question about "the left wing"

[Miss_Bungle1991]

I don't have any experience with marijuana other than hyperventilating once when I tried a joint while all the a-holes laughed at my misery, so it doesn't appeal to me. One thing that concerns me living here in Washington State is how many dorks high on weed are going to cause auto accidents and kill some innocent folks, and how will the authorities deal with that? I did notice that 99% of those wanting legalization of "Medical Marijuana" were suspiciously retros from the 60's, odd isn't it?!

Seems to me you are allowing a single, solitary experience color the entire thing. Unless you have been involved with it for a number of years, you don't really have a solid basis to go on.

Not being argumentative, just telling the truth.

But, to be fair, I never would have touched any intoxicants at all if it hadn't been for the GID. But better to put a bottle of whiskey to your lips or a joint in your mouth, rather than blasting your brains all over the bedroom wall with a 20 gauge shotgun.

[LordKAT]

Our voice is the elections.
Sure people vote for the same person over and over, but not everybody's interests are the same.  Someone from new york will not want or need the same rep as someone in nowhere, kansas. All these people are elected by us. Personally i dont like any of them. I voted for the curent president because he was the lesser of the 2 evils to me. Didnt help that romney kept switching up what he was going to do as president. But thats another argument for another time.
The point is i am independent for a reason. I dont trust either side. But it is not possible to please everyone, especially in a country like this so how can we really judge them for trying to win a race?
If one of us poor people put enough hard work and dedication, we could do well in an election. Its a matter of will and time.

It isn't a voice or choice when I can pick rich thing 1 or rich thing 2, not a single simple working person like most of us. I have to choose from the rich elite and not a someone who actually represents anything like where I come from. As long as that happens, money will continue to funnel into the hands of people who already have money. The 'American dream' of being able to be whatever you want no matter where you started is no longer true.

[Shantel]

Seems to me you are allowing a single, solitary experience color the entire thing. Unless you have been involved with it for a number of years, you don't really have a solid basis to go on. Didn't like it, if I did I would have been a pot head rather than a bleeping alcoholic. case closed!

Not being argumentative, just telling the truth. heheh we know Ms Squirrel!

But, to be fair, I never would have touched any intoxicants at all if it hadn't been for the GID. But better to put a bottle of whiskey to your lips or a joint in your mouth, rather than blasting your brains all over the bedroom wall with a 20 gauge shotgun. I tried that after a fifth of vodka, kinda stupid and fortunately my .45 auto has two safeties, the one in the heel of the grip wouldn't disengage when I had the barrel in my mouth otherwise I wouldn't be here to harass you Ms. Squirrel

[Shantel]

It isn't a voice or choice when I can pick rich thing 1 or rich thing 2, not a single simple working person like most of us. I have to choose from the rich elite and not a someone who actually represents anything like where I come from. As long as that happens, money will continue to funnel into the hands of people who already have money. The 'American dream' of being able to be whatever you want no matter where you started is no longer true.

I recently heard that about 65 people now control half of the world's wealth, while a big percentage make around $2 a day.

[Sephirah]

I recently heard that about 65 people now control half of the world's wealth, while a big percentage make around $2 a day.

I'm pretty sure my bank manager thinks he's one of them.

[amZo]

You ever been a kid that had no choice but to ride along with their drunk as hell dad while they flew down country roads at 90 MPH wondering if you were going to make it home alive?

Have you ever watched countless family holiday gatherings be destroyed because of a few drunken comments that led to fistfights between family members that resulted in crying children and screaming spouses?

I doubt that you have. Otherwise, you would know where I was coming from in this argument.

You know what I've seen when people were stoned?

Silly conversations and munching on junk food while listening to the stereo or watching TV.

I know which situation I would rather be in the middle of.

Yes. My father was an alcoholic and he purchased enough for the road everywhere we went. He was a WWII vet and it was difficult for him to adjust, I'm pretty forgiving about it all. And the cigarette smoke! Me and my brothers would crack the back windows and breath as close to the opening as possible.

I went to sleep every night to yelling and screaming, there were many times my father made physical threats (death was mentioned at times) against all of us during his fights with mom (her issues were worse IMO  ), but I think that would've occurred regardless, I'm sure alcohol didn't help in many cases, but it wasn't the root cause.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Didn't like it, if I did I would have been a pot head rather than a bleeping alcoholic. case closed!

