When President Obama is re-elected!!

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:32 am

Chateau Vin wrote:
DavidG wrote:
Chateau Vin wrote:Geez, Whether republicans or democrats, the overall picture does not change. Each side is pandering to their 'bases'. I hate to break it, but having a 'base' is the real big problem. Each party can take their 'base' for granted, and just work on the really small slice of independents. I mean, all the issues (economy, healthcare, foreign policy, etc.) affects everyone equally whether republican or democrat. But the parties choose to bring the wedge issues to hold on tight to their 'bases'. If there are no 'bases', then the problems we have would be of much less magnitude, and subsequently easy to solve.
I half agree and half disagree. I agree in principal, but the politicos seem to feel that energizing the base is important to actually get out the vote. Yes both sides can count on their base in a poll. But the base has to be motivated enough to actually go out and vote. Not all of the base are raving liberals or conservatives. And even some of those that are may feel "why bother" if they don't think their guy will toe the line. How much of this is true? I have no idea. That's the theory anyway, and it's what creates much of the silliness and flip-flopping.

David,

My comments are from the perspective of the citizens. I agree 'bases' are important for political parties and for the politicians that benefit from. I say 'bases' are useless because from the citizens perspective, they do more harm than good for the country. And that's the curse we have since super majority of the electorate are part of either of the bases...History teaches that when a civilization has time to fight on wedge issues rather than addressing real problems, IMO that's the sign of degeneration and fall from grace in every way (political, educational, economic, military, etc...etc...). If US does not get its act together, within a generation or two we will become nothing more than a vassal state...

CV that's the part I agree with...

DavidG · Post by **DavidG** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:37 am

RDD wrote:
stefan wrote:>>
The private sector has never led basic research efforts? Edison? Bell labs? IBM?
>>

Comparatively small operations, Tom, as are those today in the Hi Tech industry (such as the theory group at Microsoft). Mostly they siphoned off a few great people from the academic community by paying good salaries and providing excellent working conditions.

Without government support of basic research we would have very little. Private industry is much more concerned with increasing profits in the near term than with investing in research that might pay off way down the road. It is not surprising that when a company stops making huge profits that the units committed to basic research are the first to go.
The transitor,the diode,LED,nanotubes and supeconductors don't count for much?
I can't think of any thing Mircosoft actually invented.
Tom, you left out Xexox,GE,Texas Instuments.

The govenment did pretty well inventing radioactive fallout.

I side with Stefan on this. There have been significant inventions from industry but many are based on basic research funded by govt. This is particularly the case in medicine.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:26 am

Strong performance by Obama last night.
I thought it was a very weak performance by Romney.
Not quite as bad as the president's in the first debate, but same ballpark.
I think the 538 guy has it right in his headline:
"Obama Unlikely to Get Big Debate Bounce, but a Small One Could Matter."

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:22 pm

[quote="DavidGI side with Stefan on this. There have been significant inventions from industry but many are based on basic research funded by govt. This is particularly the case in medicine.[/quote]

I was just being outrageous.
I think it is 50/50.

There are lot's of research grants. And there is also a lot of industry R&D.
In software much of the infrastructue was funded by the Gov't. NASA funded a geat deal of it. DOD spec'ed the internet. The Navy invented COBOL.
But I've worked with many people that invented systems w/o any government spending.

A lot of our moden technology in petrochemicals,pharmaceuticals and space technologies were the spoils of war.
We got the German patents and scientist.

Medicine also has a lot of charitable contributions as well as pharmaceutical company investment.

I really wish the government would concentrate on energy.
They spoke about NA being energy independant.
How?
Fossil fules? Fracting? Electrical?

I'll gladly be infomed.
What R&D are we spending tax dollars on?

AlexR · Post by **AlexR** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:00 pm

>>> What R&D are we spending tax dollars on?

Weapons?

It really struck home when Obama said that the US defense budget is larger than that of the 10 next countries down the list combined...
Why should Romeny want to increase it, to the detriment of infrastructures, education and training, social services...?

If I were being really cynical (happens to me sometimes on Tuesday afternoons) I'd say that the US is economically and politically hard-wired to go to war - real war, not preparedness for a hypothetical one.

