This whole "I pledge" flap

[Flashy]

Whatever, dude.

I laugh in your "libertarian" face.

You can sit on the sidelines and take potshots at all the "righties" and "lefties" all your lifetime long (although you only ever seem to do it to the lefties, even though on all those political chart links you've posted, libertarians are aligned much more closely with the left than the right--hmmm).

The quoted post is like some sort of incredible amalgam of Facist/McCarthyesque moral outrage wedded to tmz.com., or perhaps, "TheSmokingGun.whatever" .

Amazing.

laugh all you want Silvertrain...that is your right.

i guess you missed where i have taken Trinity to task, said i think Fox news is a joke, and i loathe rush limbaugh, or any of the other right wing idiots.

sorry you feel that way, but at the moment, it is one way traffic, since the democrats rule everything and are behaving just as badly as the republicans when they ruled the roost.

when i have criticized Tom DeLay, Pat Buhcanana, George W. Bush, Creationists, or Rush Limbaugh you never say anything, yet here you are, taking issue when i rip another propaganda ad which come from the other side of the aisle.

certainly your business to do so, but spare me the self righteous tone.

oh and PS...the man in your avatar, one of the coolest men in the history of the planet, voted for Nixon and supported the Vietnam War and was a conservative.

so i expect you will be putting my picture in your avatar soon, considering i am to the left of Steve McQueen

 

[Flashy]

The video was fine by me. If it were shown by a teacher to a class...that may be wrong...because the video could be perceived as a Democratic party solicitation because of the intro and outro.

I think that everyone could benefit being better people though. That should be the focus regardless of political party affiliation.

well, i don't think it should be shown to a teacher by a class, but i do agree with your idea of the focus being on what we can all do to make things better, regardless of affiliation.

i think it would have been more apropos, had they gotten people of all political persuasions to say things that were non- "political" about making things better...

example...we have Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher...both noted Obama supporters...now, a video that had them *AND* Bruce Willis, a known republican, speaking out about getting along and making things better that wold be something (an ex-wife, her boytoy and her ex-husband who get along is certainly impressive)

and what about getting a republican and a democrat together to say, "we can all agree that reading to the elderly is good". "we can all strive to mentor a child" "we can all strive to smile more"

there are a million things that we can agree on, even if we do not always agree on the path to get there, that are not republican or democrat...

alot of that was really stereotypical...i'll give you an example...here is Puffy a liberal Obama supporter, who promises to start turning off the lights in his house to conserve energy, (and who also tanks up his private jet to fly all over the place)...then there is my dear departed grandfather...a conservative jew, who was wealthy, yet the most frugal and prudent man you could meet. if you left the lights on for 3 seconds longer then it took you to leave a room, you'd hear about it for two days. he'd wake up at 3 in the morning to wander around their huge home, checking *EVERY* single room, nightlight, TV etc...

he'd drive 10 miles out of his way to find the cheapest gas station, (and already had calculated the price differential times the distance to make sure he was coming out ahead...if it saved him $2, it was worth the extra 15 minutes)

so my grandfather, a conservative jew who voted republican, was actually more a conservationist than P Diddy a liberal democrat...

i am just saying, things are not always what they seem.

a video that expressed shared goals, from both sides would have been a more appropriate thing, and certainly something i would support

 

[houtx48]

i doubt it had any effect on the student population, as a video production it sucked and was boring, but then again you could not try and make something out of nothing without the drama queenieness.

 

[EL_Duderino]

doesn't winning the election mean that people have to listen to your shit for 4 years no matter how retarded it may be?

 

[thirdlegmeat]

I don't really see the problem.

The video was not made by Obama. It was made by supporters.

This however might be a problem if it is shown to school kids. But still, this is not Obama's fault. It is rather the school principal's fault, isn't it ? Am i missing something?

Not true... The Obama administration openly admitted it was their "brain-child." And the Obama administration has since made revisions. It came straight from the White House.

 

[Cowabanga]

Just to point out that nobody have seen the Obama video yet, as it is not slated to release until 24 hour before the public showing so that the media cant have anything to say about it yet. Talk to Sara Palin about the media "just making things up!"

 

[B_VinylBoy]

Cowabanga: Perhaps you should bold print, italicize, and set your entire last post at font size 6 so that everyone can see it?

