Steve

I've since heard its not true. others say it is. Its illegal without cause.

This is some of the scariest shyt I've read since arbitrarily killing American ciitizens suspected of and/or in the company of suspected terrorists http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/yaslin-bey-aka-mos-def-barred-entering-u-s-tour-report-article-1.1801864 This is a rapper whose music I grew up with. Brookyn born and bred. He's political but okay, so is George Clooney. Anyway, he was in Africa and is now barred from re-entering America. So far he is not charged with or accused of a crime. Even so, he has the right as any other citizen to a fair trial. he seems to be arbitrarily denied entry and it has to be assumed for his political views. Has he advocated the overthrow of the government or the assassination of the President? No. The worst of his offenses has been a re-enactment of how Guantanomo prisoners are force fed. This is the scariest shyt so far to me. I'm not going to call this an Obama thing either. As contentious as both parties are they fully agree on one thing, the government is the ultimate power the constitution be damned. I'm under no illusion, Romney or McCain would be any different and actually I think worse if that was possible. And as much as the tea party goes on about the government out of our lives, the Bundy guy is a true patriot, yadda, yadda, don't think for one second they will weaken or remove the polce state. I've not ever heard of China, Russia or Iran telling citizens they cant' come back. Maybe they have but I've never heard it.

The one thing with America almost without exception is that we look kindly and forgive people incuding Presidents. Nixon was hated or disliked in the end. He was pitied and more was written about his accompishments than his failures. Carter is seen differently. Johnson certainly is rememberd for championing civil rights than getting us deeper into Vietnam. No one talks about Clinton's impeachment. Its a testament to Americans forgive and remember fondly if possible. I suspect Obama will be the same.

The REAL story of the Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit http://www.vanityfair.com/business/2014/06/apple-samsung-smartphone-patent-war

On another note, i've "discovered" Philipines. The Pattaya I knew 15 years ago is gone. Its jaded, cyncal. Been to PI twice so far this year. Also, working on me. Been gone for a while. A lot more depressed about things unfortunately. About America. About a lot of things but I am a happy camper generally for those that know me.

The revolution that was not televised. One must ask why no major media covered this? http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/01/11/why-did-media-keep-the-recent-peaceful-icelandic-revolution-quiet/ Why Did The Media Keep The Recent Peaceful Icelandic Revolution Quiet?

