Remmus

Yes, God has always been faithful to Israel. Every religion has its nut jobs ...even we Christians. We had our own Jihad's of sorts around the world. If Christians only followed the old testament, we'd be doing some of the same crazy -ish the radical Muslims are currently doing. The Bible tells us that people of the middle east are the decedents of Ismael, son of Abraham. That lineage has a fighting spirit. The question is, what can we do to help heal it.

Hey...that's real. I admire Rush for speaking up for a lot of Americans ...and also for not being PC, but he gets too far off the rails for me. To be taken seriously, he has to objectively look at an issue from both sides. How serious can we take Rachel Maddow? She's the Limbaugh for the other side.

Fair enough sir. I'll beat back that hyperactive liberal side...lol.

Thanks for the welcome. Not all lefty ideas are bad ...they might need some toning down to work, but I'm praying our country will get back to working together. I understand some of the anger that's coming from the conservatives ...especially the middle class. Since I've been in Texas, I've held a job that was moved to Mexico and a plant I worked at was shut down and relocated to Mexico. I've also seen a lot of manufacturing work go to China in droves, also moved to India and Mexico. Texas is one of the few places left in the US that still make tangible goods. I'm praying that President-elect Trump is a man of his word and will fight for US workers.

Ha! I look forward to the exchange of ideas. I'll be the first guy to admit when a conservative idea "trumps" a liberal one. The economy in Texas is shining example of what's possible for the rest of the country. This country needs more democrats and less liberals. If we're honest, Hillary Clinton (and Bill) is a DEMOCRAT. Hillary will pander to the liberals for votes, but we know she met with Wall Street. Unfortunately, Hillary had no new ideas and was the "more of the same" candidate. We also need some republicans that are willing to compromise when its in the best interest of the country ...instead of sticking to some hard line at all costs.

Well said sir. Ultimately He is in control. Lets not forget that Muslims pray to the same God ...they just focus on Mohammed who we know prophesied the coming of Jesus Christ. Not sure if God is picking sides like the U.S. does. In terms of "man" here on earth, Israel needs us more than we need them everday of the week. Israel gets to play bully because of US backing. If all Muslim countries in the region turned on Israel do you think Israel would exist without the US? Putin would probably supply the arms to terrorist.

Happy New Year! I see your point. IJS Obama is in good company when it comes to "situational ethics."

Gotcha. I saw that Port Arthur had a loss by forfeit against Westside. I think Livingston had one as well.

Follow the money and you will find the root of the outrage. How is a two term president a lame duck? I'm not saying he was the best or the worst, but he did manage to win two times in overwhelming fashion.

Some good points in there but it gets lost in all the Fox-News-speak that sounds more like the one-sided ravings of Rush Limbaugh. Some of what is listed there were the concoctions of the Republicans seeking to win elections and not based in truth. Don't drink all the kool-aid and lose your ability to be analytical.

We've done more than interfere with Israeli elections. Ever read "Overthrow" by Stephen Kinzer? One of the central characters in American interference all over the globe has his office immortalized at the University of Texas: John Foster Dulles. I think there's a school in Sugarland named after him too ..and there's an airport as well. If you're mad at President Obama, you should be even more mad at a large handful of past U.S. Presidents. When did we start loving the Russians so much?

Yes sir. I like what I smell is cookin' too. We've seen it both ways ...too pro-business and too pro-worker. This problem has plagued us for years. America has been outsourced.

Israel is our most important ally in that region of the world, but we just can't go along with everything Israel does and alienate other Muslim friends in the region. Israel needs U.S. backing and they may not like the current position we're taking, but they're not defecting from our camp...ever. If Israel needs 10,000 state of the art fighter jets to help protect them, who ya gonna call baby?

I agree that conservatives are big givers to charity and helping others. That's one of the things I love about Houstonians and Texans. Probably hard to find any other group of people that are more giving when a crisis comes along. I experienced a tremendous amount of community love/support after going through hurricane Ike. This occurred two years after I moved to Texas. My neighborhood really worked together to help each other. It was amazing. Thanks for the tips about the forum. For the record, I don't believe any American should be able to burn our flag. My dad is a former Army Sargent and served in Vietnam. I have uncles that served in the Air Force and also the Marines. I grew up being taught to respect our nation despite its warts.

