I don't think I've seen so many status's on my facebook about people posting their opinions about the recent suspension of Phil from Duck Dynasty for his comments on gays.

 

I don't get how anyone is surprised when someone asks their opinion on gays to someone who is known to be very religious and the bible talks about being gay is a sin. 

Biggest surprise here: he was being interviewed by GQ??!!

Missed this post somehow, but I guess GQ is the only winner in this situation. He's pretty popular, though, so maybe they were trying to grab some new readers off the reality show's fanbase. I'm one of the few people I know of who still haven't watched the show, but maybe now I'll have to try an episode. (Considering that I'm now curious about the show, however, makes me wonder if Duck Dynasty is actually capitalizing off this stint somehow.)

 

 

 

 

 

Fox News'll throw a newscaster off if he or she is a socialist, I just see this as an example on the other side.

No one has ever been fired for being a Socialist, Progressive, Democrat, Gay, or even an employee of a former President... (that was a joke). Please educate yourself before you talk about things you clearly know nothing about.

I apologize if I was incorrect, as it was I admit an unfair assumption, and an assumption. However I still believe that it's a fairpoint that FOX News is heavily biased against Liberal policies and viewpoints, given that it was created under the premise of being a Republican News station, and also that it is owned by Rupert Murdoch would help fuel that point. Either way, it's still heavily biased to Conservative viewpoints in its news, as A&E is biased toward Liberal viewpoints and mindsets in its shows, and is an example of a bias for the opposing 'side'. I am sorry if my statement was false, and I'll attempt not to fall into a pit like that again, but my point stands that it is biased toward Republican ideals.

 

More assumptions on your part. Fox News was created on the fact... yes fact... that all news outlets are run by, and staffed by, Liberals. Rupert Murdoch owns News Corp., which is the parent company of Fox News. He does not run Fox News. Roger Ailes was the creator of Fox News, and is to this very day the brains behind the entire operation, including Fox Business Network.

 

Fox News is the only network where Conservatives have a voice. The only place where they get a fair shake. That's why they are bigger, better, and watched by more people than all the rest combined.

 

The only show that is all Republican, all the time, is Sean Hannity. He has dozens of Liberals that frequent his show every night to debate the issues. It's always a robust debate. Bill O'Reilly is always accused of being a Republican but is actually an Independent. People mistake him as a Republican because he is a devout Catholic, therefore has many Conservative views. There is The Five which is a show designed like The View but with brains. There are always 4 Conservatives and 1 Liberal. These are all opinion shows and cater to the overwhelming Conservative audience that watch Fox.

 

There are Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Sustern. Both are hard news journalists and are both lawyers. Greta came from CNN years ago and works out of Washington DC. She was a Criminal Attorney before TV. Megyn is a true superstar and comes from a Corporate Law background. Out of New York she owns 9pm eastern. These women base their shows first and foremost on the law and it's effects on the political landscape, never from an ideology. Megyn Kelly is one of my favorite Fox people, along with Greg Gutfeld.

 

If you want to bash Fox News for being biased, I will ask you, as opposed to what? Everyone else?

There is no where else for a Conservative to go, and I am a proud card carrying member of the Republican Party.

I said earlier on these pages that I know History and Politics, I didn't think I would be tested on both here.

But if you ever wish to throw a Progressive bomb or use Saul Alinski tactics here, be prepared.

I will call you out and spank you in front of the class. I don't make widgets for a living... Politics is what I do.

I'm one of the few people I know of who still haven't watched the show...

I have never watched that show either. Continue to have no interest or plans to. I would probably watch The Real Housewives of Hackensack before I'd watch this.

I will call you out and spank you in front of the class. I don't make widgets for a living... Politics is what I do.

Woah. Let's take it down a notch. I think Sim intended to make a silly joke but it touched a nerve.

 

That said, take a look at tonight's Daily Show. There's a series of clips from FOX News that actually makes Sim's point. It makes FOX News look really REALLY silly. And it's hard to take them serious when they embarrass themselves like that.

