The American Dream no longer exists.

[jane taylor]

I've enjoyed this thread, too, as I am saddened by most of what I see and hear on the news. I will say; however, that I am grateful to live in the U.S. Saturday morning my daughter had a dance competition and the instructor asked me to give the invocation which I gladly did. Afterwards, the national anthem was played. As I stood there and listened, I thanked God for my blessings and asked for His grace over all of us. I am proud to be a Christian and an American.

[robivi3]

PeeVee, most people have no idea wht Dana is or what a vital Company it has been in the past. Being a Bus and truck mechanic for many years (I've moved on now) i can tell that it is a VERY important company to the Transportation Industry and thus to US Defense in the past. I know that they are into alot more than rear ends.

[robivi3]

Owning a home is not Freedom. I hate to get mushy but Freedom is such an intangable thing that it means much more than owning anything. In practicality the freedom handed down by our flawed but great thinking founding fathers anchored and secured our property rights, it gave us access to the Courts, freedom to move about. I meaned damned, it was a huge deal to insure that the common man had to be formally charged to be held, but to anchor his right in a inviolable document was unheard of.

Freedom of the press, wow! Remember in those days the troops would come in and sieze and break your equipment. That stuff was irreplaceable, typesets cost the equivalent of millions of dollars, if one piece of lead type was dropped on a wood floor the whole set was ruined. Most newspaers kept an arms locker and possibly cannons in front just to fend off offended mobs. But a law that protected the right of the press was unheard of!!!!! To set up shop and have it destroyed you were ruined and were hunted to hell by your creditors. There is a myriad of reasons that they insured the right of free press.

The right to own and BEAR arms!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have nearly lost it. They would have balked at an intrusive Government keeping records on owners. They new that Government and beauracracy always tries to gain power. I WORK for a large beauracracy, years ago we secured our "dedicated funding" in the form of a half penny tax and the number of office people ONLY has tripled and includes lots of family members, I can't figure out what most folks on the damned Office level do, what the hell do they do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????? ?????????????????????????? They exist for absolutely no frigging purpose but to loot the public treasury!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They fix nothing, are arrogant and freaking nasty as hell and making damned good salaries. A beauracracy is made up of people out to protect their own clawing, unusable in any other industry while the educated good workers struggle at Target ASSES. A beauracracy will trample your rights and make new regulations simply to justify it's own bloated existence.

The people tied to it because of their lack of usefulness are willing slaves of the system, they will do anything to save themselves. I say this to convince you that GW, when he created the "Homeland Security" dept. ( to me a Nazi sounding name anyway, who the hell invented that) created a monster that will, when it's funding is threatened, trample your rights and CREATE threats where they do not exist. The DEA is a great example, ending the drug trade would end all of their jobs, why in HELL would they end it???????????????? "The Department of Homeland Security" department, I'm sorry the name just sounds as evil as hell, I read 1984 and ten zillion other books like and the name gives me jitters. I mean is this The Fatherland, The Motherland? IT WILL BE TURNED ON US EVENTUALLY, new threats will be created and the beauracracy will seek more power, watch what happens if their funding is ever threatened. God give us another Reagan to straighten out this mess and defund all these bastard organizations that were adopted into the Government. GW, while the man for the hour of need compared to the other guy did not help us by creating more beauracracy, they will turn on us, you better hope they stay busy looking for foreigners for now.

Remember we not only are guarranteed by the Founders the right to KEEP arms but the right to BEAR them. In fact they viewed keeeping the Government under threat of the Citizenry (the only way i can express it, sorry, not the best word since the intent was not to destabilize) was the best insurance against absolute takeover.

