this president

[reallygroovN]

i mean, i dont want to whip a dead horse and be a complainer....

but what must it be like to have the majority of the world hate you? i dont remember protests like this when clinton or other presidents visited other countries. i mean, im sure there were, but i just dont remember this. every country this guy visits, he is greated by huge throngs of people protesting him, his beliefs and his presidency.

one would think it would make an impact. only 35% of americans agree with the job he is doing. my husband - he thinks that all those....people.... who voted for w. and now dont agree with him, get hammered the hardest. or at least more hammered then we are. and for those of you (dominic :P ) who want real ways that we have been impacted:
record numbers of union electricians out of work - less industrial construction - the erroding, by laws by this administration, of union protections, which mean the erroding of worker's rights and consumer rights- the erroding of environmental laws.

why is it that the only industry that is profitting lately is the oil industry? while we scrimp and save and worry about buying gas and paying heating bills, georges friends are making tons of money.

why do i have to tell my kids that they can't wear any of their american shirts/sweatshirts when we go to europe? why do i have to be afraid to be an american in a foreign country?

anywho, i hate this president and i hope our country makes some changes.

[Highway23]

What really sucks is this:

The amount of jobs that are being allowed to be fed to overseas production companys paying pennies instead of dollars. American factory workers are really being dealt some low blows.

Now, take for instance my future brother in law. He is the head of a department in the Wyeth Corp., whose main seller is Premarin (women's hormone) and other pharms. Their building in NY is being shut down within the next three years due to their building going up in...IRELAND??

Yeah, it's true. It's happening at an alarming rate and nothing is really being done about it.

What happens though is this: A cycle...a long and never ending cycle of...

first off, people out of work. Most factory workers (mainly laborers..doing the tough stuff) have nothing more than a high school deploma or GED. These workers chose the factory business for the reason that...it's a union job, their family has worked there, they don't need a larger education, and it pays well. Take a person from this factory and tell them that they are up shit creek without a paddle, let them go and see where they end up. Being poor and calling on welfare for assistance because right now...even a BA isn't going to get you a good enough paying job to support yourself, let alone a family.

Then, we're going to have more poor families. Where is the government going to get money to support these people? The last time I checked, most families who are already being helped by the government barely scrape by...and that's putting it gently. Think about single parents who have to work to put food on their table. Walmart doen't really cut it folks. The cost of living is going up, the cost of day care is insane...where are they going to go?

Schools are goign to be infected (affected) by this as well. It can be said that lower class, whites and black alike, students suffer greatly with grades. Guess what happens then? You get problems in your schools. Take a look at the outside and inner city schools surrounding Charlotte now, it isn't pretty.

Then, you expect teachers to come in and save the day with a "No Child Left Behind Act" that you so galliantly put into place thinking that it's giogn to change the world. Well...all I have seen come out of it is people more worried about test scores than children. The first step into getting something like this done however is paying teachers a little more. When teachers average (depending on the state) no more than $5,000 dollars above the state or national poverty line...I think you'd have to take a look at something. (I actually am not too far from getting "free or reduced lunch" according to state standards...)

Also, Independant contractors, who build houses, do repairs, plumbing, siding, roofing...who is going to be buying a house when the nation is in such shambles and no one can even afford a month of food let alone a damn mortgage payment?

Then you take doctors, lawyers, governments...these people aren't going to want to move their families to a city that is faced with such adversity that nothing is happening and the dust is covering the town. Take a look at Star Lake NY and Newton Falls...sometimes I think the dust will soon overpower the amount of snow that those towns get.

It's a dying America and it's on the pace to really looking like a boiling pot of shit. I wish ther were some direct answers...but it's just boiling over and looking like a big puddle of nothing....


there...end of rant for now...i have to teach some kids...

[Not_Trapped]

i guess, your impacts, the union ones, depend on the type of union you are in. if the union you are in isn't worth a damn to begin with, then you're not really feeling the effects. the erosion of environmental regulation/enforcement/retributory ability is the biggest concern i have. and, shit, most of what jake said. we're in a sad state...what are we going to do about it?

[yer ardy]

dont wear white sneakers either, cath.....
i read somewhere the easiest way to
scream "I'M FROM THE U.S." in a foreign country
is to wear white sneakers....

[Highway23]

get red white and blue ones and say yer from England....

no wait...

nix that one out too...how about...

White with a big red dot...JAPAN! Yeah!

[Not_Trapped]

how about clogs?

[Highway23]

freshly made

[Not_Trapped]

out of pewter.

