BJean

If we should vote on someone who is a strong financial leader, I'll hang with Edwards.

Over the past 28 years there have been Repubicans in the White House 20 of those. The best 8 years economically and in nearly every other way were the 8 years of Democratic control. I'm voting for a change and the only way to get that is to vote Democrat. When the Repubicans are in control we always seem to have huge problems that they fix in such a way that it winds up causing recessions, huge government budget deficits, gas prices out of control, insurance companies out of control, less attention to anything having to do with preserving the environment, education problems getting some kind of ineffective bandaide, mortgage companies and other lending institutions and banks getting into trouble, and the list goes on ad naseum. I know you'll argue with me, but that is what I have experienced. Now go ahead and shoot me down - and please use specifics.

A coincidence? I think not. :frown:

Your friend was square on as far as I'm concerned. And you are about how the thing actually usually works once the election is over. Although in some cases, it does not hold true, as in the case of George W. Bush. He didn't go to a place where it was workable. He made his agenda work. The rest of the world be damned.

There might be a healthy black and gay backlash if Romney were to be nominated. Of course conservatives wouldn't mind that one bit. I'm about to decide that I trust Edwards the most of all the candidates, both Democratic and Repubican. There is no doubt at this point that McCain has sold out. There is some evidence that Clinton has. And the only way that Obama could have gotten where he is so fast is that he's sold out too. There's no one left on the Repubican side that I would walk across the street for and the fact is that I think Edwards can do the job. He has actually come off as the most intelligent in all of the field. I would be totally shocked if he were to be able to get the nomination though.

Merry Nymph Trixie I find that very sad. Are you just too conservative to like her? Or don't trust her or what?

Friends of mine keep sending me irreverant material about aging and I used to think those things were very funny. I used to send it to my Dad all the time, thinking he would get a big kick out of it. He might have just wanted to give me a big kick! I'm not as old as you, but close enough, and the whole idea of aging is seriously getting me down. The idea, as well as the aches, pains, loss of eyesight and hearing...too, too much! We're in the process of taking care of my DH's aging parents and there is just no real happy solution to this aging problem. We're having people come in and help on a daily basis but it isn't a perfect scenario, just better than putting them in a nursing home which T.O.M. swore were breeding grounds for bladder and kidney infections. On that happy note, I think I'm going to do all I can to enjoy my feedom as long as I can - that and my ability to be totally self-sufficient and my ability to keep the things that I love around me. In other words, the things that you'll have to pry from my cold dead hands. Or something like that.

Ya know green, you have a point there. She is tough in the way that a person would need to be tough if she were president. There are a lot of people who detest Bill Clinton though and they can't stand the sight of Hillary or Bill. On the other hand, there are a lot of people who still love Bill, in spite of his short comings (pardon), and they have a lot of respect for Hillary. So if she is the nominee, it certainly will be interesting.

Hey Sunshine, congratulations for figuring out how to put up your cartoon. Gross as it is. :rolleyes2: Hits way too close to home, doncha know! And frankly, you should be proud of your accomplishment. I completely ignored trying to post my stats because I'm so computer illiterate. I don't figure anyone really cares anyway. I really do feel a loss over T.O.M.'s departure. The last post of his that I read he mentioned going for some additional medical tests. It has left me very sad. I don't know if he's sick or has found a site that is more fun or where his input is appreciated more. He caught a lot of flack here. I envision him duking it out with the big guns over on some hairy political site. Carlene was preoccupied with her daughter coming home after having problems with an abusive husband (or significant other). She was always great for providing some good research to back up one side or the other (usually my side) so I sure enjoyed that and I miss her. Fortunately we have Derick and Marjon. If you guys every drop off without telling us what happened, I'll never forgive you! Derick, you're way too conservative but you keep it funny and I absolutely love and appreciate that. I miss reading more Wheetsin input. We had some great little debates going sometimes, didn't we? We're also lucky to have the likes of green and laurend. What would I do without you two? :tt1:

