So what did you think? (I know I'm writing this before the debate, but I'll comment after I watch it on tape this weekend, I just wanted to stay on the ball for you early birds;)) Was it everything you dreamed of, or was that a nightmare? Tell me what you learned from the debate!
9.30.2004
9.29.2004
No Child Left Behind
What is it that people are so mad about with the No Child Left Behind act? Is it the fact that teachers are held accountable now, whereas before there were so many atrocities in the education system that it was ridiculous? I don't really think that's what is making people mad . . . the way that states choose to handle No Child Left Behind in their schools may be the difficulty here . . . how can we improve it? Are the tests wrong, too hard, to rigid, are the requirements unreasonable, unclear, or just off the mark? Why do we always criticize the idea behind the programs and not the execution of the programs? I'm not saying who's mistake it is, but really, what do you think is good and bad about the system?
9.27.2004
debates!
What do you think should be covered most in the debates? What are your biggest concerns about how the debates may not answer your questions?
9.22.2004
Laraine's Hail Mary;)
Laraine asked me to post this--at least we have a liberal present now!:)
Jen
Dear Friends,Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have tocome there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism,OK? Bush IS a goner -- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyachingand stop shaking like a bunch of nervous ninnies. Geez, this isembarrassing! The Republicans are laughing at us. Do you ever see themcry, "Oh, it's all over! We are finished! Bush can't win! Waaaaaa!"Hell no. It's never over for them until the last ballot is shredded.They are never finished -- they just keeping moving forward likesharks that never sleep, always pushing, pulling, kicking, blocking,lying.They are relentless and that is why we secretly admire them -- theyjust simply never, ever give up. Only 30% of the country calls itself"Republican," yet the Republicans own it all -- the White House, bothhouses of Congress, the Supreme Court and the majority of thegovernorships. How do you think they've been able to pull that offconsidering they are a minority? It's because they eat you and me andevery other liberal for breakfast and then spend the rest of the daywreaking havoc on the planet.Look at us -- what a bunch of crybabies. Bush gets a bounce after hisconvention and you would have thought the Germans had run throughPoland again. The Bushies are coming, the Bushies are coming! Yes,they caught Kerry asleep on the Swift Boat thing. Yes, they found thefrequency in Dan Rather and ran with it. Suddenly it's like, "THE ENDIS NEAR! THE SKY IS FALLING!"No, it is not. If I hear one more person tell me how lousy a candidateKerry is and how he can't win... Dammit, of COURSE he's a lousycandidate -- he's a Democrat, for heavens sake! That party is sopathetic, they even lose the elections they win! What were youexpecting, Bruce Springsteen heading up the ticket? Bruce would make ahelluva president, but guys like him don't run -- and neither do youor I. People like Kerry run.Yes, OF COURSE any of us would have run a better, smarter, kick-asscampaign. Of course we would have smacked each and every one of thosephony swifty boaty bastards down. But WE are not running for president-- Kerry is. So quit complaining and work with what we have. Oprahjust gave 300 women a... Pontiac! Did you see any of them frowning andmoaning and screaming, "Oh God, NOT a friggin' Pontiac!" Of coursenot, they were happy. The Pontiacs all had four wheels, an engine anda gas pedal. You want more than that, well, I can't help you. I had aPontiac once and it lasted a good year. And it was a VERY good year.My friends, it is time for a reality check.1. The polls are wrong. They are all over the map like diarrhea. OnFriday, one poll had Bush 13 points ahead -- and another poll had themboth tied. There are three reasons why the polls are b.s.: One, theyare polling "likely voters." "Likely" means those who haveconsistently voted in the past few elections. So that cuts out youngpeople who are voting for the first time and a ton of non-voters whoare definitely going to vote in THIS election. Second, they are notpolling people who use their cell phone as their primary phone. Again,that means they are not talking to young people. Finally, most of thepolls are weighted with too many Republicans, as pollster John Zogbyrevealed last week. You are being snookered if you believe any ofthese polls.2. Kerry has brought in the Clinton A-team. Instead of shunningClinton (as Gore did), Kerry has decided to not make that mistake.3. Traveling around the country, as I've been doing, I gotta tell ya,there is a hell of a lot of unrest out there. Much of it is not beingcaptured by the mainstream press. But it is simmering and it is real.Do not let those well-produced Bush rallies of angry white peoplescare you. Turn off the TV! (Except Jon Stewart and Bill Moyers --everything else is just a sugar-coated lie).4. Conventional wisdom says if the election is decided on "9/11" (thefear of terrorism), Bush wins. But if it is decided on the job we aredoing in Iraq, then Bush loses. And folks, that "job," you might havenoticed, has