American Politics

A place to discuss casual topics amongst spiritual friends.
Kenshou
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Re: American Politics

Post by Kenshou »

A pretty reasonable evaluation.
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kirk5a
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Re: American Politics

Post by kirk5a »

cooran wrote:Hello all,

As this thread is called ''American Politics'' - could someone please help me to understand Sarah Palin, and any talents and capabilites she may have?

with metta
Chris
What happened was she was plucked out of total obscurity by John McCain when he chose her as his running mate for the 2008 election. Then she gave a very charismatic speech at the Republican Convention (not written by her of course). Just like Obama rocketed to stardom after his speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Since then it's been the Sarah Palin show. The outdoorsy/hunting/common-woman shtick has a lot of appeal to a certain American mindset. Other than that, her talents and capabilities to me seem to be entirely a knack for political ladder-climbing. I see no genuine insight into real solutions for real problems, whatsoever, coming from her.

But that won't necessarily be an game-ending obstacle for her bid for the US Presidency. Scary thought. So now we're all wondering (I'm sure wondering anyway) just what the heck we got with Obama, and if it comes down to Obama vs Palin... I'm thinking I can't vote for either of them.
"When one thing is practiced & pursued, ignorance is abandoned, clear knowing arises, the conceit 'I am' is abandoned, latent tendencies are uprooted, fetters are abandoned. Which one thing? Mindfulness immersed in the body." -AN 1.230
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tiltbillings
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Re: American Politics

Post by tiltbillings »

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>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
chownah
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Re: American Politics

Post by chownah »

cooran wrote:Hello all,

As this thread is called ''American Politics'' - could someone please help me to understand Sarah Palin, and any talents and capabilites she may have?

with metta
Chris
She just published a book (or is it a pamphlet....not sure) called "America by Heart"......read this and you will learn alot about a very large segment of the conservative American population which responds to it.
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Virgo
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Re: American Politics

Post by Virgo »

chownah wrote:
cooran wrote:Hello all,

As this thread is called ''American Politics'' - could someone please help me to understand Sarah Palin, and any talents and capabilites she may have?

with metta
Chris
She just published a book (or is it a pamphlet....not sure) called "America by Heart"......read this and you will learn alot about a very large segment of the conservative American population which responds to it.
chownah
Not too much truly conservative about Palin's politics. Some points yes, but overall, no. Republican yes, conservative, not so much.

That's something most people who don't truly understand politics always get wrong. They think Republican equals conservative. It really isn't the case, and only a small percentage of Repubs are true conservatives. For example, George W. Bush was a Repub. He did some conservative things, like cut taxes, but overall he was very much a leftist on many matters-- he was into huge federal gov, huge fed government control, and huge federal spending in many ways like Obama. That is not conservatism.

Kevin
alan
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Re: American Politics

Post by alan »

Left unsaid is your definition of true conservatism, and what benefits society at large would see if that ideal were to be put into practice.
And don't just say "tax cuts". There is obviously a point of absurdity to the basic idea. If tax cuts are always good, then why not make taxes zero? Seriously--at what point will conservatives be happy with the tax rate?
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andre9999
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Re: American Politics

Post by andre9999 »

alan wrote:Left unsaid is your definition of true conservatism, and what benefits society at large would see if that ideal were to be put into practice.
And don't just say "tax cuts". There is obviously a point of absurdity to the basic idea. If tax cuts are always good, then why not make taxes zero? Seriously--at what point will conservatives be happy with the tax rate?
Ta da...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservati ... ted_States
alan
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Re: American Politics

Post by alan »

Hi Kirk5a,
No doubt Obama has been a disappointment...perhaps it was inevitable, given the fact that so many of us read things into him which were not actually there.
But a vote for Palin is a vote for the complete ruination of everything we value as Americans. She is simply not competent.
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Re: American Politics

Post by alan »

ander9999,
thanks for the link, but I'm pretty sure of my understanding of political history. The question was to Virgo, and to all those who apologize for the egregious errors of the Bush years by hiding behind an ill-defined argument: "He wasn't really a Conservative"
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Virgo
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Re: American Politics

