nightwind928's Comments (162)

“A good quote to remember is .." A hundred years ago these people were living in tents in the desert. A hundred years from now they will be back living in tents in the desert."”

“To simply say that the United States is the cause of global warming is ridiculous. We do now and have in the past contributed to the problem in a disproportionate way to be sure, but the European countries and much of the industrialized Far East have been spewing carbon into the atmosphere for as long as we have. We are not the only industrialized country on the planet nor have we been for the last hundred years. To deny overpopulation as a major factor is to not see the forest for the trees.If you embrace science then the sheer weight of the math alone substantiates the conclusion for overpopulation as a major factor.”

“Human rights are not issues that are solely the responsibility of the United States to enforce. We live in a global society that has human rights violations on almost every continent. You hear very little from the Europeans on this subject and the middle east,who's people stand to lose or gain the most and where human rights are interpretative at best, says almost nothing on the subject. China is dealing with their own problems on this issue as are many other countries beside Iran. When the so called civilized countries of the world, collectively, join together to rail against human rights abuse, then America will stand at the forefront. But to say it's our "duty" to stand alone against every injustice on the planet is an idea that has come and gone as we deal with the stark reality of our own problems here at home.”

“No sane person can deny the problems of global warming and pollution. But global warming is a symptom of something larger, overpopulation. As the worlds population continues to increase, so do the demands for the planets natural resources. As they are consumed at an increased rate the carbon used in production and use of those items is released into the atmosphere. Land is consumed as natural resources are displaced by the demand for the raw materials needed to satisfy the increased population. It's no mystery. We all wait in lines now that didn't exist twenty years ago. Traffic is clogged in every major city despite a frenzy of road construction. Housing developments displace meadows and farm land in every rural area. Shops and stores displace dairies and groves until it seems they almost connect at both ends. We are, by sheer numbers, over grazing our world. the population increases at a faster rate than our ability to keep up with the infrastructure and technology to support it. Meanwhile greedy, self serving politicians, worrying only about their political agendas, vacillate on doing what is necessary to head off disaster as millions more babies are born daily to increase the consumption cycle.”

“Here in Florida, same sex marriage isn't legal. It probably won't be anytime soon either, as this is a state populated by an aging demographic and right wing core values. However, where there's a will, there's a way. Wedding ceremonies ,as such, are not illeagle. There are may of us who as legal notaries, design and perform wedding ceremonies every day here for people of all orientations. They are just not legally valid without a state issued wedding license. But... we also can notarize Powers Of Attorney. These ARE legal documents and can be used to spell out what rights and privilege one person can extend to another. They are very powerful legal documents and if written properly, witnessed and notarized, can convey the same legal terms as any implied by a marriage license. They can name specific details of an arraignment and can not be dismissed out of hand in any court. They allow another to make medical decisions on another's behalf, make financial decisions and other personal choices they may wish to share. Most important, they can not be legally disputed on a gender basis. When properly written and exchanged in a ceremony, they can be almost as good,contractually, as a marriage license. Something to think about and investigate further as an alternative to finding a way around the obstacles.”

“It's time for New York and the rest of the "anti gay" states to take this thing further. No more marriages between Catholics and Jewish people or Christians and Moslem's And Protestants can marry but not Methodist with Baptist or Lutherans with Mormons etc. Of course interracial marriage is completely out of the question, in fact, if someone has a tan the shade of Bohner's, they should be considered suspect. Republicans should not be allowed to marry Democrats (this would spur way to much political controversy) Independents could marry, but only if they pledged to vote with the far right on election day. Dog lovers could not marry cat lovers. Age limits should be carefully scrutinized. If someone is more than 3 years older than the other they would be excluded. Nobody over the age of 65 either, I mean whats the point, they're too old anyway right? Those who prefer Chevy's wouldn't be allowed to marry those who drove Ford's either.( If you drive a Chrysler product you can't marry at all.) Now you may think this is ridiculous but it makes as much sense as the same sex exclusions.”

