Bill would give president emergency control of Internet....

[tsst]

I do consider myself to be friends with Ricky and Michael. They have been very trusting, very deep,and very open in their communications with me, and I could never betray those gifts. Our 'life experiences' differ, therefore some of our politics differ.....but I recognize that, and choose not to engage. Except for the weekends, I don't have long sustained time at the computer. And on the weekends, I like recreation, not altercation.

Regarding religion and politics, one can only go so far (in conversation). One can state what one believes in, and one can verbally accept what others believe in. Much beyond that and I start daydreaming, big time. :laugh:

Your wisdom never ceases to amaze me!

 

[vetusvates]

Thing is, I honestly and truly believe that I am more free as a Canadian than Americans are.

Anyway, I feel very strongly about government 'control' when it comes to the free exchange of ideas. In other words, I abhor censorship. The US has way more censorship than Canada, especially around ideas such as drugs or sex, and the notion that the government could restrict access to the internet on a large scale is one thing I would oppose no matter the reason.

I'm inclined to believe this, too, Nova. And I think it is because Canadians, IMHO, have a closer (more sophisticated) european connection. Or maybe it is just in my head.
Call me an anglophile....or even more accurately whatever the word would be regarding Denmark, Belgium, the Nederlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, etc.
I think the stamp of the puritans, calvinists, who founded our country still has a residual naivete/idealism/isolationism/need-to-be-taken-care-of-by-a-perceived-fatherly-government-ism.

IMHO, unfortunately, US voters cyclically become disenfranchised, disillusioned, and distrustful with a government,....and as the pendulum swings in the opposite direction,....they tend to want to elect a father figure government that will "take care of everything". From health care to the internet.
It was that way with FDR, JFK, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and is so now.
The pendulum always swings back. Unfortunately, the average US voter, in general, has not seen the pattern. They only recognize a given president's mediocrity......after the fact.
So...........here we are.

 

[kathylove]

We just had a German reptile friend visiting with us...

after the big Expo. We spent most of the day discussing politics and comparing Europe to the US. It was very interesting, as he was pretty familiar with various European countries, as well as Germany and the EU. He was also surprised with how much government control we have in some areas, compared to Europe. I see it as a snowball running down a hill - not sure if the direction can be reversed, at least, not without some really big event from the grassroots. Our freedoms being attacked in keeping reptiles and other pets is, to me, just a little canary in the mine, portending government intrusion in even more important areas.

I am nearing retirement age, without kids. So I am hoping that negative changes may come slowly enough to not affect me terribly. And the senior vote is still something to contend with, so politicians have to be somewhat careful not to treat the AARP too badly! But if I was in my twenties with kids, I would seriously consider checking out various countries to see which would be the best place to leave my legacy. However, as technology shrinks the world, choosing individual countries may eventually be a lost cause, too. I hope I am wrong, but fear I am not.

 

[KJUN]

Exactly what I was saying; people who take stuff like this WAY too far. The "anti-crist's" are probably only a few posts away I'm sure!.

YAY!!. More KJUN going off pm a tangent!!. As for the "real world" reference; please. Life is as miserable as you make it. No surprise this is another issue taken way farther than it should be!!.

Michael, you are the one bringing up the Patriot act and comparing it to this. By replying to YOUR post, how am I athe one going off on the tangent? Let me guess, by saying what the patriot act really did instead of what you THINK it did, I'm cheating and not playing fair.

 

[KJUN]

Hey, China blocks the internet from it's peoples and they seem to be doing alright in the "freedom" department. :shrugs:

D80

Is China TOO FREE, too? Or are they just free enough? If we are too free, what country "gives" their people the right amount of freedom?

 

[KJUN]

Go right ahead; name calling is all you do when you disagree.

Shall we bring up old posts again where you call names - and support calling of names - of other members. The ones that come to mind range from female hygiene products to crude terms to describe reproductive organs. Oh, yeah - I forgot. Micheal and Ricky can do anything, and it is only wrong when someone ELSE does it.

Plus, Susan has always been fairly restrained with you in the posts I remember. I don't hold myself responsible for ones I didn't actually read or that just slipped my mind because they weren't nearly as bad was what you and your other persona commonly do.

 

[KJUN]

I know for a fact people don't post for that reason alone.

Whew! Two of your personas are enough. I'm glad your other personalities and screen names avoid this site. I'm not sure how many of your different log-ons answering for each other we could actually take before common sense in the rest of us just simply imploded!

 

[Roy Munson]

This "bammers" stuff, and similar disrespecful crap is starting to get to me. The man has disappointed me in many ways, but so did George W.. Still, Bush was my president, and Obama is mine now. It amazes me that people wave the flag around like that's the highest form of patriotism while they demean and undermine our government and its leaders. Save it for the ballot box. What IS America?