[reallygroovN]

out of pewter.

i dont think they pewter clogs will make it past the shoe checkers :rolleyes:

and i am traveling over in my white sneakies but i will be wearing shoes in PARIS!!!!

:)

[Not_Trapped]

it's best to wear shoes in paris...barefoot just gets tiresome...

[Just_Jam_Please]

what are we going to do about it?
We're gonna vote in 2006 and take back Congress. That's what we can do. There is currently no separation in the arms of governement b/c the legislature does the ruling of the executive branch. Once Dems have control of the house and senate, then things will start changing. At this point, the Dems are pretty much neutered.

Cathy, once we went to Europe my mom said to me 'Don't speak English especially if the plane gets hijacked.' Now that's a way to make your 10-year-old feel safe!! That bilingual thing sure does come in handy:cheer:

[Not_Trapped]

we voted this time. do you have confidence in the system? the actual voting system? i do. now, if the dems will put up a candidate that i can really get behind. though i voted kerry/edwards, i voted that way to give them a number, not because they were my choice.

by the way, that's the response i hoped for, but with more fervor.

[Just_Jam_Please]

we voted this time.

I beg to differ on this point. I live in Ohio. I live in the capital of Ohio.......and by NO means did everyone get to vote. And when the Secretary of State tells everyone how he will help deliver the state of Ohio to Bush, I do not think that WE voted him into office.

Now if someone gets on here and says 'JJP they won. Get over it.' Answer me this, when the state of WA Senate (I believe it was Senate) race came down to a recount and the recount showed that the Dem did indeed win, all Republicans pitched a fit. They wanted to fight tooth and nail. I believe they claimed that Dems fixed the vote. Why would it be okay for them to make such accusations, but when Dems do it, they just can't get over it. I think that the elections in OH were fixed. These people are Orwellian evil and I don't, for a second, think that they wouldn't do ANYTHING to obtain and retain power.

As for a better Democratic candidate, we've all had this conversation, about a year ago and I won't get into that again. Politics is like buying a car: you pick out what options are the most important to you and go with that car. And until there's a dominant Socialist candidate that I can vote for, I have to live by this voting guideline.

[Just_Jam_Please]

do you have confidence in the system?

I didn't answer this. Currently no, I have no faith in the fixed system. Hopefully the reforms that are up for a vote next Tuesday will change all that and restore my faith.

[Not_Trapped]

i agree...twice now...this state (not a big deal in the electoral fight) has went dem governor and republican president...that's odd, to me.

but, i see the same stuff on both sides. like i said, i voted kerry/edwards to give them a number. in my case, it wasn't like buying a car...it was like NOT buy a car, if you know what i mean. do i think we would have better off, globally and molecularly, with kerry in office? no. but, when something's broken...you have to try and fix it. and, my thoughts aside, it would have been a change...a reinvigoration.

[prism]

I beg to differ on this point. I live in Ohio. I live in the capital of Ohio.......and by NO means did everyone get to vote. And when the Secretary of State tells everyone how he will help deliver the state of Ohio to Bush, I do not think that WE voted him into office.

Now if someone gets on here and says 'JJP they won. Get over it.' Answer me this, when the state of WA Senate (I believe it was Senate) race came down to a recount and the recount showed that the Dem did indeed win, all Republicans pitched a fit. They wanted to fight tooth and nail. I believe they claimed that Dems fixed the vote. Why would it be okay for them to make such accusations, but when Dems do it, they just can't get over it. I think that the elections in OH were fixed. These people are Orwellian evil and I don't, for a second, think that they wouldn't do ANYTHING to obtain and retain power.

As for a better Democratic candidate, we've all had this conversation, about a year ago and I won't get into that again. Politics is like buying a car: you pick out what options are the most important to you and go with that car. And until there's a dominant Socialist candidate that I can vote for, I have to live by this voting guideline.


btw it was the Governor's race in Washington with THREE recounts that Christine Gregore won by 142 votes beating that whining, scumbag republican Dino Rossi (I'm so glad that he got sent back to Bedrock)

and I know, just KNOW that one of the 142 votes that put her over the top was mine :bigsm:

[Just_Jam_Please]

btw it was the Governor's race in Washington with THREE recounts that Christine Gregore won by 142 votes beating that whining, scumbag republican Dino Rossi (I'm so glad that he got sent back to Bedrock)

and I know, just KNOW that one of the 142 votes that put her over the top was mine :bigsm:
I was waiting for one of you Washingtonians to correct me!

P.S. Isn't Dino Rossi a cheap wine? Seriously. Sounds so familiar.....