THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

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Joe Ribaudo
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THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Thomas Sowell was born in North Carolina and grew up in Harlem .. As
with many others in his neighborhood, he left home early and did not
finish high school. The next few years were difficult ones, but
eventually he joined the Marine Corps and became a photographer in the
Korean War. After leaving the service, Sowell entered Harvard University
, worked a part-time job as a photographer and studied the science that
would become his passion and profession: economics.

After graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University (1958), he went
on to receive his master's in economics from Columbia University (1959)
and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago (1968).

In the early '60s, Sowell held jobs as an economist with the Department
of Labor and AT&T. But his real interest was in teaching and
scholarship. In 1965, at Cornell University , he began the first of many
professorships. His other teaching assignments include Rutgers
University , Amherst University , Brandeis University and the University
of California at Los Angeles , where he taught in the early '70s and
also from 1984 to 1989.

Sowell has published a large volume of writing. His dozen books, as well
as numerous articles and essays, cover a wide range of topics, from
classic economic theory to judicial activism, from civil rights to
choosing the right college. Moreover, much of his writing is considered
ground-breaking -- work that will outlive the great majority of
scholarship done today.

Though Sowell had been a regular contributor to newspapers in the late
'70s and early '80s, he did not begin his career as a newspaper
columnist until 1984. George F. Will's writing, says Sowell, proved to
him that someone could say something of substance in so short a space
(750 words). And besides, writing for the general public enables him to
address the heart of issues without the smoke and mirrors that so often
accompany academic writing.

In 1990, he won the prestigious Francis Boyer Award, presented by The
American Enterprise Institute.

Currently Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institute in Stanford
, Calif.
-------------------------------------------------------
*Obama and McCain*
Thomas Sowell
Thursday, June 05, 2008

**Now that the two parties have finally selected their presidential
candidates, it is time for a sober-- if not grim-- assessment of where
we are. Not since 1972 have we been presented with two such painfully
inadequate candidates. When election day came that year, I could not
bring myself to vote for either George McGovern or Richard Nixon. I
stayed home. **

**This year, none of us has that luxury.**** While all sorts of gushing
is going on in the media, and posturing is going on in politics, the
biggest national sponsor of terrorism in the world-- Iran-- is moving
step by step toward building a nuclear bomb. **

**The point when they get that bomb will be the point of no return. Iran
's nuclear bomb will be the terrorists' nuclear bomb-- and they can make
9/11 look like child's play. **

**All the options that are on the table right now will be swept off the
table forever. Our choices will be to give in to whatever the terrorists
demand-- however outrageous those demands might be-- or to risk seeing
American cities start disappearing in radioactive mushroom clouds. **

**All the things we are preoccupied with today, from the price of
gasoline to health care to global warming, will suddenly no longer
matter. **

**Just as the Nazis did not find it enough to simply kill people in
their concentration camps, but had to humiliate and dehumanize them
first, so we can expect terrorists with nuclear weapons to both
humiliate us and force us to humiliate ourselves, before they finally
start killing us. **

**They have already telegraphed their punches with their sadistic
beheadings of innocent civilians, and with the popularity of videotapes
of those beheadings in the Middle East . **

**They have already telegraphed their intention to dictate to us with
such things as Osama bin Laden's threats to target those places in
America that did not vote the way he prescribed in the 2004 elections.
He could not back up those threats then but he may be able to in a very
few years. **

**The terrorists have given us as clear a picture of what they are all
about as Adolf Hitler and the Nazis did during the 1930s-- and our
'leaders' and intelligentsia have ignored the warning signs as
resolutely as the 'leaders' and intelligentsia of the 1930s downplayed
the dangers of Hitler. **

**We are much like people drifting down the Niagara River , oblivious to
the waterfalls up ahead. Once we go over those falls, we cannot come
back up again. **

**What does this have to do with today's presidential candidates? It has
everything to do with them. **

**One of these candidates will determine what we are going to do to stop
Iran from going nuclear-- or whether we are going to do anything other
than talk, as Western leaders talked in the 1930s. **

**There is one big difference between now and the 1930s. Although the
West's lack of military preparedness and its political irresolution led
to three solid years of devastating losses to Nazi Germany and imperial
Japan , nevertheless when all the West's industrial and military forces
were finally mobilized, the democracies were able to turn the tide and
win decisively. **

