Portland, Tennessee Blog

suddeath loves communism hates personal gain
all you have to do is read his weekly manifesto.

Mr. Coker, that was an excellent post!!!!

Sorry I haven't had time to read the 54 comments posted on this topic at the time I am writing this, but I wanted to put my two cents in about wealth redistribution, Communism, etc.

1.) It is easy to blame all the country's problems on the rich, but some blame must also be laid at the feet of some people who abuse the welfare system. As a teacher, a pastor, and heck, just having lived in the community, I have seen many people whose only ambition in life is to "draw" or get a monthly check from the government. I have seen this and had people tell me this about themselves. I think a false picture has been painted that all poor people are poor as a result of a faulty system called capitalism when this is not true. Now I am not saying that there is not a large number of people out there who need help because of trails and hardship in their lives, I am just saying there is also a large number that don't want to do for themselves even if they could.

2.) I find it so ironic that when Republicans win elections, it seems to be by "voter fraud" but when Democrats win elections "the people's voice has been heard."

3.) The story about going to school to educate yourself and better yourself was very inspiring. I also put myself through college, ironically, starting out in radio as well, but then going back to get a teaching degree. I was not rich. My wife is a teacher and I was working as a pizza delivery guy, substitute teacher, and alderman (I include this only becuase of the small check I get for the amount of work I do serving) to mae ends meet while I went to school full-time. I went into debt through student loans (WHICH BELIEVE ME ANYONE CAN GET) so that I could educate myself and make a better living doing something I loved and I was willing to work as hard as it took to accomplish that. THAT IS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS not taking from the "haves" and automatically giving to the "have nots".

3.) While there is a need for social programs, there is no room for a highly-socialist or communist system. They have existed, they have been tried, show me one communist or socialist country that has been able to provide the overall quality of life our capitalist system does for our country. Being poor in this country is tough, (I grew up in a family that was by definition in poverty at times) but many of those living in what has been defined as poverty in this country (at or below the poverty line) have more (food, TVs, cell phones, computers, etc) than anyone in communist countries such as Cuba. Socialism and Communism have been tried it doesn't work. The only way China climbed out of the economic hole it was in was to loosen its grip on the market and allow more free trade and pursuit of profit. The pure socialist system was not working. Where is the motivation to work and succeed when that anything extra you make and be given to someone else. Many won't work if they can live comfortable not working. Others won't do extra, when the fruit of working hard and doing extra can not be enjoyed by that person It crushes an economy.

4.) It is only when one accepts the responsibility for the direction of their own life instead of blaming it on external sources can one truly change one's life. When one leaves it up to others to change their lives, they live at the whim of others. They have no power over their future. When we place our sole chance at happiness at the feet of our government and depend on it to provide for us, we surrender our soverignty, our liberty, and our freedom to that government. Whatever the government gives, it can take away.

Whew, good philosopical discussions. Hope to have more in the future. Please forgive any mispelling as I often get my fingers tangled as they won't keep up with teh speed of my thoughts.

The free exchange of ideas is how we formed this country and how we must proceed; but as with anything meaningful, common sense must over-ride ideology.
Racism: It will never be fully eradicated if left to humans. We are discriminating people. Some like blue others like red and etc. Yes it would be nice if everyone got along, but we do not live in a perfect world; not because of democrats or republicans, but because we are sinful. Do not always seek to blame “whites” first, all people have faults.
Immigration: It is not that we do not want others to come here, it is the fact we must know who they are. Open borders is not wise. No society can take on the needs of the world. About 65,000 worker visas were issued in 2005. This is the proper way, not a mass entrance with no guidelines. I cannot change how we got here; I can only help make it better. I welcome anyone who wants to come here and become American. We are called a great melting pot, but the problem is that many do not melt. I would not go to Germany to become a citizen and demand that they do things like back home, no; if I wanted to become a German citizen I would assimilate to their way of life.
Politics: What a great way to advance your cause. With all of our faults and fraud, we still do it better and safer than any country; Ever! The very fact that any class or color can have the opportunity to take part is tremendous; no it did not happen overnight, we made mistakes, but we are improving.
I am very disappointed in both parties and it is getting where I will not be able to vote. Abortion and the sanctity of marriage means a lot to me and where the candidates stand on such issues, sadly the line has become blurred.
A strong country must be like a family. Most families have some that are not pleasing, some we do not get along with; but when the family is threatened, they band together for the greater cause.
We have overlooked to many to long; and to many have been willing to be overlooked. Lets do better; our future depends.
Someone once said that you need the heart of a liberal and the mind of a conservative to be the best you can.
May God Bless America!
pastormike

Bubba,

Thank You.....very well said.

Why Bubba, you truly are that big ole Teddy Bear, Hey? God love ya. Elisi

JW, that's a great story and it shows great work ethic. But you had a good role model in your mother. I went to school with many kids who's parents were strung out and could care less about them. America is no longer the country it was meant to be. We take advantage of everyone for money. Money, money, money. You should be thought of as a success because you are good at radio, not because you own a house and make a lot of money, you know what I mean. We base everything on money, it has seeped into churches, schools and especially politics. we've sold out for money, we love it too much. People often misquote the Bible and say money is the root of all evil, no, it's the Love of money that's the root of all evil. I'm not for communism, I'd like to see everyone taken care of though, and quit selling our souls to get a dollar up on our competitors.

JW.. My hats off to ya. You and your family are what America stands for and built on . Your story is like millions of other Americans that have gone to school and or work and built something for themselves and their families. America is one of the few countries that no matter what you where born to, you have the freedom to overcome... Your family seems to have looked ahead and choose to go on with life and make your own niche, come what may. Other folks just look to the past and want to cry about where they are and why other folks put then there (or some such as that)…

Bubba believes… The only thing holding anyone in this country back is themselves…

Daniel,

I just need a little clarity....are you FOR a more socialist system? Do you really believe that you should take from the rich and give to the poor? (re-distribution of wealth as they say).

I have a little story for you, will try to keep it short, this story is about me.

