Snowpickle

I hear you, I'll be a model of diplomacy. But then again, you know I'll also have to razzle dazzle them with my lopsided and infaillable charm, humor and intellect! Let's catch up, off line.

Dog babe, first of all, I don't eat that much red meat. ha ha I'm a pansy, really, the lover not a fighter type. I'm also lazy. To throw a little psycho babble your way: Manslow Hierarchy of need stipulates each step in human motivation has to be achieved before you can continue up the pyramid. So as you can see from the picture below, if you have to go around "packing" then you are pretty much stuck at level 2, Safety. I'm more of a 3-5 level gal. I'll let you He men do the heavy lifting, while I go write a poem.

Simply Awesome.

None take Sugar.

Thanks babe..you have always been one of my favorites. Thanks Kewl. I have no beef with your opinion as it is base on your belief.

Ah....darn it. Hey Doggy...how's it going?! Thanks for the warm welcome.

Gun control isn't realistically going to happen in the foreseeable future in America Violence that includes a gun, will continue to escalate. Law abiding citizens will most likely do one of two things, arm themselves or move to a place where there is less chance of violence taking place (or as I like to frame it, vote with their feet). These places may be areas that do have strict gun control, such as Singapore. If you decide to take the option of arming yourself, then here are two things to think about: First, the "other guy" will most likely get off the first round, as he will have the element of surprise on his side. So if you are the primary target, you better hope he isn't a good shot. Secondly, as you respond in kind, you better hope you are equally a good shot, or else you could add to any collateral damage. Friendly fire is a very very sad event. I'm personally not that good of a shot, so count me as one of those people that will gravitate towards an area where gun control is prevalent. That is my choice, each to his own.

Vizioiraqi, May I use a bit of friendly philosophical jujitsu on you? You state that same sex marriage is against the grain, which I assume means unnatural? So is slavery against the grain as well? Slavery was very prevalent when Jesus was alive. In fact, until the late 1880s, it was pretty much the norm around the globe. Are allowing women equal rights against the norm? Until the early 1920's, again it was pretty much normal that women were second class citizens. In many parts of the world, they still are. The point being, that equality for everyone is the results of a mature evolving society. As long as two individuals are law abiding, tax paying citizens who love each other, why do you personally care what they do in the privacy of their own bedroom? Yes, I know you believe the moral fabric of society will be torn, especially causing damage to our youth. Furthermore, you no doubt fear that they will be confused with seeing same sex parents. But think about it, how many children currently grow up in a "natural" family? That is, where the parents were married prior to the child being born AND stay married for their entire adult lives? With a 50% divorce rate prevalent in Western Society, many children area already growing up with two mommies and two daddies (as in step mothers and fathers). I know that change is difficult for many, especially as we grow older (me included), but this Big Old World is going to keep spinning no matter what and G A Y rights is going to happen like it or not. I fear that with your present line of thinking, you are going to continue to be upset as G A Y knock down the barriers of social inequality.

I'm a bit confused. One of the opening lines is: With no constitutional authority to do so, Congress creates a separate form of government for the District of Columbia As the legislation branch of the Governement, it's their job to write laws, so how is it that they don't have constitutional authority?

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2012/12/27/dont-believe-the-left-americas-still-number-one This article directly challenges this write up. It's worth a read for you conservatives.

So he outlines where we were and where we are. But he didn't feel in the blank...Who is the greatest nation then? China? No Canada? Sorry Smee..no I think what this says is we aren't AS great as we once were. But I have to admit, if I was any other country in the world, and I knew the US military was about to thump on me...I'd certainly be the scardiest nation on the face of the planet. I think our best days are ahead of us.

I think the downfall of man will be due to his inability to co-exist with others.

Um, been there done that, didn't work. "We will bury you!" was a phrase famously used by Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev while addressing Western ambassadors at a reception at the Polish embassy in Moscow on November 18, 1956 Look where it got the USSR.

Awesome post Guys. See, we may be generations apart, but we all want a Strong America. Heavy, you will get no disagreement from me regarding personal accountablity, and that it begins with strong family morals. KCT, you seem like a person I'd like to know better. A teacher? One of the most difficult jobs in the world (besides a US warfighter). You are the second step for building a better America, Heavy hit upon the first, that is Family.

