Russ, you are right on. Too bad we can't take some of the pop. out of the metros and spread them around the rest of "fly-over middle America"!!

Kayaker, I will try to find the reference because I saw it in something that was published, plus heard it quoted on FOX News. But it was 80, I think 88%.

Also ACORN and its voter fraud exploits during the whole process are well documented.

But the election has been held, and the results are what they are, and we honor them. It just chaps me when I hear/see something that it was a mandate, etc. or that conservatives are the minority when the facts show otherwise.

Army Guy

Originally Posted by SteveZ

I have to admit that the lead post added comic relief to what started as a pretty quiet morning here in TV. The blue sky, no clouds, temps hitting the high 80s today, and no sounds of sirens and heavy traffic to mess up the serene nature of the place. No smog, either.

As an escaped prisoner from Tax-achussetts, remembering how that wonderful state sought more ways to separate me from my money than the Brits did in 1770, I think of a great bumper sticker available in many places nearby: "We don't care how you do it up North!"

The most heavily taxed State (NY, CA, MA, PA, MD, OR, WA...is there a pattern here?) citizens must feel that their plight needs to be implanted on the rest of the nation, with a "misery needs company" philosophy.

The percentage difference which changes elections is less than 10%. 40% of the population feels one way, 40% a different way, 10% is uncommitted and willing to try something different, and 10% won't vote except at gunpoint. So this "massive majority" wanting anything is tripe, with the 10% being the sway vote each time - and always ready to go the other way if they think they got lied to.

When the Republicans had the White House and most of Congress, the "Blue 40%" b----ed and moaned about what was happening, and voiced rather loudly that it was not unAmerican to dissent. They were right!

Now that the Democrats have the White House and most of Congress, the "Red 40%" is b----ing and moaning the same way as the "Blue 40%" did. The difference is the Democrats are have flip-flopped on what they considered proper, that being dissent. So, what's effectively was good for the goose is totally improper for the gander.

What we have in TV is different than the rest of the nation in many ways. We have people who have demonstrated the ability to work hard, save, plan, react to all sorts of adversity and rise above it, and, for all practical purposes, succeeded at the American Dream. That's pretty good company to me! It's better than a bunch of urban freeloaders seeking other people's money and who have banded together to commit legalized larceny.

I really don't care how they do it in in any other state, or any city within another state. Provincetown, the Bronx, Malibu, Gary, Newark or Rockville - and the states housing them - can set up all the local laws for how they want to live that they want. The 10th Amendment to the US Constitution assures that right. That also gives us elsewhere the right to live as we choose.

If I wanted to live under Tax-achussets rules, I never would have left there years ago.

Again, there is no "massive majority" demanding anything. The "Blue 40%" this time around were able to convince many of the "uncommitted 10%" to try it the Blue way. The real trick is for the Democrats to deliver on what was sold to the "uncommitted 10%." That particular 10% scrutinizes very hard, and remembers what was promised, and watches very closely on what is delivered which affects them personally.

If that 10% is not satisfied, "change" again is not that far away.

And yes, the TV population is probably more in that uncommitted 10% than in either of the 40% camps. We vote!

One last thing - The TV population overall is a bunch of seniors who have "made it" the American way. We have succeeded. So, it's kind of arrogant and short-sighted for the rest of the nation to tell us we just don't understand things, when in fact, they'd do well to look at us, learn from how we did it to get to the point to being able to retire with dignity, and emulate. But, the tendency today is to adore youth and discard anything "old," including seniors and the knowledge they have accumulated. They all "want to be me," but with our money!

Great posts. So much negativity.

Let's say for thae case of argument you were not well off. After college you joined the ranks of the unemployed or your business failed or lost your job. Unemployment is 12% and rising. Since you live in a right to work state, a job might pay $8 or 9 an hour before taxes. No jobs are 40 hours a week. So the best you can get is 24 hours a week. You are luck have that. Your young child was ill. You had no health benefits as premiums are so high.r Your savings to cover a $150 office visit at the doctors just isn't there. The prescription was $85. Have you ever been in a situation like that or kof anyone like that? In the USA? These are not numbers but real people.

