Ok so I love polls. And I love politics. So what political party has the most lapband recipient votes? We'll soon find out!!

Mindy I am glad you are better off now, but I can see it is not because a PUB is in office which was my point exactly...everyone on here seems to see my point somewhat, the PUBs in Washington are not the Moral Guru's they claim to be when they turn their back on the working class people, I do alot of work in the union and I see how bad they hurt Labor in the us, and that should concern Most all of us...

gonnabethin: You must be pretty conflicted with our current administration. You say you are conservative and are unhappy with BuSH's liberal leanings. You mentioned that you are against bigger government and more taxes because you're against the "sit on your ass" theory of collecting welfare.

Yet you say you are for abortion. If the Republican "moral majority" (as they like to call themselves) had their way, they would make any abortion illegal. If that were to happen, there is a darned good chance that many folks would have children who they could not (or would not) provide for. Our government would be obliged to give assistance to protect our future generations, or watch a lot of little members of our society (children) go without proper nutrition. Malnutritioned children subsequently require more medical care. I am not sure how this can help in the government's quest to get more people off of welfare. So I'm not sure I fully understand your line of thought in all this.

As for the pro or anti gun discussion, I've always been anti-gun ownership until the past 6 or 7 years. Now I'm realizing that our founding fathers brilliantly made sure that Americans "have the right to bear arms." The purpose of that was not so that bad people could own guns and commit crimes and take away our valuables. The purpose of it was so that our leaders would not be able to take away our civil liberties and control us by military means when we are left with no means to defend ourselves. You know, like under Saddam Hussein in Iraq, for instance.

Never before in my life have I believed that a scenario like that could exist in America, but watching the immoral atrocities that this administration has committed both here and abroad, I am thinking that it is a distinct possibility if we don't wise up.

Green: As far as I am concerned, you are not only completely welcome here, you bring a fresh viewpoint and interesting insight to these discussions. I am very happy you decided to jump in!! I love Quebec!

Has anyone heard on the news that the capital city of Iraq, Baghdad is in lock-down because they fear a coup? The Iraqi military is too weak to do their own fighting and protect their own country, but they are strong enough to take power away from the elected government.

Also has anyone heard that the new bill passed this week by both houses of congress which allows for BuSh to decide what means of torture, I mean interrogation, is to be used when questioning terrorists also allows for questioning of left-wing groups suspected of plotting against the government?

I heard that today, though it could not be substantiated.

Either way, it is a disgrace to know that suspected terrorist will now be terrorists in the eyes of the men applying the aggressive interrogation techniques. Didn't the same thing happen in Salem?

When people say that our military should be able to use whatever means they deem necessary to get information from suspected terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, I wonder if they've forgotten Viet Nam and how our prisoners of war were treated by the Viet Cong. They were outraged over it and now they want us to handle our suspected terrorist prisoners in a similar inhumane way. There are Americans these days who profess to be against the Geneva convention - which was the only hope for many Americans who were prisoners of war in WWII.

With regards to interigation...I am only wondering how a country that has no idea how democracy works is supposed to understand a new legal system when we hold 'suspected' terrorist in jail without a trial for 3+ years. These are people who have not had any type of representation, are claiming they are not part of any terror group and the numbers are well into the hundreds if not more. Are some of these people guilty of the crimes they are accused of, of course...but what do you do with those who are not? Also, what kind of example are we setting for Iraq who hasnt had a democratic legal system EVER? To allow a man to dicate how and when to use "whatever means necesary" to get intel out of people who havent even been proven to have a part of any terror plot is frightening. The same man who tricked the american people into thinking that invading Iraq was for the good of the people, will bring to justice those who planned 911, and to bring democracy to a country that has never seen it.

When people say that our military should be able to use whatever means they deem necessary to get information from suspected terrorists or terrorist sympathizers, I wonder if they've forgotten Viet Nam and how our prisoners of war were treated by the Viet Cong. They were outraged over it and now they want us to handle our suspected terrorist prisoners in a similar inhumane way. There are Americans these days who profess to be against the Geneva convention - which was the only hope for many Americans who were prisoners of war in WWII.

I always suspected they used whatever methods they wanted to use anyway, regardless of the official "laws" of the Geneva Convention. Hmmmm, Maybe I watch too much television, i.e. 24. LOL.

Actually I'm a Democrat and I agree with you on most stuff especially the part about politicians not representing the people. I'm also against gun control which is weird for a Democrat, but I figure the people with the guns will be the police and military, not the criminals. I think we need to protect ourselves from the police and the new secret police more than the criminals. In our county of about 50,000 people, we don't have that many criminals, but we have SIX different police forces. I don't know what they do all day.

Anyway, I think Republicans and Democrats need to get together and kick all the politicians out and start over. We can't get worse ones.

I agree as well. The problem with ANY politician is that they represent THEIR interests, and not our own. They are all wealthy and no longer connected to the people. They make laws to help make their world better, hardly ever ours.