Been saying for a few years now the America you think you have no longer exists. We are barely a republic. The scary thing is the masses are now used to being in a police state. The various police departments across the nation are closer to the Nazi brown shirts than the policeman we were taught to respect in 1st grade. The courts and legislatures have given them free reign. I've seen many, many videos on social media of police caught on camera abusing folks. These are your run of the mill white suburban types. Soccer moms included. For years blacks and latinos would say the police were abusive and no one believed it because the police in the urban areas treated people differently than the police in suburban areas. Had Rodney King been white, he wouldn't have gotten the abuse he did. Now its everyone. In Pennsylvania recently the courts ruled the police can search your car without your permission. The courts are allowing the constitution to be trampled. I saw a video recently of a post NCAA game get together at a college campus after a loss or win, can't recall but the polce were in riot gear. There was a video of a regular run of the mill white college co-ed simply walking and talking on her phone and for no apparant reason a cop charges her and knocks her down. It was on video and bystanders were saying 'wtf?' She was shocked, everyone was shocked. She was not doing anything abnormal. I guarantee you that cop will not get fired and the girl's case will not see the light of day. Courts aren't letting you file lawsuits as you could before. McCain has recentlly said Americans should just get used to surveilance. Its BOTH parties. Obama just continued what Bush did. 911 gave the government as well as state and loca the okay to violate civil liberties. It was original done in the name of homeland security now its just done without reason given. It just is. Middle America is seeing what I've experienced and seen growing up. The 'stop and frisk' law in NYC is so onerous. There are plenty of videos of cops stopping the SAME kid 2 or 3 times as he walks to school. The cops are judged partially on how many stops they do. Almost all minorities, college kids have been stopped mulitple times. These kids are not wearing sagging pants, they are wearing carrying school books, looking collegiate. Any cop who spends even 6 months in an urban area can easily tell someone who seems a gangbanger than a normal kid. If a cop on the street can't he doesn't deserve his badge. I can easily size someone up in 5 seconds in the city. You have to. its a survival instinct. You have to determine friend or foe immediately in urban areas, EVERYONE does. and cops are no different. but i digress. Drones are now being used in America and there was a recent article about a drone who almost hit a plane and how now there are going to be so many drones over American airspace that we may have to start coordinating with airport traffic personnel. It was always gong to be the next step. We are sheep though. As a collective we won't do anything. We are going backwards. Race relations has gone backwards since Obama has been elected. There are a minority but hard core section who fear the changing America that will be demographically different in a generation. Its normal to fear this, not saying its right but its nomral human nature. WASP Americans feared the massive immigration of catholics, eastern and southern europeans (slavs, the balkans, Jews, Italians, Greeks, Ukrainians, etc.) a 150 years ago. It was bigger than the anti immigration feelings of today. The Know-Nothing party was formed for this reason and immigration got severely limited for a time. What America has done can be seen on the census. America divides and conquers ethnically. Jews, Italians, irish, Eastern Europeans, Balkans were not deemed 'white'. Higher than Blacks, Asians and Latinos but not totally white 150 years ago. you were not white on the census. Italians especially Sicilians who were often dark were certainly not considered white in America 150 years ago and being Catholic, especialy so. Many people do not know this but there is an Italian section of Harlem. Itialian immigrants at the turn of the century were not allowed housing in 'white' areas and setted in a part of east Harlem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Harlem#Italian_Harlem) Just like Puerto Ricans ater (spanish harlem), Harlem was for any group who could not find housing elsewhere and dark complected. Now Italians are deemd white on the census. Now the change is latinos. The census 50 years ago said 'Hispanic' whether or not you were from Mexico, Cuba, Argentina or Columbia. Now its divided into 'white of hispanic origin' is one of the options. So if you are a blonde from Argentina originally you get listed as white. Jews were identified as Jews on the census many years ago and no longer(http://www.amazon.com/Became-White-Folks-About-America/dp/081352590X) . Why are these changes significant? Some groups are now 'part of the club' of the majority culture and will not identify with other other groups. We are balkanizing ourselves into us vs. them, and its part of the reason we still have race problems in America. It has to be by design. Disunite everyone so we can control everhone. Americans en masse won't act on one accord such as getting rid of violations of civil liberties, etc. There is a reason why Americans of all hues get along OUTSIDE of America better than inside America. Its easier for Americans of different ethnic groups to talk, be friends at a bar in Bangkok than it is in a bar in Boston. We are now a 'corpocracy' in America. Companies, industries, control everything. Been that way for a while. I had a good friend in LA who was a congressional aid for a liberal democrat congressman. He wanted to change the world, change America. He said that most of the bills you see in Congress are written by special interest groups. Almost all and EVERY bill that regulates business and commerce is written by a lobby and edited by the congressman. Some bills seemingly hurtful to business are an appeasement for some sort of issue in the news and the people want a change. America should have not only had but should have been leading in high speed trains, bullet trains, etc. Boston-Washington DC is a given. SF to San Diego is a given. Across Texas is a given. Atlanta to Miami is a no brainer. Why not? The airline industry has successfullly blocked it. The number of jobs, domestic jobs, from high skilled to low and no skilled jobs to build and maintain them are in the millions. The jobs and the wages stay in America. Japan, France, Korea, etc. has excellent high speed lines. We need refineries and with the building of the amount needed we could halve the cost of gas. We won't. The oil industry wants to maintain its high profits. America will have access to more oil domestically than Saudi Arabia once the shale oil is gotten to. 'Saudi America' is the industry term for it. That oil will NOT lower the cost of gas. We would be almost totally self sufficient if we wanted to be. Anyway, as usual, my posts are too long and denotes my cyncism and exasperation of America and why I see no reason to live there.

