Go Barack

[walfredo]

JT-

I like the early numbers, but it is still a very close race. If you don’t consider Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan to be potential toss up states- then you are right, Obama will win… But I’m not exactly ready to say that is a lock… Take any of those 3 states out of his “safe” list, and you start needing to win more of those “toss up” states to get to 270.

Still good news though… Just don’t want folks thinking this will be easy, it won’t.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, JT, I do care to comment on the rest of the article:

Who cares! It’s The New York Times.

I hope that was clear for any “contextually challenged” members of the forum!

[Anonymous]

Walfredo,

I totally agree. The last thing I want is for dems to become complacent and think it’s a slam dunk.

[JoB]

New Resident…

credibility lies in the content of the article, not in where it is published…

as it is an opinion piece.. you were right to challenge the articles assumption of power based on Hollywood Access stats…

and had that been his only example of power.. you would have come to a valid conclusion.

it wasn’t. it was simply the most frivolous and one i would have edited had i been his editor.

dismissing his article based on one frivolous example does an injustice both to the author and to your own intelligence… as does dismissing an article because of it’s source.

you may not like the message.. or agree with his assumptions… but, the piece was clearly written and for the most part well sourced.

power, in a political context, is the ability of a politician to sway voters.. and to do that, he/she needs to attract attention. it is clear that obama is attracting more than a fair share of attention.

it remains to be seen whether that attention translates into votes or mere curiosity for American voters..

However, Obama’s recent oversees tour clearly demonstrated that he draws crowds internationally… and the postive nature of those crowds demonstrates that having Obama as a candidate has done a great deal to lessen anti-American rhetoric… at least temporarily.

[Anonymous]

“credibility lies in the content of the article, not in where it is published…”

“dismissing his article based on one frivolous example does an injustice both to the author and to your own intelligence… as does dismissing an article because of it’s source.”

This is interesting to me, JoB, that you would say this because I don’t think I can count how many times you have personally dismissed a link or article I have shared simply because of who the author is.

As far as Obama attracting attention, I would have to say they both are. The whole election is attracting attention due to the present state of our country. Europeans don’t get to vote, btw.

[JanS]

Europeans may not get to vote, but we do have to have a good working relationship with them. George Bush did a fine job of alienating our European friends…there’s a lot of work to be done to repair the rift, and the sooner that starts, the better. We need them, they need us…

[Anonymous]

JanS – I couldn’t agree more!

Here’s a question I have, though. If the rest of the world hates America as much as is claimed here, why do so many immigrants move here every year?

[JanS]

the fact that we have a great country is not disputed…that’s why. The fact that we still have to work with the governments of those countries is what I’m talking about…it’s really very simple, NR..

[charlabob]

The rest of the world can distinguish between America(sic) and Americans(sic). One of the many benefits of electing a Democratic government in November is that the two will, once again, be united.

I have a pocket copy of the Constitution which I carry with me, among other things, to remind myself that the criminals who have run the country for the past eight years are not indicative of anything. Check out the hiring “practices” of Gonzales’ personnel director, Monica Goodling, for a minor example.

I’m at least impressed that most Repugs have stopped trying to defend the indefensible. Perhaps they are developing a sense of shame, at last.

[JoB]

New resident…

if you think i dismissed a link simply because of the author, you misunderstood.

i dismissed the links because of the content of the article.. and cited the author because of the author’s history of printing similarly bad arguments…

I have carefully read the links you posted in the past… and have only cited authors with blatant disregard for either facts or reasoned argument… or both.. as is more often the case.

i don’t have to agree with an argument to appreciate it’s integrity… but i do have to find integrity to appreciate the argument.

[JoB]

NewResident..

re immigration stats…

you might want to re-examine current immigration stats for educated and skilled workers.

They are no longer choosing America as often… unless they come on a limited term work visa…

and our universities are no longer the preference for masters and PhD candidates…

We probably need to do something to change that.

[Anonymous]

http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/publications/LPR07.shtm

I don’t know why whether an immigrant is educated or a skilled worker has anything to do with the discussion.

If you review Table 1, you will see that there are more people coming to America than in past years.

[Anonymous]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121728831357691467.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

In response to JanS and charlabob’s assurance that Obama will make America respected again.

[JoB]

NewResident…

since you looked only at gross numbers, did you look at the numbers for other developed countries?

as for skilled immigrants.. they are indicator of perceived opportunity… and we used to get far more than our lion’s share.

not so much now.

[charlabob]

Yeah, the right-wing chess champion, writing in the australian guy’s newspaper. An opinion piece hose title shows up as “article.” I’m impressed. NOT.

