Purple Fingers

[125gJoe]

http://writingcompany.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/purple_finger.jpg


Funny how this major event is not hardly touched by our News Media. How sad.

We should somehow never take our Freedoms for granted!

There are those much less fortunate on this world of ours....

http://www.purplefingerforfreedom.org/

..................................................

[nursie]

Wow..she's showing a bit too much face for that part of the world.
I sure hope all that we have gone through to get to where they can vote is worth it. I'm just afraid they will revert to what they were before once we leave.

[125gJoe]

There's much more to it all, then just getting them to vote. And hopefully "their country" will be much more civilized than in the past.

You forgot to mention this "woman" voted, unlike anything in the past..

Can you imagine living under a dictator's rule?

It seems there's some hope for them.......

[nursie]

I know, Joe...I just hope it lasts for them.

[Emg]

I believe that it will....IF we can stay long enough to help them get on their feet.....

[Corax]

It's funny, women got the right to vote there much more quickly after democracy began than they did here, where it was born..

[UncaBret]

Well, Corax, I guess we learn from our mistakes.

[sumthin fishy]

When the voting first started(this was a few months ago wasnt it?I think for a different decision?) this was all over our local news casts and papers. I was pretty impressed with it and proud of the people who did get out and vote despite the potential violence. I dont recall the exact numbers, but they had a voter turnout that was almost double the percentage of our average. Good for them. Ive said it before, democracy is the worst government system accept for all the other ones.

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

You (Americans) dont live in a Democracy, you live in a Republic...So do Canadians and anywhere else that you can elect an official to represent you.

[Xielos]

You (Americans) dont live in a Democracy, you live in a Republic...So do Canadians and anywhere else that you can elect an official to represent you.

Biggest misconception Americans have about America, we live in a Republic not a democracy :p:

[125gJoe]

I'm proud to be an American.

Our system of government is not perfect, but go overseas, to the middle East, or China, and talk about Freedoms'. North Korea, Vietnam, etc...

...think....

...Go to Kasakstan(sp?) and trade donkeys for a tractor tire.. (Old Soviet Union)

[Raithan Ellis]

I'm proud to be an American.

Our system of government is not perfect, but go overseas, to the middle East, or China, and talk about Freedoms'. North Korea, Vietnam, etc...

...think....

...Go to Kasakstan(sp?) and trade donkeys for a tractor tire.. (Old Soviet Union)

Where did this notion of "freedom" start? We have liberties.

[Emg]

It's actually a "Democratic Republic"...in that WE get to vote for the folks who will represent us.....I'm not sure how the British parlimentary system works or how exactly it differs from ours.... They have the house of Commons and the house of Lords...?? The house of Lords is not voted in by the public and the house of Commons is ??? Not sure...

By the way...I heard a comment made by one of the Iraqi women who voted....she said "People don't know what America has done for us.....What President Bush has done.......those who do not appreciate them for it can just go to Hell !"

[UncaBret]

Where did this notion of "freedom" start? We have liberties.
And they should be 'rights'!

[125gJoe]

Raithan Ellis, I hope you can develope your insight and actually understand where you live.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=liberties

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=freedoms

Choose your definition.

Whatever, however.

I sense a dislike in your posting....
Which means you can leave this country. You have that freedom to do so..

[Raithan Ellis]

Joe, that comment wasn't directed at you specifically, so don't take it personally.

In general, I see "freedom" this and that used all the time in media... frankly it is a load of horse-pucky anymore. Everything is slathered in censorship this and politically correct that. Heck, the ACLU is trying to take the Christ out of Christmas!

You no longer have freedoms when the government no longer fears it's citizens. It's as simple as that.

I am proud to live where I am, but I am ashamed that we no longer matter. Even the electronic voting system is flawed... have you seen how average people store the voting systems at their HOMES before and after setting them up for the public? Did you know the votes can be altered via a simple excel spreadsheet? It is a shame... how far we have come and yet so far to go. There are some serious flaws that need to be addressed... too bad the media and corporate monsters run this country.

[Raithan Ellis]

Some good quotes on the subject of democracy...

As long as the differences and diversities of mankind exist, democracy must allow for compromise, for accommodation, and for the recognition of differences.
Eugene McCarthy

The greatest fallacy of democracy is that everyone's opinion is worth the same.
Robert Anson Heinlein

A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular.
Adlai Ewing Stevenson

Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something.
Excerpt from the notebooks of Lazarus Long, from Robert Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love"

When great changes occur in history, when great principles are involved, as a rule the majority are wrong. The minority are right.
Eugene V. Debs

Democracy: In which you say what you like and do what you're told.
Dave Barry

[125gJoe]

JIn general, I see "freedom" this and that used all the time in media... frankly it is a load of horse-pucky anymore. Everything is slathered in censorship this and politically correct that. Heck, the ACLU is trying to take the Christ out of Christmas!.. too bad the media and corporate monsters run this country.Absolutely worth re-posting: too bad the media and corporate monsters run this country. People need to start thinking again.
:idea2:
WalMart.
Don't ever blame yourself for shopping there ....
No. No..