Condi Rice, huh? Now that is a scary thought. It would be like reelecting Dubya. Except she doesn't sport a silly grin as often. I honestly do not think that Barack Obama can get elected. There are a lot of people who are being very quiet on the opposing side, just hoping against hope that he is the Democratic nominee. There is a much better chance that Hillary can be elected than Obama. In my humble opinion, of course. We might see a Clinton/Obama ticket and I'm not sure what would happen in that case - I believe they might be able to win. But I absolutely do not believe that Obama can win the presidency at this juncture. I used to like John McCain. I thought I would be able to support him if he got the nomination. But alas, he has over time shown his true colors. He, like most, says what he thinks the people want to hear. But he is so blasted conservative that I just cannot fathom another stint of that ultra-right, blinders-on focus. I am surprised that so many people are rabidly against Edwards. He has proven himself to be a very eloquent man who has what I consider to be a good track record. Do you think he suffers discrimination because of his successful career? If you do, have you really studied what all he fought for? Frankly Mitt is for the birds, along with Huckabee. The Demos hope that one of them or Guliani will be the Republican choice. Then we'd be talking about a really interesting race.

luluc: You qualify as a Texan more than most Texans. You're no dude, dude! Jump in here with all fours!

I may be wrong, it may have come up previously, but I think I may have been the one who used the term "oxymoron" - just to let Jack off the hook a little. Regarding your latest post, what's your point, Jack? Obviously if some politico does "good" (as I would interpret it) why would I be disappointed? I guess if they did something with which I didn't agree, I wouldn't consider it "good". Nobody can please all of the people all of the time. That's the trouble with campaigns, politicians try to please all of the people. I find the term "rabid" pretty hilarious when referencing Democrats and Republicans. Those who think they are voting for "the man" always like to characterize people who call themselves Democrats or Republicans "rabid." Ha, ha, ha *with an hysterical lilt in her voice* It always makes me wonder just exactly how people can divorce the man from his politics?

Jodie congratulations on your healthy pregnancy. It is thrilling to read that you are happier and more mature, stronger and more confident than you've ever been. I am sure that all of us here at LBT wish you an easy and short delivery! It really is great to hear back from you after a while - I'm sure everyone has been wondering how you're doing. I'm really glad that you took the time to post here. I am sorry that your friend is having problems. It must be hard for her to have to face you with you making the opposite decision and being so incredibly happy about it at about the same time she had to make her decision. I hope she is has found someone good to counsel with and that she able to deal with everything in a healthy and healing way. Btw, I don't know of anyone here who believes that abortion is the only good solution to an unwanted pregnancy. What we're discussing here is whether or not you and your friend should be able to continue to have the opportunity that you had to make the decisions you made without interference from the government.

Jack I wish I weren't speaking tongue in cheek above. Alas, I haven't believed in the completely honest and above board poliltician in many years. However I do believe that there are people in elected positions who have good hearts and who actually do care about the country and about Americans. Nope, they're not perfect. But yes, they can sometimes still do good work on the issues I'm concerned about. Sometimes you really do have to just vote for the better candidate even though they may not be the kind of person you want to bring home to mama. It would be great if we were able to fix the system by getting rid of lobbyists and campaign contributions and trading votes in Congress. If you have a good alternative, bring it on. Unfortunately even if it were genius, Congress would have to vote it in, so here we are, in the very unlikely position that it will ever change. P.S. I miss T.O.M. He used to add a lot to these discussions. I didn't always agree with him but he always had an interesting perspective. P.S.S. To answer your question, no I haven't been voting for the past 50 years. I am not old enough to have been voting for the past 50 years. But thanks for the compliment.

There is more than one way to get some exercise!!!

Are you a true Texan and pack a pistol? Or are you just a New Yorker, passin'? If you're a liberal, in any case, you will be quite welcome by me. Right now I'm way, way outnumbered. Not that I'm a liberal. Nuh uh, I'm just someone who always votes for the man, if he is a good person, has high morals, and is totally honest. Because we all know that only the super honest people who run for public office deserve our votes. Wait a minute isn't politician/honest an oxymoron?

Unfortunately I don't have anyone in my corner encouraging me to use... how you say... diplomacy... that word doesn't readily roll off my keyboard. I am glad you reminded me and I will look it up in my dictonary and do my best to keep it in mind. Maybe I'm the one who should have a dog avatar.

