Muscatine

Tom there's 1000's of places to get them. A quick search titled smiley faces will find you many.

http://www.cybergifs.com/faces/indexr2.html

http://www.feebleminds-gifs.com/smiley-faces-2.html

Just a couple.

That's right, I said it.

Number 1:  I am tired of people generalizing things to the degree that Republicans in general are still in favor of this war.  I do not believe that is the case, regardless of who our party's so-called "pick" is.  I am a registered Republican at this given time, mostly because I wanted to attend caucuses in the past two elections, and because I obviously related more with the Rep. cadidates.  Since John McCain is my current party's cadidate, I will be going back to my registered Independent status very soon because it will be a cold day in HELL (Iraq, AKA "The Sandbox") before I vote for him.  We cannot solve the problems of a people who have been fighting since biblical times with our presence, or with our involvement in the fighting and killing.  War was brought to our shores on 911, but it was a cowards war, and we did not go after the true target--BinLaden and Alkaida.  Bring our men and women home and stop bankrupting our nation for a misguided war.  For these reasons, and so many others,  I will be writing in my vote for Ron Paul.

Number 2:  I don't think all Democrats are liberal to the degree that others here seem to believe they are.  I would agree that some are (to the extent of being borderline socialists), but there are others--many of them, I think--who just want to help the average man and woman raising the average family. I would agree that this is, for the most part, the basis of the Democratic party, and the reason two generations of folks on my mom's side always voted straight ticket.  That changed for a reason, though, and that reason was a lack of trust and confidence.  The ones who have shown that they actually CARE about the average family are few and far between in Wash., mny have found out, an dI don't see Obama and all the hype surrounding his "campaign," nor HIllary and her Botox-tainted tears to be any different.  They all claim to care, to have a plan, but when it comes to REAL talk about REAL sollutions that EMPOWER all people and not just THEMSELVES, they talk in circles, or tunr on the water works, and just say they have the answers, but they never say what they are.  

Case in point:  Where I have trouble with this "helping the average and impoverished" that they claim to do, or have a plan to do,  is that far too many people end up leaching off of these gov. programs in order to survive, and do next to nothing to bring themselves out of poverty and beyond the income guidelines, and then no one--not even the democrats who fight so hard to put these programs in place for those who truly need them--does anything to really monitor it.  Don't get me wrong.  I have no problem helping out a retired couple who worked their whole lives, raised their kids, paid their taxes and contributed to our economy.  I draw the line, however, at illeagal immigrants and their American-born offspring, and lazy State-Aid collecting people who are entirley capable of supporting themselves but just keep on taking the "free money" because it's there, and keep on having kids who learn to do the same, but do nothing to put resources back into the system to help even the field for future people in need.  They just feel compelled and justified to steal working America's hard earned money, and we allow it!  For illeagal aliens, it should be seen as just theft, and they should all be asked (very politely?) to either go back to their home country and get in line the right way, or go back in hand cuffs and enjoy a nice long stay at one of their country's  "long term care" facilities, paid for by their countrymen's tax dollars, not ours.  This is the biggest probem with too much gov., as I see it, especially when it is poorly managed and monitored.  We end up binding our own wrists and voting ourselves back into bondage out of a fear that somehow, the people we put into office know better than we do how to care for us and our nation. Can anyone--Democrat or Republican--can argue with that?  I don't really think so--Not if you look around you and see what is happeing to our country, anyway.

Number 3: For the most part, I think it's really hard for our society to find a happy medium as of late, and maybe it's no longer time for that.  Maybe it's time for real change and real hope for a real future.  I think it's time for drastic change that allows local and state gov. to define the needs of its people, and tax them accordingly as a result of a local and state popular vote by the people of that locale, state and region.  National gov. in the depts. of Ed., the Fed., the IRS, etc. have no more business telling me or anyone else where or how our tax dollars,  (which are, btw, far too many, and far too frivolously spent), our earned interest, or our stock revenues should be allocated than the next guy.  It makes no sense.  That's the main reason our economy is where it is.  People are not managing our gov., the crooked b***tards in Washington are (Dems and Repubs!), and the ones who are there really trying to do good for this country, regardless of affiliation, are silenced, ridiculed and cast off and dismissed by the media and their colleagues because they threaten the very means by which the rest of them profit--ignorance, blind trust and complacency on the part of the average American. 

C'mon people!  What harm can come from us taking care of our own again?  It will take time.  It will take work.  It will take sacrifice and an end to this attitude of entitlment.  I know it's scary to imagine your life without the gov. taking care of us from cradle to grave, but isn't it true that the things in life that are worth it often take time, work and sacrifice?  I, for one, believe that the future of our freedom, our liberty, and our democracy are worth it, and that history has proven over, and over again that Socializing gov. is not the answer. We have to wake up and stop swallowing everything Obama, Clinton, McCain and the media are feeding us.  A vote for one of them is a vote for generations of Americans paying  the debt of generations before them FOREVER.  It is a vote for the end of the value of the American Dollar and in favor of a international economy where America is dependent upon other nations to sustain itself.  It is a vote for who knows how many more years in Iraq.  It is a vote for amnesty and a fleecing of social security and other tax-funded programs for the sake of suporting illeagal immigrants--in essence, criminals--and their children.  It is a vote for more stealing from the working poor for the rich to get richer, and for further leagalizing predatory lending.  It is a vote for neo-socialism and the end of our republic in very little time.  A vote for any one of the cadidates offered to you on that seemingly clean and shiny, but truly tainted platter, is a vote for more of the same, and more of less, and less, and less . . . for our children, and their children, and their children . . . 

Think about it.  REALLY think about it.  Do the research and the work:  www.ronpaul2008.com .  Ron Paul is the ONLy candidate who puts the gov. back in the hands of the people and allows local and state gov. to work for the people and fulfill the needs of its people, not vested and international interests.  Ron Paul is the only cadidate who gives power back to the people to be less dependant on their national gov. and more self-reliant.  Ron Paul is the only cadidate whose voting record has not changed during all of his years, to the benefit of those people he represents.  Ron Paul is the only candidate with an actual plan to get us out of national debt to China and other foreign nations, and to repair our economy and restore national sovereignty.  Ron Paul is the only cadidate who raises millions of support dollars from the already far-too-empty pockets of our men and women serving in the military.  Ron Paul is the ONLY cadidate who can save this country from economic, social and near societal collapse.  It is already happening if you look around.  If you want to be a part of saving our nation, please write in your vote for Ron Paul.

Well you said a lot there and I agree with most of it. You, like my wife, stand on the other side of the fence from me when it comes to caring for people. Hunger and housing knows no racial or legal status of a person. Are we as a country prepared to see millions of people dying in our streets just because we don't think we should care. Bottom line is many bad things in our history was changed based on someone caring.

So yes, my government needs to use my tax dollars to help those to stupid, unlucky, to old, or illegal. I can not bare the thought of America looking like some dirt road in Hungerville South Iraq. We're better then that...........

Thanks for post. I know you feel and believe everything you stated and that makes reading it much more insightful.

Thanks again.

That's right, I said it.