alphanguy74

Hi Carl...

I had to go elsewhere to see the video because that page wouldn't load for me... Anyway, that site and the other (Mediaite, I believe it was) stated that the "crowd" booed and you indicate in your post that the "GOP base" booed. I think to state that the "crowd" or "base" was booing the soldier is incorrect. The "crowd" sounded to be two (maybe three?) loudmouths in the audience and to suggest they comprise the "base" of the GOP is pure speculation.

This idea that those on the right are bigots who hate gays, blacks, whatever... it just isn't true. I'm not as moderate as our friend here, Max, who in my opinion represents moderates that might lean (just barely) to the right... I'm not obscenely right - as in extreme - but pretty decidedly right... and I harbor no ill will to anyone based on race, ethnicity, orientation, body type, disability, whatever and so on and on...

I just believe that personal business is just that - personal business. People should be who they are, where they come from, what they like - blah, blah... But it just shouldn't BE AN ISSUE. We all know somebody who identifies themselves as whatever category they feel they belong in, ie: "Hey baby, it's me the black lady!" -- or -- "Hey, what's up, it's me, the gay guy... helllooooo!" Okay, I'm over the top with that, but you get the idea. I don't care who is black or hispanic or gay or whatever... I don't deal with people on the basis of what column they check on an EEOC or census form - I deal with people based on their character and behavior. That's all that matters to me. Don't tell me your business and I won't ask... It's not my concern.

Anyway, that's my post for this year. :-) Good to see everyone again... hello... Things are well here. Hi Adam! I see you standing over there... Alpha, hi! I feel compelled to rip Max but I won't because he's typically the lone non-liberal in the room... LOL!

Best,

B

The main thing is the cheers from the audience when Santorum was answering the question... that said much more than the few who booed the soldier when he was on camera. I want to know if he thinks that the straight soldiers shouldn't talk about their wives and children to other soldiers? You mean to tell me Brian... that you have never made small talk at a party and people have talked about their husbands, their children, what they do for a living? Do you discuss the weather and nothing else? Those people who booed should go to Iraq and fight for their own damn freedom, instead of letting a gay guy do it for them.

Regarding the whole tax debate, I just wanted to add that it is nearly impossible to reconcile the conservative and liberal viewpoints on the matter, because both sides have a completely different definition of what "fairness" is. Conservatives don't like the progressive income tax scales we have in this country (where those earning higher salaries are taxed at a higer rates), because they think the "fair" thing to do would be to tax all people at an equal rate. Liberals believe that the rich should be taxed at a higher rate because the "fair" thing to do is for them to give (more of their income) back to the less fortunate.

While this may sound stupid, neither side is "right" or "wrong" on this matter; it's just that different people view things differently. What upsets me is when each side mocks and distors the other side's views: most conservatives don't want to piss on the poor, and most liberals don't want to punish success and turn America into a socialist state. It would be nice if all the ridicule would stop, but that never will happen due to the "blood sport" nature of politics (whereby one party has to lose whenever the other party wins).

The thing I always wonder about is this... conservatives complain over and over that they don't want to pay high taxes and have of their money redistributed to the poor, but I very rarely hear complaints from conservatives about military spending.

I just wish someone would put Eve Howard's deathbed scene up on youtube. J. Eddie Peck gave one of the best performances in the history of the show in that scene.

It's too bad she didn't have more of a career. Her looks/style were a bit out of place for the Nashville of that era - today she'd right in.

I don't think she was out of place, really.... she made that transition to "crossover" country that so many female singer did in the mid 70's. She got a more glamorous look later on, as opposed to the traditional country look and sound she had in your clip. But Lynn Anderson, Dolly, Crystal Gayle had all done the same. Some speculated that like Stella Parton, her success was stalled by the fact that she sounded too much like her sister. In my opinion, she sounded BETTER than Tanya, her phrasing style was less agressive and more mellow. But appearance wise, there were a lot of country artists who ditched the typical country singer garb for a more modern look, such as this clip (Isn't Sue Powell's hair the most beautiful golden mane youv'e ever seen?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqMjPnbvkV4

Carl!! I'm loving you right now!

