Godless nation....hmmm...(sm)
Posted By: Just the big bad on 2009-06-04
In Reply to: Downplaying religion........... sm - m
Now that would be an improvement. This country was not founded on christianity or any other relgion. I agree that Obama was downplaying religion, but I also believe that that is exactly what he needed to do. Bush turned this whole mess into a big "us against them" mentality...."us" meaning christians. I believe Obama had to negate this idea by downplaying religion, thus deflating the whole notion that we are in a religious war (which is exactly what Bush wanted and subsequently turned it into.)
What I find really interesting is the idea that you insinuate that we MUST be identified as a nation by a specific religion. Since we are talking about this in the context of politics, exactly why is it you feel we MUST be seen by the world as a "god-fearing" nation? What would be the benefits of that?
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And we're the Godless
I agree with you...this woman has a lot of nerve. Obviously some people will tow the hateful party line no matter what....
A response to the witch from the widows.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002648990
As a godless person myself....
who used to call herself an atheist, until I discovered that in itself was a type of warped-ass "religion," I think it is totally rude, distateful, and smacks of looking for a fight. Why can't we all just be good to one another? It's so much easier to do and makes ya feel good inside. 
I had a friend on Right Nation who went down there. SM
He lives about an hour away. He did not gestimate anywhere even close to that.
A great nation. sm
As an outsider, I could give you another perspective and one not nearly so dire as yours. However, I also realise that my view is slanted as I simply adore this country and Americans in general. In short, given the information at his disposal, George Bush’s decision to oust Saddam looks altogether reasonable--though, again, not necessarily right. To argue otherwise demonstrates both ignorance and bad faith. So what are we to make of the downward spiral of sectarian mayhem that is currently drawing Iraq into the abyss? The violence seems senseless to us . . . but perhaps that’s the point. Perhaps our enemies recognize that the great exploitable weakness of the American military is that, in the wake of Vietnam, the American public’s grasp of geo-politics runs only as deep as the lyrics to Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind.” This is a weakness every bit as real, and every bit as deadly, as a missile with a faulty guidance system or a tank that stalls in its tracks--and it will remain a real weakness until the American public is knocked upside the head a sufficient number of times to outgrow it. What the degeneration of the mission in Iraq indicates most profoundly is that one 9/11 was not enough to crack through the platitudes of the late 1960s--which are deeply embedded in the universities, television networks and editorial pages of major newspapers. There remains, in such circles, the delusion that the jihadists are ultimately live and let live types, that totalitarian Islam will eventually just peter out, that the principles of the European Enlightenment will simply dawn on a billion Muslims without us cramming them down their throats.This may in the end prove the deadliest error in geo-political judgment Americans have ever made. Members of the genocidally well-meaning baby-boom generation will likely go to their graves believing they “gave peace a chance,” having spared themselves the anguish of killing hundreds of thousand Muslims . . . and likely bequeathed to their children and grandchildren the anguish of killing scores of millions.
the nation really isn't interested
It's just a device used by the neocons to keep the attention of the stifled. They know that the repressed loonies in the county slobber over anything pertaining to sex. Just look at O'Reilly. Nearly every night he has some story about prostitutes, strip clubs, girls gone wild -- he is complaining how horrible it is, yet they always have tapes behind him of half-naked coeds grinding away. If it is so horrible, must we see the tapes over and over?
We are not a nation of businesses.
nm
I am with you, Shelly. Also, it seems our nation is
nm
I think it's a symbol of what our nation has become
Greed...from the top to the bottom. You couldn't pay me enough to get me to go out on Black Friday.
Obviously we are a divided nation.
Do not see how any of this will work. With no republican vote, that speaks volumes to me. Obviously cannot work together or see eye to eye with the future.
#1, The Nation is extremely partisan. #2.
Tillman didn't talk about why he went into the service to anyone. We will have to assume that what his mother is saying is true. Has the wife spoken out? I would think if he told his deepest heart's secrets, it would be to her. She was his high school sweetheart. Here's a snippet from a Newsweek article.
