<p>We have a whacked board of sup-but you gotta love them, that I can tell you, I know their hearts are in the right place and pretty much represent the city- so I can see this :)</p>
<p>On another note</p>
<p>Associated Press<strong>|</strong> KATHERINE SHRADER<strong>|</strong> February 28, 2006 at 10:28 PM </p>
<p>READ MORE: Iraq </p>
<p>A civil war in Iraq could lead to a broader conflict in the Middle East, pitting the region’s rival Islamic sects against each another, National Intelligence Director John Negroponte said in an unusually frank assessment Tuesday.</p>
<p>“If chaos were to descend upon Iraq or the forces of democracy were to be defeated in that country … this would have implications for the rest of the Middle East region and, indeed, the world,” Negroponte said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on global threats"</p>
<p>and now, it has been shown that no one bothered to see if dubai had connections to al queda…so when Bush said it was looked into, once again…not true</p>
<p>Mr. B, I think it was a combination of things: Kerry was an ineffective campaigner, Bush’s attacks worked, and a fair number of people that were suckered in back then have now finally figured it out.</p>
<p>TheDad and Mr. B.
My take on it was that a lot of people voted for Bush with their wallet. They wanted his tax breaks…not fully understanding how they were selling their kids futures with their vote…the next 2-3 generations will be paying the bills…while their parents got $600 tax breaks. </p>
<p>George and Dick are managing America for CEO’s…not for employees. The idea of tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals and the most nimble companies (who had access to the best stable of accountants who have pirated off pensions, exponentially grew the degree of difficulty over prescription coverage for seniors, and eliminated retiree health care etc) were very compelling. There are many middle class Americans who do not want to “carry” other families…not just welfare families but anyone else. They wanted everyone to work as hard as they do…and they thought George and Dick would ensure there wasn’t a Democratic glimmer left alive. Unfortunately the only folks who positions are truly improving are the ones who were already quite flush…Dick hasn’t spent any time with “real” Americans in years…he is always with a Veterans Group or a Republican group, a very narrow and controlled audience. Preaching his view over and over to the choir. His disdane for the Average American who shops at Wal-Mart or K-Mart or BJ’s or Costco is so visible it is stunning to me that more isn’t made out of his disregard for Americans. But, again, this is a guy who shot his dear friend/acquaintance IN THE FACE! LOL!!</p>
<p>I just think those middle Americans voted for Bush not because they are anti-gay, or anti-abortion or hated Kerry…I think they wanted to stop the bleeding out of their wallets. A much more egocentric voter pulled the lever in the voting booth. IMHO…</p>
<p>OK, the video tape of the briefing to Bush before Hurricane Katrina has put me over the edge … I wish incompetence (and bending the truth?) was an impeachable offense.</p>
<p>I’m 47 and would like to have had at some point in my voting life before I die a President I agree with, like, and respect … I’m shut out since 1980 and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to make it!</p>
<p>Before anyone attacks me for being some jingoistic GOP supporter, I’m not. Let’s just say that I didn’t vote for Bush and leave it at that.</p>
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<p>Per capita disposable income is the single most predictive factor in incumbents winning elections. Bush didn’t win because of his proposals, he won because per capita income increased the year prior to the election.</p>
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<p>By accident. I mean, give Cheney a break. Although he wasn’t nearly careful enough, Whittington did willingly walk into a potential line of fire and NOT signal that he was in high brush.</p>
<p>UCLAri,
Thanks for the “Per capita disposable income is the single most predictive factor in incumbents winning elections. Bush didn’t win because of his proposals, he won because per capita income increased the year prior to the election.” I was not a PoliSci major…I only became really interested in this stuff about 5 yrs ago when the John Adams book awoke my interest in history and government and politics. I work for a company that is international…and big… and I don’t like what I see going on. My peers are all making money and they are rabid about protecting their money…and I am stunned at their willingness to accept the long term debt that is growing exponentially every day because of our current administration. </p>