 

I feel the same way about our party. I don't even know what the current Republican Party is. They are so out of touch with the world that I find it extremely difficult to identify with them anymore. And every time they kowtow to the Tea Party crazies I feel like another piece of the party dies.

 

This, however, isn't the point of the thread. I still maintain that the biggest surprise here was GQ interviewing a hillbilly. 

 

I will call you out and spank you in front of the class. I don't make widgets for a living... Politics is what I do.

Woah. Let's take it down a notch. I think Sim intended to make a silly joke but it touched a nerve.

 

That said, take a look at tonight's Daily Show. There's a series of clips from FOX News that actually makes Sim's point. It makes FOX News look really REALLY silly. And it's hard to take them serious when they embarrass themselves like that.

 

I feel the same way about our party. I don't even know what the current Republican Party is. They are so out of touch with the world that I find it extremely difficult to identify with them anymore. And every time they kowtow to the Tea Party crazies I feel like another piece of the party dies.

 

This, however, isn't the point of the thread. I still maintain that the biggest surprise here was GQ interviewing a hillbilly. 

 

I watch Jon Stewart when I want a good laugh. He's good at it. But he has a hard on for Fox and pulls clips that he can take out of context and exploit. It's his schtick and he's welcome to it... you know... freedom of speech? Which is the real thread topic.

 

I would NEVER look to Jon for news... he's a comedian. I'm so sorry to hear this... I'm one of those Tea Party crazies you speak of so sharply. The Tea Party was created for 2 reasons, and 2 reasons only. All the rest is what opponents wanted people to believe and are all lies. Reason number 1 is to stop Obamacare... period. Number 2 is to stop the out of control Government spending. That is all... Nothing else. Anything other than that are all Lies. What is so crazy about that?

The Tea Parties agenda is alot more vast than that little list of two things there. They are constitution followers and strive for everyone to follow the rules in which in states. Yes some like Ted Cruz like to have an agenda that at times throws up all over what the Tea Party stands for and at times it looks bad.

 

Fox News is just as biased for Republicans as MSLSD is for Democrats. Big deal Im a republican and stopped watching them years ago.

 

This also isint about politics and was souly about Phil Robertson expressing his freedom of speech.

The point was what the Tea Party was created for. The reason for it's exsistance.

The Constitution is the Law and the foundation of the USA. Everyone has to abide by that.

It's a document that is designed to limit Government power over the people.

We use the Constitution to legitimize our exsistance and our direction.

My wife and I were in Washington DC 9/12/09 with Senator Jim DeMint.

The first Tea Party March. I need no one to tell me what we are about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fox News'll throw a newscaster off if he or she is a socialist, I just see this as an example on the other side.

No one has ever been fired for being a Socialist, Progressive, Democrat, Gay, or even an employee of a former President... (that was a joke). Please educate yourself before you talk about things you clearly know nothing about.

I apologize if I was incorrect, as it was I admit an unfair assumption, and an assumption. However I still believe that it's a fairpoint that FOX News is heavily biased against Liberal policies and viewpoints, given that it was created under the premise of being a Republican News station, and also that it is owned by Rupert Murdoch would help fuel that point. Either way, it's still heavily biased to Conservative viewpoints in its news, as A&E is biased toward Liberal viewpoints and mindsets in its shows, and is an example of a bias for the opposing 'side'. I am sorry if my statement was false, and I'll attempt not to fall into a pit like that again, but my point stands that it is biased toward Republican ideals.

 

More assumptions on your part. Fox News was created on the fact... yes fact... that all news outlets are run by, and staffed by, Liberals. Rupert Murdoch owns News Corp., which is the parent company of Fox News. He does not run Fox News. Roger Ailes was the creator of Fox News, and is to this very day the brains behind the entire operation, including Fox Business Network.

 

Fox News is the only network where Conservatives have a voice. The only place where they get a fair shake. That's why they are bigger, better, and watched by more people than all the rest combined.

 

The only show that is all Republican, all the time, is Sean Hannity. He has dozens of Liberals that frequent his show every night to debate the issues. It's always a robust debate. Bill O'Reilly is always accused of being a Republican but is actually an Independent. People mistake him as a Republican because he is a devout Catholic, therefore has many Conservative views. There is The Five which is a show designed like The View but with brains. There are always 4 Conservatives and 1 Liberal. These are all opinion shows and cater to the overwhelming Conservative audience that watch Fox.

