I don't understand how getting shot down, and being captured for 5 years means he has military or leadership experience.

Bronto - I've read a book called Voices from Vietnam, composed almost entirely by quotes, many from POWs. They said they tortured and killed the ones who didn't give out info.

He has been in situations where its life or death, and has survived them. What has Senator Obama done?


Once again, this doesn't mean that all of them gave out information.

Just because a brigade of 10 men get captured and 8 of them die because they don't give out information doesn't mean the the last 2 gave out information to survive.

Senator Obama has turned the lives around for thousands in south side Chicago, just to name an action of his.

Let me guess, African Americans?

What do you have against helping negroes?

I don't personally have anything against African American people. I just think that if you can't help yourself, whats the point of asking for it? I think its bullshit that AA's still fall on the default that White people screwed us over back ~200 years ago, and now we have to get them back, or at least thats the way I look at it.

I was watching some shit on Opra and her and Chris Rock were discussing how they have become so rich and what have you. They said things along the lines of "We've made it", and other things like by default they start out in life less then White people.

Some may say that this is true, but I say, You only get in life what you want. If you don't want something bad enough you won't get it. Now I'm not implying that this is easy. You can't just want some money, so you go and rob a bank. This is the incorrect way of going about this situation. You have to work hard for the shit in life you want. If you're too God damn lazy to do shit for yourself, then you can't complain.

On the other hand, I also feel that some people in life try and try and do things the right way and work ~10hr days and other difficult shit like this, and get kicked in the teeth.

For this group of people, I have compassion for, but for the people that try to get a job and fail, and then just give up, and live off the system, they can all go to hell as far as I'm concerned.

Yeah, I know that this might seem racist but I truly am not.

Wanting a better life requires knowing that there is something better out there. Many poor African American kids (and kids of all races, for that matter) are ignored by their parents, forced to stare at walls and crappy TV shows all day, get exposed to violence, drug usage, and starvation all the time, and they build their frame of reference for life itself around those things. There are many people that never realize they have options.

Of course, I'm also all too well acquainted with people who will slap your hand away when you try to help them. Some people are screwed up, no doubt, but you must also consider that most of these people don't have the "bird's eye view" that more affluent citizens have.

Like I said, You only get what you want. If you want to become a drug dealer and end up in jail until you get caught and sent to Federal Prison or killed by someone else because your a drug dealer, then what more can I say?

Its a never ending cycle. The parents raise their children to grow up and have kids at a really young age (~15) and then their lives are fucked up because they don't have money/full education/or motivational skills to get a job and make money to support their child. The dads usually walk away, or end up swearing to there grave that the "baby aint mines" or what have you so this automatically places the family in yet another trough where the parents can't afford to provide for there own child, and yet the mother of the new baby can't afford to provide for her own baby.

This cycle keeps on continuing for multiple generations and then what you have is a whole family born and raised in about 50 years. There all not much better (economically) then there kids or even there grand kids. Can you blame them? This is all they were brought up on.

Then you must ask yourself this question: Should you teach a man to fish, or should you give them fish? If you teach them to do shit on their own, they can keep doing this, by themselves and teach there children to do the same. If you give them fish, they get lazy and don't do shit for themselves. This is why the Government has specific programs for these groups of people, and there called Food Stamps (EBT) and or WIC and a bunch of other bullshit that us tax payers get sucked out of our pay checks to help.

It's the a never ending cycle because we do nothing to change it, Public education in U.S. is shit, to get a good job you need to go to college, and to go to college you need loads of money which poor people don't have. We can't blame poor people for being poor cause It's the systems fault for not giving them better options.

Sure, we do absolutely nothing at all, what so ever to help out African Americans.

Those welfare programs were created during the great depression when many honest, hardworking people could not get a job because of the mangled economy at the time. It saved the nation and enabled it to be ready when WW2 came. Most of them weren't scummy, lazy, lowlifes. I do know there are some people who take advantage of the system, but many really do need help, as well. With the economy in the state it's in right now, I don't know if supporting the abolition of social programs is the wisest thing to do when honest, hard working people such as yourself may find themselves starving and in need of help.

