@unknownuser said:

Ron

I want to give you credit your political opinion is quite often in the minority on this forum and yet you continually express your honest opinion and do so in a respectful manner. I admire that and welcome your comments. I've followed many of the links you post and laughed at some of the things that you find humorous.

We are after all on a Sketchup forum and after the dust settles in this election I'm sure we can all agree that the things we have in common are far greater and more important than the things we differ on.

Soon we can all go back to discussing Sketchup and the pending version 7 release. Soon we can all go back to being impressed by each others latest sketchup endeavor. Let's all agree that although politics are important they are not what define who we are.

Appreciate the comments, Phil. I hope I'm still using SketchUp when V7 is released!! I'm about at the end of my architectural career, I think. I'm just not sure I want to make 18-20 month commitments anymore. And that's what it takes to do a house from design through construction. That's a chunk of time. Maybe I'll try to focus on additions and remodels. In some ways they're more fun because they become like little design charettes by comparision.

Sorry, I digressed....

@unknownuser said:

Ron the US just suffered a 700billion dollar loss (this is only what we see).
Do I have to hit you on the head with a hammer!!

If your point is that the free market system has failures and is imperfect, then I agree. This 700 Billion dollar boondoggle had angered me immensely. It has permanently altered the way I view our government.

I'd like to hit every member of Congress on the head with a hammer!

This has to be a bottom-up solution. It starts with who we vote for. The 2 major parties are drifting together; they're morphing into sameness. Neither of them are capable of solving the problem because they're too busy bickering.

This issue of inflation is very real and very scary. The Fed is buying stock in banks with newly minted dollars, which, as you point out, is how they will pay the Chinese when they come calling. I'm shocked the dollar is as strong as it is against the Euro (Well, truth be told, the Euro has weakened against the dollar; not the same thing).

I wonder if we are able to avoid the train wreck. It's disgusting how out of touch our government is.

Edit: I've noticed the last two unemployment figures released by the Labor Dept. have shown a decrease in all non-farm jobs (retail, industrial, manufacturing, financing, service, etc), while showing an increase in government jobs. How the hell can an ever increasing bloating of the government serve ANY purpose whatsoever? The government is a part of the problem while they need to be a part of the solution.

I predict a tax revolt before I die.

You're surprised he's a Republican? I wasn't. Why is it so hard to fathom one can be registered with a party and still be undecided?

Hear, Hear, Phil. This trend toward socialism is very troubling. Often, people vote for whoever offers the most. And thus, it continues. As you point out, witness the bail out plan. Both the current candidates voted for it. Bush bragged about it!! Shame on them.

I say do NOT vote for any incumbents. What really scares me is the possibility of a liberal president backed up with a filibuster-proof Congress headed by Pelosi and Reid. My Lord, this will worse than the current "liberal" administration.

Let me ask Pete and Tom what you guys did in 2000 and 2004 when Bush won after the polls had him behind. Did you guys threaten to leave the country like Alec Baldwin and Babs? I bet you were pissed.

BYW, the most clever poster I have ever seen was held up by some liberal nutcase marching in a protest somewhere. Anyway, it had a picture of Reagan above Bush. Under the picture of Reagan it said "RON" and under Bush it said "MORON". I can laugh at that and appreciate the humor. Can you laugh at images that make fun of Obama? If so, please post it, if possible.

@tomsdesk said:

Yeah, just a bit of satire that struck my funnybone.

Well, this sure struck my funnybone:

@unknownuser said:

I read the expression "predatory taxes" in one of the comments above (not one of yours, Ron). Made me cringe. For f*ck's sake, why is solidarity such a hard concept for some? At one point, I made roughly € 8000 ($ 10766.83) a month (ah! such a brief period of bliss it was! ), of which I got to keep (again: roughly) € 2000 ($ 2691.70). The rest went to the government. Did I mind? No. Roads need to be built, sick people need to be cared for, teachers need a paycheck, pensions need to be paid - the list goes on.

I like to chip in. I'm an adult - I don't mind sharing my sweets. I'm sure some will find this naive. Three words: lick my morals.
"Predatory taxes" ...

You have no problem paying 75% in taxes? WOW! We've sort of discussed this before, but there is NO incentive to earn or create when taxes are that high. Why do you think the USA has been an incubator for entrepreneurship, biomedical and computer sciences and so on? Why do you think our economy grows at 3% a year and all of Europe is either in contraction or happy with a 1% growth rate and has high unemployment? Look at the whiny little pricks in Paris complaining about a 40 hour work week or the right of an employer to fire without cause.

No thanks...no socialism for me. You can keep it over there. I'll take the free market any day. What does "lick my morals" mean anyway?

I've had popups the last 2 days, too, and I remember opening and ImageShack image. No more for me. I wondered why this began to happen all of the sudden. I'm on Firefox v3.

@unknownuser said:

@unknownuser said:

we start down the socialist/communist road.

I have seen the "free enterprise" model fail over and over. At least 4 times in my life...the recent (cash grab) is number four. Democracy?...what a farce. Freedom....what a farce. The free economy? - completely exploitive. It is a model that just cannot work.

modelhead!! stop trashing the thread!!

You've seen the free market enterprise fail 4 times!!!! I cannot come even come up with one, because I don't think the current credit crisis qualifies. What are the 3 other times you're referring to?

I have always thought McCain should have picked Lieberman.

Jan, I asked iGod a few questions. There really IS someone monitoring this site. Who has time for this? Yes...a great find.

@dmatho said:

Let us not forget (according to an article in Time magazine a while back) it's admitted Sarah Palin was McCain's third choice; the GOP rejected his first two... His third may be our First Mme President.

Cheers,

• Diego -

I had not heard this. Do you know who the other two were? Romney would have been my first choice (for VP or Pres!).

This kind of fiscal thinking generally eludes Democrats. I voted "other", wrongly thinking Ron Paul was independent. I should have voted Republican. Although Reagan is a great guess, with his trickle down theory.

It's obvious Palin is out of her league. When I first heard she was picked as McCain's running mate, I cringed, thinking he had just foreclosed himself from hanging the "inexperienced" tag on Obama.

@pbacot said:

But Ron, the conservatives hear more leftist media and the liberals hear more right-wing media. Depends where you sit.

I agree this is the tendency. View the main stream media through an objective lens (hard to do, I know, but possible) and you'll see a distinct and not so subtle bias to the left. Notice the adjectives, the number of times an individual or entity is described as "conservative" or "right-wing" versus "liberal" or "left-wing", the body language. Think Dan Rather. Walter Cronkite, a liberal, didn't broadcast his bias. Nobody knew, or cared, what his politics were.

I am striving for true objectivity and honesty in how I regard American politics.

@3eighty said:

Ringo? Ringo? With the Dave Clark Five, Right>>>>

No......I think he was in Ringo and the Hermits.

Yea, you betcha. I love it when people try to sound intelligent and, you know, enlightened, when they talk down about others.

Funny, many of us feel EXACTLY THE SAME WAY ABOUT OBAMA. Gives good speech, but no orgasm.

Good one.