Kevin's Watch

Lord Foul wrote:You know, I was that close to giving you back your duck. Oh well.

Oh please, please .... I'll leave your pretty green rock alone. Can I have my duck back!!

The Leper Fairy wrote:

Lord Foul wrote:You know, I was that close to giving you back your duck. Oh well.

Aww, now that's just harsh. I may have to give him a bit of my duck.

Thank you!

I hope both people die in plane crashes.

Loremaster wrote:
Current view among commentators is that Bin Laden's video may have shot Kerry's chances for presidency. I find it ironic, considering it was released to damage Bush's rep. The thing is, Bush leads the polls on terrorism. This video has made many people concerned and will vote on the terrorism issue and not on taxes. Poor Kerry, I really admire him.

Bin Laden said that it really didn't matter who was President - it was US policy that put this country in danger from terrorists.

So suppose that Kerry is elected, and a major shift in US policy occurs. The US withdraws all support from Israel, and removes all troops from the middle East and Afghanistan. (I'm not saying that Kerry would do this - I'm speaking hypothetically.) In other words, the US does exactly what bin Laden demands in terms of policy.

Where does that leave bin Laden? Without the "Great Satan," bin Laden becomes a nobody again. He most likely would turn his attention to the rulers of Saudi Arabia, and we know what they do to those who are against them (ie., bin Laden loses his head.)

So I submit to you that bin Laden's wants Bush to stay in as President. With Bush as President, bin Laden can continue to be the "hero" of the streets of the Middle East. The video is having the effect that bin Laden desired.

Very good points, Dl!

Bin who? Funny, I didn't see his name on the ballot, so I ignored him and voted my conscience.

dANdeLION wrote:Bin who? Funny, I didn't see his name on the ballot, so I ignored him and voted my conscience.

Ahh, so you voted for Kerry, then?

No, Hell was still hot, so I did what I was supposed to do.

What? Burn Bush and Kerry both?

Either way you vote, you're getting a moron. I almost feel sorry for you..

Do you even know about Kerry?

Yeah, he's a moron... though he seems perferable to Bush...

Hell, I'd vote Bin Laden over Bush.

Kerry has alot going for him. Believe me, I've read into his background. Even the criticism of his supposed 'hypocrisy' is largely groundless.

Darth Revan wrote:Yeah, he's a moron... though he seems perferable to Bush...

Hell, I'd vote Bin Laden over Bush.

Darth - you're killing me!

dlbpharmd wrote:

Darth Revan wrote:Yeah, he's a moron... though he seems perferable to Bush...

Hell, I'd vote Bin Laden over Bush.

Darth - you're killing me!

i didn't mean to... the knife... just... slipped...

Loremaster wrote:Kerry has alot going for him. Believe me, I've read into his background. Even the criticism of his supposed 'hypocrisy' is largely groundless.

I've gotta take you up on this Loremaster. I live in the state where Kerry is Senator and I'll be voting for Bush… not because I agree with all his policies but because I believe he understands the threat that radical Islamism and the Middle East in general presents in these times and he is unafraid to confront the issue. In that regard I'm almost a single-issue voter.

Kerry is an intelligent man and I agree with some of his positions (e.g. stem cell research, no tax incentives for corporations unless they enhance stock value or create jobs etc...). Kerry is not evil nor is he the anti-christ as some would have you believe of his opponent. What he is though, and this is what concerns me, is a political animal with little political spine. His positions shift based upon political expedience and he has often abandoned a difficult stand for one more convenient or popular.

Let me provide you with a few examples:

In 1992 Kerry gave a speech at Yale entitled "Race, Politics, and the Urban Agenda". This speech was to be the first in a series on race and urban issues. His speech drew attention because of its mild criticism of affirmative action, which, he claimed, led to "a reality of reverse discrimination that actually engenders racism." This position was instantly criticized by the left and the Boston Globe accused him of having "embraced tactics that . . . widen the country's racial divide." One Boston journalist even wrote that Kerry had stabbed black voters in the back

His response to the criticism is telling and has become a hallmark of his political career. Instead of standing firm and explaining his comments Kerry backpedaled. He never made any of the other speeches in the series and has been a supporter of affirmative action since.

Another episode involves the first Gulf War which, incidentally, Kerry voted against. In early January 1991, Massachusetts Democratic constituent Walter Carter sent Kerry a letter urging him to back the war. The letter stated Dear Senator Kerry, I urge you to support President Bush's request that Congress approve the 'use of all necessary means' to get Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. To deny the president's request would encourage further aggression. Mr. Carter received two responses. A January 22 letter from Senator Kerry that stated the following: Dear Mr. Carter, Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition to the Bush administration's additional deployment of US military forces . . . and to the early use of military force by the US against Iraq. I share your concerns. On Jan. 11, I voted in favor of a resolution that would have insisted that economic sanctions be given more time to work and against a resolution giving the president immediate authority to go to war." Nine days later Mr. Carter received a second letter from Senator Kerry’s office. This second letter stated: "From the outset of the invasion [of Kuwait by Iraq], I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush's response to the crisis and the policy goals he has established with our military deployment in the Persian Gulf."
People often change their minds or alter positions once new information is available but, imho, Kerry has a well documented history of serving political expediency rather than having the courage to stand by his beliefs. In these times Kerry’s type of leadership does not allow me to sleep easy.

