Steve

I am suprised and saddened by some of Obama's action. He's acting like a Republican. He is continuing the Cheney-Bush imperialistic attitudes. What is the solution? Its certainly not Romney. Obama has solidified my resolve to vote for Johnson as a 3rd party candidate. As I said, the articles Flash has posted (thanks, I've not seen them) are basically things the Republicans would do anyway with regards to abusing Presidential power. As I said, all the Republican presidents offered some sort of amnesty or fast track to citizenship for illegals but when a Dem does it its wrong. Reagan was one of the biggest amnesty granters. Bush the elder had a program for illegals as well with guest worker status for many instead of sending them back. His son: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3887721/ns/politics/t/bush-seeks-legal-status-illegal-immigrants/ President Bush called for a major overhaul of America’s immigration system Wednesday to grant legal status to millions of undocumented workers in the United States, saying the current program was not working. “Out of common sense and fairness, our laws should allow willing workers to enter our country and fill jobs that Americans are not filling,†the president said in an address in the East Room to members of Congress, his Cabinet and immigrant advocacy groups. Critics of the plan said it amounted to an amnesty for illegal immigrants. Bush’s election-year proposal is designed to help meet the needs of U.S. employers and to woo Latino voters. Anyway, as usual, I digress. Both parties are so much closers than we realize. There is not much difference in actual action. Rhetoric is diferent but they both end up doing the same things because their policies are both bought and paid for by various groups that are affected by them.

Totally agree about Obama abusing presidential power. Too many things this administration is doing that continues the erosion of our civil liberties and the spirit if not the outright rights of the constitution. Romney will be no better and probably worse if the republican white house/congress from '00 t '06 is any indication. This is a reason we need a 3rd party that respects the rights of the citizens and the constitution. I'm more worried about Republicans in power and what they will do the already frail constitution. This is a good reason not to vote for Obama but it would be an even bigger mistake to transfer that vote to a Republican.

I disagree with this. In I think its a wonderful thing. It can only be good for the nation for these folks to get as educated as possible. In the long run (and short run even) it makes the country stronger. I don't want them to be under educated and not realize their potential. What's wrong with competition? Its unAmerican to not want competition. It brings out the best out of us. These illegals aren't going back home. We're stuck with them no matter what kind of legislation you make. The overwhelming majority will be here and if so I want them to be as productive as possible. Weak argument against illegals in my humble opinion.

Of the two parties, the last few decades its been the Republicans, win or lose, who have been the best organized. More adept of finding a strategy that was the most effective, even in years when they were out of favor. They can make it closeer than it would have otherwise been. '08 could have been much closer if the financial collapse didn't happen. They would have lost anyway. There was no way they were gonna win after Bush's 8 years but it was going to be closer than it should be given their negatives. The financia collapse made it a landslide. McCain was polling decently till then. For example, in the Florida recount of '00, the Republicans had all their info on USBs, etc. and the Dems had to look at paper files, etc. and were far less organized. The Republicans flew people in to demonstrate at strategic areas. Republicans win when they should and sometimes when they shouldn't ('04 election, possibly '00). Dems typically don't win elections they shouldn't. Kennedy in '60 was probably the last one. Before that Truman. The country was tired of a democrat in the white house after FDR died and that's why the '48 election was razer thin won. Kennedy's as well. Ike was popular, the economy was doing well and JFK had three big negatives. His age, experience and religion. Nixon was well known, had all 3 of JFK's negatives. Some would say Nixon won and it was stolen from him voter fraud. Dems won in modern times only when the Republicans messed up. '76 because of Watergate, '92 because of a recession and Bush alienating the Jewish vote, '08 because of Bush. Anyway, Obama is very, very well organized. There is no way you defeat the Clinton machine and then the Republicans without being so. He has very good strategists working for him and he personally has good political instincts and will deviate from the script (his speech on race after the Rev Wright thing. He was strongly advised not to by his stratgists) when he feels its needed. His organization identifies key districts, key small niches to exploit and caters a specific message and ad campaign to that niche and demographic. The foot soldiers are well trained. He won Iowa agaist Hillary by identifying the fence sitters. He was unknown and they were courteous and listened to concerns. They followed up and made notes of any personal references on the computer so when they called back, they would say "...and how is your daughter doing in school? Did she pass that history test the last time we talked?". Often times he would personally make the call if it was determined they needed him as a closer. When interviewed, the Iowans talked about how much the Obama staffers would be kind and listened. He has also used the social media and the internet very, very well. They were all over it. If Obama loses it won't be for lack of organization. However, I think he dropped the ball by not maintaining contacts both with voters as well as volunteers. There were rumblings about that and many saying they will not work for the campaign this time or in a much reduced role. He's a lawyer so it makes sense I guess.