I tend to agree with the first post. The Republicans had their chance for 8 years. I am appalled by the corruption and lying in regards to our involvement in the mideast, torture, Wall Street, the lack of ethics and and moral responsibility. This happens with both parties have more than one term. Serving in office should not be a career. But... I think both sides need to get their info from somewhere besides FOX, Beck, and Limbaugh. The left not from just MSNBC and CBS. These arguments are not going to changes set opinions. Instead of venting get actively involved in making a difference. I know many do volunteer in TV. We are still a resilient country. We can bounce back.

Yet I am ashamed of the greed of the boomer generation - greed,self-centeredness, and fixation on materialism.
I'd love to be young again for a short time with the insights and knowledge that I've gained. Our young have no idea of the lessons of the past. Many never watch the news or can't be bothered to read. They can tell details about American Idol or other reality shows.
One more thing...I can't believe all of the foreign imports driven in TV.

When you say the American Way I think you mean hard work, making sacrifices to start a business, save and invest to have financial stability.

I only visit here occasionally now, and seldom see a post that I feel strongly enough about to reply to. But the subject matter of yours almost forced me to log-in and reply.

Addressing the heart of your thesis, I join you in truly hoping that the GOP somehow comes to its senses and creates a platform and puts up candidates that will enjoy success in future elections. I can't imagine that even the most committed and farthest left of the liberals would desire what seems to be developing as a one-party system. That's not what the framers of the Constitution had in mind, nor is it the system that has worked best thruout our history.

I have described myself as a fiscal conservative and a social moderate--a slightly left-leaning centrist. But underlying all that, I'd like to think I'm a pragmatist. There's little sense, I think, in maintaining political objectives that are either not obtainable or so rooted in ideology that one feels that no governance is better than any that might vary from a few underlying and unchangeable beliefs. The direction that the far, far right members of the GOP seem to be taking the party has left me with little choice than to vote for the Democrats, even though they sometimes stray too far to the left for my liking. The GOP has been accurately described as "the party of NO" as the result of their unwillingness to participate in the political process, even though the result is damage to our economy and society.

I think that Arlen Specter's explanation of why he changed parties precisely describes why I left the GOP beginning in the 2004 elections. I pray that the "silent majority" of the electorate--who seem to be far closer to the center than the partisan idealogues trying to steer the GOP and the Democrats even farther towards the left and right fringes--fail and fail in a hurry. I only hope that we're presented with political choices in the future that are closer to the actual desires of a huge number of Americans. That's certainly not going to happen if the hard-liners on either side are permitted to further influence our political choices.

The Republican Party is much further left than it was when Arlen Specter was elected. If the GOP is so far to the right then why was McPain the candidate? The GOP's problem, as far as I can see, is that it is Democrat lite. You might as well vote for the real thing.

Originally Posted by ptownrob

Hey folks, The American people voted the strong majorities in both Houses. The American people said enough to 8 years of Orwellian garbage. What garbage?

Well, "The Club for Growth" favors taking out so-called "moderate" Republicans in favor of ideological "purists" (That's where the quotes came from, BTW). That philosophy of "Growth" leads to a path in which the Republic party fields such right-wing candidates that none can win in a general election, The Club for Growth will actually choke the republic party to death.


The party of angry radio hosts, and apparently a number of posters on this very message board aren't interested in what America needs- they were too busy bashing the people of California, or New York, or Massachusetts by smearing them as "un-American." Works great if all you listen to is Hannity or Rush or Bortz. But there's a whole nation out there that thinks these few loonies and their followers are crack-heads, well, ok, oxycontin-heads. And so America voted the way they did to get the "crazies" out. nd it kills you that the AMerican people may actually have the right to vote against your own delicately and narrowly-constructed world-view.

And it wasn't just Federal candidates. It was across the board. The Villages was so out of the general parameters of the political issues that it was simply irrelevant. The tantrums that preceded the election (God, guns and Gays) have morphed into a tantrum-fest about "Socialism/Marxism"- words unspoken by republic party candidates until Sarah Palin was selected, but now used as smears every day by dittoheads.

