Wales2004

Partisan politics seemingly causes people to run around spouting off onespeake and not ever express independent thoughts that conflict with whatever the party line is. The whole jumping parties to get re-elected should matter more to constituents than the parties. None of them are touting virtue but the actual voters should wonder about a person so desperate to be in office that he or she would change their whole philosopy just like that to gain votes.

I am not really sure why it is a big deal that it doesn't matter to me if we disagree but I certainly don't expect you to feel the same way. So you care and I don't and everything is a-okay with that. I saw part of an interview on CNN where Ehud Barak seemed to be pleased with Barack Obama's support. Now considering semantics and perception, I don't know whether that means he isn't uncomfortable or not and there was a reference to a poll in which Israelis gave Barack Obama a favorable rating. Now I'm not big on polls but in this instance I would say that they ought to know better than I what they like. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/30/cnns-gut-check-for-july-30-2012/ Let me try this again. You referenced Germany as being uncomfortable with Barack Obama's policies. It was pointed out to you that in general European nations are satisfied with Barack Obama. You dismissed (unless I misinterpreted your response) those European nations based on the idea that they are fine with Barack Obama because he supports their European policies. This gave me the impression that you were discounting their support of Barack Obama. This led me to question why it's okay for Germany's (or maybe it's just the head and not the people of the nation as a whole) opinion of Barack Obama to count but not the other European nations that are fine with him. Basically it comes across to me as though Germany is valid because their is dissatisfaction with Barack Obama but all the other countries are invalid because they happen to like him. I may have completely misinterpreted what you were conveying and if I have then perhaps you'll take the time to let me know. Oh and I dont think that because the other European nations like Barack Obama that it's a question of their liking him but still being uncomfortable with him. If more nations in Europe are okay with him than those that are not then I don't see a huge problem. http://www.nytexaminer.com/2012/06/barack-and-angelas-forty-first-dates/

In terms of this specific topic, I don't think it matters or not whether our opinions on it vary. What matters to me at the moment is that you made a statement which included Israel and Germany. I dismissed Israel based on information I saw indicating that there was no issue. As far as I know, Germany is part of Europe so I don't get why Germany would count but you easily dismiss the rest of Europe simply because it doesn't fit the negative point. And, I'm sorry but I didn't know that Mitt Romney was an expert on foreign policy and diplomatic relations. Didn't he refer to Russia as this nation's number one geopolitcal foe? He also took what was supposed to have been an easy overseas photo op trip and stuck his foot in his mouth. I certainly won't forget his desire to restore Anglo-Saxon relations either.

Thanks for answering. I've already discounted Israel because I'll take the word of the Israelis who know and they've said otherwise. I don't know how major any poor relations with Germany and Poland might be in terms of it being problematic since I haven't heard or read anything. The Australian thing sounds terribly minor. If these are the examples then I fail to see a porblem considering the size of the world. It's my understanding that in general the Europeans at least see him as a major upgrade over his predecessor.

Will you at least share which longtime allies are uncomfortable with the U.S.?

I don't think more experience in the Senate would have helped him. There are plenty of residents in the Senate who would not have done any better than he and maybe even worse. He had a window and he went through it at the right time as far as I'm concerned. Even people who don't dislike him are probably aware that he has some blind followers who accuse anyone who disagrees with him or racism even when they are not being racist or they accuse others of being Uncle Tom/sellouts. They are a bunch of irrational fanatics but people should be smart enough to know that they are not representative of all those who support him. I don't really think he is a wimp for changing the platform if the changes are representative of what he believes. If he indeed did it to try to avoid criticiism then it's a wimpy move. I think he's been a wimp but I also find his need to comment on everything that is brought to his attention is annoying especially when he lacks all the facts. I also don't like the pandering and I will leave it at that.

As far as Irsrael goes, there was a public opinion poll that gave Barack Obama a favorable rating among its citizens. They ought to know. I would love to hear which longtime allies are uncomfortable with the U.S.

A Republican Ooops you said right mind... Just kidding!!!

