untrue.

I would stand a better chance of hitting the broad side of a barn by just throwing the entire gun at it.

Suppose you lived in a country in which good paying jobs achievable by the level of public education available were sent to another country. Now suppose that you now don't make enough money to provide the college education your children will require to achieve good paying white collar jobs that are also leaving the country.

How much incentive does a child in a low wage family have to complete even a highschool education if his college prospects don't exist, and she can earn a GED equivalent and still get the same crappy job that her former schoolmates will qualify for even though they stayed in highschool?

Religion is the poor man's opiate. The more poor men, the more religion.

For those who are less religiously inclined or when religion is ineffective, there are several pharmaceuticals commercial after commercial after commercial for you to choose to ask your doctor about if you have one. If not, there are programs available to get you short term free samples to get you hooked.

Now suppose you lived in a country that is suppose to be a democratic republic, but you find that only two parties are allowed the media stage, and third parties are excluded from corporate media debates. On top of that, you have left and rightwing lemmings telling us someone is not electable, though we are capable of voting for them, but as usual, these conformists still buy into the two party dictatorship. how much incentive does an independent have to vote in rigged elections?

Racism is not just indigenous to this nation, but exists in every nation. If it is not racism, we can always find a reason to not get along with our neighbor, thus tribal wars among blacks in Africa long after the white boys left. Racism is like masturbation, 99% of all people do it and 1% lie about it.

As far as Americans and gun-nuttiness goes, look at the government we have. Do you blame them?

I agree that we have a child obesity problem, and this is at least in part, due to the laziness of some parents. Shutting up the kid with a mouthful of food, especially the over-processed, high caloric-dense corporate foods easily and cheaply available is a bad idea. We have an adult obesity problem for similar reasons.

Now the claim you made is it is our fault, but I would ask specifically who is at fault? I suggest that the same government wants us to be fat, stupid and submissive. The two parties only want their constituencies to vote. It is their corporate-only policies that have made the prospect of achieving the American dream overhwhelming and futile in many cases. Not everyone is the little engine that could, especially when your government is enlarging the hill you need to climb, while giving big corp and their personal portfolios a downhill glide.

I wont argue that there are no fat, lazy Americans. I will argue that there are more than there should be.

With an attitude like yours, I almost want to agree.

But seeing as to how you think the country is finished, there really is no reason for you to continue participate in the politicis of something that you believe cannot be fixed. You can leave now, and spare us all your defeatist delusions...
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"We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace."
"Power to the peaceful..." --Franti

And that affects the lives of whom, other than his family? In other words, who gives a damn?

Are you talking about Bush and his gay prostitute in the White House?