Jeez, someone doesn't usually have this much prejudice unless it was either crammed down their throats by parents (or media figures that they think are cool) or they had a really bad experience with one of "those people." Try to see things from others' perspectives.

Hey, I don't have anything against African Americans. I understand what you mean by looking at this situation through the eyes of the people in need, but for those of them who get things handed to them and don't really need help can just shit in their hat for all I care.

I just feel strongly that how if I wanted something (not having my parents foot the bill) I would go out and get a job. Its not that hard. As of now, I have two jobs. No real need for both of them, just the fact that more work = more money. I want to drive a nice car to school next year for my Senior year, so I made the decision to get two jobs and work my ass off. Is it fun waking up at 6am in the morning, working until 2:30pm mowing lawns, getting home, taking a shower and changing to go to work at Price Chopper from 3:30pm usually to about 9:30pm, no, but when I'm all said and done with, and I'm driving my BMW 330xi to school next year, I will know my hard work has payed off.

Having goals and striving to attain them is quite admirable. However, you have your parents to give you a place to live, food to eat, and clothes to wear while you focus your income on your car. What if had no parents or other relatives that could help you? Most people with two jobs are struggling to pay their rent and bills because they don't have help. And it's not their fault. They come from generations of poverty. Can they truly be held responsible? They have to work their asses off just to keep their heads (and their family's) above the water, much less work towards an expensive goal.

The reason I keep going over this is because I think I've detected some insensitivity from you in regards to the impoverished. It's not like they exist just to be a drain on the upper and middle class. What if you suddenly had the rug pulled out from under you before you had a chance to go to college or get a decent job? Is that your fault? Do you deserve to shit in your hat because your luck took a turn for the worse? Abolishing social programs would really stick it to people that do fall despite their best efforts. No one is infallible, and destroying safety nets is not a good idea.

Indeed. I agree with what you say but if we abolish these social programs that help these people keep their heads (and their family's) above the water then it would end further population from this so called struggling group. Yeah I understand that shit happens. Hell, for all I know, both my parents can be killed by some armed robber at a gas station and I would then be in the hot seat making decisions on my own.

Yes again, people would then be starving on the streets and dying left and right, but in the long run, the less people living off the system, the more money the Government can spend on important things.

Man that really sounds like I'm a cold-blooded prick...

My logic: The less lower class people we have creating life just to live the same dreadful feat that their parents had to live, the better. Right? If we can lessen the amount of what I like to call "Babies having babies" then in the long run, social programs would be relieved of the masses and masses of people that sign up each year.

I prefer misinformed.

From my point of view, can you really blame me? I don't have things handed to me, or rarely do. The needs in life are what I get. Food/shelter/water, ect... I buy my own shoes, I buy my own clothes, ect... I know it would be a lot harder if I didn't have parents backing me the whole way but still, it can be done.

Well Im fine with this, as Christianity isn't defined as a religion. Jesus said that good religion was just giving to the poor and feeding the needy, and another thing, I think it was keeping the sabbath holy, which means don't turn the church's Sunday into a market, or a strip club, and it means you need to honor the sabbath.

So religion nowadays is defined a strict set of pointless rules (I hate religion, it's pointless), and Christianity is NOT a set of rules, it is a relationship with God. So for those you of who say keep religion out of the government, or religion sucks, I agree with you because a set of rules created by some random guy is only a point of view, and points of views are flawed and vary from person to person. That's why we have the bible >.>

Not compared to other countries no.

Brontobyte, since when are all African Americans favoring Barack Obama? I mean, EcHo, for one, is against Obama. And I know many African Americans that are against Obama as well. In return, it also does not mean that all Whites and Asians will favor for McCain. And I've seen Obama quoted emails that are taken from people that are former republican, in their 40s to 80s. I find that ridiculous to accuse Obama asking for teenagers and African Americans to vote for Obama just because he's African American himself.