Change!!

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Doc

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Apr 13, 2007
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3,636
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Cottontown, Tennessee
This is an e-mail I received today. I think that it says the same thing that a lot of us on here have been saying & getting labeled a racist for saying them.
THIS LETTER MAKES MORE SENSE THAN ANYTHING I HAVE SEEN, HEARD, OR READ, CONCERNING THE UPCOMING ELECTION...
IT'S A LETTER FROM A U.S. CITIZEN... WHO LIVES IN ILLINOIS... AND OBVIOUSLY IS A "SELF-THINKER"... NOT JUST A "FOLLOWER"!!!
An impassioned letter from a "nobody".
But he gives his telephone number at the end.


Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 3:19 PM
Subject: A letter from Illinois
Dear Friends:
My name is Joe Porter. I live in Champaign, Illinois. I'm 46 years old, a born-again Christian, a husband, a father, a small business owner, a veteran, and a homeowner. I don't consider myself to be either conservative or liberal, and I vote for the person, not Republican or Democrat. I don't believe there are "two Americas " - but that every person in this country can be whomever and whatever they want to be if they'll just work to get there - and nowhere else on earth can they find such opportunities. I believe our government should help those who are legitimately downtrodden, and should always put the interests of America first.
The purpose of this message is that I'm concerned about the future of this great nation. I'm worried that the silent majority of honest, hard-working, tax-paying people in this country have been passive for too long. Most folks I know choose not to involve themselves in politics. They go about their daily lives, paying their bills, raising their kids, and doing what they can to maintain the good life. They vote and consider doing so to be a sacred trust. They shake their heads at the political pundits and so-called "news", thinking that what they hear is always spun by whomever is reporting it. They can't understand how elected officials can regularly violate the public trust with pork barrel spending. They don't want government handouts. They want the gov! ernment to protect them, not raise their taxes for more government programs.
We are in the unique position in this country of electing our leaders. It's a privilege to do so. I've never found a candidate in any election with whom I agreed on everything. I'll wager that most of us don't even agree with our families or spouses 100% of the time. So when I step into that voting booth, I always try to look at the big picture and cast my vote for the man or woman who is best qualified for the job. I've hired a lot of people in my lifetime, and essentially that's what an election is - a hiring process. Who has the credentials? Whom do I want working for me? Whom can I trust to do the job right?
I'm concerned that a growing number of voters in this country simply don't get it. They are caught up in a fervor they can't explain, and calling it "change".
"Change what?", I ask.
"Well, we're going to change America", they say.
"In what way?", I query.
"We want someone new and fresh in the White House", they exclaim..
"So, someone who's not a politician?", I say.
"Uh, well, no, we just want a lot of stuff changed, so we're voting for Obama", they state.
"So the current system, the system of freedom and democracy that has enabled a man to grow up in this great country, get a fine education, raise incredible amounts of money and dominate the news and win his party's nomination for the White House - that system's all wrong?"
"No, no, that part of the system's okay - we just need a lot of change."
And so it goes. "Change we can believe in."
Quite frankly, I don't believe that vague proclamations of change hold any promise for me. In recent months, I've been asking virtually everyone I encounter how they're voting. I live in Illinois, so most folks tell me they're voting for Barack Obama. But no one can really tell me why - only that he's going to change a lot of stuff. "Change, change, change." I have yet to find one single person who can tell me distinctly and convincingly why this man is qualified to be President and Commander-in-Chief of the most powerful nation on earth - other than the fact that he claims he's going to implement a lot of change.
We've all seen the emails about Obama's genealogy, his upbringing, his Muslim background, and his church affiliations. Let's ignore this for a moment. Put it all aside. Then ask yourself, "What qualifies this man to be my president? That he's a brilliant orator and talks about change?"
CHANGE WHAT?
Friends, I'll be forthright with you - I believe the American voters who are supporting Barack Obama don't have a clue what they're doing, as evidenced by the fact that not one of them - NOT ONE of them I've spoken to can spell out his qualifications. Not even the most liberal media can explain why he should be elected. Political experience? Negligible. Foreign relations? Non-existent. Achievements? Name one. Someone who wants to unite the country? If you haven't read his wife's thesis from Princeton, look it up on the web. This is who's lining up to be our next First Lady? The only thing I can glean from Obama's constant harping about change is that we're in for a lot of new taxes.
For me, the choice is clear. I've looked carefully at the two leading applicants for the job, and I've made my choice.
Here's a question - "Where were you five and a half years ago? Around Christmas, 2002. You've had five or six birthdays in that time. My son has grown from a sixth grade child to a high school graduate. Five and a half years is a good chunk of time. About 2,000 days. 2,000 nights of sleep. 6, 000 meals, give or take."
John McCain spent that amount of time, from 1967 to 1973, in a North Vietnamese prisoner-of-war camp.
When offered early release, he refused it. He considered this offer to be a public relations stunt by his captors, and insisted that those held longer than he should be released first. Did you get that part? He was offered his freedom, and he turned it down. A regimen of beatings and torture began.
Do you possess such strength of character? Locked in a filthy cell in a foreign country, would you turn down your own freedom in favor of your fellow man? I submit that's a quality of character that is rarely found, and for me, this singular act defines John McCain.
Unlike several presidential candidates in recent years whose military service is questionable or non-existent, you will not find anyone to denigrate the integrity and moral courage of this man. A graduate of Annapolis, during his Naval service he received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. His own son is now serving in the Marine Corps in Iraq . Barack Obama is fond of saying "We honor John McCain's service...BUT...", which to me is condescending and offensive - because what I hear is, "Let's forget this man's sacrifice for his country and his proven leadership abilities, and talk some more about change."
I don't agree with John McCain on everything - but I am utterly convinced that he is qualified to be our next President, and I trust him to do what's right. I know in my heart that he has the best interests of our country in mind. He doesn't simply want to be President - he wants to lead America, and there's a huge difference. Factually, there is simply no comparison between the two candidates. A man of questionable background and motives who prattles on about change can't hold a candle to a man who has devoted his life in public service to this nation, retiring from the Navy in1981 and elected to the Senate in1982.
Perhaps Obama's supporters are taking a stance between old and new. Maybe they don't care about McCain's service or his strength of character, or his unblemished qualifications to be President. Maybe "likeability" is a higher priority for them than "trust". Being a prisoner of war is not what qualifies John McCain to be President of the United States of America - but his demonstrated leadership certainly DOES.
Dear friends, it is time for us to stand. It is time for thinking Americans to say, "Enough." It is time for people of all parties to stop following the party line. It is time for anyone who wants to keep America first, who wants the right man leading their nation, to start a dialogue with all their friends and neighbors and ask who they're voting for, and why.
There's a lot of evil in this world. That should be readily apparent to all of us by now. And when faced with that evil as we are now, I want a man who knows the cost of war on his troops and on his citizens. I want a man who puts my family's interests before any foreign country.
I want a President who's qualified to lead.
I want my country back, and I'm voting for John McCain.
Phone: 760.434.1395
E-mail: [email protected]
 

