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Barack Obama Wins US Presidency
Last night, around 11pm, all the major networks announced that Senator Barack Obama had won the election. Soon after, Senator McCain conceded. There were no crazy partisan court hearings, just a simple election. This is your chance to talk about it and what it means for the future of our nation.
Thank God.
Summation 2
It means the Democrats finally have a chance to screw everything up. By my count there are 56 D to 40 R in the Senate and 251 D to 173 R in the House. While there's still a few undecided yet, that's Democratic control of the Legislative and Executive Branches. Normally I like to see these things divided between the two parties so nobody gets too far away from lagom.
My work here is dung.
Rev. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream".
The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
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So this is how liberty dies, to the sound of thunderous applause.
A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.
Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.
Congratulations socialists.
I firmly believe that Barack Obama is going to bring the change we need to alter the way the world see us. We need to earn back a little of our reputation that the eight previous years have lost us. We need to talk, discuss, and use diplomacy instead of force. I'm very glad that Obama won. I sincerely hope that he can keep all his promises he made to the American people, and with control of the house and senate, it looks likely that he won't have any trouble passing bills.
--"Forget the nectar of the Gods, just give me some Mountain Dew."
The party of big government soundly defeated the other party of big government.
Too bad for those of us who think the government is getting dangerously big.
15 million people are employed by, and have a vested interest in an the size and power of, the federal government, let alone state and local.
I can't tell if this is a joke or not, but people all over the world are laughing at the notion of Obama being a socialist. As in the 90s, at least we can rejoice over the lesser of two evils winning.
Under Bush we all got "Stimulus checks" redistribution of wealth, we "nationalized banks", we "nationalized insurance companies", we "nationalized brokerage houses", and we gave trillions in welfare to Iraq...
And now you're worried about socialism? Welcome to last year.
Thanks to eating disorders most chicks are reasonably good looking these days.
An off the rails presidency and party received a swift rebuke to restore the core values enshrined in the constitution.
Meanwhile, the China Credit Card bill needs payment and the global economy is entering a bad recession.
The political shift in the country is probably a game changer for the Democratic party for the next two decades.
Hope because the idiots that have been running the country for nearly a decade are gone, fear that the new bunch of idiots aren't any better.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
Finally we can tax ourselves into prosperity!
Who wants to take bets on:
Us not withdrawing from Iraq?
Whether most slashdotters with decent IT careers end up paying more taxes?
Don't take this wrong, McCain sucks too. I just wish people would stop drinking from either coolaid.
Nicely put!
As far as the new president is concerned: the guy has a lot of shit to clean up now, and we don't even know what's still coming. He will have to take a lot of unpopular measures, and I really wonder if he can keep a high popularity for long.
molmod.com - computing tips from a molecular modeling
Sounds great, I think. Finally, no more lunatic right wing ideology running the country.
No, I know many of use who belive in God who voted Obama.
And if people were truely sick of being treated like shit, there would be 3rd party candidates in the house and senate, enough of them were up for election!
Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
A person who lived through the collapse of the soviet union once pointed out that in America, the only relevant political parties are the Capitalist party and the Capitalist party. Democrats and Republicans disagree on a handful of very minor issues, despite all the media trumpeting about one being "left" and one being "right." The Democrats will still pass legislation that favours big businesses, just a different group of businesses. No president since the 1950s has served an entire term without engaging America in some foreign conflict. The use of signals intelligence operations to spy on foreign businesses and pass along their trade secrets to US businesses has occurred during both the Clinton and Bush administrations, and during both Democrat and Republican control of Congress.
If America wanted serious change, change that was not just superficial, then one of the third party candidates would have one.
At the very least, it is a good thing that the neoconservative movement appears to have weakened a bit in this election. Do not confuse neoconservative and Republican -- while most neocons are Republicans, most Republicans are not neoconservative and many Republicans found the neoconservatives to be embarrassing.
Palm trees and 8
Yeah, you're absolutely right. It's going to take a lot of hard work to undo the backward progress and bad decisions that the Bush gov't lied and cheated the American people into. But it's a serious job for grown-ups who are not afraid let reason and long-term strategy prevail, instead of fighting fire with fire 'til the house is burnt down. Luckily, there will soon be a responsible adult in the White House.
Oh, I can't help quoting you because everything that you said rings true
Come meet the new boss, same as the old boss... I'd prefer neither party have clear control of the legislative branch, then they would have to work together and couldn't push their own agenda through. Neither side has the right or total answer to any problem.