 

[KJUN]

You have no idea just how legitimately concerned I am about my boys' future.

D80

People hear me joke that I wish I was sterile, but when I think about THESE things I wonder if it is a joke. The biggest reason I fought the "let's have a kid" argument with Kasi is because I DO fear what is coming and I'm not sure I did him a favor by bringing him into a country heading the direction we are going.

How far is Soylent Green from an "End of Life" council? I bet it isn't that far at all.
KJ

 

[KJUN]

Probably, because you know you can't get the best of me and that upsets you.

I nominate this for the funniest thing said on cornsnakes.com in 2009. Do I hear a second? Any other nominations? I know, I know. There have been some dumb things said, but this one will be hard to beat.

 

[Michael823]

This "bammers" stuff, and similar disrespecful crap is starting to get to me. The man has disappointed me in many ways, but so did George W.. Still, Bush was my president, and Obama is mine now. It amazes me that people wave the flag around like that's the highest form of patriotism while they demean and undermine our government and its leaders. Save it for the ballot box. What IS America?

That's real talk right there, understood. This is my first time checking up on this thread, and most likely my last. I understand the frustration of government control, but I think people are letting their fear of the unknown manifest into assuming the worst. It's great to prepare for the worst, but don't forget to hope for the best.
I'm not exactly sure what the details of this internet bill means, but I'll hold judgment until I further understand. There's new fears being born everyday. The swine flu will pick up rapidly, the government is trying to control our very personal freedoms, etc... These are of course all very real concerns, but to let it control our lives is worst than the outcome we fear in the first place.
Life is still great, America is still the beautiful place that other countries should still hold in high regard, and our leader, hate him or love him, is the leader we the people elected.
I'm still very proud of America, and the intellectual progress we make is much deeper than the turbulent times we live in. We say that our country is in a downward spiral, and the constitution is being marred by government interference. The fact is that we are a strong country, a strong people, and we will only overcome our problems by accepting our leaders decision making, and electing a better choice in the next election if need be. If our system is so weak that a four year term can destroy it, than we have had an underlying problem this whole time, and there is not much that could have been done anyways.
I don't choose to support every decision Obama makes as though it was my own, but I do support the idea that he is our leader, and I have to keep hopeful that he will leave us better off than when he was elected.

 

[The_Thunderer]

I nominate this for the funniest thing said on cornsnakes.com in 2009. Do I hear a second? Any other nominations? I know, I know. There have been some dumb things said, but this one will be hard to beat.

I second that!

 

[TandJ]

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

The above has never rung so true as in this thread.

And this might be why I am tend to be rather libratarian..

To be honest, I feel like I have more freedoms in the US than I ever did in Canaduh... * Its a joke people.. the Duh part *... Unfortuantly, I agree with Kathy.. This is eirily looking more and more like 1984, with a little Brave New World thrown in for good measure.. Bad enough the banks track me, bad enough I have both a SSN and a SIN Card so I have two governments tracking me.. Whats next, the intergration of the a chip into the heels of new born babies ( you know, the passive chips that they use to tag cats, dogs and other animals ), and the implimentation of everyone being an OnStar subscriber.. Seems to me a lot of people tend to over look the obvious things to track people.. Cell phones are another awesome thing.. *LOL*

Regards.. Tim of T and J

 

[Susan]

I'm betting that Ricky87 and his alter ego will be first in line for the microchip/bar code tattoo/whatever Big Brother decides to use when the time comes.

Call me whatever, but I shall refrain from calling you the most appropriate name you deserve.

Names I deserve?. Go right ahead; name calling is all you do when you disagree. Pretty immature of you, especially for someone who's a moderator, but I've seen it before so it doesn't surprise me. As for "alter ego", I just disagree so don't even begin with that garbage. Call me the "anti-christ", whatever. Your not exactly that pleasant of a human being, so I don't really care what you think!!.

My mind must really be taking a day off because I can't seem to remember the name I called you. Would you please let me know what it was (I quoted my post to make it easier for you) as it seems to be a really good one (causing you to call me immature and unpleasant) and I want to write it down for future use. One never knows when a good insulting name can come in handy. I do recall that it WASN'T the Anti-Christ, as that name belongs to someone else.

 

[Ricky87]

I do consider myself to be friends with Ricky and Michael. They have been very trusting, very deep,and very open in their communications with me, and I could never betray those gifts. Our 'life experiences' differ, therefore some of our politics differ.....but I recognize that, and choose not to engage. Except for the weekends, I don't have long sustained time at the computer. And on the weekends, I like recreation, not altercation.

