Bush!!!!

[jacknjill]

Originally posted by Mukiwa
JacknJill..What is your opinion? You are about the same age as me yet why do you pick Bush? No offence or anything but do you pick him becuase your parents do? I am just wondering becuase you are old enuff and seen enuff to decide on you own....Why Bush? :notsure:
sorry i didnt reply sooner but i had a big paper due. anyways..
No i dont just like bush because my parents do. in fact my dad is a democrat who likes kerry and my mom is a republican who likes bush. i support him on the no abortion. i like that he is not afraid to show that he is a christian. i agree with him on the going to war subject to free the people there. but now i do agree with some other people that we need to get on the ball and do something because we arent really doing anything now. also, i cant stand kerry and even if i didnt care for bush much (but i do), i would still support him over kerry any day
and to all you others who are bickering over something that has already happened, i didnt mean for this to become a huge debate. i was just stating my opinion

 

[microman2k]

I am GLAD Bush won...i wouldn't want Kerry to have to clean up all the CRAP Bush has got us into...who would want to put ANYBODY in that? let Bush clean up his own mess...

 

[pontius]

Tru Conch, you're right, Bush IS going to get his way now. But you should know he'd have been a lot more willing to work with the Democrats if they hadn't worked so hard to screw him in the early part of his first term. He couldn't get a bill passed or a judge approved to save his life. And it wasn't due to the judges he appointed not being well qualified, it was due to the Democrats one sided view of things. These people are our representatives and should vote on bills and judges based on merits, not who the president happens to be. And it was ridiculous how they rejected everything he put out there. So if he uses the first few months of the second term to let them know who's in charge, I say great.

 

[sirgunther]

Originally posted by osufarker
Here is something I read on the politics of "tougher standards".
"A plague has been sweeping through American schools, wiping out the most innovative instruction and beating down some of the best teachers and administrators. Ironically, that plague has been unleashed in the name of improving schools. Invoking such terms as "tougher standards," "accountability," and "raising the bar," people with little understanding of how children learn have imposed a heavy-handed, top-down, test-driven version of school reform that is lowering the quality of education in this country.
It has taken some educators and parents a while to realize that the rhetoric of "standards" is turning schools into giant test-prep centers, effectively closing off intellectual inquiry and undermining enthusiasm for learning (and teaching). It has taken even longer to realize that this is not a fact of life, like the weather -- that is, a reality to be coped with -- but rather a political movement that must be opposed.
"
You can read more at this link if you are interested.
Test Today, Privatize Tomorrow
Using Accountability to "Reform" Public Schools to Death
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/testtoday.htm

I have 3 of my 4 boys in grade school right now.. belive me i know what your saying.. I think the system needs some work still, yet it is better than when i went to school.. I distinctly remember when i passed the 5th grade.. A friend of mine was "ushered" on into the 6th grade just because they did not want to hold him back. That did not help him any.. In the school district where my kids go to school, if they fail to many WASL's or some other crazy

[hr]
criteria then they are to repeat the grade.
Now that is accountability.

 

[tru conch]

pontius
by bush not getting everything he wanted (im not 100% sure on the judges issue, but its my understanding they were too conservative) it keeps the system of checks and balances in place. now there is a vaccum of those check and balances, its just an express lane for his mandate(s).
and bush did get some important bills/legislature passed, ie the Patriot Act (which to me is still a shady deal, big brother is watching!) the tax cuts (which isnt helping the deficit) and of course the approval for war against iraq.
i just wish bush would do three simple things that every grown person should or can do:
1) admit his mistakes and take actions to fix/and not b.s. the public
2) keep his religion/faith out of politics
3) car a little bit about the environment (i dont mean be a hippie but at least pretend you care as a president for pete's sake)

 

[zepplin48138]

Hatrick loves Micheal Moore.

 

[jbone]

I understand your point that we are trying to make the world safer. But , what about the kids that are growing up in Iraq and seeing there neighborhoods destroyed - bombed - parents shot , do you not think they will grow up and hate americans ? I just hope we are not going into war to create more war ... cheers [/B]
More iraqi children are going to school now than ever, with new books, desks and supplies. Everyday more and more Iraqis are earning a living and, everyday their basic services are being improved. However, you do not hear about these things on the front page or in the headlines because they just don't make for very exciting news. Car bombs and dead soldiers sell news papers. Try reading page 12 instead of just page 1. If you look hard enough you can find a couple paragraghs on the progress we are making there.

