are y'all better off than you were 4 years ago ?

[7 Biddies]

Because we are celebrating the recognition of their qualifications DESPITE their gender, race and religion. Not being a white male makes it a whole lot harder for this to be true.

It's concerning that you haven't moved past the fact that someone can be qualified "DESPITE their race and religion".

 

[MamaRoo]

Quote:
It's not my personal emotion, but it's not uncommon to hear a person disparaged based on the above factors. The election of someone who is different from the status quo seems to indicate that more people are beginning to realize that competency doesn't reside in your skin or your pants.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

Okay how about My Congressman Raul Labrador? He is wonderfully qualified for the job and I was proud to campaign for him and proud to have him represent us here in the 1st district.

Raúl Rafael Labrador was born on December 8, 1967 in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
and is the only child of a single mother.
I copied this from he website... http://labrador.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=63

I don't really care about his race, religion, gender, political party or what color socks he wears... I voted for him because of his Experience and qualifications. Check him out hes not your average white guy Oh yea my husband got to pull his float through our 4th of July parade with the truck in my signature My dad was on the float too he is one of our county commissioners... OK that last bit was for free

 

[ChickensRDinos]

We were taking a moment to celebrate an increased diversity in our government - a movement towards representation that more accurately reflects its constituency. It is not about the individual people so much as a sign of underrepresented groups having an increased access to power and the overall population being willing to look at the qualifications of people perhaps different from themselves as opposed to only seeing those differences.

I am not sure why you think this is a problem.

In order to address such a deep rooted and pervasive issue we must admit that a problem exists and celebrate the moments when these glass ceilings, so to speak, are broken. I would love to have Hirono and Gubbard's race and religion NOT be a talking points because diverse candidates are commonplace. But it is because they are not. The success of these women and other minorities MEANS something in a much bigger picture of progress. And that something is what we are attempting to celebrate. They are the first.

 

[7 Biddies]

What you need to look at is why certain people won and others did not, and thinking that people who voted for the other guy are idiots isn't the answer. When you figure out why something worked or not, you then need to look at what your priorities are, and how to make those things get into the world. If your guy lost, wonder why, and then work to change what went wrong; do the same if your guy won, and look to what made him win. Easy answer aren't going to get you there. There are very real reasons why one party won and one party did not. As Bill O'Rielly said, demographics have changed; meaning that a broad appeal is necessary.

O'Reilly also said that the demographics changed to a majority of citizens who want/expect free "stuff" from their government. The current administration is promising "stuff", so Obama was reelected.

But, what O'Reilly said, Alexander Tyler wrote about well over a hundred years while writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years (my note: we're currently at 236 years and counting). These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."

Speaking for myself, my comments weren't made because I'm sore about the outcome of the election; They were made out of fear about its outcome. Fear for the future of our country and for future generations of Americans. Hopefully, at my age, I won't be around to see a return to bondage. Sadly, I'm not as optimistic about my kids's future.

 

[MamaRoo]

Quote: As was pointed out by the map a few posts ago. The majority of free "stuff" is received by the red parts of the country, so this analogy isn't valid.

I'm not sure what you feel you need to "fear". The country is governed by three separate groups of people, not one man.

 

[KristyHall]

O'Reilly also said that the demographics changed to a majority of citizens who want/expect free "stuff" from their government. The current administration is promising "stuff", so Obama was reelected.

But, what O'Reilly said, Alexander Tyler wrote about well over a hundred years while writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years (my note: we're currently at 236 years and counting). These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."

Speaking for myself, my comments weren't made because I'm sore about the outcome of the election; They were made out of fear about its outcome. Fear for the future of our country and for future generations of Americans. Hopefully, at my age, I won't be around to see a return to bondage. Sadly, I'm not as optimistic about my kids's future.

You do realize O'Reilly is an entertainer and political pundant and not a journalist right?

 

[MamaRoo]

I also feel that the American Empire is on it's way out. I only hope we can effect the transition with as much grace as the British Empire evinced.

 

[jettgirl24]

O'Reilly also said that the demographics changed to a majority of citizens who want/expect free "stuff" from their government. The current administration is promising "stuff", so Obama was reelected.

Ooops... Wrong quote the first time... Fixed now

For the record, both candidates were offering "stuff". That's what a campaign is: I run for office, I offer stuff, my opponent offers stuff, and the people decide who's stuff offers them a more promising future. It just so happens that a majority of America decided they want healthcare, a social safety net, jobs, and education rather than tax cuts, corporate subsidies, and reduced funding for social programs and education. You may not think Obama's "stuff" will help society and we live in a democracy so you are welcome to have that opinion, but a majority of Americans think he will help create a better future. Those who disagree will just have to do a better job getting people to the polls and convincing people that their plan is the better one next time.

 

[KristyHall]

O'Reilly also said that the demographics changed to a majority of citizens who want/expect free "stuff" from their government. The current administration is promising "stuff", so Obama was reelected.

But, what O'Reilly said, Alexander Tyler wrote about well over a hundred years while writing about the fall of the Athenian Republic:

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years (my note: we're currently at 236 years and counting). These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage."

Speaking for myself, my comments weren't made because I'm sore about the outcome of the election; They were made out of fear about its outcome. Fear for the future of our country and for future generations of Americans. Hopefully, at my age, I won't be around to see a return to bondage. Sadly, I'm not as optimistic about my kids's future.

BTW that is a misquote. He was how ever critical of democracy period.



Misquotation - Tytler Cycle

The following unverified quotation has been attributed to Tytler, most notably as part of a longer piece which began circulating on the Internet shortly after the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election.[12]

A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

• From bondage to spiritual faith;

• From spiritual faith to great courage;

• From courage to liberty;

• From liberty to abundance;

• From abundance to selfishness;

• From selfishness to complacency;

• From complacency to apathy;

• From apathy to dependence;

• From dependence back into bondage.

​

There is no reliable record of Alexander Tytler's having made the statement.[12] In fact, this passage actually comprises two quotations, which didn't begin to appear together until the 1970s. The first portion (italicized above) first appeared on December 9, 1951, [13] as part of what appears to be an op-ed piece in The Daily Oklahoman under the byline Elmer T. Peterson.[14] The original version from Peterson's op-ed is as follows:

Two centuries ago, a somewhat obscure Scotsman named Tytler made this profound observation: "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the majority discovers it can vote itself largess out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits with the result the democracy collapses because of the loose fiscal policy ensuing, always to be followed by a dictatorship, then a monarchy."​

The list beginning "From bondage to spiritual faith" is commonly known as the "Tytler Cycle" or the "Fatal Sequence". Its first known appearance is in a 1943 speech "Industrial Management in a Republic"[15] by H. W. Prentis, president of the Armstrong Cork Company and former president of the National Association of Manufacturers, and appears to be original to Prentis.

[edit]​

See also