He joined the service just after a honeymoon to Bora Bora with his high-school sweetheart, Marie. He and a younger brother, Kevin, slipped off to enlist in Denver, where they could avoid publicity. Kevin, who gave up a budding minor-league baseball career, remains in the Army. Pat Tillman wanted no attention, no glory, for joining the rank and file. He didn't want to be singled out from his brothers and sisters in the military, says former Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis. Tillman apparently had made a pact with his family to stay silent about his service, a promise they have kept. They have gathered to grieve inside the comfortable family home in a leafy enclave of San Jose.
His was no simple case of patriotism; Tillman was never known as a flag-waver. His agent, Frank Bauer, told reporters he had suspected that Tillman might quit to teach or to practice law like his father, Patrick Sr., but not to join the military. Snyder, his college coach, said Tillman never used the word patriotism when he explained his plans to enlist. He just seemed to think something had to be done. When players asked why he enlisted, he didn't want to talk about it. McGinnis says there were reasons Pat said he had that he didn't want to divulge, and the coach respected his view and his right to make his own path. Tillman had always been different. When he joined the pros, he rode a bicycle to practice because he didn't own a car. He refused to buy a cell phone. A sports publicist at Arizona State once described him as a surfer dude.
It seems his mother decided the pact no longer had any merit. Personally, I see another Cindy Sheehan, disobeying her son's wishes.
Prayer vigil for our nation
I posted this on the Faith board but I also wanted to post it here just in case...
The North American Mission Board has started a prayer vigil for our nation before the election. If you want to participate there is a sign up and prayer guide at
http://ilivevalues.com/prayer
It's 40 days of prayer and then 40 hours of prayer at the end. Check it out! I think it will really do some good and if God's people work together and call out to Him together to heal our nation, He said He would hear us and do so!
Have a great day!
God Bless!
p.s. this wasn't meant to start a riot or to have a bunch of people who don't believe in prayer or God to get up in arms, it's just for those who would like to participate, so please don't go there. Thanks!
most pedophiles are found in the nation's
(nm)
How many pubs on this forum and in this nation
being a qualified candidate for VP and ready to step into the highest office in the land? This is not just about Palin. This is about a party who expects to be taken seriously in the Congresss, Senate, 2010 and again in 2012. So far, all we have seen these past 2 days is a GOP collective who cannot abandon the witch hunt and mob stalking of Obama long enough to address their own shortcomings.
The presumption on the part of these folks that they should be taken seriously by anyone except themselves in view of the fact that they can turn a blind eye to this kind of basic deficit in their party and the judgment of their leaders is LUDICROUS.
Palin may not be a front burner issue for much longer, but the shambles that is the republican party will be there for a long time....a very long time, if their own members cannot get off their high horses long enough to take a long, hard look at themselves.
If we claim to be a nation of laws, then
we need to BE a nation of laws. JTBB has said it all and said it well.
With our nation in dire straights
knowing that 79% of my compatriots are feeling optimistic about our future with only 14% expressing pessimism. What's up with that?
For me, its about FINALLY having our long-awaited closure and moving forward instead of backward. I'm sure some will say "it's just a poll" but when I see that sea of humanity gathering with excitement, enthusiasm and joy, with smiles all over their faces, DESPITE the precarious state of our nation, I know in my heart it is much, much more.
Those numbers help me keep things in perspective (especially when reading the posts of this forum) and focused on what's really important. I will take great pride in doing my part, to whatever extent possible, in becoming part of the solution, and not the problem.
Obama and the State of our Nation
Obama was VOTED in, not 'given' the job as President...You know, I cannot believe some of the things tht come from the brains and out of the miouths oif some indivuduals. This is indeed a historic moment; that I am in agreement with, and I also agree that 170M for the Inaguration was excessive but I will tell you what I find even more excessive - the lying, stealing criminal former administration who ripped of the American people (regardless of political affilation) and basically thummed their noses at us because they felt and still feel they are above the law. The former president and his administration didn't give a durn about the economy and reputation of this country do you truly believe that they cared whether you, your husbands, sons and other relatives lost their jobs and homes? Do you really think they were concerned about whether YOU have enough to retire on after dutifully putting away funds in your 401k? I don't think so. They gutted us and left us twisting in the wind; and while we worry about how we are going to pay the light bill and have enough to buy grioceries let alone our mortgage - they dine well and live like kings, their families and frineds in their inner circles do not have to concern themselves with such mundane issues...why would they? Their gods are Franklin, Harrison, Grant, et al.WE PAID FOR IT and will be for years to come.
