[normhead]

I am more than a little surprised at the lack of balance here in the political discussion. I hear a lot about Sarah Palin's gaffes.

really... you are equating Palin with Obama...
the difference my dear friend is when Obama says something he didn't mean we know he didn't mean it... when Plain says these things sometimes she's serious.

Polls are for strippers and cross-country skiers

If we were really domestic terrorists, President Obama would want to be palling around with us.

We have a President, perhaps for the very first time since the founding of our republic, who doesn't appear to believe that America is the greatest earthly force for good the world has ever known.

"Shoot, I must have lived such a doggoned sheltered life as a normal, independent American up there in the Last Frontier, schooled with only public education and a lowly state university degree, because obviously I haven't learned enough to dismiss common sense." --Sarah Palin, on opposition to offshore oil drilling, Facebook note, June 13, 2010

What makes us make fun of Palin is, if you try to take the woman the slightest bit seriously, you're going to cry.

[metaglypto]

really... you are equating Palin with Obama...

No, not equating in terms that you suggest. Palin has the guy beat in some regards. At least Palin is trying to clean up the government, not corrupt it further. As to your quotes:

Polls are for strippers and cross-country skiers

Do you honestly believe Palin thought the polls were for strippers and skiers? C'mon, it was a joke.

If we were really domestic terrorists, President Obama would want to be palling around with us.

Perhaps you should read up on the Muslim Brotherhood and how Obama courts them.

We have a President, perhaps for the very first time since the founding of our republic, who doesn't appear to believe that America is the greatest earthly force for good the world has ever known.

Okay, we have made, are making a lot of mistakes. We have also done a lot of good worldwide, more so than any other country in terms of freedom, democracy, and financial aid. Am I missing someone somewhere? Canada perhaps? I think not, we do a pretty good job of training their military, i.e., I have personal knowledge of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry training with the 82nd Airborne. Canada sends a lot of troops to the US to get trained.

"Shoot, I must have lived such a doggoned sheltered life as a normal, independent American up there in the Last Frontier, schooled with only public education and a lowly state university degree, because obviously I haven't learned enough to dismiss common sense." --Sarah Palin, on opposition to offshore oil drilling, Facebook note, June 13, 2010

This sounds like a gaffe, like some of the ones Obama pulled.

Palin's biggest screw up was resigning as governor, I still don't understand that.

[Wheatfield]

No, not equating in terms that you suggest. Palin has the guy beat in some regards. At least Palin is trying to clean up the government, not corrupt it further. As to your quotes:

Citations or it's a lie (and try for ones from sources that at least make an attempt to be neutral.

Do you honestly believe Palin thought the polls were for strippers and skiers? C'mon, it was a joke.

The problem is, it's not certain that it was a joke.

Perhaps you should read up on the Muslim Brotherhood and how Obama courts them.

I've read quite a bit about the Muslim Brotherhood. Nothing that they have done that is bad is any different from what your own government has done that is bad, with the exception that the MB hasn't set armies on illegal wars of aggression on flimsy reasons and out and out lies.

Okay, we have made, are making a lot of mistakes. We have also done a lot of good worldwide, more so than any other country in terms of freedom, democracy, and financial aid. Am I missing someone somewhere? Canada perhaps? I think not, we do a pretty good job of training their military, i.e., I have personal knowledge of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry training with the 82nd Airborne. Canada sends a lot of troops to the US to get trained.

That's actually quite debatable. America has made numerous attempts to bring democracy to other countries, but invariably it ends up being brought on the end of a gun.
The Canadian military cross trains with the US military quite regularly. Sometimes our guys train with your guys, sometimes your guys train with our guys. It's not your guys training our guys, its joint efforts to ensure our militaries will be able to work together.
I could give you numerous examples of Americans being involved in Arctic operations in conjunction with the Canadian military where our guys are taking the lead.
A friend of mine who was serving with the Canadian Navy told me of several joint operations where our guys were training your guys on the finer points of submarine hunting, which is something our guys excel at.
The point is, it's a two way street, but you will need to pull the flag from your eyes to see it.

