HopefulFuture

Ok, non political, but politically related. I have completed my ND job. Could stay here, plenty of work, but winter is coning and there are jobs further south. Pay wont be the same but cost of livibg offsets that. I'm thinking TN, AL, or LA. I most likely won't be coming back to WNY to live, so I'm looking at lifestyles in other areas combined with nature beauty. TN has my eye so far. Eastern.

Was offered a position in Houston yesterday. After speaking with a close friend I turned it down. He's actually removed his family from there as a safety precaution. Over reaction, or just taking preventative measures? You decide.

Samson goes down. There is 0 reason to keep him here.

No Again no, but, nukes are an exception to this. The good of the many out weigh the good of the few or one. Correct. True you cannot kill an idea, however, Germany and Japan were poor examples. We did in point of fact, kill thse ideas. It was called tota war fare with no limitations on rules of engagement. Unconditional surrender was the policy that was in play. Sadly, it will come down to kill oer be killed. I say its time for unrestricted war fare. It's us or them, I pick us. Let's roll!

Send him down. Let him eat minutes for 1 more year in juniors.

Actually pastajoe, I don't read, watch nor subscribe to either of the political parties propaganda machines. Here, try reading this for some objective reporting, it may help you to remember what real journalism was before the age of cable news stations. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/08/29/irs-obamacare-missing-emails-epa-transparency-congressional-investigation-column/14743175/

Just an FYI for all. There is now concrete evidence of the IRS being used as a political tool in the most recent past elections. Yes, by the Democrats none the less. You should all really be very very deeply concerned by this. I have already contacted multiple representatives demanding answers to this issue, might I suggest you all take the same course of action. Applying pressure is the only way to even attempt to force the truth out, at least from every day citizens stand point. This is a very serious matter and not one that should be taken lightly in the slightest.

You may be correct. It's hard to say really. The one thing that is known is that air strikes alone aren't going to get it done. It's going to take a ground force to go in there and begin the process of clearing out these towns and areas where ISIS has a strangle hold on. That is going to require blood be spilled by the force that will do it. I mentioned pages ago, early on about the war on terror, and I mean pages ago. This war will not end. There are going to be groups popping up and they will ultimately have to be dealt with as they take to terror as a method for a means to an end. It will last beyond my life time, and most likely beyond my childrens. No economic increase in living, no stabilization of nations in that region of the world is going to stop this from happening any time soon. So what to do is the question on long term strategy. Put together an international force to deal with it is one possibility. In the end, I'm sure there are more than several avenues of ideas on this, but, we are at war, have been since long before 9/11. The world is still very much a dangerous place, nothing has changed much in that regard. I'm not overly concerned about Russia in Ukraine, yet. I am concerned however that Putin verbally states they are a nuclear power and not to be messed with, and I'm also concerned the Chinese buzzing American military aircraft in international air space. I was in the service during the end years of the cold war, and Russian and US ships would play that same game that the Chinese are playing now. The problem I have with it is China's more than obvious moves and claims in efforts to expand their size via contesting islands in the pacific. Obama is an after thought to myself. He will be gone in due time, and another will take his place. Most likely Hillary, although that is not assured, but, the Republicans have no real threat to her at this time and a 3rd party cannot get any traction in the elections primarily because of the American people enslaving themselves to the 2 party system with favorites. I harken back to the Ron Paul days. He ran on the Republican ticket, but was a Libertarian for sure. Probably the last real hope this nation had in an ethical, honest, true leader. We screwed the pooch and put this supposed Constitutional scholar in office. And the sands of time keep on rolling forward, towards the same type of leadership we've had for a while now, what I like to call the bridge to nowhere.

Ok, I'll bite. Remind me again why any American citizen should back either of the major parties given their record over the past 100 years, yea, I'll leave it at 100, even though there is discussion to be had beyond that. You make a statement, make no justification via facts on the statement, and attempt in that statement to say that my views are far off the beaten path. Right or left, it doesn't matter which way you portend to exude my comments, the point being is that you generalized and didn't back it with any facts. The fact that I am a Constitutional citizen and believe in neither the current form of 2 party monopolized governing or the fact that I firmly believe that historical lessons should have ingrained a resolve upon our nation as to the dangers we face and the subsequent opinion on how to face those dangers via those lessons should at the very least give some "real" ammunition to counter my stance. Other wise, saying blanket statements is no more or less saying "hey, I don't agree with, I don't know why, I just don't". So, where is the context of your counter point?

