TTom50 Forum Posts (1,301)

Bridezilla, a marraige consulting firm is making brides sign a contract on weight control

I think that is where they got the name......just heard the info on the weight pre nup on the news today. Wonder if you have a real bridezilla
that fails to make the pre nup weight control number....what the conversation between the bride and the wedding advisor would be? To be a fly on the wall.

Time to duck again-------->

Bridezilla, a marraige consulting firm is making brides sign a contract on weight control

See how those little conditions build up? You do that a full week after the proposal is accepted.....and each has a list of 500 taboos to put into the pre nup.

Ladies please leave anything sharp; knives, scissors, and axes or anything ballistic; guns, bows and arrows, rock and thrown pots and pans out of pre nups.......most men are alergic to them. Make that all men are alergic to them. Time to duck again------->

Bridezilla, a marraige consulting firm is making brides sign a contract on weight control

It is a online wedding consulting service...they match brides and grooms up with local suppliers of everythings from dresses to tuxes to wedding cakes.

RE: Exxon epilogue

My grand daddy was one of the 'dirty dozen' capitalist of the 1920-30s.
Involved with the likes of Ford, Carnigie, Buick and others of the time. They picked up the term 'dirty dozen' from the press that would attend thier monthly cards of bridge games in my home town. No money was ever on the table, but they had solid match sticks used for thier pipes and cigars. They kept count with the match sticks on who owed whom on the games.

They also made business deals as they circulated tables. They
each needed the other to do their businesses....one had a supply of coal....another was running steel factories and needed coal.....another was building cars.....needed steel .........as they played they got orders.
The press and the gov't never picked up on how they were doing it.

WWII comes....and gov't is crying for their factories to switch to war time production. They all shift to doing war time contracts. These and other capitalists are just as patrotic as the next guy in my opinion. Today, for some in our society and politics....business of almost any kind and big business of every kind is a target and on the wrong side.

Yet ask them (politicians and social activists) to give up their made in Japan SUV, thier made in China stero system, thier made made in the S. Korea TV.....these same politicans and social activists will tell you, its thier American right to own them. About as hypocritical as it gets.

Our modern society is based to a large degree on the goods and services, we have here. Tax them or litigate them out of business
and you do have 3rd world country, with a lot of American people
that don't know how to live on a $1 a day incomes. Then there is some 'real' hard time here......a 'real' economic depression.........I am more concerned about a Federal government induced depression, than I am about a mortage crisis depression.

When the majority of your goods and service flow thru a gov't, and the private sector has shrank greatly....it is bad times. Even illegals will look to get out of the US then. Maybe a way for border control?

Bridezilla, a marraige consulting firm is making brides sign a contract on weight control

This is likely to get me into more trouble than I know how to handle here on CS. But here goes.

Bridezilla, a bride and marraige consulting firm on such things as wedding gowns, ceremony settings and yes the food eaten at the
events of a wedding. Is asking brides to sign a contract on weight control. Appartently Bridezilla has had a few brides fit for a
wedding dress and the day of the wedding comes.....and she is popping buttons.

Now playing fair........here.......I do point out, that this does not seem to be the case for men that Bridezilla fits for tuxes.

But what are the CS opinion's on such thing as prenuptile agreements on weight? Other such things? Leaving the cap off the toothpaste? Or the end all of most relationships, the great toilet seat debate?

I duck now------> Now

RE: Do we really need 4 more years of lies/half truths????????????

I read the article. Am former miltiary and here is what likely happened.

The Captian's unit was sent to Afghanistan 'short', meaning that the unit was under full strength. They were going to be used not for combat, but for replacement and for training. They unit had already been broken here to send replacements to Iraq. Hence a number of his unit were headed that way.

Note that in Afghanistan, his unit was doing 'training' of Afghan forces.
You don't need full strength units for training.

Know let us talk about the machine gun some. As a training unit, likely they don't need one. But most of the Afghan force do use Russian
weapons.....does it not make a lot of sense to train them with Russian
weapons? A Russian 51. caliber will put just as big a hole in something
as a American 50. caliber.

But just the entire idea that one missing weapon means that the supply and logistic train going into Iraq or Afghanistan is all messed
up is a very false spin on the picture. Shucks even our shoe boxes and Valentines for soldiers get delivered.

That Senator Obama would take something that is such a minor issue, could not read between the lines of what the military was doing, saw that problem had been solved and to spin it into story he did. Tells me alot.

