SEA OF GLASS!!!!!

[kusek]

Funny...at least 40% of the folks I talk to frequently think Bush is adequate at best and they agree that his approval rating would still be in the 40% (one of the lowest for first year presidency in 100 years, btw) if it weren't for 911.

Wrong. I think his ratings after his first few months (~50%) were actually higher than Clinton or old man Bush.

ANY poresident would likely have approval ratings as high as Bush under the circumstances. So the comparison doesn't work. It's a similar situation to 12/7/41.

YOU might think that but I'm not sure it's true. I think he was very "green" at first but has stepped up and done an enormous job. Much of the credit goes to the people around him (Cheney, Powell, Rice, Rumsfeld) but he does his part well too. I think the "devaluation/deflation" comment was a mistatement. He's a manager (Havard MBA) not a policy expert or professor (ie. Let Rice or Powell worry about who the leader of Timbukto is). Bush message to the bad guys in the world is clear. I'm not sure Clinton message ever was. He would rather have Gallup take poll on the problem and then do whatever the results said.

 

[ath0mps0]

Clinton was the WORST president the US has ever had! He was no leader - he had no honest agenda - and would do whatever the polls told him was in fashion that week. He was extremely charismatic and was slicker than teflon. Bush is no prize either, but Gore would have been worse - I have friends in the scientific community that were oppressed by this stalinistic politician. My preference would have been McCain - he is probably one of the most honest and outspoken politicians of the past 50 years.

Jack Anderson, one of the most famous and fair-minded journalists of the 20th century (and 21st now), did a comparison of Clinton to many of the previous presidents and their secret and public lives. He found that Clinton was despicable and worse even than Nixon, JFK, LBJ, Reagan, et. al combined. Jack Anderson was on the exclusive "enemies-list" that Nixon had during Watergate due to his straight-talk on the subject.

I thought a thought, but the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I had thought.

 

[kusek]

AMD Steals Technology. LOL. Meldown's post has nothing to do with computers now. Probably one of his better posts. No definately! It's good to discuss this stuff once in a while anyway. The people who post here are more intelligent than most people you would meet on the street anyway.

 

[Zlash]

Clinton's was a big part of the problem that we are having today. Cutting our defenses left and right...he only looked like a good president because of the economic changes that bush sr. did took effect during clintons tenure. And you can see what kind of shape the economy is in now...

<font color=red>:</font color=red> <font color=white>:</font color=white> <font color=blue>:</font color=blue>

 

[rickd59]

I think you guys are totally underestimating Clinton....and forgetting a lot. He did an excellent job with relation to foreign and domestic policy. Not only did he damn near wipe out the deficit, but he got Israel and Palestine to sit at the same table to talk (no small feat in itself). He talked about national healthcare and gays in the military, although the country wasn't ready for either. I am certainly not going to defend the fiascoes in his personal life, but lets face it.....I didn't elect him because he was husband of the year or the father of the century.....the guy is a VERY charismatic leader, and an excellent speaker (something that kills George W.). As terrible as this war has been, it is very easy to rally around a leader. Enron and the environment alone would have dashed his ratings had it not been for a major distraction. Back to Clinton, maybe he just knew how to keep his nose out of certain things (like giving Greenspan the reins on the economy). Let's face it, with Japan sucking wind terribly during his entire tenure (they are the #2 economy in the world), the United States, almost single-handedly, carried the economy of the world. Who in the U.S. (or the world, for that matter) can complain about the performance of their stocks from 1992-2000? Sometimes it takes a bigger man to keep his nose out of sticky situations. I think he is a rotten husband/father, but a pretty good president. I don't hate Bush, but he had better start focusing on domestic situations and federal spending....I think our deficit may be at record levels in four years if we continue with the status quo.