I read a chilling account of people who go to an office in Colorado every day and program bombings by drones the other side of the world before going home to the wife and kids.
Strange world we live in, eh?

Alex R.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:18 pm

RDD wrote:[quote="DavidGI side with Stefan on this. There have been significant inventions from industry but many are based on basic research funded by govt. This is particularly the case in medicine.

I was just being outrageous.
I think it is 50/50.

.
.
.
.

I'll gladly be infomed.
What R&D are we spending tax dollars on?[/quote]

There are tons of technology that we use and take for granted which either came from basic science research or application research funded by government in one way or the other...

Internet - The essence of our communication through this forum, able to exchange ideas is the child of defense funded DARPA..
Satellite communications
Antilock brakes
Vaccum cleaner
Audio Casettes, etc. etc... to name a few. Not to mention the stuff invented by the private R&D, built upon the basic findings of the government research...

To say that government should not involve in funding research is being very very shortsighted IMO. The ivory tower economist myopics (incl some univ of chicago ones) might say that government research displaces the private research. That's just baloney in some ways. Pvt sector has a duty towards shareholders and creation of wealth for them. Why do you think the pharmas concentrate on blockbuster drugs rather than vaccines (which require more basic science research btw)? Although vaccines are critical for public health, they are not as good a money maker as selling a cholesterol drug...People need vaccines once, and then they are done...Whereas cholesterol, arthritis, diabetic, etc. drugs are ATMs for the company since one needs to take all through their life...Even Bill Gates realized this. Everybody knows his foundation is big into vaccination of the developing world children. To incentivize, he did not give money all at once for vaccine research. He did it in a step by step methodical way so that it is more sustainable...

Also, by simple observation, it is generally evident that Pvt Co.s are in the business of making money, and subsequently they are more good at doing application research rather than basic science research (generally speaking although there are some exceptions). And BTW no economist could fathom the economic benefits created by the pvt sector built on the basic research done by govt. sofar, although we can very well see all around us the fruits of such govt. research if we care to dig deep and see...

Tom In DC · Post by **Tom In DC** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:27 pm

I agree that corporations are focused on short-term goals but it hasn't always been so extreme. Perhaps I was too focused on the word "never".

Harry C. · Post by **Harry C.** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 3:47 pm

The government funds R&D in the medical field via the Universities. They develop various meds, equipment, etc then the private corps buy the patents from the Universities and resells them back to the consumer at a high price. So, to summarize, the tax payer funds the research that leads to advances in meds/equipment that they then must buy if needed at high prices. The Unis and Corps gain here at the taxpayers' expense. This is how it works in medicine. (This does not negate the R&D departments in the various private corps.)

robertgoulet · Post by **robertgoulet** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:10 pm

Gallop has romnesia up by 7%

Here is a history of gallop polling accuracy

http://www.gallup.com/poll/9442/electio ... tions.aspx

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:14 pm

Gallup is a total outlier this year.
Obama is only down 1 in today's Gallup among registered voters, 48-47%.
That's a 4 point gain for Obama in the last 2 days.

I have the Obama JHEPI holding firm today at 55.

robertgoulet · Post by **robertgoulet** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:23 pm

http://www.examiner.com/article/new-pol ... a-51-to-45
This poll today says likely voters

Jim where do u procure your data I can't find your stats online?

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:14 pm

Chateau Vin wrote:Audio Casettes, Not to mention the stuff invented by the private R&D, built upon the basic findings of the government research...

...

You seem to imply the govenment is required to build anything.

The compact audio casette was invented by Philips. As was the CD.
Satellite communications?????? Proposed by Arthur C. Clarke in 1945.

There's a balance.

John Galt is coming.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 7:23 pm

The Gallup data is on www.gallup.com, Robert.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 9:41 pm

RDD wrote:
Chateau Vin wrote:Audio Casettes, Not to mention the stuff invented by the private R&D, built upon the basic findings of the government research...

...

You seem to imply the govenment is required to build anything.

The compact audio casette was invented by Philips. As was the CD.
Satellite communications?????? Proposed by Arthur C. Clarke in 1945.

