^ Why should they do that? Becoming fluent without immersion ain't easy. Do you really expect migrant workers and such to manage it? I say America's a good place to learn English.

6/4/2008 7:47:28 PM

^he might be referring to the cost of such a program. no?

6/4/2008 7:52:13 PM

as far as spanish is concerned, i figure natural anthropological tides will figure it out

6/4/2008 7:52:29 PM

seems like anytime a dem proposes something a repub is there to complain about how much it costs...shit gets so old after a while

6/4/2008 9:35:14 PM

I heard an encouraging study that 2nd generation immigrants like 80% prefer to use english over thier native language.

I think this is another instance govt needs to butt out of.

6/4/2008 9:37:19 PM

I don't have a candidate, I'm equally disgusted with them all

6/4/2008 9:45:10 PM

^^ that's been going on since everyone showed up to the "new world"

in the past, people were certain european ethnic groups were going to overrun "american" heritage

the ending result was more awesome food and new shit to do during christmas

and a whole lot of mutt anglos running around speaking english



[Edited on June 4, 2008 at 9:48 PM. Reason : but i guess we're derailing topics]

6/4/2008 9:45:57 PM

There's little threat to English from immigrants. According to a linguistics professor I had, current immigrants are learning the language more quickly than ever before. It's the other languages that are in danger.

6/4/2008 9:46:34 PM

Just a reminder. This about bitching about the candidate you support. I would argue that if you think you agree 100% with what either Obama or McCain is saying, you probably are not paying attn.

You know what else irks me about McCain? The man just won't come out and articulate his over all domestic policy vision. My man Bill Clinton had this same sort of problem in his first term. They both kinda just keep throwing out policy proposals and it isn't clear what's motivating them.

I mean, he uses a lot of the old Reagan cliches about government being the problem and not the solution, but he has to do better than that. You can't say in one breath that government is bad and then in another say that government needs to fund development of alternative energy sources. You can't talk about how great it is to cut taxes, then say you'll only cut the gas tax for a summer (if it's so great to cut it for 2 months why not get rid of it).

You can find fragments of his vision in various speeches. It doesn't sound much different from the vision of the Third Way that Bill Clinton articulated in his second term. But that's if you ignore what he says in other speeches, so maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see.

But, to be fair, Obama has not articulated a real vision either. He talks a lot about Hope and Change, but I can't see what intellectual presumptions conect his hodge-podge of policy proposals.

Maybe now that the primaries are over and they will be forced to contrast themselves from one another we will get a better idea of their domestic policy visions.

[Edited on June 4, 2008 at 10:52 PM. Reason : ``]

6/4/2008 10:49:14 PM

^^Yep, my linguistic anthropology class this past semester said the same thing

Hell, we'll all probably have the same dialect in 3 generations or so

[Edited on June 4, 2008 at 10:49 PM. Reason : .]

6/4/2008 10:49:33 PM

I can't stand listening to McCain give speeches

I'd rather give socialism a chance before I had to listen to him in the Oval office.

6/5/2008 8:21:23 AM

The only thing that really bothers me about my candidate is his bowling record.

6/5/2008 8:57:25 AM

^cheer up. Im sure he could give a speech and make you think he could bowl 300s left handed and blindfolded.

6/5/2008 9:23:58 AM

^ lol. but isn't that what counts these days? all you need is an image. not a record.

mccain should challenge him to an actual duel. like a paintball challenge. i'm sure with a lifetime learning how to use arms, he could win easily.

6/5/2008 9:38:51 AM

I dont like how McCain seems to lack focus. It seems like he is treading water. His admitted economic shortfalls bother me as well.

6/5/2008 9:52:17 AM

I sure as shit wish he'd used stronger language and used the opportunity to display some clear leadership today with regards to his opposition to the FISA bill.

6/20/2008 8:16:43 PM

Yep I am pretty pissed about the FISA bill

6/20/2008 11:36:33 PM

Irwin Stelzer of the Weekly Standard shares my complaint that McCain is not more aggressively pushing his own economic vision.

Quote :

"McCain has little interest in economic policy, and prefers the sort of intuitive, ad hoc reaction that unfortunately led him to support the continued closure of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and more sensibly to rail against multi-million payoffs to executives who had almost brought their companies to ruin. His economic policies have been aptly described as the politics of personal honor, which is a nice way of saying incoherent. They will therefore likely continue to be a combination of the good, the bad, and the ugly. If he ends up a winner in the debates as often as Clint Eastwood did in his flicks, McCain's strategy will be vindicated. If not, we are in for an expansion of the role of government in economic life that will make Lyndon Johnson look like laissez-faire."

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/254pojzo.asp

6/21/2008 11:14:38 PM

McCain is pathetic when it comes to women rights...Obama needs to attack McCain on his inability to vote on measures to protect veterans once they get back from service.



OBAMA is going to beat the shit out of McShame come NOV. '08 in NC!!!!

6/22/2008 3:28:53 PM

Women's Rights?

Quote :

"Real Name : Corey AIM Name : NCSUDolphin Age : 25 Sex : M "

You sound like a really sensative d00d.


Just playing I feel yah dawg.

[Edited on June 22, 2008 at 3:43 PM. Reason : ``]

6/22/2008 3:42:30 PM

McCain is kinda old.

I probably wouldn't put much stock in this complaint if my own grandmother wasn't having difficulties right now.

Will his age impact his ability to make decisions? Make no mistake, cognitive function does decline with age. The only question is how much and that varies between individuals.

I mean, Being old doesn't make you retarded. Warren Buffet is 78 years old. Alan Greenspan served well as chairman of the Federal Reserve into his 70s (no he didn't cause the housing bubble). Daniel Gross lists several very sucessful 70+ CEOs in his argument for more companies remove mandatory retirement ages (if you listen to NPR you know who he is).

Quote :

"Under the direction of Sandy Weill, who turned 70 last month, Citigroup is crushing its competitors. American International Group CEO Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg—at 77, old enough to have watched the home-run-hitting Hank Greenberg play for the Tigers—has helped his global insurance giant surf the recent industry downturn. Viacom, run by 79-year-old chief executive officer Sumner Redstone (recently married to 40-year-old Paula Fortunato), has outperformed all the major media stocks in the past two years—except 72-year-old Rupert Murdoch's News Corp."

http://www.slate.com/id/2081900/

So why shouldn't McCain be any different? He's never been great at speechifying, but I think his judgement on important issues like the surge have been shown solid in recent months. Plus, he's much much much MUCH more mentally and physically active than your average 70+ year old. So why assume he's in the middle of the distribution and not at the upper tail?

But, I still have a nagging feeling. When are gaffes just gaffes and not evidence of an aging mind? I would feel better if he had released more up-to-date medical records. Maybe he has? Does anyone know? I'll also feel better when I see him in a head-to-head town-hall style debate with Obama. If he can handle himself in such a high pressure quick-paced scenario, I will feel much better about the whole thing.

[Edited on August 7, 2008 at 6:51 PM. Reason : ``]

8/7/2008 6:48:32 PM