-Rick

 

[kusek]

I have to laugh when they blame the recession on the tax cut we got last summer. Democrats (most of them) lie so much. Listening to them and news people you would think he cut Bill Gates's taxes in half last year and that's what caused the recession. The only thing that changed was the lowest tax bracket went from 15% to 10% on our first $6000 single/$1200 married(hence the $300 & $600 checks) and the other brackets 28,31,36,39.6 all dropped by 1% for <A HREF="http://www.savewealth.com/taxes/rates/single/index.html" target="_new">2001</A>The idea that cutting taxes always lowers the money the government takes in baffles me too. Reagan's tax cuts in 1986 syrocketed revenues in the years that followed. More jobs, more people/companies paying taxes. The problem was the government spent an even greater amount of money. Most people don't know the truth about <A HREF="http://www.taxplanet.com/library/oldtaxrates/oldtaxrates.html" target="_new">taxes.</A> Here is a summary.
Carter - lowest 14%, highest 70%
Reagan - lowest 11%, highest 50% (his 2nd year)
Reagan - lowest 15%, highest 28% (his last year)
Bush Sr- lowest 15%, 28% and 31%(read my lips)
Clinton- 15,28,31,36,39.6
Bush Jr- 10,15,27,30,35,38.6 (his 1st year)
Bush Jr- 10,15,26,29,34,37.6 (2004)
Bush Jr- 10,15,25,28,33,35 (2006)
I should mention there is of course a 0% bracket too. Currently the first $7450single/$13400married.

 

[kusek]

I think YOU are forgetting a lot. Most of his foreign policy was shoot from the hip and hope for the best. Shoot a few cruise missiles today and hope the problem goes away tomorrow. Send troops to Bosnia but let the UN command them. We lost so much talent (pilots,technicians,etc) in the military because they were used like a policeman(or babysitters). Some will probably come back now with the war but there was a serious "brain drain" because of Clinton.
He did leave Greenspan alone which helped tremendously economically but the results of a president policies generally have a 2 year lag. He inherited an economy that was on a strong rebound. It came about 6 months too late to help Bush Sr though. I worry about the message he sent to little kids (and big ones) though. <i>"If your president you can get away with anything." "If you not sure whether to smoke crack or not take a poll and be governed by the results." "Should I cheat on this math test if I can get away with it." "Blame someone else when you make a mistake."</i> Of course SAT scores keep getting worse compared to other countries. I hope it doesn't happen but I think we are seeing the end of America's greatness. (like the Greek,Mayan,Roman,British civilizations)We are so concerned with accomodating everyone that we will end up pleasing no one. Kids educated here should be among the smartest but as a whole are among the dumbest.

 

[King_Denim]

"There's always a danger that,in seeking to destroy the evil that's afar,we fail to percieve the sin under our own noses"

 

[texas_techie]

Someone said they had no proof of American bombs killing innocents in Afghanistan. I saw a program ( 60 minutes?) where a we (USA) bombed a village on accident. An arab American's entire family was there, and they are all dead. The show took her from America to the village. The entire town was leveled. nothing left.
Point is that everyone makes mistakes in war. In any war, innocents are going to die. In this case, an entire village. Im not sure how many died there.

OK, Bill Clinton: Did some good things, but for the most part was worthless. And yes, I have spoken to people from Arkansas. They agree, he was a turd.

Bush Jr: Im not sure a global war on terrorism is the right approach. It will only send terrorists underground and in the end probably create more terrorists. Stealth operations involving special forces is the better way. Hell, we (america) should talk to Israeli special forces. They know how to f*uck terrorists up.
Any president in the same situation would likely have the same approval rating. Come on! standing on the rubble of the WTC with a bullhorn? saying patriotic things. Hugging democrats in the senate chamber? Calling Trent Lot a friend? Isnt that one of the signs of the apocolypse?
Point is, the Sept 11 bombing sickened my heart. I grieved for people I didnt even know. I play counter-strike a lot. That day (Sept 11), players from other countries were saying "im so sorry for your loss" and things like that while I was playing. Its not like I knew any of them, but It still hurt me and I still appreciated the kind words.
The most important thing for me about Sept 11, was learning about the middle east. Who hated America and why. I have learned a little about the VERY complicated politics of the middle east.
I really dont have an opinion about many nations. Thats why i am curious what others think of America, and why they think it.