Regarding religion and politics, one can only go so far (in conversation). One can state what one believes in, and one can verbally accept what others believe in. Much beyond that and I start daydreaming, big time. :laugh:

I have to respect your ability to differentiate and respectfully dis-agree. It's how I know your genuine and can be trusted. For what it's worth it's people like you that do mend fences, and even though I don't go out of my way to impress anybody I do make it a point to be careful when dealing with thoughtful people such as yourself!!. No yolk, we truly do come from the land of the heartless, so if I'm cold sometimes it's because I couldn't afford a jacket!!.

I second that!

I third that. It is funny, because it got quoted twice!. Seriously, though, if you identify more with KJUN than you do with me than that's just you. I stay away from criticizing what you say now, because I know your a great father and at the end of the day that's most valuable. Hate me, dislike me, whatever?. It's your problem, not mine!.

 

[The_Thunderer]

Ricky...
Who's personalizing things now? He said your post was funny... I looked at it and I thought it was too. I don't hate you, dislike you et al. I don't know you from Adam and think that to HATE or dislike you because of a few threads would make me a very little man, indeed.

I DO appreciate the fact that you think I'm a great father... THANK YOU! Personally, I think you give me too much credit. Honestly at the end of the day, I do the best that I can and in retrospect, I often find my best lacking... but do better the next day (at least try).

I DO also think that you're young and, with the utmost respect, still "wet-behind-the-ears". I know you and your brother think you've gone through A LOT (what young adult DOESN'T think they've been through a lot)... I've read it many times. BUT, I do think that when you reach our older ages, you'll see things quite differently... Maybe not exactly as I do (I even HOPE not), but differently nonetheless (I'm using THAT word too much now too).

VERY RESPECTFULLY yours,
Fred

 

[danielle]

What is a cyber attack is the question those that support this need to ask themelves. Is it something that could be stopped before "it" happened? Does it pose bodily harm to us or other citizens? In reality you can't stop or protect something you can't see happening so what is it the government can do with this ultimate power anyway? Peoples identities are stolen ALL the time more than once from government/military intelligences. If the government can't protect their own employees from viruses and identity theft how are they qualified to protect is from similar attacks?

 

[Roy Munson]

Don't sweat it! It's like so many elements of the, er, "Patriot Act." if you aren't doing anything wrong, then you shouldn't mind the government's control and monitoring. After all, security concerns are paramount at whatever cost!

 

[Ricky87]

Ricky...
Who's personalizing things now? He said your post was funny... I looked at it and I thought it was too. I don't hate you, dislike you et al. I don't know you from Adam and think that to HATE or dislike you because of a few threads would make me a very little man, indeed.

I DO appreciate the fact that you think I'm a great father... THANK YOU! Personally, I think you give me too much credit. Honestly at the end of the day, I do the best that I can and in retrospect, I often find my best lacking... but do better the next day (at least try).

I DO also think that you're young and, with the utmost respect, still "wet-behind-the-ears". I know you and your brother think you've gone through A LOT (what young adult DOESN'T think they've been through a lot)... I've read it many times. BUT, I do think that when you reach our older ages, you'll see things quite differently... Maybe not exactly as I do (I even HOPE not), but differently nonetheless (I'm using THAT word too much now too).

VERY RESPECTFULLY yours,
Fred

Thanks very much Fred, and I do consider you to be a great father. KJUN's been hanging on everything I say for weeks, and I just thought I'd put it in context; my context at least!. As for going through a lot, truth be told I sincerely and utterly have. How I'm alive only god knows, and yes I always know I need to develop. I don't for one second think I've mastered life and all it's complexities. I'm just vocal and opinionated, sometimes to a fault, but as long as a discussion isn't brought into the "your this, your that" realm I learn a lot. There's a reason you have to be 35 to become president, and I'm no exception. I'm an idealist and like to not think of any one force as having so much power that it controls my happiness. Probably because at certain points in my life that's all some forces did, and I just think if people want to be truly happy then they have to find it. The same people who hate the government in a sense are almost putting all their happiness into it's success, and that's where I mostly object. Life is what you make it, and President Obama is just one man; a great man IMO, but not someone who has the power to dominate your interactions with the outside world. That's all!!.

 

[mike17l]

I shock my dog when he misbehaves.

:santa: Santa loves everyone :santa: , except for the Australians of course.









Oh yeah I almost forgot, I need to put many many "puking" emoticans (misspelled on purpose) to better illustrate my point. So...
uke01: uke01: uke01: uke01: uke01: uke01: uke01:uke01: