Is anyone else reaching a breaking point?

[Boomhauer]

It's zero tolerance, the same sort of insane policy that relieves anyone from making a decision when a school girl has a Mydol tablet in her purse, or a kid makes a pencil outline of a gun on a piece of paper

Or the insanity of punishing a kid who dares to get beaten up (and not fight back) right along with the attacker. It's bad enough that defending yourself gets you suspended, but daring to be a victim gets you suspended too!

People have "lost it". The country is broken, the federal government is far, far overreaching, and trying to complain to your politicians or get them to follow their campaign promises is an utter exercise in futility...we no longer have a republic. We have an oligarchy that happens to have a bit of changing membership, but not a whole lot. Soon as the politicians hit Washington, they rapidly go sour and stop caring about their constituents.

[Perd Hapley]

Civil discourse we have. In spades. We have become so civil in our discourse that we refuse to identify the "loyal opposition" as our deadly enemy. We refuse to acknowledge that they are working to destroy our country and our future. No, no, don't say that. That would go too far. That would not be "helpful" or "thoughtful" and would not "advance the dialogue." On the FOX News show this Sunday morning, some yahoo predicted the that the Tucson shooting would force the Republicans to avoid talk of socialism or tyranny, leading to a "thoughtful discussion." The person who would say such a thing refuses to engage in thought, preferring to hide his head in the sand of a world where socialism and tyranny aren't unholy dangers that have enslaved or impoverished millions in the real world. As if it couldn't happen here. As if state control of health care were somehow not socialism, if we can just keep from calling it that.

Yeah Monkeyleg, I guess I'm kinda fed up with it, too.

[RevDisk]

The public did say 'enough'.  We said a great big "No More!" last November.

Things are starting to get ugly precisely because the right is asserting itself once again.  The left, the powers that be, they don't like this one bit, and they're starting to get petulant about it.  They're starting to get scared. 

It's going to be pretty bumpy for a while.  Plan for it, expect it, be ready for it.

Be strong, persevere.  We ARE winning right now.  You wrote up a laundry list of advantages that the left has in politics these days, and they are formidable advantages indeed.  But remember that despite all that, we're still winning.

*snort*

No, Republicans won.  There's an old joke.  "The votes are in.  America lost."  You could argue to me that Republicans are 6 or even SEVEN percent better in certain categories.  Sure, they blow money in a manner that shame a drunken sailor on his first shore leave in an entire year.  Sure, they're socialists that intend on destroying this country.  But more slowly, until they have Congress and the Presidency, then they will try their best to speed it up.

Eh.  I don't even worry about it.  It's going to hit a wall eventually.  Sooner, later. 

[Monkeyleg]

When the congress is unable to pass a Cap and Trade bill, or other legislation, and the administration does an end run by giving the power congress had rejected to unaccountable bureaucrats in an executive branch agency, we have a violation of the constitution. It's an illegal power grab.

The only ones to complain are the talk radio hosts. The Republicans should be shouting this from the rooftops. Instead we have McCain trying to make nice.

Obama and his acolytes may think they're being cute, but they're setting a precedent. How would they like a future Richard Nixon or--gasp!--GW Bush to have the precedent to bypass congress to thwart the will of the people? How about having the Department of Education effectively eliminate itself? The Department of the Interior? The BATFE? If the Department of Energy can be bent to Obama's will, these other agencies can be bent to the will of another president.

Our elected officials have committed so many crimes against the nation and the constitution over the past few years that I've lost count. And nobody is doing a thing to stop it.

[Tallpine]

The only way to escape all of this is to head to Montana as Tallpine has done, and then cut off all contact with the rest of the world.

The problem with that/my plan is that I still need to work some.  I'm going to be going to CA (cough - cough) for a few weeks to earn another grubstake.

The mortgage still needs to be paid for a few more years 

[grampster]

Dick,

Yes it is happening.  The Tea Party is the tip of the spear.  America will sustain itself.  Be optimistic.  I am.  I have two word for the leftist dipshits who cry foul at every turn....Turn Left and keep on turning.  Eventually they will turn inside out.

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

The problem with that/my plan is that I still need to work some.  I'm going to be going to CA (cough - cough) for a few weeks to earn another grubstake.

