Obama defaults on Federal Lawsuit Jeopardizes Presidential..

[Ack]

I believe they ruled that because McCain was born in Panama while it was United States territory, he is allowed to hold the office of President.

[dsheinem]

It won't get to the extent of the left, as the right respects the military and understands that the more trouble they cause, the bigger chance for our boys to get killed overseas(based on a Harvard study of military morale, it was discovered that every time an American politician claimed the war was lost, enemy morale shot up). So don't expect some of the language, such as calling our troops "murderers," "rapists," "imperialists," or "baby killers," which the left gave us quite a bit of over the last eight years. .

I call bullshit - this is an unfair and, frankly, offensive way to paint leftists in general (and certainly Democrats in particular). It is akin to saying that the right is a bunch of homophobic Bible-thumping racist isolationist rednecks. Sure, there are some undesirable elements on both sides - but your characterizations here suggests they are more important/influential than they really are.

I'd also like to be directed towards this Harvard study - how did they study "enemy morale?" So dissent by politicians (or others) should be silenced? It's unpatriotic? Again, bullshit. Most of us on the left are just as supportive of the troops as anyone on the right. Some of us might even argue that wanting them to come home is more supportive and patriotic than backing the war.

I also genuinely believe an Obama presidency would go a long way towards healing some of the rifts in the country (e.g. the red state/blue state frictions). He already has demonstrated the same kind of mass appeal that made Reagan popular, and polling suggests he's more popular with more kinds of voters than any candidate in recent history. Colin Powell's comments in his endorsement statement pretty accurately reflect my own thinking about this...it is worth checking out:

[dsheinem]

As an Obama supporter, it is great watching folks grasp at straws as they get desperate...

It's happened on both sides this election. Especially when Palin was introduced... even now they're bringing up her $150,000 outfits instead of talking about real issues. They fail to mention how much Pelosi's pearls cost or Hillaries outfits (almost twice that of Palins).

It gets kind of ridiculous about this time. I can't wait until its over. The anger this election has caused me. I had to just turn off the news, shy away from digg, and remove a good bit of sources of my RSS reader!

Two key differences - the Palin stuff is coming from all sides (including her own party and supporters), Pelosi and Clinton have sizable fortunes of their own to spend on jewelry, etc. (there's no record of campaign contributions going towards any of it).

Your point about it's insignificance is dead on, though - and it is easy to see why it makes you tune out. Be careful, though, -I think it's much better to watch it all play out (and be critical, frustrated, etc.) than to just be complicit or apathetic.

[dsheinem]

Seriously, this is a F'n emulation forum. Keep the politics off of it. Some of us come here to relax.

Go post over at InfoWars if you think Obama is the Anti-Christ.

and as i have stated before this is the "whatever" section of a gaming site.

There's also a specific emulation forum on the site, and this ain't it. Take your F'n MAME interests elsewhere!

[Ack]

It won't get to the extent of the left, as the right respects the military and understands that the more trouble they cause, the bigger chance for our boys to get killed overseas(based on a Harvard study of military morale, it was discovered that every time an American politician claimed the war was lost, enemy morale shot up). So don't expect some of the language, such as calling our troops "murderers," "rapists," "imperialists," or "baby killers," which the left gave us quite a bit of over the last eight years. .

I call bullshit - this is an unfair and, frankly, offensive way to paint leftists in general (and certainly Democrats in particular). It is akin to saying that the right is a bunch of homophobic Bible-thumping racist isolationist rednecks. Sure, there are some undesirable elements on both sides - but your characterizations here suggests they are more important/influential than they really are.

I'd also like to be directed towards this Harvard study - how did they study "enemy morale?" So dissent by politicians (or others) should be silenced? It's unpatriotic? Again, bullshit. Most of us on the left are just as supportive of the troops as anyone on the right. Some of us might even argue that wanting them to come home is more supportive and patriotic than backing the war.

I also genuinely believe an Obama presidency would go a long way towards healing some of the rifts in the country (e.g. the red state/blue state frictions). He already has demonstrated the same kind of mass appeal that made Reagan popular, and polling suggests he's more popular with more kinds of voters than any candidate in recent history. Colin Powell's comments in his endorsement statement pretty accurately reflect my own thinking about this...it is worth checking out:

Is There An "Emboldment" Effect?

Negative U.S. media linked to increased insurgent attacks

Murtha calls Marines Murderers

Reid: Iraq War lost, U.S. can't win

Lawmaker says Marines killed Iraqis 'in cold blood'

Dean's Unwinnable Argument

Also, let's talk about the area you work in. Where every day I see students with "F the president" shirts. Where I hear them call the Republicans "Fascists" and compare them to Nazis. Where I hear my professors throw in side comments about wanting Bush convicted of war crimes. Where I see spray painted on concrete pictures of Bush with "Not my president" under them or pictures of Obama with "Hope, Change," yet the vandalism is never condemned. How am I to look at Democrats when MSNBC's Keith Olbermann keeps listing Republicans and Conservatives as his "Worst Person in the World." When Sen. Barney Frank is claiming that linking Democrats to the mortgage crisis is racist. Hell, when the word Socialist is now a codeword for black and I am apparently racist for using it. When reporters dream of taking out Republican candidates.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are wanted for murder in Vermont. Citizens of the state even wanted to secede from the Union after the 2004 election.

What am I to think of Code Pink? Of World Can't Wait? Of Jesse Jackson's statements about Zionists controlling America. What about all the posts that appear on Obama's community blogs? Here, Little Green Footballs takes screencaps sometimes:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/ ... toHell.jpg

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article ... _Blog_Site

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article ... emory_Hole

And sometimes LGF just copies the text:

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article ... urns_Again

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article ... _Sanitized

http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article ... _Thats_All

And they got a lot more than that.