Now you're making me laugh again. Who knows how many of those delegates actually knew what was going on? I think the bigger story was the fact that a change in the platform was even requested. I am inclined to agree with the "know it alls" and spin doctors who make the point that it is better for a candidate to try to reform the platform than to say that your party's platform is not representative of your platform. Anyway the Republicans seem to have falsely designated themselves as the party of God not the Democrats who in all their liberal glory are bound to have a number of atheists among them. Oooh and they probably have people among them who aren't anti-Palestinian. What if they even have people of Palestinian descent in their party as well? Imagine that. Since the pilgrims came here to escape religious persecution then it only seems fair that people have religious freedom. I don't get the whole separation of church and state inconsistencies but that is a whole other topic. That whole voting three times debacle looked bad and there did not seem to be a two-thirds consensus so he might as well have pretended there was the first time around and saved himself the embarrassment but I doubt average Joe voter cares that much about Israel though he might be appalled that people weren't embracing having God all over their platform. Maybe this is a big deal for Fox News and some Republicans who need something over which to make a big deal but I'm guessing the rest of what constitutes the media is busy ooooohing over Clinton, planning Hilary Clinton's run in 2016, and speculating over whether Joe Biden will say more crazy things and Barack Obama will deliver the "bestest" ever speech.

It a state wants to issue a free special voter I.D. card then I see no problem but the card should only be used for voting. If people need identification for other purposes then they should go through the regular process for obtaining that I.D. I just think it would be appropriate to issue this special card at the time new voters register and implement a program for distribution to voters that are already registered. I do not see the purpose of any single individual showing up to a location to vote as someone else. Plus you can obtain fake I.D. if you;re that desperate. In order for fake voters to make a difference, there has to be a significant number of them and not just one or two here and there.

So George Clooney couldn't do it for you? One wink and he just might win me over.

I just read that he found her both impressive and attractive. I didn't know that seemingly stiff exterior would notice and speak of such things. He's also got Detroit's very own Kid Rock and Kid's buddy Hank Williams, Jr. who was the object of Alec Baldwin's tweets. I missed all the speeches (on purpose) so the media plans to share snippets and their opinions every time I turn on a "news" oriented show. And the radio news does not get any better. In between whether or not she accomplished her goals is another dose of freeway closure resulting in "Carmaggedon 2." I cannot believe that an adult utters this nonsense as part of a news story. Southern California is about to come to a halt....seriously. I am screaming on the inside.

MSNBC hands out shows to people who should be limited to appearances (or not even be seen). Chuck Todd was good at moving things around on his fancy electoral college board super tablet, but he should not have his own show. I can come up with half the stuff he and his colleagues do without giving it much thought and without making much sense. Andrea Mitchell is the only one on that network that tries to be a journalist in terms of appearing objective but she should have opted for a news magazine type show.

Ed Sheeran The A Team <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/UAWcs5H-qgQ?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Small Bump <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/A_af256mnTE?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Jamie Woon Spirits <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OZfDbEQAfOY?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Chrissy DePauw and the Honey Escape Perfectly Human <iframe width="46" height="23" style="position: relative; display: block; width: 46px; height: 23px;" src="http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/track=2175571604/size=short/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0"><a href="http://followchrissy.bandcamp.com/track/perfectly-human">Perfectly Human by Chrissy DePauw and the Honey Escape</a></iframe> I love the lyrics on both of these. Emeli Sande Heaven <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/883yQqdOaLg?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I stumbled upon this gem in the wee hours of the morning. Chuck Norris and his wife claim that if Barack Obama is re-elected it will lead to 1,000 years of darkness. I might be a tad bit troubled if I believed I was going to live forever but I don't so.... <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7ud3pK5Wa90?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I believe journalism died a long time ago. What passes for media today isn't anywhere close to actual news reporting. Every weekday morning when my radio alarm goes off, I am treated to one of the most unprofessional news radio anchorwomen. Since there is no other news radio station in my area, I'm stuck with her and her awful ways seems to have rubbed off on her old co-anchor. She seems to have gone to the TMZ school of reporting and makes everything sound like salacious gossip. Plus there's the annoying need to make up phrases such as "carmaggedon." I'm sure a traffic nightmare is equivalent to the end of the world. Today's media not only wants to salivate over their designated stars but they also want to give out tons of advice on what all of these people should be doing. Does the media really want to hear concrete plans or would they rather just keep pointing out their lack of existence? I am no fan of Barack Obama but I believe that people had extremely hight expectations of him and some seem to have projected their visions of what he should be onto him and now they're disappointed. Seriously, hope and change are such abstract concepts that I don't know how anyone truly believed he was going to bring hope anywhere or change the way business is done in D.C. He's not a one man show so while certain things can be attributed to his administration, the blame needs to be spread around to that do nothing Congress. If they weren't so busy working on obstacles they might have been able to accomplish something but their single minded plan to get rid of him involved placing the entire nation in economic trouble. And how is his pursuit of the Presidency any different than Mitt Romney's pursuit? Am I supposed to believe that Mitt Romney just wants to be President because he loves this nation (where he doesn't even keep all his money) so much? He cares about the little people so much that he believes the poor can be ignored because I guess they can call "211" when they have problems as well. The worst part about Presidential elections is that they spend millions of dollars in pursuit of a job while claiming to care about people who could be helped by those millions--or in this election billion.