**But you cannot lose a nuclear war for three years and then come back.
You cannot even sustain the will to resist for three years when you are
first broken down morally by threats and then devastated by nuclear
bombs. **

**Our one window of opportunity to prevent this will occur within the
term of whoever becomes President of the United States next January. **

**At a time like this, we do not have the luxury of waiting for our
ideal candidate or of indulging our emotions by voting for some third
party candidate to show our displeasure- - at the cost of putting someone
in the White House who is not up to the job. **

**Senator John McCain has been criticized in this column many times.
But, when all is said and done, _Senator McCain _****_has not_****_
spent decades aiding and abetting people who hate America . _**

**On the contrary, he has paid a huge price for resisting our enemies,
even when they held him prisoner and tortured him. _The choice between
him and Barack Obama should be a no-brainer. _**
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America

Post by Bandit »

Not to change the subject. along the same lines has anyone read, "The End of America" by Naomi Wolf. Published 2007
Very enlightning
JW
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Post by don »

Joe,
Ive got to say the above post really says it all...we are at a crossroads..whichever road we take its going to be painfull..Id prefer McCain to obama any day,though I feel it might merely be the lesser of two evils.One thing for sure a weak president will be a disaster for the world.Its a sobering thought.
regards
Don update your email address
Joe Ribaudo
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Correct.....

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Don,

I believe you are exactly right. Just the illusion of weakness can bring disastrous consequences. I believe Russia's recent invasion of Georgia is a prime example of that.

I have a lot of bones to pick with President Bush but he has, a least, kept the bastards busy ducking. In this day and age, that will get my vote every time.

Every despot in the world knows now is the time to spit in our eye. Our government is frozen into inaction.....no matter the pressing need.
It's gotten so bad that folks are dredging up 211 year old treaties with Barbary Coast pirates for their arguments. That's the kind of peace they want for us. After all, it worked so well with Tripoli. :roll: That's the kind of thing you get when you surf the Net for your education.

"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute" Our current batch of educated idiots have no idea what that means.

Hope all is well with you and the family.

Take care,

Joe
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History......

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

pip,

Just curious, did you ever get over to the library and read up on your Barbary Coast Treaty argument? It's never a good idea to take stuff you fine on the Internet and espouse it as truth. Lot's of kooks out there.

That particular treaty was no different than paying protection money to the Mafia. In fact, it's exactly the same thing. I assume you would not approve of some mom and pop store in Chicago being shaken down each month by gangsters.

Once again, I would be happy to reccomend some good books on the history of that era and place. I started reading that stuff as a pre-teen. I was into pirates and early U.S. Naval History. You don't really get the full picture by surfing the Net.

Anyway, hope you have come to your senses on that particular argument.
Believe you should find something less.......controversial. :wink:

Joe Ribaudo
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SARAH PALIN.....

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

It's been amazing to see the abject fear that has been generated by Senator McCain's choice of Governer Sarah Palin as his Vice-Presidential running mate.

The rabid attacks from America haters like little Bradley Cooper, on the LDM Forum, are a disgusting example of why an arguement might be made for abortion.

The following was sent to me by a close friend:
________________________________________________

"As most of you know by now, our Alaska governor, Sarah Palin, has been selected as a vice presidential candidate to run with John McCain. Our phone and email has been buzzing since the announcement with many of you asking 'What's she like?' So, I thought I could save some of your questions and explain a bit why Alaskans voted her the Governor by never before heard of margins.

Mrs. Palin began her political life as a Borough Assemblywoman in the Matanuska-Susitina Borough. Boroughs are like counties. She spent a 4 year term as the Borough Mayor followed by a couple of sessions as a representative to the Alaska Legislature's House. Although she was in the majority party, she didn't get along with the good-old-boy networks and their governing for their own benefit practices. When their activities leaned into the unethical, she blew the whistle and let the Alaska public know how the good old boys were making decisions and accepting influence from special interests.

As an Alaskan, she grew up with local issues and the understanding long term Alaskans have about what it takes to try to get Alaska on 'equal footing' with the other states AS PROMISED and Contracted for in the STATEHOOD COMPACT. Simple things like having roads connect our towns and villages, power grids to spread the high cost of energy production to remote areas, education based on equal programs for Alaskan children and more. She revealed what we had long suspected and that was a deeply entrenched government including both some Legislators and government professionals who were ignoring their responsibilities to the Alaska public and kind of doing closed door business in their own interests. Other Legislators had made complaints but not specifically enough for the public to understand how bad things were in Juneau and many of our agencies. Sarah dug up the details and then began a campaign for Governor to change that 'system' and return the public's confidence in state government. First she beat a strong incumbent governor with long service as a US senator, in the primary. Selecting a whole new crew of advisors and campaigners, she took her promises to the general election and won with a huge number of Alaskans supporting her call for change.