"Physics is to math what sex is to masturbation." - Richard Feynman
Here's one to add to your count. My biggest fear (even as a right-leaning centrist) is that some redneck is going to assassinate Obama. While I'd personally rather see Biden in office the ramifications of our first black President being assassinated would rip this country to shreds. I love my redneck neighbors, but I pray that they all have enough sense to wait 4 years and vote the idiot out.
Not trolling, but obviously attempting to perpetuate the stereotype of freedom-minded people as "immature" and "adolescent". Says more about you than it does the libertarian.
Newsflash: Obama voted for all of that in the Senate.
Honestly I could care less what whether our next president is white or black. I tend to be more concerned with things that will actually effect the future of myself and the country. What does concern me is people voting for a president based on the color of his skin. They have word for that, it's called racism.
Typical neoconservative.
In case you haven't noticed, the fruits were already redistributed, from our wallets to a vault owned by some millionaire-turned-billionaire.
People like you always try to act like democrats want to take what you've earned and give it to poor people.
You're wrong and you probably will never realize it. They want to take from the obscenely rich and give it to poor people.
It's pretty fair to say that there's nothing a man can do, who earns a few million dollars a year, to justify that as his fair share. What can a man do to rightfully earn that much over a man who works harder and longer that earns peanuts? Let's not discuss education or intelligence. They don't matter here. I want to know how you, who probably doesn't even make $100k a year can stick up for people who have systematically pillaged both the American Treasury and picked the pockets of Americans for over a generation.
They're using their grammar skills there.
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I voted for Barr - even though I was rooting for Obama.
Why didn't I vote for Obama? Because I'm so disgusted with BOTH the Democratic and Republican parties that I,at least, wanted to send a message that, regardless of their candidate, I do not approve of their policies and direction.
As far as I'm concerned, the Bill of Rights, all of them, are cast in stone. We can't pick and choose which ones to keep.
Every square millimeter of the US is a Free Speech Zone.
We have the right to bare arms. PERIOD. That means if I want a magazine that holds 50+ rounds, I can have it. If I want a machine gun, so be it. Handgun -you bet - and NO license if I want to carry.
There is a separation between church and state. Religion has no business in government.
As a male white Italian with no involvement into USA elections, I have to admit that this morning I cried and laughed hearing what just happened in a big nation far far away. This changes everything. The politics of fear will end. Black people won't be seen "out of place" in any place from now on. Things won't go worse all the time, like last years made us think! A big thank you to the US people. This affects us all.
Nuffsaid
________
Don't know about his cat, but Schroedinger is definitely dead.
I'm not American and couldn't vote but I've spent all my adult life here and the last eight years have affected my life in much the same ways it affected yours. I'm very glad there were record turnouts, whoever you voted for.
I think its good to recognize this as a historic and important moment. I stayed up all night working and listening to the coverage. It is a night I'll remember and I'm admittedly quite happy. Certainly, there is hope, a word I haven't heard much off since 2001. I'm very glad that he acknowledged that the real work lies ahead and that it will take a spirit of service and sacrifice and both of them talked about coming together and bridging the gaps that have cut this nation.
Bridging gaps is a hugely critical message today. There is an interesting discordant note between all the commentators speaking about how this marks the end of slavery and the fruition of the civil rights movement and the change of a generation, and what looks like a yes vote on Proposition 8 in California. When the dust has settled, there is going to be much talk about the way different demographics voted and the gaps that represents. I hope it will not take 40 years for all of us to recognize that in the end, beyond nationality, skin colour, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or background, we are all just human beings.
Reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.
I think most "Rednecks" are a lot smarter and better tempered than you give them credit for. Unfortunately, it only takes one loony to commit such an act, but then we shouldn't call him a Redneck. We would call him a "loony," "criminal," or "murderer."
And if people were truely sick of being treated like shit, there would be 3rd party candidates in the house and senate, enough of them were up for election!
There won't be any third parties in the US until they start having proportional elections.
According to the latest numbers, Obama got 68% of the electors, but only 52% of the votes. That's a good marker of the error in the current Plurality voting system.
It's in the House of Representatives we might see the first real change, if third parties gain enough votes to control the balance of power.
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Hey, yank, quit your damn whining! Paying taxes won't kill you, and seriously, who did you expect would pay that huge debt to China, pay for the war or help rebuild the economy? Money may just be ink printed on paper, but it still has to come from somewhere. That somewhere has been YOUR POCKETS for the last eight years.