descended into the third level of a hell we used to callVietnam. There is no way out. It is a full-blown mess of a quagmireand the body bags will sadly only mount higher. Regardless of whatKerry meant by his original war vote, he ain't the one who sent thosekids to their deaths -- and Mr. and Mrs. Middle America knows it. HadBush bothered to show up when he was in the "service" he might havesomewhat of a clue as to how to recognize an immoral war that cannotbe "won." All he has delivered to Iraq was that plasticized turkeylast Thanksgiving. It is this failure of monumental proportions thatis going to cook his goose come this November.So, do not despair. All is not over. Far from it. The Bush people needyou to believe that it is over. They need you to slump back into youreasy chair and feel that sick pain in your gut as you contemplateanother four years of George W. Bush. They need you to wish we had acandidate who didn't windsurf and who was just as smart as we werewhen WE knew Bush was lying about WMD and Saddam planning 9/11. It'slike Karl Rove is hypnotizing you -- "Kerry voted for the war...Kerryvoted for the war...Kerrrrrryyy vooootted fooooor theeeewarrrrrrrrrr..."Yes...Yes...Yesssss...He did! HE DID! No sense in fighting now...whatI need is sleep...sleeep...sleeeeeeppppp...WAKE UP! The majority are with us! More than half of all Americans arepro-choice, want stronger environmental laws, are appalled thatassault weapons are back on the street -- and 54% now believe the waris wrong. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO CONVINCE THEM OF ANY OF THIS -- YOUJUST HAVE TO GIVE THEM A RAY OF HOPE AND A RIDE TO THE POLLS. CAN YOUDO THAT? WILL YOU DO THAT?Just for me, please? Buck up. The country is almost back in our hands.Not another negative word until Nov. 3rd! Then you can bitch all youwant about how you wish Kerry was still that long-haired kid who oncehad the courage to stand up for something. Personally, I think thatkid is still inside him. Instead of the wailing and gnashing of yourteeth, why not hold out a hand to him and help the innersoldier/protester come out and defeat the forces of evil we now sodesperately face. Do we have any other choice?
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com
Jen
Dear Friends,Enough of the handwringing! Enough of the doomsaying! Do I have tocome there and personally calm you down? Stop with all the defeatism,OK? Bush IS a goner -- IF we all just quit our whining and bellyachingand stop shaking like a bunch of nervous ninnies. Geez, this isembarrassing! The Republicans are laughing at us. Do you ever see themcry, "Oh, it's all over! We are finished! Bush can't win! Waaaaaa!"Hell no. It's never over for them until the last ballot is shredded.They are never finished -- they just keeping moving forward likesharks that never sleep, always pushing, pulling, kicking, blocking,lying.They are relentless and that is why we secretly admire them -- theyjust simply never, ever give up. Only 30% of the country calls itself"Republican," yet the Republicans own it all -- the White House, bothhouses of Congress, the Supreme Court and the majority of thegovernorships. How do you think they've been able to pull that offconsidering they are a minority? It's because they eat you and me andevery other liberal for breakfast and then spend the rest of the daywreaking havoc on the planet.Look at us -- what a bunch of crybabies. Bush gets a bounce after hisconvention and you would have thought the Germans had run throughPoland again. The Bushies are coming, the Bushies are coming! Yes,they caught Kerry asleep on the Swift Boat thing. Yes, they found thefrequency in Dan Rather and ran with it. Suddenly it's like, "THE ENDIS NEAR! THE SKY IS FALLING!"No, it is not. If I hear one more person tell me how lousy a candidateKerry is and how he can't win... Dammit, of COURSE he's a lousycandidate -- he's a Democrat, for heavens sake! That party is sopathetic, they even lose the elections they win! What were youexpecting, Bruce Springsteen heading up the ticket? Bruce would make ahelluva president, but guys like him don't run -- and neither do youor I. People like Kerry run.Yes, OF COURSE any of us would have run a better, smarter, kick-asscampaign. Of course we would have smacked each and every one of thosephony swifty boaty bastards down. But WE are not running for president-- Kerry is. So quit complaining and work with what we have. Oprahjust gave 300 women a... Pontiac! Did you see any of them frowning andmoaning and screaming, "Oh God, NOT a friggin' Pontiac!" Of coursenot, they were happy. The Pontiacs all had four wheels, an engine anda gas pedal. You want more than that, well, I can't help you. I had aPontiac once and it lasted a good year. And it was a VERY good year.My friends, it is time for a reality check.1. The polls are wrong. They are all over the map like diarrhea. OnFriday, one poll had Bush 13 points ahead -- and another poll had themboth tied. There are three reasons why the polls are b.s.: One, theyare polling "likely voters." "Likely" means those who haveconsistently voted in the past few elections. So that cuts out youngpeople who are voting for the first time and a ton of non-voters whoare definitely going to vote in THIS election. Second, they are notpolling people who use their cell phone as their