 

There are Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Sustern. Both are hard news journalists and are both lawyers. Greta came from CNN years ago and works out of Washington DC. She was a Criminal Attorney before TV. Megyn is a true superstar and comes from a Corporate Law background. Out of New York she owns 9pm eastern. These women base their shows first and foremost on the law and it's effects on the political landscape, never from an ideology. Megyn Kelly is one of my favorite Fox people, along with Greg Gutfeld.

 

If you want to bash Fox News for being biased, I will ask you, as opposed to what? Everyone else?

There is no where else for a Conservative to go, and I am a proud card carrying member of the Republican Party.

I said earlier on these pages that I know History and Politics, I didn't think I would be tested on both here.

But if you ever wish to throw a Progressive bomb or use Saul Alinski tactics here, be prepared.

I will call you out and spank you in front of the class. I don't make widgets for a living... Politics is what I do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fox News'll throw a newscaster off if he or she is a socialist, I just see this as an example on the other side.

No one has ever been fired for being a Socialist, Progressive, Democrat, Gay, or even an employee of a former President... (that was a joke). Please educate yourself before you talk about things you clearly know nothing about.

I apologize if I was incorrect, as it was I admit an unfair assumption, and an assumption. However I still believe that it's a fairpoint that FOX News is heavily biased against Liberal policies and viewpoints, given that it was created under the premise of being a Republican News station, and also that it is owned by Rupert Murdoch would help fuel that point. Either way, it's still heavily biased to Conservative viewpoints in its news, as A&E is biased toward Liberal viewpoints and mindsets in its shows, and is an example of a bias for the opposing 'side'. I am sorry if my statement was false, and I'll attempt not to fall into a pit like that again, but my point stands that it is biased toward Republican ideals.

 

More assumptions on your part. Fox News was created on the fact... yes fact... that all news outlets are run by, and staffed by, Liberals. Rupert Murdoch owns News Corp., which is the parent company of Fox News. He does not run Fox News. Roger Ailes was the creator of Fox News, and is to this very day the brains behind the entire operation, including Fox Business Network.

 

Fox News was created by Murdoch though, and Roger Aisles was handpicked by him to run it, as Rupert can't do everything. All of Fox and Fox News' sister channels are also all in the end owned by Murdoch, and those Murdoch decides to put in charge. He's the man at the top. I never said this was bad, but even if Fox News is the only channel where Republicans 'have a voice', it's still biased. I never intended to bash it, nor did I say anything necessarily negative. I just meant to imply that almost all news or television outlets are biased in some way or to one side. You can't really find news that is entirely unbiased at all.

I'll admit I made an inaccurate statement up front, but I'll retain that Fox News is biased and that Rupert Murdoch is really the man in charge. Sure Roger Aisles is the brains of the operation, but he only is because Murdoch put him there and was happy with his work.

 

From what you've said, you seem very opinionated about this, and if it is alright, could I ask you some questions in PM? I do very much enjoy raking the brains of people who think differently than me, seeing as they force me to compare them to my own. Depending on how good certain arguments are, I'm open to letting my opinion change. I'm not asking if I can debate with you, but rather have a civil private discussion where I might ask you of some political opinions of yours for a little while.

I'm curious about your opinions. That and also I don't want to derail the thread anymore than we already have here.

Absolutely Sir. I would love to share thoughts. I am honored that you would ask.

I would NEVER look to Jon for news... he's a comedian.

Well, political satirist, but mostly yes. I'm not looking at The Daily Show as a news outlet. lol. It was just funny that I was typing in this thread while the show was on and they did a bit on this Duck Dynasty debacle and just happened to cut to about a dozen cut aways from FOX News that were - obviously given the context of the show - hillarious.

 

I'm so sorry to hear this... I'm one of those Tea Party crazies you speak of so sharply.

Awe shit. Now we are in a fight!

