Dems and Repubs don't run this country anymore. AIPAC and corp. America are calling the shots

• Will Palin Scare the Jews? - sally
  • I am not even religious. I like Palin because she is - strong and smart. keep trying. nm
    • Please tell me how you know she is - for what it's worth
      • He already has answered tough questions and without a - for what it's worth
      • HA HA.. Obama needs to answer MANY questions - without a teleprompter, wont happen though.nm
  • Dems and Repubs don't run this country anymore. AIPAC and corp. America are calling the shots - You are right on the money.
    • Great, take Barbra S and others to Canada with you. - You wont be missed. nm

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I am a swing voter.  I am one who is on the fence about who to vote for.  Here is my problem.  I am finding that this year's presidential election is separating people.  Republicans seem to be a little angrier lately since Obama leads in the pools.  Dems are not as angry BUT they are very firm in their political choice.  I am finding that I cannot have a discussion with anyone about this election.  If I say anything about Palin, repubs jump all over me.  If I question Biden, dems are horrified.  I do want to vote.  I will figure it all out through my own research.  My question for everyone today is how do I stay friends with people during all this?  Any words of advice will be appreciated as I found my self in tears this morning.

These people are my heros..Protestors are my heros!  True patriots one and all.

Especially Reagan, but nothing new. 

The Chickenhawk argument goes something like this: anyone who favors military action should not be taken seriously unless they themselves are willing to go and do the actual fighting. This particular piece of work is an anti-war crowd attempt to silence the debate by ruling that the other side is out of bounds for the duration. Like all ad hominem attacks, (argumentum ad hominem means “argument against the person”) it is an act of intellectual surrender. The person who employs an ad hominem attack is admitting they cannot win the debate on merit, and hope to chuck the entire thing out the window by attacking the messenger. This is a logical fallacy of the first order, because the messenger is not the message.

The messenger is not the message. That’s all you need to throw away the entire Chickenhawk response. But why stop there when this one is so much fun?

If you are ever see this charge again, you may want to reflect that person’s own logical reasoning in the following fashion: You may not talk about education unless you are willing to become a teacher. You may not discuss poverty unless you yourself are willing to go and form a homeless shelter. How dare you criticize Congress unless you are willing to go out and get elected yourself? Your opinion on a National Health Care System is negated out of hand since you are unwilling to get a medical degree and open a clinic. And as far as your opinions regarding the Democratic Underground or The Huffington Post are concerned, well, you can just keep them to yourself, mister, unless you can produce an advanced degree in Abnormal Psychology and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Using the internal reasoning behind the Chickenhawk argument means you cannot comment on, speak about or even hold an opinion on any subject that is not part of your paying day job. It is simple-minded and profoundly anti-democratic, which is why it so deeply appeals to those who sling it around the most.

But wait! There’s more!

If you accept the Chickenhawk argument – that only those actually willing to go and fight have a legitimate opinion on the subject of war – then that means that any decision to go to war must rest exclusively in the hands of the military. Is that what this person really wants? To abandon civilian control of the military? That’s the box they have trapped themselves in with this argument. Now to be perfectly honest, I think Robert Heinlein made a very compelling case for just this line of reasoning in Starship Troopers (the book, not the clueless projected travesty). Heinlein said that the only people who should be allowed to vote are those that have served in the military, since only they are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of the state. I don’t agree with that. I think civilian control of the military has been one of the pillars of our nation’s success, and it has withstood the test of both World Wars and Civil ones. But that is the world you are stuck in when you toss that little Chickenhawk grenade.

Finally, if the only legitimate opinion on Iraq, say, is that held by the troops themselves, then they are overwhelmingly in favor of being there and finishing what they started. I recently received an e-mail from an Army major who is heading back for his fourth tour. The Chickenhawk argument, coming from an anti-war commentator, legitimizes only those voices that overwhelmingly contradict the anti-war argument.

Bill Whittle wrote that. He's a real live veteran and I happen to agree with him.

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah is the only state that requires people to fill out an application and pay a fee before entering a bar.

But the shelf life of this law - enacted 40 years ago in a state where nearly two out of three residents are members of a religion that shuns drinking - appears to be dwindling.

In Utah, and across the country, governors and lawmakers faced with budget deficits are advocating loosening laws that restrict alcohol consumption in the hopes of boosting tax revenues.
- In Georgia, Connecticut, Indiana, Texas, Alabama and Minnesota, lawmakers are considering legislation this year that would end the ban on Sunday liquor sales. All but 15 states sell booze on Sundays.

- In Nebraska, a state lawmaker has proposed allowing beer to be consumed in state parks as a way to boost tourism.

- Other states, including Utah, are considering allowing the sale of liquor on Election Day.