My guess is overall it helps him. Viruently anti immigration are conservatives and wouldn't vote for him anyway. It could hurt him amongst some people in unions in the Ohio and Michigan areas. I don't see it as something independent will consider as the tipping point to voting for him. Texas and California will vote Republican and Democrat respectively no matter what. It will help him in New Mexico I think, a small swing states (5 electoral votes). Arizona is practically reactionary, that's how far right they are. The swing states is what is important. It helps in Florida. Overall, some but not a great deal. Just about every President for the last few decades have been granting amnesties of some sort to some degree in some form. Even the Republican ones. Reagan did. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128303672 As the nation's attention turns back to the fractured debate over immigration, it might be helpful to remember that in 1986, Ronald Reagan signed a sweeping immigration reform bill into law. It was sold as a crackdown: There would be tighter security at the Mexican border, and employers would face strict penalties for hiring undocumented workers. But the bill also made any immigrant who'd entered the country before 1982 eligible for amnesty — a word not usually associated with the father of modern conservatism.

The latino population in America is very diverse and often at odds with each other. The immigration issue is a non issue for Cubans and Puerto Ricans. Cubans are seen as political refugees and so they have an easier time to become citizens. They are accepted when they come here illegally. Puerto Rico is an American territory. No one likes cubans. Puerto Ricans don't get along with them and there is a rift within the cuban community with pre Castro and Post Castro cubans. Those who fled as he was coming to power were almost always middle class and rich Cubans. The ones that come in the boats in the '80s and '90s were poor. They don't see eye to eye. Also, amongst Mexican Americans, there are the ones who were here for decades and are American. They are politically conservative Republicans as opposed to the ones that came accross the border in the last 20 or 30 years who are liberal and Dems. The old line are often just as much if not moreso against illegal immigration. They see the new arrivals as besmirching the repuration of Mexicans. Salvadoreans and Mexicans hate each other. Don't EVER call one the other. It can be dangerous. Trust me on this. Mexican Americans claim a lot of the crime committed by Salvadoreas gets lumped in with them. Salvadoreans say they are looked down upon by Mexicans. I dated a Salvadorean in LA and although her father didn't like that I was black and told her to break up with me, the absolute no tolerance was for a Mexican American. She didn't get along wtih them as well. In jobs I had both groups didn't socialize. Other central americans don't like the Mexicans as well but the Salvadoreans gangs fight with them. South Americans look down on all of them. Argentinians, Chileans especially see themselves as the cream of the crop of latinos in California. They kinda see themselves as white (which they oftne are, blond blue eyed white). Dominicans are fairly new arrivals and are sorta Puerto Rican rivals. The cubans, dominicans and boricuas (slang for Puerto Ricans) are mainy east coast latinos. Chicago used to be puerto rican but there is now a very large mexican popuation. Same in atlanta. Mexican americans is the group that is rising fast and spreading outside the west and southwest. Salvodoreans are big in the Washington DC area as are their gangs who are probably some of the most violent gangs you'll ever see. Worse than the Mexican gang if that can be possible. They are often the product of a brutal civil war back home years ago.

