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ITT we talk american politics (if thats ok)
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.
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.
Comments
They use their horns like we use eh
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.
Johnnie, it's irresponsible to only have one source of US political news.
I watch The Daily Show ANNND The Colbert Report.
/g2
^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.
Independent Media Center | www.indymedia.org | ((( i )))
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.
you guys are joking about colbert , right?
ive seen his show before, he seemed very ... sarcastic to me.
Two words, at least as far as the US of A is concerned . . .
Ron Paul
Really? 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
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.
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 . . .
You meant neighbour ....right?
/g2
The RNC was full of lies put out there by their keynote speakers including the vice presidential candidate. The party has zero diversity. Romney is likely the biggest overtly phony individual ever to run for president. He has completely switched his stance on issues such as gun control, abortion and health care over the past 6 years to appease the ultraconservatives in this run for president. He has no depth or purpose or soul. He is the personification of a figurehead puppet for a political party. He has said nothing of substance during his entire run. It would be laughable if he weren't somehow neck in neck with Obama.
As I stated, I am not a supporter of any politician or party. The entire mechanism is so money driven and broken that I truly do not believe that it will ever be fixed. However, a vote for Romney is probably even more idiotic than a vote for little Bush for 4 more years. The mass idiocy in this country is astounding. The number of individuals that vote against their own best interests is astounding. The thought of this republican party gaining power is nauseating.
I still feel like I'm not educated enough on this stuff yet to contribute to discussion, but hopefully within the next week , some people can address some questions I will have.
I've gathered that Mitt Romney and his campaign is laughable.. instead of delivering a plan, and change and explaining why HE should be the leader, most of his energy is spent only saying why obama SHUOLDN'T be in charge. Pretty funny tactics...
It's easy for me to offer opinions on the candidates as people, but because I don't fully understand and comprehend exactly what each other represents, I cant really offer any insight on their political campaigns lol it sucks
Hopefully soon ill be able to lol
i never said that that source wasn't biased.
you show me a news outlet that has completely truthful reporting and i'll show you a liar.