I agree that the racial issue is not often stated overtly, but is a part of what at least some of the tea party movement is motivated by, and there are those that even admit it overtly.

In November 2008 when Barrack Obama was elected it was on a promise of hope and change. It didn't take more than a few weeks after he entered office for the tea party rage to declare "Let's take America back!". Back from what? Back from who? I don't think it is hard to figure out.

And regarding taxes, post-WWII the highest tax rate in the US was 91%. The thinking was, if you make enough to live comfortably, then you can afford to give back to the country. In fact FDR wanted to make a tax rate of 100% over an income of $25,000. In the 1960s the top tax rate in America dropped to 77%. Reagan dropped it to 50% in the 80s. In the early 90s Bush dropped it to 31%. Now that Pres. Obama is thinking of reversing that temporary cut that Bush made over 8 years ago he is called a socialist and a lot of worse things. We didn't have multi-billionaires in America a couple decades ago. How much money does an individual need to live comfortably, and when 1% of an individual's income is enough to keep 1000 families in their homes, heated and with food for a year, and doesn't affect the livelihood of that individual, then I think their taxes should go up.

People are screaming that Pres. Obama wants to move things over 35% (for those making over a quarter million dollars a year) when only half a century ago the tax rate was close to three times that. Americans are not known for long memories.

and when it comes to those taxes even as small as they are planned to be people don't want them thou the majority would benefit.
so i don't know who is to blame. people for being stuck up and not wanting to sacrifice anything and believing they can gain only more in america, not lose anything or Obama for not dragging them by their hair to things that would benefit majority.

i think its the biggest Obamas fault. he wants to be friends with everyone. he doesn't have balls like Bush had who still stays to his opinion and says that war in middle east was the right thing. well he should flip middle finger and say i don't leave anyone behind and medic care is going to stay - he should fight for it.
and why you don't see people who are against medic care burning their medi-cards (dunno how to call them) ? because they need it.

was it okay to have this discussion about the American Election if we now have to restrict ourselves to all things Japanese or Asian?

Dogsbody, what are you talking about?

This is the rule you are talking about:

4.5 General Discussion is for threads that don't fit into any of the other categories. HOWEVER that does not mean that any topic is appropriate for General Discussion. Along with following the above rules, General Discussion threads should be
1) Relevant and inclusive to a majority of JF users
and/or
2) Timely and current (i.e. related to upcoming holidays, news or events).
and/or
3) Japan/Asia related

The election earlier this month is timely and current, therefore it is fine.

From what I read Bush was coerced in to sending troops by cheney and what ever the secretary of defenses name is.

Usually "coerced" means that the person changed their mind; not the case with GW Bush. The man voiced his support for such an action long before his candidacy for the Presidency. I don't recall the specifics, but I think it was while Clinton was campaigning for the office the first time.

As for evanny's comment I agree this is where Obama is ineffective. But there is a big difference between courage opf conviction and self righteous stubborness. The latter tends to accompany an excessive ego and minimal intelligence, as it does in the former President (and spawn of this state :mad: ).

But they should only "help" when they have support of the majority of the population.

This is a brief insight into what I'm talking about. How paying attention to the small things shines light on things so much larger. Forget Iraq and Afghanistan, N. Korea and Iran, they are just tips of the iceburgers:

Extraditing Bout and the Price of Silence | Robert Amsterdam Thailand

Please read it, MMM.

How do you determine the support of the majority of the population? By elections. I elect leaders who will then do my will.

If we want to vote on everything, there is no point in having elected representation. Of course, nothing will get done, but at least we will know what the majority wants without a doubt, even if it is massively expensive and devastatingly time consuming.

I am not sure what you want me to be getting from this article about Viktor Bout. I read some other articles for some perspective. Sounds like an interesting case (and I did see Lord of War).

I was not talking about Bout. I was talking about US fascism - how dictator governments are using the image of US friendship to legitimize their regimes because they lack democratic legitimacy, and the US is a willing supporter of this provided they get their pieces of the cake (in this case, Bout). I'm sad you missed the point entirely.