thing is i've yet to read any quote of anyone who was there or who saw the video say they thought the reporter made a legit mistake. It seemed plainly obvious to me he was rude. Presidents have been grilled Harshly for decades. That old woman, forgot her name did it all the time. However all of them including Sam Donaldson never interrupted a speech or statement. The same code as saluting an officer in the military: you respect the office or rank. The shoe thingy was not an American (not excusing it). As for amnesty, illegal immigration these days pisses me off not only for the act. I can sympathize with leaving Mexico and central america. I'd do it. If most of you are honest, you'd do the same and if the European immigrants of the past were on the border they'd have done the same. it's still wrong. What upsets me is that the present day immigrants especially the Mexicans do not embrace the country as the europeans did before them and even show open contempt. fuck those that do that. I don't mind amnesty for those that have been here a long time, speak English, aren't criminals, contributing members of society and have demonstrable love for America. Fuck the rest.

While I agree that the black vote is monolithic, and maybe its me but I don't see the same said about other groups. There are a niches of folks that vote in similar fashion Gays. White fundamentals. Hawaiians voted for Carter overwhelmingly even when they knew the election was Reagans (before present agreement that says you can't project a winner until all polls are closed) Just to name a few. http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/reporter-interrupted-obama-thought-finished-220343830.html Reporter who interrupted Obama: I thought he was finished This disgusted me. Maybe its me but the level of disrespect by people who should know better towards the office of the Presidency and to Obama personally, seems to be unprecedented. Maybe its happened to Bush and others. I don't seem to recall. Maybe some of you can remind me its not new. From the congressman saying liar, to various elected officials saying or doing (pointing a finger at him) things. I'm not referrring to your average protestor outside the white house and such. That's been going on since the '60s anti war movement. Same for artits of all kinds (singers, painters, poets, rappers). The only outright disrespectful incident I can think of against Bush was that Iraqi who threw his shoe. As bad as Bush was politicians and the press showed him and the office the utmost courtesy. The article has his employer backing him up. The excuse was pathetic and no one watching the video buys and his fellow reporters didn't either. The sad thing is he will become a hero of the conservatives.

With regards to Obama and the drop of black support in NC, I think its a good thing in some respects. I know a big complaint about black voters is that we blindly vote Democratic or for any black candidate. Although the truth is given sufficient reason in our minds we will vote for someone else (Initially Schwarzenegger got a fair amount of black votes I heard, not sure though). I'd like to see all groups who vote overwhelmingly for one ideology or type of person to look closely at others. This would include not only black americans (although middle class blacks vote much more for Republican and other candidates), but also white fundamental voters who almost always vote one sided. Same for Jews, Latinos, etc. As for an invasion of Syria, I'm against it. If we are going to get involved I would prefer it to be an Arab league led invasion. If the moslem countries want him out, let them do the heavy lifting and we offer logistical, material and other kinds of non combat supporrt. Maybe Turkish led, whatever, but its time for the moslems to stop playing both sides. I always smirk a little when the conservative press and pundits criticize Obama over stuff they would do themselves. Not sure if the point is 'see he's doing this! or 'see, he's doing something he said he wouldn't do' (..but we would have done the same). Its the election period so I don't expect a lot of logic, only name calling and snide remarks from each side.

Wake Up America!!

Sad news about Auburn. Over a woman. One of my rules is NEVER start a fight over a woman unless you're protecting her from physical harm. Pimps have a few rules and one of them is 'hoes choose...respect the choice'. If a woman wants to go with someone else, let her go. As for the 5 states, been saying for a while that all presidential elections come down to the swing states. Always have for a few years now. My guess is its Ohio and Florida for sure and probably Wisconsin, Michigan and either Pennsylvania, North Carolina or Virginia this time. As far as campaign money, Romney got more than Obama in May. First time he's gotten more than Obama in a month and although he has been getting more money and will make it close, I've not found any article that expects Romney to have more money than Obama at the end, even with Super Pac money. Obama has a lot of backing from varied niches. Maybe Romney can or will catch him. I just haven't read where it seems a certainty. Last year there were rumors of Obama being the first one to raise a billion. He won't get there but it gives evidence to the access to money he has when it was considered a possibility.

