Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Last Visit: 24 Aug 2014 Posts: 2181 Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:45 am Post subject: Iowa caucus
How important is the result of the caucuses? Has Obama now really a chance to win the nomination? The papers write that Obama's and Clinton's program is practically identical. So is it a choice between personalities?
And one funny thing abouth the republican candidates: They all look the same to me. Old and grey, male and white. I thought that McCain or Giuliani would be a favorite but now the others have won the Iowa caucus. _________________ Tome of Treasures - #1 resource for collectible role-playing games.
Last edited by Ralf Toth on Fri Jan 04, 2008 1:48 pm; edited 2 times in total
Joined: 12 Nov 2005 Last Visit: 22 Mar 2020 Posts: 4574 Location: In the House of the Cosmic Frog
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 10:37 am Post subject:
It's a delegate system, which means the first few are not must-haves, but it's the momentum that can build for a candidate that is the real goal of campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Old and grey is right, and you should add out-of-touch-with-the-lives-of-working-class-Americans or people-in-other-parts-of-the-world to the list. Anyone who thinks a politician at this level of the game cares about them is dumber than a box of dirt. Both Democrats and Republicans have special interests that guide party thinking. Energy, defense, insurance, and healthcare own the Republican party, so these industries tend to prosper when a Republican is in the White House because a president has 10s of thousands of political appointees into the US government. People from industry get put into positions that affect policy. For Democrats, it's entertainment, the bar association, unions, and high tech. The American political system is about as screwed up as it can get. The two great lines from American history "All men are created equal" and "We the people" have morphed into a placebo. Nobody here really believes that, except kids. Experience teaches differently. Our children are indoctrinated into an American mythology believing hard work will equate with success, which is crapola. The American machine is a labor machine. It is set-up to produce workers and laborers, to keep people working and entertained instead of thinking about how to improve their lives. Most American don't even bother to vote, which means that we are just as susceptible to electing an insane demagogue as any other country on earth. The fourth estate--the press--was given the ability in the Constitution to essentially filter out the losers and crazies from the political process, so that we wouldn't end up in a Shakespearean tragedy. The term 'free press' has been a joke for 50 years now. The bottom line in the United States is the bottom line. Money rules here. It's as simple as that. Everything else is smoke and mirrors. Government is business. Business is government. They are the same. The last thing they want is our attention.
It's a slimy pot, I know, but not all politicians are bad. Local politicians tend to be the best, Republican or Democrat, because they are members of the community and have an investment in it. And that's what keeps us going, that's why America hasn't fallen apart--the small community or communities that exist every town and city in the United States. It's that circle of friends and acquaintances that keeps people alive. It's the last refuge of real humanity that we have left. Friends, family, and neighborhood are the American glue.
What's it like in Germany? _________________ "This is cool."
Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Last Visit: 24 Aug 2014 Posts: 2181 Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 2:05 pm Post subject:
What's it like? Basically the same, only we have more "options" to choose from. And our chancellor is already female hahaha...
Western democracies all suffer from the same problems. They're not really democracies in the true meaning of the word. The swiss have some plebicitary elements in their constitution, but we haven't. It's one vote every four years and they call it democracy. IMHO democracy is the system they used in the city states of the ancient Greeks. We are far away from that. _________________ Tome of Treasures - #1 resource for collectible role-playing games.
Joined: 12 Nov 2005 Last Visit: 22 Mar 2020 Posts: 4574 Location: In the House of the Cosmic Frog
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 6:02 pm Post subject:
I think one of the funniest things about America is that our altrusim is the face we market to the rest of the world--democracy, equality, religious freedom, opportunity, etc. The immigrants who come here believe that's what we're about and so they work very hard to belong, and yet many people here complain about the immigrants. It's a circus. And technical labor? Every day we go to India or southeast Asia for skilled computer labor and yet refuse to improve our own educational system to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The service industry jobs are ok though. In a 100 years there will only be those who have and those who work for those who have. Our middle class is dying.
How does education function in Germany? Is there class division? _________________ "This is cool."
Joined: 11 Sep 2004 Last Visit: 24 Aug 2014 Posts: 2181 Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Posted: Sat Jan 05, 2008 9:37 pm Post subject:
tfm wrote:
How does education function in Germany? Is there class division?
Glgnfz could tell you a lot about how it works. He's got inside information - he is also teaching. _________________ Tome of Treasures - #1 resource for collectible role-playing games.
Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Last Visit: 10 Jun 2015 Posts: 210 Location: France
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:54 pm Post subject:
tfm wrote:
I think one of the funniest things about America is that our altrusim is the face we market to the rest of the world--democracy, equality, religious freedom, opportunity, etc. The immigrants who come here believe that's what we're about and so they work very hard to belong, and yet many people here complain about the immigrants. It's a circus. And technical labor? Every day we go to India or southeast Asia for skilled computer labor and yet refuse to improve our own educational system to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The service industry jobs are ok though. In a 100 years there will only be those who have and those who work for those who have. Our middle class is dying.
How does education function in Germany? Is there class division?
Your vision is pessimistic, but I think you are right.
There is more social redistribution in France and less 'severe' poverty (and certainly less 'huge' wealth) but the problems are the same.
About education, we try to have a very egalitarian system, University are free (for the moment), pupils should not being separated into bad / good classes. Technically, officially, you can born poor and become high-graduated if you are hardworking. That what we call 'the social lift'
But it is often out of order.
Anyway the general level is going worst... (look at my english skills ).
Finland has a very good reputation in Europe for its education.
Just my 2 cents.
Or in french, 'mon grain de sel' [my grain of salt]
Joined: 12 Nov 2005 Last Visit: 22 Mar 2020 Posts: 4574 Location: In the House of the Cosmic Frog
Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 6:29 pm Post subject:
Quote:
Your vision is pessimistic
Yeah, and I hate it. I'm a father of three--the future must be better than the present. All we can do is give our kids examples of what a solid, loving relationship looks like, teach them how not-to-be suckers in a world that seems to be interested in creating them, and of course, have fun!!! Right now is our time and their time. Japan became an economic giant because in part of its educational system. India is now producing some of the best educated people in the world. My kids are in school about three weeks less than when I was a student. At colleges and universities across the country remedial courses (the 090s) are being offered en masse to get kids caught up to begin a regular freshman semester. Most of my students cannot write a basic essay the first day of class. It doesn't bode well for our future. The foreign students I've met have always been better prepared academically, especially the east European and the Asian. _________________ "This is cool."
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I'm a father of three--the future must be better than the present. All we can do is give our kids examples of what a solid, loving relationship looks like, teach them how not-to-be suckers in a world that seems to be interested in creating them, and of course, have fun!!! Right now is our time and their time. Japan became an economic giant because in part of its educational system. India is now producing some of the best educated people in the world. My kids are in school about three weeks less than when I was a student. At colleges and universities across the country remedial courses (the 090s) are being offered en masse to get kids caught up to begin a regular freshman semester. Most of my students cannot write a basic essay the first day of class. It doesn't bode well for our future. The foreign students I've met have always been better prepared academically, especially the east European and the Asian.