I’m not over simplifying at all. Republicans are free-loading whiners just as much as Democrats are-- they just whine about different things. I hate my tax-dollars going to wars and faith-based initiatives and you hate your tax-dollars going to welfare and public education.
But, if the government shouldn’t be responsible for my financial situation, wouldn’t it make sense for me to base my vote on social issues? I mean, according to you, I’m only voting for Obama so he and the government can coddle me and give me hand-outs… but when I say I actually base my vote on things like abortion and gay-marriage, I’m pretentious?
I think it would be much more pretentious to base my vote entirely on lowering my own tax-burden.
You know the only reason, the only reason I get a little pissy about the idea of paying taxes? I don’t trust the elected officials to appropriate the funds in a reasonable and constructive manner. They have lost my trust ever since Bush, and it’s been no better under Obama, IMO. You want my taxes to run social programs? Fine, if they’re run properly and efficiently. You want my taxes to buy bombs? Fine, if you’ll buy a reasonable amount of them so as to keep us safe, rather than a stockpile the size of Australia. But you know where I’d rather that money go? Public works and infrastructure, because that shit is falling apart, and plus we could put some money in people’s pockets, and they’ll spend it, which is good for everyone.
Nothing at all wrong with paying taxes, and that’s why we have interstate highways and the Blue Ridge Parkway and Red Rocks Amphitheater. I just want to know that the people running the show will run it right. We are inundated with incompetent politicians, and that’s not what we need. This country was founded by statesmen, not politicians.
You mean like increasing our troops in Afghanistan from 34,000 to approx. 100,000, or proposing a defense
budget in January, 2012, that would INCREASE military spending by $36 billion over the next five years,
even after assumed reductions in expenditures for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars like Obama did? Are you sure you should be voting for Obama and not Gary Johnson who wants to end all foreign engagements.
That’s because no one saw that or knew it existed. And it wasn’t free to watch over the internet.
Yeah, sounds about right. Lots of folks use religion to manipulate others.
Totally agree. I wish we’d just pull all our guys out of there and let hell take over. That’s why I think they’re there just so government can claim we’re “at war” and it’s an excuse to spend money and to be patriotic and “honor the soldiers” to make themselves look good.
Goldfish, totally agree with you on Infowars and sites like that. They claim to rip on corrupt folks but use horrible sources and doctored videos to make their points. They could tell the truth and find MORE than enough bad stuff to rip on government about but they have to feed this strange conspiracy fix that everyone has. I just don’t trust anything they put out even if it’s honest just like I don’t trust anything from the Dems and Reps.
Also, getting rid of Bernanke doesn’t matter. With Greenspan gone, Congress is going to forever put a lackey in the Federal Reserve. Get rid of Bernanke and you’ll just get another political tool.
Kinda agree with the dooj…we could be taxed FAR more than we are and it doesn’t happen. We’re not even paying close to the amount to run what government is doing now and we’re definitely not taxed enough to run social security for even one year (and no one wants to cut THAT). We could have it MUCH worse. Look at what basically every other modern country is taxed…it’s a joke.
Agree there but it won’t happen.
And actually by far the best way is cut social security. It’s easily the most expensive thing this government does. These wars and such are pennies compared to that yearly cost. But they’ll never do it because old people vote.
And yeah, the “let the states decide” on gay marriage is SUCH a cop-out.
I don’t. I was just using Republican terms. That clip from the newsroom is dead on. Only thing I don’t like about that clip is that it’s edited. The full scene is even better.
Which is why I have donated to his campaign and worked to get him into the debates and make people aware of him. If GJ is polling over 25% come November, I will certainly vote for him.
^He will not get in because the Commission on Presidential Debates is headed by Frank Fahrenkopf, a former head of the Republican National Committee, and former Massachusetts Senator Paul Kirk, a former head of the Democratic National Committee. Under the leadership of these two former heads of party, the CPD established a rule that for a party to be included in the national debates it must garner at least 15% support across five national polls. Do you see what I am getting at?
To clarify it seemed pretentious to say one has no interest in the economic side of politics because they are personally financially comfortable… it was just my thought, I’m not calling you a pretentious person. Hell i can be just as pretentious as the next guy… and its certainly not my place to dictate someone’s reason for voting. By my logic it would be just as pretentious to vote solely on the economy if one is married and has no interest in gay marriage… so yeah I take it back. I need to reel myself in when it comes to political talk.
^Ha, it’s all good, bro. I wouldn’t participate if I didn’t enjoy it and you seem like a good enough dude regardless of your reckless political ways. I don’t take it personally at all.
I find it just silly to consider the economy when considering the president since the president has virtually nothing to do with the economy. Never has. Never will.
something just came up on my stumbleupon entitled Dalai Lama’s 18 Rules For Living…I read them all, obviously assuming they came from the Dalai, and then at the bottom it said in italicized writing- [i]
This was most likely not written by the Dalai Lama but they are great 18 rules to live by.[/i]
^ I hear ya. But would you have read it if it was called, “18 Rules for Living that could Have Been Written by the Dalai Lama”? That’s probably not as attention grabbing.