Normally I wouldn't post a link to HP but since it's for the video clips and not a story, I figure it ought to be okay: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/01/jon-stewart-clint-eastwood-romney_n_1848979.html I found it funny enough to share.

This has got to be one of the funniest things I've ever read in this thread. I didn't know the destruction of anything made of sand could be an omen. So now I understand when sand castles fall apart that it's an ominous sign. And I guess when ice sculptures melt at wedding receptions that it must be a sign that the marriage is built on sinking sand. Did the sculpture loom over the convention hall and cover the floor in sand or something? Just askin'...

Labels tend to mask a lot of things (such as what I find to be the ridiculous notion of the conservative Christian when there can only be one type of Christian and either you're trying to be a good one or you're not and you're possibly making up your own rules). I am extremely curious as to what Republican values have to do with Christianity. Outside of the pro-life agenda and the marriage issue, what's supposed to be the Christian values?

Well a judge has restored Ohio's three days of early voting. Chalk one up for the "eeevil" Democrats who sought to deprive military voters of their rights. Oh wait that was another one of those false accusations that the fact checkers had no business revealing.

He's in the special family values category where all that counts is that he's married now and I'm assuming he must like rifles or his iconic character leads them to believe he does and that apparently is more than enough. As far fetched as it seems (because it would be jaw dropping to even see any woman in the Republican party reach that high), it's not out of the realm (though I doubt she has that as an aspiration). Due to America's complicated relationship with race, she's got to be in the "Exceptional" category. Somehow in the minds of people who think like that, she's not like those other people. I once heard a former co-worker say some negative things about black people and when the person to whom she spoke reminded her that she was telling all this to a black woman, she told her that she didn't see her as black because she's not like those others. Soledad O'Brein's CNN series Black in America would have been a lot different had she explored the whole craziness of black people not really being black as it shows how some have nullified Martin Luther King Jr's line about "color of their skin."

I happen to find this sort of thing an exaggeration and it reminds me of S.E. Cupp on The Cycle making the 70 cases of possible voter fraud the biggest deal. I understand that there is a potential for voter fraud to have an effect on an election (probably more likely at a local level where less people are voting) but this is more of a solution in search of a problem. The requirement itself isn't a problem--the timing of it is. When millions of people vote in an election and there is no evidence of any massive voter fraud then the whole idea of preventing one or two instances of it seems rather trviial. There are way more significant things going on that deserve more time and energy than this specific issue no matter how civic minded anyone wants to be. And this is the type of partisan response that makes both parties a waste. Somehow what the Democrats might possibly be doing something terrible but the Republicans are just making the nation better by making it harder for a significant number of people to vote even when one of them admitted that this plan would benefit Mitt Romney? In partisan world one side cannot possibly be doing anything with malicious intent when you can point the finger at the other side. As far as casual dismissal goes, I think it's a stretch to assume someone who is not like minded automatically has an agenda. It's not that clear to me. But true, maybe some people would rather see money go toward education or feeding starving children than spent on trying to prevent people from being able to vote. Voter I.D. is a fantastic idea. Implement it on January 1, 2013 not just in time to keep some people from voting. Because what I am hearing and reading is that denying thousands of individuals their right to vote in this upcoming major election is a great idea since it might keep one or two people from fraudulent voting and I guess there's no such thing as fraudulent I.D. either.

Are people really that enamored of celebrities that they can be swayed to vote the same way? I don't care about their political affiliations but if they say something outrageous then it might cause me to look at them differently. Is this the quote of the night?: "When the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American."

I haven't heard of any I.D. laws being pushed in California. Just because it might be easy for some to get an identification doesn't mean it is for others. I don't have a problem with the idea of identifying voters because it seems logical enough. The problem is pushing this so close to a major election when there was enough time (say like last year) to push this. It's shameful to change the law without giving people a significant amount of time to make adjustments. Even though that's not an issue here, it's no longer convenient to get to a DMV office as some have closed as a result of the state's budgetary problems (or I should say fiscal mismanagement) and hours have been reduced as well. The last time I was in a DMV office they had brand new HD Samsung televisions for the purpose of displaying numbers. I cannot imagine how much money was spent on that and within months the office was closed due to the budget crisis. A couple of weeks ago some audit uncovered money that was somehow forgotten or unnoticed. I can't imagine having a bunch of 80 year olds who may not have needed an I.D. for years, having to travel miles to get one on what is to me very short notice.