Northcountryman

I think you raise some valid points about our current system. In terms of reforms , you mention that you would like to see a fusion between capitalism and socialism ; but don’t we already have that? Would you like it to be a little more socialist then? I think our current system of government is defined as a democratic republic , with an economy that’s free market based , but also includes a lot of state Funded programs , otherwise known as social safety nets . If we went more left , we could expand our safety nets , but would it totally eliminate poverty ? I doubt it . There are those that just cannot help themselves , follow societal rules And / or are just plain unlucky . Sadly , I’m afraid that will always be the case . I am with you in terms of the inequities you do mention , though . One thing I don’t like Is that our system doesn’t allow For a “second chance “ in certain cases, probably in many . I had an ex GF whose 36 yr old son just got out of prison after doing about 7 yrs. He ABSOLUTELY could not find a job , and he tried— I know it cuz I watched him go through it. Now , I’m not saying he should be pitied or given a hand up in any way cuz that’s not fair to the rest of us who played the game right and followed all the rules , but at least give him a chance to get something , right ? I mean , Walmart wouldn’t even hire him for Christ’s sake cuz he had a record !! To me , That amounts to continued punishment even after your debt to society is paid . And what is he going to turn to as a alternative when he can’t get anything cuz the system is so arranged —crime , of course !! Unfortunately, there are no easy answers as I’m a big supporter of a criminal justice system that holds individuals accountable for their behavior — trust me — but there needs to be a better plan to get these people back on their feet and contributing to society .

Capitalism is clearly not perfect; far from it , in fact. Im with you in terms of alot of the criticisms and concerns you raise regarding our system, but socialism is a scary alternative, dont you think? I mean, its has never worked long term anywhere on this planet in any single country heretofore; am I wrong? I do agree with you that many get left by the wayside , slip through the cracks so to speak, under Capitalism and if we could fix that, the system would be as near perfect as we could hope for--being imperfect creatures ourselves, admittedly.

Yes, and therefore, there are serious concerns about their monopoly. The left will be concerned eventually, if the monoploy impacts them , but not until.

Where did you get that data? I think it’s pretty much 1:1

But how would that work? By what tmechanism, in other words?Would the governement get it if an individual exceeded the threshold or hwould it go to charity? I understand what youre saying, but I just dont know if the "solution" , perhaps, might be worse than the orginal problem.

Yes, interesting quote but a source would be nice.

Mike, what would you propose to prevent this inequity then? I agree that is unfortunate when millions are below the proverty line, but to rectify this, would you advocate for placing a cap on absolute wealth ?

True , but , if ever elected , he would not be the first communist President —rather , he’d be the 3 rd ; can you guess who the other 2 were ?

Wow , huge ass tree right ?

Yes, very Well said

No, youre not wasting your time-- far from it!! I love a good debate and welcome the perspective of somone who sees things very differently than I. Robust debate is the only means by which arrive at the truth, they say: keep offering your presepctive!! I think youre wrong about 2 things you said in reply btw: Nope,no way. He was very vocal about many issues and situations regarding race and made things much IMHO. I think that he was very much a divisive President and intentionally so, on his part. Also, i find it curious that you contend that the enormous racial controversy that erupted under his watch was a result of racism against him "being a black man in power". How then, do you exaplin his ability to win 2 presidential elections if there were so many racist white people in the country?? Defies logic and is simply not true. Trump was kind of bully, yes. I didnt like that aspect of his character and personality either. Obama was clearly not--youre right. But Trumps foreign policy was very successful and, in contrast, Obamas was not. Yup!!! That all thats really important!! and I would HATE to see the day when we only had one choice for Prez--whether it be a Dem or a Repub. --as it would be a very bad thing. I actually WANT the opposition around to criticize, to offer an alternate perspective on things, etc.; it keeps everyone more honest and helps to prevent one side from gaining too much power, a situation which--i fleft unchecked--inevitably results in tyranny from that "winning" side. We NEED the democrats--we really do; same as they need us as well. Theres a thought for ya!!

Gotcha

China and Russia appear to fit this description perfectly and I agree, but the US? yes, we have WMD's and are wield tremendous influence and power in thaty world body, I have no doubt; but are you saying that wetre one of the despotic regimes than also?

Yeah, me too, wildlife pics are invaluable

I thought that I read somewhwre that doe/buck ratios were closer to 1:1 , in many cases ,due to much less hunting pressure in many areas of ADK's--is that not so then?