Smaller government? When? Prove it. Back it up with facts.

All America saw was a three trillion dollar boondoggle for the defense industry disguised as a war against Al Queda. Smaller government? All America saw was an unprecedented grab for un-Constitutional power INCREASING the size of government in a previously unforeseen way. Smaller government?

Freedom
The vast majority of Americans, and the Supreme Court, saw an illegal and un-Constitutional surveillance program and Executive orders giving the President and FEMA near-dictatorial powers with no constraints.

Millions of Americans, still a minority, but increasing in numbers exponentially, saw people claiming to be Christians working feverishly to deny millions of Americans the rights and responsibilities that they enjoy simply because God gave them the gift of loving someone of their own gender. And Lord knows, those people KNOW what God wants for all of us.

Never mind that Britney Spears can have the privileges of marriage while two women who have devoted 50 years of their lives to each other in monogamy don't even have the "freedom" to visit each other in a hospital room. Never mind that these few million cab cheer Newt talking about "family values" while he screws one wife dieing of cancer, and then screws another with his secretary. He's got all the freedom in the world to do that, and still receive more than 1,000 marriage benefits that a long-term couple of 35 years does not have the "freedom" to enjoy. FREEDOM

Well the American people, just as they eventually woke up to the evil of racial bigotry and the evil of discrimination against women, are waking up to the fact that the gay-baiters were using hate against gays and lesbians as just another burning cross. The American people are rapidly realizing that civilly recognizing a responsible monogamous couple does nothing to weaken the institution of marriage, in fact it strengthens it. And they are realizing that civil recognition does not imply that religious institutions need to follow that path.

Unfortunately, in our little incestuous world here, we all think that we think alike, and look alike, and represent what "America" looks like. Well, sorry folks, we are older, we are wealthier, we are more conservative, and we are more isolated from the currents that steer the nation as a whole.

So while you're out dipping your teabags on John McCain's head and attacking what you think are a few left-wing nut jobs who somehow hoodwinked an entire nation, 300 million people have realized that it was all based on hate and anger and greed and self-interest. And they're not buying it anymore.

So what is the republic party going to do? Purify the RINO's, move even more to the "right." The radical talking heads and Fundamentalists and "Club for Growth"ers are so consumed by their hatred, they only alienate millions more each month. The republic party is a sinking ship, torpedoed by a conservative movement that is so addicted to itself that it cannot see past its own daily "fix/" They're saying only the "rats" jump off. How insane to not realize that they are the cause of their own sinking- and any sane person would put on a life preserver and climb onto a rescue boat, not point at the rats and call them cowards!

Musta gotten outta bed on the wrong side....
Anyway, we'll be back!

Originally Posted by SteveZ

I have to admit that the lead post added comic relief to what started as a pretty quiet morning here in TV. The blue sky, no clouds, temps hitting the high 80s today, and no sounds of sirens and heavy traffic to mess up the serene nature of the place. No smog, either.

As an escaped prisoner from Tax-achussetts, remembering how that wonderful state sought more ways to separate me from my money than the Brits did in 1770, I think of a great bumper sticker available in many places nearby: "We don't care how you do it up North!"

The most heavily taxed State (NY, CA, MA, PA, MD, OR, WA...is there a pattern here?) citizens must feel that their plight needs to be implanted on the rest of the nation, with a "misery needs company" philosophy.

The percentage difference which changes elections is less than 10%. 40% of the population feels one way, 40% a different way, 10% is uncommitted and willing to try something different, and 10% won't vote except at gunpoint. So this "massive majority" wanting anything is tripe, with the 10% being the sway vote each time - and always ready to go the other way if they think they got lied to.

When the Republicans had the White House and most of Congress, the "Blue 40%" b----ed and moaned about what was happening, and voiced rather loudly that it was not unAmerican to dissent. They were right!

Now that the Democrats have the White House and most of Congress, the "Red 40%" is b----ing and moaning the same way as the "Blue 40%" did. The difference is the Democrats are have flip-flopped on what they considered proper, that being dissent. So, what's effectively was good for the goose is totally improper for the gander.