 

The Tea Party was created for 2 reasons, and 2 reasons only... Reason number 1 is to stop Obamacare... period. Number 2 is to stop the out of control Government spending.

This is the part of the thread where I embarrass you. I apologize in advance for the spanking you are about to receive but it is unavoidable.

 

Here goes:

You claim you “don’t make widgets’ and that politics is “what you do.” Then why don’t you know your own party?

1. Reason #1 is to stop “Obamacare? “ Well… the Affordable Care Act was introduced by New York State’s 13th District Representative Charles Rangle in 2009.

TeaParty.org was created on: September 2nd, 2004.

Source: Tea Party.org

Between you and me, the roots of the Tea Party actually extend back to the 90’s and Tax Day Protests but what’s a decade between friends?

 

2. There are TWO reasons and TWO reasons only that the Tea Party exists and anything else is a fabrication?

15 Non-negotiable Core Beliefs [of the Tea Party]

 

1. Illegal aliens are here illegally.

2. Pro-domestic employment is indispensable.

3. A strong military is essential.

4. Special interests must be eliminated.

5. Gun ownership is sacred.

6. Government must be downsized.

7. The national budget must be balanced.

8. Deficit spending must end.

9. Bailout and stimulus plans are illegal.

10. Reducing personal income taxes is a must.

11. Reducing business income taxes is mandatory.

12. Political offices must be available to average citizens.

13. Intrusive government must be stopped.

14. English as our core language is required.

15. Traditional family values are encouraged.

Also from Teaparty.org.  Just click on the about link.  Seems like more than “two” reasons to me.

 

The problem I have with the Tea Party is that they cut off their nose to spite their face and have been dragging religion in to WAY too much of their political chicanery. Regardless of your own personal relationship with God and/or Jesus Christ, if you are going to be a Constitutionalist you need to leave that stuff at Church and recognize that you are legislating for Jews, Muslims, Atheists, and everything in between. In other words, there’s a REASON our forefathers expressly forbade the creation of laws that would establish a religion or prevent the free exercise thereof. Further, feel free to read about the plight of Roger Williams – some guy that fled the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations - in regards to the separation of Church and State.

I could break each of these 15 points down line by line but I’d be here all night and it’s almost 02:00 in the morning so I need to get some sleep. The one point I will address is the second point you brought up to “stop out of control government spending.” So, our Country fell into this recession for any number of reasons [don’t get me started on the Glass-Steagall Act repeals]. To anyone that thinks the way to get OUT of a recession is to downsize government and limit government spending, I ask you this;

 

What got America out of the Great Depression?

 

Was it:

A. New Deal Spending

B. Selling goods during WWII

C. All of the Above

If you voted C, you are correct. My point here is that the bigger picture has to do with HOW money is being spent and less on how MUCH is being spent.

Look, you and I want essentially the same thing – a safer, stronger, better America. We just disagree on the steps our Nation needs to take to get us there.  We are behind Canada, Israel, and Japan in terms of education.  We are 105th - yes 105 - in intentional murder.  To give you some perspective, the 5 SAFER nations immediately above us are Laos, Suriname, Georgia, Yemen, and Turkmenistan.  Libya, Iraq, Iran, and Djibouti are all WAY safer in terms of homicide rates.  We rank 34 - lower than CUBA - in infant mortality rate.  These are not fantastic markers.  And I'm going to completely ignore our world image at this point.  Because there's simply no debating that we have a LOT of ground to make up in that regard.  The fact that a Belgian thinks it's okay to take a dump on the US military and our role in the liberation of Belgium should speak volumes to that point.

 

Okay.  I'm starting to ramble.  Tea Party - Bad.  Yates - Good.  More discussion tomorrow.

Shut up, you bunch of bickering faggots.   


Also, tldr, something about a guy from a crappy show making an anti-gay comment, who cares? Freedom of speech, whether you agree or not.


The real question is, is this just a small part of all the things the media keeps us occupied with while the government makes moves behind closed doors? They keep us rambling and debating on silly things constantly....are we all that petty? Or is it to keep the masses woefully unaware of reality? (Real reality, not "reality" TV shows)


Start paying attention to things that actually matter and that will affect generations to come, IMO.