Does anybody know where China is on Google Earth?

------

Sorry to delve so deeply this weekend... My fault.


:thud:

_________
_________

[Tyler718]

Absolutely worth re-posting: too bad the media and corporate monsters run this country.

I have to agree. The media digs real deep to find the bad with the military, but NEVER show all the good that we do in the States or abroad.

"T"

[Emg]

The left owns the media....and it's the left that desperately wants us to loose this war on terror....hence the only reporting of bad news about it and anything and everything they can say or spin in order to make us believe them.

You see, if (WHEN!!) we win this war against those who want to devour us...then that means that Bush wins.....and we must NOT have that ! Even if it means taking down the whole country and everything we stand for......BUSH must NOT have success in ANYTHING !! Absolutetly NOT !!

So......bash bash bash...twist twist twist....until Bush is destroyed and the "right" falls off the face of the earth......and don't worry about the consequences of anything they do to achieve this......because they'll just step right in and take care of it all once thier objective is completed...

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

Ever notice how Dubyah and John Kerry look like "curious George and the man in the Big Yellow hat???

[125gJoe]

The left owns the media....and it's the left that desperately wants us to loose this war on terror... .. ..To be to the point, and as a matter of fact, it's a war on Muslim extremists. And... Finally, in one of Bush's latest spreeches he, finally, said so. Why it took so long, I don't really understand it, other than trying to be "worldly" PC (politically correct).

[125gJoe]

I have to agree. The media digs real deep to find the bad with the military, but NEVER show all the good that we do in the States or abroad.

"T"How can we change this fact??! How?

:mad:

I hope real people, (the ones' that never get "polled" by 'news media') look back at recent history, as well as past history, and know what's right.

And no one can try to compare our effort with "V 'Nam". Sorry, but that'a totally different.

[Tyler718]

How can we change this fact??! How?

:mad:



I can't even begin to think of a way. :huh: With the media there is no middle ground. They are either far left or far right. And that is where I find myself, "right of center". So I get my news from all sources and make my decisions from that.

"T"

[Black_Moor]

To be to the point, and as a matter of fact, it's a war on Muslim extremists. And... Finally, in one of Bush's latest spreeches he, finally, said so. Why it took so long, I don't really understand it, other than trying to be "worldly" PC (politically correct).

I think it's a matter of the person that writes his speeches :) Perhaps he finally got a proper one to put his idea's into words for him.



As for the Media and figuring how to get them to stop reporting the Bad in things such as the Military. I don't think that will change unfortunately, how many times have you seen a newscast where the "Good" stories are more enthusiastically reported then the Bad? ..I've seen alot of horrid and unfortunate things in stories that the newscaster beem with a smile to report :(

Examples of Bad reporting? .. people like Geraldo Rivera that make it like a Travel Channel adventure trip when he went into Iraqi proud to show the pistol he was wielding and jumping around with his camera crew in live gun fire making it like a live action film in a sense.. pathetic.

News Reporters do these things all the time and they seem to (exscuse the term) Get off on it, like it's a rush. And, unfortunately alot of people seem to Enjoy it, it means Ratings and Money.. Profit from the Bad, not from the Good.

Until the Profit aspect is removed I don't think it would change much at all, and a Newscaster with a set of Morales and that knows when to turn off the Camera and turn to do the Good stories are often not in a position to keep a job as a forefront reporter.

-=-

Sorry I babbled, been reading this thread and found it interesting.. I have a hard time forming my words in a correct flow ..wordsmith I am not. :) hope my thoughts don't confuse.

[OrionGirl]

I think one of the biggest problems with both politics and the media is that we are no longer being represented by our representatives, and shock value buys air time. The extremists (cultural, religious, political, you name it) are the ones that make decisions and dominate headlines. As a result, polarizing opinions are all we hear about, all we see, until we start thinking that's the 'real' world. But it's not--not where I live, not where anyone I know lives. The silent majority needs to get off our duffs and take our country back--a country where tolerance is extended to those who are different, without worrying about being politically correct. Where cultural diversity doesn't mean covering up one 'flavor' in favor of another, but rather appreciating someone else's perspective without feeling it threatens your own.

I'm amazed and proud that so many chose to vote in Iraq--and I hope that they continue to feel important and effective in the government they are building. I've long since lost that feeling in my own voting, but continue to do so--you can't complain about those elected if you don't take part in the process.

[CajunCC]

The silent majority needs to get off our duffs and take our country back--a country where tolerance is extended to those who are different, without worrying about being politically correct.

Yes please! Ever notice how just about everyone you talk to in life disagrees with the random extreme liberal (or extreme conservative) things you seem to always see in the news? Ninety percent of the population of the country thinks this crap is ridiculous. So why don't we all DO SOMETHING about it? It's time we said enough is enough! I'm sick of blanketing everything i say in fear of offending someone. I'm sick of people blaming others for their mistakes. And I'm sick of having to have every single little detail of common sense printed out in little print on everything i own.

[Emg]

YEAH !!!

What really FROSTS me is when these media personality claim to speak for us with statements like..."The American public believes...." or "The American people are not satisfied with....."