So much for promoting unity in our nation........... sm
While there may have been an UNOFFICIAL white caucus all these years, I believe the key word is "unofficial." Were blacks denied membership into this caucus based solely on the color of their skin? I rather doubt it, but I am certain that the black population would probably say they were.
I am all for equal opportunities when it comes to education, housing, jobs, etc., for all people regardless of skin color. However, forming special interest groups does nothing to promote equality. Rather it only promotes the reverse racism and devisiveness we are seeing here and will continue to see in the future.
If you are talking about the Obama Nation post...
it was written by a black pastor and it is his opinion. He was not hired by nor affiliated with the McCain campaign. There are several black preachers who do not agree with black liberation theology. There was nothing in his post about hatred. He said homosexuality was a sin..it is. He didn't say he hated gays...just that the Bible says the ACT is a sin..and it is. Just like lying, adultery, murder, etc. It does have the distinction of being the one sin that God classified as an "abomination." All the preacher was pointing out was that when Obama said there was nothing specific in the Bible regarding homosexuality...he was wrong. Again...there is no hatred in that post. He just doesn't agree with Obama's philosophy. Where you get hate from that I don't know....did you even read the post?
And by the way....sniping and cattiness must be your strong suit? You seem to excel in that area. Can you just drop the cattiness and sniping (as you asked that I do) and go figure, as you told me to do? Thank you so very much.
Our party's not the 1 who brought nation to its knees.
nm
haha - like half the nation is planning on doing!
;)
Don't you wish that me and half the nation which shares this view
x
American undeveloped nation by 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqW1-aA5aMg
WELFARE for the country as a nation, what a concept.....sm
a president with who is really fighting to find a way for the suffering folk, those that are down and out, or should we "just let them eat cake," Marie Antoinette? Now there's a leader who used her head, right to the chopping block, and it seems that the corporate raiders who raped this country into this mess were thinking the same thing, "Hey, I got mine!!"
Hmmm
Is funny, doing transcription, since 1982, but in the last 15 years, feel like one of those slaves you speak about...all work, no pay...???
Hmmm. sm
Lots of creepy things went on back then. Someone from this board e-mailed me several times threatening me. Yes, they sure did. What does it accomplish writing a post like this. I know the former owner. She is a good person and an honest one. It's cowardly to write this when you know she can't respond. It's funny, I tried to post this originally and it said I was using a word not allowed here and that word was her name. If you want to post in a forum that is going to be this regimented, more power to you.
Hmmm.
The Democrats have suddenly developed a keen sense of morality. John Edwards has been banned from making a speech at the democratic convention for having an affair and lying about it.
In his place Bill Clinton will be speaking.
What am I missing????
Hmmm
TALENTED - -  Oh, my where this conversation has led.
hmmm
Can I get back to you on that Katie?
Hmmm...sm
And Rep. Broun really thinks congress, the senate, the supreme court and any other government branches I forgot would let this happen? People would not protest? Does he (and you, OP) really believe America has become that weak? Never underestimate Americans, my friends.
HMMM...
GR said, "I would wager a bet that if we were back in the 50s and 60s people wouldn't be hiding behind the smoke screen of birth certificates, Ayers, abortion, gay marriage, etc."
You are right, back then they would not have elected Obama.
Hmmm......(sm)
Team Bush plans to party on
By Mark Follman
Jan 3, 2005 | Elisabeth Bumiller of the New York Times paid a recent visit to the Washington headquarters of President Bush's inaugural committee, where 450 paid staff members have been busy planning concerts, balls and other events for the three-day swearing-in extravaganza.
The Bush camp has been taking some heat for the estimated $40 million it will raise and spend on the big party; such criticism seemed especially apt before the White House upped its initial paltry sum of $15 million for tsunami relief to $35 million, and then again later to a more worthy $350 million. (Though there are still plenty of ways to measure even the latter as modest at best.) Others had already taken note of what the $40 million could buy for some of the woefully underfunded U.S. troops in Iraq.