 

[jbone]

Originally posted by TheSamm
thank you LIONFISH12...i agree with u, bush is a crook!!!!!!! my school is on a huge damn budget we cant even affort paper thank you bush...raising taxes for the next 4 years and a war for the next 4 years

John Kerry was the only one who talked about raising taxes. I am in the middle class and when GW cut taxes i got a check in the mail. I am far from rich, so i don't understand how people keep saying he only cuts taxes for the wealthy?

 

[jbone]

Originally posted by reefylady
this is so true it is frightening.....
i don't know about the rest of you, but financially i can't survive 4 more years of this presidency. the economy has gone so low that the only thing left is a crash worse than the one in the 20's. property values are at a record low, savings and stocks are at a record low, country's deficit at a record high.
how can we continue to send all that money to iraq when they have made it clear, by killing our troops daily, that we are not wanted there. how can we when there are so many people in our own country that are going to bed hungry and cold everyday? it is deplorable when a childs only hot meal of the day is the free lunch they get at school (and there is talk of having to eliminate that also because of no money).
but, on a brighter note, one thing will go away, we won't need border patrol any more. canada and mexico will be the ones trying to keep all the americans out!
:notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure: :notsure:
Property values are at all time highs, the stock market is not withing 10% of it's all time high, deficate is only at high in dollar terms, adjusted for infalation it is not evan close. I say go to Canada, enjoy their socialist society.

 

[bang guy]

Micheal Moore is a traitor.

 

[larrynews]

yep!

 

[poolguy]

for all of you who are so protective of the troops, unless you had the guts, and wilingness to sacrifice yourself for others, shut your pie hole...we don't need your weak thoughts to govern what we do, we have our reasons why we do it... to help those who can't help themselves, why is it that 85% of the troops in iraq, thats the correct spelling for you all. anyway,, 85% voted for bush, so shut up. quit taking what the media says and keeping it as your opinion... i leave all you kerry lovers with this, get over it. he lost, thank god, now i can un pack my bags....

 

[sly]

Originally posted by Bang Guy
Micheal Moore is a traitor.
Yep yep.

 

[overanalyzer]

Some random thoughts --
So Poolguy - the military should rule .... nice thought. What an asinine statement. Thank you for serving in the military and I hope you come home safe and sound. I also hope when time comes and you are ready to leave that Bush lets you - though through stop-loss I don't see that happening.
Our own military is afraid of powers that be. Check out this story about the munitions dump in Iraq:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...a/iraq_weapons
Another note - only 51% of the folks approved of Bush being president.
Over 120K folks survey and 52% do NOT think the economy is improving.
As a former teacher I will tell you that the federal government was responsible for funding most educational efforts. With the budget cuts coupled with the new mandates you are seeing increased class sizes, older text books and all test preparation. I spoke with one teacher who stated he would leave teaching but the economy is so bad he can't get a job. Those are the kinds of folks you want teaching your kids?? Also - enjoy your tax breaks as local governments are raising taxes to make up for the loss of federal dollars
cnn.com conducted a poll and over 370,ooo folks responded and the question was: Are you optimistic about President Bush's second term in office? and 58% answered NO. What this tells me is one of two things:
1. Even republicans think they chose a bad president OR
2. Most republicans don't read the news.
In this day and age it is impossible to discount a fix:
Claim: A Texas woman who cast her vote for all Democratic candidates discovered her ballot marked for Bush/Cheney.
Status: True.
LINK: http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/travis.asp
For those of you who applaud that Bush is willing to bring religion into the campaign - a reminder - this is politics - Church and State do not mix..... also if you think a president has any say over abortion then you are in need of some serious education. Bush would need 60 votes to stop a filibuster in the Senate and with the republican sweep they only have 55. So if someone whose sole judiciary mandate is to stop abortion is put forward he will not pass as a supreme court justice. Alan Specter (R) warned as much yesterday but after a call from the white house staff he has backed off and said it was just advice not a warning ....
Exit polls showed a majority of republican voters believed:
Iraq has WMD
W has been 100% truthfull with the public
W has told us what he will do and he has accomplished those goals.
NOTE: Promises from Bushes First Election:
** IN 10 years there would be a $5.6 Trillion SURPLUS (we are once again a deficit state)
** [George Bushes] economic plan would create 5.4 million jobs in 18 months.
** Saddam has weapons of mass destruction
** We had a thorough plan for the Iraqi war. (so explain how those soldiers got abused and KNOWN munitions dumps were not protected).
** The Iraqi's will greet us as liberators
I respect the office of the presidency but in no way do I want anyone to confuse that with respecting this greedy self-serving president.
Lastly - those of you 18 or younger just think. Our president has already over-extended our military and as a country we will need to increase our numbers. Some ex-military commanders have estimated the need for at least one million additional troops. While I don't see that as too hard to reach that is the minimum number. So how will the US get more than a million MORE troops (in addition to the current number) and as much as 10 million more..... Well the stop-loss measure only goes so far. So unless Bush does something with some allies who want to actually contribute troops to Iraq there will have to be a draft. Just imagine if Sudan had OIL or if North Korea did??
The house built on fear and mud .... 4 more years?? I guess it is time to give up and buy stock in Haliburton and the oil companies!