PS: Most Americans are really nice...especially in the south


Benchmarks are like sex, everybody loves doing it, everybody thinks they are good at it.

 

[bikeman]

The Kyoto regulations are very important for the future. Even with the IPCC's most optimistic simulations, CO2 concentrations wil rise by important amounts. Not doing anything about it would make them double, or even triple coming 100 years. This is worth slowing down global economy. Every country that did agree to comply to the Kyoto regulations is aware of the fact that it will be a pain in the but (bud?) of their economy. But what would be the price if not complying? Imagine having 900 ppm CO2 in our atmosphere. Temperature would rise 4 degrees Celsius, up to even 5.5. This cannot happen, don't you agree?
I think saying no to a regulation that tries to prevent catastrophies like that is ... shortsighted. The US of A are the biggest pollutor in the world (not that surprising since they are the biggest economy, too) and should take their responsabilities in this concern. And that is up to their go(u?)vernement to take the necessary steps, of which the first one is to recognise the problem. They should be capable of having such insights. A totally free market regulates itselves. It optimizes wealth automatically. But a totally free market is all concerned about money. Problems that will occur in 100 years, don't have an immediate value now, so a free market can't take such things into account. That's why a go(u)vernment should temper that free market and guide it into taking those 100 year-away effects of what it is doing now, into account. Yes, it will cost, and maybe, for the American industry it will cost a lot. But according to hundreds of scientist all over the world, including American ones, it will pay off.
Developping countries will have to do their thing to, they will have to do their efforts also. But it just is a fact that Western economies can take more than theirs. If you'd make them comply to the same standards as 'us', they'd be dead. We'll have to give in, but we'll be able of keeping our level of whealth. They don't have anything, to exagerate a little bit, so they can't give anything. I think the same scientists that proclaim the needs of Kyoto-like measures are aware of the problems with those developping countries. But their problem is really complex.
So is ecology in general, I think, and I am far from enough informed to make a solid and founded statement about it. If you really want to now, go and look on the internet. <A HREF="http://www.ipcc.ch" target="_new">The Intergovernmantal Panel of Climate Change</A>-website could make a good start, I think.

Greetz,
Bikeman

Then again, that's just my opinion.

 

[AMD_Man]

The position Bush is in right now reminds me of the position Truman was in at the end of WWII when he had to decide whether to drop the a-bomb on Japan or not.

Hehe, I have a history exam tomorrow.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[Zlash]

Bush has stepped up and made some great speaches so you can't say he isn't a good speaker. And yes if clinton was a bigger man he woulda kept something out of someone's mouth =).

<font color=red>:</font color=red> <font color=white>:</font color=white> <font color=blue>:</font color=blue>

 

[camieabz]

If Clinton had been a bigger man, she wouldn't have gotten it into her mouth. :lol:

<b><font color=blue>~ They're coming to take me away. Ha Ha! ~</font color=blue></b>

 

[rickd59]

Bush is NOT a great speaker.....just because he brings a republican-filled house down, does not mean he will be remembered as eloquent.....he is ALWAYS fumbling for words, and doesn't have a good speaking voice. The content is not what I am talking about, it's his presentation..... For the record, can he make one speech without saying "evil"? He seems like he is constantly trying to make this a good vs. evil (in a biblical sense)war.....He's the president of the United States, not Billy Graham.

-Rick

 

[AMD_Man]

I have to agree there. But being a good speaker doesn't necessarily make you a good person. Hitler was consider the best of the best in terms of speeches. In fact, he was called the seducer. Does that make him a good leader? I think NOT!

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

ok so what. you just love drawing attention to yourself don't you? it's so pathetic.

lets not mention intel stealing via technology ok? hypocrite. you are soo left!

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=9933" target="_new"> My Rig </A>

 

[camieabz]

Exactly.