The mortgage still needs to be paid for a few more years  

TallPine. Do you work in the oilfield

[Monkeyleg]

Grampster, you're a lot more optimistic than I am. It's all show now and no substance. (What did the Dem's call it when Bush was in office? Oh, yeah. All hat and no cowboy).

We've got Senator Coburn planning to sit next to Schumer at the State of the Union address. Wow. Bipartisanship.

If I were sitting next to Schumer it would take every bit of restraint to not punch him in the throat. If it weren't for that slimy POS, Unilever would have dropped Brylcreem years ago.

When I see the public vote the majority of Democrats and RINO's out of office, I'll feel more optimistic.

[grampster]

Slowly but surely, Dick.  The Sleeping Giant is awakening.  As long as those of us with something to say, we keep on saying it, it will happen.

The old Chinaman that was building the railroad was asked why he was so happy about the labor he was doing, since he would not live long enough to see the fruit of his labor.  His answer was that he was happy because what he was doing would be a great benefit to his grandson.  We should look at our labors in the same way.

[Tallpine]

TallPine. Do you work in the oilfield

   Hardly.  I'm an aerospace software engineer.

Mostly, I had been able to work from home, but the last couple years have been really lean.

[longeyes]

Go to the range, it's strangely peaceful there.

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

Go to the range, it's strangely peaceful there.

Until they make that illegal. 

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Go to the range, it's strangely peaceful there.

FTW.

Things are, to some extent, going our way. Heller was huge. Before that, everybody on the opposite side was saying that the 2nd only applied to the National Guard. Now, even Obama has to admit that it says otherwise.

[Battle Monkey of Zardoz]

FTW.

Things are, to some extent, going our way. Heller was huge. Before that, everybody on the opposite side was saying that the 2nd only applied to the National Guard. Now, even Obama has to admit that it says otherwise.

The same Obama that called the constitution "A Charter of Negative Liberties".

[Perd Hapley]

The same Obama that called the constitution "A Charter of Negative Liberties".

Which it is. Thank God. I'm glad that "negative liberty" is actually getting out there. I just wish more conservatives knew what it meant.

[tokugawa]

We are in a race between the establishment of a totalitarian surveillance society and utter economic collapse. Which one we will get to first is a tossup.

[makattak]

We are in a race between the establishment of a totalitarian surveillance society and utter economic collapse. Which one we will get to first is a tossup.

Don't worry. If we get to the TSS before UEC, UEC will follow swiftly.

It's going to win unless this country changes course.

[longeyes]

Most of the American people are still asleep or uncommitted.  That will change when the forces that have brought us to this point begin to play out fully.  The pre-game warm-ups are going on; the real game itself hasn't begun yet.  

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

*snort*

No, Republicans won.  There's an old joke.  "The votes are in.  America lost."  You could argue to me that Republicans are 6 or even SEVEN percent better in certain categories.  Sure, they blow money in a manner that shame a drunken sailor on his first shore leave in an entire year.  Sure, they're socialists that intend on destroying this country.  But more slowly, until they have Congress and the Presidency, then they will try their best to speed it up.

Eh.  I don't even worry about it.  It's going to hit a wall eventually.  Sooner, later.  

That's a shame.  Truly.

If you've given up on America, then shame on you.  

If you truly misunderstand Republicans as badly as you describe, then that's a simple matter of ignorance.  That can be fixed, if you're willing. 

If you're not willing, or if you've simply given up and don't care any more, fine.  But at least do the rest of us a favor and STFU.  Some of us would like to fix things, or at least try.  It's hard enough trying to set things right as it is, and we don't need people like you stabbing us in the back with BS like that.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

When the congress is unable to pass a Cap and Trade bill, or other legislation, and the administration does an end run by giving the power congress had rejected to unaccountable bureaucrats in an executive branch agency, we have a violation of the constitution. It's an illegal power grab.

The only ones to complain are the talk radio hosts. The Republicans should be shouting this from the rooftops. Instead we have McCain trying to make nice.

You'd be awfully surprised how much goes unreported, or misreported.  To listen to the major news outlets, you'd think that McCain was the only Republican out there, that his ideas were the only ideas being pushed by Republicans, that there were no others.  You'd be wrong, though it'd be easy to see why.