To say that we are not losing our Freedoms and then tie it to tangibles like owning a home, having a job, to me just diminishes its value. Those things are important but you also have link freeedom to feelings, there is no worse feeling than having a right violated and not having recourse to justice. That is the freedom that people will die for, it is the part of freedom that you can't touch but you know it is there. I still think that alot of immigrants value that here, i know how my wife thinks and she is always describing how things can improve in Colombia if the common people have guarranteed recourse to justice, but she says that in general they don't. That is the best "right" that we have, that is the one that is assaulted every time a government beauracracy creates a new rule without any law being passed and we all have to obey, EVEN INDUSTRIES that may actually close because of it. That is why I despise beauraucrats as useless appendages sucking the life out of the Country, vile things who got their jobs because of what they are or becuase they are twice as useless as the other guy. That is another story...

[fellowpoorman]

GW, in my opinion is totally not in touch with his "fellow Americans" you are right maybe it is best he stay focused on foreigners and so called terrorism, look what we have lost since he came in, And I don't want to hear all the BSthat we are safer because of it, Frredom ? , It gets less everyday, I love my country but am dissapointed in the direction we are headed. just my 2 cents.

[debtisbad]

I think most people are aree not happy with the direction that this country is going. I wonder if we are going into iran or what is next on gw's agenda. Does anyone know what this "divine strake" is that I have read about. Google it. Sounds scary but I do not know what it means. Don't know if its just some normal testing but sounds very big to me.

[FloridaGirl]

I've enjoyed this thread, too, as I am saddened by most of what I see and hear on the news. I will say; however, that I am grateful to live in the U.S. Saturday morning my daughter had a dance competition and the instructor asked me to give the invocation which I gladly did. Afterwards, the national anthem was played. As I stood there and listened, I thanked God for my blessings and asked for His grace over all of us. I am proud to be a Christian and an American.

I also love the National Anthem, and am proud every time I hear it. What I fear is that the day is coming, very soon, when the National Anthem isn't played any longer due to the fact that it offends people from other countries. Silly? You bet, but the day is coming. Then what will we feel like as Americans?

[robivi3]

I am a Republican. I believe that had Al Gore been the man he was in the 80's and not just flat sold his soul for the office he may have made a good President. I always felt that as a man Gore was a decent person. I think he just lost his marbles the last few years. I did not say i would have voted for him but i think he might have won. I don't think we saw the bearacracy grow near as much under Billy. I did not like Billy, felt he was all in all just a redneck at heart, but he would have been alot of fun at a bar-b-q and I think he and i share the same Southern apetites (foodwise).

George doesn't even play Bob Wills music, at least i've never seen or heard it, and never talks about Texas in those glowing terms like a real Texan. Reagan bragged California up BIG TIME and you knew he loved the place, that's just my little blurb, nothing meant by it.

Florida, that's not a "silly" notion. And what you say is absolutely true, us FLORIDIANS KNOW IT WELL!!!!! As a little kid in Tennessee I had to learn both Tennessee, Texas (because as my dad used to say Tennesseans and Texans are all related) and American Folk songs in PUBLIC SCHOOL, also a myriad of Christian Songs for Christmas. We had an idea of our heritage in those days. I don't know if it was just our music teacher but i remember that "Little Liza Jane, Yellow Rose of Texas, Red River Valley, This Land and a host of others were drummed into us. I am fortunate, my boys all love music, all types (not rap) and a huge range of music from Grandpa Jones to Alanis Morisset to Metallica (with the London Symphony orchestra) and of course the sound tracks of "The Alamo" and LOTR movies and add to that Vallenatos and Cumbias (alot of Colombian Country Music from my wife) is played in our home... including.... the soundtrack from "Oh Brother Where Art Thou". My kids have known alot of American and Colombian folk music all there lives. My 19 year bought a DEAN MARTIN album! And yes, i call Dion and The Belmonts Folk Music, we love American music (opposed to the British invasion) and generally Elton John WAS acceptable here but since my boys saw him recently in the paper they no longer care for him though I still play his old songs. And of course we all know ALL of the patriotic Songs including the "new" version of The Ballad of the Green Beret by Dolly Parton, you know "Special Ops and CIA, Seals and SOCOM pave the way, covert missions now in play... Special Ops like the Green Beret!"