With regards to interigation...I am only wondering how a country that has no idea how democracy works is supposed to understand a new legal system when we hold 'suspected' terrorist in jail without a trial for 3+ years. These are people who have not had any type of representation, are claiming they are not part of any terror group and the numbers are well into the hundreds if not more. Are some of these people guilty of the crimes they are accused of, of course...but what do you do with those who are not? Also, what kind of example are we setting for Iraq who hasnt had a democratic legal system EVER? To allow a man to dicate how and when to use "whatever means necesary" to get intel out of people who havent even been proven to have a part of any terror plot is frightening. The same man who tricked the american people into thinking that invading Iraq was for the good of the people, will bring to justice those who planned 911, and to bring democracy to a country that has never seen it.

Torture is not only inhumane and indecent, but it is highly ineffectual. Also, when the interrogator assumes that the person knows something and proceeds to torture, what can the outcome be if the prisoner does not know what his interrogator assumes? Even worse, what happens when the prisoner is 100% innocent of what the interrogator assumes? The vast majority (at least 90%) of the prisoners seen in the infamous Abu-Grab pictures, were released with no charges (or apologies) ever filed and most of the detainees who were transported half-way around the world to Guantanamo Bay have been released after 3 or 4 years, because they were also guilty of nothing but being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Who do does the BuSh administration think it is fooling? Saying Guantanamo Bay is not part of the USA out of one side of its mouth, but protecting it from Cubans with deadly force claiming that it is part of the USA with the other side of its mouth.

Who do does the BuSh administration think it is fooling? Saying we don't torture and then sending people kidnapped off the streets and sending them to Syria, Jordan and Pakistan for interrogation that the USA would not do, but NOT TORTURE claims Condoleezza Rice.

Pre-BuSh 11, most of the world looked up to the USA as a model of what nations should be like. In 6 years, BuSh 11 has ruined what it took 225 years to achieve: OUR REPUTATION.

And one more thing, if a prisoner is 100% innocent, but BuSh 11 decides that the extra methods or interrogation can be used on him and he confesses to anything and everything the interrogator believes he has done to stop the agony, and is then tried in the special court in which that confession is allowed to be used and sent to his death; who is guilty of murder?

The executioner?

The Interrogator?

BuSh 11?

Congress?

You?

Me?

And since this new law will work so well with the 100% conviction and execution rate, why not expand it to other areas? 10 Liberals who meet weekly to discuss in disgust what the BuSh 11 administration has done can be arrested, interrogated, tried and convicted (based on their confessions) and then executed for treason.

Ann Coulter for President.

And since this new law will work so well with the 100% conviction and execution rate, why not expand it to other areas? 10 women who meet weekly to discuss (sometimes spelled gossip) this and that can be arrested, interrogated, tried and convicted (based on their confessions) and then executed for Witch-Craft.

Ah, the Good Old Days!!

Pre-BuSh 11, most of the world looked up to the USA as a model of what nations should be like. In 6 years, BuSh 11 has ruined what it took 225 years to achieve: OUR REPUTATION.

This is so true. Every day, I play games and participate in Internet forums with people from all over the world. I have done this for a long time and I can tell you that the climate has changed drastically! We (Americans) are no longer looked up to as we once were. The USA is no longer the place every foreign national hopes to visit one day, or better yet, live.

My Internet friends and acquaintances used to say to me, "I wish I had been born in America!" Now they struggle to explain that it's not me, personally, they abhor, it's our foreign actions and policies - our incredible arrogance! Nobody died and made us the boss! We do not get to rule the world just because we have more stuff than anyone else!

I am speechless when people talk about how "moral" George Bush is. Show me an example of this man's morality and I will show you a dozen instances of hypocrisy, lies, cruelty, and total disregard for human life and basic rights. He is the most IMMORAL president ever to occupy the white house! Clinton's dalliance with Monica Lewinsky was NOTHING compared to torturing people, holding them in jail for YEARS without a shred of evidence, and ordering the bombing of a nation that had never raised one finger against us.

Hey Carlene you are so right on Track I agree with you 100% way to go!!!!!!!

I do believe that BuSh is a taste that is uniquely American. Most foreigners don't get the current administration. There are a lot of Americans who reside in Canada and yet retain voting rights in the U.S. It seemed that they were overwhelmingly Democrat when it came to voting in the last election.

This BuSh question seems to be an issue of cultural psychology as much as anything else perhaps. I remember travelling in the USSR at the time of glasnost. All us foreigners loved Gorbachev and yet the Russians hated the guy.

Perhaps it's the other way around vis-a-vis BuSh. Most of the world thinks that the guy is a goof, a dangerously deluded one at that, but he was re-elected by the folks back home. It is difficult for us to understand what is going on in America at times even though your country is closely watched and analysed; you are, afterall, the most powerful nation in the world and probably the most valuable one at this time in history.