I too concur with both of your statements here. Once again, I am praying the American people wake up and take back their government. Make what once was right and just happen again. Until then, I feel many of us that do pay attention to what is going on both at home and abroad are in a helpless position to sit in the stands as spectators while these insane policies are continued, to the detriment of ourselves in some cases.

Yea, sorry, just wasn't sure if you were aware. I found some really good oil industry reading material while I was traveling the country as an electrician. As you can see, I read a great deal. It took me a bit as well to separate the factual and the personal unconfirmed stories. But yea, I was under the impression you were saying the CIA's role was mitigated to a lesser role. You know, I don't really know why The British Empire hasn't taken the brunt of the situation concerning the Middle East. It appears that since WW2 and the coming of age of America as a super power the blame just inherently falls on our government. Not that this nation is innocent by any stretch of the imagination, and as you can see, that pisses me off as a citizen. We are supposed to be the good guys, wear white hats and ensure the damsel in distress and the child are safe. How far from the truth that is. Teach our citizens morale codes all the while performing acts that are 180 from those teachings. I digress however, the conversation was on the Middle East. Well, unfortunately, unless I see a real awakening from the citizens in this nation, stop electing from the 2 party monopoly that has formed and elect leaders that actually back their stands on the issues of the day that are common sense I just don't see it ending. Which is why I feel myself, my family, my friends, you, the other board members are all in danger that is not necessary. I didn't like the Iraq war one bit, who the hell can back a war based on lies. But the Afghan campaign, I have no second thoughts on. I guess I'm asking myself, what's the end game here. How can we achieve harmony in the region while satisfying all parties involved. And why should we even care. Oil is the answer over all for the care question. Then, we can narrow it down to 2 paths to take, sit by and let another 9/11 occur, drawing us back in to the region yet again. That kind of strategy appears to be an endless cycle, to me in any event. No, I like option 2, stick it in em, balls deep. I prefer to get ahead of the curve on this one, boots on the ground and all.

To suggest that the British were solely to blame is not accurate. Why then would the British SAS branch need the CIA? They didn't. What they needed was the market to dump the oil in to, and that market was the US market. And it wasn't just British oil companies who benefited from the coup. Sinclair oil, Socony-Vacuum Oil (after the coup was then known hence forth as Mobile oil, I'm sure your familiar with that name) and British-Dutch oil known as Royal Dutch Shell. 2 of the 3 firms to benefit from the oil windfall were American. And oil flowed predominately to American markets following the coup. There is much that can be said about the coup, but one thing is certain, the United States led the way via the CIA, not the British, although they were involved to a much lesser extent.

Lebensraum as it is known in German was actually his policy dating back to 1933. I do openly admit he claimed the east as the way to go and the Prussian wars were a part and parcel of that policy deveolpment. I stated he used that as the reasoning for his endeavors, and I'm correct. I don't see what your contesting here. Once again, listen to more Churchill. The man may have been an instrument in the cabinet that drew up some of the modern day borders of the Middle East, but he was dead on, bulls eye correct in his assessment of the Nazi situation as early as 1932. I think you pointed out the Middle East situation while leaving out his ability to fore warn the dangers of such an aggressive policy for a nations stance is all. Appeasement, on any level, in either the Russian/Ukraine or the ISIS situation is just not reality. We must not waver, there is more than just individual lives at stake here. There is history to be used as direct evidence in the face of either the lack of leadership as well as action. We should never lull ourselves into believing the world is going to stand pat with the status quo after WW2. Our guard must be ever vigilant, our policies must be ones of fair but firm unwavering commitment to stamp out those that would use aggression to further bring destructive forces to bear on a global stage. And, to myself in any event, that means standing firm, try diplomacy at first, but in both of these situations, that is proving what was already proved decades ago, futile. The time to act isn't after we've awakened to the dangers that face us, the time to act is when that danger presents itself, even on a global stage. I do however agree with your broad view of the situation in the Middle East and it's over all foundations of beginnings. Indeed, the British Empire is almost solely to blame for the tribal strife we have witnessed these past many decades, save the Israel situation. That is neither here nor there in these modern times however. Whether or not you subscribe to what I am about to say I leave to you, but, We are faced with a choice, kill or be killed. It's that simple unfortunately. There is no middle ground here. No ability to find a common thread of connection. Groups like ISIS need to be exterminated if we are to continue the forward march away from barbarism and toward a more connected future of our children and our childrens children. In the end, Churchills "Britain Must Arm" Speech fits appropriately in these times unfortunately. There is no confusion on Iran. The CIA, not MI-5 over threw the elected government of Iran to install the Shaw. The United States is directly responsible for that. There is no getting around it. As I stated, shame on us for not being more involved in our own government and loosing the morale high ground in that situation.