primary phone. Again,that means they are not talking to young people. Finally, most of thepolls are weighted with too many Republicans, as pollster John Zogbyrevealed last week. You are being snookered if you believe any ofthese polls.2. Kerry has brought in the Clinton A-team. Instead of shunningClinton (as Gore did), Kerry has decided to not make that mistake.3. Traveling around the country, as I've been doing, I gotta tell ya,there is a hell of a lot of unrest out there. Much of it is not beingcaptured by the mainstream press. But it is simmering and it is real.Do not let those well-produced Bush rallies of angry white peoplescare you. Turn off the TV! (Except Jon Stewart and Bill Moyers --everything else is just a sugar-coated lie).4. Conventional wisdom says if the election is decided on "9/11" (thefear of terrorism), Bush wins. But if it is decided on the job we aredoing in Iraq, then Bush loses. And folks, that "job," you might havenoticed, has descended into the third level of a hell we used to callVietnam. There is no way out. It is a full-blown mess of a quagmireand the body bags will sadly only mount higher. Regardless of whatKerry meant by his original war vote, he ain't the one who sent thosekids to their deaths -- and Mr. and Mrs. Middle America knows it. HadBush bothered to show up when he was in the "service" he might havesomewhat of a clue as to how to recognize an immoral war that cannotbe "won." All he has delivered to Iraq was that plasticized turkeylast Thanksgiving. It is this failure of monumental proportions thatis going to cook his goose come this November.So, do not despair. All is not over. Far from it. The Bush people needyou to believe that it is over. They need you to slump back into youreasy chair and feel that sick pain in your gut as you contemplateanother four years of George W. Bush. They need you to wish we had acandidate who didn't windsurf and who was just as smart as we werewhen WE knew Bush was lying about WMD and Saddam planning 9/11. It'slike Karl Rove is hypnotizing you -- "Kerry voted for the war...Kerryvoted for the war...Kerrrrrryyy vooootted fooooor theeeewarrrrrrrrrr..."Yes...Yes...Yesssss...He did! HE DID! No sense in fighting now...whatI need is sleep...sleeep...sleeeeeeppppp...WAKE UP! The majority are with us! More than half of all Americans arepro-choice, want stronger environmental laws, are appalled thatassault weapons are back on the street -- and 54% now believe the waris wrong. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO CONVINCE THEM OF ANY OF THIS -- YOUJUST HAVE TO GIVE THEM A RAY OF HOPE AND A RIDE TO THE POLLS. CAN YOUDO THAT? WILL YOU DO THAT?Just for me, please? Buck up. The country is almost back in our hands.Not another negative word until Nov. 3rd! Then you can bitch all youwant about how you wish Kerry was still that long-haired kid who oncehad the courage to stand up for something. Personally, I think thatkid is still inside him. Instead of the wailing and gnashing of yourteeth, why not hold out a hand to him and help the innersoldier/protester come out and defeat the forces of evil we now sodesperately face. Do we have any other choice?
Yours,
Michael Moore
www.michaelmoore.com
mmflint@aol.com
9.21.2004
W is for "women" (Engemann)
"Can we start a discussion on this sometime soon? People jumped down my throat today about Dubya's slogan "W is for 'Women'" and they all think that republican's are anti-women and are not empowering woman, BLAH BLAH BLAH
"George Bush is allllll about empowering women. He's all for letting them choose." So people think that giving women the right to "choose" (I'm assuming they were talking about abortion) and be irresponsible and kill their baby is EMPOWERING?
you see where I'm going. I would like to see what people have to say.
This is kind of fun. Good job. Although, I haven't heard many democrat responses..."
Sarah Engemann
"George Bush is allllll about empowering women. He's all for letting them choose." So people think that giving women the right to "choose" (I'm assuming they were talking about abortion) and be irresponsible and kill their baby is EMPOWERING?
you see where I'm going. I would like to see what people have to say.
This is kind of fun. Good job. Although, I haven't heard many democrat responses..."
Sarah Engemann
9.19.2004
economy
OK, I'm getting serious now--what the hell is up with the economy anyway? Is Kerry right and will he actually improve it, or will he just give handout jobs and make it even worse? Is Bush at fault for the last few years of drama -- seeing as a little thing called 9/11 happened -- and if he's at fault, it can't JUST be the tax breaks and outsourcing (It is my impression that he simply hasn't stopped it, and that's all the complaint . .. )
Jen
Jen
9.18.2004
per Brian, Gay or not Gay . . .
"let's talk about something that I know we're all thinking...Kerry......Edwards......Are they gay lovers or what?No seriously, we could have ironic fun with this one!"
Wygant
Wygant
Tort Reform
Here it is! Remember the rules--be nice, don't be assholes, and try not to get pissed off when you disagree--just duke it out over the internet:)
Opinions on Tort reform . . . besides what has been emailed . . .?
Jen
Opinions on Tort reform . . . besides what has been emailed . . .?
Jen
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