It's just that no one told you until now.
So grow up, start living responsibly and quit whining
Blog -
At least the Captain who kept steering us into icebergs will be replaced soon, though possibly not soon enough.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Where did the idea that Democrats would have reacted differently to the September 11 attacks come from? Allow me to repeat it from a previous post: No president since the 1950s, from either party, has served an entire term without engaging America in some foreign military conflict. No president has reduced the size or power of the military. No president has cut defense spending. Both parties have voted in favor of increased globalization, and the use of signals intelligence to spy on foreign businesses and pass their trade secrets to US businesses has occurred during periods of control from both parties. Involvement with foreign nations has only happened in those nations that appear to have strategic or economic value to the US (so do not go around expecting the US to intervene in Congo or Sudan), regardless of which party is in office.
Palm trees and 8
Based on the "hopes" of a lot of people, the poor guy is going to disappoint a lot of people.
His supporters who think he'll change everything.
His detractors who think he'll change everything.
Take a look at a list of presidents for the past 40 years and you'll see no one president fundamentally changes everything. Can't be done. A president doesn't have that sort of power.
As I tell everyone, whoever gets elected you hope he/she does well for our country, because then everyone wins.
You were mistaken. Which is odd, since memory shouldn't be a problem for you
*cough* Kennedy (Vietnam) *cough* Johnson (Vietnam) *cough* Clinton (pissed off al-queda by declaring war) *cough*
Get real BOTH 'sides' had a large helping hand in that. To say 'only the republicans did this' ignores history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_military_history_events
We shall see if they are the party of 'change' they OWNED the congress for the past ~2 years and did nothing but follow party line. Some change. They have shown themselves to be the other big government group. For example the DMCA (a subject near and dear to Slashdot crowd) you can thank the democratic party for that.
I say it here right now in 4 years we will be discussing the same things.
The ONLY way he can change the system is to make it even worse than it was. You know more laws to enforce his way of thinking...
With the world in financial crisis, two wars, and our civil liberties gone down the tubes, isn't it time for a charismatic leader with dreams rather than Joe from accounting?
When did we become so cynical that we believed nothing would change? I suppose there were people said the same thing when FDR was elected.
When did we become a nation of "that's too hard" instead of "yes we can"?
-- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
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I would have hoped that the American people would be smart enough to know that the crisis was a bi-partisan failure. From Credit Default Swaps passing the Senate as a rider 98-0, to the Bush Administration sounding the alarm in 2003 but being ignored, to Barney Frank famously telling the House Republicans that there is nothing wrong with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and getting the backing of House Democrats), to the Republicans blocking the Fannie/Freddie bill once it reached the Senate, there is plenty of blame to spread around.
The truth is that the economic crisis happened because the financial markets found new ways to be greedy that no one understood. When the powers that be looked at the balance sheets, they'd see these odd financial instruments and mortgage-backed securities and just shrug and say, "We trust that you guys are educated and know what you're doing. Besides, it seems to be working." Only now that they're falling apart is it clear to everyone how underhanded and vile these various financial instruments were. It's all crystal clear in 20/20 hindsight.
That being said, McCain didn't help himself any by appointing Grahm and Fiorna as his advisors. Having the guy responsible for CDSes and the most hated CEO in history (at least, that hasn't been prosecuted) didn't exactly endear him to the American public.
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
You're all nuts - America has just been given away!
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.ÃFrom that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence.
From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage;ÃFrom courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance;ÃFrom abundance to complacency; From complacency to apathy;ÃFrom apathy to dependence;ÃFrom dependence back into bondage.Ã
Seems we are now entering the "Dependence" Phase!
What's so bad about socialism?
Do you honestly think that voting in Obama is going to turn the states into some sort of Soviet Russia just because SOME of his plans are similar to those in Western Europe?
Wake up and realise that it doesn't matter what the idealogical principle is. All that matters is that you do the correct action for the situation. Sometimes that action is one that reflects libertarianism, sometimes conservatism, sometimes socialism, sometimes environmentalism, sometimes etc.
Your healthcare system NEEDS drastic change, perhaps socialism. No one is suggesting a British style NHS (certainly not the British). But quite simply, whether you are proud of you country or not (and when did that matter to anything) you should be ashamed of your healthcare system.