The political analysts are still saying Obama will have signifcantly more money.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47745646/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/ Drug industry pushed Obama on health overhaul, e-mails suggest Mr. Obama’s staff signaled a willingness to put aside support for the reimportation of prescription medicines at lower prices and by doing so solidified a compact with an industry the president had vilified on the campaign trail. Central to Mr. Obama’s drive to remake the nation’s health care system was an unlikely collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry that forced unappealing trade-offs. Other political news of note Obama: 'It is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine' Under fire from Republicans, President Obama clarified an earlier assessment of the health of the private sector, explaining that it's "absolutely clear" the economy is not doing "fine." ..The e-mail exchange three years ago was among a cache of messages obtained from the industry and released in recent weeks by House Republicans — including a new batch put out Friday detailing the industry’s advertising campaign supporting Mr. Obama’s health care overhaul. The broad contours of his dealings with the industry were known in 2009, but the newly public e-mails open a window into the compromises underlying a health care law now awaiting the judgment of the Supreme Court. Mr. Obama’s deal-making in 2009 represented a pivotal moment in his young presidency, a juncture where the heady idealism of the campaign trail collided with the messy reality of Washington policy making. A president who had promised to negotiate on C-Span cut a closed-door deal with a powerful lobby, signifying to disillusioned liberal supporters a loss of innocence, or perhaps even the triumph of cynicism. Thing like this piss me off. Obama should be criticized for making deals with the drug industry. He talked a good talk about transparency, etc. and I've been very disappointed in a great many things he's done. However...and you know there wil be a however...lol...what have the Republicans offered as an alternative. The way I see this is that the Republicans are criticizing Obama for giving in to the drug industry but they can't argue that they wouldn't have. In fact, they would have already given the drug industry what they wanted and probably more. Its why I'm going with Johnson. He's shown as governor he's got some backbone and won't give in to special interests. I would also love to see the American people demand changes to the debates. I would love to see where the top 3, not the two main parties but whomever polls top 3 automatically are involved in the debates as well as any candidate who can poll 10% or higher. It won't be many so need worry about 10 people on the dais. We desperately need alternate voices on the dais to tell everyone the truth and identify the BS being banded about. I'd love to have Ron Paul involved for nothing else but to say what both candidates are about.

I love Don Rickles. One of the few guys who can joke about any person or any group and its not taken personally. His on stage persona was competely different than his off stage. I've heard he was a very warm, endearing and giving guy. He made a lot of black jokes but was a supporter of civil rights and for years had a black assistant/attendant, a close friend who he basically gave a job so he could travel with him and such. I recall at Comic Aid with Whoopie Goldberg, Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. He looks over at them and says "two Jews and a black woman, and she's the only one with a jew name"...lol. My parents used to love to see him on the old Dean Martin roast special. I've seen a few of them replayed. He (and others) were great.

http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/campaign-finance Barack Obama $196,900,097 Mitt Romney $87,452,399 dated back to April but not too long ago: http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/20/nation/la-na-campaign-money-20120421 President Obama ends March with $104 million on hand, 10 times the amount Mitt Romney has — a gap that shows how the hard-fought Republican primary drained resources.

So much ground to make up. I don't think so. Its closer yes and possibly will get closer as the campaign season heats up but I just see too much ground for Romney to make up. So far Obama has the lions share of the 10 swing states. That will have to change significantly and Romney needs to sweep a lot of them. Its a gargantuan ask and without any special circumstances (the economy collapses, Obama really was born in Kenya, etc.) I can't see it happening. Throw in Obama's huge war chest. He can outspend Romney in the battleground states. I'm voting for Johnson so I'm trying to write as objectively as I can.

This mother needs to be removed her kids.