Nonetheless, Bush's legion of party planners were ready to defend their cause. Gordon C. James, a deputy director of inaugural events, pointed out that a presidential inaugural has never been canceled, even during world wars. He double-checked the history books to make sure: "The celebrations went on," he told Bumiller, "that's the lesson we learned."
Technically speaking, James is correct, though according to this recent AP piece, at the height of World War II in 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt "opted for a low-key inauguration to mark the start of his fourth term, with a simple swearing-in ceremony, a brief speech from the South Portico of the White House to a small crowd and a modest luncheon."
Meanwhile, another "senior inaugural official," who according to Bumiller "asked not to be identified," called the unflattering comparisons regarding the $40 million a "political shot." The official added that "people are not going to demand the cancellation of the Rose Bowl parade or the Oscars."
http://dir.salon.com/politics/war_room/2005/01/03/party_on/index.html
Hmmm......(sm)
Clinton won't be acting on her own accord. She'll be acting on behalf of the Obama administration. So, while she might not like the approach Obama has, she'll just have to suck it up and go with it. I think it would be in HER best interest to go with Obama on this one instead of going renegade, especially if she is still considering running for president in the future. If she does go renegade, the democratic party will eat her alive, especially considering Obama's popularity, something I'm sure she's well aware of.
I personally liked the pick of Clinton for SOS. Actually there really weren't that many differences between her and Obama on most issues. The differences they did have were just emphasized because they were running against each other. That's what candidates do -- point out differences between themselves and thier opponents.
Hmmm......(sm)
Clinton won't be acting on her own accord. She'll be acting on behalf of the Obama administration. So, while she might not like the approach Obama has, she'll just have to suck it up and go with it. I think it would be in HER best interest to go with Obama on this one instead of going renegade, especially if she is still considering running for president in the future. If she does go renegade, the democratic party will eat her alive, especially considering Obama's popularity, something I'm sure she's well aware of.
I personally liked the pick of Clinton for SOS. Actually there really weren't that many differences between her and Obama on most issues. The differences they did have were just emphasized because they were running against each other. That's what candidates do -- point out differences between themselves and thier opponents.
Hmmm......(sm)
Rember all that talk before the inauguration about how many people would be there? Remember all the people on this board who said it would be a crime fest? Check this out:
We already had a sense that the crime stats were much lower than usual this weekend, and the Examiner reported today that the long, four-day weekend -- at least up until to this point -- has been quite successful in terms of crime prevention. The U.S. Park Police say they have not made any Inauguration-related arrests as of this morning, and MPD spokesperson Traci Hughes told the paper that for the D.C. police, "it's pretty quiet." Obviously, a full evaluation of the weekend can't be accurately completed without factoring in today's activities and tonight's parties to come, but signs so far point to the significant police preparations panning out (even if they're the officers aren't good with directions).
http://dcist.com/2009/01/inaugural_crime_levels_low_so_far_k.php
How about this?
"Zero. There have been no inaugural-related arrest[s] reported by any of our law enforcement partners today," the Secret Service said, as of 5 p.m. ET. [That was on Jan 20]
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Inauguration/story?id=6683899&page=1
Hmmm......(sm)
I wonder....does your church have nonprofit status? Tax exempt? And yet sooo involved in politics. Exactly how legal was that?
Thanks for the concern, but as I've said numerous times, the fate of the general public does not need to be regulated by an institution that only represents the beliefs of christians.
Hmmm......(sm)
"equality shouldnt be just about race or religion but about everyone having the right to the same things in life".... unless you're gay, not christian or an immigrant no doubt.
hmmm....
Since when has there ever been an intelligent conversation on here? This is a place where a bunch of women sit at home with nothing to do. These women aren't out in the real world on a daily basis. Seriously? Hoping for intelligent conversation? Ok, I got popcorn, I'll wait!
Hmmm...
Maybe a more appropriate name would be the Whackpublican Party! That would cover all of their bases from airport bathrooms, to male prostitutes, to back rooms in the Capitol Building. It makes perfect sense!
ROFLMAO!
Hmmm......(sm)
Probably just like I'm tired of hearing about the petty complaints about Obama....
