Quote :

"lol...perhaps you meant to say Carter?"

No. No, I definitely, 100% meant Reagan.

1/22/2013 6:16:50 AM

haha

1/22/2013 7:13:46 AM

Quote :

"Not some farcical "universal" or "historical" spectrum that whiney liberals make up to to try to to claim that we only have a center-right and a far-right party."

That farcical "Rest of the developed world."

Meanwhile it's tough finding parties to the right of the GOP outside the Taliban.

[Edited on January 22, 2013 at 10:12 AM. Reason : .]

1/22/2013 10:11:51 AM

Quote :

"No. No, I definitely, 100% meant Reagan."

Carter was terrible too, although that's because his interest was domestic policies so he went with what his advisers wanted. It's a problem that has plagued presidents on both sides, listening to bad foreign policy advice because they assume all of the political machine cabinet members and political machine military leaders are right because they don't know enough about it themselves.

1/22/2013 10:45:16 AM

No but Reagan told Gorby to tear down the wall

1/22/2013 11:23:15 AM

Quote :

""Although Fiasco was booked as the headliner for the StartUp RockOn concert in celebration of Obama's reelection, the 30-year-old Chicago rapper apparently had no plans to cheer the current administration. Instead, after taking the stage at The Hamilton in Washington, he reportedly announced that he didn't vote for the president in the 2012 election and spent more than 30 minutes performing an anti-war song.""

how the hell did they feel like it was cool to let Lupe on the stage at that event? He is outspokenly against the administration

1/22/2013 11:27:25 AM

I have no idea. He called Obama a terrorist a couple of years ago. Apparently, the organizers didn't do any research at all before hiring him.

1/22/2013 11:37:06 AM

LGBT participation has been at every level from speaking on the stage, being mentioned in the president's speech, marching in the parade, and openly gay military attending the inaugural balls.

1/22/2013 12:17:52 PM

I wonder what changed Obama's mind about gay marriage

1/22/2013 5:09:01 PM

Youth vote.

1/22/2013 5:17:37 PM

He wont take Federal action on gay marriage; hes simply voicing his personal opinions.

Hes still going to leave it up to states.

1/22/2013 7:13:43 PM

"Mitt Romney will definitely win, it's already over" -y0willy0

1/22/2013 7:28:55 PM

Quote :

"I wonder what changed Obama's mind about gay marriage"

I doubt his mind changed. He probably had some advisers crunch the numbers and determined that it was less risky to be against gay marriage in the past. He came out in support of it when the political climate was right.

It's kind of like how we know Obama probably isn't a Christian. There are some lies you absolutely have to tell to be elected.

1/22/2013 8:14:35 PM

Totally agree.

1/22/2013 9:18:21 PM

Quote :

"He wont take Federal action on gay marriage; hes simply voicing his personal opinions."

I don't think he could repeal the DOMA legislation through executive action, but he has done executive actions allowing hospital visitation and deprioritizing the deportation of binational gay couples whose marriages don't count for immigration purposes because of DOMA.

So he's done a little more than just sharing personal opinions, although having POTUS share his personal opinion in front of the whole country in an inaugural speech directly in front of SCOTUS that will be hearing the DOMA challenge case in March, is not nothing.

Another instance of LGBT inclusion:

http://www.advocate.com/politics/religion/2013/01/22/inaugural-prayer-service-includes-first-out-gay-clergy-member

Quote :

"The LGBT-inclusive nature of President Obama’s inauguration festivities carried over into today’s Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., with the first participation by an openly gay clergy member."

[Edited on January 22, 2013 at 11:32 PM. Reason : .]

1/22/2013 11:27:22 PM

Quote :

"It's kind of like how we know Obama probably isn't a Christian. There are some lies you absolutely have to tell to be elected."

This is a joke, right?

1/23/2013 2:42:22 PM

It's not a joke. I think he's too smart and worldly to be a real Christian.

1/23/2013 2:44:48 PM

or religious

1/23/2013 2:46:15 PM

^^^ Without assuming that d357r0y3r is implying he's a Muslim, what's wrong with that statement?

1/23/2013 2:52:47 PM

No, I think he's probably an agnostic/atheist. Not claiming to have access to his "true" beliefs, but given his background, that's what I suspect.

1/23/2013 3:13:46 PM

That is my belief as well, which coincidentally, raises his standing in my book.

1/23/2013 6:14:41 PM

The last minute of this 3.5 minute long clip addresses the issue of Obama and religion:

1/23/2013 6:21:06 PM

Quote :

"No, I think he's probably an agnostic/atheist. Not claiming to have access to his "true" beliefs, but given his background, that's what I suspect."