So far so good. After her election she requested input from Alaskans as groups, communities and individuals on the priority for changes and the details of what needed to be done. She followed up on that request by producing a written 'plan' for what she could and would do in the first year as Governor. Then she set about it. Old established groups within the Alaska bureaucracy were sent packing. New advisors were selected and appointed within the executive branch. New priorities and missions were written for agencies. The Legislature cleaned house, re-wrote ethics law and cleaned up their act. She has strengthened the Alaskan economy, served as an ambassador to the world for Alaskan products and services kept her campaign principles on the front burner. She certainly hasn’t 'fixed' everything, but she's made a heck of a start. She, and her staff, are great listeners. She sends the Chief of Staff and/or the Lt. Governor to talk with Alaskans about the various issues and how to best solve them. I have personally been in a dozen meetings with both the COS and the Lt. Gov. and now count both of those men as friends. What I mean is that I regularly talk on the phone with several of her staff and they ask and use my advice. It's a heady feeling but it represents the kind of government Sarah wanted the Alaskan public to participate in. Sure we call her husband, Todd, 'the first dude' but he fits that blue collar role very well.

As some of you know, in my career with the Alaska Department of Transportation, I was responsible for a large portion of the State complying with the requirements of the then new National Environmental Policy Act, which you know as NEPA. Following the passage of that important national law, the states were asked to provide input, example, and review of how the national environmental policy priority and regulatory requirements should be written. I served on the early state, regional, and a few national task forces in the role of fitting the new law to project development processes so that state and local governments could comply with NEPA. Those experiences made me realize how important it is for clear, non-biased thinking to be used to spell out and clarify the intent of such far reaching issues. The contacts that I made in those 1970 thru 1980's assignments now include the political movers and shakers of several northwest states. Alaska is federally in what's called Region 10 for most federal agencies. We partner with Washington, Oregon, and Idaho and sometimes other states. My perspective on how agencies perceive the regulatory process and how the public so misunderstands those same agencies was well formed during those years. That's why I'm in Alaska's political loop, so to speak, even though I have never run for public office. I saw first hand how the federal agencies twist the regulatory process to fit their own needs and priorities. It's no small wonder the public doesn't understand why 'government' doesn't read the language of the law the same way the public reads it. Of course, it does keep the lawyers busy.

Do I think you should vote for Sarah Palin? Not on our say-so. I realize that there are many among you who would like to see some significant changes in the way our Congress and Federal Agencies treat us, their constituents. Not knowing how to influence changes in Washington, we have all repeated the same folly - sending the same people back time after time and then wondering why they keep doing the same things. In my opinion, making changes is not a partisan responsibility in this election or in any. Sending some new thinking people to represent us in Washington is the best way. Both Obama and McCain are telling us about how they'll change things so we'll all be happy and healthy. Balderdash! Both of those men are part of the national 'good old boy' network. So in the 2008 election this branch of the family is looking for new faces not just reworked rhetoric from those who have been serving. We are hoping Alaska gets at least a new congressman out of this election. We also realize some of you are lifelong party supporters and some of you have job-political ties. Like cousin Barbara (Lewis) Jensen in Turlock, CA, says, 'I'm a teacher in the Calif. College System, I have to support the Dems.'

If Sarah Palin is elected vice president, she will bring new perspective to Washington. She really does belong to the NRA, not because she's a 'gun nut' but because she and her dad and her husband hunted moose and caribou meat for the family freezers. She understands that good conservation is not necessarily related to preservation. For those of you who have been convinced that 'thou shalt not ever drill for oil in the Arctic Northwest Wildlife Refuge', Sarah would tell you that at the current rates of use of oil and natural gas by our country, there is enough in the ground between Prudhoe Bay and Point Thompson (a very few miles away and mostly offshore) there is enough reserve to run the United States for 200 years. Who pays for a panic change to 'renewable' energy? Of course we need to move away from dependence on non-renewable gas and oil but at what pace and cost? Sarah understands what Alaskan resources could do for those of you in those smaller states. (Sorry Larry). She is an ethical leader; she tells it like it is, if she doesn't agree with your point of view she'll tell you why, politely, without raising her voice and being confrontational. This Governor is a lady, first. She doesn't need the strong arm tactics of a Nancy Pelosi or scare tactics of a Hillary Clinton to get her point across or explain her view.