Regards
Person-bored-with-meaningless-election-fearmongering-but-honestly-impressed-with-the-US-people.
If this were really happening, what would you think?
I just hope that when he doesn't solve the economic crisis and "all of the worlds problems" that they don't blame him,
Obama has the good fortune that the crash didn't happen on his watch, so whatever he does to worsen the depression will be blamed on Bush by most people. They'll gloss over the fact that Obama voted in favor of Bush and Paulson's $850B robbery.
Hell, even today, most people think FDR ended the first great depression.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
What proof of this is there? The only thing anyone can say is that we elected the guy who "is not Bush" I'm on the fences honestly but one can say with certainty that no one knows what this will bring. Leading community groups and a campaign gives NO insight into ones abilities to lead a nation.
"The shit Bush & Co. has done will take far longer to unravel..."
Whoever controls the Bush administration has killed more than a million Iraqis to make oil and weapons profits. Killing doesn't bother them, for them it is only a way to make money.
A lot of people are saying that they will assassinate Obama.
Dude...
- Everyone receives government handouts from oil revenues
- Alcoholism is rampant
- Rape is one of the highest rates in the U.S.
- Palin is the Governor
WTF did you expect?
Also, :
- They were there for less than two years
- They are not in charge of the executive; by definition the legislative's impact is less imediate than the executive's
- Repugs fillibustered (or threatened to) almost everything the democrats tried to pass in the Senate
- Bush vetoed almost anything the democrats passed
And regardless of their intent, over 106,000 Alaskans still put down a vote for a convicted criminal. The extreme partisanship required to do that is beyond comprehension.
His wasn't just convicted of any old crime, either. It's a corruption conviction relating to his service in the position he was re-elected to.
Electing someone convicted of a crime unrelated to their office is one thing, but electing someone convicted of corruption in that office is an entirely different beast.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine a youtube comments section scrolling - forever.
Actually what alienated him from the american public was choosing an undeducated-appearing woman with no experience for a vice president. You have no idea how many times I heard "I'd vote for McCain, but he might die, and I do NOT want Palin as president."
Yeah, but remember that for a while, Canadian Tire money was worth more than the US dollar.
At least when shopping at Canadian Tire, eh?
Yeah, but you are also forgetting one thing? How much HIGHER would Obama's percentages be among white voters had he not been black, or supposedly muslim? Tons of white folks voted AGAINST him for no reason but skin color or perceived religion
Furthermore, you can't necessarily say it's racism. Maybe black people just really felt that Obama identified with their needs? You can find that type of pattern in many other things. For instance, look how much higher Obama's support was in major urban/suburban areas? In Florida, he barely took the vote, but in Miami, Tampa and Orlando he dominated, . North Carolina is essentially a tie, but in Raleigh, Winston-Salem, and Charlotte he dominated. Does that mean that city folk are reverse racists against white? Or that country folk are racist against blacks?
Until Obama won the Iowa caucus, all the black people were backing Hillary Clinton anyway. They're not racists, they're just Democrats.
"[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz
You could argue that a lot of the white voters voted for McCain because he's white.
Try crunching those numbers by income instead of skin color and see what comes out.
The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
John McCain should have won the election.
If John McCain should have won the election, John McCain would have won the election.
My question would be, why didn't 95% of whites vote for Obama?
Anti-black racism in the white American community is ugly.
Pathological kinda promises Path + Logical - but instead, you get stuck with pathetic.
"GET OVER IT."
And look at it this way. If you are sick of Anti-white racism in the African-American community, then I say you just won a tremendous victory!
The fact is, Obama is more or less the picture perfect image of a black man that white people don't fear. He maintains most all of his cultural identity and yet he is respectful, respectable, speaks well, is very intelligent and doesn't speak in rhymes. Obama is no dumb-ass.
And why is this a tremendous victory for you? Simple. What you likely hate the most is the rhetoric and the guilt and shame imposed on you because you were born a white male. Well guess what, now that we elected a black man for president, there is a LOT less they can say... there is a black man in the highest office. What else do they have to complain about that could be valid? When Obama fails to dish out the welfare, what are they going to say now? "Sell-out?" (maybe...)
because the only oath a person takes when becoming a congressman or president is to uphold the constitution. Condemning bad things isn't in there, so he votes against it. A similar example, a vote to give an award of some sort to Rosa Parks, he voted against it, and then offered to pay for it himself. Because buying awards for nice people isn't in the constitution, and if you follow his economics, you will understand that he is opposed to spending other peoples money on things that are not explicitly stated in the constitution.