This sounds like a gaffe, like some of the ones Obama pulled.

Palin's biggest screw up was resigning as governor, I still don't understand that.

Palin is in it for Palin. She was able to make more money as the mouthpiece for the rather racist tea party than she would have made as governor of Alaska, and as a mouthpiece she keeps herself in front of the public, whereas had she stayed on as governor she would have faded away into oblivion.

[normhead]

You do understand that even if these things are all jokes, they are in such poor taste, and that many of us would find her repulsive as an elected official, because those aren't the kinds of jokes I want my elected officials making. The fact that you find her ignorance worthy of being elected is as frightening as she is, but hey, I felt the same about Ronald Reagan and George Bush Jr. , Palin is worse than either of them.

[jogiba]

It is really scary that some would vote Palin for President. I am thinking they are the same brain dead yahoos that drive pickups with gun racks and laugh at people in cars that get 40mpg while believing in Newt for talking about $2.50 gas at the same time knocking people for driving small cars that get great fuel economy by saying you can't put a gun rack in a Chevy Volt.

[metaglypto]

and try for ones from sources that at least make an attempt to be neutral.

Who gets to decide who is neutral and who is not?

Palin is in it for Palin. She was able to make more money as the mouthpiece for the rather racist tea party than she would have made as governor of Alaska

....and you can back this up with facts, not just opinion. Calling the whole Tea Party racist based on the actions of a few would be no different than me being a racist (I am not), based upon a few experiences I have had with black people. It is ignorant to base your charge of racism on a few pictures, or the way some people (media) want to spin them.

Some studies show that the Tea Party has a higher number of blacks in it than the Occupy groups do.

From:

Nothing that they have done that is bad is any different from what your own government has done that is bad

From:
Muslim Brotherhood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Brotherhood's credo was and is, "God is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations."[13][14] The Brotherhood's English language website describes the "principles of the Muslim Brotherhood" as including firstly the introduction of the Islamic Shari`ah as "the basis controlling the affairs of state and society;"
So, I guess it is safe to assume that you think it is okay for MB to try and implement Sharia Law anywhere Islam shows up. I hear a lot of flap about "Christian dominionism", especially in regards to Palin. Why is it that we never hear about "Islam dominionism", when it is the stated goal of many of the more radical Islam groups.

The point is, it's a two way street, but you will need to pull the flag from your eyes to see it.

It is a two way street, and I agree we do cross train, and for the reasons you state. Due to the sheer size of the US military, I am not convinced it is "tit for tat" or an equal balance as you seem to suggest. So now you attempt to turn this into a personal attack, instead of a discussion, suggesting I am blinded by a boy scout mentality of unwavering patriotism. Give it a rest! Maybe you should get to know my politics a bit better before you include me in with your obvious anti-American bias.

Since WW1 the United States has taken the lead in terms of the cost in money, equipment, and human life, not only restoring peace and over throwing dictators. As I have stated in other forums here, and in this one. The US has done a lot to screw things up, ostensibly in the name of "democracy". In reality much of what is wrong in the MidEast is because of our screwed up foreign policies, and us (our government) thinking we know what is best for everyone. Hell, we practically invented the situation over there, and it can be traced almost directly to our thirst for oil. That said, many other countries, have reaped the benefits of our efforts with only a token involvement themselves.

Like I said in another forum, one of the things I do like about Obama is that it looks like he is trying to get us out of the mideast. It makes no difference to me what his rationale is. The twin towers attack does not justify the loss of human life we have seen since then. I don't think we need to have a lot of troops there on a semi-permanent basis. We should have had the plan in place to withdraw before we ever went in, similar to how Daddy Bush did with Kuwait, if in fact it was necessary to go in at all.

