Usa Thread

[unit731]

"Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born 1968) is the U.S. Representative-elect for Illinois's 8th congressional district. She previously served as Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs from 2009 to 2011, and as the Director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs from 2006 to 2009. Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran, served as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot and suffered severe combat wounds, losing both of her legs and damaging her right arm."

 

LINK

 

 

"They are not the government's veterans, they are our veterans. Some gave all, but all gave some and they have known hardship, service, fear, and brotherhood in ways that most of us can't even imagine. They have seen their brothers killed and maimed, and sometimes become disfigured along the way. They have taken lives for their country, and returned to their lives as your neighbors, fathers, and native sons. Their courage is undeniable, yet it remains a trait they retain in silent humility, sharing only with a fellow veteran, if at all."

 

 

LINK

[Flashermac]

[Steve]

Interesting. But I would not be willing to draw the obvious conclusion the person is trying to make.

[Flashermac]

A fairer breakdown might be urban-heavily industrialised states vs rural and small town states. People with degrees often leave the more rural states because there are more jobs for them in the others. Call it sort of a brain drain.

 

I am also surprised to see California not in the Top 10 for education. In the '60s and '70s, the average level of education in California was about 13 years - several years higher than the majority of states. The reason was the many inexpensive "junior colleges", where almost everyone who didn't go to a university would study at after they finished high school. I expect the Hispanic inflow has brought that down quite a bit.

[unit731]

"Petraeus, who held much-praised military commands in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned Friday after admitting he had an extramarital affair, a disclosure that ended the retired four-star general’s civilian career as director of the CIA."

 

 

LINK

[Flashermac]

With the CIA I could see it (threat of blackmail over disclosure). But it doesn't seem to matter if you are president. Just ask Bill Clinton.

 

Meanwhile, here are the clowns who helped kill Romney's chances.

 

 

So, How Did That Whole Campaigning On Rape Thing Work Out For You?

 

 

http://www.upworthy.com/so-how-did-that-whole-campaigning-on-rape-thing-work-out-for-you?g=2

 

 

"When you say "radical right" today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican party and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye." Barry Goldwater, 1994

 

A few years before his death he [Goldwater] went so far as to address establishment Republicans by saying, "Do not associate my name with anything you do. You are extremists, and you've hurt the Republican party much more than the Democrats have."

[Steve]

A fairer breakdown might be urban-heavily industrialised states vs rural and small town states. People with degrees often leave the more rural states because there are more jobs for them in the others. Call it sort of a brain drain.

 

I am also surprised to see California not in the Top 10 for education. In the '60s and '70s, the average level of education in California was about 13 years - several years higher than the majority of states. The reason was the many inexpensive "junior colleges", where almost everyone who didn't go to a university would study at after they finished high school. I expect the Hispanic inflow has brought that down quite a bit.

 

The insinuation is that that lower or under educated people vote Republican and smart people vote Democrat which I find not only false but a bit insulting and borderline elitist.

 

What people fail to realie is that the Red states vote about 2/3 Republican give or take a few percentage points. A third sometimes up to 40 percent of the electorate vote Democrat. The reverse for the Blue states. Obama wins those by about 2/3 as well so there are plenty of 'educated' folks that voted for Romney.

[Steve]

With the CIA I could see it (threat of blackmail over disclosure). But it doesn't seem to matter if you are president. Just ask Bill Clinton.

 

Meanwhile, here are the clowns who helped kill Romney's chances.

 

 

So, How Did That Whole Campaigning On Rape Thing Work Out For You?

 

 

http://www.upworthy....out-for-you?g=2

 

 

"When you say "radical right" today, I think of these moneymaking ventures by fellows like Pat Robertson and others who are trying to take the Republican party and make a religious organization out of it. If that ever happens, kiss politics goodbye." Barry Goldwater, 1994

 

A few years before his death he [Goldwater] went so far as to address establishment Republicans by saying, "Do not associate my name with anything you do. You are extremists, and you've hurt the Republican party much more than the Democrats have."

 

What makes the religious right even more odious is that they are hypocrites. First, there is no way Jesus of the bible I know would support their economic view. Jesus spoke about the rich giving back to the people and that we should help the poor. Furthermore, the religious right have always backed a Christian candidate, especially born agan Christian candidates EXCEPT Barack Obama. By their own admission they said it was better to vote for the Christian over a non Christian. They don't consider Mormonism true Christianity and have labled it a cult. Billy Graham ministries took it off their cult list before the election. They supported the non "Christian' over one of their 'own', Obama. Personally, I think someone's religion or lack of one shouldn't be part of the voting equation. I'm a born-again Christian but as for as voting, I'd vote for an atheist in a heartbeat if they had the better plan.

 

The hypocracy is what kills me. Christianity was fine until it became a state religion of Rome. They were growing by doing what Jesus said. Help the poor, love others, etc. The early church fed and clothed anyone when it was outlawed by the Romans and they grew because of their good works. People saw the unity and love they had not only for each other but for others and joined them in flocks. As soon as Rome took it as a state relgion it went downhill. The papacy grew out of it being a state religion. But I digress.