Fair enough.

heheh we know, Ms Squirrel!

It's Miss and NOT Ms. I HATE Ms. It sounds like a sound a bug would make as it flies past your ear.

I tried that after a fifth of vodka, kinda stupid and fortunately my .45 auto has two safeties, the one in the heel of the grip wouldn't disengage when I had the barrel in my mouth otherwise I wouldn't be here to harass you Ms. Squirrel

Wow......

I never got that far. I had a plan but never put it into action. I wanted to, but I didn't want to screw my mom up for the rest of her life since she would have probably been the first one home and had to deal with the aftermath.

I wrote a suicide note last year when I was going through the panic attacks. I threw it out a few days later but I rewrote it the next week. I still have it on file, just in case. There is a 99.9% chance that I won't need it but if something gets screwed up again, I would rather have it around so people know why I did it and what my final wishes would be.

May be a strange idea, but I decided to do it anyway.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Yes. My father was an alcoholic and he purchased enough for the road everywhere we went. He was a WWII vet and it was difficult for him to adjust, I'm pretty forgiving about it all. And the cigarette smoke! Me and my brothers would crack the back windows and breath as close to the opening as possible.

I went to sleep every night to yelling and screaming, there were many times my father made physical threats (death was mentioned at times) against all of us during his fights with mom (her issues were worse IMO  ), but I think that would've occurred regardless, I'm sure alcohol didn't help in many cases, but it wasn't the root cause.

Ah, I see. It sounds like we came from different generations (Or did your parents have children later in life?)

My parents were born in the late 50s, early 60s.

As far as the stuff with my dad went, the SOLE reason any crazy stuff happened was because of alcohol. He was fine if he was sober (or stoned on weed) but if he drank, he had this whole Jekyll and Hyde thing that would occur. Unfortunately, he's gotten much worse as the years have went on. If he makes it through his 60s, I will be shocked.

That's the sad truth of it all. I already had one uncle that passed away in his 60s due to alcohol abuse.

[amZo]

Ah, I see. It sounds like we came from different generations (Or did your parents have children later in life?)

My parents were born in the late 50s, early 60s.

As far as the stuff with my dad went, the SOLE reason any crazy stuff happened was because of alcohol. He was fine if he was sober (or stoned on weed) but if he drank, he had this whole Jekyll and Hyde thing that would occur. Unfortunately, he's gotten much worse as the years have went on. If he makes it through his 60s, I will be shocked.

That's the sad truth of it all. I already had one uncle that passed away in his 60s due to alcohol abuse.

My parents were born in 20's and 30's, my dad was in his upper 30's when I was born ('63).

The reason I don't blame the alcohol is, if not that, it would've been something else. That's why I'm not big on making these things illegal, it won't stop it and I don't think making these people criminals is a good thing, probably would make home life even worse.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

My parents were born in 20's and 30's, my dad was in his upper 30's when I was born ('63).

The reason I don't blame the alcohol is, if not that, it would've been something else. That's why I'm not big on making these things illegal, it won't stop it and I don't think making these people criminals is a good thing, probably would make home life even worse.

Oh, see.

Yeah, I was born in the late 70s, so yeah that is a pretty big generational difference.

[amZo]

I recently heard that about 65 people now control half of the world's wealth, while a big percentage make around $2 a day.

Kind of interesting to note where people make $2 a day, most are places that redistribute the 'wealth'.

The wonderful fact is, wealth can't be redistributed, just destroyed. I say wonderful because, the day this is understood (and it's not that hard), then the horrible failed ideologies that ruin so many lives may die forever. I know, it's unlikely, but I can dream. 

Rich people have simply created a great deal of value for the rest of us. From high tech to medical life saving breakthroughs and treatments, the rich do some pretty good things. Their creating value doesn't take anything from anybody, it creates opportunity for the rest of us to create wealth. Thus, societies that attempt to redistribute end up with nothing.

Reminds me of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, he never learns it's never going to happen... 

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Reminds me of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, he never learns it's never going to happen... 