She's had some real stumbles as Governor and, although she certainly should always agree with me, she doesn't and she won't and she'll be civil and polite if we talk about it. She knew she was pregnant with a Downs Syndrome baby and carried him to birth to join the Palin family. She talks the talk but walks the walk. I got a kick out of Fox News this morning being 'concerned' about her experience. Senator Kempthorne from Idaho, who knows Alaska well, summed it up for them this way, 'When I was Governor of Idaho I made more decisions on more issues in a month that I have in two years as a US Senator.' Recall, Alaska's across the border neighbor isn't another state. We have all kinds of treaties, agreements, and working relationships with both the Canadian government and the Yukon and BC governments. We sell our natural resource products to Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and other international buyers. Our governor's have 'experience' that most US politicians never even think of.

From my perspective, Sarah Palin is as qualified to hold national office as those who have done so in the past. If she's not elected, we'll certainly be glad to keep her on as governor. Keep in mind, a lot of special interest groups from Big Oil to the radical environmental groups don't and won't like her. She has demonstrated the ability to focus on the general good and let the special interests work beside the issues rather than control them from within. Yep, you guessed it, the Alaska branch of the family will vote for Sarah. If we have to take McCain to get her, oh well, some sacrifices have to be made."
_____________________________________________

The attacks against Governor Palin are illogical. Luckily, some people are too blinded by hatred to see the logic. They will continue to mindlessly attack her, until they turn the tide in Senator McCain's favor.

There is something about a strong woman who will tell men to get off their asses and go to work, that makes some people realize how pathetic their lives are.

In doing that, she will incur Cooper's senseless and impotent rage. No matter how much he tries to convince the rest of his small audience of his importance, he will remain a little person in every thinking American's mind.

I am running two companies, with my wife. We take care of the elderly. Been doing it for almost eighteen years now. In that time, I have been in almost constant pain from an accident that happened while working in construction. I take no drugs, stronger than Aspirin or Tylenol. As anyone who spent any time with me knows, I seldom drink alcohol, but when I do, it's never more than one or two drinks. Two would be a lot for me.

Anyone who says otherwise would be a liar. Cooper, who needs illegal drugs just to function on a daily basis, should not be making false accusations about other people's habits. I am not guessing about that, as I have personal experience with his habit, from the Rendezvous.
Perhaps he will deny that.

Since this topic will probably be moved to the First Amendment Forum by the Webmaster, I feel free to......adjust my comments before that takes place.

Joe Ribaudo
Last edited by Joe Ribaudo on Thu Sep 04, 2008 11:42 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Running Scared.....

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Tonight was a perfect example of why all the little boys have wet themselves over having to face Sarah Palin. Should the people come to their senses and elect John McCain, the Democrats realize they will be looking at sixteen years without the Presidency.

You can expect the drum beat against her to become a staccato of deafening volume. In the end, the sound will be reduced to the America haters, like Cooper, pounding their heads in despair.

Like the lady said, the only thing Barrack Huesein Obama has ever done in his professional career, of import, is to write two books about himself. Even then, he had to fudge the truth. What is there about people like Obama and Cooper, that compels them to trumpet their self importance and overinflate their experience and abilities?

At least Barrack makes some attempt to hide his hatred of America. Proves the man has some sense......at the least.

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The poop

Post by critter »

Anyone truly interested in facts over partisan vitriol and rhetoric is invited to amble on over to FactCheck.org and see for yourself.
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Post by pippinwhitepaws »

actually just came from there critter...thanks

palin is a typical emerging professional politician...playing favors...strong arming anyone who disagrees with her...under investigation for political misadventures agains her ex-son in law...certian questionable "favors" gained for her community...the bridge to nowhere....
the typical mother-in-law who sticks her nose into things not her business, and uses connections to further inflame the turmoil her sybling is experiencing...

jon stewart had a tape of her dissin' people for "permissive" sex before marrige...how it was the parents fault.....whoooooo did she change step on that issue...' leave my family out of it..."

a radical right wing nut with some demented need to drag society back into the dark ages under the guise of god.

