Red vs Blue.. Divide and conquer...Capitalism vs socialism...WE THE PEOPLE... A disinformed e*****rate....The Constitution....The Law... Tax...Freedom...The Patriot Act...Citizens United... The Supreme Court....The Tea Party...History Repeats itself...Technology vs Humanity...Religion.... Just some key words on another political web site? As Americans we all still enjoy our freedom of speech... Information...misinformation...disinformation...The t***h.... How do you form your opinions? As a people we must learn to work together or WE THE PEOPLE will fade from history. If you put a frog in water and slowly raise the temperature it will stay there until its dead. Eisenhower's farewell speech? How could have known? I have no desire to sway your opinion or your v**e, All I ask is to seek the t***h no matter how shocking or hard to find it is... All this left vs right crap is what's keeping America in hot water. Good luck to all...America still can be the best nation ever on the planet if we choose to and make it so. And I do apologize if this has offended any... Its just the mindless rant of a tired patriot

Are t***h and politics oil and water? It seems that way...and more, the twain never meets. But is t***h relative as claimed by so many? Or absolute by the rest? It seems Liberals argue for its relativity and Conservatives appear to advance its absoluteness. Change to Liberals seems like growth, and change to Conservatives is an assault on established order. Diametrically opposed points of view: is there some middle ground? Should there be some middle ground?

Politics has, from wh**ever group or party, a desired end. To achieve that end, which could be a need for what is considered best for the Common Good or for that of a special interest group or person (or a myriad of other things), tactics are employed. Weaken, compromise, or destroy the opposition is just business-as-usual for the desired result. If that is not possible, backdoor negotiations begin, tit for tat on other things and other considerations (perhaps with a "marker" on a representative). And then there is “grease” for the engine. It is an unsavory business from top to bottom but, as we are wont to say, a necessary evil. But should it be so?

What is for the ultimate well-being of "we the people" is not always clear. But that is our fundamental t***h. We start from the unalienable rights of all individuals and e******y for all, and that is our end as well. Anything less falls into the pocket of special interests. This t***h cannot be marginalized, c*********d, or delayed. Our representatives are bound only to this foundational t***h.

Left or Right are meaningless in this discussion, a dangerous distraction. We have been divided purposely by this illusion of two sides, a sleight-of-hand. In this way the power and purpose of our Constitutional rights can be best abridged and/or diluted. Wake up!

It does appear that way, and that is the usual opinion and fear about "free-thinkers." The curiosity that I speak of allows the person to let the situation or idea "speak" freely, taking it in before assigning a category or condition. Of course, no one is really an unlimited thinker, free of any standards, beliefs, biases, temperament, blind spots, subconscious infuence, and so forth. Also, free thinking without an education and self-awareness is just rambling.

Independent thinker might be a better way to phrase what I am talking about, where the person has his biases and knows this yet is able to view the topic with greater objectivity.

DO NOT read this in the presence of your spouse. If you do, laugh uproariously, and have to let said spouse read this, Aunti WILL NOT be responsible for the possible consequences.

Here begins your amusement.

When the lawn mower broke and would not run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it repaired. Somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat, making beer...Always something more important to me.

Finally, she thought of a clever way to make her point.

When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors.

I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a moment, and when I came out again, I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway."

The doctor say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp!

:mrgreen: 8-)

As and independant I sometimes tune into this discussion about Obama's non citizenship, to see if there is any new arguement to add to the mix.
Sorry, but simply and emphatically stating he is not a natural born citizen is not enough for me. I need some hard evidence. I see none. Even Bill OReilly, the Fox News(?) commentator said in a rare moment of candor that Obama's non-elegibility is a dead horse and that he believes Obama is a natural born citizen. Even if Obama had been born in another country he would only need to be the child of one US citizen to be considered "natural born". Note that John McCain was not born in the US but was considered a
natural born citizen because his parents were US citizens living abroad.
This whole spectacle has caused the GOP great harm. In the minds of many people they have (with a few exceptions) behaved like a bunch of nasty little adolescents who lost a little league game in a fair match and just can't accept that the "dark horse" (pun intended) came out of left field (pun intended) and cleaned their political clock, not once but twice. (wahhh!)

I would like to see Obama defeated in a f**r e******n because that would mean someone would have come up with a better set of ideas and a forward vision for the country that the majority of v**ers could engage with. So far no such luck. Moderate Republicans are shouted down by the rage-aholics in the right of the party and some of the best conservative ideas about waste and sound fiscal management are being ignored and drowned out by this distracting cacaphony of wounded boys club rhetoric about the past. He won. Get over it and move on. Come up with BETTER ideas.
Obstinacy is not a virtue here. Listen to the Pragmatists for a change.