Charlie Brown may never kick that football, but there is one character that will nail the home run every single time.

[amZo]

I keep waiting for the beaver to wise up and walk her...

[Shantel]

Fair enough.
It's Miss and NOT Ms. I HATE Ms. It sounds like a sound a bug would make as it flies past your ear.

Yes Miss Squirrel! Say, are you sure you really aren't  that porcupine incognito dear? 

Wow......

I never got that far. I had a plan but never put it into action. I wanted to, but I didn't want to screw my mom up for the rest of her life since she would have probably been the first one home and had to deal with the aftermath.

Just as well because it's really messy, selfish, because it hurts a lot of innocent family members and is a dead end and makes no sense at all.

[Shantel]

Kind of interesting to note where people make $2 a day, most are places that redistribute the 'wealth'.

The wonderful fact is, wealth can't be redistributed, just destroyed. I say wonderful because, the day this is understood (and it's not that hard), then the horrible failed ideologies that ruin so many lives may die forever. I know, it's unlikely, but I can dream. 

Rich people have simply created a great deal of value for the rest of us. From high tech to medical life saving breakthroughs and treatments, the rich do some pretty good things. Their creating value doesn't take anything from anybody, it creates opportunity for the rest of us to create wealth. Thus, societies that attempt to redistribute end up with nothing.

Reminds me of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, he never learns it's never going to happen... 

Well yeah, and the fact that the wealth is so astronomically lopsided and mostly held by those 65 or so people, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for the the malcontents who get by but aren't really wealthy to rail against some entrepreneurial success for making a few hundred thousand or a few millions creating opportunities and products or services for the citizens.

[Miss_Bungle1991]

Yes Miss Squirrel! Say, are you sure you really aren't  that porcupine incognito dear? 

Nope. I am who I say I am.......in the fanfics. That's where the name and the avatar come from.

Just as well because it's really messy, selfish, because it hurts a lot of innocent family members and is a dead end and makes no sense at all.

I know. But a year or so ago, I was in a very bad spot because I was really, really depressed. I had finally beat the worst parts of the GID. BUT these screwed up panic attacks came out of nowhere, I dealt with them for over a year and no one could find out why they were happening. I was losing any quality of life and I was very worried about losing my independence because I was scared to be alone. I was ready to throw in the towel and be done with everything. The only thing that has kept those attacks away is the combo of a couple of meds that I am on now. I may be on them for the rest of my life. I don't know. But I do know that I never want to go back to that spot ever again. It was absolute hell.

I keep waiting for the beaver to wise up and walk her...

Nah, Bingo is too dim and too arrogant to think of that.

[MadeleineG]

Parties are a natural result of the political process. The U.S. has a winner-take-all process which will always result in two primary parties. Even if one failed, something else would soon take its place. It would actually take a total revamp of our system to make it receptive to multiple parties. There are countries who allocate some political power proportionately based on who got however many votes. Those countries have more than just two primary parties because a small party can still have some impact.

At the presidential level, ending the party system would take a tremendous amount of work. At the district level (and in Canada, at the riding level), it's much easier to work.

In a de jure non-partisan state, would like-minded people work together, informally? Of course! But without the organizational machine of a party, representatives would have to be far more responsive to the interests of their local constituents. Also, without party-funded political advertising, candidates would have to build visibility through more direct engagement.

Banning attack ads would be a very positive step. Campaigning should focus on your positives, not your opponents' negatives.

[dalebert]

Banning attack ads would be a very positive step. Campaigning should focus on your positives, not your opponents' negatives.

Yeah, but we've got that pesky Bill of Rights and 1st amendment crap.

[MadeleineG]

Yeah, but we've got that pesky Bill of Rights and 1st amendment crap.

I'm not convinced that first amendment rights ought to apply here.

I'd consider it akin to hate speech as a special exception and comparably verboten.

[Shantel]

Yeah, but we've got that pesky Bill of Rights and 1st amendment crap.

I get Gwynne, but you're right dalebert and where would it stop? Too bad civility is so lacking in American culture! Some of it is so childish and immature! I got rid of my landline phone number that I've had for 40 years because I refuse to go through another political season with that thing ringing incessantly, both parties driving me crazy, it's going to be mega ugly!