They have asked him for some info on the supply issues and problems that he sees. Let us see if shows them a systemic problem and long list of the supply shortages. Or ducks the follow up.

What this does tells me, that in President Obama's military, we will not send a man into combat until he has both (2) GI issued toothbrushes, 6 sets of GI soxes, and a full Class A Dress uniform that has been pressed and with spin shined shoes. Oh maybe that is some spin as well?

When I was in, I travel light and without the gear. Today, we pack our people with 60+ pounds of gear in those Afghan mountains chasing men that have lived in them all thier lives, that carry a ak-47, ammo, a pounch of dried goat meat, a bed role and some water. If Senator Obama wants to help our military, then have him head a fact finding commission on how to reduce that 60+ pounds of gear, still be both combat safe and mission functioning. Soldiers have been crying to get the load reduced, so that they can keep up with the mushideen in the mountains of Afghanistan.

He will learn something about the military if he does.

He is still inexperienced is what this tells me.

RE: Pick the pocket of the person above you. . . . . . . . .

A tropological map of the Sahara Desert and a pin up beach baby card from Florida

RE: The war

Do you refer to me? To Iraqis? To John? What people do you refer?
Take care friend. John is there and knows exactly what is going on there. Iraqis are there, and know exactly what is going there.

So I guess you refer to me. I did six friend. How many did you do?
I sat on a Kosovo Task force via White House appointment.
And two year ago was nearly sent to Iraq on a White House appointment. And I would have gone.

So friend until you list some expereinces, we can call you a novice.

RE: The war

Stay safe John. Thank you for your service. The poster has not been there and has no idea of what he talks of.

Barak Obama Speeches...inspiring and hopefull OR plagarism and false?

Ladies, I think that it is a pretty 'fair' poll. It offers a range of opinion choices from being totally negative to being totally positive. I explained the situation as clearly without taking one side or position
the best I could.

So how am I on the man back (criticial of him)?

I did a similar poll on Huckabee when he had his gaff on the illegal immigration issue and Pakistan. So this is not about one party or that party politics. It is about seeing seeing where we stand with
a politician that have occassional a gaff or a ethnics issue.

So if size matters.....so does fairness

But your statement for the Senator is admirable and seems committed.
Just have those same commitments if and when he wins the election and the office. Because if you walk away then when it gets hot.....and it will......your commitment to his Presidency can be questioned.

Barak Obama Speeches...inspiring and hopefull OR plagarism and false?

Barak Obama has used some near identical quotes from previous speeches made by the Governor of Mass. Does this bother you?
Do you feel that this impacts his intregrity?

Often in political speech writing, polls are taken on the effects that
certain words and certain phrases have on the audience. Do you feel
that he is using these common quotes in some unethical manner, in that they might have been polled for effect earlier?

Or is no big deal. He is still a dynamic speaker. With solid ideas for the
change of America. That his message is resonating in the country. That his message convey what American should be...no matter where the
orginal source of the material came from.

Voting and postings begins now.

RE: Exxon epilogue

I am with you to a large degree Indy. I think that talented and skilled people that come together in a company, make products and services, market them, deserve profits to continue their efforts.

I also think that at times, big business can overstep the ethnical production process and use of thier products. E.G. the tabacco industry and cancer. Also the acid rain that is killing trees in the NE is most likely caused by the years of downwind fallout of continamates from steel factories in Pittsburg.

Then you have a problem. Their business activity is either reducing
a person life and quality or life or some other business activities operations.

But to return to the main point. If we reduce corporate profits here in the US, we are going to another mass exodus of job's abroad. Why would a multi national company stay here with a low profit margin, when it can go abroad and find countries that offer higher ones?
I am sorry it is adoidos amigo to United States jobs if profit margins decline here.

The big companies will solely see the US as a consumer country. They will run marketing program here to sell to the consumer and stock the
Wall Marks with inventory for him to buy. But the tag on the item will read made in elsewhere.

Good question for both Hillary and Obama to answer. Because if thier
social service programs tap corporate profitablity......then how do they suggest they are going to keep jobs in America?

RE: Thunderstorms.. Frightening or Romantic??

Here in Florida they are very neat. Key West claims to be sunset capitol of the country.......because the T-Storms that linger over
Gulf at the end of the day.......are simply goregous.

Take em in if you can sometime!

RE: 9 Words women use....

Ladies, you do operate by a different rule book and operating manual
then men do. This was designed and put into place many years prior.
It has left for centuries left a man standing outside a balconey window, singing his heart out while the woman above did her toe nails.