 

As I said before, the gay marriage issue and the abortion issue are religious issues to the right. Essentially, they want to legislate their religious view of marriage and what constitutes life. I've long told Christians that science and medicine does NOT support our view of when life starts. Furthermore, Christianity specifically is a faith based religion because you can't scientifically prove most of it so it can't use it for legislation because we all have to play by the same rules and that is science, logic and reason. Essentially, the Christian right want non Christians to accept as law their view of these issues.

[Steve]

http://news.msn.com/politics/update-many-still-blame-bush-for-bad-economy-according-to-survey

Update: Many still blame Bush for bad economy, according to survey

A number of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction but a lot more needs to be done before things get better.

WASHINGTON - Rising prices and chronic unemployment were heavy on the minds of voters Tuesday even as a glimmer of optimism peeked through. Four in 10 said the nation's battered economy is getting better.

Most everyone agreed there's still a long way to go. Voters were less likely to blame President Barack Obama for the economic troubles, however, than to point the finger at his predecessor, George W. Bush, according to preliminary results of a national exit poll.

In a much tighter race than the one that swept Obama into the White House, the poll showed him again leading among his key demographics of women, young people, blacks and Hispanics.

Republican challenger Mitt Romney was strongly favored by men, whites and those with family incomes of $50,000 or more. He was doing a little better among these critical groups than John McCain did four years ago, and also echoed McCain's lead among seniors.

Only a fourth of voters thought they were better off financially than four years ago when Obama was elected in the midst of the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. Voters were most likely to say their families were doing about the same, and Obama led among that group.

A third felt worse off, and they were voting heavily for Romney.

The survey of voters as they left polling places showed 6 in 10 ranked the economy the top issue, way ahead of health care, the federal budget deficit or foreign policy. The majority who don't yet see economic improvement were roughly divided over whether things were getting even worse or just stuck in place.

About 4 in 10 blamed Obama for the nation's economic woes, and almost all of them voted for Romney.

Voters pointed to years of high unemployment and rising prices as the biggest troubles for people like them; those two worries far outstripped concerns about the housing market or taxes in the exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.

Joseph Neat, a stay-at-home father in Hagerstown, Md., said Obama hasn't solved the problems that are hurting families like his, especially gasoline prices that Neat called "insane."

"We don't have time for him to make changes. We need the changes now," he said of Obama. "And four years is plenty of time."

Overall, slightly more than half of voters thought the nation was seriously off on the wrong track instead of going in the right direction — usually a bad sign for an incumbent.

Three-fourths said the economy is poor or not so good, and they mostly backed Romney. Still, many voters like William Mullins of Lansing, Mich., felt Obama needed more time to fix things.

"Obama had a lot to deal with when he came to office," Mullins said. "You can't change everything overnight."

Only a quarter of voters were feeling enthusiastic about Obama's administration; at least as many were angry about it.

Romney's voters were a bit more likely to say they had reservations about their man. About a fourth felt that way.

Overall, most voters felt strongly about their choice, however, with Obama's supporters somewhat more enthusiastic.

The presidential campaign grew bitterly negative at times, but on Election Day the voters didn't dwell on that: Just 1 in 10 said they were primarily voting against the other guy.

About half said government is doing too many things better left to businesses and individuals, a point hammered by Romney throughout the campaign. Only 4 in 10 wanted government to do more.

"I haven't had a raise in two years because of Obama's anti-business policies," said Ken Keller, a Schaumburg, Ill., engineer who voted for Romney.

The Obama campaign's insistence that the multimillionaire Romney would do more for well-heeled Americans seems to have taken hold in many voters' minds. Half said they think the former Massachusetts governor's policies generally favor the rich and barely any thought he favors the poor.

"I don't think Romney understands people who are down and out," said Cari Herling, an insurance analyst from Sun Prairie, Wis.

In contrast, only about 1 in 10 said Obama, who has pushed higher taxes for the wealthy, favors rich Americans. The biggest group — 4 in 10 — said Obama's policies help the middle class, with the poor coming in second.

Voters tended to think the U.S. economic system as a whole favors the wealthy.

About half said taxes should be raised on income over $250,000 per year, as Obama wants. Yet voters gave a resounding "no" when asked whether they wanted taxes raised to help cut the spiraling budget deficit.

Nearly two-thirds of voters said they thought illegal immigrants working in the United States should be offered a chance to apply for legal status, instead of being deported.

In a race that's been neck-and-neck for months, about 1 in 10 voters said they'd only settled on their presidential choice within the last few days or even on Election Day. They were closely divided between Obama and Romney.

 

Although the election worked out okay for Obama were his strategist I would have advised him to state that at the very least it would take 6 years to be completely out of it and on the right track because of the magnitude of the mess. That would have bought him time through the re-election. I'm sure McCain would have said something similar had he won.

 

Frankly, its not too far from the truth. People seem to minimize just how close to an economic cliff we were. There is no way on God's green earth that the economy would be fine in 4 years. None. I read an article that the recovery for every recession for a generation has taken longer than the previous one. This one may take a while before we're completely out of the woods.

 

We're not helping ourselves with some of the things we are doing either.

[unit731]

Here is the local coffee shop rumors about General Petraeus.

I have no idea where these folks come up with this stuff. But they believe it.

 

 

1. General Patraeus had an affair with a gay.

 

2. General Patraeus quit/resigned because he does not want to testify before Congress.