You know, Max... I agree with you that Rick Perry is just DISMAL. He's totally cut his own throat with that Social Security thing. We have this contingent of people that seem to think ANY government program is SOCIALISM. Social Security has worked just fine for people for 75 years, yes... it may have trouble in the future, but you just MAKE ADJUSTMENTS, how hard is that? Also, part of the problem that nobody against SS EVER works into their stats is the fact that the baby boomers are causing a temporary bottleneck in the system. And, due to advancement in medical technology, we are living longer today, so you just raise the reterement age one year at a time, once overy 2 or 3 years until the finances are put back in line again, how hard is that? It's like sending your car to the junkyard because it needs new tires. Same with the postal service. The internet has done damage to something that has workd well for well over 100 years, it doesn't mean it's BAD. If thye need more money, congress needs to get off their butts and raise postage to 50 cents, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they got rid of Saturday delivery.

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alphanguy, is this the music they played when Lauren got baby Scotty back from Sheila in 1992 after the farmhouse? Its very haunting and beautiful.

I'm pretty sure it is... they used it quite a bit, of coure, that scene on youtube where Cindy died in Paul's arms uses this as well.

Well... it's been awhile since this thread was posted in, and it deserves not to be buried.... so here is my NEW contribution to the youtube Y&R background music library. Here is the full orchestrated version of the Y&R theme that was used in big watershed moments from 73-98. I was SO hoping to hear this when Liz died, but alas, my hopes were dashed in that debacle of a deathbed scene.

I loved George McGovern... the amercian people certainly made one hell of a blunder re-electing tricky Dick, didn't they? And to top it all off, we had to deal with his freaking 55 MPH speed limit for 20 damn years!

AMEN! the military budget should be cut in half, and what about the corporations who make enormous profits with military contracts? Why can't the government hire their own people and build their own damn planes... cut out the middle man and save a buttload of money at the same time. The military isn't keeping us free, no country on earth is going to invade our shores, not when a large percentage of civilians are armed and can blow someone's head off before they get on the front porch. These SAME Republicans who bleat about responsible spending want to spend billions of taxpayer dollars to build a wall to keep all the "wetbacks" from coming in. Well, I have news for THEM... the government isn't hiring these illegal aliens, COMPANIES are. Find them... pass legislation, prosecute them, and if they are found guilty, sieze and liquidate all their assets, and use the funds to pay down the debt. If there are no jobs for them, they would stop coming. At the very LEAST, all these right wing pundits need to stop bumping their gums about BS, and do something worthwhile, like investigating, exposing, and organizing boycotts against companies that are hiring illegal aliens.

Way to go Barry, Reid, and Boehner! A huge irony here is that today also is the president's 50th birthday.

Or, perhaps I'm being too harsh on the three men listed above. After all, even two and one-half years after he left office, this economic s#itstorm is still all Bush's fault.

Part of the economic sh!tstorm is the damn NYSE and all these fickle panicky dingbats that trade stocks. Who's ridiculous idea was it to put the economic health of our country in the hands of a bunch of chicken littles?

Okay...

So, anybody here spend more per month than they earn? I don't. I budget myself so that my obligations can be met with some extra when/if needed. While I currenly have *zero* on credit cards, I do have five "loans" that are outstanding that I must pay monthly: two car payments, a mortgage, a low-interest home improvement loan from my bank, and the orthodontist for the boy's braces.

In order to meet those obligations and the other monthly bills/expenses such as water or electricity, I make sure I don't spend more than my family earns in a given month. We have built a decent savings account in case of trouble (or preferably, down the road for retirement/pleasure)... I shift a certain amount of money into what I call a "reserve" subaccount for the occasional ridiculously large bill auto insurance every six months so funds are there for that or something like it.

So then... why can't the government do it? Sure, governmental obligations are larger and the problems more complex... But COME ON.

Should I need extra money for something, I reduce my spending... I don't demand my employer give me more upon request. Does anyone else here do that?

So.... if your car blows it's engine, do you use a credit card to fix your car so can go back and forth to work and earn money? Or do you call your boss and quit your job because you don't have the money to even pull your car out of the ditch? And you want to cut entitlements..... FINE. If you are of retierment age, and you have income of 100,000$ per year or more, then you ONLY get back waht you put in, and nothing more. How does that sound? Social Security is meant to be a safety net, not some damned IRA, like some people seem to think it would be. And it's real nice that you earn enough money to have savings in reserve.... I wonder if you were one paycheck away from living under a bridge and had no health insurance, you'd hold the same opnions on entitlements and government assitance.

Time for a dance party!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A65Ok9WjOdE

Honey... here is some dance music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRUHpFqF02g