Well I'll admit right now that he can stretch the truth. I mean, come on, do you honestly think anybody anywhere in the world could get elected if they didn't fudge the facts once in a while?

That said, I do think Obama is a lot more honest than most politicians.

I was calling bullshit on your assertion that "any thing he says will be diametrically opposite from what he does". That's just not true.

You call a duck a duck? Well I call bullshit bullshit.

Anyway, I'm fine with discussing your three examples if you want.

The vast majority of people who voted for Obama did so because they recognized him as a capable leader. The only people who ever call him a messiah are Republicans making strawman attacks.

He would be able to accomplish a lot more if the Republicans in Congress would cooperate. Right now they are purposely doing everything they can to hold him back, just so they can watch his approval rating go down. Fortunately he seems to be slowly moving forward despite their obstructionism.

Yes. Economists expect employment to be back by the end of 2010. Once people can find jobs, we'll see a lot less of the blind anger we see today.

Though Obama's policies (such as the bank bailouts) are unpopular, they were the right thing to do. In the long run, good policy equals good politics. Also, in the coming months, we will pass a good healthcare bill which will be followed by historic financial reform.

He has the American people's best interest at heart and I think when 2012 rolls around people will recognize that... not the conservative ideologues of course... but you know, rational people.

I wasn't referring to you. I was referring to the people who hear the word.

I know you use the word as a generic insult. I'm telling you why the word is effective.

I sense this is not going to be a productive conversation...

The point of an insult is to push someone from the ingroup to the outgroup. They are quick and easy ways of saying, "You are not one of us. You don't matter as much as I do." There's no better way to establish that dynamic than by exploiting prejudice. And the strongest prejudices are about race, gender, and sexuality.

Why do you think the word "fag" is such a potent insult? Because it's connected to the word "gay". Conservatives at best frown upon gays and at worst hate them outright. Many moderates and liberals also harbor prejudices they don't like to think about. By calling someone a fag you are exploiting these prejudices (perhaps subconsciously) to give your insult more of a punch.

Rep. Alan Grayson recently read through a list of the number of people in each Republican congressional district that are expected to die next year due to a lack of health insurance. I think he did a good job of highlighting just how outrageous the Republican party has become in their pig-headed refusal to help the American people.

What does political correctness have to do with socialism? What does political correctness have to do with Obama? And what does foreign policy have to do with socialism?

It sounds to me like you're angry but you don't know why and are just flailing around in random directions.

We don't need to kill animals for clothing. In fact most clothing is made from crops such as cotton, not from animal products.

We also don't need to eat meat to be healthy.

We know very well how suffering comes about -- our senses send signals to our brain which in turn creates the feeling. Plants don't have brains or any other means of cognition, therefore they cannot suffer.

Shit yeah it does.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/ 20070528.jpg

Justice is only a concept, but it's an important one. Punishing those who do evil creates a deterrent and solidifies the values that keep people behaving properly. It's one of the main things that allows us to function as a society.