I'm sick of these pretenders supposedly speaking for me ! I don't believe any of what they claim I believe or want and they need to just stop it !

I think a mass mailing to our representatives and to the headquarters of these media sites might just get them thinking...for a few seconds anyway....

[reality]

I think one of the biggest problems in the US trying to spread democracy to the mid east is that they haven't taken a step back and realized that the middle east has been fighting themselves for about 3000 years, give or take a milennia. today's media is scaring the hell out of everyone just for ratings, you notice even since 9/11 the first thing on anyone's mind in any disaster is terrorists. like when the Columbia broke up, people were freaking out because the terrorists shot it down. kinda hard to do @ 15,000mph and well over 100,000 ft.

the powers that be would like the world to believe that democracy is the fix all for the worlds problems, because that's what the US has, so everyone else should. look at all of our "elected officials" spending millions on a campaign to get a 4 year job paying $100,000, all the time saying that they stand for the american people. I don't even bother voting any more (that's part of the freedom we have), because it's typically a race between 2 corruptions.
I could be classified as middle class, the majority of the US is the same. but since we either make too much or too little money we take the brunt of taxes and don't get any of the benefits that we're paying for.

OK that's my rant for today. in other news go here for the positive side of news www.happynews.com

[Raithan Ellis]

OK that's my rant for today. in other news go here for the positive side of news www.happynews.com

I like their "Quote of the Day":

"Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
– Margaret Mead

[TheMightyQueenPixie]

REALITY- THANK YOU!!!!
As a non-American I would be flayed if I said it ;)

[Black_Moor]

REALITY- THANK YOU!!!!
As a non-American I would be flayed if I said it ;)

I know alot of nice Canadian people.. I'll have to inquire if they don't Flay up there what else is use :D j/k

[Emg]

Lol Ellis !! HAPPY News !! What a concept !!!! :D

[reality]

REALITY- THANK YOU!!!!
As a non-American I would be flayed if I said it ;)

Oh I doubt anyone would truely notice, it seems over the past few years we've managed to p!ss off most of the world. the further downhill this country goes, Canada is looking better and better.

[Emg]

P-off most of the world ????? WHO CARES !! It wasn't THIER buildings and people that went crashing into the subway system!! And they aren't interested in the least in OUR best interest at all ! They all want to just bury thier heads in the sand and hope it all goes away........well, those responsible for THAT outrage want to wipe us all off the face of the planet and they aren't going leave europe alone and just "go away" Once they take us down...what's to stop them from obliterating the "Rest of the World" :rolleyes: ?

We are the only ones capable of stopping it...and the only ones with a leader with enough guts to actually try and do something about them. Wether you agree with Bush or not...at least he doesn't lead based on what the latest poll numbers are, but on what HE believes is right and best for this country, and that is what he was elected to do...by a majority of the country I might add !

OK...now that I've totally P-Oed the whole antiwar crowd.......started on a rant there but better lay off before this topic gets locked !

You want to move to Canada ??? You go right ahead....I'm proud to be an American...it's the best country ever and there's no way on God's earth I'm going to hang MY head before any weinie spined europeans who can't make up their minds WHAT they want to do about anything!

[OrionGirl]

Nope, don't go down that road. Not the spirit or topic of this thread AT ALL.

[tomdkat]

I'm surprised this thread has remained open as long as it has.

Peace...

[Liz]

I don't know much about politics but I wish I did. A LOT of my peers (teens) don't know jack squat about politics but they take on the political views of the popular political "punk rock" stuff. Granted, I can't much judge another persons' political knowledge (and validity of their political opinion) since I don't know much about it myself, but a lot of the people writing the lyrics seem intelligent and perhaps have something to back up their opinions with. Meanwhile, a lot of kids just get the basic direction of the lyrics and everyone hates Bush.

Seriously. I live in Florida, which isn't really the SOUTH south, but you'd think Bush would be more likely to be popular here. If you spent a day or two in any of the public schools, you would be extremely surprised at Bush coming close to winning a vote... election... thing. Teens need to stop being so opinionated on things they don't have unbiased information on. We are all so fecking impressionable, REBEL AND FOLLOW THE MEDIA! Ugh.
(I know we are a republic and the "public opinion" doesn't neccessarily determine who is elected for president, and I really don't know enough, but didn't Bush win the citizen vote, or whatever you would call it? That surprised me a lot)

People complain alot about government and politics. It's a lot easier to complain than it is to find a better way.

[Emg]

Sorry, I didn't really mean to go off on a rant like that...I've been trying very hard to steer clear of these sorts of topics......(because I am rather opinionated and I really want to keep it friendly here !!).......but I just get frosted when people start holding up "other countries" as somehow better and threatening to move to Canada....I have nothing against Canada at all....but for crying out loud....why the heck would anyone worry overly much about what other countries think of us. They all despise us no matter what we do.....and it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with our policies as much as it does with our success !

I'll leave it now and again appologize for venting........and try...oh so much harder.....to curb my quick patriotic temper here....

[OrionGirl]

And that will close this thread, to prevent any responses trying to explain just why it matters what other countries think.

OG