IMHO, the growing frustration in America is about MORE than.....

To Glad, Refman and a few others that have brought up legitimate counter arguments to my posts, I fully intend to address your issues in the coming weeks and months.

I just had arthroscopic surgery today to clean up my knee and also I work about 55 hours a week on my various engineering protects. (now diving for cover of incoming HC jokes :grin: ) Therefore, I lost some time with the initial volley of posts--and have to catch up on some deadlines and family time.

Therefore, I am going to take a step back and try to address one issue at a time--starting with Glad's--since he was the "first" to take his time to make sincere effort to counter my posts.

Refman, I also understand your initial "full of crap" assessment and have NO "et tu Brute" feelings towards you. I hope to restate my stance in way to further productive discussions.

Despite, what you guys think--my goal is not to just piss off everyone on this board--although that is what I am seem to have done. I have been here for 5 years and plan on being for long time.

I am totally cool with accepting that our political viewpoints are going to end up being different--my goal is to find out the viewpoint of the other side and compare them to my side--which, I admit, is somewhere on the "Tea Party" spectrum.

However, I do not speak for any officially TEA Party group, nor, am I affiliated with a TEA Party group or am I a official member of right wing group.

However, just so that everyone who decides to join this discussion understands my basic political philosophy--because my opening thread was understandably misunderstood-- the following principles are one that I will NOT shy away from-- PERIOD:

So, without any further adue, the one AFFILIATION I will tie myself to is the "9-12" Project' MISSION STATEMENT (and no, I don't rubber stamp everything Glen Beck says):

9 Principles, 12 Values
The 9 Principles
1. America Is Good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
God “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
Honesty “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” George Washington

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
Justice “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” Thomas Jefferson

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” Thomas Jefferson

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
Charity “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” George Washington

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
On your right to disagree “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” George Washington

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.
Who works for whom? “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” Thomas Jefferson


The 12 Values
* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Gratitude



So the "true north" of all my future discussions will have the 9-12 Mission Statement as my the core principals and values.

Furthermore, if after stating my side of the issues (at least to MY satisfaction), I still have not gained some measure of "respect" from the fair share of the board (and I know I have long uphill battle), then I will respectfully stay out of D&D and limit my BBS time to the other "non-polarizing" discussion boards. I have NO problem doing this, because, my personal and professional life is very successful and fulfilling.

Also, I am going to treat any of the demeaning and disrespectful posts that add no value to this thread just like "water off a duck's back". However, I may decide to let the a "consistently" demeaning and disrespectful poster know with "one" reply of "that's uncalled for and please stay on track", but after that I will just basically ignore them until they decide to by consistently more respectful.

On a side note, to those that keep making derespectful comments of my "handle" of BrotherFish--a little background on its origination:
It is from the book titled "Brother Fish" by Bruce Courtney. Some you may have read it, if not, its a MUST read along with his "Power of One". Two reasons I bring this up.

1. Although, I agree its everyone's First Amendment Right to mock my handle-- they should least know what you are really mocking. And keep in minde that I picked this handle years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Fish
http://www.brycecourtenay.com/books.asp

2. It will be very difficult to blanket call me a left wing "nut", once you understand what books I find "inspiring". Also, I watch CNN as much, if not more, than I watch Fox. I just align myself with Fox's conservative views more that with CNN's. No big supprise here.

Finally, I find is almost a little "prophetic" that the "Brother Fish" title of the book is from a Korean folklore song about a fresh water fish that gets lost at sea and eventually, after years of swimming around lost in the deep waters, encounters a "Brother Fish" which happily takes him back home.

Finally, I also recommend you read the "Power of One" by the same author.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_One

Now the real goal of this thread is to determine who is the real "Brother Fish" and who feels they have the "Power of One".

(And, to SF: If you do your research, you will find out that this thread is not the first time I stated that I am an Asian Indian--so just keep in mind that you are addressing a real Asian Indian, with your racially derogatory comments about my native culture and ethnicity )

So, to those who still will bother themselves with this thread in the weeks and months to come, be patient and enjoy the journey of this thread.

If no one is interested in the evolution and progress of this thread, simply don't post and I will let it die after a few days non-productive or repeatedly circular arguments.

If you do your research, this is my first and only thread on this board in five years. So, I am not a troll--going around and stirring thing up for the sake of it. (And yea, I know what your are going to say.... :grin: --But it' all with me.)

 

LOL. Actually, my family is from Punnavali, just 5km from Mallapally--of course, since you sarcasm makes you sound like a fellow Malu, you should already know that.

BTW, it was very unusually hot there this past month and they just started getting their first rains a few weeks back. Hope your family back home did not run out of water? Our wells still have plenty of water--your family is more than welcome to help yourselves to some.

Let me guess? Are you a Marmoite, CSI or Jacobite? Would you like a copy of my Maramon Convention CD? I just got mine "hot of the press" in March.

