j_war06

I know all this about platforms, agendas, political parties etc....This is what I live to do, politics...... One should look into the background and platform and everything about a candidate before voting for them. They look at what they stand for, what they are about, and so on...Therefore if you only vote one way no matter what you could be closing your mind of to other possibilities. I was a firm, and still am, Clinton supporter, and I am now a Bush supporter. You see I do not only go one way or the other, but rather who I feel fits the bill best. I did not like John Kerry for anything in the world, he is a very shady character, and therefore I supported Bush. My grandfather, although he did not like Kerry at all still voted for him just because he is a Democrat. You see he felt forced to vote Democrat although he did not like the candidate, I just dont understand how you can vote one way or the other. YES the party supports their candidate and offers them what they stand for, and pick the person they want to represent them in the election because they fit there best....But what I am trying to get across is not all Republicans are conservative and not all Democrats are Liberal. They are not all the same.

hmmm....makes me wonder what some people my age are thinking....I do hate it tho, the way my mother all of a sudden is in my business alllllll the time now that I am grown and not living with them, where as she could have cared less this time last year........Im confused........

See what I am saying is vote for the candidate YOU feel is the best, not because they are one party or the other. And just to let you know I do not associate myself with drugs, but I do know what you are saying. Ive had a horrible day and that made me giggle a little....On another note, I would not stage a protest. I protest is like when a child throws a hissy fit. Use brains, write letters, use connections to get what you want. Pass out fliers and pamphlets with your information in it so forth...you dont have to make a spectacle of yourself to get what you want...You will end up making things work, if I saw that on the side of the road I would do the exact opposite because I would associate your behavior with whatever issue you are protesting in such an immature manner. I just dont know how someone can only vote one way their entire lives, my Grandfather and does and it drives me NUTZ! And I know it matters who controls the house and such and that they get appoint members to committees and such, I know all that, but its the character of the person and the strengths that make them a leader, not if they are RED or BLUE

wow, that is radical, and rather immature. There are better ways to get what you want than standing around on the side of the road...protests are a bunch of hot air about 85% of the time, while some are effective...But I dont see the effectiveness in this at all????? Hmmm.....I dont think it matters what party the candidate is under, it is the candidate that you are voting for. The only difference between the two parties is actually the candidate and his personal beliefs and his agenda, take that away and they would be ALMOST the same. When voting one should not asscociate themselves with one party and one party only for life, they should instead vote the way their heart and mind leads them. If you went by the party and you only vote Democrat or Republican, then you could very well vote in the next Hitler or something because you refuse to vote for the other main party

I had complete freedom, could do anything I wanted within reason, my parents guided me, they didnt control me. I didnt do anything I wasnt supposed to do, I guess Im one of those kids that didnt really rebel, I knew that I was moving out and would be able to do a lot more stuff and it would be more fun when I was older. I didnt go out all the time, If I did I didnt come in late, if I was going out later than midnight I called and stayed with someone else. If I went to a party, I stayed there instead of trying to drive home. I just did what made sense to me and that was to stay away from drugs, dont have premarital sex, and if I drank then I didnt drive nor drank enough to get totally wasted or drunk for that matter. I didnt sneak out of the house, I didnt do anything that my parents didnt know. My rule is, if your parents wouldnt accept it then dont do it, especially in my town where everyone finds out about everything. I guess I was just responsible. I suppose you wanted my parents to quit their jobs so that they could taxi me around all the time...so they could not accept that I was getting older and needed to have a car to transport myself because they work full-time jobs with over time EVERY WEEK DAY...in fact I didnt have one car I had 2 just incase anything happened to the other. I havent turned out wild and crazy...YES I am in college, and YES I am your classic college student that parties all the time, but I am responsible with it. I get my stuff done, and Im enjoying being on my own and the freedom that it brings because I kept myself under control in highschool, my parents didnt have to.

We dont have city buses, Im not from a city lol, its a town.