Detroit has a HUGE middle eastern population. Is it east Detroit? Can't remember but recall visitng years ago. From what I hear they are very pro American and have squelched any jihadist movements and are supposedly active in unearthing and reporting anyone who seems to be one. I have a wild story about a moslem girl from Detroit who moved to LA. Married and well...one thing led to another. Damndes thing is she would suck dick but woudn't take off the head scarf no matter what. Crazy story. Rare for them to do that but her husband was a douche...but I digress. Hawaii has a great mixture of Asians. Tons of Japanese, pacific islanders, Filipinas and they all mix. Not uncommon to get various asian mixtures of girls there and they are gorgeous.

On a side note, ever since 911, the police's powers have grown exponentially. There is a change in how they engage the public. Its very adversarial and this is across the country. It started with a vastly more aggressive approach with inner city minorities, NYC's stop and frisk policy being the most known. However, a lot of middle class, suburban, white encounters have become far more prevalent. Because of technology, these enounters are being videoed. Police are now trying to confiscate your own property when they are caught over-reacting. The courts have been dismissing cases of police brutality where they would not have before. The conspiracy theorist in me sees this as a concerted effort. There have been a plethora of cases across the country. The Occupy movement was always a peaceful movement and whether one agrees with them or not, they made great effort to keep it non violent. However, pretty much every city they went to the cops instigated them. It seemed like it was all coordinated with each city. This is just a drop of the incidents nationally, in cities large and small: http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/18/cops-allegedly-beat-unarmed-dad-to-death-in-front-of-his-family-then-they-confiscated-the-camera-that-recorded-it-all/ http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/02/18/they-just-killed-the-dude-holy-sh-video-captures-moments-officers-open-fire-on-man-they-couldnt-subdue/ http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-breaks-home-warrant-kill-unarmed-teen-judge-dismisses-case/#VppZpm1qWlclJDmZ.01 http://thelibertarianrepublic.com/8-l-officers-wont-punished-firing-103-times-two-unarmed-women/#axzz2thsgeYmu

Agreed. In fact, many women, moderates, even some right of center, will want to make history and have the first female President. There was very strong female appeal for Hillary back in 2008. Obama split it, he got the younger women and black women and Hillary got the feminists and older women. Anyway, as you all know the right fringe of the Republican party is handing elections to Democrats. Christie is pretty much their best hope. Beleive it or not, a good candidate, at least in terms of ideology is Jeb Bush. His family name is tainted but ideology he's a moderate. He's got a hispanic wife and a handsome son that has a strong, handsome latino look. Of the 3 (his father, Duby and him) he was far the best. He even did some left of center things as Governor of Florida when he fought the federal government not to drill in wetlands and offshore of the Florida coast. Anyway, its Hillary's to lose. Biden may run and if he does, he will make the Democratic primary a wee bit tough for Hillary. Bill is her wild card. He can either be a great asset or hurt her. Sometimes he says things that helps....or hurts. Back in '08 Blacks were for Hillary actually. When Obama did well in S. Carolina Bill dismissed it and said even Jesse Jackson carried SC and he angered many Blacks and a large number came over to Obama. Also, the Republicans may go in on Bill to distract the public from Hillary. It could get messy. But as it stands now I can't see her losing.

Wow..great info. Which airport is better. Manila or Clark to go to AC?

Thanks Flash, I'll be a complete PI newbie. Basically looking to see the best (and safest) way to get to AC. Decent place to stay, safe, near the belly of the beast if that's best and an idea of prices. I am NOT going to venture too far from the reservation. After I get to know my way around perhaps later trips if I do go. I'll go to Phillipines Addicts to get details.

In the next day or two planning to go the Phllipines for the first time. Going to Angeles City. Not sure what to expect. Heard many things, plan to play it safe. Weaning myself off Pattaya. Gonna do some research on best way to get to AC from the air port, lodgings and bars/clubs to go to.

WAR DAMN EAGLE!!!