Hello Mr. Yates, I'm a member of the Republican Party.

There is no such thing as a political party called The Tea Party.

Many have tried to claim leadership and some have even tried to run under the label. They are phonies.

It's been tried before, and some even say Ron Paul started it. He didn't.

Snagging a web domain doesn't make you an authority on a movement.

 

The Tea Party of 2009 resulted in names like Marco Rubio, Ron Johnson, Scott Brown, Chris Christie, Mike Lee, Alan West, Rand Paul, and I can go on for quite awhile but I don't need to. They are all Republicans.

 

Even though I agree with every item on your little list... they are not why the Tea Party of 2009 was created.

The Tea Party of 2009 included Republicans, Libertarians, Democrats and Independents. Conservatives each and every one of them.

They were there to stop Obamacare and to unite for fiscal responsibility. Anything else you may have heard is a personal agenda.

 

I don't agree that New Deal spending ended the depression. It made the depression impossible to end. WWII ended the depression by employing everyone. It will be chicken scratch compared to the depression that will happen if we don't get the debt under control.

 

Oh before I go... nobody defines me... including great people I meet on game forums.

I agree with Owney.

Yeah, this thread has went off the deep end. I think it should be closed soon. (Not that the original intent was bad, its went too far.) Idk who moderates these parts of the forum, but they might want to take a closer look at this before things get to far out of hand. I'm no longer gonna pay any more attention to the thread as its went to far.

The best moderation is self-moderation

 

The best moderation is self-moderation

 

Which is why I am seldom sober.

There is no such thing as a political party called The Tea Party.

Fair enough. If you want to split hairs, the Tea Party is a MOVEMENT. I kind of like that descriptor better anyway since I had a "movement" this morning...

 

Snagging a web domain doesn't make you an authority on a movement.

No. Certainly not. It does, however, indicate that there was enough cohesive ground swell to necessitate the creation of an organized online presence that exists to this day representing TODAY’s Tea Party.

 

Even though I agree with every item on your little list... they are not why the Tea Party of 2009 was created.

I can’t argue this point. I can only point to THEIR stated purpose on THEIR website as evidence of what the Tea Party stands for.

 

I don't agree that New Deal spending ended the depression. It made the depression impossible to end. WWII ended the depression by employing everyone. It will be chicken scratch compared to the depression that will happen if we don't get the debt under control.

This is the point where you start getting into MY wheelhouse, Macro Economics. The way the government spends money can not and should not be equated to balancing a home budget. While I agree that we need some better decision makers at the helm, I disagree with the Tea Party’s stated method of doing so.

 

You live in New York, right? Let’s take a look at how INTELLIGENT government spending has rescued parts of Upstate New York, revitalized manufacturing in the State, and been a boon not just for New York State but for our Country as a whole…

 

Back around 1996 or 1997, a Physics professor at a SUNY college was able to convince New York State to give him a couple million dollars to build a special type of research facility for something called “nano technology,” a foreign term at the time. That money, along with public/private partnerships with companies like IBM, AMD, Tokyo Electron, Applied Materials, etc. has blown up into a multi BILLION dollar research institution, the creation of a new SUNY College, thousands of jobs for upstate NY, and new sites coming up in Utica, Rochester, and Buffalo.  What's awesome about this model is that WE own the facilities and the tools.  Since the tools are worth upwards of $150M-$200M a piece [especially for Alpha tools] PLUS specialized installation knowledge, it would be extremely cost prohibitive for any of these companies to try to pull out.  We are doing it for 1/10th of what it would cost them to do it privately anywhere else.  So this prevents a full pull out - a la Kodak or GE - and any type of a bubble burst.  Thus, this strategy not only brought jobs to New York State but has actually created a situation where they pretty much HAVE to stay at this point.  As a Republican, you've got to love that we grew and have a strategy for MAINTAINING jobs, right?

 

One of the outcomes of this initial investment was the ability to save two solar manufacturing and research companies and to bring them to New York State. In fact, this is being built on a brown space [the former site of Bethlehem Steel] in Buffalo, NY. As a Republican, you’ve got to love the fact that we are supporting research and manufacturing that will lessen our dependence on foreign oil, right? And that’s not even taking into account the thousands of high paying jobs that single program will be responsible for creating.

