The Good Post Gallery

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This also deserves some recognition:

Would Americans want Puerto Rico to be state however? I think there has been little discussion what this would actually mean, in practice, if it were to happen except for Rick Santorum, who basically gave reasons why I doubt most Americans would support statehood for PR if it actually came to it.

If PR were to ask for statehood, it would be extremely difficult politically to deny it. It would, in fact, require taking an outright anti-Hispanic stand, with little possibility of any sort of a fudge - not something one would necessarily want to do.

It is further complicated by the fact that within PR it is the relatively pro-Republican PNP that's pro-statehood, while the outright pro-Democratic PDP prefers the status quo. While PNP is not exactly the local affiliate of the Republican party (it does have a pro-Dem wing, though that one is relatively weak right now), nearly all the local Republicans are part of it. If the national Republican party opposes statehood, it would amount to a complete destruction of the local Republican organization on the island. As Puerto Ricans are US citizens (something that, in the short term is not even possible to change if PR declares independence), they can and do vote when they find themselves living on the mainland.  Oposing statehood would, basically, tell those of them who still vote Republican that their party does not want their vote - in those many words and, once again, without much realistic possibility of a fudge.

It would even be pretty hard to make a principled anti-statehood argument in a way that wouldn't alienate at least some normally pro-Republican Cuban-Americans: it wouldll all come down to the issues of language and culture that Cubans themselves hold dear, and the arguments would undoubtedly degenerate into outright anti-Hispanic claims that would make a lot of people feel very unwelcome in that sort of a party. At that point, being a Hispanic (even Cuban) Republican would become a lot like being a gay Republican - not impossible, but not that easy or pleasant.

To sum up, if the Republican party openly opposes statehood, it would go a long way towards making sure that the Hispanic electorate converges to black levels of support for the Democrats. And, of course, when and if PR votes for statehood, Democrats themselves would have no incentive at all to oppose it. Hence, though a number of diehard anti-Hispanics can be counted on making a few passionate speaches, nobody who cares about national political implications would dare to do anything to prevent it happening.

I thought most Puerto Ricans opposed statehood because they think it means giving up their cultutre (which it doesn't).  If it weren't for that, I would support that, but if they don t support it, then I don't  I think the GOP needs to educate the Hispanic/Latino community about what we really believe.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

An entity has no soul. It is merely a product of the people in it. Therefore, it would stand to reason that regardless of the stance the Democrats took 150 years ago is irrelevant. One can as well easily observe the direction the Democrats took in transforming from a party of agrarians, Catholics, and Southerners, to a party of Northern liberals. Ironically, it would be a Catholic who assisted in this transformation. No conservative should believe in collective sin. That's for the affirmative action folks. Fact is, all the supporters of slavery are long, long dead. Many segregationists are dead or out of office.

Yeah, but it still matters.  Would you want to support Dems because of that, no matter how long ago it was?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

An entity has no soul. It is merely a product of the people in it. Therefore, it would stand to reason that regardless of the stance the Democrats took 150 years ago is irrelevant. One can as well easily observe the direction the Democrats took in transforming from a party of agrarians, Catholics, and Southerners, to a party of Northern liberals. Ironically, it would be a Catholic who assisted in this transformation. No conservative should believe in collective sin. That's for the affirmative action folks. Fact is, all the supporters of slavery are long, long dead. Many segregationists are dead or out of office.

Yeah, but it still matters.  Would you want to support Dems because of that, no matter how long ago it was?

You're missing the point. People who support Democrats don't support them because of what happened 150 years ago. Most people who oppose Democrats don't oppose them for what happened 150 years ago. They either support or oppose the Democrats because of their positions today. Whereas we look at the present, you dwell on the past. You would oppose a perfectly good candidate with whom you agree on the issues, is qualified for the position, etc., because he or she associates with the same political party as people who did bad things a century and a half ago, despite the fact that this candidate has no relation to any of those bad people other than the D next to their name.

I oppose Democrats both because of their history of racism and ther far-left policies today.  If I thought there was  a Dem running for office that was better than the GOP candidate, then I would vote for him/her (e.g. LeRoy Collins 1968, Edwin Edwards 1991).  But Bill Fitzgerald in 1978 (against Milliken) does not fit that bill for me, at least for now.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Nixon did NOT escalate the Vietnam War.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I, too, dislike the voting patterns of most of the Romney states, but simply because they make the GOP look bad (and thus should be blue-leaning states.)

[Oldiesfreak1854]

It is. It's 1964 inverted.

Yeah, sort of.  I mean "blue" as it normally is used (i.e. Democrat).  In other words, they would be red on the Atlas. Your earlier map is more what I was thinking.  However,  Republicans need to be strong everywhere, including the South, to succeed.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Oh, how I long for the day when one of my posts will make it into the Good Post Gallery.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

As for me:

Democrats: Brown
GOP: Reagan

Why Reagan? Christopher was a moderate who didn't want to end free higher education and also wasn't a racist proto-Teabagger.