Probably more like suggestions than rules… like wear your seat belt, brush twice a day, eat your veggies and fresh fruit, don’t try to fight a great white shark… wait, lets see here… After reading some of these I doubt the Dalai Lama said this verbatim , I’ve never heard him talk of the “Universe” as something that helps or hinders or “Laws of Attraction”… new agey stuff, someone probably gleaned some of the ideas from his books or something… considering this comes from “higherexistence.com”.
Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk. Risk is involved in every great opportunity in life. It it isn’t risky, then everyone would be doing, thus making it ordinary and not “great.” Separate yourself from the crowd as one who not only can take risks, but enjoys doing so. Certainty in life can only be so comforting until it gets boring.
When you lose, don’t lose the lesson. If you lose what you have learned not to do, you will be doomed to repeat it. More importantly, however, do fear failure. Failure is the precursor to success. Hardly any great thing that you wish to accomplish will come without failure. This ties back to the rule of risk mentioned above.
Follow the three Rs:
Respect for self – Confidence is key in success and one who does you respect himself does not believe in himself. Thus, if you do not respect yourself, you cannot possibly succeed in anything great, nor can you respect others.
Respect for others – And you will be respected in return. Anyone who does not return that respect is immediately letting you know that they are not worth your time, and that they do not respect themselves. Avoid weak/insecure/self-loathing people.
Responsibility for all your actions – You alone are responsible for your feelings, actions, success, etc. You are in complete control of your life, so do not try and blame other people for your mistakes or misfortunes.
Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck. Not everything that you desire will be necessarily good for you in the long run. If something just seems to not work out continually, in such a way that it seems almost like fate intervened, consider letting it go or coming back to it at another time. The Universe works in mysterious ways and should be trusted. Just be sure you are not mistaking your own failure as the Universe telling you something.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. Rules are meant to be broken. Most of them are put in place by archaic, corrupt institutions that seek only to enslave and maintain their own power. When it comes to breaking them, be sure to do it properly to avoid punishment. But above all things, make sure you DO in fact break rules. If authority was never questioned, we could be a stagnant civilization.
Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship. Obviously friendship is more important that one small fight, but very few people actually put this rule into practice. They also need to be able to follow rule #7 in order to truly follow #6.
When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it. And do not let your pride get in the way of taking those steps. Apologize, taking full responsibility. That will speak for your character more strongly than the action of making the mistake in the first place.
Spend some time alone every day. No matter what you do, take at least 30 minutes out of your day to spend alone in a quiet place. This will give you at least a half-hour to examine what is going on in your life, to examine yourself and to figure out what you want. Whether it be through prayer, meditation, yoga or golf, this ritual is a must. The Law of Attraction is the best way to spend this time.
Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values. This world is constantly changing. If you are not open to change, then you are going to live a very miserable life. You, yourself, are going to change as well, but that does not mean that your values have to change as well. Welcome new places, new faces and new loves, but never change those core parts of you unless you have strong reasons to believe you were wrong to believe them in the first place.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer. Silence leads to relaxed contemplation during which emotions have less influence and logic can take over. For example, in an argument with a friend, remaining silent instead of retaliating with something anger-driven is more efficient in ending the argument faster and with less hurt for both parties. Or consider Gandhi, who took down the British Empire through silent, pacifistic behavior. Silence is a powerful tool that few choose to use over irrational action. Consider it next time you find yourself in a difficult situation.
Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time. You are going to have to live with your actions for the rest of your life, so save yourself the regret and anguish and live with honor now. Good things also come to good people. You will never be punished for acting with integrity, only rewarded.
A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life. This is the rule that you have the least amount of control over. Your family dynamic will ultimately determine your home atmosphere, but you can definitely help it along by showing your family that you love them. As in rule #3, if you respect (love) your family, they will provide you with respect and love in return. This rule comes to play again when starting a family. Inject love into your home. Make the walls glisten with endearment. That will set a solid foundation for the lives of your children.
In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past. The past is constant, unchanging. Bringing it up can only bring more pain to the current situation. This is a problem especially with loved ones because relationships with them go so far back into the past and are so fueled by emotion. Forgive any past actions and focus on the present.
Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality. One learns so much just from living a lifetime. Share that knowledge with the people you come across, it can only help them in their journeys. Even more important, share your failures so that others will not repeat them.
Be gentle with the earth.The earth is where we live. So this should be obvious. Hurting the earth is hurting yourself and the futures of your children and loved ones.
Once a year As often as possible, go someplace you’ve never been before. Experience new places and new things. You might find yourself with someone or somewhere that makes you much happier than your previous circumstance. The Earth is so vast with unique and beautiful places, why wouldn’t you want to go explore them?
Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other. The opposite is a sign that the relationship should end. If you need someone more than you love them, it is a sign of dependency, not affection. Find someone where love is the dominant force and you will find yourself in a much more fulfilling relationship.
Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. Success is not truly success if you had to compromise yourself or your loved ones in order to achieve it. Decide what you want. Design your ideal life and go for it. Do not let any part of that dream slip away in order to get the rest of you will live in regret.
I mean, according to you, I’m only voting for Obama so he and the government can coddle me and give me hand-outs… but when I say I actually base my vote on things like abortion and gay-marriage, I’m pretentious?
That clip from the newsroom is dead on. Only thing I don’t like about that clip is that it’s edited. The full scene is even better.
I don’t take it personally at all.