State Of The Union Address....awesome!!!

[RICHYD4U]

State of the Union was excellent.

Nancy Pelosi's response pretty well demonstrates the democratic party's mindset. What a joke. Governor whatshername from Kansas did an okay spin, but it was weak and disingenuous sounding to me.

Romney did a good job and I thought McCain did pretty well also. Starting to see some fireworks between those two.

I think Hillary's handlers have toned her down some trying to make her more likeable. Sure would hate to have that job! I can hear them now... "Now remember to smile okay?...what? Yes I know it's painful, but you've gotta do it...And for God's sake don't attack anyone okay? What?...Yes he is a butthead, but you can't just tell him that, it makes you look like a bi-- ahhh...er I mean not very nice ...Now let's get you into makeup, that's gonna take a while."

I found Hillary's remarks tempered as she grimaced an attempted smile. Then she stood Anderson Cooper up with no explanation. Can't blame her I guess. He's pretty Jerry Springer-esque playing sound bites of an opposing candidate's attack to a guest, getting his/her response, then playing that back to the other guy while he's on. Back and forth we go. BTW, my wife loves Anderson Cooper, and since he's openly gay I'm okay with that.

Kennedy will be more of a liability than an asset before it's all over. He's simply too big ( pun intended) a target for conservative or even moderate critics. That said, it's starting to look like Obama's got a real chance against Hillary. Dude's articulate, handsome, has a nice open genuine looking smile, and affable manner. That'll get him most of the votes among those shallow enough to vote the democratic ticket. Remember how far the sultan of slick's charisma took him.

Very scary stuff.

GREAT STUFF!!! THAT THING ABOUT HILARY WAS HILARIOUS.....BUT TRUE!!!
IS ANYONE ELSE A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT OBAMA'S MUSLIM BACKGROUND?

[DJD]

I am concerned but at the same time it bothers me that people are voting for him due to his race. I know that happens all the time but man this is bad. Look what choices they have Hillary and Obama and now Kennedy gets in the mix by endorsing Obama...talk about being judged by who your associated with!
It's sad that these two are the best out there for the Dems.
Unversal Healthcare???? What Healthcare plan do these politicians have? How will this affect them? I wish someone would ask questions to these guys like that or how much did you pay in taxes last year? How is their retirement plan looking? I'm a die hard conservative but that goes for both parties.

[apb]

...IS ANYONE ELSE A LITTLE CONCERNED ABOUT OBAMA'S MUSLIM BACKGROUND?

No. Mainly cause its just an internet rumor. Even Obama's opponents have admitted that the Muslim claim is a lie.

You guys are proud of what this horse's arse of a president has done to the USA? Umm, how about take a budget surplus and turn it into the largest budget deficit ever (not very conservative now is it?); just post 9/11 we had the vast majority of the world on our side, now more people than ever hate us; mounted an illegal war in Iraq based on faulty and somewhat biased data; rather than insuring that we fixed Afganistan (where our real enemy was), he spent manpower and resources on his illegal war; further polarized the country; no child left behind (is they learning yet??); and plenty more.

Republican/Democrate/Other, really does not matter. I'm an American. I'll vote for whoever I think will take this country in the right direction. The sooner the people recognize the simple fact that, first and foremost, we are Americans, and put aside their petty differences the better off this country will be. Core beliefs of all the major parties are the same, we just have minor difference on how to achieve some of those goals.

My 2 cents.....

Andrew

[mhall]

No. Mainly cause its just an internet rumor. Even Obama's opponents have admitted that the Muslim claim is a lie.

You guys are proud of what this horse's arse of a president has done to the USA? Umm, how about take a budget surplus and turn it into the largest budget deficit ever (not very conservative now is it?); just post 9/11 we had the vast majority of the world on our side, now more people than ever hate us; mounted an illegal war in Iraq based on faulty and somewhat biased data; rather than insuring that we fixed Afganistan (where our real enemy was), he spent manpower and resources on his illegal war; further polarized the country; no child left behind (is they learning yet??); and plenty more.