<p>As far as Cheney is concerned, I don’t disagree that the Cheney shooting was an accident… however, I wish our VP spent as much time planning and implementing Katrina recovery as he does in planning and taking his hunting and fishing trips. This VP is not doing anything for America. He is all about oil and Halliburton, nothing ever comes out about him doing anything about other pervasive issues that MOST Americans deal with every day. </p>
<p>Perhaps the shooting incident is a perfect snapshot of how narrow Dick’s focus really is…all his energy was on the quail…so much so that he couldn’t see his friend less than 30 ft in FRONT of him. That same narrow focus has him unable to empathize with Katrina victims, or unable to visit injured soldiers returning from Iraq…or unable to attend a single funeral… </p>
<p>There is an interesting editorial in the NYT today that talks about how to get the best education, regardless of the school one goes to…(bringing the discussion back to CC interests) David Brooks quotes British educator Richard Livingstone “One is apt to think of moral failure as due to weakness of character: more often it is due to an inadequate ideal.” </p>
<p>The vacumn of true leadership is killing modern civilization… both Republican and Democratic “leaders” are frauds…church leaders are hiding massive problems (sexual abuse, embezzlement etc), education leaders are short sighted (Harvard and Russia, selling body parts from UCLA) … corporate scandals (Enron, NYS Exchange, Tyco) … </p>
<p>The best thing I saw yesterday were 8 letters published to the Portland Press Herald’s editors criticizing the only photo the day after the women’s Olympic figure skating finals, Sasha Cohen on her tush on the front page in living color. Every single letter said the paper deserved shame for featuring a fall … it was wonderful to see such unanimity of disgust and to see that individuals took the time to communicate it so eloquently. Maybe the American tipping point is about to be reached??</p>
<p>To be fair to Cheney, the VP really only has two official duties according to the Constitution: To be a Presidential spare tire and be a tiebreaker in the Senate. Other than that, he has not officially demanded duties.</p>
<p>However, in the past few decades, VPs have seemingly grown more “important” as goodwill makers for the Exec. branch. That still doesn’t mean that Cheney is really obligated to “do anything” as far as the office is concerned. </p>
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<p>I’m going to assume that you’ve never been in the kinds of places quail live. Think about grass as tall as you. Now, imagine you can maybe see 3 feet in front of you, if that. How was he supposed to see 30 feet?</p>
<p>Oh, cute little plug there about UCLA, by the way. </p>
<p>You think that this is NEW? Sexual scandals are NEW? C’mon. There have been sex scandals since the freakin’ medieval feudal governments. Nothing new here folks.</p>
<p>And how are the educational leaders at UCLA to blame for a middle manager at UCLA’s willed body programs? How in the world was it Albert Carnesale’s fault that some obscure little paper pusher decided to make an extra buck?</p>
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<p>Why do the papers deserve disgust for reporting what’s true? Cohen fell.</p>
<p>UCLAri,
I know these scandals are not NEW… perhaps the only thing that is new is our access to this knowledge is never ending?? I just cited a few items off the top of my head… we have to take action individually to make a difference…to stop paper pushers at low levels from doing wrong… we have to fight all the tiny little insipid things that are dumbing us down…</p>
<p>Sasha Cohen may have fallen, but she also soared…and she responded beautifully from her own disappointment by forging on and winning a silver. They could have chosen to print the photo of her smile at the end… a silver medal smile as opposed to her golden smile from the short program the night before…the contrast in “wattage” of the smiles alone would have been a telling image… instead, the paper chose to lead with the fall and pander to everyone’s baser instincts. </p>
<p>That’s my final post in this thread… I just am not trusting many leaders these days…in ANY field… civilization deserves better than what exists today. Best wishes for a good day…</p>
<p>So then don’t talk like “OMG! The sky and civilization as we know it are falling!” It’s just silly.</p>
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<p>Blah blah blah, let’s all be nice and hug and sing Kumbayah. She screwed up. This is what happens when you get set up as the next best thing since the Internet- your successes AND failures get broadcast. I don’t feel bad for her, she got a silver medal. </p>
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<p>Gah, why do so many people do this? “I’m going to leave the thread once someone actually questions me.”</p>