Spending: Bush did plenty of spending with no protest whatsoever from pub Senators. Now they are all having a fit about spending all the sudden. Keep in mind that we had a deficit during all this spending. What's the difference in Bush spending and Obama spending? Bush spending included a rubber stamped check for 2 wars, one of which was unnecessary, and he didn't even count the cost of those wars in the budget. This is all money lost -- as in we don't see any results other than deaths from this. Obama spending is more of an investment....infrastructure, new energy sources..etc..etc.. We will see a return from this. Funny how pubs were more than happy to give up money for a unjust war, but when it comes to something like providing unemployment to US citizens they are all up in arms.
Pork: I think there is good pork and bad pork. Why do you think we have representatives from each state in Washington if not to ensure help to their respective states? Granted, a lot of the pork that is on the news is ridiculous, and no I'm not happy about some of the pork that Obama has signed.
Crooks: We all know there are crooked politicians on both sides. I haven't given Blago a free ride. That should tell you something. However, I don't happen to believe that Obama is in the "crooked" category.
Could Obama be doing a better job? Maybe. Do I agree with everything he does? No. But, do I think he's doing a good job overall? Yes, especially when it comes to foreign affairs.
It's not like he has the easiest job in the world. And yes, he is having to "fix" a lot of messes from the Bush admin as well as from the Clinton admin, which only makes his job harder. So, given the circumstances, I think he's doing an excellent job.
Bush Breaks Nation's Promise to Veterans
This isn’t new (it’s from May), but it’s the first I saw it. I found it interesting but not surprising. Our Veterans deserve much better.
The source is: http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/pp.aspx?c=klLWJcP7H&b=727693&printmode=1
VETERANS
Bush Breaks Nation's Promise to Veterans
Appearing yesterday at the Arlington National Cemetery to honor generations of sacrifices by American servicemen and women, President Bush said, "At our national cemetery, we take comfort from knowing that the men and women who are serving freedom's cause understand their purpose and its price." Yet the reality has been that the administration that most recently has sent those men and women to fight for freedom's cause has failed for live up to government's age-old promise to "care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan."
BUSH'S 2006 VA BUDGET HITS VETERANS HARD: President Bush's 2006 budget proposal included legislation that would raise veterans' premiums more than 100 percent on prescription drugs and add an annual $250 enrollment fee for veterans who want care for conditions not directly caused by military service and who generally earn more than $25,000 a year. The administration has recommended these same proposals in each of the past few years, only to have them beaten back by Congress each time. The user fee would increase costs for nearly 2 million veterans nationwide.
WAR VETERANS EXCLUDED FROM COST OF WAR ON TERROR: Conservatives in Congress rebuffed an effort to include $2 billion in emergency money for veterans' health care in the recently passed $82 billion Iraq war supplemental. The president's request increased the VA budget a mere 2.7 percent (including the increased co-pays and enrollment fees), hardly sufficient to deal with an expected influx of Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans in the coming years. Nearly 28,000 soldiers who served in Iraq and were discharged have already sought care at a VA facility. Of the nearly 245,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan already discharged from service, 12,422 have been in VA counseling centers for readjustment problems and symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. VA Secretary Jim Nicholson has said the budget circumstances are not "dire," yet Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Larry Craig (R-ID) was forced to increase the 2006 budget request by $1 billion. Dave Autry, a spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans, said, "Vets are owed a debt and the government has said they are eligible for health care. The government needs to pay for it. It's a continuing cost of our national defense."
BUSH WANTS TO SHUT DOWN VETERANS HOSPITAL IN HIS OWN BACKYARD: Veterans in Bush's backyard, near his ranch in Crawford, Texas, are protesting his administration's decision to close a VA hospital in their town. "It would be, in my opinion, a tragic mistake to shut down our hospital, especially during a time of war when tomorrow's veterans are in harm's way today," said U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Waco). In May 2004, then-VA Secretary Anthony Principi announced he would be closing three veterans hospitals nationwide and partially closing eight others. For his work, Principi was rewarded with an appointment to the chairmanship of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission.