My fellow adventuring male companion here. Has attempted to get the
the gist of female/male communications. To simplify it. Keeping it simple and to the point. Ah dear ladies, the complexity that you bring into our lives.

The very idea that the 'World of Woman........could never be explains'.......says it all in one short line. Thank you, Konsiberg....men around the world today are sighing a world of relief that this task was impossible to begin with.

RE: OMG!!! You Won't Believe This!!

Congrats! Have a great time!!

RE: What book(s) are you reading at the moment???

In the Line of Fire
by Perez Mussarref (Prime Minister of Pakistan)
Is a 2006 bio that he published

next is

A Long Way Gone
Memoir of a Boy Soldier
Ishmael Beah

RE: The Trail of Tears.....

Solitare, what about modern day Indian tribe payments to ranchers that had thier deeded ranches burned out and cattle herds stolen?
Or to modern white families that had lost loved ones in Indian attacks of the day? Descentants (including Custers) of many of the 7th Calvary are still alive today. Maybe restitution from the Siuox and Cheyenne for what happened at Little Big Horn?

I think you see where this goes. We are talking of injustices that occurred 150 years ago. They are to hard (if not impossible) to document accurately.

I say let the spirits of our American forefathers that are both white and red rest. If we keep making them a battle ground in court, in
litigation, in legislation, we do them a grave disservice. They tried to protect thier families and thier nations to the best of their given abilities. They deserve that rest.

We show them little respect when we take court, things that they tried to settle on the battlefield. All we do is keep the reasons that they went to the battlefield in the first place in our society and country as open wounds. We don't achieve any honor for or direct restitution to these people that suffered then and hence passed on.

But it is the right of the Cherokee Nation to press for those restitutions
from the Government of the United States. Just as it the right of the descendants of whites that lost lives and property to litigate Indians tribes. But what good would it do for those that actually cried those many tears on the trail or lost greatly in the those conflicts? Maybe some good for thier ancessors, yes. Does an honorable person wish to benefit on the tears of thier forefathers? It is best to let them rest, I think. jmo

RE: The Trail of Tears.....

When Andrew Jackson fought against the British in the war of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans.....local Indians fought with him....so did many other ingenious groups local to LA. I am not saying what he did in ordering the Cherokee tribe to undertake in the Trail of Tears was honorable or decent thing. It was not.

But let us return to the Plains Indian war for a moment. The Plains Indians had three major problems with the movement white man in and thru thier terroritory. Each could have solved with negotiation and benefited all.

First, the Oregon trail wagon route crossed thier territory and 1000s of whites were using them. The Plains Tribes needed food, buffalo herds were beginning to dimish because over hunting by both sides. Wagon trains could have paid in food for thier crossing....as tariff to the Indian. If a man drives across my property, I don't go out kill him.

I might go out and talk with him to find out what his purpose for being there. If he is there for purposes that are legal or are reasonable, we negotiate for his access. Wagon train actually did this many times, paid for safe passage with cutting cattle out of thier herds. It could have been treatied into a common practice that benefited both.

Second, miners and mining operations. Almost the exact same answer here could be done. The mining operations were on Indian land, that had by treaty been agreed on. The minerial rights might have discussed in those treaties, I don't know. But assuming that they were the Indian's, then miners and Indian could have up some kind of sharing program. Where the minerial were shared. Would corruption of the wealth occurred?

Yes, likely it would have. But if men like your uncle L. Grant were hired to monitor the program and check the mining operations productions at turn in. Maybe not as bad as one thinks. It could have worked to the benefit of both. The Indians needed a revenue source. Precious minerials was an excellent means to achieve that.

Third, mentioned earlier was the decline in the Buffalo herds. Poor diet and lack of protiens caused them to develop many illness. Yes even white mans's minor diseases like like measles had deadly effect because they had no immunity. But they needed better medical attention than what they were getting from medicine men. Though even at the time white man's medicine was still in its infancy and with charlants. It was better than the Indian's traditional ways.

I am not talking alchol here sale here, a illness also that the white brought to the Indian. But the Whites had major medical improvements from the Civil War in the treatment of many illness and trauma injuries. They were becoming aware of the role invisible germs played and what sanitatary drinking water meant. None of these medical advances were passed on to the Plains Indian tribes until after the Indian wars were over. Had the wars not occurred they would have gotten them sooner. Medical programs and teaching could have been incorporated into these new treaties. Just as was done later when they were on the reservation. Only sooner without the wars.