The article insinuates Obama is personally behind the proposal. I would guess he doesn't even know or care. The defense secretary would know but I suspect Obama has no idea about it. Its a huge government and it seems like something too minute for the President to direct. Just my guess. For all I know he could be but I would have serious doubt.

This quip from the article cracked me up. Will the French ever get military respect again? lol....But the current hat has been a fixture of the Marine Corps since 1922, and critics think the new look is too feminine. Some also say it looks too much like a "porter's cap." "The Dan Daly cap looks too French, and the last people we want to associate our Marines with would be the French military.

Assuming the conspiracy theorists are right and Obama was born in Kenya, why wouldn't the supposed eligibility of Cruz not also apply to Obama? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz As Cruz was born in Canada, various commentators from the Austin American-Statesman and the Los Angeles Times, discussed Cruz's legal status as a natural-born citizen. Because he was a U.S. citizen at birth (since his mother was a U.S. citizen who lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years as required by the Nationality Act of 1940), most commentators believe Cruz is eligible to serve as President of the United States

What the f*ck is this bullshit? Governor Brown rightfully vetoes a bill that would allow non citizens to serve on juries. I think America should be progressive but the check against the far left was but not lately, been the right, conservatives. NO F*CKING WAY should not citizens serve on juries. You come to America, you adhere to our judicial system. I go to Thailand, France where ever, I understand I am subjecting myself to their judicial system. First, there is NO need. No evidence whatsoever that non citizens do not get a fair shake in the judicial process. You get miranda rights, you get a lawyer if you can't afford one. I'm hard pressed to think of many countries if at all where a non citizen gets fairer treatment. A non citizen is entitled to the same rights in the eye of the law. This is some far left, pro-immingrant bullsh*t. i made a post about my 'new' view on immigration. If you 're here, illegally or otherwise, behave yourself, contribute to the general welfare, okay, get on a path to citizenship. However, If a non immigrant wants to serve on a jury, get the f*cking citizenship and if you think its not fair, there are flights every day to where ever you came from. Who ever proposed this piece of bullsh*t legislation needs to be stripped of his office. Whats the need? Why? Some Dems are letting the far left get out of hand. ANYONE who supported this in the legislature shouldn't be electable. Sorry, when I read the article it pissed me off. Immigrants have more rights than most places. Any place possibly. Housing, Employment, etc. discrimination isn't allowed against them any more than it is for citizens. Finally, how can someone NOT steeped in American jurisprudence through their schooling and citizenship includes a working knowlege of American rights, be eligible to serve on juries? Such a person may or can have views from their previous country that runs counter to American view of justice. This shouldn't even have to be explained. This country is f*cked. It truly is. http://www.latimes.c...0,1399038.story

Sorry, its a long read. The link is easier reading. I agree with it though. http://www.filmsforaction.org/news/8_reasons_young_americans_dont_fight_back_how_the_us_crushed_youth_resistance/ 8 Reasons Young Americans Don't Fight Back: How the US Crushed Youth Resistance Traditionally, young people have energized democratic movements. So it is a major coup for the ruling elite to have created societal institutions that have subdued young Americans and broken their spirit of resistance to domination. Young Americans—even more so than older Americans—appear to have acquiesced to the idea that the corporatocracy can completely screw them and that they are helpless to do anything about it. A 2010 Gallup poll asked Americans “Do you think the Social Security system will be able to pay you a benefit when you retire?†Among 18- to 34-years-olds, 76 percent of them said no. Yet despite their lack of confidence in the availability of Social Security for them, few have demanded it be shored up by more fairly payroll-taxing the wealthy; most appear resigned to having more money deducted from their paychecks for Social Security, even though they don’t believe it will be around to benefit them. How exactly has American society subdued young Americans? 1. Student-Loan Debt. Large debt—and the fear it creates—is a pacifying force. There was no tuition at the City University of New York when I attended one of its colleges in the 1970s, a time when tuition at many U.S. public universities was so affordable that it was easy to get a B.A. and even a graduate degree without accruing any student-loan debt. While those days are gone in the United States, public universities continue to be free in the Arab world and are either free or with very low fees in many countries throughout the world. The millions of young Iranians who risked getting shot to protest their disputed 2009 presidential election, the millions of young Egyptians who risked their lives earlier this year to eliminate Mubarak, and the millions of young Americans who demonstrated against the Vietnam War all had in common the absence of pacifying huge student-loan debt. Today in the United States, two-thirds of graduating seniors at four-year colleges have student-loan debt, including over 62 percent of public university graduates. While average undergraduate debt is close to $25,000, I increasingly talk to college graduates with closer to $100,000 in student-loan debt. During the time in one’s life when it should be easiest to resist authority because one does not yet have family responsibilities, many young people worry about the cost of bucking authority, losing their job, and being unable to pay an ever-increasing debt. In a vicious cycle, student debt has a subduing effect on activism, and political passivity makes it more likely that students will accept such debt as a natural part of life. 2. Psychopathologizing and Medicating Noncompliance. In 1955, Erich Fromm, the then widely respected anti-authoritarian leftist psychoanalyst, wrote, “Today the function of psychiatry, psychology and psychoanalysis threatens to become the tool in the manipulation of man.†Fromm died in 1980, the same year that an increasingly authoritarian America elected Ronald Reagan president, and an increasingly authoritarian American Psychiatric Association added to their diagnostic bible (then the DSM-III) disruptive mental disorders for children and teenagers such as the increasingly popular “oppositional defiant disorder†(ODD). The official symptoms of ODD include “often actively defies or refuses to comply with adult requests or rules,†“often argues with adults,†and “often deliberately does things to annoy other people.†Many of America’s greatest activists including Saul Alinsky (1909–1972), the legendary organizer and author of Reveille for Radicals and Rules for Radicals, would today certainly be diagnosed with ODD and other disruptive disorders. Recalling his childhood, Alinsky said, “I never thought of walking on the grass until I saw a sign saying ‘Keep off the grass.’ Then I would stomp all over it.†Heavily tranquilizing antipsychotic drugs (e.g. Zyprexa and Risperdal) are now the highest grossing class of medication in the United States ($16 billion in 2010); a major reason for this, according to theJournal of the American Medical Association in 2010, is that many children receiving antipsychotic drugs have nonpsychotic diagnoses such as ODD or some other disruptive disorder (this especially true of Medicaid-covered pediatric patients). 3. Schools That Educate for Compliance and Not for Democracy. Upon accepting the New York City Teacher of the Year Award on January 31, 1990, John Taylor Gatto upset many in attendance by stating: “The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders. This is a great mystery to me because thousands of humane, caring people work in schools as teachers and aides and administrators, but the abstract logic of the institution overwhelms their individual contributions.†A generation ago, the problem of compulsory schooling as a vehicle for an authoritarian society was widely discussed, but as this problem has gotten worse, it is seldom discussed. The nature of most classrooms, regardless of the subject matter, socializes students to be passive and directed by others, to follow orders, to take seriously the rewards and punishments of authorities, to pretend to care about things they don’t care about, and that they are impotent to affect their situation. A teacher can lecture about democracy, but schools are essentially undemocratic places, and so democracy is not what is instilled in students. Jonathan Kozol in The Night Is Dark and I Am Far from Home focused on how school breaks us from courageous actions. Kozol explains how our schools teach us a kind of “inert concern†in which “caringâ€â€”in and of itself and without risking the consequences of actual action—is considered “ethical.†School teaches us that we are “moral and mature†if we politely assert our concerns, but the essence of school—its demand for compliance—teaches us not to act in a friction-causing manner. 4. “No Child Left Behind†and “Race to the Top.†The corporatocracy has figured out a way to make our already authoritarian schools even more authoritarian. Democrat-Republican bipartisanship has resulted in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, NAFTA, the PATRIOT Act, the War on Drugs, the Wall Street bailout, and educational policies such as “No Child Left Behind†and “Race to the Top.