Hmm.... I actually like this ^. Because it is true, nothing is totally definant. I really Really like this alot

The school buses dont run at noon or 9 am, they run till 8 am and from 3:30-4:15 pm

And you think I'm heartless. No I dont believe it is right, and I do not condone it, but many of my best friends here are gay and I LOVE LOVE THEM! And I want to see them happy. I am glad NJ voted this in, I dont think that every state is ready for this yet but a nice Northern state can definately not only get away with it, but most likely set off a revolution. I want to see my friends happy and if that makes them happy, I want to see it. My church never turned down several "engaged" gay couples, but instead accepted them and loved them all the same. No the Bible does not condone this lifestyle, but the Bible also says to LOVE and not Judge others

I LOVE GEORGE BUSH! Kerry was way too odd and shady

Yeah, it is your responsibility when they are young like that, but if they are old enough to drive then it is a stress reliever. You dont have to be worried about being late work, or taking off early or anything like that. My parents went to work at about 7 am in the morning, and my mom would get off around 4 and my dad about 2. Not to mention my senior year I would have needed a ride to college and back. I went to school from about 9-12 my senior year, then college from 12-1:30 on M-R, and I got out at 12 on Fridays, so it would have been difficult to make those arrangements.

Just to throw this is in, if my parents were to have taken away my cell phone or my car keys my senior year, I really wouldnt have cared because that would have burdened them. Like, not the cell thing, thats no big deal, I would break mine and be weeks at a time without a phone, so that was no big deal for them to take it. But my car, if they were to take away my car, then they would have had to take off work and take me to school, and pick me up from school, and God only knows what hours because of play practice. I mean you cant miss that, then you dont get a recommendation for college. OR they would have to take me to do everything I had to do and they would have had to rearrange their whole schedules and punish themselves trying to punish me. I really didnt get in any trouble in highschool except breaking curfew, and I was grounded once for that, and it was my sophomore year. Im grown and live on my own and my parents still threaten to put me over there knee, which doesnt work for every kid, but it has worked on me my entire life lol! Discipline is such a hard thing to do because it is different for every kid, what my parents should have done to me is take away my TV, because I cant sleep without it, but I guess they never thought of that...

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU MOUSECRAZY! I know you probably do not completely agree with my views, which I will admit are somehat radical, but I do agree with what you are saying here. That quote was full and busting out of political agenda and accusations rather than facts. SO ONCE MORE< THANK YOU

Actually, I want to thank you for using actually in depth thought, I dont care whether someone agrees with me or not, I just wanted someone to ANALYZE it, and know what is being within the text. I appreciate this tons. Actually, I do believe that people, by nature, are bad. Hear me out on this, all people have mischevious thoughts, whether they are minor or major all people try to do something that they shouldnt. It is a thrill and adrenaline rush, that is not to say all people want to murder, or rape or whatever. I do mean that everyone has their sins. They have probably cheated on something in school, they have sped in their cars. That doesnt make them a bad person, but they have broken the law which we associate with being bad. This is really hard to explain. Philosophy is so deep when one actually thinks about the subjects that are presents within the text of a work.

I dont know everything, if I did I wouldnt be in college.......Im not trying to say I know everything, I just know what I am talking about when discussing certain great thinkers because I go to that class and/or study it all the time because it is my passion and I dont know everything about it, thats why Im still in the class and taking more. I just wanted to prove that even negativity can be turned around and shown in a different light, and used for good.

You have to take parts and use the symbollism in his words and the wisdom that he shares since he is a philosopher, and therefore is higher ranked than any one other than other philosophers, therefore you must respect his thought since he can put it all together in a reasonable manner, and therefore he must have some good thoughts which one can take from his speaking. I do not mean to say anyone should be Machiavellian, but instead take from his works and learn and grow and pick out the parts that pertain to certain instances, rather than the whole thing. You have to pick apart paragraphs and decide what you want to believe in, and how to apply it to our government in today's time. My eyes are open, I know what the hell Im talking about I do this indepth study every single day, its what I do, I dont work, I study...

This is totally off topic from the quote that I used. Point is he was a great political thinker. Would you rather Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas, St. Augustine, Marx (whom I despise), who? All people have their great flaws in their perception of the world. The problem is the people who think that it rains gumdrops and daisies, and everything can be fixed with one switch of power. That is the true ignorance. Machiavelli's advice is good, just because you do not fully understand what is being said (obviously) or context that it is used in, does not mean that I or anyone else is ignorant. I like Machiavelli, as a matter of fact Im using his theory to write a paper about abortion in the United States right now. You guys need to see beyond the obvious and look in depth to the reality, get past the cover the shell of a politician and see into them. They all lie, cheat, scandalize, but thats because they must to win the vote, which is contradictory I know, but they must make EVERYONE a friend, which is impossible, so therefore they make neither friends nor enemies. OPEN YOUR MINDS! And I swear if you are a teacher and you had to look up Machiavelli in a dictionary or encylcopedia, then wow is all I have to say, wow. Ive known of Machiavelli for somewhat 3-4 years now.

