Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler OT: politics

I am Canadian Bigjohn, from just outside Toronto - born and raised in the area. Outside of the US...you are a foreigners,and the preception varies. ( I actually view y'all as foreigners here, as the board is hosted by a Canadian company!!!) LOL

BigJohn and pmbucko - yes, it is refreshing to learn about different cultures - as close as our countries are, they are very different. Yes, it is also interesting to find that some of the stereotypes and such are not representative of the entire population. As part of my job, I travelled the US extensively, and found exactly what you referred to in terms of views about areas,cities and states. But that is pretty much around the world. As the view gets larger, the area under the scrutiny gets larger.

I must say that travelling in Europe and even as close as to Mexico, was an eye opener. When people thought I was a rich, tall blonde American, I got a certain level of treatment. But when they found out I was a Canadian, the treatment improved dramatically. I was given many reasons for this, but it always made me uncomfortable that I was preceived as bad, and suddenly I was good when I did nothing to change!!!!

I agree that it is a wonderful thing to be able to choose. It is a common misconception that choice is not allowed in all countries. This is true in some countries to be sure. Some of the most beautiful countries in the world are really no different than North America in that respect.

There are good and bad in all people, cultures, religions, countries that fact is without fail.
...but enough rambling......

This is all I have to say for Kerry. The guy's running for president.. that's sad.

Ok, this whole flip-flop thing is completely ridiculous. People who DO NOT change their minds when new evidence (or complete lack thereof) comes to light are the ones you should worry about.

To paraphrease a famous Jewish carptenter: Let him who is without flip-flop cast the first stone.

...another 4 hours of sleep night w/ the baby. Man, this part of it sux. But, never enough exhaustion to visit my favorite thread.

PM...Man, please think long and hard about this flip-flop issue before you pass it off as partisan tactics.

Yes, true wisdom is the ability to absorb new information, reassess your position, and change it if the new information warrants. Any of us debating here will agree that a good sound argument based on fact is all it will take to bring us to reconsider our positions. Anything else is blind partisan faith....ignorance.

With this being said, I think that it's naive to place what Kerry continually does in this category. The man does not come upon new information and change his positions. To think that gives him too much credit. The man changes his positions on issues where he sees fit to meet his political needs. Yes, the maker of that film has a political agenda, but the words are Kerry's. Nothing has changed that much in relation to this issue to explain away the continual morphing of his position....except the political climate.

This is the problem with Kerry that everyone just wants to brush aside as partisan politics. That's the easy/ignorant way of handling this. What people should be doing is looking at the evidence and then considering what this says about the man running for office. What can be said about a man has no core positions?....a man who acts more like a power-hungry chamelion than a leader? Yes, Bush may be an idiot at times, but you at least know where he stands. Kerry has only one single position....all positions must be beneficial to my political career, no matter what. There's the real meat of the thing.....the Democratic Party is giving you a used car salesman for a candidate. He can paint his message in all colors pleasing to your eyes, but the car is still a POS.

Which is what makes this election a tough one. Bush can make decisions, but I don't like a lot of them, and Kerry just can't make them...sounds like the old rock and a hard place...

You're right. I DO give Kerry more credit than he might deserve, but both sides are guilty of this. Just look at the last link Adam posted. But getting back to flip-flopping, if Kerry does continually change his position depending on what's most politically favorable at the moment, well, many people think it's politically favorable to get Bush out of the White House and feel this really is a "whatever it takes" kind of election.

If Kerry ends up being a lousy president, then I'll be criticizing him just as harshly as I do Bush. You can count on that.

Yes, the sentiment to remove Bush is thick out there. Hell, I've said before that I'd vote Bush out if the Dems had provided a more solid candidate.

What makes this rock and hard place situation even trickier is the particular juncture that we are at. These are EXTREMELY dangerous times to hand over control of this country to just anyone. Decisions made in the next four years can affect the security of the country and even the world. So far, John Kerry has not presented a cogent argument based upon his record in office as to why he is up to that task. So, my suggestion to all the Bush-haters is to be very careful with this decision. It isn't just your taxes that are on the line....it's your lives. Be very sure that you trust the person you vote for with that responsibility. Kerry loves to paint himself as a war-hero, but his voting record and consistency on issues do not necessarily suggest that he would be a good wartime president.

People who are against Bush don't believe he is making us safer. It's really as simple as that. The next question we have to ask ourselves is: Can Kerry do any worse?

If Kerry wins, he will be scrutinized just as much as Bush has been, if not more. One reason I'll be voting for him is that I believe his administration will be much more open with the American public. I'm willing ot cut him some slack until he gets into office, but after he's in, he won't be able to get away with anything.

I don't envy any man that job.

In reply to:

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I don't envy any man that job

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well, if you ever feel like running, i think you avatar might just do you in

actually, i am a big supporter of parents being the first person to introduce drinking to their children, no kidding.. i would rather it be me, than someone else. i was knockin back budweisers with my dad while working on cars when i was in the 4th-5th grade.

in fact, not to get off topic, i think thats whats wrong with the kids today.. a lack of parenting and teaching in the home. i want my kids to know what i know, and ask ME for advice, not some other snot nosed kid that dont know squat..

OK, ramble over.. back to the presidents... or lack there of.

bigjohn

"If Kerry wins, he will be scrutinized just as much as Bush has been, if not more."

You are kidding, right? The media is giving Kerry a complete walk right now both on his war record and his voting record. Why in in the world would you think that this will change if he becomes President?