ITT we talk american politics (if thats ok)

[deleted]

Ok..

Recently with the DNC going on, I have really taken an interest in American politics.

Problem is, I'm pretty uneducated in regards to alot of what's going on, but im trying hard to educate myself on American political views/stances/movement.

Bill Clinton's speech last night was unreal, I spent the morning pouring over news articles trying to grasp exactly what sort of things are going on with our neighbor.

Does anyone have any sort of links they could give me for reading material?

Im unbiased as far as parties go, im just trying to learn because it interests me, and as a whole, I regard this board as a pretty intelligent group of people.

Any sort of discussion is welcomed and encouraged.

jontm

I only know one American word ...hoooooonnnkkkkkk

They use their horns like we use eh

JohnnieH

I get all of my US political news from The Daily Show

Hellmuth's Mole

JohnnieH;330011 wroteI get all of my US political news from The Daily Show

Atta boy Johnnie....one of the better sources. Then watch The Colbert Report for an excellent mock version of right wing punditry. Then when you are aware of the huge divide in sanity and the right, take a listen to an actual broadcast of Rush Limbaugh and see how Colbert's mock conservative doesn't even do justice to the crazy.

g2

JohnnieH;330011 wroteI get all of my US political news from The Daily Show

Johnnie, it's irresponsible to only have one source of US political news.

I watch The Daily Show ANNND The Colbert Report.

/g2

trigs

Hellmuth's Mole;330012 wroteAtta boy Johnnie....one of the better sources. Then watch The Colbert Report for an excellent mock version of right wing punditry. Then when you are aware of the huge divide in sanity and the right, take a listen to an actual broadcast of Rush Limbaugh and see how Colbert's mock conservative doesn't even do justice to the crazy.

^this.

before i actually watched the crazy fox news crap they show in the states, i always thought colbert and stewart were just trying to be over the top. after watching some american 'news' shows though (in south korea where i had no other alternative) i started thinking that colbert and stewart don't even give justice to how fucking crazy some of those people are.

if you don't believe me, just watch one episode of the o'reilly factor (or whatever it's called). that guy is fucking nuts.

what really scares the crap out of me though is that there is a large amount (probably majority) of americans that actually believe the crap fox news spits out daily. america has got to be one of if not the most ignorant developed country in the world.

just for an example, obama's 'new deal' that was supposed to create more jobs and turn the american economy around did just that. in fact, the GNP actually saw growth for the first time in years (decades?). however, due to networks like fox news and the like, only 6% of americans actually believe that the new deal helped. not sure if you can get much more ignorant than that as a country.

trigs

oh, and by the way, when america decided to attack iraq, the majority of the population could not find iraq on a world map (60%+ iirc).

trigs

also, if you want a decent news source for america (and worldwide) check out this site:

Independent Media Center | www.indymedia.org | ((( i )))

djgolfcan

To be quite frank, and perhaps look like I'm with the tin foil hat crowd, I believe the lack of inteliigence in most of society is by design.

The way Western society is set up, we are too busy trying to make ends meet to really look at what is truly going on. We live paycheque to paycheque, paying ridiculous sums of money to feed the government, all the while too busy to really question what they are doing with it.

Once every four or five years, we send a new rep to them, but the bureaucatic machine behind them does not change. How is that democracy ?

I don't have an answer for how to change it, but just like Communism, Capitalism does not work for the majority. Too much of our resources are being taken by too few people, who in turn, have too much power and influence.

trigs

djgolfcan;330020 wroteTo be quite frank, and perhaps look like I'm with the tin foil hat crowd, I believe the lack of inteliigence in most of society is by design.

The way Western society is set up, we are too busy trying to make ends meet to really look at what is truly going on. We live paycheque to paycheque, paying ridiculous sums of money to feed the government, all the while too busy to really question what they are doing with it.

Once every four or five years, we send a new rep to them, but the bureaucatic machine behind them does not change. How is that democracy ?

