As Predicted....

[sam i am]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051010/ap_on_re_eu/germany_election

Next is the French elections. I predict big gains for the Conservatives there as well, albeit maybe not as strong a result as in Germany.

I did want to note that I did predict, a while back, that the Conservatives in Germany would win in the elections there.

So, with the Iraqi elections upcoming next week (I predict a 70% turnout countrywide but that the Constitution will be NARROWLY defeated by the Sunnis in all 4 provinces they are a majority) and the French elections shortly thereafter, it looks like a Conservative tide is rising across the world.

Now, as for the US elections next year, I'll take a wait and see attitude, as what happens with the Iraqi elections surely portends for George W.'s popularity.

The real question becomes : what will the House and senate look like after next years' US elections and who will have momentum going into 2008?

[sam i am]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051010/ts_nm/germany_dc

That makes it official.

Merkel, leading a center-right coalition, takes over for Schroeder's center-left coalition.

Guess good relations with the US is important to Germans after all, eh? (y) :D

[D_Raay]

There are so many things wrong with what you said I don't know where to begin.

[sam i am]

There are so many things wrong with what you said I don't know where to begin.


I was just patting myself on the back a bit, man.

Every once in a while it's nice to be right.

AND, I can't expect anyone else to agree with me, so I'm just having a bit of fun agreeing with myself.

Also, Merkel is Chancellor now, so how is that wrong?

[Ali]

I was just patting myself on the back a bit, man.

Every once in a while it's nice to be right.

AND, I can't expect anyone else to agree with me, so I'm just having a bit of fun agreeing with myself.

Also, Merkel is Chancellor now, so how is that wrong?I don't see much of a change (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec05/merkel_10-10.html) coming, do you?

[sam i am]

I don't see much of a change (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec05/merkel_10-10.html) coming, do you?

I guess my biggest hurrah for change comes in the outlook on relations with the US.

In that regards, yes, a change is coming. Schroeder blasted the Us & Britain after he stepped down and fought tooth and nail against any kind of foreign interventionist policy. (http://news.yahoo.com/fc/world/germany)

Merkel will be different, or so she has stated....

[Schmeltz]

Clearly, Merkel was elected solely due to her position on relations with the United States. Domestic issues must have played no role whatsoever.

"Rising conservative tide?" What in the hell are you talking about?

[sam i am]

Clearly, Merkel was elected solely due to her position on relations with the United States. Domestic issues must have played no role whatsoever.

"Rising conservative tide?" What in the hell are you talking about?


Let's se....she's more conservative than Schroeder, by far. Both on what she proposed to do domestically, i.e, cutting expenditures involved in maintaining the nanny-state, increasing rates of productivity, lowering tax rates, and foreign policy, i.e., improving relations with the US.

The rising conservative tide I was referring to will be seen in the French elections, mark my words. Just like the 2006 elections in the US, where Republicans will INCREASE their representation in the House and at least MAINTAIN their representation in the Senate. That, plus a Supreme Court that will tilt MORE to the Right, makes a "conservative tide."

[Schmeltz]

So a very debatable result in Germany, a French election that hasn't even happened yet, and the undeniable swing to the right in the United States - three countries total - makes for a rising global tide of conservatism.

Mmm hmm. The left must be shaking in their boots.

[sam i am]

So a very debatable result in Germany, a French election that hasn't even happened yet, and the undeniable swing to the right in the United States - three countries total - makes for a rising global tide of conservatism.

Mmm hmm. The left must be shaking in their boots.

True story. They sure seem to be by the way they're screaming while we're kicking their asses..... :D

[D_Raay]

True story. They sure seem to be by the way they're screaming while we're kicking their asses..... :D
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/bush_poll_dc;_ylt=AjgBUZ4YhsTbF4t72u5kHvthr7sF;_yl u=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl


President George W. Bush's job approval rating has fallen to a new low of 39 percent in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday.


Bush's approval rating dipped in the poll below a mid-September ranking of 40 percent. The survey also found only 28 percent of respondents believed the country was headed in the right direction, NBC reported.

[D_Raay]

The ONLY shot the conservatives have is to renounce Bush himself, which many have been hestitant to do. I was surprised by Ann Coulter doing so however, and that trend is likely to broaden. I know one such Republican in Vermont is actually going to run on a platform of impeaching Bush.

[sam i am]

The ONLY shot the conservatives have is to renounce Bush himself, which many have been hestitant to do. I was surprised by Ann Coulter doing so however, and that trend is likely to broaden. I know one such Republican in Vermont is actually going to run on a platform of impeaching Bush.


The impeachment deal ain't gonna happen. Book it.