My dad was a preacher while I was growing up, he made very little money, less than $500 per month, I never had much as far as new cloths etc. We never went anywhere and did anything, my dad would come home in the afternoon and fall asleep in a chair and leave us just sitting there day in and day out. We never had fancy food to eat and never lived in a fancy house, we were what you would call "Poor". Finally my mother, who was fed up being poor did something amazing.....she went to school and got educated and became a very successful Nurse....why did she do this...because she was tired of being poor, so she...SHE did something about it. She got educated and learned a trade and was a success at it. If it had not been for my mother doing this, I am not sure what would have happened. My dad was a lazy bum, who thought an honest days work was sitting in the church office praying for 2 hours a day. My mother was what some may call an over achiever, and kept our family afloat. Then one day I grew up and I dreamed of being on the radio, never went to school for it, just got lucky and before I knew it I was on the radio at a very successful radio station. BUT you know what, eventually I got married and had 2 children, and one day began to realize that the pay at the medium market station I was working at, just wasn't enough to keep our family afloat. So guess what I did, I went to school....I risked it all...and educated my self in a new trade. Lets just say it is in the real estate industry, today I own a very successful business, own a home, have 2 nice vehicles, a new camper and money in my savings account and make nearly $150,000 a year. Did I look to the government for that help......absolutely not...I DID IT MYSELF....How?, by any means possible.

I worked my rear end off to change the path of my own life....I didn't expect someone else to do it for me. So now for my hard work....I guess you think I am one of those rich people that should be penalized...Why?..this is where, my friend, you are wrong.......

I know I may be a bit off subject.....and I know I may have missed your point a little....But I felt that my story needed to be told to make one point........

We all have the same choices in life.....some make right choices and some make wrong choices...the point being, it is not my fault that someone doesn't make as much money as I do.

I am not driven by money.....my drive is to provide for my family and put my kids through college so they don't have to grow up like I did.

My goal is not getting rich....my goal is educating my children and making sure they are provided for.

I don't mean any offense to anyone here.....I just think change can only come when WE.....WE get up off the chair, stop sleeping through it all and DO something about it ourselves!!!!!

Ms. Elisi, please do not confuse Bubba, he's obviously no redneck, he's playing at one so will chalk up his opinions that way. He wants us to stereotype him so we'll fall into the same game. Really, he has little to say but wants to confuse our purpose by throwing in jibberish. It's kinda like arguing with someone about the meaning of life and they say, you know, grass is green. As far as the post about Al Gore, I'll be honest, i don't know what you're talking about but I would like to, I have never doubted that the majority of politicians only go after their self interest. I mean, look at the last campaign. If you're like me, you'd probably never even heard of half of the people running a year away from the election but when the days started closing in, they were constantly in the community trying to prove their worth. Right now, I lean more towards the left but I still firmly believe the two party system has to go, it creates too much strife. The biggest problem in our country is rich people. Don't take that the wrong way, but rich people are in the pockets of almost every politician in the country. You can't vote what you believe when somebody is constantly giving you money. This needs to be revisited, equal with Iraq the last election showed the middle class wants a government that will listen to their concerns, but our system will now allow that currently. It's all about the rich, the big industries, the money-makers. In a column I wrote a couple of months ago I talked about how capitalism has driven us to this point of money over everything, I was then called a comunist. I think capitalism has created much evil and strife in America, it started with the Mayflower, it continues today and the reasons are stupid. It seems the people who do the least in this society make the most while the people who work hard doing jobs we have to have, make the least. The garbage men and women, the body shop man, the teachers, the policemen, the social workers, the factory workers, they put in hours doing services we have to have and somehow they have become unrecognized in this capatalistic society. Personally, I think our forefathers would be ashamed at how we've prostituted this republic into a money over everything society. This type of mentality can't go on forever, that's what I meant when I said 9/11 was a message from a higher source. Look what was destroyed, the two towers that represented money and business. As the psalm says, "the wicked shall not rest on the land alotted to the righteous," This can't go on forever. sorry these posts are so long, I'm a longwinded typer. As for the post about misinformation and neither opinion being right over the other, I agree with you in matters of opinion, but the stats and reality from Iraq are not subjective, they are obvious and undeniable.

The posts about Thanksgiving and the Native people: The first Thanksgiving in this country was our first soup line. The fact is that Thanksgiving was held during our traditional harvest, the first illegals( pilgrams) were starving due to not having the knowledge of our land. It was traditional at our harvest time to put on a feast for all.
As far as the war, Bin Ladan, our government. We went over and trained Bin Ladan. Clinton was fully aware of what Bin Ladan was about. And as far as Bush and oil, ask former vice president Gore, about his interest in oil, and what his company did in South America? Ask him how many people his company killed down there to get them off their land to get to oil?
Haven't seen anyone in office yet that wasn't there for self serving reasons.
My husband is a combat Viet Nam vet, he has never voted, never will. He knows first hand how dirty our government is no matter what party that backs them. It comes down to who is of the lesser evil.

Elisi Wrote:
“First off, young one, I am no da.. injun!!! I am Cherokee”

Elisi forgive me but your statement reminds me of a time long ago back when my family was eating supper. We where all talking and my youngest sister (maybe 9 or 10 at the time) couldn’t seem to get a word in edge wise. I guess we where talking about being “country” or at least from the country or some such and out of nowhere she pop’s up and yells “I AIN”T country”…..

Elisi Also Wrote:
“You come across as What some say is a REDNECK, I always thought that ment Redman. You are more than likely a big old teddy bear who wants to come across as a tough BUBBA. “

Dog gone it ! I can’t trick nobody…….

Bubba

'Siyo there BUBBBA, Daniel wrote;It's pretty funny. As for the illegals thing, aren't we about to celebrate a holiday where we all came over on a big boat. Then what happened Mr. History Loving Bubba? Don't remember. I do. We began systematically killing off the natives of this land, so who is the real illegal? At least these illegals haven't put us on a reservation.

Bubbbba replied:As history tells Bubba it wasn’t an individual that done the injun’s in. It was a army, and a president…

First off, young one, I am no da.. injun!!! I am Cherokee, and you do not know your history at all, perhaps if you would close your mouth long enough,listen and read your history, the true one, you would not speak out of ignorance.
I appreciate your response JW, and Daniel.Bubba You were right though about the army and presidents the worse being Jackson who sent infected blankets with small pox, rotten food ect. and killed many Native Americans of all different tribes, Calling us "nits and Lice" stating "kill them all".If it had not been for the First People providing the food for the puritans there would be no thanks giving, They would have died.

