America The Beautiful

I agree totally fed up:thumbup:

One thing though. I am not sure our votes have meant anything for a long time.

The electorial college takes the force of our votes away.

Failing that just look at the election of 2000 . Didn't matter who won Bush was placed in office.

got a feeling our next president has already been picked and our votes won't make a difference.

But i heartedly agree, the america of our youth is gone. We are in a whole new ball game.

I too have to agree with you, I have posted a similar piece stating some of the same BS. Americans lack unity, we need to all stand together on the streets in every state and stop this nonsense before it is to late. If we did do that we would see a change real fast. No need for others to say it is not that easy, it is that easy if we all stand together, divided we are falling. someone else said something similar in another post.

Funny that you should say that because I'll be in attendance at an anti-war rally this evening. Info can be had at: DUPAGE AGAINST WAR NOW

If anyone is in the Chicago area it starts at 6PM.

**** standing together. WE don't deserve it.

Well that is another way to look at it, I hadn't thought of that way until now. Interesting point, I would like to hear more please.

Well that is another way to look at it, I hadn't thought of that way until now. Interesting point, I would like to hear more please.

Greed happened to America.

Let's see, you who are complaining...

How many televisions are in your home? Is it air-conditioned? How many vehicles are parked in your driveway? When did you last go out to eat? Do you have cable or satellite? What toys are in your garage? What did you have for supper last night? How many meals did you eat yesterday? How many hours did you work last week?

Give me a break. Go visit the people of Costa Maya and tell them how bad you have it while living in the US. Better yet, go live there for awhile!

Who the **** are you? You think you know me? Bet I've been to more third world countries, and have seen more poverty than you ever will.

Greed IS what happened to America. Bury your head back in the sand while our expansionist government thins our national defenses and erodes our economy for a buck. Outsourcing of American jobs to foreign countries isn't because the commies in China, or telephone surveyors in the philipines are better, it's so American corporations can turn a bigger buck without having to pay American labors the wages needed to live at our standards. We're sitting in the desert turning tricks for Halliburton while they syphon off billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to make Iraq more stable so that our trillion dollar a year oil habit can be fed. Don't get self righteous on me because I see if for what it is.

Evertime my mom calls me here she has a problem from her end and she has to call the operator for assistance, she gets so pissed off because she says it is some person from India who can't speak english well enough to assist her. She ends up telling them to get someone who can speak to her and stop wasting her time and money of the GD telephone, she is 72 and works everyday, she is a psycologist. Your are right on with the whole post 92, I love you more and more, Just joking about the love thing. I really respect your wisdom and your worldly knowledge thus far, thanks for making it count.

I love the arguements on outsourcing...

Spouted by the same guy sitting there wanting $25 an hour with full benefits or he ain't gonna' work! He's also the same guy that runs down to shop at WalMart and then complains about products made overseas.

I'm not saying this is you, but if the shoe fits...

Now let's vote Pelosi in again so she can outsource a few more DelMonte jobs! Oh, and add Kerry to the pot!

Are still making ASSumptions about me? tisk tisk.

good point, luckly I don't live in the land of fast food and Wal Mart anymore. A good quality product bought in Germany is made right here. Sure there is outsourcing here to for the guy who makes 25Euro an hour to bitch when he buys cheap **** but at least here you have a choice to buy **** if you want to. We almost have no made in America products left. Sad for our future, sure to get worse before it gets better.

I have been through Idaho many times going to Washinton from Montana, I can't remeber the name of that gorgeous lake CH... we stopped there evertime through to take in the breathtaking view. Miss the west mom.

Coeur d'Alene! It is beautiful. We live way south from there! We are in the southeastern area. But we live not far from Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, and Sun Valley so we have the best of both worlds!

We are in the heart of spud country here! While growing up we moved a lot and so have lived in some beautiful areas but we seem to enjoy it here the best!

I seen one of your posts that mentioned Roy, Mt. I lived there for a little while way back in the 50's. I was in third grade and went to a one room school house! My grandpa was in construction and they were building all of the roads backs then. Roy, Circle, all of those little towns....

Yeah, thats it Coeur d' Alene absolutly breath taking. I lived in Red Lodge not far from the Cook city entrance to Yellowstone. In winter we could rent snowmobiles and go through the pass to Yellowstone that was of course closed in winter to cars. All day adventure in the snow. I miss it a whole lot. Lived there almost 8 yrs.