†These policies are essentially standardized-testing tyranny that creates fear, which is antithetical to education for a democratic society. Fear forces students and teachers to constantly focus on the demands of test creators; it crushes curiosity, critical thinking, questioning authority, and challenging and resisting illegitimate authority. In a more democratic and less authoritarian society, one would evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher not by corporatocracy-sanctioned standardized tests but by asking students, parents, and a community if a teacher is inspiring students to be more curious, to read more, to learn independently, to enjoy thinking critically, to question authorities, and to challenge illegitimate authorities. 5. Shaming Young People Who Take Education—But Not Their Schooling—Seriously. In a 2006 survey in the United States, it was found that 40 percent of children between first and third grade read every day, but by fourth grade, that rate declined to 29 percent. Despite the anti-educational impact of standard schools, children and their parents are increasingly propagandized to believe that disliking school means disliking learning. That was not always the case in the United States. Mark Twain famously said, “I never let my schooling get in the way of my education.†Toward the end of Twain’s life in 1900, only 6 percent of Americans graduated high school. Today, approximately 85 percent of Americans graduate high school, but this is good enough for Barack Obama who told us in 2009, “And dropping out of high school is no longer an option. It’s not just quitting on yourself, it’s quitting on your country.†The more schooling Americans get, however, the more politically ignorant they are of America’s ongoing class war, and the more incapable they are of challenging the ruling class. In the 1880s and 1890s, American farmers with little or no schooling created a Populist movement that organized America’s largest-scale working people’s cooperative, formed a People’s Party that received 8 percent of the vote in 1892 presidential election, designed a “subtreasury†plan (that had it been implemented would have allowed easier credit for farmers and broke the power of large banks) and sent 40,000 lecturers across America to articulate it, and evidenced all kinds of sophisticated political ideas, strategies and tactics absent today from America’s well-schooled population. Today, Americans who lack college degrees are increasingly shamed as “losersâ€; however, Gore Vidal and George Carlin, two of America’s most astute and articulate critics of the corporatocracy, never went to college, and Carlin dropped out of school in the ninth grade. 6. The Normalization of Surveillance. The fear of being surveilled makes a population easier to control. While the National Security Agency (NSA) has received publicity for monitoring American citizen’s email and phone conversations, and while employer surveillance has become increasingly common in the United States, young Americans have become increasingly acquiescent to corporatocracy surveillance because, beginning at a young age, surveillance is routine in their lives. Parents routinely check Web sites for their kid’s latest test grades and completed assignments, and just like employers, are monitoring their children’s computers and Facebook pages. Some parents use the GPS in their children’s cell phones to track their whereabouts, and other parents have video cameras in their homes. Increasingly, I talk with young people who lack the confidence that they can even pull off a party when their parents are out of town, and so how much confidence are they going to have about pulling off a democratic movement below the radar of authorities? 7. Television. In 2009, the Nielsen Company reported that TV viewing in the United States is at an all-time high if one includes the following “three screensâ€: a television set, a laptop/personal computer, and a cell phone. American children average eight hours a day on TV, video games, movies, the Internet, cell phones, iPods, and other technologies (not including school-related use). Many progressives are concerned about the concentrated control of content by the corporate media, but the mere act of watching TV—regardless of the programming—is the primary pacifying agent (private-enterprise prisons have recognized that providing inmates with cable television can be a more economical method to keep them quiet and subdued than it would be to hire more guards). Television is a dream come true for an authoritarian society: those with the most money own most of what people see; fear-based television programming makes people more afraid and distrustful of one another, which is good for the ruling elite who depend on a “divide and conquer†strategy; TV isolates people so they are not joining together to create resistance to authorities; and regardless of the programming, TV viewers’ brainwaves slow down, transforming them closer to a hypnotic state that makes it difficult to think critically. While playing a video games is not as zombifying as passively viewing TV, such games have become for many boys and young men their only experience of potency, and this “virtual potency†is certainly no threat to the ruling elite. 8. Fundamentalist Religion and Fundamentalist Consumerism. American culture offers young Americans the “choices†of fundamentalist religion and fundamentalist consumerism. All varieties of fundamentalism narrow one’s focus and inhibit critical thinking. While some progressives are fond of calling fundamentalist religion the “opiate of the masses,†they too often neglect the pacifying nature of America’s other major fundamentalism. Fundamentalist consumerism pacifies young Americans in a variety of ways. Fundamentalist consumerism destroys self-reliance, creating people who feel completely dependent on others and who are thus more likely to turn over decision-making power to authorities, the precise mind-set that the ruling elite loves to see. A fundamentalist consumer culture legitimizes advertising, propaganda, and all kinds of manipulations, including lies; and when a society gives legitimacy to lies and manipulativeness, it destroys the capacity of people to trust one another and form democratic movements. Fundamentalist consumerism also promotes self-absorption, which makes it difficult for the solidarity necessary for democratic movements. These are not the only aspects of our culture that are subduing young Americans and crushing their resistance to domination. The food-industrial complex has helped create an epidemic of childhood obesity, depression, and passivity. The prison-industrial complex keeps young anti-authoritarians “in line†(now by the fear that they may come before judges such as the two Pennsylvania ones who took $2.6 million from private-industry prisons to ensure that juveniles were incarcerated). As Ralph Waldo Emerson observed: “All our things are right and wrong together. The wave of evil washes all our institutions alike.â€