As far as policies go i think Obama tried to work with other leaders where Trump just tried to dominate. I dont know about you guys,but i know who i would rather deal with. What is truly amazing to me is that so many people were willing to look past all of Trumps flaws and mis-steps and to follow him blindly. Can anyine explain that to me? You may agree with his politics,but as a critically thinking person how can you not see what a malicious doofus he is? I am not excited about Biden by the way,I wish Bernie had gotten thw nomination. Here is a politician that has stood by his principles forever. Cool ,appreciate the input; let me reply a quote at a time with my own thoughts and obswervations in regards to each of your points: I actually agree with you here, hands down. Obama--despite his horrible run as Prez-- was the eptiome of gentility and decorum as the nations leader and comported himself as a paragon of dignity; the same cannot be said about Trump: I agree. This is where we profoundly disagree and I'll tell you why: For years, the left has perpetuated this myth about "Barry" being so damn smart cuz they fell in love w him so deeply during his first presidential run. Alot of this unfair attribution originated from a comparison between Obamas college record and Bushs. Bush-- by admission--was a C student at Yale whereas, in comparison, Barry was supposed to be some whiz kid in collge--Really? Lets take a look: In reality, Obamas undergrduate record is almost the same as Bush's (anywhere between a 2.0 or C to a 3.3, a B). So, in comparison he did A LITTLE better than Bush, but not by much!! And , to me, a magna cum laude graduate, neither mans academic record is that impressive!! Also, do you have results from an IQ test to back up your contention that Obama was so damn smart? If so, i'd like to look at them!! Do you know that Donald Trumps IQ is known and is said to be a 156?? Do you know that that means?? HES A FREAKING GENIUS, THATS WHAT!! I highly doubt that Barry comes even close to that and, in reality, is probably much lower, cuz let me tell you, a 156 smokes. Suppose, for arguments sake though, that you were right and Barry did have a higher IQ then Trump (no damn way he does)--does it even really matter that much anyway? Is that the major determining metric or factor in your algorithm used for quantifying Presidential greatness? If so, youre gonna be off by ALOT cuz Ronald Reagan, an ENORMOUSLY SUCCESSFUL PRESIDENT AND LEADER, had an average IQ at best, and Jimmy Carter , a very unsuccessful Presdient (VERY BAD CONCLUDED BY MOST), had THE HIGHEST IQ FOR ANY PRESIDENT EVER MEASURED(except Trump) So, in , reply, id say youre conention is misguided and inaccurate Again, this point is more towards your orginal one in regards to Who he was and how he conducted himself. No argument about the pussy comment and I have nothing in repoly to throw at you about Obama so, again, in that regard, your right. However, I disagree about the fraud thing. I think that Trump was a real go getter his whole life, impressing those around him entire life (See the Richard nixon quote after meeting a young Trump back in the late 70's )--guy was a stud and a beast!! In contrast, Obama exploited his race his entire life, smoked pot with Communists and other America haters ( gooogle his association with Frank Marshall Davis if you dont belive me) , and prior to being elected for the most powerful position in the world, had a poltical resume that ONLY included 2 years as a STATE SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS!!. Before that, he worked as a community organizer , which is code for : SOCIAL ACTIVIST/RACIAL JUSTICE AGITATOR. Absolute piece of garbage IMHO. And you talk about a phony!! This guy isnt even fully black , only 50% as a matter of fact (although he often strived to renounce that other "half" of him) Maybe you think he was a big divider, and maybe theres some truth to that assertion, but what about Barry? Always injecting himself into situations involving race that didnt concern him, that was Barrys MO!! Since he didnt actually know how to lead the country or actually govern, hed stir the turd and add his 2 cents and make things even worse!!! Remeber Travon Martin? The beer summit with the black harvard professor? Why is the president weighing on matters such as this!! Do you know that BLM was acutally founded under Barrys watch? OBAMA WAS CLEARLY AND TRULY THE GREAT DIVIDER, NOT TRUMP Obama made the recession worse. Like many liberals, his belief in Keynesian economics led to his "solution" to the problem being throwing more governement money and programs into the mix in an attempt to "stimulate" the economy-- and not only did it not work, it made things worse!! The deficit was tripled under his watch , and after, crticizing Bush so heavily for imprudently adding to the nations deficit ( in fact, he said it was "unpatriotic" to do so, what a hypocrite!!), he does the very same thing himself and IN FAR GREATER MAGNITUDE Maybe . I know that Obamas economic vision and policies were hugely divisive and he seemed to adopt a "damn the republicans " attitude in ragards to that, but in terms of his military decisions, sometimes he was more pliable and would listen to reasoned judgement from more conservative experts. BUT NONE, STUDDED OUT MORE THAN TRUMP IN TERMS OF THE WAR ON TERROR AND OTHER FOEIGN POLICY DECISIONS!! North Korea as an issue?? SOLVED Chinas unfair trade practices?? Called them on it, first time EVER a US PRESIDENT HAD THE TEMERITY TO DO SO. Israel capital moved to Jerusalem? DONE!! after many US Presidents (Obama included) prmising to do so, and then failing to deliver. Youre last conetention is astounding to me , actually, when you say people "blindly" followed Trump and overlooked hismisteps and flaws-- dont you thin kthe same tning can be said about Obama? An underwhelming slacker, Communist (yes, a Commnuist and probably a Muslim symp too!!)who accomplished NOTHING in his 8 yrs as President except for: making health care in america worse; adding more to the deficit than any other American Pres can ever hope to;drastically weakening the US military during his presidency; stoked racial tensions intentionally; allowed terrorisnm to flourish in Iraq by withdrawing troops prematurely and against all military advice (resluting in the anlage and flourishing of ISIS under his watch; and setting us YEARS BEHIND in terms of development of domestic energy sources!! Oh, but he did get Bin Laden!! His only noteworthy accomplishement!! (that was only because he left the Bush system/ploicy in place watching the courier and allowing his ass to be waterboarded, when caught, to get the requisite intelligence in order to catch his scum bag ass!! ) . Do you remember how he was so AGAINST WATER BOARDING THOUGH?? SO CRICICIZED THE BUSH ADMINISTARTION FOR ALLOWING IT, CHARACTERIZING IT AS A FORM OF TOURTURE?? GOOD THING HE WENT AGAINST HIS OWN PRINCIPLES IN THAT CASE, THE HYPOCRITE!!! As you can see, I am no fan of Barry. I think he was absolutely terrible and am SO glad hes gone. Ill be honest: I dont think biden has even a glimmer of a chance as being as bad, and that comforts me--or am I wrong about that?!