Completely agree Waldo. People like to support this President with a great deal of non sense. Come on all, use your common sense here. We aren't out of the woods yet on either the economic nor the foreign events, not by a long shot. What? He wasn't OUR bastard. That is utter bull ######. He was a tool used against the Iranians, not against terrorism. And by the way, the Iranians in the 70's, they had a right to be mad as hell at us. We over threw their government and installed a puppet dictator in the name of OIL. Out of all of the nations in the Middle East, Iran has the most sound morale position to stand on against us. We ###### over the nation for large oil interests, in return, that dictator abused his own population. Shame on us, shame on America for letting the morale high ground be lost to large money interests. And people try to use multiple excuses to the contrary, but the facts are the facts and cannot be denied. Unacceptable. We have to go back in if those groups cannot get the job done against ISIS. They must be wiped out of the region, and not just Iraq. I see appeasement here, not a good sign. You should listen to more Churchill. The Ukrainian situation is an interesting one to be sure. What are the true objectives of Putin? Oil has already been secured, a while back. What about other minerals? Russia doesn't lack on what Ukraine has. Just a reminder, Hitler started off claiming living space. In Putins case, what is it I wonder.

I've seen Ken Burn's doc, it's good. But I would like to address the bolded for a moment and move in to it with a response to that. If you will. The choice never has to be what you put forth as a question there. It's either your legal to vote and vote, or not. There is no and there can never be, a gray area on this subject. To invite such is to invite a potential collapse of the process it self, and before you think the problem isn't that large, let me explain. When you invite one bad vote, you invite them all. I mean, really man, at the end of the day, this is our way of life we are talking about. I'm not about to let it be submitted to any illegally sway. And when I say any, I mean 0. But then, as American citizens, you all should have the same thought process. It shouldn't even be questioned. 0 tolerance for any attempt to illegally affect our way of life in so far as the law of the land. That's where it should stand. There is no excuse, none, 0, that should permit other wise. And just so we are clear here, I'm talking about actually going so far as to turn those in, if you know of any, that have or are attempting to illegally inject into the system a non legal means. It's your responsibility as a citizen. As i've stated from the beginning, your personal responsibility and accountability is everything for this system of government to work, from the people that are elected on down to the poorest of voters. Failure to do so is a failure of the nation as a whole, and that failure is clearly on display in recent history. No individual that has the legal right to vote by the standards established by the Constitution shall be infringed. It is the core of who we are as a Republic. When you speak of possibly omitting individuals due to education , homelessness or disabilities, those to me are not reasons to deny the vote. Education can be solved by ones self. There are public places that allow you to educate yourself without much to any cost, public library for example. Homelessness should never be a reason to deny the vote. So you've fallen on hard times, sorry, we are taking your right to change that away? Come on man. Disabilities I can see being a reason if and only if it is common knowledge that the individual does not have the mental capacity for self thought. Other wise, it should still be a green light, as they are citizens as well. In the end, it all comes back to what I've been saying, responsibility with accountability. This nations citizenry overwhelming fails on that end in recent times. The nations forces may march in unison, they have but to be combined in order to do so. But, in doing so, there has to be a real, tangible pull within the individual in order for them to understand that they need to be abreast of the current situations, education and self thought are a part of that process. Then they need to apply that in not only the vote, but in their daily lives, how they live, what values they choose and what course of actions they take that will affect their childrens mindset for future generations to come.