When all the europeans started to come by groves to this land they encroached on Native Land, Oh yes the land the "government gave us", They gave us our own land! How can that be!!! First Peoples was told that if "any white people came onto First People land, that they were allowed to shoot them ,so Natives defending thier land began to defend thier land and than were called savages. ALL that happened to the First People of this Land is what is call Americas "dirty little secret". Read about that Bubba, there is much more to be read.

You are a chu-h-ga on a gi-tli. We extended our hand to The first illegals and yes would have worked along side if them had not been for,Euro's wanting to Christianiz us savages and what the Lakota call Wauchichu,(greedy white people).

Wouldn't this world have been a better place if we had no use for money, alcohol, and all the fancy things we have today? I for one am happy with little.I love people of all races,I may not like what they do or say ,but than you have to seperate the fact that we are all HUMAN BEINGS.
You may want to check your lineage as there may be Native American, Black ect.This is who I am so I have no need to"lighten up".

You come across as What some say is a REDNECK, I always thought that ment Redman. You are more than likely a big old teddy bear who wants to come across as a tough BUBBA. But than I could be wrong. Wado

So

And people wonder why we're in such dire straights.

With this much mis-information and twisted facts.

Just because somebody doesn't agree with your line of thought..Does that make them or you wrong?

So, if we wouldn't be here, then your pretty much in favor of illegal immigration, correct? Or are we saying since the Indians were nice to us and showed us hospitatlity and we eventually killed them for it, we shouldn't be nice and hospitable because we might end up like them. So I guess in the 21st century, we are the indians and the immigrants are us, I guess you're right, we wouldn't be here if it was up to us.

Bubba’s wondering where he made fun of Injun suffering? Bubba simply quoted Mr. Suddeath’s double talk. Oh if John Smith (back in the day) needed a green card and didn’t have one? Well, you or I wouldn’t be here cuz his heart would have been stop’d by an arrow made of stone, or some such … Well Mr. Suddeath asked…….

Bubba’s… Gone to the Outhouse……….

This country is the greatest to live in, but far from perfect. God gave us freedom, men have taken it away since the start of time. Your post did not pull my string, it makes me laugh because once again you have proved absolutely nothing except that you can make jokes about the suffering of Indians. If you think that's funny, you should take no offense at Muslim's making jokes about 9/11, if you do, you're a hypocrite. Just like it's not an individual trying to go against immigrants but an entire congress. Please provide clarification, I don't know what you're getting at. Not to mention we didn't exactly have an army or a president when we first came across on a boat and stole other people's land. I wonder what would have happened if John Smith would have needed a green card. pull some more Bubba, pull some more.

Bubba say’s, hmmmm… You wanted double talk… You got it…

Mr. Suddeath wrote in an earlier post:

“This is the greatest country in the world to live in but not because of any army or any president but because of freedom”

Mr. Suddeath just wrote:

“As for the illegals thing, aren't we about to celebrate a holiday where we all came over on a big boat. Then what happened Mr. History Loving Bubba? Don't remember. I do. We began systematically killing off the natives of this land, so who is the real illegal?”

As history tells Bubba it wasn’t an individual that done the injun’s in. It was a army, and a president…

Bubba’s…. Once again gone to the fridg…….

Oh.. Bubba knows Mr. Suddeath is pulling my string as mush as I am pulling his… But the more that’s typed the more you know about the individuals…

Daniel,

now that is a good post......particularly when it comes to native Americans.....

Yes this is Tennessee's very own Andrew Jackson's Legacy....What a guy!!!

I appreciate Bubba's sarcasm and I don't think Bubba is stupid at all, but cutting and running is entirely different than taking over a country for no reason other than oil money. Basically you're saying that we should stay in Iraq because Bush screwed everything up and we should follow him around and take care of his mistakes. You've believed that right-wing cut and run talk and that oh my gosh, the terrorists are going to take over crap, and that's what it is, crap to divert you from the truth. Personally, I think Bush should be behind bars for the lies, but, that's just me.. Just like Clinton had to clean up the country after the first Bush wrecked it, once again dems have to save the day. It's obvious the only way to establish any sort of government in Iraq is to wipe out all the terrorists Bush let in the back door. That can only happen with more troops, that's how we get out of Iraq, that's the message. Unlike the deer you hunt, our enemies can actually fight back. Go to the website google.com, type in "failure" with the quotations, hit I'm feeling lucky. It's pretty funny. As for the illegals thing, aren't we about to celebrate a holiday where we all came over on a big boat. Then what happened Mr. History Loving Bubba? Don't remember. I do. We began systematically killing off the natives of this land, so who is the real illegal? At least these illegals haven't put us on a reservation. Oh yeah I get it, just like your leader Bush who you would vote for again if he could run, you think that the side with the most weapons is morally just. Thankfully, history and God have shown differently. JW, I understand what your post was, I just wanted to twist it out of context, it's quite entertaining, but it was a good story.

Daniel,

told you I agreed with much of your opinion of Bush.....BUT, this that analogy is not about the leader.....its about the wanna be leaders.

Bubba just read.. Bush is a blind sheep, hmmm.. Bubba (Bubba really ain’t all stupid) has always known Bush was for some type of “amnesty program” for illegals, if you payed any attention it was always there and he didn’t waver. Bubba (who voted for Bush twice, but won’t again, that’s a Bubba promises) just hoped it didn’t come up. Well it did and Bubba’s party pretty much shoot it down. Bubba say’s “That was a good thing”.. Now guess what! With the Dems in power it WILL come up again, and it will fly right threw and Bush will sign it into law, mark Bubba’s words… Bubba also knows the Dem’s won this go round on getting out of Iraq (Bubba would say Cutting and Running)… Now low and behold the Dems are like “Well we can’t just leave, we have to think about this..” Some are even saying we need to send in MORE troops… Bubba grins… “Who snookered who”…

Oh Debra… Bless your heart….

Now back to Bubba’s deerstand, suppers on the hoof ya know….

Bubba

sheep are pretty cool and interesting, and if led by a blind sheep, they all are destroyed, I knew you didn't like the blind sheep Bush, thanks for the analogy.