 

[alison]

I personally did not vote for Bush, and was strongly oposed to him; however I am just glad people stood up and VOTED. This thread in a way makes me proud because it shows that you all most likely stood up and voted. In my state alone there were 350,000 additional voters this year! That's enough to swing a vote one way or the other. I'm just glad we live in the United States where we have a government where we can voice our opinions and VOTE! It doesn't matter my opinion of Bush, he is the new president, and was the clear winner. :happyfish

 

[tru conch]

personally i cant stand michael moore. as much as i cant stomach him, people like him are needed to challenge the system and way of thinking. thats why its supposed to be the land of the free.
and poolguy i dont know why you had to unpack your bags since kerry wasnt elected.

 

[reefraff]

Overanalyzer
I dispute your claim that the federal goverment ever funded most education efforts. I am an advocate of NO federal involvment in local education and my camp has for years been referring to the fact that the federal government is responsible for 90% of the paper work required while providing less than 10% of the funding for local education.
And by the way, the problem with the Texas woman's ballot was corrected and her proper vote was cast. The experts have already figured out the exit poll information was totally skewed. I have been waiting for the liberals excuse for getting beat again. It is allways getting out spent, cheated or misunderstood. Never simply because the majority of the country isn't liberal.
TRU CONCH
Democrats fought to maintain their "gold standard" for judges which is the ABA (American Bar Association) rating when the republicans wanted to dump it a few years back. The nominees the Democrats fillibustered all had received the ABA's highest rating. The Democrats have created a foolish new standard which is to fillibuster judges based on political litmus tests. When the Democrats controled the Senate they said fillibustering a nominee based on political philosophy would absolutly wrong. Now they have set the new standard and believe me, at some point it is going to come back and bite them.
Bushes nominees were expected to get 3 to 5 Democrats at least in a vote of the whole Senate. That hardly suggests they were extremists. Here's what it was really all about. Remember the hoopla last spring over the Democrat memos a republican aid was able to get off the capitol computer? Those memos spelled out the Democrat plan to block certain judges so they could maintain or increase support from certain special interest groups that opposed the judges.

 

[overanalyzer]

I don't think there was large scale voter fraud but I also think she double checked her ballot. How many folks did not?? Realistically W would carry Texas so her vote or a few thousand others did not.
Check your state office of education to see where funding comes from for your state - you'll be surprised .....

 

[hagfish]

About the economy, the market was unrealistic prior to Bush's arrival due to internet and tech stocks going through the roof based mostly on speculation. When people realized that, the market crashed. This is not Bush's fault. It's not even Clinton's fault. After 9-11, the market hit another bump for obvious reason's. Perhaps Clinton and/or Bush should take a little blame for the attack, but I just don't think anyone in America had envisioned something like that happening. Since then, the market has been trying to fight back and is doing a little better recently. It's not going to happen overnight.
As for Iraq, I read a post somewhere recently that mentioned that maybe part of the idea behind the war in Iraq is that we can sit in one spot while the terrorists come to us. The best part is, we aren't on our own soil. I think that makes pretty good sense. It's easier than searching every cave in every mountain in Afghanistan. Or every home in Iraq. Plus it's keeping terrorist resources tied up over there and taking away from resources that could be spent planning more attacks on us.

 

[reefraff]

Originally posted by overanalyzer
Check your state office of education to see where funding comes from for your state - you'll be surprised .....

I think you would be more surprised. In 1995/96 the Federal government provided 7% (total) of preschool, elementary and secondary school funding. That is the national total. In my state the fed supply about 10%.