He's only HALF black. He's also half WHITE. The proper term for BHO is "multiracial."
Begging for a helping hand with your financial aid. Begging for aid in your wars. Get used to it, even Bush has had to change his tune in the last year as the financial crisis hit harder then the neo-cons ever thought possible.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Not voting Obama does not necessarily indicate racism. Where I work, I could have told you at least 5 of my coworkers were going to vote Republican before the primaries started, regardless if "the black guy", "the white guy", or "the manly chick" had won the Democrats primary.
I *did* however vote Obama (but my views are a lot more left-leaning than about half the people I wokr with [the Democratic party's tendency to push gun control makes them not well received by this group]).
Do you consider any black person who didn't vote for McCain to be racist, or any man that didn't vote for McCain to be sexist (due to Palin)?
I've always looked towards the US as Canada's big brother -- the glamorous one that's great at sports, has a better salary, but a bit arrogant too. However, over the last eight years, it's like finding out your older brother has a gambling problem, cheats on his girlfriend, and bullies kids around at school.
Now I know things aren't going to change overnight, but you've made a huge step in the right direction, America, and it's good to see you come around.
body massage!
And by the same token, don't the rich people make their wealth based on the infrastructure of our country? Don't they need the roads, rails, or airlines to transport their good that they sell to make themselves rich? Don't they use our communications infrastructure to make their business deals? Don't they use our patent system to file their patents, and then our court systems when their competitors violate said patents? Don't they use our law enforcement and military to ensure the security of their possessions from people (both domestic and international) who would be more than happy to take it (or destory it) if it were unprotected?
"Sacrifice". Obama said it in his victory speech, and I believe McCain also said it in his concession speech. The problems of this country are so massive they can't be solved without each of us giving something to the cause. I'm not talking taxes, although I'm sure that will figure into it. If Obama is going to be successful--and by extension, make the country successful--we're all going to have to embrace the notion of personal sacrifice and service to the country. Think about that before you reflexively complain about what's bound to be unpleasant for many of us. In the words of John McCain: "It's time to put the country first."
Prepare yourselves for four years of austerity. We can't continue as a country where the only people who actively sacrifice for it are the members of the military and their families.
They started talking since the Irish economy took off and the IRA figured they could make more money through real-estate by paying off councilors than through running arms and drugs. It wasn't through some hippy breakthrough with government and terrorists smoking a joint together and proclaiming world peace. At the end of the day money talks. As it did with the US economy providing a radical shift towards Obama, as it did with prudish America not caring about Clinton's indiscretions as long as he kept improving the economy and increasing people's paychecks.
Phillip.
Property for sale in Nice, France
I think that is wrong. They fear failure... which doesn't make "them" any different from "us."
Being afraid of failure is the number one thing preventing success for most people of all divisions and classifications.
Keep in mind the dispute over abortion comes down to whether unborn children are considered humans with civil rights. A libertarian opposed to abortion isn't really any more inconsistent than a libertarian opposed to lynchings. Libertarians aren't anarchists - they do believe that it is the proper purpose of government to establish and enforce criminal law. Murder clearly ought to be illegal, so the question becomes whether stuff like abortion, euthenasia, assisted-suicide, etc is murder.
Most of what SNL did was just quote her straight-up, which is the truly scary part: SNL didn't even need to write most of its own jokes. Palin is just that much of a twit, and the worst part is that she knew just enough to twist this to her advantage in the debates. Someone capable of this is not someone who belongs within 5000 miles of the most powerful office in the US (and, arguably, the world).
Palin is not the first person whose greatest attack ads were simply her own words played back at her. Sadly, she will probably not be the last either. But when they do spring up, there is good reason to fear them.
It's a shame about McCain. It really is. He's a strong statesman, a good politician, and he probably would have been at least as good for the country (if in different ways) than Obama. But Palin had to be stopped, and fortunately, she was. You might even say that she won the election; she just won it for the opposing side.
Over 4,000 American soldiers have died, and that death tally doesn't even include the other side. When we respond to the murder of 3,000 of our citizens by getting that many soldiers killed again, and killing 30,000 or more in retaliation, yeah, it's horrific.
I don't think we should measure the horror of war relative to other wars; it is all a tragedy.
