Hobo64 profile - For & Against

1.	I have found that during my life I have had many, many associates but never more than a handful of friends. I define a friendship as "Being willing to give up the friendship BECAUSE of the friendship". I'm willing to tell a friend that he or she is wrong even if that view will end the friendship. Be true to your friends. read more...
	13 Feb 2008 14:02:37

2.	Rudyard Kipling made this observation, "If you run with the wolves, you die with the wolves". First impressions are important. If the observer has experience with the group, the first impression will result from that. Experience, for good or bad. You may not have the opportunity to express your justification for being "with" the group until you create distance from the group. Good Luck ... Sincerely. read more...
	13 Feb 2008 13:53:42

3.	The short answer is "NO". Firearms are machines that don't make decisions. People make decisions. Anything that is used for a purpose not intended can become a "Weapon." Sporting firearms are intended for sporting use. Military firearms are intended for something quite different. A knife, a fork, a baseball bat, a rock can all become weapons if used for an unintended purpose. Our constitution has been assaulted over the past eight years. The presidency doe not have authority to declare "War' only the Congress. Granted, the Congress has not stepped up their responsibility, but the law remains. As to the question about should our Constitutional rights be sacrificed; Who will make that decision and who makes the sacrifice? read more...
	12 Feb 2008 22:36:02

4.	If the voting public would take the time to listen to the solution then there could be a serious discussion on the issues in a campaign. Generally, the public gets their information in the 15 second sound bite from the political pundits. A political candidate running in a race of the presidential magnitude will not "paint themselves into a corner" so that their rivals and the opposing party can dissect the proposals without focusing on what their solutions would be. Also, the pundits would take a "remark" out of context and amplify it to a storyline. This has happened from all the pundits to all the candidates. Let me offer an example; I don't believe that the rivalry between Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton is ethnic or gender based, but the Tim Russert, Chris Mathews and Joe Scarboro have presented their analysis from this viewpoint. Mathews' favorite phrase is "I want to rip the scab off this issue". Chris should be cautious about opening a wound that explodes into a "flow of blood" that can't be stopped. As with the ethnic demographics, according to the last census, 13.3% of the population are African American, 13% are Hispanic American and $.4% are Asian American. These are from the Current Population Survey and reported in 2002. The populations have increased from the 2000 census, but the Hispanic population and Asian population have grown faster than the former. Therefore, if the breakdown as reported in the media is that generally, the African American supports Sen. Obama, The Hispanic American and the Asian American population support Sen. Clinton. Politics is a "payback" business. There will be "winners and losers" assessment from all the rivals of both parties. This is the "wound" that I speak of. read more...
	12 Feb 2008 18:24:33

5.	I offer my prospective from the legal viewpoint. If it becomes law that that a fetus has legal status (It has in California in the case where a husband killed his pregnant wife and the charges were murder of two persons), then it will follow that if a pregnant woman is convicted of a lifestyle not accepted as the norm could be charged for endangering the welfare of a child. If she is speeding in her car; exposing herself to heat or cold, not dressing appropriately and on and on. Can the fetus vote by proxy? Is the fetus eligible for health care benefits, life insurance and on and on. This argument sounds extreme, but there are groups on the margins of our society that believe the literal translations of their faith and are willing to lobby politically for legislation to support their faith. The question of how to support a fetus brought to full term and born is another debate for our society. To reduce the problem of unwanted pregnancy is an educational challenge that must and should be faced. You can't legislate away the unwanted pregnancy. read more...
	11 Feb 2008 22:27:20