There's a balance.

John Galt is coming.

Probably need to read the posting more clearly whether I am implying that government is required to build anything. If I have to make myself more clear, I will repeat it just for you: I was merely implying government also has a role in funding research, especially basic science research.

As for the Audio Casette, government funded research for the space program, out of which came audio cassette concept (how sound can be magnetically stored). Phillips built on it and brought it into mainstream. And then came cd...That's what I was pointing out. The private cos. are good at application research...

Satellite communications? Arthur Clarke. Proposing something is different from inventing. Geez, I also have lot of concepts to propose - like time travel, galactic mining, etc. etc...

Obviously one person did not have the wherewithal or resources (which takes massive amount of money) to bring his 'proposal' to fruition. With the amount of money required, it is not easy even for the private companies to succeed. We all know what happened with the similar Iridium project at Motorola.

I am not a fan of big government, but I believe government is a necessary evil. Because the interests of stakeholders (citizens) in a government are not the same as the interests of shareholders of a company. And as for John Galt, even though I am a free market believer, I care less for a fictional character created by someone who was ill-informed, and whose life as well as writings are full of contradictions...

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 10:38 pm

As for the Audio Casette, government funded research for the space program, out of which came audio cassette concept (how sound can be magnetically stored). Phillips built on it and brought it into mainstream. And then came cd...That's what I was pointing out. The private cos. are good at application research...

The Germans were recoding on tape long before the space program. It became practical with the replacement of vacuum tubes with transitors (Bell laps?).

We are on different wavelenghts.

Everythings depends on some previous knowledge.

As Newton said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
I wish we had a space program again.
We don't have much left.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Tue Oct 23, 2012 11:56 pm

RDD wrote:
The Germans were recoding on tape long before the space program. It became practical with the replacement of vacuum tubes with transitors (Bell laps?).

We are on different wavelenghts.

Everythings depends on some previous knowledge.

As Newton said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
I wish we had a space program again.
We don't have much left.

RDD,

Germans were recording, but it's the space program's research that was looking for other materials because the space needs were different. And then those materials became mainstream.

I will give another example. Decades ago people with polio or other disabilities could not have braces or supports. Or people who needed prosthetics also had a problem, primarily because they were so heavy. Then came the composite materials, which were strong, durable and most importantly, light. The basis for those composite materials was the off shoot from the defense research funded by government. The fundamental research funded by the govts. in Germany and the research at Fermi Lab funded by US govt. gave us so much information about particle physics, and today we have benefits in medicine, nuclear energy, etc. I am not saying the pvt sector did not contribute along the way, but it is evident that govt funded research played a tremendous role.

I agree everything depends on previous knowledge, and my point is, government funded research has the track record of creating that fundamental research on which many of our current inventions rest on. So why scrap it or even have the talk of scrapping it? IMO, the only thing I would talk regarding this is how to realign our resources depending on the priorities. Currently we have tens of billions of dollars in agricultural subsidies (I mean, how insane is it that we give money to even rich farmers like CNN founder for NOT planting crops - Yes for not planting crops to sustain a floor price!!!). I think it is far better to scrap some of those subsidies but keep the research going that provided and will provide real benefits for all of us...

RDD, I also wish we had a space program, but I sincerely hope we will get our acts together as a nation...

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 12:37 am

Chateau Vin:

We agree on more than we realize.
Ethanol as fuel is another pooly thought out idea.
It might work in Brazil where there's tons of sugar cane.

All I am saying is also give private industry its due.

I actually worked on machines running HASP which stood for Houston Automated Spooling Program.
Guess where that came from.

Anyway it seems we spend very little on R&D in the private and public sectors. The jist of my question is where are we currently spending money on R&D.
And if you really want to turn things around we need to invent something that provides an economy of scale in the production of energy.
Most likely in the production of electricity and battery technology.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:02 am

RDD wrote:Chateau Vin:

We agree on more than we realize.
Ethanol as fuel is another pooly thought out idea.
It might work in Brazil where there's tons of sugar cane.

All I am saying is also give private industry its due.

I actually worked on machines running HASP which stood for Houston Automated Spooling Program.
Guess where that came from.

