And this is who runs our country...

[David In Indy]

Hi Roland -

No need to apologize friend. Many of us down here in the good ol' U.S. of A. feel exactly the same as you.

It's a very sad fact, but it is also very true.

Certainly I am not anti American. I love my country. And I don't think I am being unpatriotic when I disagree with some of the antics my country pulls. Wanting what is best for my country and my fellow Americans  is very patriotic in my opinion. Our country was founded and built on disagreeing viewpoints.

And some Americans may disagree with what I say now. Most however, will probably agree with me. But you must admit, Mr. Bush has not helped things along over these past 4 years. And poking fun at our idiotic president from time to time will not make matters any worse than they already are.

We need to begin concentrating on fixing problems here in the U.S. (and the mess we have made in most other parts of the world) rather than attempting to find new ways to make things worse than they already are.

And that is just my insignificant, little, small time, Hoosier/American opinion.   

Edited for spelling errors. If I ever manage to type one post longer than two words in this forum (or any other) without a typo the first time around, I'm going to buy myself a new car. 

[Arad-3]

You are all so right.   How in hell did we ever let our country get in such a mess?   Did we all just turn our backs to what was really happening? This is a very frightening time.

I live in a small town in upstate New York. For the first time since the Vietnam war a Marine came home in a casket. 23 year old killed by a car bomb in Iraq. The body arrived in town at midnight and everyone in town( around 3500) lined the street in complete silence and held candles. It was the saddest sight. It brought this war closer to us. It really is very frightening and its only going to get worse.



Dont feel bad about editing David. I type with two fingers, I edit constantly. Problem is by time I get my responses out everybody has long gone on to another subject!

[GG]

I hear you Arad. It is scarey. I had a first cousin killed by a road side attack in Iraq too.I agree there is too much freedom of speech for the press in this country. Thats not making the problem though. But it does not help either.

[delalluvia]

Well said David.

Yeah, Dubya is an idiot, but so what?  At least there we're showing that to the world - up front and center with our reporting.

The leader of the free world acts like an idiot and a crusading war mongering religious maniac?  We show it and we also show how our own people don't care for it and don't respect him for it either.

*sigh*  As for the rest, I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a nation or people on this planet whose hands are clean from oppression, aggression, selling of arms or cruelty to its own people.

[ednbarby]

*sigh*  As for the rest, I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a nation or people on this planet whose hands are clean from oppression, aggression, selling of arms or cruelty to its own people.

True.  But the difference is we present ourselves as being a shining example of being better than all that when in fact we are not.

[Aussie Chris]

Wow - you do know that these policies are not a reflection of what everyone here thinks are right or honorable or universally held values?  I think my favorite commentary on politics these days is Team America: World Police.  It is a raunchy comedy by the guys who created South Park, and the entire cast is played by marionettes - just perfect that they should all be puppets.

Hey Celeste, I wonder if it's at all wise of me to be talking on a thread about your illustrious leader?  Oh well, fools rush in and all that...  It's strange that he gets described as "the leader of the free world".  Huh?  Ex-squeeze me?  Ah, baking-powder?  Can someone please explain this one to me?  I'm not sure if I object to the "free world" part of this statement, or that he's the leader of it.  Next you'll be telling me that the U.S. is a democracy!  Anyway, I think we all have the leaders we deserve.  You have GWB, we have John Howard.  Just because J-Ho (as I call him) is a little more polished than GWB and it's unlikely that there will ever be a montage of foibles like the one Letterman has put together, that doesn't make him any less sanctimonious.  There's a puerile but appropriate joke that comes to mind.  Q: How can you tell if a politician is lying?  A: Their lips are moving.

Ok, that's enough of that, well almost:

I agree with you Vicky on the credability isssue.  In alot of countries they protect their leaders credability more than they do here. I have no idea why they publcize that kind of stuff on television when theres a war going on. They make this country look so stupid to the world. That's why they don't respect us. I think that there should be a limit to what the news is allowed to reveal about the leader of the free world. I know, amendment 1, rights for the press and  freedom of speech, blah ,blah  blah.

We need these rights. But our own press telling the whole world every weakness in our president and country is so harmful to us. Because we loose respect all over the world, It puts our men and woman on the front line and us here in America in even more danger..

I can't begin to tell you how much I disagree with this Arad.  Oh who am I kidding, yes I can, but I'm in danger now of becoming more honest than I should be amongst friends whom I love (that's you guys) when I've not got your permission to do so.  Suffice to say that the fundamental difference between Australia and America is the level of popular gullibility and the number of very big guns.