Found this an thought is would be appropriate to the conversations that have taken place here....

"A Montana cowboy was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous
pasture when suddenly a brand new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in a Brioni suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban
sunglasses and YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, "If
I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, will you give me a calf?"

The cowboy looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his
peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, "Sure, Why not?"

The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer,
connects it to his Cingular RAZR V3 cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA
satellite that scans the area in an ultrahigh resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he
receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed
and the data stored.

He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech,
miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and
says, "You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves," says the
cowboy.

He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on
amused as the young man stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the cowboy says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you
exactly what your business is, will you give my back my calf?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why
not?"

You're a Congressman for the U .S. Government", says the cowboy.
"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"
"No guessing required." answered the cowboy.

"You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get
paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked. You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are; and you don't know a thing about cows ... this is a herd of sheep.

Now give me back my dog."

Interssting and appropriate.

My dad fought in Vietnam to. The sad thing is too many leaders don't learn from history, they just want to drop bombs first ask questions later. Of course it's never them or their relatives fighting so it's easy to send someone else off to die. I do believe the ad was racist, if you do not I respect that. All in all, racism is still very much alive in America today.If you want to address this I say we start a new subject to debate it. As for JW and Bubba's remarks, you keep saying I "stepped on my tongue" but you provide no proof, no examples of how I've been hypocritical, just empty responses. Bubba couldn't even understand what I was talking about much less realize if I was "stepping on my tongue" I also find it very funny that you were the ones to initially call me and others who voted for Ford Jr. dumb but yet you say I'm the one who has been disrespectful. You call me young and naive, I say you're old and disconnected. There's no way anyone with an objective mind can look at this war and say it is beneficial. I agree with Bubba, we have people wanting to destroy us. But, we support a country in Israel that has killed thousands of Muslims and the recent conflict with Lebanon proves their willingness to target civilians, just like terrorists. We quit supporting Israel, we eliminate at least 70 percent of our concerns over night. Yet this will never happen because for one reason many people in America still belive Jews are "Gods chosen people", totally contrary to New Testement teaching. By the way, you were the ones who brought out the age issue, not me, I've never mentioned my age. Furthermore it's not the baby boomers dying in Iraq right now, it's people my age, my friends, my classmates paying the ultimate price. Therefore, the opinions of my age class in this situation are very much important. But I guess the right wing would like to discriminate against me for age just like Ford for...well, you know.

******** DEBRA **********

BRAVO......BRAVO....... BRAVO.......

The BEST Post On this thread!!

From one 53 Year Old Grandma to another
GREAT JOB!

I am a 53 year old grandmother of 4 and I have never voted in my life until the last election. I don't claim to know much about politics. I just know how I feel in my heart. I wanted to send Bush and congress a message. I don't consider myself either a Republican or Democratic. I'm an AMERICAN and I'm a CHRISTIAN!!

I think the war was a big mistake! I think Bush was pissed off when 9/11 occured and so he thought "Well, don't know where Bin Laden is sooo let's go after the next best thing, Yeah, that will work." Many lives have been lost and nothing gained. I don't see us EVER winning this sad, sad war. I'm looking at another VietNam in which my brother fought and came back so screwed up, became an alcoholic, and died. I'm glad they got rid of Rumsfeld. They need some fresh eyes to look at this sitution.

I don't consider myself a racist although I was brought up to be one. Not many people born in the 1950's was brought up any differently. I did not see the Ford Ad you keep complaining about as being racist. Maybe the republicans intended it to be interpreted that way. Don't know, don't care. I still voted for Ford. Maybe the Democratics will pull this country out of the hole in which they are very rapidly falling into, maybe not. We will just have to wait and see.

Well, these are the thoughts of a grandmother with just a high school education. No fancy words, just feelings from the heart. I could care less if you agree with me or not, that's your right as an American. I will not argue politics or religion. There is no need. You can turn to your Bible and find answers on both.

Daniel,

stick with covering sports...at least with sports you seem a little more educated.

Your politics are way off the mark, point for point...believe what you want, knowledge comes with age, and it is obvious your quite young and naive. Bubba is right, you made several contradictions in your post. Get a little older and wiser and try again someday.

Your not a bad guy, just wrong!

Bubba keeps making points about trees because he's never left the sticks. typical right-winger, let's label everyone so we can feel more comfortable about who we are. Higher source was a reference to God there Longfellow. Let's see, labeling and accusing a person with a different point of being a terrorist sympathizer, sounds like Stalin or Hitler talk to me. Equal to domestic spying and war without congress approval. Very strange bunch indeed.

Mr. Suddeath wrote :

“You believe that if you want, but I think 9/11 was a message from a higher source, telling us to straighten up, telling us we're not untouchable.”

And Bubba say’s… There you go folks!! The LEFT’s a strange bunch who can’t see the Forest for the Trees (much less run a country)… Oh I won’t even mention the couple of times he stepped on his tongue in his last post…

Elisi Osiyo back to ya !! Why would admitting what I believe (or feel) make my previous post meaningless? Lighten up!! It was fun waiting for Mr. Suddeath to spew more of his left-wing talking points !! Think about it!! Now we know he thinks the terrorist are a higher power (or source, as he put it) !!

Bubba’s gone to the fridg……..