Republican/Democrate/Other, really does not matter. I'm an American. I'll vote for whoever I think will take this country in the right direction. The sooner the people recognize the simple fact that, first and foremost, we are Americans, and put aside their petty differences the better off this country will be. Core beliefs of all the major parties are the same, we just have minor difference on how to achieve some of those goals.

My 2 cents.....

Andrew

Andrew you make good points and I agree with you on most counts. I DO NOT believe everything I hear or read on the internet. All that being said, the man's biological father and his step father were both muslims that is documented fact. Am I too beleive that none of that rubbed off on this guy?? I have no issues with another man's religion, that is a slippery slope for sure. However, it certainly seems that the Muslim religion if you can call it one, HATES the western world and all it stands for. Muslims killed thousands of our innocent American people and would love to kill more if they could. For that reason alone I would not want one in the White House. Is he not a Muslim, I don't know what's in his heart and neither do you, but I'm not willing to take a chance with it. Call me a po-dunk backwoods hillbilly but I don't want anybody named Barrac HUSEEIN Obama in the drivers seat, SORRY. I admit Bush has been a failure on many counts and so has almost all past presidents in some fashion or another. I do feel though our economic issues were directly affected by 9/11 very much. As bad as I hate to admit those murdering ******** somewhat accomplished what they set out to do. This country has been on the slide since then. Is that Bush's fault, or is that just the hand he was dealt. No president before him had ever had to deal with that kind of attact. I'll stop now and accept and ponder your intelligent comments, but everyone looks at things a little different. Oh and when we go fishing this spring and hit the creeks in the summer we won't even whisper of this, LOL. Take care, Mark.

[DJD]

Andrew,
I'm not smart enough to know how and when President Bush spent money where he shouldn't have but I do know that Congress approved alot of that so it wasn't just him. The once in a lifetime (hopefully) problems we have dealt with during his terms have contributed to this. Look at 911, Afganistan, Irag and Hurricane Katrina how much did that cost? Who could have ever wanted this as a task to deal with? Oil costs? Senator Clinton promised that once the Dems had control they would lower the cost of gas??? Well where is that happening? Her party always comments Bush has the oil companies in his back pocket and he is getting rich from our struggles, I don't believe it and by the cost of gas staying or going higher is proof in my eyes that she was full of ****. As far as going to war that was approved by Rep. and Dem. of course several are stating they never approved the war but hey, their politicians what do you expect.
As far as the war goes it pisses me off to the core of my body when a politician whines and gripes about the war and our efforts over there. The Liberal media has twisted the facts on a consistant basis just to win the public opinion of the Rep. party making a mistake. It was not the Rep alone (people seem to forget that) Several of my friends have returned from there (no combat) and they seem to have been at a different country because it's not the way it has been portrayed in the media. Naturally death and conflict is a part of war. A war with no casualities would be great but that's not how it works.
Public education is a joke! Years of not allowing discipline in the schools along with many other factors have cut the power of the educators off at the knees. Alot of parents send their kids to school not to learn but to have a baby sitter. I believe Bush was trying to help not harm the schools why would he do that? Kids these days go to school looking like thugs, wanna be rap stars and have a general lack of respect for their elders. Again why blame President Bush for many many years of neglect by parents and administrators? Money is not the answer it's a change of being responsible for your actions and if schools can't cut the grade then find a leader who can institute changes to accomplish that goal. Teachers should be educating and parents should be raising their kids. Hey brother I'll have to agree to disagree..

[apb]

Mark,

Religion = belief in the super natural. Islam is definitely a religion. In fact, it had some of the same beginnings as Christianity. I think you’ll find some skeletons in almost all religions closets (e.g., Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, treatment of Native Americans in early US history for some examples of Christianity gone bad). The problem is not religion, per say, but fundamentalists (i.e., those who take religious teachings to the extreme). I think you’ll find that the majority of Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc. are peaceful and do want to get along. Fundamentalists, on the other hand, only see things in black and white. You are of our religion, or you are against us. That’s where our problem is with Muslim fundamentalists right now, those fringes of that religion that insist that everyone must worship the same way or perish. You’ll find similar thoughts in numerous places in the Old Testament (whole lotta smiting going on!).