I'm a centrist. Some might view me as a conservative democrat (blue dog) or a progressive republican. I don't agree or disagree with every item on either side. Having grown up in the northeast and now having lived in the great state of Texas for the past 10 years (my wife is a native Houstonian) my outlook on many issues is expanded (at least I like to believe that). I've met a lot of incredible people here in Texas and really love Houstonians. I've studied Texas history and admire many things about the people and the politics here. I can't dispute the positive impact living in Texas has had on my life and my family's well being. We were getting HOSED in taxes up north (like 30%+), the k-12 schools in my area were horrible, crime was bad, jobs didn't pay as high, and housing costs were astronomical. For those who have the desire and brains, you can do very well here in Texas ...but if you're poor here, you're friggin po'. You seem a bit on guard and that's understandable because as you note people can be quick to label and attack before they take time to understand. I don't believe the theoretical basketball game is as lopsided as you state, but respect your position. I like your classification of liberals vs democrats. I think back in the 60's and 70's we'd call liberals "hippies." Probably a lot of truth in that. I have a sister that can really "kumbaya" with the best of them. She would exemplify your definition of a liberal. If it costs a billion dollars to save three schools, do it! No concept of money or what's going on in small town America. Only letting the market decide or letting government intervene at every turn isn't good. The both need each other. The mixture is where it gets tricky.

Thanks for sharing your views. It was stimulating and gave me new insights.

Packaged that way, I'll agree ...it would still have been fought but reconstruction would have looked much different. Also, the Radical Republicans would just be called Republicans. It was the issue of slavery that pushed the term radical.

You are really consumed with left elitists. If you haven't noticed they've been getting their tails kicked in local and now national elections. Yes, SOME on the left villainize the right with a broad stroke. It goes both ways though. All liberal are insane tree huggers? Both sides play dirty. I would agree with you re: schools when speaking about PUBLIC K thru 12 schools, but you can't blame the Feds for all the problems with the public schools. We can go back to personal responsibility as well. What's your timeline on the effectiveness of federal involvement in schools? I will agree that throwing only money at the problem isn't the answer. There are cities that really squander the money and aren't effective. I'm just not willing to throw the baby out with the bath water. As for colleges and universities, people still come to America from all over the world to study at our schools.

This is an interesting one REBgp. I'm a Christian. My family has deep roots in the Protestant church (generations of ministers). I take great issue with how our country will go out of its way to protect the beliefs of any other faith other than Christianity. You can pretty much bash Christians all day but hands off any other faith. This issue has deep roots in our country because unfortunately we have the intermingling of social issues with faith. If you're Christian and a minority in the Northeast or West Coast (probably much of the South too) you're probably a Democrat. In terms of minorities they may be Democrat because of their belief in Dems commitment to social issues. This would trump their issue as Christains with abortion for instance. Conversely, if you're an anglo-caucasian Protestant you're most likely Republican. We also have the Southern caucasion evangelicals that are an important part of the base of the Republican Party. Then there's Northeastern Catholics who I believe lean toward Democrat. I believe this is tied to Italian and Irish that were pro-union, thus Democrat. It's a messy thing that has other forces at play.

re: social liberalism and fiscal conservatism living together, it's all about that horrible "C" work ...COMPROMISE. Something our Congress can't do without fear of backlash from voters. Some -ish just needs tax dollars to pay for it because we believe it's for the common good. "Dude, come on buddy" = Slavery was not a contentious point? I gotta assume you're anti-college level textbook too. If you were a Radical Republican in Congress ...an abolitionist ...that was a hot button point. Some of that federal control was "no more expansion of slavery" "...don't bring anymore slaves to this country." It was definitely in the mix of important issues leading to the Civil War. I agree that it was not the singular reason for the war, but it was one of the points of contention. The Feds were telling the South how to run their agricultural businesses without supplying funding. That's an unfunded mandate. They were also hypocrites in the sense that many of our founding fathers grew up with slaves (from George Washington down the line). That makes people pissed off.