As for the rats leaving the sinking ship theory....well, this kind of crap always happens in a second term. Domestically, things tend to go to pot (think Clinton) and, so, Presidents try to focus on foreign affairs, where they have much more leeway.

We'll see what happens in the Iraqi elections this weekend...a key bellweather as to the direction that whole situation will go and, likely, a marker for where approval of Bush will go as well.......

Stay tuned, campers :)

[D_Raay]

The impeachment deal ain't gonna happen. Book it.

As for the rats leaving the sinking ship theory....well, this kind of crap always happens in a second term. Domestically, things tend to go to pot (think Clinton) and, so, Presidents try to focus on foreign affairs, where they have much more leeway.

We'll see what happens in the Iraqi elections this weekend...a key bellweather as to the direction that whole situation will go and, likely, a marker for where approval of Bush will go as well.......

Stay tuned, campers :)
Your whole statement actually , whether you realize it or not, puts you on my side for once. You seem to understand that corruption is guaranteed from the very top of our government. Where we differ is on whether or not one can accept this or not.

I won't, and nothing will ever so incline me to do so.

What I would like to see is an election in THIS country where people would be struggling to choose for who to vote for because they really liked the multiple candidates they had to choose from and couldn't decide just how rosy the future should actually be. What we have now is a joke, and it seems to be spreading. Without the huge money that the national candidates garner, the local fellows here running for governor seem almost comical to me when watching their attacks on each other. Never mind qualified, never mind work ethic, never mind personal history or background or what they could actually do to help their constituents, let's just kick the other guy's teeth in for 2 months.

I tire of these elections which have become popularity contests. We are smarter than that. If we aren't, we get resentful of being called not smart and empower the very process of dumbing down our elections to hide the credibility issues that are very apparent to me when I see these attacks.

Conservative or socialist or a mixture thereof, is that what really matters?
Or do the people matter? Are we just so much suckling pigs at the grand teat
of corruption and injustice? Or is this all a quibble over technique and application and rule of thumb that has gone horribly wrong?

Forgive me for prattling on, three anisettes tend to have that effect on me.

[sam i am]

Your whole statement actually , whether you realize it or not, puts you on my side for once. You seem to understand that corruption is guaranteed from the very top of our government. Where we differ is on whether or not one can accept this or not.

I won't, and nothing will ever so incline me to do so.

What I would like to see is an election in THIS country where people would be struggling to choose for who to vote for because they really liked the multiple candidates they had to choose from and couldn't decide just how rosy the future should actually be. What we have now is a joke, and it seems to be spreading. Without the huge money that the national candidates garner, the local fellows here running for governor seem almost comical to me when watching their attacks on each other. Never mind qualified, never mind work ethic, never mind personal history or background or what they could actually do to help their constituents, let's just kick the other guy's teeth in for 2 months.

I tire of these elections which have become popularity contests. We are smarter than that. If we aren't, we get resentful of being called not smart and empower the very process of dumbing down our elections to hide the credibility issues that are very apparent to me when I see these attacks.

Conservative or socialist or a mixture thereof, is that what really matters?
Or do the people matter? Are we just so much suckling pigs at the grand teat
of corruption and injustice? Or is this all a quibble over technique and application and rule of thumb that has gone horribly wrong?

Forgive me for prattling on, three anisettes tend to have that effect on me.

D_Raay - it's not surprising to me that we agree on this point. I have always had a ton of respect for you because I know how deeply felt your positions are and I respect you as a fellow American, not just a hate-spewing, ignorant idiot like some others on this board.

That being said, I would wholeheartedly agree with you that a better educated electorate is the key to better representation within the framework of our Democratic Republic system of governance.

Now, I know you would tend more towards the socialistic ideals and I would tend more towards the conservative ideal, but there exists plenty of common ground for us to find.

Maybe the politician or party that finds that common ground and goes out and sells it to the public will be the success story for the next 40 years or so. I happen to believe that a majority will continue to be found in the Republican Party, but I also believe it is a big umbrella party that welcomes dissent and discussion and discourse as to how to make it better and improve the lives of all Americans.

I know, I know....optimism again. Well, sue me if you like.... ;) :D

[D_Raay]

D_Raay - it's not surprising to me that we agree on this point. I have always had a ton of respect for you because I know how deeply felt your positions are and I respect you as a fellow American, not just a hate-spewing, ignorant idiot like some others on this board.

That being said, I would wholeheartedly agree with you that a better educated electorate is the key to better representation within the framework of our Democratic Republic system of governance.

Now, I know you would tend more towards the socialistic ideals and I would tend more towards the conservative ideal, but there exists plenty of common ground for us to find.