Anyway it seems we spend very little on R&D in the private and public sectors. The jist of my question is where are we currently spending money on R&D.
And if you really want to turn things around we need to invent something that provides an economy of scale in the production of energy.
Most likely in the production of electricity and battery technology.

Absolutely RDD...Pvt sector R&D has earned its rightful place. We need both, but looking at the campaign rhetoric, it's unbelievable people advocating for scrapping govt funded research...

I mean times of changed. Decades ago we had military adversaries, but now we have economic adversaries. There are countries out there who want us to fail economically as it is pretty clear that they cannot take us down militarily. We better buckle up...

AlexR · Post by **AlexR** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 7:52 am

"I mean times of changed. Decades ago we had military adversaries, but now we have economic adversaries. There are countries out there who want us to fail economically as it is pretty clear that they cannot take us down militarily. We better buckle up..."

Very wise comment!

Let's not forget that it was a Republican president, Dwight Eisenhower, who warned Americans of the "military-industrial complex".

The arms arms industry, firms such as Halliburton, and companies that rent mercenaries have every interest in wasting our tax money and fomenting wars. These wars and the wasted billions account in large part of the sick economy and have not even succeeded (i.e., been won or furthered American geo-political objectives).

Alex R.

robertgoulet · Post by **robertgoulet** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:51 pm

Jim I favor likely over registered seems to make more sense

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 4:46 pm

True, Robert, but the national popular vote means nothing.
The only vote that means anything at this point is Ohio.

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 5:20 pm

JimHow wrote:True, Robert, but the national popular vote means nothing.
The only vote that means anything at this point is Ohio.

Well I'm still voting.
Susan voted early yesterday.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:30 pm

obama gained two more points today in Gallup, he has gained 6 points now in 3 days and now leads by 1 point among Gallup registered voters, 48-47%.

He has also picked up 3 more points among likely voters and is only down by 3 points there, up from a 7 point deficit 2 days ago. He gained a huge 5 points in his approval rating in one day, now up to 53%, I think that's the highest it's been in a while.

I think the last three debates have helped the Democrats.

Obama is strong in early voting not only in Ohio but also Iowa.

This has been a good week in the polls for Obama. I get a kick out of the national media calling the momentum for Romney. I'm seeing just the opposite in the polls, like the 538 guy I see momentum for Obama after the Romney onslaught following that first debate.

I'm going to keep the Obama JHEPI at 55 for today, but that might be a touch conservative. Let's see how those Ohio numbers shake out!

How are things looking in NC, Rob, looks like it's gonna tilt for Romney, eh?

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:30 pm

JimHow wrote:How are things looking in NC, Rob, looks like it's gonna tilt for Romney, eh?

Yes I think it will tilt for Romney.
We have a very interesting race for Governor.
A good ole boy Democrat from down east rural area against a younger progressive Rebulican who used to be mayor of Charlotte.
What's funny is he can't say Charlotte on television as that will not go over down east. Charlotte is Satan's playground. HAHAHA
Also he made many wonder when he aired a commercial implying we should start fracking and drilling offshore here in NC.
They pulled the ad pretty quickly.

My daughter gets to vote for the first time.
I made sure to let her know it was an important right and vote based on her reasoned evaluation of the issues.
Also she shouldn't feel compelled to tell or explain how she voted.

Claret · Post by **Claret** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:32 am

The Mittster was in Reno again today. Nevada is geting alot of attention for our measley 4 votes.

Northern Nevada with its smaller population is more redneck and to the right while Las Vegas has more ex Californians and leans to the left.

The final talley will very interesting.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:40 am

Ohio is everything.

Jay Winton · Post by **Jay Winton** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:32 pm

Obama has pulled out of NC. I watched him on Leno last night-funny and articulate.

JScott · Post by **JScott** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 5:28 pm

Obama has a huge lead in early voting, but off from '08. Ohio is going to be very, very, very close. We are getting carpet bombed with ads and calls. The phone is ringing non-stop. Everyone here is talking about caller ID and no room in the recycling bin from all the mailings. I know people that have now adopted the approach to arbitrarily answer "yes" or "no" to every question asked by any pollster, or to flip coins during the call. I suspect the polls are going to become increasingly meaningless because of a poll-weary populace. We are probably entering a dark period in terms of data.