Didn't you get the memo?  You're not supposed to talk about Reagan's obvious racism, you commie!

Reagan was not a racist.  When he was playing football at Eureka College, he brought two black teammates to his parents' house after the hotel where they were staying wouldn't allow them in:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/01/17/michael-reagan-ronald-reagan-friend-blacks-obama/

If Reagan ever opposed the 1964 CRA (and he initially said it "should be enforced at gunpoint if necessary,") it was because he had (unfounded) concerns over its constitutionality as an extension of federal power over the states.

Still, if I'd been a voter in California in 1966, I wouldn't have entirely trusted Reagan on civil rights, which is why I chose Christopher.

Reagan was seen as the rich man's George Wallace prior to 1980.

Seen by who?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Big Government. Any power that Big Business has is only because they have manipulated Big Government. To the people who say you can just vote someone out, well, who do you think that person works for? It's not that simple. Government policy is actually the one you should be scared of most, because while Big Business may have worse intentions, Big Government can do far worse damage to us.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Generally anything from a leftist tends to fall into this category.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Over: Independents and the ever-disappearing moderate Republican
Under: Far-leftists and youths

[Oldiesfreak1854]

To be fair with Oldies, Spongebob does suck.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

In defence of Thatcher and Reagan, they didn't morally agree with the Apartheid State and did think the world would be better off without it. They allowed it to comfortably exist  unsanctioned as it was an ally and a lesser evil than a probably Soviet dominated egalitarian South Africa. They worked to weaken this "reason to be" and once Eastern Europe broke away the system disintegrated and Nelson Mandela was released and elected president  their theory was largely vindicated.
Also it's probably wise to note that while Mandela is indeed a great man the ANC as a whole are largely a horrible party (not just from a right wing perspective but from a progressive-liberal one) which is essentially not less terroristic than Provo Sinn Fein. Says a lot that their biggest rival isn't the Nations, but the Democratic Alliance, a centre-left social-market-liberal party in the Liberal International,  lead by a racial-equality activist. While better off than Zimbabwe, SA hasn't made anywhere near the economic development progress it should, thanks to high levels of corruption and possibly the malign presence of the Communist party in government.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Some of the most intelligent writing in human history, or some of the most idiotic trash every written in human history. Take your pick.

Which is which?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

People are ignorant and it fits a narrative.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Trying to guess who the smartest and dumbest states are is kinda pointless because there are so many variables and then there our own subjective perspectives.

For example, CA could be one of the smartest because they attract a lot of educated people.  But they also attract low skilled immigrants with little formal education.

Yet a state like North Dakota is full of people who are moderately smart but there are relatively few very well educated people and relatively few very low skilled, uneducated people.

Also, I refuse to believe that being uneducated automatically makes you "dumb".  The PCA that helped my mom for 7 years would be considered dumb as a brick by most people on this website because she was a terrible speller, had bad grammar, etc.  Yet she could successfully set up an electric fence and knows how to care for many different kinds of farm animals.

Things that we'd have to have repeated to us and read from a book just to understand she does like second nature.

This demonstrates she is not a "dumb" person.  She is actually quite intelligent.  She just used it differently.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I'm glad to see Morsi out, but now we wait and see. We know how politicians are with promises.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

This might very well be altogether the best/worst display of slack-jawed idiocy on this general subject:

Wow, I thought the countries of Western Europe were friends and allies of the United States. Suddenly helping us catch a fugitive guilty of espionage is some act of supreme cowardice and spinelessness?? Ridiculous. I would hope and expect the United States to do the same if a German or Austrian or Italian or whatever criminal on the run was possibly flying through American airspace. 

It's funny how Lief has become Obamahack#1

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I'm glad to see Morsi out, but now we wait and see. We know how politicians are with promises.

That doesn't belong here. At all. It's not a good post. In any sense.

How is it not?  Would you rather Egypt become like Iran?

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I actively discriminate in favour of the candidate I want to win.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

If Jesus were to want people to abstain from work one day a week, I'd imagine that like any observant Jew, he'd want it to be Saturday.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Not a bad president, but the whole "martyr" deal made him out to be "one of the greats". He's somewhat overrated, but not as overrated as some think.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

I completely agree, WalterMitty.  He has tried so many things that a lot of the experimental stuff he did was atrociously horrible.  And I also agree about the live performances.  Neil has done some great arrangements on albums with various artists and bands, but for my money, Neil is by far at his best on a stage by himself with a Martin and one amp.  If there are better live solo recordings than the Live at Massey Hall concert album of 1971, I haven't heard them yet.

And yeah, Oldiesfreak, Neil had a weirdly cordial relationship with Steve Jobs.  The fact that Jobs made a fortune off if digitizing music while knowing damn well that vinyl sounds infinitely better tells one something.   

[Oldiesfreak1854]

BRTD is known to be:

The reincarnation of Hitler
A well known necrophile
He has a history yelling obscene words after kindergarders
He has a good taste in music

See I can also make sh**t up about strangers on the internet.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Sure. Haven't you seen the attack ads utilizing old Atlas posts?