I agree with JW, this is very funny. A group of people that want to kill us because of our religion. Reminds me of well, us. Truth be told, America does not have a leg to stand on globally because of our past. Lest we forget we are the only country to ever use an atomic bomb, and we did it twice, on civilians. As Elisi refers to, we are the country that stole land, lied to people and committed genocide and Mr. Bubba, it is your right-wing who has totally left us open for more attacks by CREATING an Iraq that is a harbor for terrorists, something it never was before we got there. Just like the opium crop in Afghanistan was nearly gone before we got there. Have you not read the news lately, a soldier, from 10 miles away from my hometown in Ft. Campbell, just plead guilty to raping a 14-year old girl and helping kill her and her entire family in Iraq with four of his buddies. Some heroes right there. Truth is, we are not much better than those we are fighting, we simply have more weapons. We kill and rape children, take advantage of the elderly and let the poor starve but after we get attacked suddenly we have all this talk about how great we are and how civilized we are and God loves us more. You believe that if you want, but I think 9/11 was a message from a higher source, telling us to straighten up, telling us we're not untouchable. This is the greatest country in the world to live in but not because of any army or any president but because of freedom, something God gave us and men have always tried to regulate and say look what we gave you. Your President decided he would rather not hunt down deadly terrorists like Bin Laden, instead he'd rather help his oil buddies out(does anyone notice how gas has already risen just a week after the election?) along with his contractor buddies such as Haliburton. I don't believe our country will be attacked again for a long time, especially with new leadership. The enemy has us where they want us currently, we're fighting a war on their terrain where they know the ins and outs. Our war has lead to more civilian deaths in Iraq than anything else, we are not discouraging the enemy with Bush in charge, just making them stronger and building up more hatred against us worldwide. It is very easy to see. Wars are silly, everything that is going on right now should be solved through negotiation but both sides have too many war hawks who just want to kill everybody. I say let the warhawks get in a room and fight each other and let the poor soldiers dying on each side go home. Can we talk about UT vs. UK now? Will UT's players be out on probation long enough to play us?lol. I never understood why UT puts up with Fulmer, they could of won two or three more championships with a good coach, just like UK needs to get rid of tubby.

Osiyo there Bubba,
Yep you sit back and grin! The genocide of a nation is not a laughing matter. Wasn't for" The First People" of this land, THAT was the first attempted genocide, But hey we are still here alive, well and growing stronger.

Your "good old boy" and what was that, bigot, homophobic,athiest and laid back attitude leaves what you posted meaningless.
Yep we are at war but than haven't we always been in one way or another? One needs to learn the rabbit and coyote game, hey?

This is too funny..

I'm sure glad to live in America.

Bubba’s been reading threw this blog. He is proud that Tennessee stood it’s ground. Bubba was disappointed in the rest of the country though.. When this county (The greatest in the world, Bubba might add) gets hit again, and it will, Bubba’s going to sit back and grin. Not because Bubba’s an atheist, or a homophobe, or a bigot (which he is all the above), but because the left (and some on the right) where so heck bent on getting power that they can’t see the forest for the tree’s.. Gentlemen we are at war with a group of folks that want to kill us and our way of life for no other reason than some religious bullshi…. You doubt that? I don’t.. They want to kill us simply cuz WE let them… Wake up……

Bubba

Trust me you give yourself entirely too much credit....and it is obvious given that you are the ONLY one on this thread who is continually ranting your democratic talking points that it is in fact YOU on the defensive here.

Democrats are so concerned about soldiers dying in Iraq.....yet..are responsible for the deaths of MILLIONS of unborn babies...right here at home.

Obviously your reading comprehension is somehwhat lacking. As stated before...I am not a Democrat or a Republican...I was at one time a democrat...I was also at one time a republican. I am now a registered member of the Constitution Party...if you have never heard of it....trust me you will!!!

In Fact here is the website address to it:

www.constitutionparty.org

Read it and you will see where I am coming from.

While I agree with some of what you say....particularly when it comes to president Bush...it is your presentation that is lacking.

I think where Dems are missing the whole point here is they think that because they won a majority of seats, that somehow that means Americans trust them to handle all of the issues that are of concern. This is not the case. Given that there are only 2 parties that get any attention, and people were not pleased with how certain things were going, they voted for change more than they voted for Democrats. Now, if this "change" doesn't happen (and it won't), how are Dems going to look come the next election cycle. It won't be pretty. 2008 will be the year of the Third party..mark my words...hopefully it will be the Constitution party.

Also I see that you now have attracted the Native American opinion in to this little debate....God help You!!!! I liked that saying....."Sure you can trust the Government...Just ask an Indian".

Our differences are not as great as you may think...BUT...change won't come through 1 election. It will come after this 2 party broken system is changed.

You keep saying it is time for change...you are right it is...lets get rid of all of the crooks in Washington and lets turn the corner and end the monopoly of our country by Democrats and Republicans. Until then...NOTHING will change.

Do you really think I'm upset. This is fun, it takes two or three right wingers on here to tread water with me, I like that ratio. As far as facts, what have I written that is not a fact. I mean, I know Senor Bush has decided it's okay to make up the facts in time of need, but when you do it, just like when he does it, it holds no ground with me. Ford's loss was not totally dominated by color, but it had something to do with it, just like his family had something to do with it. Tenn's Senate vote is now officially void as it will be on the minority side, basically any legislation Porker wants to introduce will be immediately shot down. I think if you would read through my posts you'll see I've answered your questions through and through, but being the smart radio person you are I'm sure you can decipher. All you've shown in your posts is that you have nothing to back up what you're saying except "I'm older than you, blah blah, the girl was hispanic" If you want to believe racism no longer exists, fine by me. It's just as crazy as the guy from Iran believing there was never a Holocaust. If Portland was nearly all black as it is nearly all white now, you might have a different outlook, you don't have to go to Iraq to find racism. Howbeit Bob Knight can punch a kid in the face just for not paying attention to him and the athletic director supports him but Ron Artest can punch a grown white man for throwing beer on him and he gets charges filed and suspended for a year. don't tell me it was the first time Knight has ever done it either. That commercial was aimed at influencing swing voters who have a problem with black and white couples and a man who isn't married. Corker was dirty from the start, even in the primary. But low and behold, he's a good ole boy that looks like us and talks with a little twang, forget the fact his own city barely supported him, he was a hypocrite on immigration issues and a "fiscally conservative" republican who spent more money on his campaign than any other senator in the country. My point is, this country has been lied to and taken advantage of over the past six years by the President. The last thing this country needs is another "yes" man for Bush. My point is we have obviously created a war in Iraq that can currently not be solved without sending in 80 percent of our military right now to fully exterminate the problem. But Bush won't do it because he doesn't know what he is doing. He's misusing the military and he needs a check put on him, Corker will never provide that. Do you think we can just tell Iraq to set up their own government and leave them to fight off all the terrorists that showed up after we did? It's our fault they are there, we have to take care of that problem. I don't think Bob Corker is prejudice or racist, but I think it still exists for some of all colors and they will never support someone of the opposite color. Ford never ran commercials as racially tense as the Republican side did. Let's talk about something else, like how UK is going to beat tennessee this year in football

Live Vote: Should Bush be impeached?I am going to first put some facts on this site before I respond to what I have been reading here;

Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904/from/ET/

Jim Webb is the apparent victor over Sen. George Allen in Virginia, assuring Democrats of 51 seats when the Senate convenes in January.