Cosmo, Just curious, did you get back into the stock market? As of a week or so ago, it has made it back to its 2008 level. A lot of people claim they got out before, the big drop, but if you were really smart, you would have got back into it say 2009 and road it back up. The stock market on paper, factoring in inflation, hasn't gone up in 12 years. I bought my dinar in 2006, I think it may have gone up about 30%, but that's not factoring in selling costs. My bet, is I'd break even if I did sell. The only thing that has saved my bacon is that I' have been dollar cost averaging in to the rising stock market, so the money I put in from 2009 on has made a decent return. Looking at RE, my house is still only worth about half of what it was in 2008. Short story long, there really hasn't been ANY investment winners for a long time, at least for me.

Ah guys, I"m a young wipper snapper, so please be gentle with me, but I for one think the best days of America are in front of us, not behind us. When in your opinion were things great? Seriously? The 90's, 80's, 70's, 60's...when? Pls provide an exact time, like a decade when everything was hunky dorrie? Think about your parents, did they say similar things as you are saying now? For those of you who grew up in the 60s, wasn't that a wild decade? Free love (sex everywhere), war (Vietnam), drugs, civil unrest, political assasinations, economic discontent. That was 50 years ago... I know you want a better America, me too, honest,but I need your help as an older (and wiser) generation to step up and be positive. We DO have problems, serious ones, but do they even come close to what they were in the 30s and 40s? Depression, World War, Dust Bowls, Now those were BIG problems. And what happen, our Greatest Generation stepped up and lead us on to become the greatest nation..EVER. Please, be a beacon of hope and positive reinforcement for my generations, we need you.

Ah guys, we are getting just a tad off track aren't we? Dives' posting doesn't go into the religious aspects, so why do we even have to go there? I like Ski's idea of term limits for everyone..why oh why do we have term limits on the executive branch but not the other two?

That's kewl, I think we are pretty much on the same page. Also, one bad apple won't really effect most decisions, as it takes a majority. But you and I both know that the overall make up of the court waxes and wanes with who ever is in the white house when a slot opens. So the pendlum is always going to swing too much to the left or the right at any one time, but hopefully overtime, it lands up somewhere in the middle, which is where most of us can live with.

Oh hum, is it me or does it seem that the the initals for the United States should mean something? It's US. Not a U blank S. It's US, as in, damn it, we are in this together. I hate how it's conservative against liberal, red against blue, city against country. We have an incredible history, sure some blemishes, but we've been in it together. We faced communism, terriorism, bad economy...bad things, because we are one of the most generous countries to have ever existed. We love the underdog, we allow our people to fail...and then we get a lump in our throats when they come back stronger than ever. We endure. We get stronger when the going gets tough, that's because you know I have your back and I know you have mine. Let's stop this fricking fighting amoung ourselves and become a better, stronger US. Trust me, both JFK and RR would be up for it.

Sure they can be removed. But ask yourself, what is the chance of that? Really, when you look over all the "bone head" decisions that have been made, and you look at how unpopular many of them have been, did anyone ever pull a judge? That's the beauty of the system. Judges are suppose to be above reproach because they don't have to worry about pleasing people. They are appointed to the highest court due to their prior records and their moral platform. Think about it, would you even WANT a system that could pull a judge if he doesn't make the most popular decision? The constitution protects individuals rights, not the majorities. That is why the US is the oldest government out there (except maybe Iceland), it is because our founding father's built in a check and balance system. It's not perfect, but it has worked better than anything else in the last 236 years.

Do you really think the UN has the power or authority to delete a part of the US constitution? Seriously? Not a chance, I'd be more concern with the Girl Scouts pulling their mint cookies, God I love them.

Gee Whiz, the executive branch going behind Congress' back and providing weapons to rebels? This must be a first. Where's Col North when you need him?

Totally agree with the last few posts. China will pull the leash in on NK. Of course if NK attacked the US or it's allies, then we need to respond. But let's not be foolish about it...

Sir, I am a bit confused with your posting. Religion is based on faith, correct? Faith by it's very nature, does not require proof. The shroud if, as you said, is considered to be proof that Jesus existed, what does that mean to you? That is, if it was the other way around and recent tests verified that it wasn't legit, would it make you not believe? Likewise, does it make you believe MORE if the facts lead that way? If you believe in the Son, I would think it should be solely (no pun intended) because of your faith, not because you are trying to find facts to back it up. To me, people that pick and chose only those facts that back them up and disregard those that don't aren't being "faithful" to their faith. But maybe that is me. BTW, I'm not attacking your faith, merely questioning why you have to try and back it up.

Early April Fools prank maybe?