“If your marriage is in pain feel free to go to www.facesoftheheart.com. No spam, or anything bad....just someone that has spent years as a reationship coach who will be glad to help. Life's too short and marriage too important to not try to save it.”

“People shouldn't have to move to Europe or anywhere else to get fair treatment. ...that's the point here. If your church, private group or fraternity doesn't want to embrace the policy of same sex marriage then don't practice it and exclude anyone from joining your group. But the laws of the land in the United States of America aren't supposed to be discriminatory against ANYBODY and shouldn't be unduly influenced by your group because it's contrary to their practice.”

“Those in power are very conscious of the possibility of social uprising. They got a taste of it in the 1960's and it scared them to the point that they directed our own troops to fire on unarmed citizens at Kent State. They control the power completely now and they have contingency plans for just such a possibility. They don't have to shoot anybody anymore. They can just turn off the water and electricity or stop the food from arriving and close the roads for awhile. The majority of Americans don't have the stomach or willpower for insurrection, especially any prolonged campaign that such a venture would require.Those who would be required to lead such a revolt would be discovered and incarcerated quite quickly in todays electronic era. The idea is the stuff of novels and movie scripts but in reality, it's too far a reach for all but a few anarchist dreamers.”

“There will always be a middle class, however,there is no doubt that the middle class is becoming redefined. The majority of middle class have, up to this point, been baby boomers who will shortly enter retirement age. Many, myself included, now are engaged in raising grandchildren or redefining retirement. I deliver goods to many "snowbird" retirees in Sun City Fl. (A large retirement community) . They are the last generation to enjoy the fruits of that lifestyle. A nice home up north, one in Florida, fancy golf carts, etc. They are the last of the "double dippers" and it's certain that our generation will never be able to live in that style in our 'golden years'. But it's a trade off because we live far better now than they did when they were our age. Perhaps the lesson they leave us is that it's o k to live with less today to have more tomorrow...an idea we seem reluctant to embrace. It's certain that the middle class will no longer be able to enjoy the limitless excess they have come to accept as their normal standard of living. In the end, there will be a middle class as always. It just won't have quite the shine on it as it did in the past.”

“To win any war , you must have a clear, realistic goal that defines victory. I haven't heard anyone define that goal. I hear about routing the Taliban, but the Taliban aren't an army, they're a movement and you can't route a movement with battlefield tactics.I hear about political stability but this last ridiculous excuse for an election proved that isn't a viable option.There's the stability of Pakistan, but that isn't incumbent on a victory in Afghanistan either. War,even for clear reasons is terrible. For unclear reasons, it's the worst thing a nation can engage in. We fought two world wars for clearly defined reasons and won them because the entire country was unified in that victory. We haven't won another since because the entire country was split and the reasoning for them was flawed. Now, like some shell game, we just change the goal lines that define victory to mollify everyone who is dumb enough to buy into that logic. We won't win this one either, because there is no clear winnable goal post and we let the politicians keep moving the shells around, showing us the pea underneath when it suits them. This just cost us lives,loads of money and the good will of the rest of the world, who's people are reluctant, themselves, to get involved in any significant way because they understand the futility of the situation.”

“Yes you had free education and health care in Cuba before Castro...but only about 12 percent of the nations population could take advantage of it..The rich sugar and tobacco plantation and rum factory owners and their family's got the chicken and the rest of the population got the feathers. And if they complained too loudly Batista's corrupt goons in the SIM would "disapear" them. I have been to Havanna twice since 1985 so I know from wence I speak. For the privileged class, life was beautiful, but for most others, who sweated in the fields and factories, it wasn't so good. If it had been, Castro would never have even gotten a foothold there.”

