Iran while they hang gays. They follow their "holy" books which are inhuman fairy tales.Quote:
As for my being a "Muslima, transsexual and a pseudo-scientist. All I see are contradictions because thereīs no place for people like you in the conservative and inhuman ideologies like religion, especially islam. "
That could not be more wrong. The facts are that republicans, Muslims, and other scientist. Have treated me way better than any so called accepting tolerant liberals ever have. Case in point your need to shout down and try to silence any dissent with completely irrelevant ad hominem's.
The Taliban were known for open sexual relationships between men? :lol: The Soviets didnīt even try to impose communism in Afghanistan. Itīs a hopeless country without an infracstructure, industry and economy in general. Afghanistan is just a battlefield with local warlords running the "economy". The Soviets were defeated with US money and help from Pakistan just "communism was defeated" in Chile with US money where your country installed a militant fascist government that killed over 30.000 people under Pinochet. The concentration camps in Chile were obviously not a problem for American conservatives.Quote:
I forgot to add. To my list
The brutal invasion of Afganistan by the Soviet Union which tried to impose it's communism there. Then had it's ass kicked by a muslim people who are known to have, open sexual relationships between men, and a long history of accepting the transgendered among them. Who were helped by a Democrat Congressman named Charlie Wilson. Defeated the communist with the help of Allah, and US money! (I had Wilson down as a republican, turns out he was a democrat. What happend to your party? How did so many of you become socialist?)
I get what you're saying and I think the Spanish civil war would be a better example.Quote:
Originally Posted by Coroner
The Soviets didn't want a communist revolution in Spain, largely because it didn't fit into their long term expansionist agendas, and they didn't want to compete with a second communist "mindset" for people to look to. The Soviets were fighting the Spanish anarchists & other liberal groups, as much or more than they were fighting the fascists.
@Coroner. The Taliban did not exist until almost a decade after the Soviets were thrown out they then imposed their radical version of Sharia on the populace. A populace which only accepted them because they were tired of warlordism.
As for Marxist ideology and what it meas when it is pure and ideal... We wold not live in the ideal. We would live in a real life state which like every other state that has tried socialism has failed and ended up brutalizing all opposition in the process.
It also says something that you have to go back to the Barbaric actions of the British Monarchs to find a case of capitalist being as inhumane as socialist are right now as we write. That's all I have to say to you on this.
The last I will write on this mess.. I have found a writing by another queer republican who I agree with which answers some of the criticism I get for that here. Basically there is more to a person, to me, than the fact that I am TS...
Right side of the Rainbow
On the topic of the original post.... After hearing Obama's babbling stumbling delivery then the way more fumbling presentation of Obama's "plan" by tax cheat Tim Geithner.. The Stock Market dropped...Quote:
Gay and Republican: why?
Today I received an e-mail from a self-described Democrat/Independent who asks:
Im curious, how can you be Gay and a Republican? Does it not bother you how the right treats people like yourself?
Now normally this question is asked hostilely and comes accompanied by invective. But since this readers version of it strikes me as expository and civil, I decided to answer it. And because I think the answer might be of interest to others, I decided to answer it publicly.
This is the short answer: I do not understand my political interests exclusively, or even mostly, in terms of my sexual orientation, and I do not understand my interests as a gay man to be inconsistent with voting Republican.
US Stocks Tumble In Biggest Drop Since Dec After Bank Plan
The verdict is that the people who have the money to really actually get the economy going Don't like socialim.
Hey Solitary, you would rather see Ron Paul up there tho... wouldn't u? ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Solitary Brother
Yeah, who go back on their words after being elected...Quote:
Originally Posted by bte
SMDH... :roll:Quote:
Originally Posted by El Nino
Interesting discussion.
I have to wonder at the venom directed at Obama over his speaking skills the last few days. He has a much better grasp of the language than the previous president and, while this is some umms and such, to me they show he is actually telling you what he thinks.
I've seen a couple of comments that amount to 'his handlers should have prepared him better.' It's shocking that we think our president should be some kind of trained show dog rather than a man who actually has a discussion with the press.