 

[lucky8]

Just to point out that nobody have seen the Obama video yet, as it is not slated to release until 24 hour before the public showing so that the media cant have anything to say about it yet. Talk to Sara Palin about the media "just making things up!"

wrong video...

and they're releasing the transcript early, not the video

 

[jason_els]

her name is Soleil Moon Frye.....

And she's ghastly. Or at least she was when my mom arranged for her to appear at a hospital fundraiser back when she was on TV. I hope she's learned some manners by now.

That's a horrible, horrible, ad on so many levels. Hollywood once again patting itself on the back for showing the little people out here in the dark how to live virtuous lives.

The servant business is just creepy and grossly un-American.

 

[seterwind]

Yes because it's Un-American to serve the public. Or is it that Americans are the ones who should be served?

^^Ignore that, thats just flame bait, but I had to point that out before a person actually took it seriously.

 

[jason_els]

Yes because it's Un-American to serve the public. Or is it that Americans are the ones who should be served?

^^Ignore that, thats just flame bait, but I had to point that out before a person actually took it seriously.

If they said serve the public or perform public service, then that would be fine. Instead Kiedis was claiming to want to be a servant of Obama. That's monarchist. Unlike Canadians, we swear no allegiance to any person or office, only to our country as the people are only sovereign to themselves.

 

[dreamer20]

The servant business is just creepy and grossly un-American.

If they said serve the public or perform public service, then that would be fine. Instead Kiedis was claiming to want to be a servant of Obama. That's monarchist. Unlike Canadians, we swear no allegiance to any person or office, only to our country as the people are only sovereign to themselves.

It was Demi Moore who made the pledge "to be a servant to our president" (not of), wheras Kiedis' pledged "to be of service to the president". It's funny how Demi's statement, which you misatributed to Kiedis, caused you to deny the existence of the prior pledges which did indeed involve public service.

Serve your nation and kiss my biceps! Bwahahaha.:biggrin1:

 

[D_Tully Tunnelrat]

oh and PS...the man in your avatar, one of the coolest men in the history of the planet, voted for Nixon and supported the Vietnam War and was a conservative.

so i expect you will be putting my picture in your avatar soon, considering i am to the left of Steve McQueen

McQueen's contribution to politics are mercifully few and far between. Having just watched Bullit again the other nite, his ability to act without saying a word exceeds both Eastwood, and Cooper. He could also ride the hell out of a motorcycle, counting Malcolm Smith, Budd Eakins, and Mert Lawill as his riding buds (all motorcycle legends), which few can say. For those abilities alone, I can overlook his politics.

As to the topic at hand, the whole point of government is not which ideological camp do you prefer, which endlessly feeds the American obsession with identity, it's about what the government, then in power, does to improve the lives of most Americans. I am only an Obama supporter in so far as he does the greatest good for the greatest number of people; long term. Admittedly Obama was elected on a "cult of personality" basis, which I oppose, for obvious reasons, just as I do the same mantle which has been bestowed upon Reagan. In the scope of things, this video should be small potatoes, but if he uses to further a cultish following, it will undermine any real change he can bring to our weak-willed (including both parties) political culture in DC. Carter is a vastly underrated President, and was the last to ask for sacrifice from Americans for the greater good, something Obama is echoing, and which Reagan era "me-first-ism" totally undermined for the last 27 years.

Thanks to MLB and Flash for their personal stories, as they add so much more to the discussion than a purely ideological debate.

 

[midlifebear]

The servant business is just creepy and grossly un-American.

Jason:

If I ask nicely and promise you long cuddles as I stroke your hair while you nap, will you peel me a grape? :smile:

 

[Northland]

we swear no allegiance to any person or office, only to our country as the people are only sovereign to themselves.

...and the flag, let's not forget the flag...pledge-of-allegiance

 

[dreamer20]

The servant business is just creepy and grossly un-American.

Not at all. There are Americans whose professions are manservant/valet, maidservant, houseman/housekeeper, house and federal civil servants.

Unlike Canadians, we swear no allegiance to any person or office, only to our country as the people are only sovereign to themselves.

Correction: U.S. persons have sworn such allegiances in order to join certain organizations, e.g. U.S. Armed Forces and National Guard Oaths of Allegiance, and during their matrimonial ceremonies.

U.S. Armed Forces Oath of Enlistment

Excerpt:Oath Of Enlistment:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.