I heard about that as well. My guess is he'll probably be exonerated. Lack of evidence. I was on another forum talking about this and he seems to be a cause celeb of some sorts. The main argument is Martin was beating him and he feared he'd die. That may have been the case but for me is what happened BEFORE? What enraged Martin so much? Martin's background does not suggest any procliivity to do that. Zimmerman was the one interested in him. I can only guess by the tone of Zimmerman's call to the 911 operator that he pursued Martin and said or did something that enraged him and if he was in the same frame of mind as the call, I can only guess as to what. Basically, he created the situation that led to Martin's death. If Martin had him by the head and was banging it against the ground, I have to ask what did he say or do to Martin for that to occur? I can't imagine Martin arbitrarily just hitting him. It doesn't make sense. It could have happened but not very likely. Ziimmerman won't be the first person to start a fight or harshly criticize someone and get his ass beat for it. I've seen that happen to a bully or two in my day. Part of changing shcools in Philly was that you had to fight the first week of class.

Well, at least this one is positive. Homeless kid going to Harvard. http://news.yahoo.com/video/clevelandwews-20910953/from-homeless-to-harvard-29523027.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fclevelandwews-20910953%252Ffrom-homeless-to-harvard-29523027.html I was one of only a few kids to get a college degree in my area. I'm the first in my family and another brother has got his. The military and unionized jobs was how most of my brothers made it in life. Nothing wrong that. They are all contributing members of society and I'm proud of each one. My post is about the quality of schools in many areas of our country. I was NOT the smartest guy in my area. I knew guys much smarter than me who either barely graduated or never did. The schools were crap, then throw in a home enviornment that did more harm than good. If I didn't have my parents, there is no telling where I'd be now. Not everyone is blessed with a good family structure. Education is the key to so many of our problems in the U.S. specifically problems attributed to social issues. Comb the jails and lack of an education is a common denominator. I think the key to urban/poor crime, teenage pregnancy, drug use and addiction and a host of other things is education. If you have the hope and promise that a good education brings you're very, very unlikely to be a victim of the aforementioned. Oh, there are those that are but I can tell you the kids in my classes that were college bound avoided those pitfalls like the plague. Girls who see a future as a college graduate, nurse, teacher, etc. are NOT going to get pregnant. The girls I knew who were college bound were either virgins or very very careful and insisted on condoms. Guys I knew who were sure they were headed to college or taking vocational tech classe to become plumbers, mechancis and the such didn't have kids. They used condoms and dated responsible girls who shared their future dreams. Looking back, the guys who were always in trouble were guys who fell behind in school. Same with the girls who got pregnant. If you really want to end the high crime rate of blacks, the high incident of welfare, the high number of single parenthood, the drug use, the drug selling, the high social welfare usage. Then improve K-6 schools and I will go on record and guarantee it will fall dramatically. Improving HS is all well and good but by that time its too late. By middle school you already know if you're going to college and if you're well on the road. Finally, for selfish reasons its a good thing. One never knows where the next brain surgeon or what accomplishments can come as a result. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan and was raised by his single mother, Sonya Carson. He struggled academically throughout elementary school, but started to excel in middle school and throughout high school. After graduating with honors from his high school, he attended Yale University, where he earned a degree in Psychology. He chose to go to Yale because in College Bowl, an old TV program, he saw Yale compete against and defeat many other colleges in knowledge, including Harvard. Carson wanted to participate in College Bowl, but the program was discontinued. From Yale, he attended University of Michigan Medical School. Carson's eye-hand coordination and three-dimensional reasoning skills made him a gifted surgeon. After medical school he became a neurosurgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore In 1987, Carson made medical history by being the first surgeon to successfully separate siamese twins (the Binder twins) conjoined at the back of the head (craniopagus twins) There are high school drop outs who run million dollar earning drug traficking operations. Drug dealers figure out things on their own that are taught in the best business schools. Profit margin, distribution network, packaging, managment, etc. That same kid were he brought up in the suburbs could eventually have been a CEO of a company. If that same kid had a better school could have been an entrepreneur contributing to society.