“I have lived as a kid in the 50's when the "Red Hoard" were destroying our country from the farthest corners of the world...at least according to the Joe McCarthy's anyway. Now, 6 decades later I don't know why it was so frightening and neither does anyone else who has lived through this history. Communism never quite worked as advertised and went the way of the Edsel for the very reason that it doesn't work.. If it could have worked, it would have been in Cuba where the model was more refined. But due to the embargo, that experiment in government was doomed to fail out of hand. When the Russians came and brought their style of Communism, it was a disaster for everyone concerned. But things did improve on many levels for the population. Free health care ( which even we don't have to date) Free education through college and a few other things proved to be good ideas. But the infrastructure crumbled without U S dollars and a siege mentality by Castro ( not completely unjustified) destroyed the idea of a real socialist society before it could truly be tested. The real loss is to the Cuban people..and possibly all of us here at home as well. But now Communism is not an issue anywhere anymore. The "red hoard" was a paper tiger that never bit us. It's time to rethink our policy with Cuba and it's people and move on into the 21st century.”

“If those in the exile community still, after six decades, entertain illusions about returning to Cuba in some victorious parade to regain what they left so many years ago, they are kidding themselves. Cuba will never entertain their claims of ownership to anything no matter how much political pressure they think they have here at home. In the mean time they continue to inhibit the normalization of relations with a country that should be a stop on cruise ship routes instead of on some crazy, out dated embargo list. They put their bets on a corrupt, mob owned dictator named Batista and when the wheel of life stopped in 1959, they lost. That's gambling ..too bad, so sad. The whole country shouldn't have to pay off their gambling debt forever, anymore than it has to pay it off for all the other dictators that have come and gone in the world over the years. Castro isn't right, but then neither is the Priemere of China or the Saudi Royal Family or a couple of dozen others we openly embrace in normal relations with. We prop up Kharzi in Afghanistan who's a complete villian...so what's the beef?”

“Palin's book, whether fact or fiction, will do exactly what she intended it to do....make her a bundle. She is about as bad a political candidate for any office as anybody could wish for, but that doesn't make her stupid. She's gone from someone who nobody but a few, misguided Alaskan voters even knew to a world recognized figure and picked up more than a few nickels in the process. The reason she stepped down as Governor was that it was getting in the way of making money. There isn't a day that goes by that she isn't on this site and almost every other one as well. She's the darling of every talk show and even Oprah considered her a feather in her cap to have on her show. She lives and breathes because of her stardom, not because of her political ability. She is the Paris Hilton of politics, nothing more, but that's enough to keep her in the spotlight with no talent nobody's like Jon and Kate and enough to insure her book makes it to the best seller list whether it is nothing more than a thick, poorly written comic book or not.”

“If you love with anything but an open heart, your cheating yourself and those you direct your love at. Don't let some misguided,overeducated fool with a college degree cause you to worry about "loving too much"....only about loving too little... and remember that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.”

“Don't bet the ranch on it”

“There's a reason that Manny is a favorite of the fans..actually many reasons. He, like many boxers, comes from the streets and has risen to the top on his own skill and performance. He is a gentleman out of the ring and doesn't live a life of extravagant excess or get into trouble in his personal life. Even the few detractors he might have pay homage to his unquestioned skills. For many of us, he is is the little guy who wins the good fight by virtue of his great heart and tenacity...an inspiration to the rest of us little guys, fighting everyday to survive in life's ring against opponents that would beat us down. He isn't handsome, charismatic or flashy...but he's a winner and that's why so many of us will always be cheering for him from the first bell. We love ya Manny!”

“It's too bad that this has turned into a "racial divide". Because when someone splits up any group that stand for the rights of EVERYONE then both sides lose. The pure truth is that we all suffer when ANY group of our citizens are excluded from the rights and privileged that are guaranteed under the umbrella of the American flag. To compare one color to another in the struggle for equality is to compare apples to oranges..equality is for all of the people no matter what their color may be. You might as well argue that one color is "gayer" or "straighter" than another and therefore less deserving of equality.”

“Everything is impossible...until it done. I am an old man now, yet in my lifetime I saw a man walk on the moon..impossible. I watched the Berlin wall come down and the soviet Union dissolve..impossible. I watched as polio was eradicated..impossible. I watched a black man, who would have had to drink form a segregated water fountain when I was a kid, be elected to the White house, and your going to tell me that people uniting behind a cause to save their country is impossible? I have learned that NOTHING is impossible when people choose to make it possible.”

