Politics as usual!

[Liquid55]

You will never know everything about either side, but when one side is threatening your job you can't agree with anything that he says.

[thephat]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

The links to external sources that give info are great...but can't we find something more reliable than Wikipedia?

I don't know, you will trade bias for controle of sources.

[Lefty Kev]

[quote=schleppp;367254]With a screen name of Lefty Kev I thought it was a foregone conclusion that you were a Dem...

The Lefty bit is because I ride a Cannondale Prophet with a Lefty shock

I also happen to be left handed. No bleeding-heart liberal here

[Lefty Kev]

Originally Posted by dirtvert
btw- i hope you're joking about iran. we barely have enough troops to fight in iraq and afghanistan or, evidently, enough to find bin laden...[/quote]

Obama Biden sounds a little too much like Osama bin Laden you ask me

[schleppp]

Originally Posted by thephat

I don't know, you will trade bias for controle of sources.

No not really. With Wackypedia you get BOTH!! It is like a two for one sale.

There are many reliable peer reviewed sources of information through university databases.

[Liquid55]

Originally Posted by Lefty Kev

Obama Biden sounds a little too much like Osama bin Laden you ask me

That's the same thing I said when I heard the VP pick

[Padre]

Originally Posted by jcka

Sadly enough...and as terrible as war is, sometimes you can not have peace without conflict. Our history is proof of that. I hate it as much as the next guy that we are sending our children in to harms way, but there are people on this planet who aren't willing to sit down and talk about it. 9/11 was a clear example that there are folks out there who would rather see us non existent. I am glad we are not just sitting around being victims. Freedom isn't free, we first had to fight for it, and to protect it we have to fight for it.

Well said.

But some believe if you hug a tree and yell "peace!" all bad things disappear. That just isn't reality.

In the same way, writing a blank check that says, "change" on it, doesn't help either.

[dirtvert]

iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. everybody knows that now, right. right? even bush had to finally admit it. al qaeda wasn't there until after we invaded. and mccain is okay with us staying there indefinitely--at 10 billion/month.

(the iraqis don't want us there)+ (you can't win an occupation) +10B = insanity

[schleppp]

Originally Posted by dirtvert

iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. everybody knows that now, right. right? even bush had to finally admit it. al qaeda wasn't there until after we invaded. and mccain is okay with us staying there indefinitely--at 10 billion/month.

(the iraqis don't want us there)+ (you can't win an occupation) +10B = insanity

At this point we have to do what we can to stabilize the region. If we pullout and leave before the country is stable that will leave Iraq as a prime target for Iran to move in unchallenged, which would be due to our poor judgement in the beggining. And don't for a second think that Iran would not do that. It really is not as simple as pull out and wash our hands as many would like to believe.

Also, we are hardly running a campaign of occupation. Yes we have troops there, but to say it is an occupation is a bit of an exageration.

Please do not misconstrue this post as an endorsement of the operations there, but it is much more complex, and I am simply pointing to some other considerations.

[dirtvert]

you're right. we can't pull out as fast as we went in (signature?). but the iraqis are taking over more of the responsibilities. diplomacy and international pressure will go a long way in containing iran. and even the administration is talking timelines for withdrawal (cut-and-runners).

[Wicked Smot]

After sifting through the last 3 threads I have learned the following fact:

Padre and dirtvert represent the political polar ends of the universe. I believe that even McCain and Obama would fall more towards the center.

I have begun reading only posts from those 2 members on political issues. Everything else is gray mush.

Sorry to interrupt with my random observation.....carry on!

[dirtvert]

unfortunately, i think it's like the olympics. throw out the high and low scores, average the rest.

[Padre]

Originally Posted by Wicked Smot

After sifting through the last 3 threads I have learned the following fact:

Padre and dirtvert represent the political polar ends of the universe. I believe that even McCain and Obama would fall more towards the center.

It might be true.

Neither McCain nor Obama are winners...but at least McCain seems to operate within the realm of reality.

[dirtvert]

well, here's mccain's reality. he's been surrounded by lobbyists during his career, even during the presidential race. his top foreign advisor is a lobbyist for the country of georgia. and let's not forget the keating 5 (look it up if you're too young or forgot). obama has actually authored legislation to control corruption (clean up act).

[sdyeti]

Pretty much all media out there is biased in some way or another. The sources who write the wikipedia entries are probably not completely unbiased.

Originally Posted by thephat

I don't know, you will trade bias for controle of sources.

[Padre]

Originally Posted by dirtvert

well, here's mccain's reality. he's been surrounded by lobbyists during his career, even during the presidential race. his top foreign advisor is a lobbyist for the country of georgia. and let's not forget the keating 5 (look it up if you're too young or forgot). obama has actually authored legislation to control corruption.

I'll take it!
I'll take that reality over a seemingly Marxist one.

Obama's approach seems to be Marxism 101, straight out of Saul Alinsky's book Rules for Radicals (look it up if you're too young or forgot)...could have been Obama's bible when he was a "Community Activist".

Step 1: Get the people mad
Step 2: Sight inequalities, two Americas
Step 3: Feel their pain
Step 4: Offer hope by way of "change" or "hope"
Step 5: Vote for me and I'll set you free! The government is your only HOPE!

No thanks. Keep the change.

[dirtvert]

paranoia will destroy ya.

the marxist propaganda is right out of the limbaugh playbook. if mccain manages to win/steal this election, it's because the cons. are experts at fear-mongering.

and the "community activist" put-down is just a racist slur, at least as used by palin. since when is volunteering evil (answer- if you're helping people of color).

i say, "good day".

[thephat]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

Pretty much all media out there is biased in some way or another. The sources who write the wikipedia entries are probably not completely unbiased.

Agreed, but sources with various biases contribute to wiki. There is usually mention of various views if there is bias.

I usually check what I find on wiki with other sources. That being said, I have never found fault with a wiki article yet. I like the quick availability of information. Often I can pick up the special terminology I need to further research quickly and easily on wiki.

[davidB]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

Pretty much all media out there is biased in some way or another. The sources who write the wikipedia entries are probably not completely unbiased.

in the 24 hours before Palin was announced, her Wikipedia entry was edited quite a bit by one user who added a bunch of irrelevant information that was seen to be very biased. While doing this another user noticed it and edited, er, "toned down" those original edits. Wikipedia then locked down Palin's page in the following hours.

However, the user who started making the original edits put on his or her page

"I will acknowledge that I volunteer for the McCain campaign, one of thousands of people nationwide who are working to elect the best candidate for the job."

so yeah, that's not to say Obama's camp hasn't had his edited either, or any politician while we're at it. In fact, there's reported cases of Wiki entries being edited by government offices/companies/etc as ip's are traced via Wiki-Scanner (kinda cool site by the way).

[schleppp]

Originally Posted by sdyeti

Pretty much all media out there is biased in some way or another. The sources who write the wikipedia entries are probably not completely unbiased.

The people? The people who write wikipedia are just everyday typical users. Anyone can register and edit posts! Wikipedia is a joke for anyone serious about scholarly info.