What we have in TV is different than the rest of the nation in many ways. We have people who have demonstrated the ability to work hard, save, plan, react to all sorts of adversity and rise above it, and, for all practical purposes, succeeded at the American Dream. That's pretty good company to me! It's better than a bunch of urban freeloaders seeking other people's money and who have banded together to commit legalized larceny.

I really don't care how they do it in in any other state, or any city within another state. Provincetown, the Bronx, Malibu, Gary, Newark or Rockville - and the states housing them - can set up all the local laws for how they want to live that they want. The 10th Amendment to the US Constitution assures that right. That also gives us elsewhere the right to live as we choose.

If I wanted to live under Tax-achussets rules, I never would have left there years ago.

Again, there is no "massive majority" demanding anything. The "Blue 40%" this time around were able to convince many of the "uncommitted 10%" to try it the Blue way. The real trick is for the Democrats to deliver on what was sold to the "uncommitted 10%." That particular 10% scrutinizes very hard, and remembers what was promised, and watches very closely on what is delivered which affects them personally.

If that 10% is not satisfied, "change" again is not that far away.

And yes, the TV population is probably more in that uncommitted 10% than in either of the 40% camps. We vote!

One last thing - The TV population overall is a bunch of seniors who have "made it" the American way. We have succeeded. So, it's kind of arrogant and short-sighted for the rest of the nation to tell us we just don't understand things, when in fact, they'd do well to look at us, learn from how we did it to get to the point to being able to retire with dignity, and emulate. But, the tendency today is to adore youth and discard anything "old," including seniors and the knowledge they have accumulated. They all "want to be me," but with our money!

Well stated, reflects rational thought, wisdom and facts absent of all the flaming emotional rhetoric contained in the lead post...

PTOWNROB

I strongly suggest that you never go to LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY.....

fumar

Fumar:

I have been reading this thread with interest as I have no skin in the game on this one either from a left or right point of view. I enjoy the give-and-take of the exercise of freedom of speech. But your response has me scratching my head. What's in Lakehurst NJ? Was not that where the Hindenberg crashed? Just curious. Thanks.

Originally Posted by ohiogolf

Fumar:

I have been reading this thread with interest as I have no skin in the game on this one either from a left or right point of view. I enjoy the give-and-take of the exercise of freedom of speech. But your response has me scratching my head. What's in Lakehurst NJ? Was not that where the Hindenberg crashed? Just curious. Thanks.

Your exactly right , The Hindenberg also had a lot of gas , which is what I was referring to......
Your from Ohio so I forgive you .....

Go Blue ...fumar

PS only kidding , brother lives in Columbus ...if you call that living .

Got it! thanks. I was not far off.

p.s. 1,983 days since UM last beat the Buckeyes in football. Go Bucks!

Originally Posted by ohiogolf

Got it! thanks. I was not far off.

p.s. 1,983 days since UM last beat the Buckeyes in football. Go Bucks!

Now thats really rotten.......I've been lured into a setup before but this had the mark of a genius.......

Fume

Can you all here this? Maybe it deserves it's own thread.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/pics/glennbeck.mp3

I think that conservatism gets a bad rap, and is misunderstood. Now, take into account that I am in a non-traditional relationship of 29 years. Actually, true conservatism is NOT the religious right that so many Americans think. It is actually a philosophy that "should" give us true freedom of individuality, rights, religious choices, etc. I don't know when this changed, but our founding Fathers, actually Liberatarians, is the true conservative thinking. Somewhere, our general population's thinking and definition of this has flip-flopped. Anyone have any facts, figures, ideas of when this attitude changed???

Originally Posted by dklassen

Can you all here this? Maybe it deserves it's own thread.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/pics/glennbeck.mp3

It is no surprise that Glenn Beck's new program on Fox at 5pm has rocketed to the top in ratings. He has broken ratings records for that time slot for news talk shows.

Originally Posted by rshoffer

Well stated, reflects rational thought, wisdom and facts absent of all the flaming emotional rhetoric contained in the lead post...

Well stated steve. I agree more with you on this than the original post, which was way off base as far as I see it.