 

It also set upstate New York up as the new “Tech Valley” and a place that companies want to be in order to take advantage of the high tech resources, training, and talent pool we have in this area. International SEMATECH relocated their headquarters from Austin to Albany, as one example. MW Group, a construction firm that specializes in cleanroom buildings, moved their headquarters from out of state to the Watervliet Arsenal, a 10 minute drive from downtown Albany. Moves like this is what fed Global Foundries’, an Arab company that is a manufacturing subsidiary of AMD [the guys that compete with Intel], decision to build their chip fab plant in Malta, NY – 30 minutes from Albany. They chose Malta in the United States of America over areas like Taiwan, Singapore, and Dresden. That Fab created almost 2000 jobs directly [process engineers, tool specialists, gas and chemical technicians, etc] with an average salary that borders on 6 figures. And that doesn’t take into account all the startups that have been popping up to support this industry [cleanroom supplies, special cleaning services for cleanroom gowns, chemical and gas supplies, etc]. As a Republican, you’ve got to appreciate that as a big win for our COUNTRY, right?

 

And none of this would have happened without an initial INVESTMENT by our GOVERNMENT in education.

 

Oh before I go... nobody defines me... including great people I meet on game forums.

I hope that wasn’t directed at me. I’m not trying to define you, if it was. I just think this is a polarizing issue worth healthy, intelligent debate. And frankly, if I didn’t respect you I’d just call you an idiot and wouldn’t bother with discussion! Since I think you are NOT an idiot, I am fascinated by your decision to support the Tea Party and I’m trying to understand it.

 

In short Sir, I'm in Las Vegas.

I firmly believe that private investors and the free market are the solutions to our stagnant economy.

The Government takes (steals) money from people who earn it, gives it to people that don't earn it (their friends), and they don't care what happens to the money, because it's not their money. They just go get some more.

 

Nothing is gained when there is no profit, and nobody cares until someone creates a way for there to be a profit.

 

I am no economist and George Bush did a very bad thing paying for two wars on the credit card.

He just didn't want the American people to "feel" like we were at war. End result... about 4 trillion added to the debt in 8 years.

Bad George... no biscuit. Along comes Obama... 7 trillion in 5 years with 3 to go.

 

It's not working. What happens when the Fed stops printing money to prop the DOW?

What happens when interests rates go up? And they must go up sometime... the money is worthless when it's free.

What happens if the rest of the world decides our money is just no good anymore and the dollar is no longer the world reserve currency?

It all collapses and we're standing around burning tires cooking rats on a spit. Not my vision of the American Dream.

 

With all our efforts since 2009, Obamacare has done more harm to itself in the last 3 months than we could ever do.

Obama is repealing his own law a little more each day. Glorious.

The real question is, is this just a small part of all the things the media keeps us occupied with while the government makes moves behind closed doors? They keep us rambling and debating on silly things constantly....are we all that petty? Or is it to keep the masses woefully unaware of reality? (Real reality, not "reality" TV shows)

 

 

Start paying attention to things that actually matter and that will affect generations to come, IM0O.

 

 

I would think that the government has little to do with reality TV, though if it did, that'd probably be the CIA's business. Wouldn't be the first time they'd tried to affect the public mindset for their own gain.

I doubt this, though, as the entertainment industry is huge, and it would be very difficult to morph it, at the very least it would take a LOT of money (though the CIA does probably benefit greatly from their protected drug routes, which of course goes to show that the CIA is just the shadiest branch of the U.S. government ever). However the NSA did manage to sway Verizon and AT&T, so there's an example.

Though it's fun to hypothesize about the shady things the government does, as well as discuss the things it is currently doing, I doubt that this has anything to do with the government at all, and is just a PR stint done by a private corporation. Either them backpedaling or trying to make money off controversy. Either way, it brought much attention to the show.

 

If I had a private multimillion dollar business, I'd probably pay PR guys to do these same things.

 

Edit to fix awful quote formatting.