Recent Posts
NKorea refuses to allow SKoreans into factory park
It remains to be seen what the North Koreans are seeking by this round of bellicose talk, or whether China will reign in their errant vassal. (Apr 4, 2013 | post #6)
German parties slam Cyprus deal
What matters the most is that the proposal to levy a tax on Cypriot bank deposits failed. That proposal was very dangerous. A lot of governments were seeing it as a trial balloon, and planned the same in many countries, including my own, if it succeeded. Fortunately, Cypriots almost had a revolution over this, and the government backed down. The Cypriot Government and Western owners of Cypriot debt who were pushing this did not care that it was very dangerous. This sort of thing would cause economic chaos as no one would have faith in saving money. (Mar 24, 2013 | post #208)
The Spartans: Were They Truly European?
That video is simplistic & incorrect. The Old Spartans were of Mediterranean origin; their ancestors were likely the old Cro-Magnons who seem to have given rise to the Pelasgians. These latter people were not speakers of Greek but later were Hellenized. The Old Spartans in the time of the Trojan War probably looked like today's Greeks. These people were not Black, but Blacks were by no means unknown in and around the Mediterranean Sea. Mediterranean peoples all show some recent African ancestry in their DNA, but this is a small percentage, maybe 1 to 3%. In ancient times Mediterranean people would not see a Black person as unfamilar, as trade and political connections from East-Central Africa up the Nile Valley were present from at least 3000 B.C. The Old Spartans were conquered and enslaved by Dorian barbarians from the north, who seem to have been also Greek speakers but would have included a greater percentage of blondes. They usurped the Spartan name and became a militaristic upper class. This implies that the ancestral Greek language had a spread possibly as far to the north as the Carpathians. The Spartans had no relationship with the old Jews until Jewish migrants came to Greece during the Roman Empire, when the Spartan state had long since ceased to exist. The Hittites of Asia Minor did though, as they intermarried a lot with them; a story reflected in accounts about King David. (Mar 11, 2013 | post #312)
4 White Teens have Sex on 2 BM Dead Bodies
If these charges are true, then the death penalty is appropriate in this case. If no death penalty is available in that State, life imprisonment with no parole needs to be applied here. (Mar 11, 2013 | post #71)
What the 2012 election taught us
I agree with you. The days of the crazy far Right dominating American political thinking are over for good. Some American conservatism will survive and contribute to American life, but not the mutated & distorted form that the Republicans have created in the past twenty five years. As an example, once upon a time, conservatives liked small and efficient government, and a government that stayed out of people's private affairs for the most part, but still looked after the sick and elderly. The Republicans after 1988 or so gradually threw away those ideals in favor of racial, social, and religious clannishness, tossed the good values of old conservatism away, and in their place adopted radical stuff. We saw all this sprout in the last election, with the talk about abolishing Social Security & Medicare, the insane "rape comments" and the like. On the Rush Limbaugh show I recently heard him talk about the "greed" of Medicare recipients. They are still beating a very dead horse and think that the 2012 election somehow was crooked. It wasn't, and Obama prevailed because the majority of American rejected their values out of hand. As long as they keep to this path, they are not going to stage any comeback in 2016. (Jan 28, 2013 | post #7360)
What the 2012 election taught us
About taxes: Whether they are high or low, the important thing is that the American people get their bang for the buck on the taxes they pay. Sadly, under both Democrat and Republican regimes as of late, too much money has gone to waste. (Jan 22, 2013 | post #7015)
Spocko, the interesting thing about this is whether the Republican party can actually examine itself and rid itself of these radical elements. If it does not do so, it will decline permanently. The Republicans have at most eight years to make up their minds on this issue. If they do not by 2020, their appeal to the public will be finished for all intents and purposes, with no hope for recovery in our lifetime. (Jan 18, 2013 | post #3036)
Notre Dame: Te'o hoax 'sad, cruel game'
Whoever did this hoax does not matter much. Some people are taking it way too seriously. (Jan 17, 2013 | post #18)
What the 2012 election taught us