In fact, many diplomats and polititians from within Germany and other countries thought Hitler was lacking in diplomatic skills. Once he was powerful enough, many were silenced by fear or by action.

His one great gift (if you can call it a gift) was his ability to sense the needs of his audience. He would plead, scream, rant or quietly chat depending on who he was talking to. He would also make assurances without hesitation to reach his ends, or threaten others if he felt the climate was right. This allowed him to bend these people to his will. Many different examples include:

The German people.
The Officer Cadre of the German Army.
Neville Chamberlain
Joseph Stalin
The Czechoslovakian Government (Sudetenland)

To name a tiny percentage.

<b><font color=blue>~ They're coming to take me away. Ha Ha! ~</font color=blue></b>

 

[AMD_Man]

The Czechoslovakian Government (Sudetenland)

I thought Hitler took over Sudetenland after asking Chamberlain for that "one" thing. He never confronted the USSR or Czechoslovakia about the matter. Lol, the policy of appeasement. NOTE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS: Never appease dictators.

hehe, I have a history exam tomorrow! YEKKES!

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[lhgpoobaa]

okay... whay are we talkin about hitler now? i think that means this thread is dead... not that it wasnt stillborn anyway.

"I came, I saw, I overclocked", Julius 'Smokin CPU' Caesar

 

[eden]

It's funny, it all began when iib mentioned something about israel getting some NWs or something... I forgot lol! This forum is the most fragile when it comes to slight subject changes and can quickly turn to something else from the topic. Like some who ask for if Tom's reviews are biased, now are dicussing the FSB controversy of the Athlon and how it affects the future marketting!

--
For the first time, Hookers are hooked on Phonics!!

 

[Matisaro]

Bush has stepped up and made some great speaches so you can't say he isn't a good speaker. And yes if clinton was a bigger man he woulda kept something out of someone's mouth =).

What the hell does a persons personal sex life have to do with his leadership. Moralists and right wingers like to make clinton out to be bad because he got some action, jesus come on and get out of the 50's.

"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
No Overclock+stock hsf=GOOD!

 

[Matisaro]

Bush is NOT a great speaker.....just because he brings a republican-filled house down, does not mean he will be remembered as eloquent.....he is ALWAYS fumbling for words, and doesn't have a good speaking voice. The content is not what I am talking about, it's his presentation..... For the record, can he make one speech without saying "evil"? He seems like he is constantly trying to make this a good vs. evil (in a biblical sense)war.....He's the president of the United States, not Billy Graham.

Hes right, bush is a shitty speach giver, he is always using piss poor grammar and the wrong words.

"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
No Overclock+stock hsf=GOOD!

 

[Matisaro]

LOL, debates can spring up from a single comment!

I just hope everyone knows me and silver were debating, not flaming.

"The Cash Left In My Pocket,The BEST Benchmark"
No Overclock+stock hsf=GOOD!

 

[AMD_Man]

lol, can we get back to Hilter and WWII? WWII is quite interesting actually to read about.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[camieabz]

There were many 'Germans' in the area of the Sudetenland. Hitler threatened Czechoslovakia that he would take this land by force if it wasn't given up.

The Czechs stood firm, and called upon the French to honour the treaty of Locarno, under which France guaranteed Czechoslovakia's territorial integrity.

Russia was also commited to helping the Czechs, but only after France did. The Red army's officer cadre was in tatters after the purges of the 30s and between this and both Poland & Romania's refusal to allow passage for the Red army to Czechoslovakia, the Russians were not for getting involved. France knew this, and therefore got scared.

Neville Chamberlain was just a peace loving man, who hoped Hitler would keep his word, because he didn't know what to do if he didn't.

The combined governments pressured Czechoslovakia into ceding to Hitler's wishes to avoid a war. They really believed he would be satisfied. I suppose with hindsight it is easy to scoff, but at the time France had the greatest army in Europe. Problem was, it was geared for defense against the East with the help of the Maginot Line fortifications...

<b><font color=blue>~ They're coming to take me away. Ha Ha! ~</font color=blue></b>