And let me say this, I've said alot negative about GW but that is one area in which he has my support. Break things, kill people, devastate, but secure America at all costs. I have no problem with my Army killing and destroying. 19 of them killed 3000 of us. We took the heart to fight out of japan and germany, they have never raised their heads again to challenge us violently. All because we listened to WT Sherman, an enemy of my ancestors, but a man who showed us how to fight wars "War is hell and the more hell we make it the sooner it will end, we must devestate the south so that they do not think rebellion for two or three generations", and that is a near quote. Sherman was the first to argue that war had to be fought against farms and factories and when Joe Johnston tried to draw him out of Georgia by saying that he would invade Ohio Sherman offered to "pay his baggage costs".

[fellowpoorman]

not everyone killed 9-11 was american, i do agree something had to be done in afghanistan, but iraq is a whole different story, and just plain wrong, we are causing more trouble than neccesary. now we are gonna have to deal with iran, plus we can't invade every country that violates human rights, may as well invade the whole world,including the usa, whats the difference between iraq and rwanda? its oil and money. i think iraq would have happened even if 9-11 didn't. it was on the agenda , i believe. oh and here we have GW (an oil rich man himself) saying we are addicted to oil and should strive for other options.it's like the ciggerette companies telling everyone to quit smoking.

[fellowpoorman]

if osamas real plan was to defeat our freedoms or make us less free, i think he is happy. if we could find saddam in a hole in someones back yard, why can't they find osama, do they really want to?

[robivi3]

Gotta also more or less agree on that fellowpoor... Iran is going to be a major headache... lets be honest. The way things are being done, quagmire at best. Afghanistan had to be cleared out. I think Iraq was more than we are willing to chew. But, if your gonna do 'em in, do it all the way. My opinion is more based on the Afghan side of the issue and covert operations necessary to kill off the bad guys. Iraq, quagmire, build a school, one gets blown up.

Can't argue that. The "High Command" never surrendered, layed down arms and told the people to quit fighting... makes a hell of a difference, thanks for smacking me back in line!

[debtisbad]

Florida Girl,

Personally, I think the time is coming soon that we will have to be careful where we display our flag. Actually, the time is probably already here in some parts of the USA. I have been watching the news and seeing where the US flag is replaced by the Mexican flag in highly latino areas. I don't want to start something here, but I think if you come to our country you should not be expected to replace our flag. You should learn our language, customs ect. I do not agree with GW's guest worker program. Not fair to the many who came to this country and waited to become US citizens. It is a slap in the face to them. Just my opinion, oh and I am sick of being politically correct.

[jane taylor]

I believe in showing mercy and compassion to all, but what about "charity beginning at home?" I, too, am so sick of being politically correct!!!

[fellowpoorman]

Its coming to the point where we'll have to renounce our citizenship to be able to get a job.

[robivi3]

F- them, If it comes to that. Back in 1991 I told a Hatian Security Guard that he was not supposed to let the flag touch the ground or his shoes while he was raising it. I was very nice about it. He went into a tirade and called his supervisor, i am happy to say i was totally vindicated by my own bosses.

I am as tolerant as can be, I have helped alot of hatian people in my work here. I know how to speak, it simply was that this a**hole piece of sh*t didn't like being told ANYTHING by a white man and that is HOW he said it tot my coworkers. If a person can disrespect the sacrifices of my ancestors like that and then boil the correction down to a racial issue then F that person. I made sure to walk by the guardshack numerous times that day, of cours it was at the entrance to the facility.

Confront these people when necessary, some are decent and just make mistakes. But a hell of alot just do it to fly in your face. Show them fear and they crawl all over you, call their bluff and most back down. When i leave here, I really want to be done with this UN crap sometimes, but then i'm so immersed by language, food and other stuff that I still see from a different perspective also. Confusing at times.

[tinroofrusted]

Can I add my two cents? Part of the problem with housing, in my area at least, is that people are trying to keep up with the Jones'. They want a 5 bedroom house perfectly decorated and furnished, when a 3 bedroom home would work wonders....