VETERANS GROUPS SLAM BUSH BUDGET: More than 300,000 veterans' claims are pending before the VA, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and the number of claims pending for more than six months rose from 47,000 in 2003 to 75,000 at the end of March 2005. The deteriorating condition of VA health care has elicited plenty of criticism. The American Legion called Bush's budget " the wrong message at the wrong time to the wrong constituency." The Vietnam Veterans of America said the budget did a "disservice to those of us who donned the uniform to defend the rights, principles, and freedoms that we hold dear." And the Veterans of Foreign Wars decried Bush's decision as "especially shameful during a time of war."
No problem, sugar. Vote him into office. I'm sure the nation will
I highly doubt this man will make any difference. He's certainly eloquent and able to hypnotize the masses with his line of BS though. If only words solved problems.
An earlier poster stated that about 76% of this nation is Christian
This, proportionately, means that 76% of what you see, read, watch, or are "bombarded with" is at least 76% done by Christians (feel free to make the Jew media comment, but they get their Commandments in the same place you do).
Therefore, it can be taken away that there are Christians who do not believe the same thing you do. Do you want to silence them, too?
If this nation is to survive, it is no longer US VERSUS THEM, we have to find a way to .....sm
stand united, and when our representatives are proposing or propositioning or supporing something that is NOT supported by the PEOPLE, their constituents, then we have to make calls, write letters, fax, vote, ect. I believe this two party system is doomed and that it is antiquated, there is such an ideological wall between the two parties that nothing will get done with all the finger pointing, blaming, etc. The American people are wise enough to know what is good for them, what works for them (and I mean a majority of us, not "chosen few" of Wall Street, lobbyists, oil interests, etc)., the representatives have to come back to the people. So sick of the blame game and insults, if we love this country and "the American way of life" we had all better band together, work together, LISTEN to each other's fears and needs, and concentrate on now and THE FUTURE, the long-haul. Just my humble opinion, this is all getting old and tired, and such a waste of time and energy. Instead of insulting on this board, perhaps we can spend time getting in touch with our representatives' offices, and perhaps getting a broader base of support for the Independent Party (isn't independce what we are all about?) IMHO
The Great Recession. American a thrift nation.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1891527,00.html?cnn=yes
Sometimes we change because we want to: lose weight, go vegan, find God, get sober. But sometimes we change because we have no choice, and since this violates our manifest destiny to do as we please, it may take a while before we notice that those are often the changes we need to make most. We ran a good long road test of the premise that more is better: we built houses that could hold all our stuff but were too big to heat; we bought cars that could ferry a soccer team but were too big to park; we thought we were embracing the simple life by squeezing in a yoga class between working and shopping and took an extra job to pay for it all.
Now we're stripping down and starting over. A platoon of TIME reporters and pollsters fanned out to every corner of the country to measure — anecdotally and empirically — what's changed in the way we set our priorities and spend our money since the Great Recession began. Most people think the pain will be lasting and the effects permanent: only 12% expect economic recovery to begin within six months, half believe it will be another year or two, and 14% believe we are at the start of a long-term decline. (See TIME's special report on how Americans have adjusted to the recession.)
Our institutions watch for economic vital signs. But maybe, for individuals, the sickness is what came before — the hallucination that debt would never need to be repaid, that values only rise, that bubbles never burst. When the markets collapsed, that fever broke. In our assumptions and attitudes and expectations, the recovery is already well under way.
Talk to people not just about how they feel but about how they're living now, and you hear more resolve than regret. Nearly half say their economic status declined this year, and 57% now think the American Dream is harder to achieve. And yet pain and promise are a package deal; even after all this, fully 56% believe that America's best days are ahead. It would be nice if it took something short of a heart attack to get us to work out, eat better and spend more time with our kids. But in the end, where we wind up matters more than how we got there.
Unlike any other downturn since the 1930s, this one has affected everyone, either the fact of it or the fear of it. Even when prosperity returns, 61% predict, they'll continue to spend less than they did before. Among people earning less than $50,000 a year — roughly half of U.S. households — 34% have not gone to the doctor because of the cost, 31% have been out of work at some point, and 13% have been hungry. At the same time, 4 in 10 people earning more than $100,000 say they are buying more store brands, 36% are using coupons more, and 39% have postponed or canceled a vacation to save money. Forty percent of people at all income levels say they feel anxious, 32% have trouble sleeping, and 20% are depressed. After a season of big news, of war and storms and swindlers, pirates and poison peanut butter, 43% are watching the news even more, taking the medicine even if it tastes bad because skipping it could be risky. (See the worst business deals of 2008.)