The Associated Press says Webb won the Senate seat by about 7,200 votes. In Virgina.

That marked a gain of six in midterm elections in which the war in Iraq and President Bush were major issues

But Democrats began the year with fewer seats than at any time since Herbert Hoover occupied the White House. Even the party leader, Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, mused aloud at one point that it might take a miracle to capture Senate control.

Webb's win capped a banner election year for Democrats

the Bush Cartel has been handed a LOUD message
Wed Nov 8, 2006 11:20AM

FOLLOWING ARE COMMENTS FROM THE NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY, THE "FORGOTTEN PEOPLE" DO YOU KNOW THAT NASHVILLE WAS ONCE A NATIVE VILLAGE? A HUGE POPULATION OF VOTERS ARE NATIVE AMERICAN OR OF DESCENT.

since Rumsfeld has announced that he is resigning, it is the smell of rats deserting a sinking skip .
but this is not the time to sit back and continue being quiet! All of us need to call and write our state & federal representatives to let them know how we feel about the issues that are important to us. The Democrats might be in a better position to make needed changes (environmental, national, social, etc.) but they can't get anything done without support and encouragement from the people they represent.
WRITE and CALL! Make YOUR voice heard.

I have read through these posts very carefully, why is it that when someone gets hit with the truth of things they begin to spew out garbage and nit picking, as to the response to spelling, ect. I heard an Old Elder once say "Even us drop outs need spell check on occasion". That is not the issue here.
Commentfrom this site:" if Ford had won with his Personal "story" and "Charisma" TN would be postioned for stronger leadership and a stronger voice in coming years". May I ask you exactly what you mean by this?
Comment:" blacks usually vote democratic because they do more for the blacks". Exactly what do they do now?If thats the case that one votes for a person because they can do more for that race, than I ASK who do the Native Americans VOTE FOR!!?
When is the time going to come when we see that we are all Real Human Beings and we do not have to blame one or the other, and take responsibility for our own actions ,and who we choose to vote for, or vote at all, is no ones concern but our own, after all we are who we have to live with.

I for one have no trust in the government as they say what needs to be said to obtain office. Very little of what is promised, if at all ever comes to past."Can you trust the government? Ask the Indians" and in my opinion it has never changed.

So Young one, you ask for peoples oppinions here and than you attack/become defensive when they speak. PLEASE show more integrity and honor if you intend to continue with these type of things.
My Cherokee Grandma would be thumping you on the head for this type of thing. That is our way.
Elisi

Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,

Exactly what is your point.....I've read through all your posts and I see no apparent point to any of them. Other than to rant because your candidate did not win.

You know what I see,

I see skirting issues, I see trying to come off as some sort of brainiac about what you are talking about.

You haven't answered anyones questions.....rather you spin and defensively respond.

So let's get back to the real issue.....Let's see....What was the issue?

You stated that an overwhelming number of blacks voted for for Ford...HHHMMMM...interesting...are you saying that blacks voted for Ford BECAUSE he was black? Isn't that by its very nature a racial remark?

As for whether or not the girl in the commercial was hispanic....she appeared on MSNBC and "in fact" told the world that she was hispanic.

Instead of trying to divert issues....why don't you answer the questions many on this thread have asked you?

As for fact's, I learned a long time ago to know my facts before opening my mouth...probably came from spending nearly 20 years in radio. We had a saying in radio that went as follows.....

"Make sure your brain is engaged before opening your mouth"

As for the grammer and spell checking....I really appreciate your help with that....saves me alot of work spell checking on my computer...Thanks!

some think it's okay to kill thousands upon thousands for oil money, some do not. some think it's okay to go to war without any evidence, some do not. some think it's okay for the president to allow spying on every citizen, some do not. some believe the environment was important, some do not, some believe that linking Bin Laden to a leader he detested was an excuse, some do not, some think we brought more terrorists into Iraq than were already there, some do not, some know Bin Laden's rise to power was aided by american funding in the 1980s, some do not, oh and my favorite, some believe the person who gets the most votes(i.e. popular vote) should win an election, some believe it should not, maybe that's not my favorite, how about some think it's weird for Osama Bin Laden's uncle to have been doing business with the elder Bush on 9/11, some do not.
Reagan was a good president, he did some good things, as did Clinton, neither excuses what's happening today.

Hmm, Young Daniel seems a bit perturbed (hope it is spelled correctly).
When he spews his liberal talking points from that liberal newspaper, no one is there to confront him, but when he is challenged, he blows a gasket.
Some people think that since the economy in the 90’s was great that it was ok for a president to lie under oath and not to have any morals and to send us to war to cover it up and for hundreds of trees in the rain forest to be cleared so that Air Force One could land; some do not.
So what if we all differ; well when your ideology (or ideaology, you pick) causes you to be blind, then we all suffer.
Some people think that it was ok for a president to lower tax rates that would spur growth for the next decade and getting back Americans is important and that tearing down the wall was good and that defeating Russia was amazing; some do not.
Some say we had an actor with a monkey become president and some say we had a monkey act presidential (you decide who is who).
P.S.
I suggest that you move to Baghdad, Iraq to find out what racism is all about.

I can't begin to describe how funny it is to be called dumb by someone who can't even spell their name, no wonder the initials on your post. BTW, what exactly is a day of "reconing" Coning is like what, making an ice cream cone, so this day of "reconing" you speak of for dems must be related to that. Seriously, if dems do poorly, I'll be the first to vote against them. My job has nothing to do with this, anybody can see i'm the only middle ground person on our staff. Not factual? Where are your facts? The idea of a black man having a relationship with a white woman is still sadly taboo in this region of America. Don't believe me? Do you not recall a certain civil rights intimidation law suit a couple of weeks ago that made state headlines right here in Portland? Don't tell me others don't feel the same because we had a letter from the other side of the state from somebody supporting him. We are in the state that the KKK was created in and there has never been a black senator from the south, those are facts. Also, every person talking bad about Ford in that commercial was white. I think my friend, you are the one believing the lies. Ron. Reagan best president? The guy who wanted to declare war on trees and had the first Bush and Oliver North sell weapons to Iran in exchange for prisoners.And we wonder how they became so dangerous. Heck, Reagan sold weapons to just about all of our current enemies, but I guess you'll probably blame Clinton for that one to. Hmm, maybe you were alive then but just without a pulse. Any person can see this fling with Iraq was a waste of time, from the start, not to mention easily predictable after 9/11. I'm too young? I smell last line of defense. And also, if I'm dumb, I guess you feel the same about the majority of Americans who voted since most voted democrat, or as I like to put it, for a change. Your statement about the party Reagan represented being dead obviously shows you were once a Republican who knows his party has hurt this country greatly over the past 12 years(especially the last 6) and you now want to be considered independent. I might be young and I might of been born at night, but it wasn't last night.