So for the defense of their territory, the Plains Indians lost a food source, lost a revenue source, and lost better medicines and medical
practices that the white man could have provided. Not a wise war to make, when it is going to cause the dicimation of your nation. This does not mean that heroism and foolishness on both sides did not occur during the Plains Indian wars. So did atrocities and indiscrimate killings, again on both sides. If one makes a case that one side or the other was totally in the right and the other was totally in the wrong, then it is biased position in my opinion.

As a former soldier, I don't honor men of any side of a conflict that commit atrocities. I have worked way to hard in this lifetime to keep atrocities of civilians from happening. Both in defending the country I love and honoring the people of all races that live here.

RE: The Trail of Tears.....

Just some info

Many of those 7th Cavlary troopers that died at Little Big Horn, had prior to Custer taking command, been going to the settlers and miners
and warning them not to enter Indian land. They tried to
halt the flood of whites after gold was found from occurring. Tried to warned them of the danger and to respect the treaty agreements of earlier.

It was just a futile thing. There were not enough troopers to enforce any kind mass number settler and miner movement into the region. Trying to do it on horseback was also a major limitation. But there was according to what I have read in the history of the times, an effort was made to halt/slow the whites coming into the area. I think that some in military command were hoping to revise the treaty agreements
in a manner that would allow the movement into the lands. Hence they tried to halt/limit the flow before major armed conflict broke out.

When Custer took command this warning of miners and settlers virtually ended. He was more focused on a engagement and military action than enforcing the treaties. He knew that the flow of white men into the regions would bring that. Bring about pressure in Washington
for military units to enter the lands to protect them.

Was there a government policy/program for the mass enthic cleansing of the Indian from North America? I have never seen any kind of executive order or military order in my reseach that said that. But is not nearly in depth research to be conclusive. If you know of any such orders, I would like to take a look at them. Was there a general attitude among white men of the time for such. Yes, I sadly think that there was.

Were treaties broken? Yes. But you also have the Crockettes and the
Scotts of the day that tried to make those treaties work. There were honest white men that attempted to keep peace with the Indians.
But they were few and far between.

It is hard to say today what our country would have been if these wars had not occurred. Surely it would have been a better for both
then had they not occurred. And today both would be better from that. jmo

RE: The Trail of Tears.....

I said there were men and women on both sides that were of good spirits and hearts that tried to keep events of the Indian wars from happening.

Custer was not one. He was just as bad as the troopers that took the Cherokee to the reservation, maybe worse. But there is killing in war and there is tortured killing. Later year foresincs of the bones of the 7th Calvary troopers saw nearly everyone of them with either knife wounds or hatchet blows or saw marks. They were mutilated and cut apart. The reason they took thier own lives, was to keep them from a tortured death. If you wish to make men of Plains Indian tribes into heros or think that 'justice was done' for doing such things, you lose me.

I also said Custer was a fool. Not just for his taking the 7th that day to Little Big Horn, but also for his comments and feelings toward the Indian. Custer could have never entered that camp under a flag of truce and that was part of the problem then. Niether side was talking.
The Indains did not ride out that day with a flag of truce either. They immediately engaged Bennet? unit prior to engaging Custer's at the river.

Lastly, are you saying the Plains Indian tribes were not gathering there for war that year? Every that they had done earlier, arming with repeating rifles, raiding of miners and settler camps for horses and supplies, and the biggest indication was the gathering itself.....and how fast they engaged Bennet.....all said they were going to war. It takes two to fight. Two can read history, each can remember it as they wish. But if you seek make butchers (of either side) into heros, again you lose me.

Last point, I have no idea to the number of settler's women, children, and elderly that the Indian wars claimed either. But it was a significant number, as well. Both sides were abusing the weak and innocent in the wars.

RE: The Trail of Tears.....

From the first day the white men and women set ashore here in North America....there were men of both races (white and red) that tried to
find way to keep things like the trail of tears from occurring. Davie Crockette is one example. Davie Crockette also led an armed militia into Iroquis terrority to recover hostaged settlers from his Kentucky settlement.

Be fair here. Try to get history right. There were Indian bands and tribes that were just as cruel, violent and hostile as those troopers that guarded the Cherokees during the Trail of Tears. Does that mean
all Indians were that way? No. As I have already said there men and women on both sides of this that had the welfare of both sides at heart and mind. But there some groups, no white man wanted to run into.

My grandfather was a stage coach guard driver for a time. During the
late 1880s in California, home of a Indian tribe that went to war at the time. Riding stage was a dangerous occupation then and there if you
get my drift here.

I don't make heros of men like the troopers of the Calvary that took
the Cherokees to their reservation. Nor do I make heros of Indians that find near helpless settlers and kidnap and torture them as well.

It is easy to sit here today and look back at one side or the other....and point fingers and make accusations of the events then.
The simple fact that both side were extreme scared of the other
and had great hate for the other. That was enough to bring horrible events to both to occur. What if Custer would have been able to ride into the camp of 10000 Indians, placed his hand in the air and said let us talk and find a peaceful resolution to this and not spill blood.

Would the Indians honored a truce for talks? I don't think so. The Plain Indains had gathered for a war. They had sent parties out seeking the settlers and gold miners coming into the area. Had already in the year attacked several. They wanted a fight just as bad as the Calvary did. Custer was a fool.....but even fools should not die the way he and his men did that day.

RE: ~~What is wrong with you Americans?~~

Pull us through to where? Where would Obama's leadership as a President take the country? So far his message of hope and change
have brought many to his camp and his support.

But he needs to answer the hard questions now. Both to be honest with them and others that are considering supporting him.

Hard questions on how does he combat terrorism once he withdraws from Iraq.
Hard questions on illegal immigration and border control.
Hard questions on his reform and social services programs.

As for his religious background.....it does matter in this sense.....if he was hiding a Muslim faith from the US people, then would he not hide other major issues and relationships?

You are tke one that quoted Ike. Has Obama said anything like that in his campaign speaches? That he will always do what is right for the country? If so, I have yet to hear it. More importantly he need to expain to us in some kind of detail...what he considers 'right' for the country.

RE: Questioning Einstein . . .

Good joke and humor. Yes, I can see Einstein doing it and also having a driver quick enough to pull it off.

RE: ~~What is wrong with you Americans?~~

Soltiare, I know things can look pretty bleak in the world when it comes to armed conflicts. It has been part of man's history since two cave tribes bumbed into each other over a dead dianosor and fought over its prime cuts.

Several questions you need to ask though. And some FYI.

First question is this. If terrorists get weapons of mass destruction that will not bring any balance of fear as what happened in the Cold war. That balance of fear then did bring about some stablity and did allow both a broken Europe and Japan to rebuild from WWII. What good could come out of terrorists with WMDs? Because they have in the past used them and will in the future if they can acquire them.

If your answer is like mine....none. Then we are really on the same side. We might disapprove of the tactics and methods that are being used to keep that from happening. But there is a solid common ground between us.

Second question. With both a Russian and China arming. Can the west
afford not be developing her weapons programs? to do her military deployments? The 90s might have seen the break up of the Soviet Union. But democracies do fight each other over land, over ideology, over that prime cut of mathsodon. Putin has renounced the Conventional Arms Agreement several months ago. That agreement had kept Russian military away from the the Russian and European country borders. Today, Russian armor divisions are deployed along them. In cold war invasion positions.

Soltaire, do you want the United State to pull out of NATO bring her troop home or send them elsewhere? We have a lot on table right now, Soltaire. We sure could use them elsewhere. But guess what, we will stand by our commitments to Europe, just as we stood by our
commitments to Korea. But give us break, man. When we are willing to put our people between you and alot of Russian T-82s.

Here is the FYI. Our Joint Chiefs did a paper on military operations on Iran. Boots on the ground kind of operations, like in Iraq today. They strongly advised against it. This does not mean that other military options are not still on the table. If I was tell you that, you would say he is not telling the straight stuff. They are working the military options there. But most leaders here today, recognize that the best option for Iran is some kind of regime change. That it is more likely to happen from within Iran than from Military operations. The Iraq/Iran war only solidified the Iranian people behind the Clerics and Mullahs and fundamental Islam. We don't want to to do that again. But as they develop nuclear programs/devices that can be given to terrorist, the pressure to use miltiary options will only grow. That brings us back to question no.1.

Let us drink a beer sometime, Solitare because since WWII we have kept a lid on WMDs. Kept people alive from terrorism. Kept WWIII from happening. Look at the wins as we also count the loses where we failed to stop a conflict from occurring or end it soon enough.