I don't have an answer for how to change it, but just like Communism, Capitalism does not work for the majority. Too much of our resources are being taken by too few people, who in turn, have too much power and influence.

agreed.

many people don't know this but what we call democracy today isn't actually what democracy was when the greeks created it way back when.

a government for the people, by the people was much more literal for them and imho the much better alternative to what we call democracy nowadays.

in ancient greece, the birthplace of democracy, every citizen in the state was obligated to vote on government decisions. not only were they obligated to vote, they were obligated to literally go work in the government (for set periods of time) and work together to make decisions for the state. they would alternate between the citizens for weeks/months at a time. you would leave your job and go work/vote/debate for the government and the people for a while and then go back to your regular life while the next citizen would come and do the same.

now that is democracy.

[deleted]

Good replies ITT

you guys are joking about colbert , right?

ive seen his show before, he seemed very ... sarcastic to me.

Milo

djgolfcan;330020 wroteTo be quite frank, and perhaps look like I'm with the tin foil hat crowd, I believe the lack of inteliigence in most of society is by design.

The way Western society is set up, we are too busy trying to make ends meet to really look at what is truly going on. We live paycheque to paycheque, paying ridiculous sums of money to feed the government, all the while too busy to really question what they are doing with it.

Once every four or five years, we send a new rep to them, but the bureaucatic machine behind them does not change. How is that democracy ?

I don't have an answer for how to change it, but just like Communism, Capitalism does not work for the majority. Too much of our resources are being taken by too few people, who in turn, have too much power and influence.

Two words, at least as far as the US of A is concerned . . .

Ron Paul

Milo

Costanza . . . the Third Rail of Canadian politics is Healthcare. In the States the Third Rail is GUNS (or metal lathes, I can never remember). Also, they like to spout off about their independence, but just try and cut back on ANY entitlements and listening to the cacophony that arises.

compuease

trigs;330019 wrotealso, if you want a decent news source for america (and worldwide) check out this site:

Independent Media Center | www.indymedia.org | ((( i )))

Really? really? That's a decent news source? Seems very biased to me... Hardly what I would call truthful reporting..

[deleted]

compuease;330028 wroteReally? really? That's a decent news source? Seems very biased to me... Hardly what I would call truthful reporting..

lol i was afraid this would happen.

i know from reading a bit online that getting news from major news outlets is skewed

I need to find a respected third party, or im never gonna learn fuck all lol

Milo

Every news outlet is skewed, even the one Trigs linked to . . . the key is to know the bias going in, and to read/view any reports through that lens.

Locally, you know that Sunmedia are basically the "diet" version of FOX, the Star is the in-house paper for the Liberal Party of Canada, and the Globe and NatPost fall somewhere in the middle (though the Post skews more conservative [NOT the party, the philosophy] than the Globe). So, any columns you read need to be considered in light of those biases, such as when the Star talks about Stephen Harper's "hidden agendas" despite there being little to no evidence of this . . . it makes sense when you consider their bias against the CPC. Similarly, when Ezra Levant goes ranting about, well . . . ANYTHING, you can immediately dismiss it as the barking mad ravings of a self important twit.

Milo

costanza;330030 wrotelol i was afraid this would happen.

i know from reading a bit online that getting news from major news outlets is skewed

I need to find a respected third party, or im never gonna learn fuck all lol

If you want to start learning about american politics, try this. Read their Constitution. Once you gain an understanding of that document, move on to the Bill of Rights. Then you can tackle the Federalist Papers if you like, but that can wait. All you really need to do is look at any given issue in today's campaign and ask yourself, where does this fit into the Constitution or the Bill of Rights?

For example, the Libyan conflict during the Arab Spring. It is the Law in the US that Congress, not the President, is the body that ratifies a Declaration of War, and commits troops to the fight. That did not happen with Libya, iirc, and so you need to ask whether or not that is a violation of the Constitution.

Healthcare is a big issue in this election. Look in the constitution of the United States and show me where it says the government needs to provide Healthcare for the people.

You are on your way . . .

Milo

If all else fails, just listen to Limbaugh, watch O'Reilly, and, whatever they are speechifying about, lean toward the opposite position. More often than not, you will seem like the voice of reason . . .

Wolffhound

costanza;330009 wroteOk..

I spent the morning pouring over news articles trying to grasp exactly what sort of things are going on with our neighbor.
.

You meant neighbour ....right?

g2

Wolffhound;330044 wroteYou meant neighbour ....right?

Where's the "LOVE" button? Like-ing this post is simply not enough.

/g2