[metaglypto]

You do understand that even if these things are all jokes, they are in such poor taste, and that many of us would find her repulsive as an elected official, because those aren't the kinds of jokes I want my elected officials making. The fact that you find her ignorance worthy of being elected is as frightening as she is, but hey, I felt the same about Ronald Reagan and George Bush Jr. , Palin is worse than either of them.

I never said they were "all" jokes. Where did you get that?

[redrockcoulee]

No, not equating in terms that you suggest. Palin has the guy beat in some regards. At least Palin is trying to clean up the government, not corrupt it further. As to your quotes:


Do you honestly believe Palin thought the polls were for strippers and skiers? C'mon, it was a joke.


Perhaps you should read up on the Muslim Brotherhood and how Obama courts them.


Okay, we have made, are making a lot of mistakes. We have also done a lot of good worldwide, more so than any other country in terms of freedom, democracy, and financial aid. Am I missing someone somewhere? Canada perhaps? I think not, we do a pretty good job of training their military, i.e., I have personal knowledge of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry training with the 82nd Airborne. Canada sends a lot of troops to the US to get trained.


Palin's biggest screw up was resigning as governor, I still don't understand that.

My past job was to photograph and video tape American soldiers being trained in Canada. At our centre we trained many more Americans than we did Canadians. Navy Seals, two different Chemical Battalions, Marines have all trained here.Year after year. They get training they do not have available in the US or at least is difficult to obtain. We also trained French, Australian, British, German and Australian soldiers. When my kid brother was in the Princess Pats he did train in one of the Carolinas and in return he some US troop trained with him in Ontario I think it was.

On a TV show Palin was saying that the US must support its ally North Korea as much as it can. She twice stated that North Korea was the US ally. When it was pointed out that it was South Korea that was the US ally she said "Of Course I meant South Korea" From the way she said it I think it was obvious that she just had thought one thing and said the other, a gaffe. The saying North Korea instead of South Korea was on par with Obama saying 57 states. We all do that. But when she says things that make little sense or are plain wrong you cannot compare that with Obama's 57 state or her North Korea statements. Saying the wrong word or mixing up two things is different from making statements that are factually in error and repeating those statements over time.

As far as Obama palling with terrorists, he sat on a community board with one who was never convicted. I sat on a community board with a real estate agent that does not mean I palled around with one. And if he had been accused of any crime it would not rub off on me.

What evidence is there that she cleaned up corruption in Alaska? Why was she under ethics investigation if she was so clean? Her interview with Kate Koric or whatever that reporters name was is an embarrassment to Palin not to the reporter, as the interview was almost all soft questions. Palin has wonderful sound bites and sounds tough but what has she ever offered as policies. And she sure sounds like she wants to divide up the country so that one group fears the other in order to win an election. I am not non partisan nor would I ever claim to be. Some of the criticism of Republicans is unfounded but some of it is. Seldom hear a supporter of some one like Palin say anything positive about their President. The professor wanted to promote greater racial and gender equality in a law school and that is a radical and bad idea? Especially twenty years ago and only thirty years after the civil rights movement.

[Wheatfield]

Who gets to decide who is neutral and who is not?

The expected deflection.

....and you can back this up with facts, not just opinion. Calling the whole Tea Party racist based on the actions of a few would be no different than me being a racist (I am not), based upon a few experiences I have had with black people. It is ignorant to base your charge of racism on a few pictures, or the way some people (media) want to spin them.

Some studies show that the Tea Party has a higher number of blacks in it than the Occupy groups do.

The tea party sprung up as soon as America elected a black president, and it's sole aim is to remove that black president from office.
I expect you think it is a coincidence that there was no tea party while GWB was in office spending borrowed money like a drunken sailor?

From:
From:
Muslim Brotherhood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Brotherhood's credo was and is, "God is our objective; the Quran is our constitution, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of God is the highest of our aspirations."[13][14] The Brotherhood's English language website describes the "principles of the Muslim Brotherhood" as including firstly the introduction of the Islamic Shari`ah as "the basis controlling the affairs of state and society;"
So, I guess it is safe to assume that you think it is okay for MB to try and implement Sharia Law anywhere Islam shows up. I hear a lot of flap about "Christian dominionism", especially in regards to Palin. Why is it that we never hear about "Islam dominionism", when it is the stated goal of many of the more radical Islam groups.