I'm praying it doesn't come down to Ohio only, frankly. I can't imagine another '00, with the lawyers and the re-counts. If anything, it's far more contentious now than then, and I don't see that kind of scenario playing out well.....

johnz · Post by **johnz** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 6:32 pm

Well . . . I'm really not too excited . . .

What is the point of a vote when the outcome is the same? Both candidates represent the interests of Israel, not the interests of the US. Both candidates represent the interests of the military/security complex, agribusiness, the offshoring corporations, the suppression of unions and workers, the total demise of civil liberty and the US Constitution, which is in the way of unbridled executive power .

In the US today, the power of money rules. Nothing else is in the equation. Why vote to lend your support to the continuation of your own exploitation? Every time Americans vote it is a vote for their own obliteration.

--Gary Rust

AlexR · Post by **AlexR** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:27 pm

Gary,

You wrote "In the US today, the power of money rules".

Not just in the US, my friend.

Alex R.

Chateau Vin · Post by **Chateau Vin** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:09 pm

johnz wrote:Well . . . I'm really not too excited . . .

What is the point of a vote when the outcome is the same? Both candidates represent the interests of Israel, not the interests of the US. Both candidates represent the interests of the military/security complex, agribusiness, the offshoring corporations, the suppression of unions and workers, the total demise of civil liberty and the US Constitution, which is in the way of unbridled executive power .

In the US today, the power of money rules. Nothing else is in the equation. Why vote to lend your support to the continuation of your own exploitation? Every time Americans vote it is a vote for their own obliteration.

--Gary Rust

It's not the best scenario. But if people like you vote, under the given circumstances, you will choose lesser of the two evils. If lesser of the two evils are chosen, atleast you will contribute to the slowing down of exploitation and obliteration...

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:42 pm

johnz wrote:Well . . . I'm really not too excited . . .

What is the point of a vote when the outcome is the same? Both candidates represent the interests of Israel, not the interests of the US. Both candidates represent the interests of the military/security complex, agribusiness, the offshoring corporations, the suppression of unions and workers, the total demise of civil liberty and the US Constitution, which is in the way of unbridled executive power .

In the US today, the power of money rules. Nothing else is in the equation. Why vote to lend your support to the continuation of your own exploitation? Every time Americans vote it is a vote for their own obliteration.

--Gary Rust

I was on the fringes of protest/revolution in the 60's.
I came away with a face full of tear gas and a lump from a billy club.
Then I bugged out as the crowd turned into animals and started burning everything in sight.
I'll stick with voting.

tmas · Post by **tmas** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:04 pm

JimHow wrote:True, Robert, but the national popular vote means nothing.
The only vote that means anything at this point is Ohio.

With today's technology we should be working off the popular vote. I regard it as a true shame that so much of what I consider the America character and it's ideals may be undone by another disastrous 4 years courtesy of Ohio. So I live in NY and my vote is meaningless, while a bunch of block heads in Ohio who don't understand the fact that a managed bankruptcy is a way to save a business may very well re-elect the O man and the hell with the rest of the country and our future.

Not to mention, the time is fast approaching when elections will be a rubber stamping by those who just want to be given as much as possible. With the immigration policies of this country, the percentage of people who want a Daddy Santa Claus government increases with each election cycle and is approaching critical mass.

RDD · Post by **RDD** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:20 pm

tmas wrote:
JimHow wrote:True, Robert, but the national popular vote means nothing.
The only vote that means anything at this point is Ohio.
With today's technology we should be working off the popular vote. I regard it as a true shame that so much of what I consider the America character and it's ideals may be undone by another disastrous 4 years courtesy of Ohio. So I live in NY and my vote is meaningless, while a bunch of block heads in Ohio who don't understand the fact that a managed bankruptcy is a way to save a business may very well re-elect the O man and the hell with the rest of the country and our future.

Not to mention, the time is fast approaching when elections will be a rubber stamping by those who just want to be given as much as possible. With the immigration policies of this country, the percentage of people who want a Daddy Santa Claus government increases with each election cycle and is approaching critical mass.