I know that school house in Roy, it still stands, there isn't to many people living there still. A town in Montana is a considered town if there is a bar. Roy has one. Neat little town, our lawyer grew up there, maybe you guys went to school together. His dad still lives there in the same house his dad gave him. Lee is (guessing here) 46, 47 he has older syblings too. I think you said you where 49 don't hate me if I am wrong. Age with us is more touchy than with men it seems.
Thanks for the memory jog westernmom.

Freedom is a hell of a lot more than materialistic things. Over the last seven years Americans have lost quite a bit of their freedoms.

I agree regarding the issue of out sourcing, today companies seem to view everythng in terms of profit. Gone are the days when a Global company cared about it's employees or customers. Let's take back our right to have product support in English. I believe we will get those jobs back though, to often I become frustrated and have informed my bank, insurance etc if I need assistance and the person can't speak English I will take my business else where. They have all coughed up Canadian numbers, I can't articulate how frustrating it is to have a problem and the customer service rep in India or Pakistan can't speak english and talk from scripts. Yes it's cheap labour but the customer isn't going to put up with bad product service and that's what we are getting.

Freedom allows people to choose how they want to live their life, if you scorn a materialistic life style don't live one. We all have a choice on the path we follow, socialist and commies have the freedom to donate their surplus cash to third world charities or local ones. Society has become materialistic because of the breakdown of family and family values. The left scorn family values and our ideals. Today's current anything goes culture is the result of their ethos not mine. Blaming capitalism or us capitalist pigs is a smoke screen for their mea culpa. Forcing alternate life styles down our throats isn't galling enough but these same liberals force us to pay for their social experiments. That is why society has become so materialistic.

"What happened to the America that I once loved?"

It doesn't sound as though you ever loved it. With lovers like you, who needs enemies?

I?d like to go back to the original question, snide remarks about who knows who aside, because I think that question is fundamental to the problems we are facing. I think its important to find the answers to that question if we ever want our country back.


There are a number of answers to this question, but there are two in particular I?d like to focus on. They are greed and apathy.

The greed I?m talking about, though, isn?t the supposed greed of the nasty corporate empire, it?s the greed of the individual. The belief that simply by virtue of living in this country, we are owed something. That something we are owed changes as the political climate changes, but in the end, we have been led to believe that the nation, and the rest of the population, owes us something merely because we exist.

The America that I love is a land of opportunity. It is a land of rights. But we have lost sight of the fact that there are responsibilities that go with our rights. We have lost sight of the fact that opportunity does not equal accomplishment. We have lost sight of the fact that having equal opportunities does not guarantee equal outcomes. Fundamentally, we have lost sight of the fact that one individual?s rights end where another individual?s rights begin.

This can currently be seen in the debate over healthcare. Do we all have the right to equal access to healthcare? Of course we do, but not at others? expense. Consider our other rights: I have the right to free speech, but that does not mean the taxpayer has to provide funds for me to exercise that right. Even closer to the mark, the second amendment guarantees me the right to keep and bear arms. But, if I cannot afford arms, others do not have the responsibility to buy those arms for me. I cannot go to the government and make them provide me with a weapon because I cannot afford it.

In short, our greed has led us to believe that having a right somehow confers a responsibility on others. Nothing could be further from the intent of the constitution. Each of us has rights, but those rights cannot impose on the rights of others. Our greed has led us to think that having a right means that others must provide for that right. Absolute, utter nonsense. Such a statement is illogical, and followed to its conclusion ultimately destroys the fundamental underpinnings of the constitution.

As bad is our apathy. We no longer care enough about our nation to ensure that our elected officials represent us, rather than lead us. We have allowed the two main political parties to drag our political process down to the point of the lowest common denominator. Rather than having debates about the issues, we sling mud, and the one who is the least muddy at the end wins. Its tragic. As a result, honorable men and women, men and women well suited to actually representing the people simply refuse to subject themselves and their families to the mud-wrestling contest.

It is time for the US to take back her principles. Fundamental principles, such as limited government, which by and large stays out of the private lives of the people. A government that doesn?t concern itself with petty nonsense like who is diddling who. A government that doesn?t pander to those without the gumption to actually work to get ahead. A government that does not promise something for nothing, taking from those who actually worked to make the most of their opportunities, and giving it to those who won?t get off their backsides to change the channel on their soap operas.

Its time we again became a country of people who believe in the fundamental principle of standing on their own two feet. Its time to stop perpetuating the myth that the playing field isn?t level, and that those who have achieved owe something to those who have not.

And its well beyond time that we ?threw the bums out,? and demanded a higher standard from our elected officials. Maybe its even time to go back to the fundamental principle, espoused by Thomas Jefferson: ?The office should seek the man, not the man seek the office.?