[Anonymous]

JoB – That’s wasn’t the discussion. I simply asked the question of why so many people migrate to America if it is a horrible country.

The stats prove people still move here (increasingly so). I never questioned whether there was an increase of immigrants to other countries. I simply am proving my point that America obviously cannot be this big, bad, mean country if so many people come here to live.

charlabob – It would be hard to be impressed by an article without reading it.

[charlabob]

I did read it. Before I saw who wrote it. Your contempt is appreciated.

[JanS]

NR….we are not a horrible country – no one ever said that, and I think a lot of regular people in other countries understand what this country has to offer them. However, IN MY OPINION, those regular people don’t make up the governments of those countries, and that’s where the problem lies..our government needs to change direction, so we’re not alienated from the countries (gov’t.’s) that we should be more aligned with.

[Anonymous]

And, JanS, IN MY OPINION (and supported by the article I linked), Obama is not the one who can make that change.

charlbob – vice versa.

[JoB]

New Resident…

the myth of a United States with streets paved with gold has existed since the early years of our country.

people still come to find them.

however, increasingly Americans are finding that the path to opportunity isn’t as available to them as it once was… even Michelle Obama supposedly shopped at Target:)

Those with skills to sell have realized they can earn a better living and quality of life elsewhere…

even Americans are now looking for employment overseas in record numbers.

When i was a young woman, the promise of opportunity was great… and many of my contemporaries invested a lifetime of hard work in that promise to find themselves without promised pensions and with retirement funds that now hold fewer dollars than they put into them.. in spite of the miracle of compounding interest.

The idea that all is well in America is nothing more than a myth.

[Anonymous]

Really, JoB? The statistics don’t necessarily support your claim.

Where, exactly, is America deficient? Please show me, cause I’d really love to know.

[JanS]

JoB…I heartily agree…the state of our economy for many, many, many people is in the tank. Perhaps it’s not for some of the people who post here, but I know that my business is off because people are holding onto their discretionary dollars a tad bit tighter. Of course, those whose insurance pays for their massage treatments always come, but those dear, dear cash clients are coming less and less. For those who doubt that the economy is in bad shape, more power to you…you’ve hit the motherlode , I suppose. But it’s real…you just have to be a small (very small) businessperson to realize it. It means that I have less discretionary dollars to spend, too.(is that the “trickle down theory” in action? lol) I do my part..haven’t driven my car in 3 1/2 weeks. Of course, it wasn’t very drivable – lol…but we’re working on that as I speak. I’ve definitely learned the difference between “want” and “need”, believe me…

[Trick]

The 10 happiest countries in the world.

7 out of 10 reside in Europe.

Canada is 8th place.

USA- 17th place

[Anonymous]

And we will watch ourselves fall further down that list if Obama is elected, IMO.

Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election:

CAPITAL GAINS TAX

MCCAIN 0% on home sales up to $500,000 per home (couples) McCain does not propose any change in existing home sales income tax.

OBAMA 28% on profit from ALL home sales

How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit, you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward retirement and would like to down -size your home or move into a retirement community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes. This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the income from their homes as part of their retirement income.

DIVIDEND TAX

MCCAIN 15% (no change)

OBAMA 39.6% How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama becomes president. The experts predict that ‘higher tax rates on dividends and capital gains would crash the stock market yet do absolutely nothing to cut the deficit.

INCOME TAX

MCCAIN (no changes) Single maki n g 30K – tax $4,500 Single making 50K -tax

$12,500 Single making 75K – tax $18,750 Married making 60K- tax $9,000

Married making 75K -tax $18,750 Married making 125K – tax $31,250

OBAMA (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts) Single making 30K – tax $8,400 Single making 50K – tax $14,000 Single making 75K – tax $23,250 Married making 60K -tax $16,800 Married making 75K – tax $21,000 Married making 125K – tax $38,750

Under Obama your taxes will more than double! How does this affect you? No explanation needed. This is pretty straight forward.

NHERITANCE TAX

MCCAIN 0% (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

OBAMA – Restore the inheritance tax. How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms and ranches, and homes that have been in their families for ge ne rations because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these taxes.

NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY OBAMA

* New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400 square feet

* New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren’t high enough already)

* New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water, electricity)

* New taxes on retirement accounts and last but not least….

* New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same level of medical care as other third-world countries!!

[Anonymous]

I wish republicans would stop putting out false info from circulating emails. Snopes.com (rumor debunker) shows that whole scare tactic email (word for word)to be untrue. For the correct information please read here.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/taxes.asp

[Author]

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