Bungy32

Reply to English as a national language in Politics JoeUser Forums

Funny that no one has mentioned our neighbor to the North where the presence of two national languages hasn't presented too much difficulty (except for the occasional attempt by the French Canadian's to secede). I think I fall into the English as the national language camp, barely. However, I am gravely concerned that the US fosters a culture of zenophobia by not encouraging second language skills strongly enough in our public education. I'v

Reply to The Politics Gets Even More Shameful! in Politics JoeUser Forums

We could get into a debate about who is mirroring whose tactics. Or we could play the citation game, weighing the stories about each side's foolishness, as if one side is justified by the similar excesses of the other. But really, I much prefer CrispE's tone here, calling it ridiculous for all sides to engage in these sorts of shenanigans. Problem is, I don't know how to answer your question: <br

Reply to Which Fictional Characters would you vote for (for the office of President or any office)? in Politics JoeUser Forums

I guess it all depends on the genre you think we are living in. Here are my picks, sorted by popular (and sometimes literary) genre: Fantasy -- Gandolf/Aragorn Science Fiction (novel) -- Lauren Oya Olamina (Octavia Butler)/Ender (Orson Scott Card) Science Fiction (film) -- Obi Wan (Guiness, please)/Jones the Dolphin (from Johnny Mnemonic ) Horror fiction -- Frankenstein's Monster/Ann Coulter Theatri

Reply to TeamAmerica : World Police in Entertainment JoeUser Forums

Here's what gets me about the movie: Apparently, Stone and Parker had to edit the film to get an "R" instead of an "NC-17" rating. The ratings board had no problem with the violence in the film, and relatively little was cut from the straight sex scene (the "naked" puppets, afterall, lack procreative genitalia). What apparently had to be cut was the "trust affirming" fellatio, now suggestively taking place off screen with nothing more than bouncing

Reply to feminism: the new f-word in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Part of the problem with "feminist" is that it is a term that covers too many phenomena and political positions. In most academic circles, folks talks about feminism s rather than Feminism writ large. So there are second wave feminists, third wave feminists, eco-ferminists, social-feminists, gender constructionist feminists, NOW feminists, riot grrl feminists, male pro-feminists, separatist feminists, lesbian feminists, soccer mom femin

Reply to Bush 41 protests Michael Moore too much! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Oh by the way that five minutes Bush sat there was just five minutes with the book right side up. I did not tell him the second plane hit until 60 seconds after he entered the classroom Am I misreading the above, Grim? Are you the one who gave Bush the bad news on Sept. 11. That's pretty impre

Reply to Debate aftermath in Politics JoeUser Forums

Hey Bungy, "Hope for the future of the planet"?..Technically it would be bad for mankind if same sex was prevalant since..well..it takes one from each sex to continue life. Shall we open the "population explosion"can of worms? We should/should not be worried about the carrying capacity of the planet

Reply to Debate aftermath in Politics JoeUser Forums

What do you call a genetic condition that causes humans to be attracted to members of the same sex? A gift from God. A blessing. Hope for the future of the planet. (Oh, I know what YOU probably call it, but since you asked us I though I might enlighten you that yours is not the only opinion on the m

Reply to News Report: American Troops Execute 35 Iraqi Guards in Politics JoeUser Forums

Haven't you heard? Spreading stories like this makes you no better than (and probably far worse than) Tokyo Rose. Apparently, the defenders of this war see more connections to WWII than to Viet Nam. For my part, this is a disturbing story and, if Hersh's track record with these sorts of things holds up, it is definitely a black mark on the war effort. But I also think it is, at this point, a rumor. Even Hersh's presentation of it (a repo

Reply to DEMOS PLAN RIOTS IF KERRY LOOSES in Current Events JoeUser Forums

So let me get this straight: because dems have lawyers in many states ready to make sure the voting process is legal (NEWSFLASH: so do the GOP!), that means they are planning to riot? I'm sorry, but I see nothing here to support that prediction. I join Grim in yawning at this unsupported speculation about the social unrest to come. And I join Myrrander in the faith that our Republic is bigger than the one person who happens to be running it.