Remember though, that there are some real hotheads on both sides of the gun debate. I have heard many a confiscation proposal as of late, along with one that every gun owner be legally required get a psychiatric examination every three months, for every gun that he owns. Stuff like that from the Left does not help this debate. On the economic issue, the Right has wrecked the jobs picture as much as anyone has. For instance the Right always yells about deporting the illegal aliens, but they were instrumental in causing the problem. One thing that turned me against Mitt Romney was the fact that a lot of wealthy Right wingers and plutocrats like him invited in the illegal immigrants for cheap labor. Then, as part of Romney's campaign there was all this Republican talk about deporting such people, over 11 million of them. This went hand-in-glove with Paul Ryan's proposals to cut down Social Security. In other words, if people are not of use any longer, discard them like last year's Christmas tree. I did not like the sound of such talk. (Jan 17, 2013 | post #6766)
What the 2012 election taught us
I live in a State where the Left is as crazy in its own fashion as the most rabid right-winger. A few things that Drudge, Hannity, and Limbaugh say are true, but they include much hot air. I will sometimes listen to their programs when I am on the road, then listen to a Leftist station on the air, and make my own decision as to what seems most practical. An example is the present gun debate. Some further controls are inevitable after that recent atrocity. At the same time, the wild-eyed proposals of the Left and the Right alike need to be resisted as they will not be good for the social order. (Jan 17, 2013 | post #6697)
This is possible, but trollish references to the President deflate your argument. I agree that gun controls do not have much effect if any on homicide. Homicide is culturally driven. If you go to the Wikipedia page listing nations by homicide rates, you will see many countries with strict gun control with higher homicide rates than the United States. Russia, Jamaica, South Africa, Mexico, Honduras (with 19 times the USA rate) are only a few of a rather long list. The reason why guns are often used in killings in the USA is simply cultural. In these other societies other implements are used. North African countries, totally awash with guns, all have a homicide rate much lower than the United States has. (Jan 16, 2013 | post #2921)
What the 2012 election taught us
I think you said that very well, Calm Liberal. I am a moderate and always vote in that manner. This time around Mr. Obama got my vote for that reason. The dog-eat-dog, Darwinian culture that the Republicans want has no place in a modern civilized society. (Jan 16, 2013 | post #6663)
What the 2012 election taught us
The Republicans of today are far from the Republicans of the time of Ronald Reagan. They have become too radical & insular for the majority of Americans to stomach, and fewer Americans find them relevant every year for that reason. If they do not mend their ways, they will become an insignificant, rump party. This will create other problems, as the American political system functions best when there are two or more strong parties to choose from. They check and balance one another. But if one party gets too strong, you have a bloated, ruinous bureaucracy and inefficient government, as is the case in California these days. If one looks at Republican web sites (example, go to Unskewedpolls.com) , and sees comments like your own, it becomes clear that there is not all that much self-reflection going on in the Republican Party about the 2012 election. The Republicans are still coming up with various lame excuses for their defeat. They will see no Presidential victories in the future unless they change their ethics and their approach to the American people. (Jan 16, 2013 | post #6616)
What the 2012 election taught us
That is correct. You seem to think that a lot who do not pay IRS taxes do not work hard. Visit any restaurant or service station and you will see plenty who do work hard. One of my friends is a $9.00 per hour security guard who owns a house and commutes over 40 miles one-way to his job, and keeps a roof over his family's head. I guess he does not work hard, as he pays essentially zero in Federal taxes. And if the Republicans continue to think that poor people, old people, unemployed people, disabled people, children, retired people and sick people are not Americans, they will get no votes from such folks. Decent Americans in general will not go for the sort of grotesque vision that Mitt Romney had for our future. I suspect that in 2016 the Republicans will still not know this basic truth. (Jan 15, 2013 | post #6581)
Many people do not want new gun laws because of the wild-eyed proposals that some of the Left make. They see a slippery slope. I read one example the other day in the L.A. Times saying that gun owners should be taxed to provide all kinds of freebies to "crime victims." In other words, if a felon gang member is shot in a drive-by shooting by his rival in a drug deal, I am supposed to pay the man a pension if I am a gun owner. That kind of crazy talk is common on the Left. While some further gun laws will arise due to the Sandy Hook atrocity, it would be better if the gun laws on the books are actually enforced, unlike their general lack of enforcement at present. (Jan 15, 2013 | post #473)
Q & A with Christopher Keller
Hometown:
Alhambra, California
Neighborhood:
Alhambra CA
I Believe In:
Taking care of America first; a strong foreign and economic policy. Manufacturing needs to return to America. We need an economy that attracts capital and does not drive it away.
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