You'd have to amend the Constitution. And undo the 23d Amendment with gave DC some representation.
Bush liked the Electoral College. Gore not so much.

tmas · Post by **tmas** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:25 pm

RDD wrote:
tmas wrote:
JimHow wrote:True, Robert, but the national popular vote means nothing.
The only vote that means anything at this point is Ohio.
With today's technology we should be working off the popular vote. I regard it as a true shame that so much of what I consider the America character and it's ideals may be undone by another disastrous 4 years courtesy of Ohio. So I live in NY and my vote is meaningless, while a bunch of block heads in Ohio who don't understand the fact that a managed bankruptcy is a way to save a business may very well re-elect the O man and the hell with the rest of the country and our future.

Not to mention, the time is fast approaching when elections will be a rubber stamping by those who just want to be given as much as possible. With the immigration policies of this country, the percentage of people who want a Daddy Santa Claus government increases with each election cycle and is approaching critical mass.
You'd have to amend the Constitution. And undo the 23d Amendment with gave DC some reprensentation.
Bush liked the Electoral College. Gore not so much.

I say amend away. Let each person's vote have equal relevance and the chips fall where they may.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 10:51 pm

Spooked tonight by the ABC poll that has Romney 3 points up. Three days ago Obama was ahead.
It's against all my instincts to base my analysis on Ohio, Iowa, and Wisconsin, but, nonetheless, what has been a Democratic leaning poll throughout the campaign now has Romney ahead. Damn, is this race close. Romney acting like the winner, Obama campaign acting like they need to catch up. That may have nothing to do with reality, but reality has nothing to do with politics. Crazy situation because, while I am struggling to find a scenario where Obama loses the electoral college, my gut instincts tell me Romney has wind to his back. JHEPI: 50. Dead heat.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:17 pm

I'm going to rely heavily from this point on what JScott tells me is happening in Ohio.
Just like I rely on BWE for almost 100% of my wine advice.

We have the quintessential Ohioan, in the quintessential American county in Cincinnati.

Scott! You are like literally at ground zero, I'm like not even being funny! I am being totally serious when I say that, like, your street is going to decide this election!

Tell me! Who is winning this race!
Obama has done well with the early vote.
He has obviously benefitted from the auto industry bailout.
It sounds like the Dems have a better ground game in Ohio.
The polls seem to have Obama ahead by 2-5 points in OH.
Which is pretty amazing to me
Still, can he stave off the Romney onslaught?
I have no idea.

JScott Cardone is going to be like 75% of my decision when I enter my final JHEPI score before the election!

Tom In DC · Post by **Tom In DC** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:34 pm

Be careful what you wish for, tmas. The pols now spend mightily trying to move 2-3% of the voters in the swing states. If they swing the same 2-3% in CA, NY and IL in a popular vote, we'd have a one party system in no time.

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 11:42 pm

I notice Obama is reverting back to that faux-MLK southern drawl in his speeches, we haven't seen that since the 2008 campaign. Maybe it just comes out when he's tired. Still, I wish he would stop it. Barack... You are no MLK! The ONLY time I've seen Obama MLK-like was election night in Chicago in 2008. Just be Barack, Barack. Stop trying to be MLK. You're no MLK!

JimHow · Post by **JimHow** » Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:00 am

You know what is really sad? The greatest president we've had since FDR was JFK. Whether you are Democratic or Republican, there was something you had to love about that administration. I watched the whole 2 hour-plus moon walk of the Apollo 11 astronauts last night. Absolutely astounding. Truly jaw dropping, 43 years later. And that was over 40 years ago! All because of Kennedy. And we blew his head off. What a metaphor for the state of this country! I was at Dealey Plaza a few years back, we'll have to make a visit there and go the 6th Floor Museum when we are in Dallas for BWE '13. It's a great museum / historic landmark, I highly recommend it. You'll be amazed at how close the sniper's nest on the 6th floor is to the street below. A turkey shoot. Unbelievable. Then again, many don't believe. Myself, I believe Oswald was the lone gunman.