I wasn't working very hard on the cap and tax thing, but I was in the thick of it for the health care debate.  It's truly shocking how much of the debate the media controlled simply by not reporting what the conservative Republicans in congress were saying on the issue.  They were screaming from the tops of their lungs (sometimes literally, right from the the capitol steps) but without media support very few people heard them.

If cap ad tax was anything like the health care issue, then there were all sorts of Republicans complaining.  You just weren't given a chance to hear them.

The talk hosts are NOT the only ones to complain, protest, or resist.  They're just the only ones you commonly hear complaining, because they're the only ones with their own microphones.

[AZRedhawk44]

That's a shame.  Truly.

If you've given up on America, then shame on you.  

If you truly misunderstand Republicans as badly as you describe, then that's a simple matter of ignorance.  That can be fixed, if you're willing. 

If you're not willing, or if you've simply given up and don't care any more, fine.  But at least do the rest of us a favor and STFU.  Some of us would like to fix things, or at least try.  It's hard enough trying to set things right as it is, and we don't need people like you stabbing us in the back with BS like that.

Shame on you, HTG.

Did you read the thread title?

Is anyone else reaching a breaking point?

STFU, indeed.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Perhaps you could explain yourself, because I'm not following you.

Don't confuse my intolerance for further defamation of me and mine with me reaching some sort of breaking point.

[Monkeyleg]

That's right, HTG. The media is selectively reporting, and they need to be exposed on that. How? I don't know. If Sarah Palin made some comments about selective reporting, it would get attention. Maybe we need more lightning rods like her.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

That's right, HTG. The media is selectively reporting, and they need to be exposed on that. How? I don't know. If Sarah Palin made some comments about selective reporting, it would get attention. Maybe we need more lightning rods like her.

Palin is doing a good job on that front.  She's another one who is able to speak to the country without going through the media.

And I'm noticing that more and more people are starting to hear it.

I don't have any great answers on this one, though.  No silver bullets here.  It is one of the bigger failings of the conservative movement that we've let go of the major outlets for spreading the word.  We've completely lost the educational sphere.  The media is mostly lost, though we do still have some holdouts.  Political correctness threatens to drive a stake through the remaining alternatives

One thing we do still have is each other, simple word of mouth from one individual to the next.  Internet fora, blogs and the like, these all help us get out the word.  Whether on the internet or in person, word of mouth is  probably one of the biggest weapons we have.  Don't lose sight of that.

Perhaps that's why I tend to get testy when people are misrepresenting and maligning the Republican and conservative causes.  Talk like that is dangerous, and even when it's false or malicious, perhaps especially when it's false and malicious, it still has the power to undo a helluva lot of good work.

[AZRedhawk44]

Perhaps you could explain yourself, because I'm not following you.

Don't confuse my intolerance for further defamation of me and mine with me reaching some sort of breaking point.

And the 2000-2006 Congresses don't speak for "you and yours?"

Republican House, Republican Senate, Republican President.  It was RINO/NeoCon heaven with drunken spending saturnalias, and increases to the domestic surveillance/security industry unparalleled in American history.

2006 was the uninformed electorate trying the old bait-and-switch that used to work... when the Repubs misbehave, put the Dems in power.  2006-2008 showed that didn't work, so the uninformed electorate tried it again with the President.  Still didn't work, so 2010 we ALMOST wised up to the game and put the beginnings of a 3rd party into the mix.

The Repubs can go back to their cold-war era practices and regain the trust of the electorate... or they can stick on this new track of spending like the Devil may care and chopping civil liberties apart and become the minority 3rd party to the Tea Party.

But if stuff doesn't get better QUICK from 2010-2012, and blame put squarely in the face of Obama and his pets in the Senate, there very well may be a 3rd party.

Is anyone else reaching a breaking point?

Yep.  And so are a lot of other people.

The electorate is PRIMED for a splinter 3rd party, and they have a new name they can trust.  If the Tea Party Repubs try to reform things and the GOP doesn't get behind them (or worse: obstructs it)... kiss the GOP good-bye.

McCain, Boehner, Brown, Snowe... take heed.  The Tea Party House knows the right response to incidents like the Tucson shooting:  we have enough laws, and no additional laws would have stopped this.  The shooter broke quite a few laws during his spree.

We don't need "feel good legislation."  We need effective legislation that is acted upon, or we need less legislation.  The Tea Party knows this.

The GOP appears to not.