What about his background would indicate that?

1/24/2013 9:49:32 AM

I'm not trying to suggest Obama's devout or anything, but saying he's "Not a real Christian" or "Agnostic/Atheist" needs some backing, especially when you say "given his background" with no indication of what you're referring to.

If your reasoning is something like "He doesn't go to church every Sunday" then I'm glad to inform you that America is now a majority non-Christian country.

1/24/2013 9:52:07 AM

Quote :

"...America is now a majority non-Christian country."

I wouldn't disagree with that.

1/24/2013 10:13:02 AM

Non-devout Christians are still Christians, get over it you fucking theo-hipsters.

1/24/2013 10:15:47 AM

Quote :

"Non-devout Christians are still Christians..."

I would disagree with that.

1/24/2013 10:17:31 AM

Then you're an idiot. "Devout" is a word that draws the line between people who believe they know something and people who know they believe something. If all non-devout don't count as believers then you've basically obliterated its meaningfulness as a word.

1/24/2013 10:21:15 AM

Agree with Str8Foolish on the definition of Christian. C'mon man, if someone says they believe Jesus existed and was the son of God, then they're Christian. They're just not the annoying moral busy bodies that insist on ruining the country for their beliefs that some Christians are. (they share the blame though, but another thread for that).

I wouldn't be surprised if Obama's a closet atheist, but there wouldn't be any evidence of that if it were true anyway.

1/24/2013 10:26:00 AM

Quote :

"What about his background would indicate that?"

His parents were atheists and he's highly educated. It's really rare for people to just "choose" Christianity or any religion. You kind of have to be indoctrinated. Sure, it's within the realm of possibility that, in an honest search for the truth, Obama came to Christianity...kinda (not really). It just happens to be an extremely convenient choice when it comes to getting elected.

Religion aside, he certainly lacks any kind of moral compass. I use the description "evil" sparingly, but I think it's an appropriate label people who order the murder of innocent women and children and then refuse to address those murders in a public way.

Quote :

"Agree with Str8Foolish on the definition of Christian. C'mon man, if someone says they believe Jesus existed and was the son of God, then they're Christian. They're just not the annoying moral busy bodies that insist on ruining the country for their beliefs that some Christians are. (they share the blame though, but another thread for that)."

There are over 500 elected representatives in the federal government. An estimated 25% of the U.S. population is non-religious, yet only a handful of politicians are openly atheist? Please, that's beyond belief.

[Edited on January 24, 2013 at 10:34 AM. Reason : ]

1/24/2013 10:30:42 AM

Quote :

"His parents were atheists and he's highly educated."

First, Obama was raised from age 10 onward by his grandparents, not parents. Second, he was exposed to multiple religions through her mother including Christianity.

Quote :

"It's really rare for people to just "choose" Christianity or any religion. You kind of have to be indoctrinated."

Yeah, it's not like Christianity is the number one most successful campaign of conversion in the history of the planet. It's also not like American culture is deeply inculcated with Christian influence such that all of our official functions are flush with references if not outright worship.

Quote :

" Sure, it's within the realm of possibility that, in an honest search for the truth, Obama came to Christianity...kinda (not really)."

Or, it's within the realm of possibility, that within a half-to-quarter-hearted search for spirituality, Obama settled on Christianity, which he had some exposure to through his parents and grandparents, was the dominant hegemony in the country he grew up in.

Quote :

"It just happens to be an extremely convenient choice when it comes to getting elected."

Or it's just extremely convenient to fitting into American social life, period, which is why most people fall into it.

Quote :

"Religion aside, he certainly lacks any kind of moral compass. I use the description "evil" sparingly, but I think it's an appropriate label people who order the murder of innocent women and children and then refuse to address those murders in a public way."

I'm sorry, are you suggesting Obama actually orders people to murder innocent women and children? Or do you want so badly call him a nasty word that you're conflating the sloppy conducting of a war with gratuitous collateral damage with cartoon-villain psychology? Is this actually what goes on in your head?

Quote :

"There are over 500 elected representatives in the federal government. An estimated 25% of the U.S. population is non-religious, yet only a handful of politicians are openly atheist? Please, that's beyond belief."

It's almost as though people more readily emphasize in public those aspects of themselves that jive with the dominant hegemony, and are more willing to admit misgivings or deviations in a private survey. Do you think that 25% are all atheist/agnostics with no attachments to any major faith? I wouldn't be surprised if half of them are the "I believe in Jesus but organized religion blah blah blah" type.