Ahh, but we're not a Democracy, we're a Representative Republic. There may be some shortcomings, but over-all, I think we've got a decent system which generally avoids a "Tyranny of the Majority".
As an American I fervently hope that President Elect Obama will move forward on his campaign promises to get us out of the war in Iraq and will work to rebuild our relations with the rest of the world.
The Digital Sorceress
The reason why Nixon, reagan, and W all broke the law so much is because there is NO real penalty. W and his admin MUST be investigated.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
It is nonsense because luck plays a big role in personal success, no matter what you do. Luck can make you rich and luck can make you poor and luck can make you need a wheelchair. And it is nonsense because society (especially US society) does not give same opportunities to everyone. People do not have equal chances at all.
It has always been the politics of the conservative parties to keep up the myth you are spreading here and do as much as possible to not let solidarity happen: that what a really civilized society should be based on: to also let people live in dignity even if they had no luck and no oportunities.
Instead the republicans have pumped millions and billions into wars banks and into the task of killing hundreds of thousands of civilians all over the worlds, while letting their own people hunger and go without even basic medical care.
I won't keep you from going on with jerking off to your own success, but doing someting about one's own life might be necessary but certainly is not sufficient to make one's life better or even worth to be called human.
Go around, open your eyes and talk to people and maybe, just maybe, you will start to understand.
There ARE more than two parties. They're just not allowed to participate in the debates. Rectify that, and you'll see real change. The Republocrats are just two peas in the same pod, with very little to differentiate themselves from each other.
If third parties are on the majority of states' ballots, they should be automatically invited to the televised debates, period. If the two major parties have all the answers, then they should have nothing to fear.
"I might have made a tactical error in not going to a physician for 20 years." -- Warren Zevon
There is no question that the election of a half-Arab, half-Black child of a broken home to the Presidency of the United States *says* something to the world and to history about us as a country, as an ideal, that can never, ever, be taken away.
I think idiotic statements like are what defined what the rest of the world thought of the US before this election, don't keep it up. You almost made a good point until you detracted from your entire statement with this nonsense.
Obama's mother is from Wichita, Kansas, and is quite caucasian. His biological father is from Kenya, and was ethnically called a Luo, a subsaharan African ethnic group. His adopted father, while in fact a muslim, was ethnically indonesian. Not all muslims are arabs.
Arab is an ethnic term, and there is no evidence that Obama is in any way Arab (just like there's no evidence he's muslim). I can't fathom why you said this, other than the fact that you might be thinking arab=muslim. If that was the case, then that's just plain idiotic, and is yet another reason why the world hates us, because if we can't get that right, we can't get foreign policy right.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
Changing the USA mindset from fear mongering to hope is a huge thing in itself and is the first step towards rebuilding US as a nation and an international player.
While the "first black president" thing might be an historic moment for black civil rights, that is not what Obama is about.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
I'm 24 too. Don't worry, you'll get over the Ron Paul phase. Took me about a week - ended around the time I read some of the things he actually said, instead of the lofty philosophies his fans assigned to him.
so whatever he does to worsen the depression
Sounds like you've made your mind up already!
There are shills on slashdot. Apparently, I'm one of them.
No thanks. I'll give a shit what color he is mainly because it's a pretty damn good gauge of how far America has come along in terms of overcoming some nasty racism.
We have come a long way in reducing racism. We've passed the hate to the next down the line.
Here's a vastly oversimplified view of the line:
1830: Americans hate and persecute the Irish immigrants.
1890: Americans (now including the Irish) persecute the Polish and other Eastern European immigrants.
All along: American whites (including Irish and Polish) persecute blacks.
20th century: American whites (and many blacks!) fear and persecute latino immigrants.
Yesterday, on the day the USA first elects a black president, three states passed constitutional amendments making gays second-class citizens with fewer rights. In California, nearly 70% of blacks and hispanics voted for Proposition 8.
Yes, we just pass the fear and hate on down the line. Human mass psychology seems incapable of producing happiness without having an "outsider" group to loathe and persecute.
Honestly, I'm fucking thrilled about Obama, but I'm starting to see the "moving past racism" thing as just another turn of the hate wheel.
Right now the arrow is pointing at Gays and Muslims and atheists. I wonder who will be the target(s) in 2030?
I stole this sig from someone cleverer than me.
Having a friends and enemies mentality is a reflection of what is really wrong with this country.
Its an illusion to make you think you are seperate from people. Dont buy into it. We are all connected one way or another.