THE RADICAL RIGHT IS NOT CONSERVATIVE....IT IS RADICAL.
FANATICS OF ANY RELIGION ARE JUST THAT...FANATICS.
not healthy in any society.
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Critter

Post by lazarus »

Critter,

It's good to see you post. We all miss you a bunch over here in the states.

Of course, Rodeo Joe is still struggling with a poison mind. A good mind wasted, but this isn't about him. His issues are his issues.

Drop us a line when you have a moment.

Poor Joe,
I'm not sure he believes that stupid crap or not. I think some people are born without a soul.


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An ink blot is not a landscape

Post by critter »

Indeed, only a Republican would be so stupid and cynical as to mistake intelligence for arrogance, eloquence for elitism, or analysis for sexism. Luckily they are also not very good at arithmetic or they'd realise they haven't got the numbers to even put up a struggle this time around.

So far, all we know for certain is that she can read, which puts her at least one notch above Joe in qualifications to become VP.

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Post by lazarus »

Critter,
I concur.
She did a fine job of reading a teleprompter, but those words were written by others. This may qualify her for a part in a sitcom or maybe she can host a telethon, but you'd have to be a dumb as Joe to think she's qualified to be president.


Brad
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Post by lazarus »

Rodeo Joe,

even McCain himself thinks the Republican base is controlled by shit-bags, and he's right.

Laz
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Cheney

Post by lazarus »

A federal judge on Saturday ordered Dick Cheney to preserve a wide range of the records from his time as vice president.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar Kotelly is a setback for the Bush administration in its effort to promote a narrow definition of materials that must be safeguarded under by the Presidential Records Act.

The Bush administration's legal position "heightens the court's concern" that some records may not be preserved, said the judge.



Cheney should hang for his crimes...
He should hang til his fat little head pops off!


Brad
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Post by pippinwhitepaws »

yea right...as if those criminals have listened to a judge yet...

i don't know which disgusts me more...the fact that professional politicians/mega-business have this nation in a choke hold.
or that some people actually support this behavior.

there is no smilie face for pukin...too bad.
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Beer Farts and Bravado

Post by critter »

Joe seems to have gone very quiet of late. He's probably recovering from the post-convention hangover where Palin turns out to be complete ditz, and McCain can't seem to string together a complete thought on the economy, much less a coherent one. Not to mention the attack ads that are so over the top that even Karl Rove said so. His political landscape turns out to be Nothing but Beer Farts and Bravado, Beer Farts and Bravado...

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Post by lazarus »

Critter,

it's really quite sad. You know me better than anyone else who posts here, and you know my mantra...

I would much rather have been wrong about the Bush administration than right. It would have been better to be wrong and have the neo-cons rub it in my face at every opportunity, than to be right about something so horrible and tragic. These are truly dark days for the country.

Brad
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Leadership.......

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Someone once asked, 'Why do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?'

Because -- 'The rich keep doing the same things that got them rich---The poor

keep doing the same things that keep them poor.'


What do the top ten cities with the highest poverty rate all have in common?

Democrat leadership


Consider...

Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list) hasn't elected a Republican mayor since 1961;

Buffalo, NY (2nd) hasn't elected one since 1954;

Cincinnati, OH (3rd)... since 1984;

Cleveland, OH (4th)... since 1989;

Miami, FL (5th) has never had a Republican Mayor;

St. Louis, MO (6th).... since 1949;

El Paso, TX (7th) has never had a Republican Mayor;

Milwaukee, WI (8th)... since 1908;

Philadelphia, PA (9th)... since 1952;

Newark, NJ (10th)... since 1907.

Einstein once said 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing

over and over again and expecting different results.'


It is the disadvantaged who habitually elect Democrats - yet are still

disadvantaged... hmmm... If you are wishing for hope & change, you better

know what the salesman is selling.

Joe "Ribaudo
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Re: Leadership.......

Post by lbj »

Joe Ribaudo wrote:Someone once asked, 'Why do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?'

Because -- 'The rich keep doing the same things that got them rich---The poor

keep doing the same things that keep them poor.'

Joe "Ribaudo
joe,

are you rich? normally i would never ask such a question but your statement leaves me no choice. also, it would be helpful to know what minimum income or asset level do you consider necessary to be a member of the rich.
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Personal Questions......

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

lbj,

I admit that I have wondered if you owned your own house or rented. I have wondered the same thing about a number of posters in the First Amendment Forum, but felt that it was not a proper question to ask.