From the website you have used for your citation:

"The movement officially opposes violent means to achieve its goals"
" The movement has been criticized by al-Qaeda for its support for democratic elections rather than armed jihad"
"The Muslim Brotherhood started off as a religious social organization, preaching Islam, teaching the illiterate, setting up hospitals and even launching commercial enterprises. "
I don't think it is any more right for Islamists to push Sharia law on non Islamic countries any more than I think it is wrong for western democracies to try to push their views of how things should be done onto Islamic countries. We keep pushing our ways onto them, we invade their countries, we undermine their governments and we generally meddle in their affairs. Until we clean up our act, we are hardly in a position of sanctimony in this regard.

It is a two way street, and I agree we do cross train, and for the reasons you state. Due to the sheer size of the US military, I am not convinced it is "tit for tat" or an equal balance as you seem to suggest. So now you attempt to turn this into a personal attack, instead of a discussion, suggesting I am blinded by a boy scout mentality of unwavering patriotism. Give it a rest! Maybe you should get to know my politics a bit better before you include me in with your obvious anti-American bias.

Forgive me, the street you appeared to be going down almost invariabley turns into a bash against Canada's small military complex, yada, yada, yada, especially when Canada is mentioned by name (which you did).

Since WW1 the United States has taken the lead in terms of the cost in money, equipment, and human life, not only restoring peace and over throwing dictators. As I have stated in other forums here, and in this one. The US has done a lot to screw things up, ostensibly in the name of "democracy". In reality much of what is wrong in the MidEast is because of our screwed up foreign policies, and us (our government) thinking we know what is best for everyone. Hell, we practically invented the situation over there, and it can be traced almost directly to our thirst for oil. That said, many other countries, have reaped the benefits of our efforts with only a token involvement themselves.

Many of the dicators you have overthrown were set up by your government, your government has also had a hand in overthrowing peaceful democratic governments, and has an ongoing history of attempting to destabilize governments, all to the detriment of the victim countries citizens.

[jogiba]

I meant South Korea" From the way she said it I think it was obvious that she just had thought one thing and said the other, a gaffe.

She is the gaffe Queen.

You Tube

You Tube

Palin has a brain that works like Miss Teen USA South Carolina 2007.

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[séamuis]

The tea party sprung up as soon as America elected a black president, and it's sole aim is to remove that black president from office.
I expect you think it is a coincidence that there was no tea party while GWB was in office spending borrowed money like a drunken sailor?

you could not have hit the nail more squarely on the head Bill. why the American public doesn't see this is beyond me.

[metaglypto]

Originally posted by metaglypto Quote Who gets to decide who is neutral and who is not? The expected deflection.

Oh, now I am convinced you are right.

The tea party sprung up as soon as America elected a black president, and it's sole aim is to remove that black president from office. I expect you think it is a coincidence that there was no tea party while GWB was in office spending borrowed money like a drunken sailor?

So you are saying the Tea Party was born purely out of racism and hate towards Obama!?! Good luck with that one pal. Obama was inaugurated Jan 20, 2009. Obama signed the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" on February 17.

On February 19, CNBC's Rick Santelli ranted about the Obama authored Act known as the Stimulus Package. Initially it cost a conservative estimate of $787 billion. Probably the largest spending bill in history. It was in response to Obama's (read Democratically controlled Congress) reckless spending, the Tea Party was instituted and not the color of Obama's skin. The Tea Party was formed in response to the democrats and not, as you emphatically state, "to remove that black president from office".

As for GWB and your statement "while GWB was in office spending borrowed money like a drunken sailor". The day the democrats took over was not Jan 22, 2009. It was Jan 3, 2007. That is when the Democrats took over the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Democrats controlled a majority in both chambers for the first time since 1995.