Why do you say that it has become a Political refuge for Despots: like who ? Wondering cuz I never heard that before is all

Where, in PA or NY?

Definitely, their sentence structure was so different back then; consequently, it can be hard to follow. I find that contempoorary writing is more concise...succinct, I guess with shorter sentence structure whereas the older style is more flowery or poetic...something like that, anyway (e.g., they tended to use a buttload of semicolons and dashes back then, making sentences loonger) .

Is it any good? I always wanted to read that....

Nice!! I would love to read this!!

Gotcha, well then that aint good!

Yeah, Obama , to me, was an incredibly weak and indecisive leader (leader is actually a contradiction in terms because he was no leader!! lol). I felt like he was overwhelmed, didnt have a clue what he was doing, and demonstrated this time and again by the mann er in which he governed (or didnt govern!!). Also, I felt that he was VERY synpathetic to the terrorists and their cause, and only acted when he was literally forced to. A very unpatriotic, self aggrandized and imprudent narcissist IMHO (Im amused when they accuse Trump of this cuz to me, NOBODY was more full of themselves then him!). This may be a bit harsh, IDK and I'm trying not to be disrespectful but--in case you havent noticed-- I am no fan of the former Prez!! That being said, however, I do NOT hate him in the least and will not call him names or disrespect him like the Left does to Trump. I respect the office of President and since he was President, he deserves respect IMHO--as do ALL FORMER PRESIDENTS !!

Well, as of right now, its still legal to do--correct?

I'm reading this currently: Alot of the secret messages transmitted between the Soviets and spies in America have since been decoded and the communiques called "The Venona Papers". It took them years to do this cuz it was a very good code , but they finally completed it in the 90's; this book discusses its contents. Turns out, Mccarthy was right-- back in the day-- about the level and scope of Communist spy infiltration into the US Government between the 1930's-1950's. In fact, a BUNCH of these bags of shit held high-level posts in FDR's AND the Truman administration!! This is why I have such a low opinion of FDR. I think he CLEARLY was a fellow traveler back in the day--he and his pinko wife-- and was absolutely in love with the concept of the Soviet Union!! Piece of garbage!!