Maybe the politician or party that finds that common ground and goes out and sells it to the public will be the success story for the next 40 years or so. I happen to believe that a majority will continue to be found in the Republican Party, but I also believe it is a big umbrella party that welcomes dissent and discussion and discourse as to how to make it better and improve the lives of all Americans.

I know, I know....optimism again. Well, sue me if you like.... ;) :D

No actually you are right on the money, well except for the Republican way being the way to go in the short term. I think this saviour party we both dream of will not come from either party although I could be wrong. We need to meet halfway on this however and I realize I am just as guilty as anyone else when sprewing from one side or another.
But, in reality, the two sides (I don't consider them sides now btw but it is so ingrained in us now) need to really put aside their differences and unite in common goals devoid of all the meaningless rhetoric. Our government truly has to be accountable to it's people. I realize your defense of our present government comes from your optimism that your belief system is the right way, and that things will turn out in the long run. I am right there with you, and I respect you for that. We just happen to have different belief systems. That is NOT an unbridgeable gap.

My real problem lies in the dumbing down of America. If we all thought like you and I, there would be no conflict (well nothing a good discussion couldn't cure anyway). Our government on both sides takes great pains it seems to let us know as little as possible and to be quite vague on their actual intentions. The people allow it so let it be so. Well, the sad thing is we are not a bunch of brainless clods, and I for one resent being thought of or treated in such a way. The American people can only be as great as their leaders, and that is our downfall. Were we to put the proper effort into making sure we had the best leaders none of this bickering would be necessary.

[sam i am]

No actually you are right on the money, well except for the Republican way being the way to go in the short term. I think this saviour party we both dream of will not come from either party although I could be wrong. We need to meet halfway on this however and I realize I am just as guilty as anyone else when sprewing from one side or another.
But, in reality, the two sides (I don't consider them sides now btw but it is so ingrained in us now) need to really put aside their differences and unite in common goals devoid of all the meaningless rhetoric. Our government truly has to be accountable to it's people. I realize your defense of our present government comes from your optimism that your belief system is the right way, and that things will turn out in the long run. I am right there with you, and I respect you for that. We just happen to have different belief systems. That is NOT an unbridgeable gap.

My real problem lies in the dumbing down of America. If we all thought like you and I, there would be no conflict (well nothing a good discussion couldn't cure anyway). Our government on both sides takes great pains it seems to let us know as little as possible and to be quite vague on their actual intentions. The people allow it so let it be so. Well, the sad thing is we are not a bunch of brainless clods, and I for one resent being thought of or treated in such a way. The American people can only be as great as their leaders, and that is our downfall. Were we to put the proper effort into making sure we had the best leaders none of this bickering would be necessary.

Well said. Maybe we can join what someone on another thread called the Common Sense Party :

Here's the platform : strict adherence to the Constitution, as amended. Strict environmental protections of all existing NAtional Parks, monuments, etc., but the sale of all remaining land for development and exploitation (maybe after a review that would set aside an additional 20-30% of existing lands as new national parks/monuments). Endorsement of Capitalism with regulation set at current levels : i.e., no NEW regulations of industry for the next 10 years or so except in the case of egregious behavior, which can also be handled criminally. Balanced Budget. Flat or NAtional Sales Tax - disband the IRS. Review of all Cabinet Levels and bureaucracy federaly to trim all waste and positions that are unnecessary as soon as possible.

Let me know what you think and other ideas you have....

[Ali]

Well said. Maybe we can join what someone on another thread called the Common Sense Party :

Here's the platform : strict adherence to the Constitution, as amended. Strict environmental protections of all existing NAtional Parks, monuments, etc., but the sale of all remaining land for development and exploitation (maybe after a review that would set aside an additional 20-30% of existing lands as new national parks/monuments). Endorsement of Capitalism with regulation set at current levels : i.e., no NEW regulations of industry for the next 10 years or so except in the case of egregious behavior, which can also be handled criminally. Balanced Budget. Flat or NAtional Sales Tax - disband the IRS. Review of all Cabinet Levels and bureaucracy federaly to trim all waste and positions that are unnecessary as soon as possible.Yes! You can call it La La Land and have the King of the Pixies as President!

[sam i am]

Yes! You can call it La La Land and have the King of the Pixies as President!


Or we can call it "ali Land," where everyone throws turds at the US all day and smokes bad cigarettes and watches horrible movies, convinced of their innate, ultimate superiority despite all evidence to the contrary.....

Oh, wait.....that's already happening...it's called "France" :p :rolleyes: :D

[Ali]

convinced of their innate, ultimate superiority despite all evidence to the contrary.....a perfect description of the US!

[sam i am]

a perfect description of the US!

Nicely said.....Touche! :D :p