My tribute to Canadia.
I appreciate you’re all about attention but it’s probably worth remembering that it matters to everyone, everywhere who leads the empire of the day.
We know what empire does now, we know the false flags and lies and the underlying agenda’s, but the world still needs to understand the person steering the imperial course.
Many instinctively think of empire inmilitary terms and that is significant - especially if the leader is intent on acquiring the world’s third largest oil reserves by force - but, as a general proposition, nowadays this is more about the financial markets and the implications for market of policy shifts. Have a look at the affect of the US sub-prime wobble on the UK Treasuary, for example.
Yes, well said. Someone quoted George Will in another thread earlier: “Football mixes the two worst aspects of American society; it’s violence punctuated by committee meetings” (paraphrased).
I agree there are probably too many SDMB threads on the U.S. presidential race, but it’s a big deal to many of us, and there’s always more to say about it. But feel free to start threads on other countries’ politics - I’ll probably take a look at them!
[hijack] EH, where’ve you been lately, anyway? [/hijack]
I’m very interested in the US presidential elections and I occasionally read a thread about it here although I have to say I don’t usually find them very informative. How many Fork Hillary threads are there now? Six? And the third one nearly went over 3000 posts? How can one discussion last that long?
What I’m trying to say is that I like reading about the US elections, just not some of the threads that are started on this board.
Of course our political process takes a long time. It’s not easy to find the kind of mud that sticks. A good smear campaign is a work of art and can’t be rushed.
If we did things in a hurry, we might end up electing a good-natured country buffoon with an idiot smirk.
I’ve been around - certainly not hiding. I’ll PM you.
Y’all aren’t sitting on a bunch of oil we don’t know about are you? Because then we might need to…liberate you.
The North Sea is full of it; the UK is the world’s 15th-largest producer of oil. 'Course, it’s the 13th-largest consumer of oil, so you’ll have to be sure to destroy any oil-consuming infrastructure.
No, I don’t think the amount of media bandwidth devoted to this subject will actually increase. It’s already at saturation level now–only the content emphasis will change, first to who the choices for VP will be, and then finally to the election itself.
On the other hand I’m ashamed to admit I don’t know what the PM looks like. I haven’t seen his likeness on TV or in print that I can recall. Never mind even hearing or reading much about the general political situation in the UK and Ireland. With Ireland, especially, it’s rather odd when you think about it. The U.S. has many things in common with Ireland–you’re a republic as we are, while our neighbors to the north have the monarchy. And because of the vast immigration from Ireland up through the early 20th century, Irish cultural presence here is strong. Although people may rue the fact that St. Patrick’s Day parades and celebrations here have devolved, in some cases, to college beer bashes, the very fact that the day is acknowledged at all is due to this heritage of Irish culture.
We’re just too damned insular here, and I wish it weren’t so. One of the things I love about this message board is that we are international, even if Americans predominate
And I’m going to admit frankly, before looking it up on Wikipedia, that I don’t even know what the head of state in Ireland is called. Do you have a PM, or a President, or what??
Although I’m trying to be ruefully humorous about this, I really am saddened to realize how uninformed we are about the world outside our country.
.
Be scared of McCain. Be very scared.
Most of us are over here. There are even lifelong Republicans of the staunchest sort, like my father*, who detest and despise McCain.
You have to understand what this means for us, and the world. If we can get Obama elected, it means a break from our recent history of being the rampant cowboy careening about the world stage on a bronco, and firing his six-shooters at random. I haven’t felt this hopeful in a long time. It’s a chance to redefine ourselves in regard to how we appear to the world.
Clearly we need new ideas and new perspectives, all over the world, but in the US most of all. We’re not going to get that with McCain.
*Amazingly, this is my dad, whose heroes are Hoover, Nixon and Reagan. He may vote for Obama this year.
Well, Bush will be out in any case, but McCain is looked on as Bush 3.
Well said. I wish Paul Fussell would update his sociological classic, Class. GWB represents one of the most successful example of intentional class sinking that I have ever witnessed.
As you know how. We have both. Our PM or as we call him An Taoiseach is the political leader of a parliamentary system like the British one except our House of Lords is a Senate and it has Senators not Lords. The current government is a very stable (up to now) coalition of which the largest party by far is Fianna Fáil. Current Taoiseach is this hunk of a man, Brian Cowen.
The President is the elected Head of State but is non-political except for rubber stamping bills off etc. Mary McAleese is the current resident in a nice big white house in the park.
Seriously. I’m an American who is quite possibly going to bow out of this election for the first time in his adult voting life.
The Obamists just scare me too much. Obama could casually mention the “Jewish situation” and his followers would be firing up the ovens before Obama had a chance to qualify his statement.
Just too scary. I’m going to keep my head low and hope the roving mobs of Obamists don’t notice me. I am prepared to shout “heil Obama!” if my life depends on it.
Um… why?
For many, it’s the “maverick” reputation that had liberals looking favorably on him for a while.
Specifically and especially, his actions on immigration and campaign finance seem to rub many a conservative the wrong way.
I don’t understand how that makes him scarier than Obama to a conservative, though.
Well, many already feel that Bush did stupid things (not necessarily the stupid things liberals think he’s done) and that he’s taken them for granted. Many are afraid that supporting McCain would send the message to the national party (whom many are already dissatisfied with also, due to losing Congress and pork-related issues) that they can only be successful with McCain-style positions - that they can put up anyone they want and the base will just suck it up. This would result in a long string of Bushes and McCains, thus preventing The Next Reagan (or Republicans in general) from ever coming anywhere close to the Presidency. (Remember that conservatives think that the nation, in general, agrees with them.)
Many also figure that the next President will have an uphill battle anyway, and better a Democrat be blamed for that.
'Course, being only an occasional and casual browser of blogs, I may be completely wrong. But this is the sense I get.