Ok, ok transformer... I get it already. You are really trying to get us to believe that you're not concerned about anything Bush has done because there's no chance that by voting for a conservative Republican again we might get a continuation of the past 7 years. And that you are just concerned about what Bill did because we're not actually presented with a vote for Hillary as much as we would be voting to reinstate the morally corrupt Bill Clinton. That's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that? You guys are great. You can solve all of your own problems and you aren't concerned with anyone else's which means that voting for a Democrat would mean that you'd be trying to solve all the world's ills - with big government - higher taxes - right? Less government is going to take care of everything, I get it. Like under the Republican administration that we've had. They gave us a practically insignificant tax cut at one point, so woo, hoo! The government has grown since they've been in control. We've spent billions on a rag tag ill-conceived war and huge sums on taking care of the men and women who have died because of that war. We have another trillion dollar deficit - like we had the last time we had a Republican president. And we're staring a very nasty recession down the barrel. But hey, voting Republican means less government and more of our own earnings in our pockets. It'll mean that we can focus more on our own personal problems and less on the country's (other people's) problems. Yep, and I have some nice ocean front property in Arizona I'd like to sell you.

Yeah, put 'em up, put 'em up... as Bugs Bunny used to say. I seldom watch the news anymore because I was constantly walking around with a knot in my stomach from worrying about the shocking horrors they reported, one after another. I think most of daytime TV sux eggs. And I read somewhere that you burn fewer calories reading or sleeping than you do when you're watching TV. Yikes! Having said that, I find myself drawn to Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. Strictly for the comedy factor, you understand. And I always turn away when they do close-ups of heart transplants, lung surgery and trauma treatments. I'm a wuss big time.

For the record I have almost rabid feelings about this issue. I do not have rabid feelings toward people who disagree with me. I do argue for all I'm worth, but I try to not carry it over to any other non-related threads. I too believe that Marjon9 and kagoscuba have summed it up pretty well and luluc and I probably share many of the same beliefs. green and I don't communicate in the same way (she's so eloquent) but we agree on most things. It's very comforting to find people who agree with me. But I'm sure I learn a whole lot from people with differing viewpoints from mine. Even though sometimes I find myself tearing my hair out. Thank goodness for Biotin.

ash congratulations on your weight loss. Keep up the great work! I have enjoyed reading the past several posts. Logic and passion and thinking things through are all inspired by discussions such as this. And that's a good thing.

I don't watch Oprah much either. But who can argue with the fact that she is an extremely powerful and successful woman. In fact, I can't think of a more powerful or influencial woman - in the world. All Oprah has to do is mention a book or a product, movie, whatever... it is an instant success and whoever is involved then also becomes very successful. She has been brilliant in business. She has several beautiful homes in fabulous locations. She loves life, and makes no apologies for it. She's invited to all the most important functions, social as well as philanthropic. Everyone who has an opportunity sings her praises. She's a BILLIONAIRE. She gives away millions. Which are probably tax right offs of course, but she actually contributes to the guality of life for many people, and not only for those little girls in Africa. She may enjoy the publicity that has provided but I believe she genuinely is trying to make a difference in the world. There are undoubtedly other women who are more popular and more beautiful than Oprah, but you can't argue with her ability to succeed. When you think of her background and the disadvantages she was up against, it makes the rest of us look like slackers.

Welllllll, let me think.... yeah, sure, you can clap all you want. I'd never stand in the way of applause for anyone, unless it is Dubya. He doesn't deserve applause, he deserves a spanking. :tt1:

Derick, wait... what? You don't CARE who becomes our next president? Or you're supporting Barack Obama like you suggested above? Eh, never mind. I'm more interested in what you posted over on the Large Penis thread. Necra what?

My DH almost lost his life on the Snake River. Thank goodness for a lodged log. Otherwise I'm certainly with you on your proposal to come up with solutions! Our problems may be the same or similar but our ideas for solutions are undoubtedly different. But right now I feel like that guy who is treed by a rabid dog - he says, "just shoot one of us, I gotta get some relief".