How successful people have been in their lives, is often reflected in their seeming hatred for those who have prospered. The end result of that feeling is often rabid attacks on people who do not agree with the political concept of redistribution of wealth. "What I can't seem to earn by my own lackluster efforts in life, should be given to me by those who have more than (I believe) they need."

Many times they try to bolster their own position in any given situation by inventing expertise or experience that they possess only in their imaginations, and deriding those who actually have worked their way into positions of respect.

To answer your question, I am rich beyond your wildest dreams. I have an intelligent, hard working, ambitious and beautiful wife, who has blessed my life with her presense. We have two businesses which help the elderly on a daily basis. Those endeavors bring emense satisfaction to both of us. We are proud of the services we provide, and do more than our share of charity cases.

Those are the things that make me rich as Midas. As you can see by my reply, I don't measure my wealth by "income or asset level". When we leave this world, we will both be remembered for what we have done, not for what we have accumulated......And you?

Take care,

Joe Ribaudo
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Post by pippinwhitepaws »

typical republican smear to avoid answering a well founded question.
karl rove handbook.
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Post by lbj »

joe,

i am glad for you that you are happy with you place if life however i did not ask that question and it would have been rude of me to ask it.

i asked you how much money you have. i felt justified asking that because you made a number of negative statements about the "poor". to understand you statements about the poor i need to know what income level you consider to be poor and your income level to see where you stand relative to what you refer to as the "poor". if you dont want to answer i understand. just say you dont want to answer and i will respect that. your dance around the question was really not called for because it assumes that i am too dumb to realize that you failed to answer me. i want to discuss issues and philosophies with you but i am a lousy dancer and usually end up stepping all over my partners toes.
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Perfect.......

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

pip,

"How successful people have been in their lives, is often reflected in their seeming hatred for those who have prospered. The end result of that feeling is often rabid attacks on people who do not agree with the political concept of redistribution of wealth. "What I can't seem to earn by my own lackluster efforts in life, should be given to me by those who have more than (I believe) they need."

Many times they try to bolster their own position in any given situation by inventing expertise or experience that they possess only in their imaginations, and deriding those who actually have worked their way into positions of respect."

Did it seem like I was describing your life there? Didn't mean to make you cranky. :roll:

Joe Ribaudo
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Post by pippinwhitepaws »

again, typical diversion through insult to avoid a well founded question.
prior to my disclosing my wealth, you need to answer the original topic.
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Don't Dance......

Post by Joe Ribaudo »

Sorry lbj, I just don't dance anymore. Thanks for the offer.

"your dance around the question was really not called for because it assumes that i am too dumb to realize that you failed to answer me."

No, I assumed you were smart enough to realize that you were not going to get the answer you were looking for.

By your reasoning, when you argue for Obama for President, I should be able to ask how much money you have, what kind of car you drive, if you rent or own your own home. After all, income redistribution is what his campaign and the Democratic Party is really all about.

ACORN is not out trying to sign up voters in the suburbs, they are working the homeless and the inner city poor, sometimes the same person for seventy or so times. Socialism is a magnet for many of those people. It's not hard to understand why they are drawn to the Democratic Party.

What I posted was obviously someone else's comments. It's also obvious that I must agree with most of what they said, such as:

[Einstein once said 'The definition of insanity is doing the same thing

over and over again and expecting different results.']

And:

[It is the disadvantaged who habitually elect Democrats - yet are still

disadvantaged... hmmm... If you are wishing for hope & change, you better

know what the salesman is selling.]

Here is the meaning behind my answer: I am happy with what I have. I have no problem with those who have more than I do. I have a problem with those who have less being given what I have worked for. I have a problem with any form of government telling me that I must support someone who will not work to support themselves. I have a problem with a government telling me that poor people must be given homes they can't afford to pay for, and I must pay the mortgage for them.
If you decide you like the car I am driving better than yours, I don't want you whining to the government to make me give you mine. The next step is for the government to see that I have a spare bedroom, and tell me I must find a homeless man or woman and put them in my home, feed them and clothe them. I will give my share, but no one will tell me how much that should be.

Since you believe otherwise, it seems "a well founded question" to ask you exactly how much you donate to the poor each year. How many of the homeless are living in your home? Exactly how much do you donate to the food drives?

None of those things are any of my business. How much money I have or make, is none of your business, no matter how much you try to justify asking such a personal question. My answer is the only one you are going to get. See Einstein's Quote above. Next subject.

Joe Ribaudo
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