“What is up with all these "Pro Vegan" posts on here lately? This is the third one in just a few days. Are the vegans suddenly overwhelming society? I don't think so. I don't see any more vegetable stands suddenly popping up where bar-b-que trailers used to be. Grilling burgers and hot dogs (or steak for the Republicans) is still the best way to bring in the 4th of July. I doubt grilling a tasty artichoke will replace that idea very soon. I don't see any Kentucky Fried Turnip franchises being sold. Perhaps theres a reason. Maybe it's because vegetables are great side dishes... with things like chicken and pork chops. I like vegetables...and meat too. Most people feel like me. Being a staunch vegan is not an idea that will take off like a brush fire for most of us any time soon. So why the ink here Huff-Po? There are many more interesting and controversial issues to be advanced than arguing over carrots and broccoli vs bacon and eggs. And most of us like them both anyway ( well...to be honest, my granddaughter doesn't really like broccoli that much, but I'll probably still let her keep her last name anyway)”

“The thing to consider here is that when a two party system is all you have, and the choice is between bad and worse, you don't really have any choice. To deny the best of the worst any chance of success is only to empower the worst of the worst. But there's hope!. We do have an independent party in America and it has grown stronger. Many who have fled the craziness of the Republican camp and many who can't tolerate the Democratic lies have officially changed their voter registration status to Independent. Thats a lot. All we need is a viable, credible leader to come to the fore. If one did, and we channeled all that money we have been wasting on these louts who have shown themselves as political wolves in sheep's clothing, we could really make some changes. We start by organizing goos independent candidates to replace those Congresspeople and Senators who have shown themselves as the liars and cheats they are in this last year. We CAN do this, but we have to change our thinking and get the right people onboard. It has been done before, it can be done again and it needs to be done now if were ever to get our country back.”

“Your point is moot Alexa07. Everytime there is controversy in the Catholic Church the media parades priests and church spokespeople across the screen. The same is true when Jewish problems arise and Rabbi's are interviewed or the Dali Lama speaks on Buddhist issues. Every other segment of the population from the BoyScouts, military Generals and women's rights activist are asked about things that are in their sphere of knowledge to better inform the rest of us. Are you saying that the Moslem community should be exempt from providing anyone for meaningful discussions at times like these...and what would be your reasoning? It would seem that YOU are the one with an "axe" to grind my disillusioned friend.”

“If you chose to interpret my post as something negative, then you have gone to a lot of trouble for nothing. I have no axe to grind and I thought this was obvious but, of course, you can read into it anything what you want it to say. The "we" vs."them" thing won't fly because "We" are all Americans (unless you have chosen to not be a citizen). As to how you got the McVey-Hitler thing a condemnation of Moslems...well that was a real stretch on your part. I hoped that people would not condemn the Moslem community out of hand for this terrible deed done by one crazed person and some articulate people in the Moslem community would come forward to help disparage that notion. Just as I hope people don't condemn all Catholics (of which I am one) because of the misdeeds done by some predatory priests. Don't try to light a fire where there is none. There is enough hate to go around without stirring up anymore.”

“I can understand Mr. Dajani's angst at these questions. On the surface they seem shallow and inconsiderate. But many good people are trying to make some logical sense out of this tragedy and have no where to turn for their answers. We don't hear much from the Moslem community about anything, except when they speak out against the discrimination they feel in their respective communities. This is an opportunity for many in the Moslem community to come forward and speak to people who need answers instead of letting them come to their own wrong conclusions. It is at times like this that they can do themselves much good by letting the country know that they are with the rest of America in their grief and defuse the hate that will be perpetrated by those who will use this to further inflame anti Moslem sentiment. To be silent on these matters will be mistaken as guilt by omission by many. Mc Vey and Hitler are poor examples of a defense,and long gone from many peoples living memory but 9-11 and terrorism are still fresh and the scars still deep. The argument is apples vs. oranges to a lot of people. Silence is not golden for the Moslem community right now.”