Drinkers shouldn't break out the bubbly just yet: Two dozen states, including California, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Virginia, are looking to help their budgets by raising alcohol taxes.

Alcohol taxes are a popular budgetary crutch for lawmakers because liquor sales tend to hold up relatively well, compared with other revenue streams, during hard times, said Steve Schmidt, vice president of the Alexandria, Va. based National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.

In 2008, revenue reported by liquor suppliers rose 2.8 percent from the previous year to $18.7 billion, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. That's slower than the 6 percent average annual growth rate since 2000.

The council's president, Peter Cressy, calls liquor "recession resilient" not recession proof - a point that industry officials make when cautioning lawmakers about raising taxes.

Earlier this month, distillers in Kentucky poured bottles of bourbon on the statehouse steps there to protest a proposed tax increase.

In Pittsburgh, a 10 percent tax placed on alcohol last year inspired an animated satire, resulted in some bars printing signs saying the tax's architect was not welcome and one restaurateur challenging Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato to a charity boxing match.

Ben Jenkins, a spokesman for the Distilled Spirits Council, said states would be better off if they simply made alcohol more accessible to meet consumer demand. States that lift the ban on Sunday sales see a 5 percent to 8 percent annual sales increase, he said.

"Dozens of states consider alcohol taxes and every year most of them fail because the legislators become educated as to the effects a tax increase on alcohol would have on the hospitality industry," he said. "Since 2001, we've seen 245 major tax proposals and 227 of them have failed."

Those opposed to reforming Utah's liquor laws cite concerns about overconsumption and drunk driving. But religion also plays a key role.

About 60 percent of the state's residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which tells its members not to drink alcohol. An even greater percentage of lawmakers - 80 percent to 90 percent - are Mormon, though some of them are open to changing the law for the sake of the state's economy.

The state's private club system as it's currently known, was created in 1969 after voters - encouraged by the church - killed a proposal to allow the sale of liquor by the drink in restaurants.

But for Utah's $6 billion-a-year tourism industry, liquor laws are a major issue, too. They say it hurts their efforts to compete with neighboring states like Colorado for the lucrative convention and ski market.

If there was ever a question if Utah has an image problem because of its quirky liquor laws, business travelers like Marty Cano can answer it.

"Originally, I thought alcohol was illegal here," the Austin, Texas IT consultant said one recent night after downing a few pints of beer at the Poplar Street Pub, a few blocks away from the downtown Mormon temple.

Utah's bar industry has come up with a compromise to the hassle of making patrons fill out forms. Its leaders have proposed scanning driver's licenses before customers enter a club to verify nobody under 21 enters. Some lawmakers would like information about who goes into a bar stored on the scanners so police could use it.

There are other ways in which Utah's liquor laws are getting stronger. Last year, it became the only state to ban the sale of flavored malt beverages from grocery and convenience stores.

Other states, meanwhile, are trying to eliminate much less onerous hassles associated with buying alcohol.

In Colorado and Kansas, grocery stores are fighting for the right to sell full-strength beer. Most of the opposition in those states isn't coming from morality groups, but instead from liquor stores who like having a corner on the market.

A similar effort is occurring in Tennessee, where lawmakers are considering allowing the sale of wine in supermarkets.

In Alabama, a proposal to raise the amount of alcohol allowed in beer from 6 percent alcohol by volume to 13.9 percent is being considered, although some church groups fear it would result in people getting drunker quicker.

Dave Morris, owner of Salt Lake City's Piper Down, an Irish-themed pub, said keeping a database of who enters a bar would be "a public relations nightmare" but he says he's willing to accept scanning IDs if it helps tourism officials lure more visitors to the state, and put more money into the pockets of his customers.

"If they have more money, they can come out more often," he said. "It will all trickle down."

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Coulter once again calls for the execution of NY Times journalists for treason. 

Can someone send  Ann a message that we need to try Bush and his boss Cheney for their crimes first, then we will work on the media. 

http://mediamatters.org/items/200607140015

You Lost.  You are no longer in power.  America repudiated your hate, greed, racism and just generally STUPIDITY.  Get over it!!  Take your ball and GO HOME!

You Repubs are really embarrassing yourselves with your childish behavior.  It is so, so sad to see SORE LOSERS!!!  Please, grow up and GET BEHIND OUR PRESIDENT! 

. . . because they were more interested in impeaching Clinton for getting head in the oval office than allowing him to carry out his presidential duties.  Blame the republicans for a lame duck presidency in the last years of the Clinton administration.

Obama is shrewd, savvy, honest, and the repubs are not going to be able to touch him.  They'll try . . . but it's a waste of time.

BEAMING WITH PRIDE AT BEING AN AMERICAN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 8 YEARS.