Did some of Obama’s father’s religious views rub off on him? Like you state, neither of use know for sure. He considers himself a Christian, so those ideas may be didn’t sink in to deeply. In any case, I do not recall seeing anything about his father or step-father being a radical. That would definitely be more of a concern. For what it’s worth, I can tell you that my own religious views are quite different than that of my father’s.

As far as who I would vote for, I’m undecided at this point. Billary is definitely not a possibility. Repubs, McCain would probably get the nod. At this point, no one really stands out as head and shoulders above the rest.

I agree, Bush got dealt a pretty difficult hand. After 9/11, I thought he did pretty well. When we went into Afghanistan, I was 100% behind him. Unfortunately, shortly there after he started using all this to forward his own agenda. Yes, congress is to blame too as they gave him a blank check for all of it. We need to fire a bunch of them.

I agree, when we fish, we won’t mention any of this. Hot babe’s and cold beer will have to be our topics of conversation. I believe we can both agree on those! If we have need for an argument, we can discuss whether brown fish or striped fish are the better species!


DJD,

I agree with a lot of what you said. Politicians on both sides are liars. Whether they approved it, or voted for it before they voted against it. Probably part of the problem was that we had a repub pres, and a repub congress at the same time. Dad always said, if the pres is repub, you want a dem congress; if the pres is dem, you want a repub congress; helps keep them in check and makes them work together. Makes sense to me.

“Public education is a joke! Years of not allowing discipline in the schools along with many other factors have cut the power of the educators off at the knees. Alot of parents send their kids to school not to learn but to have a baby sitter. I believe Bush was trying to help not harm the schools why would he do that? Kids these days go to school looking like thugs, wanna be rap stars and have a general lack of respect for their elders. Again why blame President Bush for many many years of neglect by parents and administrators? Money is not the answer it's a change of being responsible for your actions and if schools can't cut the grade then find a leader who can institute changes to accomplish that goal. Teachers should be educating and parents should be raising their kids. Hey brother I'll have to agree to disagree.”

Nope. Cannot agree to disagree cause on all of that I agree with you 100%.

Be sure to thank your friends who served on behalf all of us. I have a whole lot of respect for those that keep us safe. Not an easy job, but our men and women in uniform do an outstanding job.

Andrew

[mhall]

Mark,

Religion = belief in the super natural. Islam is definitely a religion. In fact, it had some of the same beginnings as Christianity. I think you’ll find some skeletons in almost all religions closets (e.g., Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, treatment of Native Americans in early US history for some examples of Christianity gone bad). The problem is not religion, per say, but fundamentalists (i.e., those who take religious teachings to the extreme). I think you’ll find that the majority of Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc. are peaceful and do want to get along. Fundamentalists, on the other hand, only see things in black and white. You are of our religion, or you are against us. That’s where our problem is with Muslim fundamentalists right now, those fringes of that religion that insist that everyone must worship the same way or perish. You’ll find similar thoughts in numerous places in the Old Testament (whole lotta smiting going on!).

Did some of Obama’s father’s religious views rub off on him? Like you state, neither of use know for sure. He considers himself a Christian, so those ideas may be didn’t sink in to deeply. In any case, I do not recall seeing anything about his father or step-father being a radical. That would definitely be more of a concern. For what it’s worth, I can tell you that my own religious views are quite different than that of my father’s.

As far as who I would vote for, I’m undecided at this point. Billary is definitely not a possibility. Repubs, McCain would probably get the nod. At this point, no one really stands out as head and shoulders above the rest.

I agree, Bush got dealt a pretty difficult hand. After 9/11, I thought he did pretty well. When we went into Afghanistan, I was 100% behind him. Unfortunately, shortly there after he started using all this to forward his own agenda. Yes, congress is to blame too as they gave him a blank check for all of it. We need to fire a bunch of them.