Post by Virgo »

alan wrote:Left unsaid is your definition of true conservatism, and what benefits society at large would see if that ideal were to be put into practice.
And don't just say "tax cuts". There is obviously a point of absurdity to the basic idea. If tax cuts are always good, then why not make taxes zero? Seriously--at what point will conservatives be happy with the tax rate?
The problem is not that we have taxes. The problem is HUGE government spending. HUGE. And also, HUGE government over-regulation, which costs a ton of money as well. Where does all that money come from? Take a guess. That's right. Taxes. You think the government is helping you by ballooning (getting so big), having so many programs, and over-regulating businesses and so on. It is not. Why? All of that means much higher taxes, which is YOUR money and everyone elses money.

This means that people have less money to spend. Does that stimulate the economy? It means that businesses large and small, have much, much, much more overhead (because they are taxed to death and there are so many programs they have to pay into. Does that help the economy? No. It means businesses can hire less people, make less money, have less incentive to start, and usually have to lay more people off, running skeleton staffs. That is what HUGE gov spending and regulating means. It does not help you. It hurts you. Don't be fooled by all the smoke and mirrors that they pull please. Also, do yourself a large favor and learn some economics.

One last thing. People tend to think that conservative all drive pick-up trucks and have guns with which they shoot bear, deer, and blacks with. And that they would send every immigrant back to where they came from, or hang people for stealing. Or that they only want money for the rich, or that they are all Texas oil-men. None of this is true. It is what the liberal media feeds you and tells you.

The truth is that conservatives are interested in economics, real, practical economics. They are also interested in the Constitution. And definitely in their rights, but not just in their rights, but also in what regulations are set out for the Federal Government. Did you even know that the regulations for Fed gov are mapped out in the Constitution? Probably not. You have probably (there is a very good chance you have not, but I may be wrong) never read it in your life. So just keep dreaming.

Kevin
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Virgo
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Re: American Politics

Post by Virgo »

alan wrote:ander9999,
thanks for the link, but I'm pretty sure of my understanding of political history. The question was to Virgo, and to all those who apologize for the egregious errors of the Bush years by hiding behind an ill-defined argument: "He wasn't really a Conservative"
He wasn't. He was your average Republican. The truth be told, the Republican party retains some conservative elements and views on certain topics, but they have actually gone very left. They too are into big government spending, extra programs and regulation. The truth be told about the Dems, after JFK they went far left.

Kevin
alan
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Re: American Politics

Post by alan »

Back in the late 30's "conservatives" were totally against joining the war in Europe. In 2003, "conservatives" were beating the war drums about Iraq. Does that make sense? Of course not. But then again, conservatism, in any of it's many guises, never really has.
alan
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Re: American Politics

Post by alan »

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Last edited by alan on Thu Dec 09, 2010 4:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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kirk5a
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Re: American Politics

Post by kirk5a »

alan wrote:Hi Kirk5a,
No doubt Obama has been a disappointment...perhaps it was inevitable, given the fact that so many of us read things into him which were not actually there.
But a vote for Palin is a vote for the complete ruination of everything we value as Americans. She is simply not competent.
The problem is that he has gone against the things he very explicitly ran on, not that we read things into him. His latest cave on the Bush tax cuts is just the example of the week.

Of course Palin is incompetent. And the ruination of everything we value is far advanced.
"When one thing is practiced & pursued, ignorance is abandoned, clear knowing arises, the conceit 'I am' is abandoned, latent tendencies are uprooted, fetters are abandoned. Which one thing? Mindfulness immersed in the body." -AN 1.230
alan
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Re: American Politics

Post by alan »

Virgo,
"Huge" Government spending really annoys you. Why?
Pretty much everything you now enjoy-from the roads to the schools-is a result of Government spending.
Like libraries? Thank the government.
Like Cops on the streets?
Like Firefighters?
Like Teachers?
The Government is huge because the country is huge. What else do you expect? Are you advocating anarchy?
One last point: businesses don't hire because they have a tax break. They hire because they think the value added by that employee will result in higher profits. Pretty simple.

I have yet to meet a conservative who is reasonable.
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