[TheGrandMom]

Originally Posted by Elwynn

I would prefer it to mean 20-somethings who haven't grown up and still act like teenagers, since that is constantly on the rise.

OMG...I wonder what some people call me since I'm WAY past my 20's and I still haven't grown up!

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

I would prefer it to mean 20-somethings who haven't grown up and still act like teenagers, since that is constantly on the rise.

George Will and Nancy Poloski would love you.

[Feba]

Originally Posted by Omgwtfbbqkitten

Nancy Poloski

Hey, come on, congress is bad, but they're not that bad.

[TheGrandMom]

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Originally Posted by Feba

Hey, come on, congress is bad, but they're not that bad.

Well, you're usually the one who gets frustrated when someone implies you shouldn't have an opinion, both Poloski and Will do just that when your opinion or vote isn't in line with theirs. And then they insult you for not dressing professionally when you're at a meeting at work or showing up at a town hall meeting with a differing opinion dressed casually. You might have even been a Obama voter, but now you're part of the vast right-wing conspiracy for having an opinion.

Democrats blow and Republicans suck - Lewis Black put that best, but right now, I'm more concerned about a party majority that insults the people that placed them in office and gets angry when those voters have an opinion.

[Akashimo]

Originally Posted by Omgwtfbbqkitten

Democrats blow and Republicans suck - Lewis Black put that best, but right now, I'm more concerned about a party majority that insults the people that placed them in office and gets angry when those voters have an opinion.

Let the sheep speak!

Honestly why not make a new party that is just pure middle ground seeing how being left or right is getting us no where fast each day that goes by.

[Yellow Mage]

Because that would involve making a new party, and Heaven knows we can't have any more than the two! /rolleyes

Meh. It's a bit late for politics for me. I stayed up longer than I should have as it is.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Originally Posted by Akashimo

Let the sheep speak!

Honestly why not make a new party that is just pure middle ground seeing how being left or right is getting us no where fast each day that goes by.

Because then they "steal" votes from the side that James Carville or Rush Limbaugh favor and are subsequently browbeaten until they run back to one of the two sides.

All Democrats and Republicans ever do is vote down stuff that doesn't have their name on it, then spaz out the second the people who voted for them in a "how dare you think for yourselves" kind of way when those damn moderate-types show up and question what they're doing.

Doesn't help that the press never gives the moderates any coverage, but then, that's because they're too busy kissing ass on one of the two sides to notice.

[Feba]

I was making a joke. I figured you were talking about someone else, as there's no 'k' anywhere in the speaker's name.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Originally Posted by Feba

I was making a joke. I figured you were talking about someone else, as there's no 'k' anywhere in the speaker's name.

I stand corrected on the name, she's still an idiot for saying people can't have an opinion on a really important issue. But then, Obama's no better for saying it himself last week.

Seems like they're forgetting who's serving who here.

[Feba]

I don't recall her ever saying anything like that. I wouldn't put it past her, as she is an idiot, but if you're referring to the whole "Un-American" thing, the quote clearly refers to people who intentionally disrupt debate, and not to people who hold differing views. Given that these are largely organizations either directly sending people to town halls with a clear intent to disrupt the conversation, or people indirectly influenced by such organizations (especially given they are funded largely by health care companies that are enjoying the status quo), that's not a very unfair remark to make. If you're referring to some other 'you can't have any opinion except mine' quote, I'd like to see it.

The national debate lately has turned very ugly. And that's mostly because the media is giving the microphone to the voices that are most shrill. It's not that it's biased towards liberal or conservative causes, it's that it's much easier to stand back and say "holy crap Sarah Palin is talking about Death Panels; is she a manipulative bastard or an easily manipulated idiot?" than to actually talk about issues. It's easier to point at people being loud at town halls than people asking good questions.

And with the discussion being intentionally thrown off track, that becomes an even bigger issue. I think it's fair to say that almost everyone without a financial interest in the health industry supports some degree of reform-- the problem is exactly how much we want and exactly what it should be. But with people inventing specters of Senior Citizens being harassed by government agents with the goal of causing them to kill themselves; or people needing vital medical care being judged by their life's 'value' to society makes it impossible to talk about the moral, social, and financial issues of health (care/industry/insurance, depending on your tastes) reform. And the same applies with any other government program, now-- the Stimulus/Cash for Clunkers having ways for the government to steal all of your personal information being another example. Birthers questioning the validity of the nation's largest election of course.

Yes, stupid people will always believe what stupid people will believe, but with the voice of the media, they've managed to expand beyond that. I live in Kansas-- every single time I see a TV turned to a news station in a bookstore, a coffee shop, a fast food restaurant, it's on FOX. And that's probably because that's simply the most popular news channel here, as I believe it is elsewhere (I could easily be wrong, I haven't checked or heard anything about ratings in a very long time). With a blatant anti-anything-not-batshit-insane agenda, that has an impact on people. People are idiots enough by themselves-- quite a few 'common knowledge' things are actually completely false, but people take them as facts because they see them in movies. News television is even worse. There is a fundamental disconnect between reality and many people in this country. The tea party protests for the stimulus, and the health care shouting now; sane people do not scream about their taxes being raised while they're getting a slight tax cut. Sane people do not equate a slight tax cut with fascism, either. Nor do they see a talk with a doctor as forced euthanasia; or do they demand that the government 'leave their medicare alone'. Programs presented as factual news, when they are nothing of the sort, only widen that gap between reality and pure manipulated fantasy.