I probably should have put this in my random sports area. Reading it pissed me off. Nothing wrong with making a mistake or two. If you're human you will have and I have one or two epic ones under my belt. I have absolutey NO pity for Holeyfield. His was on ongoing, reckless number of bad decisions. All those friggin' kids. Fuck him. I have no sympathy. Not one iota for his plight. One kid, even two is a mistake. 11 is blatant disregard and that's the 11 we know about. So he thought he had the money to keep having those kids? 17 bathroom mansion. Squandering away all that money. What a waste...the money and the man. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/boxing/former-champ-evander-holyfield-allegedly-owes-372-000-160453495.html Evander Holyfield was one of the great boxing stars of the 1990s and amassed more than a quarter of a billion dollars in purses during his illustrious career. Apparently, though, $250 million doesn't go as far as it used to. Holyfield, who filed bankruptcy in Fayette County, Ga., in 2008, reportedly owes in excess of $372,000 in child support and may wind up in jail if he does not resolve the issue, according to a TMZ report. It alleged he owes $372,097.40 in child support that has gone unpaid since April 2010. According to a 2009 report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Holyfield has child support payments of more than $500,000 a year. He has at least 11 children.

I've long heard about Texas and the romaniticized version is different than the acutality and that is the Americans that moved there wanted the right to have slaves and Mexico banned slavery. So their fight for freedom was really about wanting to have slaves. There is a big black celebration date for Texan blacks called 'Juneteenth'. It was the day the Texan slaves heard about the emancipation proclamation. I think its June 19th but not sure. The word got to them late. Anyway, another subject. Some of you may have heard about the cyber attacks Israel and America supposedly made on Iran's nuclear capability. Some say the future wars will be cyber as well as military. I heard that China secretly has thet capability to cripple America's infrastructure. It may be fellow conspiracy nut jobs similar to myself but I wouldn't doubt it at all. What do you all think about it. There are some that say cyber warfare should have rules in place included in the Geneva Convention rules of engagement. There were no rules about mustard gas and such in WW1 until after. So to avoid any issues such as crippling things that hurt civilians I think there should an international agreement done in anticipation of such conflicts.

What makes America somewhat unique and great is that we don't hide from our past. We teach the kids about slavery, native americans and what was done to them. Many countries (Japan, Turkey, etc.) either downplay the role they played or totally ignore it. I think Germany doesn't downplay its WW2 atrocities, but Im not 100% sure. Kamui? If a person committed a murder years ago and has done life, they do have the chance of parole and often get it. The problem is that the jails are so f*cked up that you're pretty much forced to live and act in a Darwinian, survival of the fittest mode which hinders rehabilitation. A person in a mad moment who killed someone. Say an ex lover. Or whatever, isn't likely to do it again. They know they f*cked and I'm not saying they should not be jailed but a person llike that often has to act like an animal in jail so if/when they are ever up for parole they are not mentally prepared for outside life. Cut the number of offenses we are jailed for and make life in jail more humane. Serial killers, child molesters and the like can stay in high security jails. Those are pretty much folks who can't be rehabilitated. Drug addicts, etc. can be.

Another epic fail. My fear of lizards has been replaced as my number one fear. Being the butt of jokes from being caught on youtube doing something stupid is now number one. Or something else. http://gma.yahoo.com/video/news-26797925/colorado-college-student-shot-while-trespassing-29473431.html#crsl=%252Fvideo%252Fnews-26797925%252Fpope-s-butler-accused-of-being-a-spy-29478665.html

Jailing honor students? http://news.yahoo.com/video/houston11news-15750765/honor-student-placed-in-jail-for-tardiness-and-truancy-at-school-29458964.html

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/iowa-father-tries-forcibly-remove-son-game-poor-103115475.html Iowa father tries to forcibly remove son from game for poor gradesman named Benjamin I.H. Doyle was charged with a trespass violation after he ran onto the soccer field at Longfellow Elementary School and attempted to forcibly remove his son from the ongoing City High soccer game. Police officers on the scene rapidly removed Doyle from the field and questioned him about the incident. When asked why he ran onto the field, Doyle — who is listed as a database administrator for the University of Iowa's Hospital Information Systems — said that his son's grades were too poor for him to be allowed to play soccer. Dad picked the wrong occasion to do it. lol. Wait till after the game and bust his ass like any dad would do. If I saw my dad on the sidelines knowing I shouldn't be playing I'd probably have the worst game of my life knowing what's gonna happen.