hey and welcome. this place seems to be a little difficult to move into. I've tried everything I know to get a network of readers formed but everyone seems sort of closed up to newcomers. So, maybe we can start our own - that is if you're interested.    My reason for coming here was for social networking, to relieve boredom, and to find some interesting conversation amongst strangers who may have something interesting to say. So, I am open to talk about anything of substance. 

thanks for the reply!  Yeah i was kinda wondering the same thing - would it be hard to get into?  sure that would be fine with me if u wanted to start our own.  I basically did this for the same reasons, i get super bored some times and i need to find something to do lol.

hmm...something of substance...Im not sure exactly what to bring up because i cant think of anything at the moment lol but i also love juicy conversations like that.  What do u think about the upcoming presidential race?  Sadly i cannot vote yet but i will be able to next time, just gotta wait four years lol!

Honestly, I am scared of the upcoming election. We really don't have a candidate who can provide what America, and the world, needs right now.  As far as I am concerned, McCain isn't even a contender because Clinton and Obama seem to have the monopoly... so, we will end up with one of them.

 

I personally don't care one way or the other about someones sex or their color... but, I do believe that the sex and/or color of the president will play a huge role in how America and the world reacts. I don't think that America is quite ready for a black president. There are still too many people living with extreme prejudices and some of them are just crazy enough to assassinate (spelling?).  I don't think the world is ready for America to be lead by a woman. Many countries still view women as weak and I fear that Clinton will spend a fair amount of time battling that issue with other world leaders who will not see her as their equal - and it is very important that they do see our leader as a person of power.

 

Both Clinton and Obama will pull the troops out of the Middle East. Now, I am one who never believed they should be there, but the fact is that they are there and because of that, we have angered a lot of countries, a lot of groups of people, and becuase of all we have already started I feel it would be detrimental to pull them out. It would be like half way finishing a job - and that will open us up, as well as the territories that we occupy to severe attack.

 

I think that our choices leave us in the most helpless and desperate position that the United States has found herself in, in all of history.  It feels that we are facing lose-lose odds.

 

Even though you can't vote, I am sure  you have an opinion to express. Our young minds sometimes see things more clearly...  

yeah i totally agree, McCain hasnt been getting any spotlight - the 'controversy' of Obama vs. Clinton has left him in the shadows.  Its either going to be Obama or Clinton for President for sure.

 

Again i agree - the President could be white, black, blue, purple or green (lol!), it doesnt matter to me (same with gender).  The world is a judgemental place though and if foreign powers see a crack in our economy or politics, they will attack it like theres no tomorrow.  Im not so worried about the fact that Obama is black but (and i know this sounds totally silly - again i dont think this but..) his name is Obama and who knows - if you have some extreme middle eastern terrorrists or people in high power, they might think that they can get an in in America because 'one of there own' is President.

 

I kind of want Obama as President over Clinton - not so much for the power or foreign influence but i just think that he has better things to say.  Its like with politics im not very well informed though so its like i want to be able to talk about it but i feel foolish doing so because i dont know whats what.

 

Theres a few issues i want looked at and focused on that i havent really heard anyone talk about, they are social security, its going to be empty by the time i can collect from it; global warming, something needs to be done before we are swimming to work and school lol; and there were like one or two others but i cant remember them right this second.

 

About the war in iraq - there are a lot of ways to look at it.  Didnt we supposedly first go there to look for weapons of mass destruction?  And people were angry that we didnt find any saying that it was a waste of time going there.  About that, id rather be safe than sorry - knowing that there arent any ICBM's is a lot better than worrying about them being there.  Wasnt the next reason we stayed there to look for Sadam?  Well we found him but now we cant find Bin Laden - i guess that makes him the worlds best hide-and-seek player haha!  Now im not exactly sure but are were there currently to help them start up a democratic government?  I dont really know whats going on there so i would feel bad commenting on it.

 

Its fun because even though my friends and classmates and i cannot vote - we will have class descussions and debates about issues like this.  In my language arts class we just read Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and it brought up a few issues we talked about as a class.  They were stuff like abortion, quality of life, abuse.  Have you ever read the book?

 

Ah im on spring break now!  except im sick lol!  I have a fever of 103 (just my luck!).  Hopefully ill get better so i can do stuff and hang out.  We (my sister and I) were supposed to go over my dad's (parents are divorced) this weekend and for half of break but for some reason hes making excusses for not taking us so we are only going over there on saturday and sunday.

You are very right - global warming and social security are major issues that need constant attention, and the last person in office who paid any attention to either was Clinton and Gore. Bush's primary focus has been on terrorist activity, military and protecting other countries.    Have you noticed though that our leaders are REactive, rather than PROactive -- they don't plan ahead, but they take issues head on as they happen.  So much could be avoided if we knew when, where, what was coming at us and we tried staying one step ahead.  It's much harder to fix something once it's broken than to keep it from happening -- or at the very least, have alternatives in place so that the impact was not devistating when it does.

 

Another few issues that need attention are our ecomomy, health care /education system, and care for our elderly.  Oh, there are so many things really that need attention... I could go on endlessly.

 

I haven't read the book you mentioned, but it sounds very controversial and interesting.

 

I hope you feel better soon, and that you have a good time with your dad though I wish he weren't making excuses for taking you.  Some people just don't know how lucky they are... hopefully before you are totally grown, he will grow up.

Yeah thats a great point!  we need a proactive leader instead of reactive!  we need to have a leader that will consider the future and will focus on issues that need to be dealt with not only abroad like bush is doing but domestically as well.  We need to have a leader that will take necessary affirmative action and wont just busy him or herself with something that they want to do.  They need to take the interest of our county into mind and the future of our country and world into consideration.

 

I dont think its too late for our country, but we need an influential and proactive president now before it actually is too late.  We need things to get done very very soon.

 

Thank you, i am feeling better, im over the fever and aches but just my cough is left.  Thank you for the luck with my dad - its like he can be cool some times but other times he can be really immature and childish.  he just thinks hes never wrong.