Foligno. He is the key to me. NHL experience, he's gritty, he's tough and he's proven he can pot the puck when given linemates to play with that can show him the refined side of the game and his role in it. To me, the Stafford, Ennis, Foligno line is critical. But as a player, what he learns from playing LW with those players could prove critical for a scoring, power forward, fighting, 3rd line LW'er. As for make or break time, it's Hodgson. He needs to show he can center a 2nd/3rd scoring line by upping that face off percentage, increasing play making abilities through assists and learning a defensive game that suits his purpose. As for the future, It's all about Girgensons. I see him becoming the pillar of a center if he can control the face off dot, much like Hodgson to that end. But, more importantly, it's his attitude, his drive, his determination that seals the deal for him as the 2nd line center position. He can score, with flare, he can hit, he can control the flow of a game. This year, it's his time to shine 82 games. Let us pray he does so.

Just an FYI, There is most likely going to be a Constitutional Convention convened early next year on the balanced budget proposal. Officially, as it stands now, 33 states have submitted and not relinquished their votes to progress forward. Michigan being the latest earlier this year. Ohio withdrew, but a family member of mine who has peers in state government there is saying they are going to pass it again by the end of the year. That would bring the number of state legislative bodies calling for a Constitutional Convention on a balanced budget amendment to 34, the magic number. Would be something to behold in our life time, a Constitutional Convention initiated by the states. Rare, very rare indeed. Seems there is some very real legitimate fears on the currency value and the continued debt and deficit situations. Should be interesting to see where this goes.

I love that movie. Wish they would be booked for Christmas at the HC.

I am aware of issues with voting on the national stage. I myself was a citizen of Utah in 2008 and voted on the local, state and national platforms. I waited in line in Provo, Utah for approximately 3 hours. I am Native American/Caucasian mix, I was making about 3k a week back then as a journeyman electrician at the Lake Utah Power Plant project. So while I wasn't poor nor a minority I did have a waiting period to get into the polls. The reason I tell you this is because I agree with your take on the situation when it comes to the polls. Simple solution, open more polling places. As to why that is not happening, might I suggest you write your local, state and federal representatives to find out why. That is a start. You see, voicing the problem amongst peers and friends is one thing, getting actively involved to determine a core problem from the information gathered and push for the appropriate actions to rectify the situation is something else altogether. The question I have for you is this............ Are you prepared to take on your responsibilities as a citizen and see it through to the end, no matter the duration of time, obstacles in your path and dealings with your representatives in a mature, responsible manner? If you are, then welcome aboard. Because when you do those things, you are participating the way the system was intended for you to. Be a part of it, the very document which lays the law of the land by which we live under depends on it. I'm full aware of what the founders wrote, I've stated many times, in this thread, in other forums as well, on the founders. If your really interested in digging in to who we are, as a people, as a nation, I might even suggest you go to a certain website where Constitutional minded individuals from all walks of life shoot the breeze on a variety of founders issues, supreme court goodies and other various conversations with Constitutional attorney's, scholars and so on. I believe you'll find the conversations fascinating, fun, educational and friendly, for the most part. I'll address the comment on Georgia, although I really believe it is lowering all of our standards to do so. But, I can assure you, you will not be satisfied with my response and you will attempt to deflect. Most do, but in the end, facts are facts and they do not lie when they are factual facts :P But, here we go................... Georgia's governor did not pass this law, he signed it in to law, but the executive branch is not the laws author, merely a collaborative branch of government in it's implementation. The law was passed by the legislative branch of government in Georgia. Now, we should be able to agree upon that. Let's move beyond that though, let's get to the core issue of it all...................... While the law is an attempt to subvert the intentions of the ACA, I would rather you question the situation in this frame of thought, if you would please........... First, ask yourself, why did the federal law allow a loophole like this to exist? Once you determine that, what can be done to close the loophole? Once you've determined that, is there support at the federal level to close that loophole and is it constitutional? Once you have those answers, things will become very clear to you. In the end, you just have to submit yourself to the fact that not all Americans agree with the ACA as you do. In light of that, does that make them less American? Because they have a differing view point of the subject? I cannot believe you, as a red blooded American, would be so inclined as to have your views forced on others, that would be akin to saying you don't mind having others views forced on you. And mind you, when I say forced, were not talking about mere conversations here, we are talking about the implementation of law in this great nation. You see, once you get past the hate and venom being spewed by citizens, groups, political parties, you'll find that there really are concerned citizens on the opposite side of the issue from yourself and those concerns, although they may vary, carry no less weight than your support of an issue.