And then there's Ayers. Do I even need to start? No, from here it looks like the more radical elements of the left have taken control of your party and are ruining it. I don't mind Democrats. I respect FDR, Truman, and JFK. I dislike many of the policies of Carter, especially when it comes to the defense industry, but I understand why the American public voted for him. But I worry that those people are long gone, and the people that now seem to inhabit the top positions and their associations, frankly, frighten me. I think the average Joe Democrat on the street hasn't bothered to look into any of this. Why? He's got other things he's worried about, and he watches MSNBC and CNN. He gets his news from the New York Times. He's too busy clinging to his guns and his religion to pay attention. And then ones who do have the time are becoming PUMAs.

Are their idiots on my side? Yes, oh God yes, and we complain about them just as much. One guy with a monkey doll can make a lot of folks look bad, and you'd be surprised how pissed the right-wing guys were about it too. We've got our own problems. But I'll tell you something, the anger that keeps getting reported at McCain and Palin rallies? It isn't based on Obama's race.

And it would seem we ain't the only angry side, either.

[RackGaki]

*edited for tone*

Well, Ack, good show old boy! I must say that was a capital post right there. Quite.

[Ack]

Actually, for the record, I just PMed him an apology for my tone. I vented, realized that I'd been extremely rude, and now I may very well pay the price for my hotheadedness. So to Dsheinem, I mean no disrespect. I'm serious. I don't want to fight with you or argue with you. I just want to take the time and enjoy games and appreciate the casual conversation on this forum.

That goes for any other Democrat, left-winger, or Obama fan on these boards. Please don't think I'm angry with you or at you. I'm just going to take the time and calm down.

[The Apprentice]

This lawsuit won't change anything. The election will go on as planned, and most likely, it will be a close race that Obama will eventually win.

[alexjames01]

Actually, for the record, I just PMed him an apology for my tone. I vented, realized that I'd been extremely rude, and now I may very well pay the price for my hotheadedness. So to Dsheinem, I mean no disrespect. I'm serious. I don't want to fight with you or argue with you. I just want to take the time and enjoy games and appreciate the casual conversation on this forum.

That goes for any other Democrat, left-winger, or Obama fan on these boards. Please don't think I'm angry with you or at you. I'm just going to take the time and calm down.

You don't know how many times I've gotten just as worked up as you for the same points. Try visiting digg.com and comment sometime. When teachers teach impressionable students that Socialism is cool and Obama is god, you can't even make a valid point when over-run by these new-founded liberals finding out about the world for the first time. It's a crazy election.

[dsheinem]

First, thanks for your detailed and passionate post. I appreciate your thoughtful response and the work that went into linking to all the info. I know your goal is not to "pwn" me, nor is mine to "pwn" you. In the spirit of healthy debate, then...

Is There An "Emboldment" Effect?

I now remember hearing about this, it is poor scholarship on MANY levels. A good summary/response here:
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5220

It is worth noting that the essay has NOT been published in any scholarly, peer-reviewed context.

Murtha calls Marines Murderers

Murtha is an idiot for all kinds of reasons, but here he is talking about the reprehensible actions of SPECIFIC marines. Guess what? Some Marines DO go over the line, exceed orders, are tried for murder, etc. One need only look at Abu Gharib, etc. as evidence that things CAN and DO get out of hand. As a congressperson, he has a responsibility to call it out. But don't characterize him as anti-Marines - it is a baseless accusation.

Reid: Iraq War lost, U.S. can't win

Judgment call here - If the goal is removing Hussein, than Reid was wrong. If the goal is lasting peace and stability in Iraq, than he's right, we've lost. History suggests this might not ever be possible in the region. Reid may have chosen his words poorly, but it isn't untrue. Your next source even suggests some of the debate over this:
Dean's Unwinnable Argument

I hear my professors throw in side comments about wanting Bush convicted of war crimes...vandalism is never condemned...Keith Olbermann...Barney Frank is claiming that linking Democrats to the mortgage crisis is racist...Jesse Jackson... Code Pink...World Can't Wait..

I can give you a slew of counterparts on the right - Liberty University, Limbaugh, O'Riley, Sen. Michelle Bachmann, etc. I am not defending all the things these people do or say, but I don't think they are any more/less influential than their counterparts on the right. It's all problematic in some way, but a healthy democracy actually needs these kinds of fringes against which to define the center.

Hell, when the word Socialist is now a codeword for black and I am apparently racist for using it.

Hyperbole doesn't make this true.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are wanted for murder in Vermont. Citizens of the state even wanted to secede from the Union after the 2004 election...What about all the posts that appear on Obama's community blogs? Here, Little Green Footballs takes screencaps sometimes:

Now you are talking about people not directly affiliated with the party or its policies. I can link to tons of bullshit by right-wing wackos too, things done in the name of McCain/Palin or the GOP or America, etc. But I don't know what the point is. Hell, If I was upset that private citizens or states wanted to secede, I'd get all worked up about Todd Palin's membership in an Alaska secessionist party.

And then there's Ayers. Do I even need to start? No, from here it looks like the more radical elements of the left have taken control of your party and are ruining it.

It looks like your time spent reading so many of these sites - many of which have an axe to grind - have convinced you of this. I'm not sure I can dissuade you, but at the end of the day the evidence isn't there.

But I'll tell you something, the anger that keeps getting reported at McCain and Palin rallies? It isn't based on Obama's race.

All of it? No. But some of it certainly is.