Re: Check Out Kerry's Record
soulwinner (as far as all of the threads that I have seen) hits the nail right on the head. Most americans aren't concerned with issues, they are concerned with soundbites. Issues transcend administrations, and are long term goals that progress needs to be made on...here is a partial cheatsheet to help you differentiate between the two (I will do my best to be fair and non-partisan)...by the way, when did the media abandon common respect and decency to address our elected officals by their last name only? When I was raised, you utilized the appropriate title for a person, regardless of whether you liked them or not...:<br /><br />Soundbites:<br />Senator Kerry or President Bush's misspoken words, off color words caught on tape, etc.<br />Debates over whether President Bush was AWOL from the guard, or whether Senator Kerry's medals were earned or gratuitous.<br /><br />Issues:<br /><br />in 2012, social security will begin running a defecit. by 2030, it will be completely exhausted. Today, there are roughly 3 workers supporting each retiree, in a few decades, that will shrink to almost 1 worker for each retiree. It is a strain for 3 of us now to kick in the benefits for one retired person...who here can carry another entire person on his/her back? do we honestly think that either candidate can correct this in the span of 4 years? can it be corrected at all, or will the system just collapse one day, sending us into an age-divided civil war between workers and retirees?<br /><br />most of our infrastructure (highways, bridges, etc) were built in the 60's and 70's. it is now 40-50 years old. it requires perpetual maintenance just to remain marginally functional. the costs and maintenance are only going to get worse as time elapses. should we not be looking into alternatives for this infrastructure? when I was young, most families had one car...now most have at least 2...south florida people chime in here (I lived in south florida for awhile...)...if they built 10 lanes in each direction in broward county, do you think it would make a difference? or would they just fill up in gridlock like the 6 or so that are already there? who is looking at a different way of moving people from place a to place b?<br /><br /><br />one last thought...why should we care what the rest of the world thinks about us. are we like a needy little child who needs reassurance from our parents that we are "ok"?. it took us 160 years to seperate ourselves as a nation from the countries who either kicked our ancestors out, or drove them out because of their messed up policies both in their countries, as well as how they dealt with other countries. we made ourselves into the most powerful nation because we adopted a "we will do what we think is right regardless of what the world thinks" attitude, and that attitude saved the world on more than one occasion (WWII and the cold war) from being overrun. why are we so eager to change that mindset into "we will do what the rest of the world thinks is right", when that is why we emigrated from there in the first place. Damn, people, right left or center, we are still all AMERICANS, and need to remember what that means, and act like Americans..
Just as long as ya don't try to plant a big one on me.