Reply to Left Or Right: Which Is More Difficult? in International JoeUser Forums

What is wrong with accepting each person as an individual instead of saying something about the WHOLE race or that person is such and such color, hmmm? Absolutely nothing, if that were the world we lived in. But the sad truth is that racial prejudice and racial profiling are facts of life in our societ

Reply to Bush using Wireless to perform in Debate? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

This is a typical example of how badly the left is melting down and grasping at straws. And what, then, was all that JU hullaballoo about Kerry's super-secret spy pen with the crip notes? I think both stories are pretty silly, really. But this second one shows that both candidates can be the butt of

Reply to Point system on the Debates: Looking at the lies and misleading statements in Politics JoeUser Forums

is there any way to tally promises made that can't possibly be kept? I have a feeling both sides would suffer if you could. Also, well, one side at least has a record of failed delivery on promises. 13 lies is high, but I think it is important to make a distinction between out-and-out falsehoo

Reply to Left Or Right: Which Is More Difficult? in International JoeUser Forums

Liberals support racial equality but let minority leaders downgrade and say racist comments about their own minority to their perspective minority. Not sure what you are talking about here, but I take exception to the idea of "let." Encourage? Allow? Don't condemn? Are these all synonymous with "let"

Reply to Draft Inevitable — “no Brainer” in Politics JoeUser Forums

When (or if) that point comes, a draft will be inevitable, whether the American people like it or not. A cold chill just ran down my spine. Is there a draft in here? (And that, folks, is called gallow's humor. )

Reply to Fruit of the Moore: the GOP strikes down Michael Moore for handing out new underwear in Politics JoeUser Forums

After rereading this I must admit you are correct. Congratulations, drmiler, you win a Golden Retraction Award for admitting a mistake. I am not trying to be pissy; I am just trying to mark what is a fairly rare phenomenon on JU. For my money, your credibility has risen. I also agree with you that, i

Reply to Proof of WMDs in Politics JoeUser Forums

Please post where Bush ever said "immediate" please. I know he siad a few other things but never "immediate". No, he never said this word (that I can find) in relation to the threat. I also never said that he said this word (hence the absence of quotation marks), but he did say words to that effect.

Reply to Kerryand Edwards certainly do well debating issues and plans in Politics JoeUser Forums

I think this is a very fair question and one that bears further examination. First of all, all senator's and representatives miss votes. The work of a senator is not just done on the floor of the senate. All politicians (GOP, Dem, or ind) have to make choices about where to be when. With any given vote, they also have some sense of how close the vote is and whether their vote will make a significant difference, especially to the constituency that t

Reply to The VP Debate: Too Bad Dick Cheney's Best Line Was A Lie in Politics JoeUser Forums

Ah, the droning mantra of Bush-haters... Lies, Lies, Lies... and yet, nothing ever seems to come of it... Perhaps we'll be able to file this gem under "Famous Last Words." (Would that we were so lucky.) I resent being called a Bush hater almost as much as I resent the double standard (some) Bu

Reply to The VP Debate: Too Bad Dick Cheney's Best Line Was A Lie in Politics JoeUser Forums

Yeah, right. This Cheney gaff is such a non-issue. I can't believe us Dems are making such a big deal about it! What's REALLY important is that I am pretty sure I saw Edwards hiding that super-spy pen with Kerry's cheat notes in it. We should all really spend our time talking about that.

Reply to Still think Saddam had WMD's? in Politics JoeUser Forums

The homework assignment that you are refering to was supposed to be done by the CIA. Except the administration unprecedentedly set up its own office in the Pentagon to oversee and selectively pull and highlight (questionable) intelligence information, including information having to do with Iraq. The

Reply to The VP Debate: Too Bad Dick Cheney's Best Line Was A Lie in Politics JoeUser Forums

Other Dubious Claims. It is interesting to me that two of landen81's critiques of Cheney's facts have included links to factcheck.org. Cheney mentioned this site in the debate as a place to go to uncover Edwards faulty claims. At the time, I felt that this was a mistake on his part. After all, factch

Reply to Proof of WMDs in Politics JoeUser Forums

Oh and by the way, don't look for a Bin Laden capture for your October Surprise - it will be more WMD stockpiles. I'd bet money on it. Republicans are good at letting their opponents dig themselves a deep hole and wed themselves to an idea right before the rug is pulled out from under them. Despite

Reply to What's With The Flood of Useless Bloggers? in Politics JoeUser Forums

I am really wary of a couple of people who just showed up lately. I have a feeling once the election is resolved, most of them will evaporate. Yah, maybe. But I also think blogs have been getting a lot of mainstream press lately. The New York Times Magazine had a fairly interesting article on blogs l

Reply to Four More Years Will Mean … in Politics JoeUser Forums

Kerry's tax increase would effectively eat up most of the salary of one of our IT people. So those who use the site would have to start paying a modest monthly fee to make up the difference. Do I take it then that you are promising no such addition of fees for four more years if Bush wins? Because, giv