In a nutshell, there's a much simpler explanation than your "Obama's faked being religious for the past 30+ years so he could grab the power to fulfill his wish of murdering women and children" shpeal, and that explanation is that he's just a casual believer who doesn't bother to put the effort into confronting it intellectually, like the vast majority of Americans.


[Edited on January 24, 2013 at 10:57 AM. Reason : .]

1/24/2013 10:49:50 AM

Quote :

"Religion aside, he certainly lacks any kind of moral compass. I use the description "evil" sparingly, but I think it's an appropriate label people who order the murder of innocent women and children and then refuse to address those murders in a public way."

hahahaha

yeah, okay

1/24/2013 10:56:18 AM

IT BEGINS . . . .

1/24/2013 11:01:40 AM

Quote :

"There are over 500 elected representatives in the federal government. An estimated 25% of the U.S. population is non-religious, yet only a handful of politicians are openly atheist? Please, that's beyond belief. "

To be fair, when I said "says' i meant to say "truthfully professes belief". I bet most politicians are atheists/agnostic and pander to the religious because they wouldn't have a job otherwise. My point was that you don't have to be a devout fundamentalist to be a Christian.

1/24/2013 12:32:55 PM

It's not enforced, but I think in NC you're required to be religious to hold office.

1/24/2013 1:12:22 PM

Quote :

"I'm sorry, are you suggesting Obama actually orders people to murder innocent women and children?"

how is he not essentially doing that with the ongoing drone campaign?

[Edited on January 24, 2013 at 2:25 PM. Reason : ...]

1/24/2013 2:21:46 PM

He is not ordering the murder of women and children

1/24/2013 2:29:55 PM

Quote :

"His parents were atheists and he's highly educated. It's really rare for people to just "choose" Christianity or any religion. You kind of have to be indoctrinated. Sure, it's within the realm of possibility that, in an honest search for the truth, Obama came to Christianity...kinda (not really). It just happens to be an extremely convenient choice when it comes to getting elected."

I can get behind most of that. I too doubt that he really believes that Jesus Christ died for his sins and then was resurected and all that. Very few intelligent people would believe that, particularly if you weren't incodctrinated with it from a young age.

Quote :

"Religion aside, he certainly lacks any kind of moral compass. I use the description "evil" sparingly, but I think it's an appropriate label people who order the murder of innocent women and children and then refuse to address those murders in a public way."

and then you go and say something silly like this. You're basically saying most leaders of almost every country in the world, and many of the politicans, and most military personnel of almost every country are "evil" and have no moral compass. I mean, I guess I could almost agree with that, but I wouldn't go as far as to say they're all "evil" and "lack a moral compass". You're not using it "sparingly".

1/24/2013 2:39:33 PM

Quote :

"how is he not essentially doing that with the ongoing drone campaign?"

while i don't necessarily agree with that campaign, the orders aren't to kill women and childrent. They're to kill militants. Of course, war is hell, and all that.

1/24/2013 2:40:33 PM

Quote :

"He is not ordering the murder of women and children"

He's ordering the drone strike, which is resulting in their death. How about some fun trivia! Which of the following individuals is responsible for the highest number of civilian deaths?

A) Adam Lanza
B) Seung-Hui Cho
C) Jared Loughner
D) James Holmes
E) Barack Obama

Quote :

"You're basically saying most leaders of almost every country in the world, and many of the politicans, and most military personnel of almost every country are "evil" and have no moral compass."

To varying degrees, but yes. Who does the buck stop with, again? If you know what's right (not killing innocent people), yet you continue to issue orders that have a high risk of killing innocent people, can we really call that incompetence? Barack Obama is not unaware of the consequences of his policies, yet the policies have stayed roughly the same.

1/24/2013 3:59:21 PM

can you name a single world leader or military general that isn't "evil" then?

1/24/2013 4:03:15 PM

How about the President of Iceland? He might not be completely clean, but he's certainly less evil than Obama.

1/24/2013 4:10:37 PM

ok, you named one "less evil" person. again though, you're really not using that word very "sparingly", as you claimed.

1/24/2013 4:19:47 PM

what the fuck, there was just a revolution in Iceland.

1/24/2013 7:25:13 PM

Next up, the State of the Union. I wonder what the viewership is for the inauguration vs the SOTU. I'm sure inauguration is more, but the 1st SOTU of this term will probably still be one of the biggest political speeches for this term, and will certainly have more policy implications.

1/24/2013 9:43:49 PM