I guess I should define "better." Good point about innovation, but we can't sell our health for a few miracle drugs. Also, a lot of that innovation comes from studies is sponsored by the NIH which is government money paying for studies at universities. I wonder if NIH also funds any private sector research? If you can pay for it, USA has incredible health care. Also keep in mind some of these left wing conspiracies are also matched by right wing ones too. Will agree about self reliance and the victim mentality as long as we also accept there are some real victims being hurt. Also, the Bible tells us there will ALWAYS be poor in the land and how we treat them is of the utmost importance to God. Before you say it, yes, there are some "poor" who are just lazy and living off of the rest of us. There's also people with all sorts of bad circumstances that put them on a collision course with poverty. I have no issue with paying higher taxes for the betterment of the our society. For instance, we should be funding our public colleges and universities. In return, these institutions can't live high on the hog. They have to commit to efficiency to save dollars too. Kids are paying $20,000/semester to attend schools that used to cost $2500/semester. We can do better.

Okay, that clarifies things. If you're a secessionist, then I see your point of view. You can argue that liberals want to take us to socialism, but one could argue that harsh conservative beliefs could take us back to the medieval times...lol. I'm for a hybrid of Capitalism and socialism. The country is moving toward being socially liberal and fiscally conservative. That's how many of the millennials lean in the South and mid-west from what I've studied. Now, I've done quite a bit of study on the Civil War. It's not entirely true that slavery was the root of the Civil War, but it's not entirely false. If you were a Radical Republican in the 1800's then the Civil War was all about Slavery. That was numero uno. For others in Congress it was about Federalism, Reconstruction, and States Rights. With that said, the fact that eleven states were holding people stolen from another country in forced servitude... DUDE ...come on buddy. That's a white elephant too.

Red light. "American Values." I know the ones I grew up with ...probably similar to the same ones you grew up with. Those values differ from region to region. Also, what is common sense to one might be insanity to another. You gotta be willing to look outside of your own bubble. Some of the most simple headed ideas pass for "common sense" but they fail to address the difficult nuances of situations. For instance, to stop illegal immigration lets build a wall. Common sense, case closed. We probably both agree something needs to be done like yesterday, but its not as simple as building a wall is it? There's sheeple on both sides sir. Drinking different kool-aid, but still drinking. Lets take one of your points, socialized medicine. There's just some things that should not be left to the private sector. I'm a capitalist but also know the profit motive left unchecked will lead to havoc in areas that effect humanity ..life and death. Why does Cuba have better health care that the USA? This problem was there long before Obamacare. People go bankrupt in this country from getting sick. I'm talking about hard working God fearing "real" Americans. We can do better.

So mental illness a.k.a. insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Like trying several versions of trickle down economics. I agree with the points you made with one caveat. Burning the American flag was somehow protected as a 1st amendment right as a personal expression. Correct me if I'm wrong (with facts), Its not illegal to fly a confederate flag on your personal property. You're covered by the 1st Amendment. The issue comes in when you fly that flag on public property. The rebel battle flag was associated with many painful things in our nation's history. I gotta side with putting that to rest when it comes to public institutions. Also, that flag represents being anti-Union thus, anti-American but can see how some would view it as an historical legacy. Texans are historically Individualistic Traditionalist. Its ingrained in the fabric of Texas. The idea of operating independent of the Federal government goes back to the Texas' inception. This tradition flavors attitudes and beliefs. It seems quite normal to fly a Rebel flag (or any flag) at the state house if that's the will of the majority of people of Texas. As for your other points, you're right on. Crazy. Liberals aren't the ones you want fighting terrorist...lol. Conservatives really aren't the ones you want fighting for progressive social issues either..

It's more like "it's easier to see the faults of other people than of your own." How far do you want to go back? The dems have their brand of crazy. The republicans do as well. Just depends on which side of the fence you're sitting on. Who was in charge when a budget surplus was turned into a massive deficit? That goes against everything a true conservative would stand for, right? That seems down right crazy to me. I'm educated and level headed. I scrutinize both sides equally. If you haven't read it yet, check out the book "Overthrow" by Stephen Kinzer. If you're sitting in Brooklyn, New York your idea of crazy will defer from someone sitting in Vidor, Texas (for example). I think both parties would benefit from getting to know more about life of the other.