On the communism/capitalism thing... we're not a capitalist country folks, and abuse of power isn't a communist thing. We regulate all kinds of things in this country, just look at the laws regulating how and when and who you have to tell for stock purchases. The fact that we usually get other countries to do the dirty work and just pay the bill hasn''t washed our hands of a lot of the bad things done in opposition to the spread of 'communist' governments.
It's not a two sided coin we're flipping here folks, there are a lot more 'isms' in the fight and very few folks political ideologies fit neatly on the left right scale. Remember, unrestrained capitalism leads to robber barons and monopolies... socialism, in one form or another is the balance that makes public good be a factor. Communism is different from a few regulations and public funding of a few necessary tools.
I am just concerned that we have taken terms like 'liberal' 'socialist' and 'communist' and stripped them of their actual meaning, leaving only a pop culture reference to detestable people out to take your money and your freedom. The new use has nothing to do with the actual philosophy behind them, but is all about mass media manipulation of voters. And yes there is plenty of 'right wing' mass media these days, though they host a less channels.
(that's actually to be expected in some ways. Conservatives by nature are more in agreement with each other than Liberals. They attempt to preserve a current or historic view, where the Liberal is pushing for the variety of new concepts to have equal space on the stage. Over simplifies a bit and doesn't correlate to Dem or Rep mind you... but it used to be almost 'the let's Restore' movement and 'the let's Change' movement.)
Who lost focus and rambled cause it's late... sorry folks... Sean
[quote="BrendaQGWe wold not live in the ideal. We would live in a real life state which like every other state that has tried socialism has failed and ended up brutalizing all opposition in the process.
The verdict is that the people who have the money to really actually get the economy going Don't like socialim.[/quote]
And yet The Human Development Report which is basically a report about human development; education, health, welfare, tax, enviroment etc... It`s about which countries are the best to live in.
And 6 of the top 10 has socialist government
01. Iceland - in coalition
02. Norway - in government
03. Canada - opposition
04. Australia - in government
05. Ireland - opposition
06. Netherlands - in coalition
07. Sweden - in opposition
08. Japan - opposition
09. Luxembourg - in coalition
10. Switzerland - in coalision
Can't get any worse? Where have you been. The stocks keep on dropping no matter what he does. He sounds nervous because he is, and he should be, he does not know waht he's doing. The stimulus bill, if you want to call it that, was drafted by that bitch pelosi and all the other liberal socialists. Let's see how it can't get any worse. we'll talk again in 1 year and see what has gotten any better. I'll even give him 4 years. I can guarantee he will not be re-elected.
l.Quote:
And in case you haven't read a paper of late, government seems to be the only cylinder working right now in this recession. Everyone and everything is turning to it for its surviva
cause all they do is turn on the printing presses and turn to you to pay the bill.
Listen to the red-baiter!Quote:
Originally Posted by doctranny07
You're scared shitless of progressive, fair and equal health care legislation, aren't you? If in fact you are a doctor, and aren't just playing one on HA.
That dang FDR was a commie too, wasn't he?
All of you are fucking retarded if you think the President, especially this fuck nut, is going to change anything. Maybe if any of you cave dwellers had an education you might understand that the president is a figure.
And to the person who said 26% of us liked Bush/McCain, you are god damn right. At least I didn't vote for a president because he was black and had no experience.
[quote=rockit]Yeah try reading an investment paper/magazine. These are also the top 10 countries getting hit the hardest by the downturn in the economy.Quote:
Originally Posted by "BrendaQGWe wold not live in the ideal. We would live in a real life state which like every other state that has tried socialism has failed and ended up brutalizing all opposition in the process.
The verdict is that the people who have the money to really actually get the economy going Don't like socialim.[/quote
[quote=gr4phic4rtist08]Eactly but some people here are so comitted to the ideological/political box which says I am black/hispanic/gay/transsesexual so I must agree with every left wing agenda that comes down the pike.Quote:
Originally Posted by rockit
Right now left wingers Praise Hugo Chavez. (Hell I liked the guy back when it seemed he was just a elected official who had the guts to tell Bush where to put it.) Let's see if they still praise him after Venezuela is a socialist country with one party rule, a ruined economy, and is sending boat people to the unfair capitalist united states (or heck even Mexico)?