The rich are rich because of good business decisions. If they inherited it, then they have either wasted it to nothing or are still rich due to wise decisions. Business is run in a particular way, and if you get rich you get rich. But labor ends up paying badly for citizens trying not to live on the government, but for noncitizens or those living off the government they pay pretty well and that is the majority of ppl who work those jobs, so therefore the raises will not be raised by much because ppl are content with their wages. I do believe that many professions are underpaid, including teachers, but it also depends what school district you teach at, many teachers at many schools make a lot of money. An average teacher, with experience, probably makes a little more than my mom does every year. I mean, we have everything we have ever needed and/or wanted and are happy. However there are other professions that should be paid more

The trick is, the time you spend not in class, you read. Class is ridiculous, all the professors do and talk about their own agendas and repeat what the book says. When I do go to class I sit on the internet and chat on AIM MSN MySpace, etc etc and on and on...I still partake in discussions, but I would rather study here than listen to an agenda about some stupid nasty birds in Mexico. You know? I go to my poli sci classes, because that is my major, but other than that, I dont go half the time. But that is off topic, just an example...In reality you can not tell her to go to college, but like I said you can bargain with her to try it. I KNOW its a lot of money to waste if she decided not to go, but just think of the hardships you could save her down the road if the outcome is positive. Once she is 18, and if she moves out, then its her life to live. I know its hard, my parents are dealing with it right now too. I go out to clubs almost every night, but I dont tell them so that they dont worry because they are far away. I am happier and healthier than Ive ever been in my entire life and its thanks to college allowing me independance. In this day and age, you have to go get a degree to do almost anything, plus she probably has a serious case of senioritis, she will eventually make the right decision if it was in her head before, it didnt just disappear

Wow, thats true rebellion lol, Ive seen my friends go through that (them doing it ofcourse and always remembered how much they would regret it, and they do). She will snap into it sometime, I promise, but if you just standby, she will not snap out of it.

Im 19, and have many older friends. I have had "relationships" if you want to call it that with guys that are 23, 25, 26, 24 and so on...But I know my responsibilities to myself and to others, and therefore use reasonal judgement on my actions, I dont let it get in the way of school. But ofcourse I live on my own, and am out of that rebelious stage in life, which I never went through. I was a homebody in high school, so I never really did any of this, but my friends did, and I see what happens. Help her make decisions and be a friend, but advise her as a parent if that makes sense? Be both, try to like this guy, maybe he can help out, but most likely he will not, unless he is super special. Let her experiment and see the consequences, but if it gets bad, lay down a few rules, but not too harsh, you dont want her to think you are JUST doing it because you may not like her BF, but rather because you are concerned for her future and her education, which should be true.

Where I live I can get a whole 2 bedroom 2 bath town house for about $800 a month in a nice neighborhood. Yes it does matter, it is always a good idea to analyze hypothetical situations, otherwise there is no point in making them if you do not ask questions about them. What is the point if your are not going to raise questions? Also, Machiavelli's point is that you neither make friends nor enemies as a politician, but rather carress or annihiliate whoever the need maybe to do so. It is political thought, it is an amazing thing. You have to look at it in theory and apply it to today's issues in order to understand the art of philisophical thinking, and not take its literal meaning. You must use your enlightenment to understand the issue and think in depth rather than what comes to the top of your brain, but thank you for actually reading the piece. Also, Iraq was fine, they were no threat to us in reality, now North Korea they are a threat, but Bush had to finish his daddy's business and jumped on them, although there was no actual reasonable cause. Why is the US concerned with other countries' business? Anyways this is off topic, sorry

I just know that I moved off to college and realized how stupid I was to be serious in highschool, and how immature I was back then. College, living on my own, made me grow up so fast, I dont want to mess with anyone like this guy she is discussing, while in highschool I would have. I see it happening with all my friends, they have been away from their bf/gf for a couple months, with little contact, they are all breaking up and being happy. BTW, you dont have to go to class to pass, just know what you are doing

No that is ridiculous ^ I just graduated last year. She thinks she's in love, trust me, but in reality if she is to move off to another town, not even very far away, and goto college she will become more mature than to act the way she is now. If you can bear with it, and make an agreement with her that she moves and goes to college for at least one year, not in the same town as her bf, I promise you will see change

Where is the child support. Cities pay more than towns, do you think I wanted to move 7hours away from my hometown and all the family Ive ever known? NO, but I had to. Why didnt she have more college? 2 years is nothing these days.