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Kit-Darling In reply to ??? [2008-10-31 21:38:59 +0000 UTC]

They haven't done anything yet because they haven't been elected. Plus, what you're getting at is virtually impossible to do with the standards set and the law. It's not like they can just start handing out checks to people. And it's not like they can just make new enemies. In case you didn't notice, the United States has a considereably large shit list. Think of it this way, if you were going to take over the country to become a tyrant dictator, what are the country's weak spots? Now that you know them, if you wanted to be President, how could you fix them? Do any of these solutions go against the law or will they make us poorer?

We just have to have faith in whoever is chosen and hope that the loopholes they found will change our country for the better. I'm not saying I'm supporting either one politically, but I am saying that it's not nice to make fun of people you haven't met when they're trying to do a good thing. I don't think you would like it if someone drew a picture of you eating...what is that they have in their mouths anyway?

Love,
Cindy

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TheAstro In reply to Kit-Darling [2008-11-01 02:31:34 +0000 UTC]

you have too much faith in people running for office... they're not good just by the virtue that they are rich and conformed enough to be in position to run (the only virtues that can be observed in either McCain or Obama). McCain has been an elected senator since at least the 1980s, so he's had time to start movement for fundamental change (and hasn't) and Obama has taken no steps in his short career to make waves amongst his democrat contemporaries.
as for impossibility, if the bush administration could initiate illegitimate war based on false pretenses and blatantly ignore and supersede provisions of the Constitution for citizens at home, i think some of my suggestions are quite possible. law is only words written, standards are set and put in place by bold reform. hopefully you were only extrapolating that "the law" and "not being poorer" were the important factors in fixing our country's shortcomings, for those are indeed the priorities of a brutal dictator.
if we finally put sanctions on Israel, you know how many countries on that "shit list" would become ardent supporters overnight? try the entire Middle East and the majority of European countries. You know how many friends we lose? none. israel cannot survive without the US, and slapping them with the long overdue sanctions they deserve would be a move championed around the world. no one is talking about writing out checks, either. universal health care (a standard in almost ever other western nation) and insurance would be a simple task if all the resources that went into privatized advertising, bureaucracy, and regulation were consolidated into a federal system and the bloated military budget was drastically redirected to social programs (which would be quite possible if we took advantage of the defense alleviation guaranteed by the previous step and withdrew our aid and unconditional support to israel). the federal reserve has over $700 billion to pump into banks and insurance companies, obviously, so overhauling the whole damn thing isn't a stretch at all.
faith and hope is exactly the problem with the rotting democracy in america. democracy isn't about faith or hoping things will be ok, it's about citizens seizing and maintaining control of government, with a responsibility to understand it. if people "don't have time to get into politics" (a frequent complaint) then they don't deserve a governing system like democracy which puts the fate of the nation in their hands. voters who simply accept the two limited choices set before them, cross their fingers, and hope for the best are exactly the reason america has been able to go on a (self-)destructive rampage over the last 8 years.
are Obama and McCain bad guys personally? maybe not. but i'm not putting shit in their mouths for how they are as a father or a drinking buddy, i'm putting shit in their mouths because that's all they've been doing themselves in front of the entire world, as politicians - submitting themselves to scrutiny in the effort to gain immense power. it's naive to say they're trying to do good things because of a bunch of vague promises they're making during a campaign. they talk around the real issues (haven't heard a single mention of the WTO, a huge issue everywhere else in the world except in the american mainstream media) and blatantly lie about things ("america has the best, most skilled workers in the entire world" -- really? by what standard? certainly not outside the service sector, which is the only significant aspect of our economy left. "america is the shining beacon of freedom on a hill" - actually, the United States is widely considered a failed state* and a state sponsor of terrorism by international consensus).
I do, after everything, essentially love my country, but it's in the midst of a train wreck right now and the people running it (from all branches of government) continue to do nothing to adjust the course. the flock of greedy, meek sheep that make up the legislature (Obama and McCain) and executives of america are proving that capitalism and democracy don't work to overall human benefit, and no amount of hopeful, loaded rhetoric is going to change that situation.



*see Chomsky's work on this for more... another basic starter source, not crazy about him myself

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Kit-Darling In reply to TheAstro [2008-11-01 14:07:30 +0000 UTC]

Well you did manage to swear four times to a fourteen-year-old girl. Did you forget who your audience was? Well, that doesn't matter. Anyway, what's wrong with being a politician and rich? My dad's the district attorney and we're doing pretty well. I take that as an insult that you think I don't care about other people.

And I more of a historian myself. Look back in history. This happens everywhere to every country. Things look bad, but they do get better. And people WILL do something about it. I bet you'll be one of them too. Maybe I'll even join your side, except, we might fight a lot...

You're a very good speaker. Maybe you should talk to people who count instead of middle school students. I promise that will be more affective.

