I know he's had cancer, so it could be related to that.

It's a post-9/11 thing. Seriously. I don't remember Bill Clinton saying "God bless America" after any of his speeches or press conferences. I don't even remember Reagan or Bush 41 doing it either. 9/11 happens and all of a sudden, this country is uber-religious and all our politicians are forced to wear flag pins on their lapels and put the word "God" in every speech, every 6th word. It's almost like they're trying to convince themselves that if they say it enough, no one will attack us again or our military will be given a shot of extra kick-ass or something.

The first part of my post was a response to Rock Action, so no worries. I knew you were agreeing with me. Personally, if Barack Obama came on TV yesterday and said he was really a Wiccan, I wouldn't have a shit-fit and demand my vote be taken back. He could pray to a toaster oven for all I care, as long as that toaster oven isn't telling him what to do as President. I'd prefer his advisors and his Cabinet take care of that.

I never said I think it'll change. I'm not stupid, this country isn't a theocracy but for all intents and purposes, religion and our political system are very closely entwined. I mean the very idea that you can run an ad questioning someone's religious beliefs and it's seen as a viable campaign tactic is just mind-boggling. Who cares if Kay Hagan (or Barack Obama or anyone else for that matter) is religious? It just makes this country look so backwards. She's losing right now, but barely. I think Obama's national/state poll numbers are helping downticket races and I think if NC goes blue in the general election, Hagan could very well win the Senate seat.

In North Carolina political news.......Elizabeth Dole releases ad questioning opponent's religious faith. Kay Hagan is a Sunday School teacher and an elder in her church who has gone on missions.....and that's why this ad is freakin' ridiculous. Once again, the GOP tries to position itself as the party of God and the baby Jesus while they portray the Democrats as the party of Atheism, Satanism and Godless pagan heathens who will abort your fetuses and make your sons gay marry Muslim socialists. It's pathetic, but expected in a sick, sad way. It's almost the last line of defense; when they're losing big or losing unexpectedly, out come the ads and rally speeches questioning the religious faith of their opponent. As though their religious beliefs actually mean anything in the big picture, but well.....that doesn't seem to matter much to them. I'm really getting sick of this garbage. Leave religion out of politics.

I listen to online radio a lot and I hear Led Zep way more than I would or do on terrestrial radio.

I agree on the first part, but I think adults who are struggling to make ends meet and can't afford health care should be given help. If you're not on welfare, if you're working steady every day but still unable to afford it because your job doesn't provide it, those people should just be stuck with their cheese hanging in the wind? I agree taxes on health care should be lowered, but what if that's still not enough? Absolutely. Health care for the elderly should be a necessity, not a luxury. Completely agree.

First of all, socialism as defined is not the government controlling the means of production, it's the COMMUNITY. The government is not the community. 1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole. Also, health care is not capital, it's not land. It's health care. It's in the same area as education and defense. The government controls the production and the distribution of our defense, right? Would you say our Defense Department is socialistic? I don't think you would.

I came across this article in the New Yorker, and it discusses how Sarah Palin bragged about Alaska's "collective ownership" and "wealth redistribution" and even increased these things while Governor. The funny part is that she's calling Barack Obama a socialist.....when she basically advocated socialism while Governor of Alaska. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008...larbearsrevenge

Yes, that's clearly what Obama would implement if President. How hasn't anyone caught this until now. Really, now.

Good luck, since I do 99.9% of my political postings somewhere else.

I've blamed the Dems in Congress enough. They've done a piss-poor job and I'm hoping things change and change drastically. It's embarrassing that they have a lower approval rating than Bush.

Sarah Palin called herself Caribou Barbie on SNL. So, basically you can't complain about that one. Suz......remember the code words for the hostile takeover. I don't want to lose sight of you in the melee. When people stop calling Barack Obama "Obama bin Laden" or whatever the new scare term on the Right is, that's when I'll stop calling Sarah Palin Caribou Barbie. Because one is lame and stupid, the other is racist and stupid. I'd rather be lame than a racist.

He's black? Get out of here. You'd think the GOP would spend more time talking about that if it were true.

Well, it's not like the Right gives two shits about kids, now do they? Oh, don't you dare terminate that pregnancy......but we're not going to provide you health care, pre-natal care, day care, Head Start programs, school lunches, afterschool activities to help you keep your kids from turning to the streets.....nope.....you're fucked. The Right only believes in the "sanctity of life" if they get to choose which life is sacred. Abortion is bad, killing abortion doctors is okay. Abortion is bad, sending troops off to die in a war that was not only poorly executed but based on lies, that's okay. Abortion is bad, but the innocent Iraqis that have died as a result of our forced occupation, that's okay. Abortion is bad, but denying poor and minority mothers the right to health care so they can deliver healthy babies to term since you think abortions are bad....well, that's next to impossible. You want these women to deliver healthy children to term, but then you don't provide them the means in which to deliver said healthy children to term. You're basically telling them, "we're not going to provide you basic reproductive freedoms and on top of that, we're not going to provide you basic health care either." That must be some of that "compassionate Conservatism" I've only ever read about.

Abortion on demand? Jesus. First of all, anyone who supports a woman's right to choose does not support "abortion on demand". There's a difference between thinking women should have the choice to terminate and setting up abortion clinics on every corner and in every school. If you're going to disagree with something, at least know what the hell you're talking about first.

Wow, that's a whole lot of WHARRGARBL in such a small post. First of all, I said nothing about opinions not being valid, or people having to stay in certain sections of the board or any of that other nonsense. YOU said that, not me. Also, post whore? Are you serious? I am on this board collectively, less than 2 hours a day. That was probably the dumbest thing I've ever been called on this board, and I've been called a lot of things.

I would love to go out west, especially Colorado and Wyoming. It's my dream to see the sun set over the Rocky Mountains at least once.

Every time we went on a road trip, we stayed with either family or a family friend that could put up with us a couple days. The only time we ever stayed in a hotel was when we went to DC because the family we had in Virginia at the time didn't have room for us, otherwise that's where we would have been. Usually every summer when my parents had vacation time coming, we'd get in the car and drive somewhere. And every state we went through, we'd stop and find the nearest local attraction and check it out. That made getting to our final destination a lot more fun than just sitting in the car the whole way through. And we brought food and drinks with us in a cooler so we wouldn't have to stop to eat.....just stopped for bathroom breaks and gas. It helped keep the cost of the trip down so we could buy souvenirs!

I always love it when new members decide to jump right in and start quasi-arguments with people they barely know. BTW Lakey, I understood the point(s) you were making, so don't think you screwed up somewhere.

Well, this certainly has me very excited for the prospects of what's to come next year. I like the fact they're taking their time in picking a singer....a gig like this comes once in a lifetime and you want the person who gets chosen to be absolutely 100% perfect for it, otherwise it'll fall apart. As much as Zep's music was instrument-driven, it was also all about the vocals. If this traveling show comes anywhere near my slice of hell, I'm going.

Whose family here is rich? That was a pretty senseless assumption on your part. Since I don't fly and it's too expensive for the four of us to do so even if I did, it requires a road trip anytime we want to go anywhere. So, we drive through a hell of a lot of states and check out some scenery while we're there. My family has not, at any point in time, EVER been rich.

Touche. Why don't we get this thread semi-back on topic and talk about our favorite Brady Bunch episodes. I always liked the one where she got clocked with the football.

When did this thread become "Spats whines about his miserable, pathetic no-good existence pt. 2"?

Alaska senator Ted Stevens was found guilty on all counts.