knabe

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Joined
Feb 7, 2007
Messages
13,639
Location
Hollister, CA
folks, i'm running for the next president of a fictitious breed association.  i'm going to bring a lot of change because we have too few successful breeders and we need all breeders to be as successful as they can be.  There are a lot of breeders out there who don't have enough land to run their cattle on.  We're gonna change that.  I am starting a program that $100 from the sale of each registered animal is going to a fund to help breeders i deem need help.  Next, i'm going to start testing all registered animals for all the gene tests that are out there at your cost and cull the animals i don't feel have enough gene markers.  at some point, we're going to run out of money.  so what we'll do is register 1 animal each in a breed and take over that association, because, well, people can't be trusted to develop the breed as we see fit.  the next level of change i'm going  to bring is an administration of yes men, oops women, oops, men and women who will squelch dissention.  next, we'll make sure all elections are above board by insuring everyone knows who's voting for who.  now i know this sounds like an awful lot, but you can be rest assured that we will get in anyone's face who disagree's and if they do, well, they'll just leave the association, because, you know, they didn't belong here in the first place.  next on the agenda, is to expand this system, breed by breed, industry by industry, because you know, it's the right thing to do.  we want to insure the success of everyone, cause you know, it's the right thing to do.  next, what we're gonna do, is bring in a lot of other breeds into the association and waive most of the fees that you have paid, because, you know, it's the right thing to do, because, you know, they can't afford it.  we're going to actually help them get started with a little share from everyone, because, you know, it's the right thing to do.  for those up and coming breeders that are a little more independent, we're going to raise their fees, because you know, we need them in line, and well, they seem able to raise extra revenue.  by the time they figure it out, we'll have already transferred enough of their assets, they won't know what hit them and, well, they'll leave.  it's pretty simple, divide those who have stuff against each other, grab the low hanging fruit, and pretty soon, you know, we'll all be united, because you know, it's the right thing to do.  finally, genetic defects.  these are terrible things, you know.  some breeders who were trying to harm other breeders, you know, that's in the past, but the breeders who perpetuated these defects, they need to pay more, especially if they aren't up front to the administration so we can sort out who to blame and minimize the impact to the people we like, you know, because, it's the right thing to do.  we won't demand any investigations into the people we like for scandals, but if there is someone out there we disagree with, and they only talked about this stuff in email's, you know, well we'll hang them out to dry and demand they resign and give up any means of supporting themselves, because, you know, we are the most ethical organization ever.

this is what i hear.  i'm sorry.  also, mccain's record is not unblemished, his school, naval, personal, and political endeavors all have blemishes.
 

CAB

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
5,607
Location
Corning,Iowa
  I don't have a party affiliation per say, I will vote for the person and really wish we had a 3rd choice, where's Ross Pero when we could use the 3rd choice? The thing that it seems that most on this board are forgetting is "THE FORGOTTEN POOR", and shrinking middle class hard working PPL that make this country great. All those PPL know is hard work and they are all wondering who's going to get paid this month and who will hopefully wait until next month. It's amazing that all Obama had to do was realize this and give these PPL hope. It's too late for McCain I'm afraid, but as far as change goes, PPL don't care what change, just please change something.
  It's a no brainer that taxes are going to go up. Read the paper, wake up and get real. WE now are the owners of banks. How far are we from socialism? We have a 10,000,000,000,000.00 national debt, do you really think that taxes aren't going up?
  DL touched on it last week and I have to say that I agree with her as far as her statement that a lot of the comments come off as racist and hatefull. I don't like this topic of politics, but I feel like the PPL on the other side are scared to comment. This will be the last time that I comment on politics. I hope everyone's choices do well. Sincerely, Brent
 

knabe

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 7, 2007
Messages
13,639
Location
Hollister, CA
here's a policy that hurts the poor.

the horse slaughter act.


both mccain and obama are co-sponsors on a bill to ELIMINATE exports of horses from the US to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption.

less large animal vets needed, as less people will have horses.  less of everything that goes with the horse industry.

to me, both candidates, and anyone who is against the horse slaughter, are incapable of understanding freedom to choose.  it's discrimination.
 
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