I keep hearing Cruz being a possible Presidental candidate and a rival of Rand Paul for the nomination but he was born in Canada? That's a fact from what I understand. Maybe I'm hearing things wrong. Anyway, I know if the line of succession ends on a person who was born outside the U.S. it skips them to the next person. Madeline Albright was born overseas and she was Sec State under Clinton and very high up in the succession chain, she would have to passed over. However, is it possible for the VP to be born overseas and skipped or both have to be natural born? I know the President has to but I've never heard a ruling that the VP has to as well. Of course what would be the point of nominating him, I guess. I was bored and thought about that.

http://www.upworthy.com/his-first-4-sentences-are-interesting-the-5th-blew-my-mind-and-made-me-a-little-sick-2?g=2

I want the Republican party to get its act together. Why would I want them to even though Ivr basically become a Dem to done extent? We are desperate for ideas in governance in this country. I want ideas from all sides then wr can weigh the pros and cons of each and let the people judge. Right now we have a dearth of ideas from the right and only reactionism from the right. If Obama is for it be against it,obstruct it give him no wins. Even if we agree say its not enough. Thats pretty much the GOP these days. We need a competition of ideas. Bold ideas. Out the box ideas because the status quo aint working. The Dems are sitting back and just letting the fringe right shoot themselves and trying to paint all Republicans as that. Kemp had bold ideas as HUD secty. Get rid of modt if the public housing by privatizing long term owners into home ownership. Wiping billions off the books and instantly moving lifelong people into working class. Dole wanted a flat tax at 17%. May not be doable but it at least was addressing issues of the day. Rumsfeld had originally planned to drastically slash the defense bufget before 911 happened.

Has some of the Republican party lost their G-damn minds? Shutting down the government over Obamacare? Really, is the program that bad? Honestly, I don't know enough about it to say it is. Its a large government program...amongst many. Medicare/Medicaid is another large government medical program. No talk of shutting the government down over that? Is this about Obamacare or Obama? He's been so so. Not great but not a nightmare either. He inherited a bad economy and didn't improve it much. That's the main thing I can see. His predecessor inherited a decent economy that ended in near collapse. There is this talk of impeachment that is a strategy as well. Talk about enough to make it part of American's thinking and wag the dog with some luck, have a case. WTF? Stagnant economy and continuing and expanding the police state of his predecessor is the worse I can think of. This fringe of the party is soooo far out there it scary. I am literally scared sh*t less of the tea party folks. I'm seeing a by any means necessary kind of thinking. Of all the things to threaten shutting down the government over and there are so many other more legitimate reasons. Mind-boggling. I can't vote for another Republican. Can't do it. Would have liked Huntsman in but he was dismissed out of hand for being an ambassador to China under Obama. I gotta tell you, you know how this obsessiveness about Obama looks? Its the 800 lb elephant in the room. I don't want to even think that's the case. Not only that its handing the white house to Hillary. http://nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/09/04/20327629-obamacare-turns-from-gop-uniter-to-internal-divider?lite 'Obamacare' turns from GOP uniter to internal divider the reality that the law is here to stay after numerous failed efforts to repeal it, Obama’s re-election and the Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the law’s key provision as constitutional. But a number of Tea Party affiliated conservatives insist the law can be vanquished, even if it means shutting down the government. In Congress, GOP leaders and a growing coterie of rank-and-file members have distanced themselves from a proposal that would threaten to shut down the government this fall unless Obamacare is defunded.