Oh by the way, you didn't answer my question, so I'll repeat it.

What specifically made the commercial racist?

I think there are several of us waiting to here your answer.

Typical liberal babble.......

I am not a democrat or a replublican, so I frankly couldn't care less whether or not you attack republicans......go ahead.....

AND, if you are dumb enough to believe the garbage spewed by these democrats that have been elected....then yes you are dumb.

As for looking for weapons in the desert.....I may not be remebering correctly but.....did John Kerry not also say the weapons were there? Seems that Bill Clinto said the same thing.....why aren't you complaining about them?......Oh yea thats right...they are Democrats. HMMMM? Just further verification of double talk and spin....TYPICAL!

Its obvious you are not a factual individual.....If I recall, you are somehow affiliated with the portland progressive....are you not? I don't know....don't read it.

Yes the girl was Hispanic......no didn't get it off of Corker's web page...never seen it. See this is what I mean by FACTS!!! Look it up....and find out for yourself. And you obviously don't know the whole story about the Illegal immigrants and Bob Corker......Just another spin of the facts......democrates are good at that. Again, spin the facts. Typical.

Stick with something you know something about....you are obviously too young to understand the true possibilities of what may happen over the next 2 years. The only president we have had in the past 40 years that was worth a darn was Ronald Reagan.....but you probably weren't around back then were ya? The party Reagan represented no longer exists.

But always remember this....while democrats may glow and bask in the result of last weeks election.....they too will have a day of reconing. Because when the country see's that it will change absolutely nothing....they'll be gone too.

Oh, by the way, thanks for the spell check. Petty, Petty, Petty.....Typical!

Hmm, I usually try not to get personal but if you insist on saying "you might be dumb enough to buy into that" I feel I must point out your utterly ignorant spellings of neither "niether" and Partisan "Partison" among the many gross grammar errors in your post, I mean, none of us are perfect when it comes to spelling but then again, not all of us are calling someone else "dumb" either. Furthermore, I have lived in either Kentucky or Tennessee my whole life, as have my parents and I know plenty about the history of this state and the south. You want to complain about higher taxes, where's your complaint about spending 400 billion dollars looking for imaginary weapons in the oil rich desert of Iraq. You are right about one thing, there is a big disconnect between voters and Washington. The girl was hispanic, did you get that off of Corker's web page or something? Republicans could not argue facts in this election, just personal attacks such as you levied on me, and you wonder why they were trounced nationally.Maybe you'd understand the racist element if Ford had used a commercial with a bunch of hispanic illegal immigrants talking in Spanish thanking Corker for their job at his construction site, Gracias para mi trabajo senor Corker. No wonder baby boomers don't want to pay any more taxes, they've drained social security with their breaks but they'll have enough for them when they retire, who cares about their grandchildren as long as they continue to prosper. JW, post what you like but I just responded to you out of spite, not out of respect for your opinion. Everyone else on here who debates rarely uses personal attacks, but I guess you got that from Corker.

Daniel,

Nice list of democratic talking points there....

First of all, the commercial I don't believe was racist. What makes you say it was? specifically. Do you know that the girl in that ad was in fact Hispanic?

Secondly, as noted in past elections, exit polls are rarely ever accurate.

AS for Ford being non-partison......why don't you try that one on for size yourself.

Ford is not Non-Partison...he voted to raise taxes everytime the issue came up.....he voted with the libs 88% of the time. Then gets on the TV and tries to come off as some sort of religious conservative democrat....Please! You may be dumb enough to buy in to that, but I'm not.

If you want to pay more taxes....by all means go ahead and write the check for extra and send it in.

By the way have you lived in TN all fo your life?

My guess is you have not. Well guess what, niether has Harold Ford Jr., yet he wanted to represent us?

You know why I voted for Bob Corker.....Not because he is a Republican.....Not because he is white.......because I thought he was the Better MAN for the job.

I am niether Republican or Democrat..have no use for either party and think we have a broken system that is desperate need of a third party that is not controlled by lobbyist and people in the media, who at some point have gotten the idea somewhere along the way, that we are the least bit interested in their personal opinions.......trust me we are not!

Hmm, where to start. I guess Bill Clinton is racist because he actually went to an all black church with Harold Ford Jr, that's some bad stuff. The power lies with the majority, always has. If the majority of Tennessee was black instead of white, Corker would have lost. Go look up the exit poll numbers from the Tenn. race and you'll see that the overwhelming majority of black voters supported Ford, not Corker and the the lower income to lower middle class white people supported Ford overwhelmingly over Corker. In Maryland, you'll see that many democratic black voters voted Republican. If you expect me to believe that the infamous commercial about Ford Jr. was not meant to have a racial underlining message, then you'll never believe any fact on anyone. Also, Rice and Powell were not elected, they were chosen. How can you say race is not an issue when a black senator has NEVER been elected from the south. In the coming years, minorities will have more and more votes and it will drastically affect the face of politics.
Tennessee is in the dark ages because instead of voting for someone who is not afraid of being non partisan, we voted for another yes man for Bush. Every other state faced with the same decision chose the candidate that would not blindly follow their party. It all comes down to the war, we are being crippled in Iraq and while most states said, hey, it's time for a change, we sent the message that everything is fine and dandy when it obviously is not. In terms of facts, I don't have enough room here to state all of them but I'll give you one big one. NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. Ask any teacher who works in a low income based school and they will tell you this is an unrealistic program designed to punish poor schools where attendance is low. Not to mention how much Republicans have hurt social programs and things like social security and medicare and put us in even more debt. In time, if this congress screws up this country and foreign policy as much as the republican country has, we'll vote them out too.