But back to the really important issue - my second favourite film: Team America - World Police.  Strangely though, I thought it was a documentary.  After all, the speech at the end made complete sense to me:

We're dicks! We're reckless, arrogant, stupid dicks. And the Film Actors Guild are pussies. And Kim Jong Il is an asshole. Pussies don't like dicks, because pussies get fucked by dicks. But dicks also fuck assholes: assholes that just want to shit on everything. Pussies may think they can deal with assholes their way. But the only thing that can fuck an asshole is a dick, with some balls. The problem with dicks is: they fuck too much or fuck when it isn't appropriate - and it takes a pussy to show them that. But sometimes, pussies can be so full of shit that they become assholes themselves... because pussies are an inch and half away from ass holes. I don't know much about this crazy, crazy world, but I do know this: If you don't let us fuck this asshole, we're going to have our dicks and pussies all covered in shit!

Now I ask you, have you ever heard anything said that was more credible, by any of our collective leaders, ever in their lives?

Ok, if I ever needed to be worried about little red dots spontaneously appearing on my person, now would be the time.

[ednbarby]

I'm with you, Chris.  Not only should we question our leaders' credibility, we should question it all the time and DEMAND competency and credibility.  The trouble is we're not doing that enough.  Only David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, Bill Maher, et. al have the balls (and let's not be coy - are financially rewarded) for doing so.  Our press should be lambasting this pinhead DAILY.  Hell, CONSTANTLY.  Christ, they were on Clinton's case like ugly on a monkey for getting a few extramarital blow jobs.  Meanwhile, this man is KILLING people all over the world with his actions or lack thereof.  Thousands of them - in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Africa, in the Middle East, and in our own country.  EVERY day.  And they say nothing.  He can't give a proper answer as to why we're still in Iraq, let alone why we even went there in the first place, and they say nothing.  He couldn't bring himself to end his 30-day vacation a couple of days early when a Category 5 hurricane was headed to one of his country's biggest ports, and they said nothing.

Please.  At the very core of the problems in this country sits the news media.  They, and they alone, have the power to change things.  And they choose not to.  They choose not to because that would adversely affect their bottom line - a bottom line that is controlled entirely by big pharmaceuticals, the oil companies, and all other all-powerful corporations in this country, which also, by the way, control our federal government.

As always, a (in this case, Green Day) song comes to mind:

Hear the sound of the falling rain
Coming down like an armageddon flame (Hey!)
The shame, the ones who died without a name

Hear the dogs howling out of key
To a hymn called Faith and Misery (Hey!)
And bleed, the company lost the war today

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

Hear the drum pounding out of time
Another protestor has crossed the line (Hey!)
To find the money's on the other side

Can I get another Amen? (Amen!)
There's a flag wrapped around a score of men (Hey!)
A gag, A plastic bag on a monument

I beg to dream and differ from the hollow lies
This is the dawning of the rest of our lives
On holiday

 

[mvansand76]

Oh my- This guy's such an idiot. In every way possible.

Talking of idiots, we have one as our prime-minister! Jan-Peter Balkenende.

[YaadPyar]

But back to the really important issue - my second favourite film: Team America - World Police.  Strangely though, I thought it was a documentary.  After all, the speech at the end made complete sense to me:

We're dicks! We're reckless, arrogant, stupid dicks. And the Film Actors Guild are pussies. And Kim Jong Il is an asshole. Pussies don't like dicks, because pussies get fucked by dicks. But dicks also fuck assholes: assholes that just want to shit on everything. Pussies may think they can deal with assholes their way. But the only thing that can fuck an asshole is a dick, with some balls. The problem with dicks is: they fuck too much or fuck when it isn't appropriate - and it takes a pussy to show them that. But sometimes, pussies can be so full of shit that they become assholes themselves... because pussies are an inch and half away from ass holes. I don't know much about this crazy, crazy world, but I do know this: If you don't let us fuck this asshole, we're going to have our dicks and pussies all covered in shit!

Now I ask you, have you ever heard anything said that was more credible, by any of our collective leaders, ever in their lives?

Ahhhh Chris - the sheer romantic poetry of Matt & Trey!!  That is one of the most memorable movie speeches ever, and remains a favorite of mine, but it's so hard to work those quotes into conversation.

 

I trust you own a copy of the movie?  It may not be intentionally a documentary, but it speaks volumes of truth about politics, American and otherwise.

 

[David In Indy]

Oh my- This guy's such an idiot. In every way possible.

Talking of idiots, we have one as our prime-minister! Jan-Peter Balkenende.

Melissa,  when do you all go back to the polls to vote? We have to wait another 2 1/2 years until we get rid of our idiot leader.