B
Billy
Oh goodie.....discussion time...
Oh goodie.....discussion time...
I've just voted YES....hope y'all don't mind an outsider getting involved in this little discussion of yours, but being from Northern Ireland, religion and politics are subjects that we find difficult to leave alone.
Maybe Willie Cunningham has the answer to why things got a little outta hand on the thread, and why Ross finds himself in the dilemma of whether to keep the discussion open or cut it off. Willie is a radio presenter from Ohio and he was featured in a documentary on BBC TV the night before the election. It was entitled 'The dirty road to the White House' and showed the real story of the raz-ma-taz and the dirty-tricks, etc. of what happens leading up to the 4 yearly event.
When asked why there was so much interest in this particular election, Willie replied that it was because y'all had two men who were prepared to really FIGHT against each other. 'We all love a fight here in the States,' he said....'that's why we don't like the game of cricket, did you ever see two cricket teams get in a fist-fight?' 'That's why boxing is the most popular sport in the States. Bush and Kerry were prepared to do everything except actually hit each other.'
We are all inclined to give our support to what we believe in and to try to knock down what we don't want to support. I see the 'Four year' thread as simply an opportunity for folks to vent or brag, depending on whether they are Democrats or Republicans. They will each do it in their own way, but obviously they will be influenced in some way by the tactics of the two men they were voting for. I think it is therapeutic to do this and so I voted yes. When communication breaks down, everything ends up in a vacuum so to quote the slogan of British Telecom 'It's good to talk' and it's good to talk about it. But, the harder the fight, the harder the autopsy will be afterwards.
It's the same the world over. Here in UK and Ireland we get all hot under the collar about elections as well. We assume that if the other side wins that life will never be the same again. In reality it doesn't really make a lot of difference. Politicians are really no different from the rest of us, they just have to fight a little harder to get and to keep their jobs. Don't expect either side to work any miracles for you, the Guy who did those died 2000 years ago. And don't ever believe anything that a Politician tells you - that way you won't be disappointed.
Despite the deep divisions, it was pretty obvious that Bush would win again. Kerry didn't have the 'star' quality that ole George has worked on over the past four years. As an outsider who didn't have any axe to grind about party policies, I simply approached it as a personality contest and George Bush won hands down from day one. He had the crowd appeal and he used it to his advantage. He hasn't really become involved in local politics here like Bill Clinton did, but he and Tony Blair are big friends and maybe when they're thru with Iraq they can set to work on another attempt at fixing Ireland.
Being realistic. four years down the line you'll find that not a lot has changed and you'll probably wonder why anybody even bothered to get excited about the events of the past week. All that this does is to stimulate our minds and to make us think and consider.....as long as we 'think' of each other's feelings and be 'considerate' then the entire exercise is healthy......
....and always remember that when it comes to Politicians, at least one half of the lies they tell are not true.
Cheers, (and I'll vote for 'Bush'-mills any day of the week.)
Oh goodie.....discussion time...
I've just voted YES....hope y'all don't mind an outsider getting involved in this little discussion of yours, but being from Northern Ireland, religion and politics are subjects that we find difficult to leave alone.
Maybe Willie Cunningham has the answer to why things got a little outta hand on the thread, and why Ross finds himself in the dilemma of whether to keep the discussion open or cut it off. Willie is a radio presenter from Ohio and he was featured in a documentary on BBC TV the night before the election. It was entitled 'The dirty road to the White House' and showed the real story of the raz-ma-taz and the dirty-tricks, etc. of what happens leading up to the 4 yearly event.
When asked why there was so much interest in this particular election, Willie replied that it was because y'all had two men who were prepared to really FIGHT against each other. 'We all love a fight here in the States,' he said....'that's why we don't like the game of cricket, did you ever see two cricket teams get in a fist-fight?' 'That's why boxing is the most popular sport in the States. Bush and Kerry were prepared to do everything except actually hit each other.'
We are all inclined to give our support to what we believe in and to try to knock down what we don't want to support. I see the 'Four year' thread as simply an opportunity for folks to vent or brag, depending on whether they are Democrats or Republicans. They will each do it in their own way, but obviously they will be influenced in some way by the tactics of the two men they were voting for. I think it is therapeutic to do this and so I voted yes. When communication breaks down, everything ends up in a vacuum so to quote the slogan of British Telecom 'It's good to talk' and it's good to talk about it. But, the harder the fight, the harder the autopsy will be afterwards.
It's the same the world over. Here in UK and Ireland we get all hot under the collar about elections as well. We assume that if the other side wins that life will never be the same again. In reality it doesn't really make a lot of difference. Politicians are really no different from the rest of us, they just have to fight a little harder to get and to keep their jobs. Don't expect either side to work any miracles for you, the Guy who did those died 2000 years ago. And don't ever believe anything that a Politician tells you - that way you won't be disappointed.
Despite the deep divisions, it was pretty obvious that Bush would win again. Kerry didn't have the 'star' quality that ole George has worked on over the past four years. As an outsider who didn't have any axe to grind about party policies, I simply approached it as a personality contest and George Bush won hands down from day one. He had the crowd appeal and he used it to his advantage. He hasn't really become involved in local politics here like Bill Clinton did, but he and Tony Blair are big friends and maybe when they're thru with Iraq they can set to work on another attempt at fixing Ireland.
Being realistic. four years down the line you'll find that not a lot has changed and you'll probably wonder why anybody even bothered to get excited about the events of the past week. All that this does is to stimulate our minds and to make us think and consider.....as long as we 'think' of each other's feelings and be 'considerate' then the entire exercise is healthy......
....and always remember that when it comes to Politicians, at least one half of the lies they tell are not true.
Cheers, (and I'll vote for 'Bush'-mills any day of the week.)