So, with all due respect, get over yourself and quit before you make too much more of a fool of yourself. Of course, this may be just your MO, in which case, there is a easy solution to deal with that.

 

Thanks for your kind and encouraging words. My surgery went well, but I not allowed to sit at the PC too long--strict orders from my CFO. :grin:

 

With all the time you are spending derailing this thread, aren't' you afraid you are delaying the production of the sequel to your of 802 music video?

 

Glad,

Let's start with agreeing that both sides have some extremist weirdo characters. The goal is to establish that both sides can provide evidence of extremism, however, most of the media (CNN, ABC, NBC, and let's give a shout-out to SF's news source--Jon Steward ) really play down the extremism on the left and play up the right wing extremists. I want to see why it's fair to give a "pass" on extremism on the left.

Of course, Fox is probably guilty of the just the opposite--but what I see is them also showing so far is the TEA party demonstration videos and asking where is the proof of racism and extremism? Show me proof of media outlets, other that Fox and plenty of Youtube videos, showing any extremism on the left.

There is plenty of videos going around in the D&D that already depict extremism on both sides.

In particular, I want to see evidence of rampant extremism of the recent TEA Partiers--I am not talking about one or two raciest "bad apples" that are ruining the image of the majority of decent and law-abiding citizens. I want to see group chants of hate toward our elected representatives as opposed to policies. It seems that when any main stream media goes to small towns, they go out of their way to pick the most ignorant and stereotypical "redneck" to interview and label them as the "voice of the conservative party."

I believe there is a unfair double standard in the main stream media towards one side more than the other.

Is this something we can agree on? If so, do you think this is one of main reasons a lot of young people unfairly label anyone with a conservative ideology as a simply a "right wing nut" and racist?

 

I am observing too many contradictions in your basic arguments.

First you make the following claims and create your own straw men:

Based on the above straw men you have created yourself, you go on to summarize the following:

Then you contradict yourself by first throwing ALL main stream media outlets "under the bus" and then admitting that your main source of "TV news" is The Daily Show. And even more unbelievable, is that Jon Steward has any "sincere" intention of presenting unbiased news or that TDS should be considered "news" at all--with the following statements:

If I have misrepresented you statements, then confirm or deny the following basic summary of all your above arguments:


GladiatoRowdy's Summary of "Legitimate Source" of news on TV:

The Daily Show with Jon Steward

Therefore, if Americans should watch TDS as the main "unbiased" news source on TV.

GladiatoRowdy's "Straw Men" Main Stream Media Outlets:

CNN News
NBC News,
ABC News,
CBS News
and of course, Fox News

Therefore, American should stay from any the "straw men" propaganda streamed continously from the above news sources on TV.

I ask you to observe your own following statement:

So, based on your life experiences and observations, is it fair to ask "Who is really "scamming" who?

I call BS on this. They are the most easily susceptible to peer pressure and ready to be led by the nose by a charismatic voice. On the whole, young people in America are the most ignorant, immature and lazy group of people--relative to their peers around the world. They have no clue about how hard and "unfair" life is like around the world. Are there exceptions, of course--but I am talking about the general youth of America.

Read "Emotional Intelligence" by Daniel Goleman. There is plenty of scientific research proving that most young people do not have the capacity to properly analysis their own thought processes until full adulthood. Not my words, but based on scientific research.



No disrespect to the youth in America, but based on my own personal experience and documented research, I give very little credit to "most" 18 to 25 year olds about the direction America "should" be going. IMO, I say this is about the late 20's and beyond.


For those of you in their 30's and beyond, just look how much your own views on life and politics have changed since your college days--now that you are married, have a full time job and have kids to take care of. I know mine have changed drastically.

So, based on your above two quotes, I get a sense that you are basically contradiction yourself.

If you are claiming conservatism is bad for America, then you are claiming people get "stupider" as they age. BTW, I can show you plenty of evidence of left wing politicians pushing this exact propaganda--knowing youngsters will easily buy into this nonsense.

Otherwise, you are claiming that as young people mature, they get wiser and see the wisdom of the conservative ideology.

Just as dangerous as racism claims, is to accuse people that are NOT racist as raciest.

Michael Steel, an African American, was elected to represent leadership of the GOP. Why has he been made the head of the GOP? Could be an effort by the GOP to change the perception that all GOP are racists? Wasn't Bobby Gindall not the person selected to address the nation after the first State of the Union. The GOP is fully aware of the negative image of their party and are trying real hard to change this perception.

The conservatives have called out the racist. You don't like video, so I will no bother with John McCain reprimanding comments by a few ignorant town hallers.

There should be no argument that GOP has a 100% vested incentive to root out the racist elements within their midst--it would be political suicide not to do so.

Of course, more could be done. And calling out racism, when justified, is critical to the progress of this nation.

But, just as regressive to the progress of equality in America is for people to unjustly use the "race card" for political gains.