Lay off the Limbaugh, loser!!Quote:
Originally Posted by gr4phic4rtist08
[quote="gr4phic4rtist08
Yeah try reading an investment paper/magazine. These are also the top 10 countries getting hit the hardest by the downturn in the economy.[/quote]
Try reading an investment paper/magazine for yourselves for a change.
Apart from Iceland which had the banks gone bust. and Japan who got bad industri hit. NOne of the other countries on the list are amongst the baddest hit, actually they are the ones that has become "relatively" good out of the crisis. No countries has been enjoying the crisis, but these are amongst that the crisis has gotten least damage
The countries mostly hit by the financial crisis is: Iceland (bankbust) / USA / UK /China
I dont think that you are qualified to judge who is retarded and who is not. You seem to have no respect for the majority of American voters. I have a college degree and I did not vote for Obama because he is Black. In vast majority of public opinion polls. An overwhelming majiority people stated that they were unhappy with the direction the nation was taking. The people with the most experience had more responsibility in taking the nation in an unproductive direction. This past presidential campaign was one the longest. The public had ample opportunity to judge the qualifications of each person running for president. Barrack Obama managed a campaign the coordinated untold numbers of people, in the hundreds of thousands, in the very least.Quote:
Originally Posted by gr4phic4rtist08
I also question, what you think of as experience. An experience that makes greatly respect Obama was his experience as community organizer. That means he was working with individuals on a community level to effect change. Every nation is a group of communities, including the U.S. That shows that he had respect for individual people. That is something you do not appear to know much about, judging by your post. I remember seeing a picture of him sitting on the steps in some Black housing project. That a place where many Blacks are uncomfortable to go.
But it was his grasp of international issues that first got my attention to him. When he said that he would at least sit and talk with our enemies without preconditions, I felt that was the best approach. If you had the experience I had, laying on the ground with my face in the dirt, with live bullets flying over my head, you might value the technique of negotiation like I do.
And lastly, as far as McCain, being a prisoner of war, while very commendable, does not make any special qualifications for leadership. It is judgment, to me, that makes the most important qualification. In my book, his history of crashing airplanes shows someone who took risks. Picking Sarah Palin as his VP, seemed to be another risky venture, in my book.
Apparantly the majority of American voters agreed with something Obama stood for in his campaign. And by the way his poll numbers were higher among Whites with more education. So that goes against your lack of education theory.
More than half those countries on the list have the advantage of spending almost nothing on Defense and being smaller than one of the USA states.
We don't spend all that much on Defense either. Now Offense, that's a different story.
Yeah, and if you had an education, you would know that Obama couldn't have been elected president with just the black vote. Obama got a good % of the white population, including this white male. Blacks are only 12% of the population...Quote:
Originally Posted by gr4phic4rtist08
...And Sarah Palin would have been a heartbeat away from the presidency, she can't even manage her own fucked up family much less the country. She was 1 of the reason's McCain lost. Blame him for picking her. You sore LOSER.
They are both Two Side of the SAME Coin. The Country is heading in a very similar direction and is continuing on a path of spending, debt, big government, WAR, Imperialism and erosion of civil liberties...
haha he can't even answer questions w/out a teleprompter. They're going to install monitors into his podiums so he can be fed answers easier than before. He's just as clueless as bush, except he can speak.
nah, war in iraq accounts for less than 1% of the deficit.Quote:
Originally Posted by trish
he sat down with bush and found out the BS which made bush a icon of hate by people. and is scared...about the outcome of what might happen and is trying not to make mistake, to this point he has been doing quite well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by El Nino
Not really a fan of his as he is only keeping Palins seat warm as a moose head will be hanging in the oval office very soon.But if I had to deal with what that fucking retard god botherer had done to your country domestically and internationally . I'd be nervous too.
It is much too early to make a sound judgement yet, . I have given him too years until I slag him off,like I gave Bush.
LMAO, arnie...read the news lately? The only seat being kept warm for Sarah Palin(and her inbred grifter family) is on the Jerry Springer show, mate!Quote:
Originally Posted by arnie666