Personally, I think Colin Powell would make a great president. I think he has integrity, and he was willing to put it personally on the line at the United Nations to bolster the case for the Iraq war. I think he had some major differences with the administration on foreign policy, and ultimately he felt out of the loop on decisions. Rumsfeld and other neo-cons controlled the day, and marginalized him. It had nothing to do with race. It had to do with their worldview and need for power/control.

People of all races, at least from my conversations with many, admire Powell.

I think enough cannot be said about the current foreign policy blunders by Secretary Rice, and it is not a race issue. She has taken positions with the Palestinians against Israel, and recently she has begun to praise Islam and state that American admires the religion, when we are clearly in an ideological conflict (per Bush, I might add). She has lost alot of respect abroad where the issue of Democrat/Replubican is not a factor.

You could blame Bush for the foreign policy issues, or his advisors, or the fact that he seeks advice from certain corners and the results speak for themselves. These would be legitimate, in my estimation, because foreign policy is at the direction of the President.

That Democrats see some blunders and raise issues seems less about race and more about incompetence.

ATTN: Daniel

First of all, it wasn't the Reps. that pulled out the race card, it was Bill Clinton, and yes that's a fact. Second, I never said anything about the way blacks or whites vote, so where you got that from it beyond me, and if you check your history and read the facts, you'll see the dems. have not done anything or should I say as much as the reps. have for the black people. As far as "time for a change, TN stuck in the dark ages"? What are you talking about? You really need to get to Nashville more often. Tn. has come a long way, yet you say we are stuck in the dark ages. Give me facts and not bull, facts. Like name me 2 things that the dems. have done for the black people since 2000, also give me facts on why Tn. is stuck in the dark ages. You responded to what I posted, so you would think you would at least back up what you say by posting facts. Liberals can and will say anything (like Kerry), yet, there are no facts to back up what they say. Please prove me wrong with only facts, not jibber jabber.

Just Curious?
If Tennesseean’s are in the dark ages for not voting for a black democrat for Senator (Harold Ford);
What are Marylander's called for not voting in a black republican Senator (Michael Steele)?
What are Pennsylvanian’s called for not voting in a black republican for Governor (Lynn Swann)?
What are Ohioan’s called for not voting in a black republican for Governor (J. Kenneth Blackwell)?
Whether or not you like Bush, his administration has placed more minorities in high-ranking positions than any other.
But Powell and Rice have been demonized and slurred.
Tax cuts have a made major difference in the lives of working people.
And I do not care how much money you make, if you pay taxes, you should get a tax break too.
It is easy for someone making $25,000 a year to say that someone making $200,000 has to much money and wants them to pay more;
But someone making $8,000 make think $25,000 is to much and that they should pay more.
No party has all the answers, but to lump everyone together is pretty naïve.

Corker is a yes man for Bush, he has no clue. Republicans pulled out the race card, not Ford. If you're saying blacks are racist in their voting just because they usually vote democrat, then name for me something republicans have done for blacks or for the working man. Once again, the whole nation decided it was time for a change and tennessee is still stuck in the dark ages.

Here's an interesting note, now that the election is over.....

Tennessee just elected Corker, a freshman Senator, who now is in the minority party. So, Tennessee had a majority leader in a majority party, and now they are in a weakened position for influence in the coming years.

What was accomplished for Tennessee?

Bush is now changing his tune and will continue to do so. I believe he will cave in to Democrats, or admit his liberal leanings now that the tide is turning.

If Ford had won, with his personal story and charisma, I believe Tennessee would be positioned for stronger leadership and a stronger voice in the coming years.

Just a thought. This is not painting one party better than the other, simply a discussion of positional strength in the Senate.

Well, all I can say is that I was going to vote for Ford Jr., that is until they brought up the "race card". I believe that everyone should be treated the same, no matter what their skin color is (did you catch that Mr. Bratton,not all white people are bad). Yet, when the Liberals let out the "race thing", it was to much for me. It was just like living all over again the OJ thing. It's getting to be a double edge sword anymore. It's ok for blacks to be racist against whites, and if you don't vote for a black man, then TN. is a racist state. I'm so sorry for what happened years ago, I had nothing to do with it. I, as a Christian love everyone, not their skin color. I hope this Corker guy does us right, if not, then please Mr. Ford Jr., don't let the liberals use the race card the next time.

"I'm Brian Ruckle, and I approve this message." Has a nice ring to it.
I'm sure my Republican opponent would make an issue of me having left the States to work in China. I could see them making a mock political commercial for me, dubbing it over in Chinese, and saying it was "Made in China."
Tennessee is a great state, but it has had an awful track record for electing US Senators in the last two decades. They have been overacheivers in some field, but voters here seem to be blind to the fact that they have absolutely no ideas for the country. They have been empty suits who vote the party line and unfortunately voters have given another clueless overachiever the title "Senator from the State of Tennessee."

I'm writing in Brian Ruckle for U.S. Senate

Well, originally I was going to vote for Harold Ford Jr. BUT, having studied his voting record for myself...I will not Vote for Harold Ford Jr. It seemes everything I believe is sacred and valuable he does not. Not to mention he has voted to raise taxed nearly every time it has come up.

As a small business owner, I won't tolerate higher taxes and won;t vote for anyone that does.

So I will hold my nose and vote for Bob Corker, unless there is a third party on the ballot....if there is...I may vote 3rd party.

Personally I believe that all politicians are just basic scoundrels, with a streak of larceny deep in their heart. Anyone who is willing to put themselves through such a pubic airing of any and all dirty laundry, real and fictitious, makes me suspicious of their motives. I guess with all the political and sexual scandals involving our elected leaders I have become a wee bit jaded. And don’t even get me stated on preachers!!!!

Personally I believe that all politicians are just basic scoundrels, with a streak of larceny deep in their heart. Anyone who is willing to put themselves through such a pubic airing of any and all dirty laundry, real and fictitious, makes me suspicious of their motives. I guess with all the political and sexual scandals involving our elected leaders I have become a wee bit jaded. And don’t even get me stated on preachers!!!!