I agree, when we fish, we won’t mention any of this. Hot babe’s and cold beer will have to be our topics of conversation. I believe we can both agree on those! If we have need for an argument, we can discuss whether brown fish or striped fish are the better species!


DJD,

I agree with a lot of what you said. Politicians on both sides are liars. Whether they approved it, or voted for it before they voted against it. Probably part of the problem was that we had a repub pres, and a repub congress at the same time. Dad always said, if the pres is repub, you want a dem congress; if the pres is dem, you want a repub congress; helps keep them in check and makes them work together. Makes sense to me.

“Public education is a joke! Years of not allowing discipline in the schools along with many other factors have cut the power of the educators off at the knees. Alot of parents send their kids to school not to learn but to have a baby sitter. I believe Bush was trying to help not harm the schools why would he do that? Kids these days go to school looking like thugs, wanna be rap stars and have a general lack of respect for their elders. Again why blame President Bush for many many years of neglect by parents and administrators? Money is not the answer it's a change of being responsible for your actions and if schools can't cut the grade then find a leader who can institute changes to accomplish that goal. Teachers should be educating and parents should be raising their kids. Hey brother I'll have to agree to disagree.”

Nope. Cannot agree to disagree cause on all of that I agree with you 100%.

Be sure to thank your friends who served on behalf all of us. I have a whole lot of respect for those that keep us safe. Not an easy job, but our men and women in uniform do an outstanding job.

Andrew

Excellent ole buddy, heck I'd vote for you if you run. We'd have National fishing day, National Hot Babe Day, National Beer Day, Oh and you know brown fish are better than them ole linesides, TEE HEE, fish on, get the net. Amen times ten to our men and women in uniform, they have my unwavering support. I also liked Don's take on the discipline and school thing, so true, so true. Nice civil banter fellas, tightlines to ya.

[DJD]

That's some good stuff good luck to ya both!

[Devils Horse]

Not sure where to start except I disagree with calling the president of our country a horse's ass. Yes, to a large extent I'm proud of our president. Didn't hear many people calling him a horse's ass back when the war started, but you certainly hear that and a lot worse now. Funny how that is. I did tell my wife that we were getting into something there'd be no easy way out of, but like most everyone else I fully supported our efforts. Unlike many I still do.

It's not religious fundamentalists who're the problem, it's radical extremists. Plenty of religious fundamentalists all over the world that don't go around blowing people up like the Muslim radical extremists are doing.

The Muslim religion produces more modern day killers than all others combined many times over. That's fact. Is it fair to hang some kind of stigma on the Muslim religion? Well, 99 percent of terrorists in the last 40 years have been Muslims, you decide.

Granted more humans throughout history have died because of religion than anything else, but all other mainstream religions have gotten past that.

The extreme Muslim factions believe 40 virgins await in the afterlife for those who blow themselves and some infidels up. Since their religion prohibits them from much earthly enjoyment it seems a lot of them can't wait to get dead and take as many with them as possible. Awful hard to deal with folks that prefer death over life.

I wouldn't vote for Barack Obama not matter what. Mostly because I ain't buying the non substantive crap he's pedalling, but all the Muslim stuff hanging around him doesn't help either.

[apb]

It's not religious fundamentalists who're the problem, it's radical extremists. Plenty of religious fundamentalists all over the world that don't go around blowing people up like the Muslim radical extremists are doing.

Yeah, thats probably more valid than the way I put it.

Well, 99 percent of terrorists in the last 40 years have been Muslims, you decide. ....Granted more humans throughout history have died because of religion than anything else, but all other mainstream religions have gotten past that.

IRA wasn't Muslim. I'm sure if we checked around we would find a number of other groups that are labeled terrorist by many that are not Muslim.

... Awful hard to deal with folks that prefer death over life.

Agreed. Thats part of the trouble that we had with Japan in WWII.

I wouldn't vote for Barack Obama not matter what. Mostly because I ain't buying the non substantive crap he's pedalling, ....

Certainly a valid reason. Not sure I buy it all either.

Mark, you get a 20 pound+ striper crushing a topwater plug this spring and you might change your mind

Andrew