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TheAstro In reply to Kit-Darling [2008-11-01 18:46:58 +0000 UTC]

haha, yeah, swearing at a middle schooler might not be the best way to direct my political energies, but on the other hand it's no less ineffective than ranting in front of a cow-eyed crowd of party-affiliated voters... and i do write with the hope that you're not the only one who ends up reading this discourse.
i'd say that your privileged upbringing has had a definite influence on your views so far - but, like you said, you're learning to take things from different angles and that's good. i think it's definitely a problem that most/all politicians are rich (in the top 25% if not the top 5% income bracket), representing a population the vast majority of which is not. people holding office are always going to first serve their own interests (and those of their ilk) and since democracy is supposedly about majority rule, it seems natural that people from the lower and middle classes should hold most of the offices in government. this is relevant especially since it's the poor who are coerced into populating the ranks of the military (with a college education held as ransom) and the rich officials (including McCain) haven't seemed to have any qualms about sending these poor into harm's way for - let's face it - economic benefit (which has not "trickled down" to raise the poor or working class anywhere above their standard of living in over 35 years, or increase their salaries' purchasing power, or provide them with basic health care).
it's important to realize that comfort comes from somewhere; the comfort and luxury of the upper class comes at the direct expense of the lower classes. i'm not saying there shouldn't be rewards for achievement and working hard (as i'm sure your father does) but the fact that your garage is probably bigger than the entire home of most americans, and probably contains more overall assets than the majority of american families' have altogether, is way out of proportion. as hard as your dad works, does he really deserve that much more than a teacher (who in my opinion is in the most important line of work) or a carpenter or a factory worker? maybe your living standards aren't so decadent, but you know what i mean as i refer to the typical comforts of an upper class household. and to get out of the sheltered america-first mindset we (you and i and most of our fellow citizens) naturally fall into, imagine even those lower class to lower middle class american families, and then compare their the standard of living to the world population's, the majority of whom don't enjoy regular electricity or drinkable running water. it's out of scale, and it's why we need a serious reshuffling of the democratic system in our country because we are responsible for a great weight of global influence. it's hard to justify luxury good like jacuzzis, hd wall tvs, $50,000+ cars, $250,000+ homes, etc. when people in Burma, Cambodia, Cuba, Guatemala, Congo, Palestine and other places are suffering brutal government oppression (in some of those places as a direct result of US foreign policy), crippling poverty, and starvation. just because one is rich doesn't make them bad, but it's about as likely that they understand or prioritize the lower classes' well-being as it is for riot police to employ sympathy or discretion for violent agitators.

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Kit-Darling In reply to TheAstro [2008-11-01 23:18:45 +0000 UTC]

...Yes. It's a workout for me to get to my garage since it is two wings from my bedroom--I don't like you.

All of my cousins are overseas and my sisters and I hold a LOT of fundraisers. I shouldn't have to justify myself, so I'm not going to.

The point is, you could NEVER be a politian because your idea is sanctions and scantions will lead to more war. Isn't one enough?

I'm hungry. I guess I'll ask my CHEF to go make me something. And THEN, I'll go ask my NANNY to to put some bubble soap in my JACUZZI because I like it SUDSY.

...hmmph. You have a very skewed vision of wealth.

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TheAstro In reply to Kit-Darling [2008-11-02 22:16:40 +0000 UTC]

i guess my problem is i've been exposed to too many wealthy people and not enough of my sample has managed their wealth with global or social consciousness.
i did say i wasn't describing your exact situation, perhaps you are yet below the economic level which is most egregious... the fact is that the upper 10% of US income-earners has grown richer and more comfortable over the past 35 years, and the top 1% have grown exceedingly richer... this is at the direct expense of the lower and middle classes, whose standard of living has dropped consistently since the 1950's. do you think that resources should be concentrating at the top in this way?

it's good you hold fundraisers, what for?

how would the US putting sanctions on israel or turkey create more war?

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Kit-Darling In reply to TheAstro [2008-11-04 21:00:08 +0000 UTC]

Well, tonight is the election, so you have to pick one.

Think of it this way:
Obama wins.
Obama lays his hand on the Bible,
Racist radicals will shoot him dead.
Vice president takes place,
puts hand on the Bible,
gets shot.
McCain scampers up to take Obama's place
Has a heartattack.
Radicals shoot at Palin.
Palin hides behind her baby with down syndrome.

...Not that I think McCain will drop dead myself. In fact, I respect the guy. He was sent to war and captured...then beaten. I respect him. A true soldier.

P.S. I'm very scared because my cow of a neighbor is trying to get in my house. She's pounding on my backdoor. I don't even know how she got into my backyard!

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TheAstro In reply to Kit-Darling [2008-11-05 12:41:57 +0000 UTC]

haha, hope you survived your neighbor...

as for the 'stuff', mccain was tortured but gave up information to the NVA, doesn't make him bad but certainly removes any hero status... all those death scenarios make me feel warm and fuzzy but it's not quite the order of succession we have in place and none of those 4 bring me comfort as heads of state.

the idea we 'have to pick one [of two undesirables]' sort of laughs at the concept of freedom and democracy, eh?

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TheAstro In reply to Zinka [2008-10-30 05:01:48 +0000 UTC]

it would be hard for the government to get worse than it's been the last 8 years, but never underestimate the dem's knack for inefficacy.
kennedy was onto something with that "ask not..." babble... it might be time to do something for the country, along the lines of laundry, i'm thinkin...
thanks for the comment

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