Wow!
I was so happy reading this thread.
So many intelligent people talking about the US election and no one was harping either way or spouting the usual retoric ad nausium over and over and over again.......
It was so refreshing!
Brinn I'm from Mass too and didn't vote for Kerry either.
Bush has done some stuff I'm not too happy with but I know Kerry.
It wouldn't be good.

Matrixman wrote:I don't speak for the other Canucks at the Watch, but for myself, I'm always interested in the outcome of an American election, since U.S. policy can't help but directly affect Canada.

See, that's the rub; it doesn't come into my life like it does yours, Matrixman. I'm essentially still a kid; I live with my grandparents, don't work, they pay for my college, I don't get taxed, etc., etc. Until I'm on my own and am actually a full-fledged adult, then I'll vote, but for now I'd essentially be a seventeen-year-old voting. What makes me so special, aside from my age? Well, age isn't good enough for me.

Matrixman wrote:Not meant as a criticism of you, Lord Foul (I'll leave that to your compatriots ), just an ironic observation. (Oh wait, I forgot: Canadians don't understand irony. Never mind.)

Personally, I don't care what people think about my not voting. Hate to sound harsh (not really; it's my forte), but they can turn it sideways and shove it. It's none of their business. I'm as much a patriot for exercising my right to not vote as they are for exercising their right to. Hell, if we all had to vote, I'd be really worried for this nation's freedom.

Anyway, this is a country where you can participate or not, and nowhere does it say I'm no longer morally obligated to complain if I didn't vote for Asshole A or Asshole B. Or does it? Oh well. Doesn't matter. I don't complain much anyway, and when I do, it's usually not morally correct anyway.

Speaking of morals:

Okay, let's say I vote. If I did vote, I'd be voting for a reason like this:

"I hate Bush because he is [insert insult here]"

So, because I've gone out and voiced my ignorance and put down a misinformed vote, I deserve the moral right to complain now? How am I any different from the naive teenager spewing whatever he or she hears on the news or in Michael Moore movies? No different.

No, what I think is the most morally sound action is not to vote, because I don't deserve to with a sh*tty reason like the one I have. My vote is basically shooting in the dark with a double-barrel shotgun. I don't have the vaguest idea what I'm doing, and it's probably doing more harm than good.

I just got back from voting...man, that place was a madhouse...

The parking lot at the township hall was full, and people were having to park in the cornfield next to the parking lot. They must have been anticipating a big turn out, because they had dumped a couple of loads of gravel down in the field, so people won't get stuck in the mud (it's been raining a lot here lately).

Every other time I've voted since I moved to this house, there has only been a couple of other people there at the same time I was. Certainly not a huge line like today. I don't even want to know what it will be like this evening when the day shift workers get off and head to the polls.

In a way I agree with Lord Foul -- I do not like either Kerry or Bush. I was really surprised the other day when our local paper refused to endorse either candidate, saying America deserves a better choice than these two guys. That summarized my own feelings very well. But there were four local tax issues on the ballot -- and I would have had to be hospitalized to be kept away from voting on the gay marriage amendment. I voted against the gay marriage ban -- I have very strong feelings about it, thinking it is a human rights abuse. Unfortunately, it will probably pass.

But if not for those local issues, I might have been tempted to drive right on by, seeing that mob!

And yes, as Americans we are free to vote or not as we see fit. I love this country.

I think that Lord Foul makes a good point. A) he's too young to vote and B) why vote if you have no idea what you're voting for?

I'm voting for Kerry for a number of reasons, most of them having to do with being massively unhappy with the current direction the country's going.

But the major one is the war in Iraq. I'm conflicted about the war itself. Hussein was a bad man and needed to be removed from power. But I do wish that the War on Terror hadn't been used as an excuse for this century's version of the Gulf War, particularly when Iran and North Korea pose much more immediate threats.

It also concerns me that the current Iraq War is being managed by the same team who brought us the inconclusive Gulf War--inconclusive because while we decimated Hussein's forces, the man himself remained in power. Rumsfeld, who's been around Washington for 40 years, did his best to get us out of Vietnam. We left, and the country collapsed. Basically, we've had three wars in forty years run by roughly the same crowd of people. The first two didn't turn out very well. The current one is a shambles. At this point, it seems to me that the question is simple: do we go with a familiar team that always loses, or do we go with a team that has no track record?

Oh, crap. I think I just talked myself into a corner. I am a Red Sox fan. Guess I'll have to vote for Bush after all.