You answered your own question, and my stance on it remains unwavering. It's Constitutional, therefore, There is no other point to make here, it's the law. I don't see my stance side stepping anything, however, I do see you attempting to provoke a response from myself that will deviate from my original stance. That won't happen. EDIT: While I do agree with you photo ID's won't stop all voter fraud, it's a layer of protection to the process itself. The process, above all else, should be protected, while at the same time, taking in to consideration the abilities of the citizens to achieve those protections. Believe or not, I am for state ID's being given for free to those that cannot afford them. This is only common sense and helps involve all in the process. I'm not without a reasonable stance here, there should be no hindrances, no matter the fraud protection, that prevents legal citizens from voting. As a matter of fact, I'm a proponent of this and heavily encourage all to participate while the governments at all levels ensure they have the ability to do so.

Since when are states beholding to the Federal government to implement programs with state money for Federal programs not approved at the state level? My issue isn't with the fact that people view this as a low ball move by conservatives at the state level in Georgia, my issue is with the fact that the Federal government has no authority to tell states how to spend it's budgetary funds.

1. I didn't read the full article icontent originally. Openly admit to it. 2. Passing a law on state employees is a states right, they are not federal employees. The ACA is a federal program and has been put forth to the population via Federal information ways, it's not the states responsibility to do so. The excuse that the law keeps states citizens ignorant of a Federal law is a red herring. Oh, and by the way, the Declaration of Independence, while masterfully written, is not a law, it's a declaration of reasons for a war. As for education being a pillar of the states and nation, yes, I completely agree, but then again, neither the states nor the federal governments have yet to implement a systematic education of this nations populace in the K thru 12 grades. So I'm going to say both levels of government fail on that front. 3. Please point to specific laws in Georgia that are currently in use that prevent the poor from voting. I'd like to digest why the Constitutionality of those laws have not been made known to the nations citizens. As far as I can tell, as of June 25th, 2014, only 7 states have photo ID laws at the polls, and it clearly states in each of these laws that it is to prevent voter fraud, of which we have documented proof has occurred in elections. So, tell me why again this is not a good idea, protecting the election process? 4. I can't help it if people keep voting democrats or republicans into office. It is their own dam fault for not being heavily vested in a process that actually needs the citizens heavily vested in the process to work properly. And the 2 job raising children excuse is horse ###### to me. I worked 2 jobs and raised 2 children and still was and am involved in the process by educating myself, with out much of an issue I might add. That dog don't hunt. It's every citizens responsibility to be accountable for their participation. Surely your not suggesting that a majority of the citizens in this nation don't know they can vote? Are you? 5. A government didn't pass a law to keep it's citizens ignorant of rights they have, they passed a law stating no resources from that level of government will be used to do so. There is a difference.

I'll decline an opinion on the situation in Ferguson in so far as the Brown shooting is concerned until all of the facts are in. So far, I'm only hearing from one party involved in that with official statements via attorneys. As far as the policing policies go in that incidents after math, I concur with those who view the militarization of local police forces is exceedingly out of control and due to that process rights are being violated. It's a situation, once again, where the electoral process can be a game changer in the long term. As for what to do now, well, the citizens could arm themselves, but without unity on a state or national scale against these policing tactics, it's doomed to fail and most likely cause further harm to the civilian population in any attempted push back on the police. But, none the less, as I stated a ways back, government at all levels appear to be heading in a more potentate direction when it comes to upholding the rule of law.

:thumbsup: I will say this, I do really hope the American people get more involved in the process. It's beyond disconcerting the disconnect from the process provided to us. But, I have confidence things will get better on all fronts when it comes to the public's involvment. Until then, apathy reigns supreme unfortunately.

lol, well Eleven, I never stated you didn't have a right to criticize. I merely commented the state had the right to do what it did.