OK, I'll try and make up for my rant with an interesting story. Flash, I think being a vet you may have some thoughts. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/the-ultimate-act-of-wartime-honesty--british-pow-was-freed-by-the-kaiser-to-see-his-dying-mother---but-came-back-to-prison-because-he--gave-the-germans-his-word--114710659.html#PopSEQv 'I give you my word I'll be back': Extraordinary chivalry of British PoW who returned to German prison after visiting dying mother because of promise he made the Kaiser

I'm a Zionist. I believe in the state of Israel. I completely understand and accept some of the machinations that came about to statehood. Not white washing it. America has its own history as well as how we displaced millions of Indians to get the 48 continental states, Alaska and Hawaii notwithstanding. However, what I don't like and think its borderline treasonous is having support of israel as a pre-requisite to become President. WTF? Its an AMERICAN election. Friends and foes change in the political-global landscape. 60 some odd years ago Germany and Japan were enemies. 25 years ago, Poland and a lot of the soviet bloc countries were enemies and are not only friends but part of the EU in some instances. America shouldn't beholden to a G*d damn country. Sh*t can change. Lets be frank. Its about AIPAC, Florida votes and the number of Americans Jews who frankly, put Israel above America at times. You're a god damn American first and foremost. My ancestors came from Africa. I have a soft spot for the place, but f*ck that, I'm an American first. Same with Italian Americans, Irish Americans, and all ther hyphenated Americans. You can't criticize Israel and there is a lot to be critical over without being some sort of anti-semite. Its bullsh*t. There are certain things you can't say regarding a wide variety of groups. Gays, Blacks, Women, etc. There are gray lines but what those groups have in common is that its domestic, internal, cultural sh*t. Its not about another country and putting that country's needs ahead of our own. F*CK THAT! Sorry, hate to put it any other way. If we f*ck up, our allies can tell us privately or whatever. When our allies/friends f*ck up, we should be able to let them know as well. Hate to say it in such a plain, street corner manner but it needs to be said. No matter what our internal issues here, as I said before, we are stuck with each other. Work it out. But this senstivity when it comes to Israel to the point where politicians are signing statements of support for another country (remember, Chuck Hagel wouldn't sign it). WTF?! Any eleted U.S. politician that signs any thing that basically puts another country over our own needs to get the f*ck out. Sorry. I don't care if its England or Canada. Our close friends, its about us. If we do our jobs right, be fair, be just internationaly, our friends have nothing to worry about. And the Americans in AIPAC and other groups who campaign on behalf of another country? GET THE F*CK OUT. Again, I'm saying this as a Zionist. Raised by parents in a church that preached about the state of Israel being God's will (I know...I know... that's another topic for another day). But I separate my religoius views from my duty to the nation. I didn't even know what anti-semitism was until I was bussed to a suburban school. I remember when a white classmate made a reference to another guy about his being Jewish. I am thinking (and saying to this guy), You're both white?! Where I come from there ain't no friggin' difference. It boggled my mind at the time. Stil does actually. Because I never heard of that stuff. Still don't care about a person's religion or lack of one. We've been around long enough to know you just know cool people to be around and not cool people. Religion, color, etc. is as important as your favorite color. Its a non issue. Okay, rant over. Sorry. Lost it for a minute.