I would assume that the majority of the population are critical of the media and make their own decisions in terms of policy rather than believing there are a number of wars going on.
In the US I think that would be an incorrect assumption. I know this forum is not representative of the general population but when looking at a variety of sources it seems voters there are more emotion based in their voting. It would be better if voting was based on the candidate's policies but I don't think that's the majority at all.
In the US I think that would be an incorrect assumption. I know this forum is not representative of the general population but when looking at a variety of sources it seems voters there are more emotion based in their voting. It would be better if voting was based on the candidate's policies but I don't think that's the majority at all.
This may well be true. Emotion can play a big part depending on a variety of factors. Social, political and economic factors of the time no doubt can play a role in this. I guess when people are looking for the answers they turn to the media. In this regard the media has an important responsibility in the first instance.
Does anyone else find this bizarre? You bolster your numbers by motivating a certain percentage of the population to vote by creating a siege mentality amongst those who are susceptible to this type of influence.
Tut
And your politicians don't pander to their base ? That is how political parties are created in the 1st place.
I also think that we can start looking at a complicit media and start tracing it back from there.
That has been my contention. However ;it has improved here as the media has come out of the closet and is not trying so hard to disguise it's biases ;and with the increasingly diverse media in the market place of ideas .
And your politicians don't pander to their base ? That is how political parties are created in the 1st place.
Pandering to their base is one thing, but deliberately creating a siege mentality is completely different altogether. We have to vote in elections therefore there is no benefit in 'firing up' people in order to motivate them enough to get out and vote. Seeing everyone has to vote we may as well vote on policy as anything else.
No doubt some people choose the anything else. But having just said that it is important to keep in mind that our media is different to yours in some areas.
That has been my contention. However ;it has improved here as the media has come out of the closet and is not trying so hard to disguise it's biases ;and with the increasingly diverse media in the market place of ideas .
Tom, I would completely disagree with this. There is no diversity of ideas. Just diversity of mouthpieces saying the same thing.
Just recently I asked for a non-American source in order to supplement wider reading on a topic and you oblige me with another American author.
Please note this is no a criticism of American authors.
I like to talk. That's kind of the whole point of this forum, to have discussions.
nothing has changed except the circumstances. Romney thinks the US should reimplement gunboat diplomacy, the way to revive the american economy, while a mild recovery is on the way. If you could talk success Romney would be a shoe in but, Obama has demonstrated in the last four years you can't do that. Look, either way, you are screwed. You have had ten years of the war on terror and Romney wants to intensify it,
But you can no longer change things with a wave of your hand, once you exported your recessions, but having exported your industries, now you will feel everyoneelses' recessions and no amount of political rhetoric will change that
Does anyone else find this bizarre? You bolster your numbers by motivating a certain percentage of the population to vote by creating a siege mentality amongst those who are susceptible to this type of influence.
Tut
I don't find anything at all odd about people being enthusiastic. It's not a strictly American phenomenon.
what's there to talk about? nothing has changed except the circumstances. Romney thinks the US should reimplement gunboat diplomacy,
The paradox in the world is that many who condemn U.S. hegemony also seem to demand it.We'll see how the left likes the Obama doctrine when they start making demands for humanitarian intervention.
Plant that got $150M in taxpayer money to make Volt batteries furloughs workers
President Obama touted it in 2010 as evidence "manufacturing jobs are coming back to the United States,” but two years later, a Michigan hybrid battery plant built with $150 million in taxpayer funds is putting workers on furlough before a single battery has been produced...
The 650,000-square-foot, $300 million facility was slated to produce 15,000 batteries per year, while creating hundreds of new jobs. But to date, only 200 workers are employed at the plant by by the South Korean company. Batteries for the Chevy Volts that have been produced have been made by an LG plant in South Korea.
The factory was partly funded by a $150 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. LG also received sizeable tax breaks from the local government, saving nearly $50 million in property taxes over 15 years and another $2.5 million annually in business taxes. Landing the factory was hailed as a coup when shovels first hit the ground.
“You are leading the way in showing how manufacturing jobs are coming right back here to the United States of America,” Obama told workers at the ground-breaking ceremony. “Our goal has never been to create a government program, but rather to unleash private-sector growth. And we're seeing results.”
I had a partner like you once... He thought his INVESTMENT was a sure thing, and when it wasn't, he wanted me to pay it back...
excon
I accept the risks of my investments so I'm not like him at all. I do however try and minimize those risks. Unlike Obama I don't jump in with both feet because the investment fits my political agenda. There was never any real market for a $40k electric car outside of Beverly Hills so invest accordingly, not on inflated expectations and hope.
By the way, has Obama ever commented on or taken responsibility for any of his many loser investments of OUR money?
GM bailout was a fraud and a loser to the taxpayers . Even the judge who approved it is now 2nd guessing the legality ;and a law suit by the creditors who got screwed could lead to a reopening of the whole restructure deal .
Hundreds of years of bankruptcy law supporting the idea that the senior bondholders are first in line and not a union pension fund, was thrown in the scrap heap by the deal . Yes ,GM is "still in business", but their position is tenuous at best .Traditional bankruptcy laws would've accomplished the same thing ,but they would be structually sounder and we would not have wasted taxpayers dollars in the effort.
Pandering to their base is one thing, but deliberately creating a siege mentality is completely different altogether. We have to vote in elections therefore there is no benefit in 'firing up' people in order to motivate them enough to get out and vote. Seeing everyone has to vote we may as well vote on policy as anything else.
No doubt some people choose the anything else. But having just said that it is important to keep in mind that our media is different to yours in some areas.
Tut
Check out my reply to Ex in this OP . Clearly voter enthusiasm is a factor in a system where we don't force people to vote . I contend that a non-vote is also making a valid democratic choice.
Hello:
Congress is throwing us to the wolves. They'd rather DESTROY the other guy than do the work they were sent to do.
I'm WATCHING the battle. I'm READING the prognostications. I'm SEEING the feints and blows. I STILL can't tell who's winning. You?
excon
Co-signed for family member for loan on purchase of item. Family member paid randomly, but not always. Loan was paid in full, but I had to pay out of my pocket at times to keep from defaulting on loan. Filed small claim for unpaid "personal" debt. Is this strong enough case to win?
I replaced a hot water tank; after doing all the "I can do this" things, I turned on the water and all went well with the faucets in the upstairs bath, the main floor bath and kitchen faucets, the sink in the basement make-up room, the down stairs bath and the cold water side of the basement...
McCain who has already campaigned from the center and needs to convince the right wing that he is the best candidate left for them ?
Or
Obama and Evita who have drifted further left and the campaign progressed trying to attract the wing ?