Let's Learn From Our Mistakes Going In
sam says:
"I think that Obama or Clinton will listen to experts much better than Giuliani will. That is why I support them for President in 2008."
It's fun to bash Bush after the fact but we knew going into Iraq exactly what we know now. Clinton voted for the war in Iraq. What makes you think she'll listen this time and won't invade Iran?
The Automotive Industry and Fuel Efficiency Regulation
Yes, currently GM and Ford are finally starting to produce efficient vehicles to catch up. This would have happened much faster if they weren't being subsidized by the federal government. While I think climate change ought to be a national security issue (according to the Pentagon it is), I don't believe more government regulations/subsidies will help.
Bush's plan for clean energy based on the use of Ethanol derived from corn is nothing more than another big subsidy for industrial farms. The plan is ridiculous because all of the tons of fertilizer and pesticide illogically dumped on industrial farm fields are made out of oil. If we want to reduce dependence on foreign oil instead of increasing it, Bush's 'Energy Independence' is definitely not the answer.
Sorry if this isn't a bug, but when starting a new forum topic I have deleted my Pulitzer Prize winning posts several times by accidentally clicking the red, 'Start Topic' button that sits right above the posts. It would be great if that button would disappear, change or simply not delete my text when I push it. I think the confusion comes because when you reply to posts like I am doing now there is a 'Submit your Reply' button at both the top and the bottom of the window, but like I said, it's different for new posts.
Anything is better than an election where the options are Bush or his cousin, Anyone but Bush. I agree with freelancetech, the real issue seems to be the money. Once money isn't the issue, corporate profit will not be the only minority represented by our government and we won't have Democrats like Hillary voting like a Republican to please her masters.
Dito Andy and Dave. Was anybody awake for the last election? The best options presented were Bush or his cousin, Anyone But Bush. Come on. The talking heads would still be lulling us to sleep if it weren't for Ron Paul beating the drum of truth. As far as Obama and Hillary, it's a similar circumstance, they are not campaigning for the hearts and minds of the people, but for the bank accounts of the military industrial complex.
I don't know how I feel about Immigration law but one thing is for sure, I live on the I-35 corridor which is the primary North-South route through Texas and Hispanic people are responding to the recent state laws i.e. the writing on the wall. I commute on I-35 and I began noticing that cars filled with stuff, always driven by Hispanic people, are heading south in incredible numbers. I didn't understand what was happening (maybe a good job market in San Antonio?) until I heard an NPR story about how illegal immigrants across the nation are feeling the pressure of our states tightening their laws and are packing up and leaving rather than being deported.
I just want to comment about all of the accusations flying around about how Ron Paul's supporters are just a bunch of internet junkies. I build my own computers but I have never spent more than two hours a week online. I never found anything online that held my interest long enough for me to spend very much time on it. I've followed Ron Paul since he voted no on the Patriot Act and when I heard his campaign was building steam online I immediately became hooked. In other words, I'm not an internet junkie who became a Ron Paul supporter, I'm a Ron Paul supporter who just became an internet junkie.
Oops! That was really stupid. I somehow confused oustsourcing with privatization. I'll blame it on my sinus headache medicine and edit my original post so that it actually applies to outsourcing. I agree with everything you said and what I said doesn't even belong in this topic so I am going to change it completely...sorry for the weirdness.
The is no need to fear "frankenfoods"
This is ridiculous. Health issues aside, there exist a multitude of problems with GE foods: Niels says:
"Without reliance on technologies such as these, it is possible that we may face a severe famine ..."
Your science is backwards. Crop varieties protect us from large-scale famines such as the infamous Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s in which most of the population of Ireland died because they relied on one variety of potato. Yet biotech companies ignore science in the name of profit and only grow the most profitable varieties. This has resulted in a massive loss of biodiversity around the world. Historically more than 7000 varieties of crops have been grown worldwide yet currently only 15 plants & 8 animal species equal 90% of all food eaten around the world. While I agree that technology can help farming, corporate farms do not bother to understand soil science. This has lead to a breakdown in the nitrogen cycle and other cycles essential for the longterm health of the soil.
Niels says:
"GE foods are superior to the natural alternatives, if they were not then they would not be profitable to make or use."
This is completely wrong. The #1 source of profitability for multinational biotech firms is US government subsidies. Farming will never be profitable in and of itself. Furthermore your assertion that "GE foods are superior to the natural alternatives…” is not based on any evidence. The fact is, the primary GE varieties have only been modified to accept toxic pesticides and toxic chemical fertilizers, not to be ‘superior’ in any other way. These fertilizers and pesticides are one of the primary sources of freshwater pollution and are unsustainable because they poison the soil, eventually lowering the crop yield and they are made out of petroleum, an irreplaceable ingredient, which is getting more and more expensive and is no longer a cheap ingredient.
Should we bring back a different kind of draft?
joshmcintosh says:
"The military is against forced service and prefers a professional force."
To call the current state of the military 'professional' is laughable. The military has never been in a worse state of disrepair. How can Army Reserve grandmas and National Guard troops serving in combat roles possibly be professional? Outsourcing key positions such as prisoner interrogation to CACI Int. who hires totally inexperienced, unprofessional interrogators who use old Soviet style torture tactics which have been proven ineffective and many other such crimes has destroyed our credibility around the world and has added to the bankruptcy of our federal government. It's time to privatize for real and dissolve the federal government and the military. Let the states decide how we can best serve our nation. Only then will politicians be accountable to their constituents and the constitution.
Jimmy Farter says:
"What happened to the days when people could settle things with words or fists?"
Don't you mean, "What happened to the days when people settled things with dueling pistols?"
In my opinion, the federal government needs to stay out of the business of the states which includes the regulation of militias and gun control. Iraq is where the federally regulated militia has taken us. It's time to institute some 'gun control' on the Executive Branch.
It's about time for a Kucinich/Paul 'debate'!
I agree with smackywentz, you have to realize that as a constitutionalist Ron Paul believes that all federal regulations are bunk and states should handle issues such as abortion and gay rights. A large federal government is unsustainable because it cannot possibly judge what is good for everyone in a large culturally diverse country such as ours.
As her final act in congress after 20 years of service, Cynthia McKinney introduced articles of impeachment against President Bush, the Vice President, and Secretary of State Rice claiming, "We have a President who has misgoverned and a Congress that has refused to hold him accountable. It is a grave situation and I believe the stakes for our country are high. No American is above the law, and if we allow a President to violate, at the most basic and fundamental level, the trust of the people and then continue to govern, without a process for holding him accountable, what does that say about our commitment to the truth? To the Constitution? To our democracy?" The GNN documentary "American Blackout" provides a chilling look at Cynthia McKinney's last few years in office.
Yes, however as Rep. Ron Paul said, "We need to understand that the more government spends, the more freedom is lost..." Incentive programs for private investment, such as the The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program created by NASA, while costly at first (more government spending), are the first baby steps to a whole new world of space exploration options.