The calculus of life suddenly offers new equations. Insurance agents see clients raising their deductibles to lower premiums, or skipping collision coverage for older cars so that they bear more of the risks themselves. Twenty-seven percent have raided their retirement or college savings to pay the bills. Violent crime may not be up, but fear of it is: 40% of people say that since the downturn began, they are more worried about their personal safety. Gun sales at large retail stores have jumped 39% this year, according to the SportsOneSource, a research firm that tracks the sporting-goods industry, and shops are reporting ammunition shortages; they can't keep up with demand.
For all the reflexive analogies, this is not the 1930s, when Babe Ruth took a $10,000 salary cut (roughly what A-Rod earns per swing) and New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker told theaters to show only cheery films. And yet we're channeling our grandparents, who were taught, like a mantra, to use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without. Now, if you can make it, you don't have to buy it: just replace the lawn with a vegetable garden, eat your fill and then store whatever is left. Sales of canning and freezing supplies rose 15% during the first three months of the year compared with the same period last year. Cough- and cold-remedy sales are down 9% because you can make your own chicken soup; vitamin sales are up, maybe because you hope you won't need to. Common sense is back in style, meaning we're less willing to buy what we can have for free: bottled-water sales have dropped 10%. The 137-year-old Los Angeles public library system set record highs in circulation and visitors. And film and camera sales have plunged 33% this year, because who would want this winter in their album?
There's a natural longing to find the upside in the downturn. A college-admissions officer, watching families reassess their means and ends, suggests that maybe the insane competitiveness will recede. The yoga instructor says living more simply relaxes us, as if the entire country needs to slow its breathing. The buyer at the used-car lot feels both frugal and green: that hatchback isn't used, it's "pre-owned," and this counts as recycling. The discount shoppers view their task as a scavenger hunt and take a certain pride in finding the bargain, cutting the deal; 23% of us are haggling more, a profitable contact sport.
No one wishes for hardship. But as we pick through the economic rubble, we may find that our riches have buried our treasures. Money does not buy happiness; Scripture asserts this, research confirms it. Once you reach the median level of income, roughly $50,000 a year, wealth and contentment go their separate ways, and studies find that a millionaire is no more likely to be happy than someone earning one-twentieth as much. Now a third of people polled say they are spending more time with family and friends, and nearly four times as many people say their relations with their kids have gotten better during this crisis than say they have gotten worse.
A consumer culture invites us to want more than we can ever have; a culture of thrift invites us to be grateful for whatever we can get. So we pass the time by tending our gardens and patching our safety nets and debating whether, years from now, this season will be remembered for what we lost, or all that we found.
Hmmm, since Cheney is
perhaps Fitzgerald could use electrodes on Scooter (a grown man with that name should be a crime in itself..LOL), Rove and Cheney himself and see how he likes information extracted in this manner.
Above was in reply to Hmmm (nm)
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So which is it, tax breaks under 250, under 200, or under 150, hmmm???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJvkRFKGgGw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAEE1_IUycs
Hmmm...it lost, get over it. One day
it will pass, but until then this is what the people of the state of California want. Be a big girl and stop whining already. You can't always have your way, sometimes it takes a while; be patient until then.
Maybe that is why 911happened? hmmm
Maybe Clinton should have had a secret assassination team to take out Osama! Just maybe?
Hmmm...that is interesting.
I've never heard this point of view before. Marriage has been the accepted word even with non-christians and atheists but the reason for a lot of people not wanting same sex marriage is because of their religious beliefs. Hmm....I will have to think about your point of view. I don't particularly like the idea of all "marriages" becoming civil unions but it would at least leave the actual title of marriage alone though. Hmm. That might be another way to compromise. Civil unions can be between any two people no matter what gender and the definition for marriage can be left between a man and woman through our religious beliefs. I'm sure that will still offend some people but I really do feel that a compromise in this situation wouldn't hurt. But that is just me.
Hmmm....why are you so caught up in what's on
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