lol. to paraphrase, there are lies, there are damn lies, there are statistics, and then there is that statistic, which is completely, obviously, totally made up.

Anyways, I think the most important issue is minimizing destructive government interference in the economy and in globalization.

if ppl are "willing to sacrifice", why would there ever be a draft?

Well im glad that someone is wise enogh to post that things could in fact be worse... nice post sir

Lestat,

Highly recommend you read other sources. To credit Reagan's handling of an invasion of another country to protect American (corporate) interests and set the example that socialism will not be tolerated by the US (who gets to decide the political model of every Latin American state because it has the most guns) at the expense of the desires of the local population is rather stunning. It is really not much different in approach than crediting Hitler as a good leader because he handled the invasion of Poland rather smoothly.

Reagan, like Presidents before and after him, lied about the situation, blamed Cuba as subverting Grenada when there is little evidence of this and strong evidence to the contrary. We need to stop the cycle of using foreign policy as an instrument to betray American ideals in the name of mo' money behind a stream of "democracy, liberty, and other b.s." propaganda (see Iraq II).

http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/h.../10grenada.htm

While the point behind this list of statistics is correct, these numbers are extremely and obviously bogus. For example:

2998 people dead from 9/11
2998 * 6,000,000 = 18 billion

There are not 18 billion people in the world, let alone in the U.S. Certainly, 18 billion people have not died in the U.S. in the past say... 20 years would be reasonable. 2.4 million Americans died in 2004. Let's take 2.4 million * 20 and we get 48 million. 2998 in 48 million is:

1 in 16,000

A lot more accurate, yet nowhere near 1 in 6,000,000. Of course, using 20 years is a bit arbitrary.

But then, I guess that's why they said "terrorist WMD attack" instead of "terrorist attack". Since no terrorist WMD attacks have actually happened yet, they can just make up whatever the hell they want to B.S. with.

Also wrong:

death by murder: 20,000/1

This might be correct for yearly, for recently at least. Compare murder rate to:

death by firearm: 325/1

Uhm, wtf? Which of these is correct here? 98% of firearm deaths aren't murder? LOL, riiiiiiight. Or how about:

death by assault in your lifetime: 182/1

WTF? 1/20000 chance of murder but 1/182 chance of a specific type of murder?

-Protecting the environment.
-Ending our dependence on oil (domestic and foreign).
-Health care for all Americans.
-Fighting the war on Terror.
-Winning the peace in Iraq.
-Keeping abortion legal.
-Keeping Social Security out of the stock market.
-Solving the illegal immigration problem.
-Reasonable gun control.

all bad and devastatingly myopic, w/ the possible exception of abortion and I'm not sure what you mean by "solve" immigration.

Issues that are important to me are not debatable - and boy are you stupid.

thanks for clarifying that.

-reduce spending in every possible way
-reduce taxation in every possible way
-end the drug war
-reduce market interference as much as possible particularly in energy and the environment... IE we need to GTFO of the ethanol boondoggle

It's still hard for me to believe that people who play poker believe socialist nanny state government is best....

were do you think the fish come from? Faulty reasoning is a widespread disease.

Those are the issues that are most important to you - thankfully, the vast majority in this country do not agree. You will see when Obama or Hillary win in November

Well, I don't think that's a fair statement. I am a progressive and believe that the government should have basic safety nets in place to make sure that somebody doesn't end up bankrupt because of a medical condition (for example). I believe that government can be efficent and transparent and serve the interests of the people. Socialism (to me) is the BEST form of government in theory. In practice, obviously it doesn't work so well. THIS (US) government isn't bad because we're moving tword socialism. It's bad because it's corrupt to the core, with no thought of actually doing what's best for the people.

Of course I do agree with the "nanny state" arguement. I don't think that people should be cradle-to-graved, and just bailed out if they refuse to work. But I do believe that there's a balance that could be achieved, if the government were actually interested in finding it. Instead, they get bought off and return the favors, helping a very small minority of people instead of the majority.

But will anything actually change?

Yes, you will see a strong push for ending our dependence on oil. Stronger emphasis on conservation and recycling. Stronger protection of the Environment. Some form of Universal Health care. Social Security will not be privatized in whole or in part. Abortion will be protected (a progressive named to the Supreme Court). Not sure about the immigration problem.

Sorry, I guess my question should have been:

Will any of that matter once your dollars aren't worth anything?

Virtually all Americans are 50% slave (Fed tax, state tax, Soc. Sec. tax, medicare tax, inflation (the hidden tax) sales tax, exise tax, property tax, gas tax, booze tax, cig tax, road tolls, drivers licence fee's and registrations, capital gains tax, parking tickets, speeding tickets, no seat belt tickets, late fee's for late tax returns, penalties for same, hotel tax, etc.

2 guys debating who you prefer (as in a Dem or a Repub) is like two guys who are bent over and being reamed up the a** debating who it's better to have in charge of the rape crew.

The TV constantly distracts people from this simple reality, when all is said and done:

You are ~ 50% slave, if not more than that.

Gee, you get to vote who is going to be in charge of the rape crew, YEAH!!! God Bless America!

So, right now, the mob agrees with you, therefore democracy is "working".

Quoted for Awesome .. plus it made me kinda horny

Aw man, wtf happened to the jailbait thread?

1. War on Terror !! Every night I pray that the next day will be "terror free" for me. I fear that I may someday stop at my favorite 7-11 to get my coffee, only to be blown to bits by a suicide bomber. If we need to spend another 750 billion to keep me safe, then so be it.

2. More tax relief!! Bush's tax cut of 2001, added another $17.50 to my bi-weekly paycheck. I know it's not as much as the billions he gave the oil companies, or the richest 1% of us, but heh... $17.50 is $17.50. I can almost take my wife to someplace other than the Waffle House for breakfast with that. Imagine what the cost of gas would be if Bush hadn't given those oil companies billions in tax relief.
I'm sure they needed it more than me. ConocoPhillips 4th quarter earnings were only 37% higher than last year.

3. Keeping intelligent people in office.

1.) Fighting poverty and reducing income inequality among all Americans
2.) Universal health care
3.) Helping third-world countries create stable, modern democracies
4.) Banning private ownership of handguns

Problem: too many poor people.
Solution: make everyone poor.

Find someplace where you are <50% slave (there arent many of them), and see how much you like it.