Dow Jones closed at 12.621.77
GDP was 3.5%
Unemployment was at 4.6%.
GW's economic policies set a record of 52 straight weeks of job growth.

Budgets do not come from the White House--- They come from Congress. And the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democrat Party.

Furthermore, the Democrats controlled the budget process for 2008 & 2009 as well as 2010 & 2011. In that first year, they had to contend with George Bush, which caused them to compromise on spending. If GW screwed up, he screwed up in not getting tough on spending quickly enough.

For 2009 though, Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid by-passed George Bush entirely, passing continuing resolutions to keep government running until Barack Obama could take office. At that time, they passed a massive omnibus spending bill to complete the 2009 budgets.

And where was Barack Obama during this time? He was a member of that very Congress that passed all of these massive spending bills, and he signed the omnibus bill as President to complete 2009.


If the Democrats inherited any deficit, it was the 2007 deficit, the last of the Republican budgets. That deficit was the lowest in five years, and the fourth straight decline in deficit spending.


Democrats then took control of spending, which would include Barack Obama, who voted for the budget. Obama never got these problems from Bush, he helped to create them, and he has been doing everything in his power to continue and worsen the problem.



You said, "Forgive me, the street you appeared to be going down almost invariabley turns into a bash against Canada's small military complex, yada, yada, yada, especially when Canada is mentioned by name (which you did)."
Yes, I probably was incorrectly bashing Canada, mostly an emotional response not so much to Canada as it is to some Canadians. My mistake and i own it.



When I hear/read people spouting opinions, not all of which are based in fact, it does get me a bit upset. Especially when they make charges of blanket racism towards a group of people they apparently have only heard about and have no personal knowledge of. I am not a Tea Party'er, per se, though I consider myself both a Libertarian and a Conservative. I know people involved with the Tea Party, and they are not racist. I am sure there are racists in the Tea Party, just as I am sure there are racists in the Democratic Party, and in Canada. (The Democrats are actually the ones who fought to keep slavery alive in the United States during the Civil War)

[jogiba]

I am not a Tea Party'er, per se, though I consider myself both a Libertarian and a Conservative.

The rich people in the US love people like you. Just take everything away from workers and give the rich a huge tax break. CNBC's Rick Santelli is an idiot who blames the world economy collapse on people who lost their homes and not on the fat cats at the Wall Street Casino like John Paulson who stole $3.7 Billion in 2007 alone.

You Tube

You Tube

[metaglypto]

CNBC's Rick Santelli is an idiot who blames the world economy collapse on people who lost their homes and not on the fat cats at the Wall Street Casino like John Paulson who stole $3.7 Billion in 2007 alone.

I am not arguing that Santelli is a saint, I am just saying he is credited as the one responsible for starting the Tea Party. While there are some similarities in my politics and that of the Tea Party, I am not a Tea or for that matter Republican Party sycophant.

[kswier]

It was in response to Obama's (read Democratically controlled Congress) reckless spending

In what way was the stimulus bill reckless??? The stimulus bill was a calculated decision that was supported by a number of economists. We can argue at as to whether the benefit of the bill merited the cost (and economists have estimated that is did have substantial benefit, though the exact benefit will never be known with 100% certainty) , but calling it reckless is a bit overstated. I would never call following the advice of experts reckless. Economist have said that it would be reckless to suddenly reduce the spending deficit to zero overnight (though we do need to begin decreasing the deficit in the near future).

Budgets do not come from the White House--- They come from Congress. And the party that controlled Congress since January 2007 is the Democrat Party.

Remember that a significant driver of the deficit was not spending, but a sudden decrease in revenue. The idea behind the spending that was done (i.e. stimulus package and bank bailout) was to get the economy back on track, so revenue could increase again. Also. remember that the government is borrowing money at a very very low interest rate right now (about the rate of inflation). Lastly, the argument about which party does more deficit spending is a bit of a silly one. They both do, they just choose to spend the money in different ways (remember tax cuts can contribute the the deficit as well).