RE: ~~What is wrong with you Americans?~~

Sorry again ArkRoyal,

I mentioned this in a another post on a different thread. According to a
Wall Journal article of several months ago, the present Iraqi government award 12 major oil and gas contracts. 11 of the 12 went
to parties in Far East or Europe. Basically the same parties that Sadam was senting his crude to.

What is structured differently today is the middle men that are handling the transfers along the logistic chain. You don't middle men that are being bribed into some oil for food program, as Sadam had structured. Don't get me wrong, there still maybe some bad apples in this present set up. But at least you will not have a UN program set up humanitarian purposes ending up supplying weapons to a dictator.

1 of the contracts was what is called a currency contract. Does come to the US. It supplies the Iraq economy with with US dollars.

Check your own history to see how this differs from British Imperialism of 1800s. Most all the exports of Indian tea, cotton and ink ended up back in good old England. That is exploitation and greedy capitallism.

RE: Saudi Arabia to execute woman for 'witchcraft'

Why are we not talking about religious courts in Saudia Arabia and other Moslem countries that place this kind of sentence on people?
CSers it the sentence that is horrible and maybe even the way the
evidence and coerced plea were gotten.

But it still comes down to a religous court rendering this kind of judgement.

We can rationalize culture, race, religion even......but ultimately this does show a vast difference between west and middle eastern. Anyone think that a witch trial in Europe or N America would take place today? You all know the honest answer there. It just simply would not happen.

I am not saying our legal systems are better or more compassionate or don't make errors....they do. But sometime you see the mentality (or the lack of it) and have to wonder.jmo

RE: ~~What is wrong with you Americans?~~

Dente, I hear that same arguement from Islamic militants....we don't mind the American people...it is your government that we have problems with. And on 9/11 it was American people they killed.

You cannot seperate a American person...from his government. Let me try to explain this. "We the People in order to form a more perfect union"........the people are the government AND the government is people. Constitutionally, that single vote that each one of us has is also our franchise into the government. That government comes from the people.

Some Americans wear more than one hat.....Commander and Chief, Chief Administrator, Chief Executive Officer......all under the Presidency.
But before she/he is any of those, she/he is a citizen of the United States. She/he is franchised as a American.

Many have tried to divide the American from his elected leaders......and when you do....you fail to understand this idea of franchise. Do all Americans exercise thier franchise? No. Do all exercise thier franchise the same way? No. Many say the American have a bad Administration and we will let the people have this 'out' and not associate them to thier government. We elected them and they came from us.

Sorry, real Americans understand the thier loyalty is first to the Constitution, and then secondly to the office of the President. Many Americans take that 'out' here and seperate themselves from Administration and/or Constitution. But unless they commit treason, they have that right to excercise that franchise till the day they die.

So if you feel that the United State of American and its people are doing something wrong.......then look us (both the people of the US and our Government) in the eye and tell us. Let us then get into a healthy debate on what it is that you feel is wrong.

But quit thinking that the American people are not franchised to thier government, because they are. That some revolution is going to occur in this country. That some mystical force will divide the people of the US from their elected government. Because you are decieving yourselfs if you think such.

I will make it easy to understand. Many Democrats and Independants did not like the war in Iraq, but they still paid taxes and sent thier sons and daughters there. Did they complain, yes...they have a right to do so. But they still voted, paid thier taxes and thier children still went into harms way, they still honored the democratic franchise.

We seen have the European people take the 'out' so many times
in the past, Dente. Either by accepting a Monarchy or by some forced dictatorship or by some Rule by Privilidge Class or Socialists party...that we don't think you understand the ideas of 'freedom' and 'franchise'.

RE: Who Is Barack Obama?

The Constitution of the United States makes no requirement of canidates to have any 'declared' association of faith or religion.
Unlike many governments of the 15th, 16th and 17th century, a
declared faith had to be publically announced to hold office or
position.

The Constitution of the United States is uniquely different from
the other governments of the time in this regard. So no, you
don't have to be Catholic to be President of the United States.

RE: ~~What is wrong with you Americans?~~

Sorry, we did not meet your standards for running an election Softly.

But the 2004 Presidential race was to the standards of the state of Florida. In a election were less than a 1% difference between the canididate is occurring, a recount is manatory. They (the Secretary of State, a republican) gave the Demo a choice of a full state recount or a select few county recount. The Demo choose the later and lost by 560 votes, state wide. Where is any of that foolish or horrible? Unfair or deceptive?

FYI...most of the polling places in the state of Florida...don't have pooling booths....we have privacy booths...a sutle difference. Are you making fair criticism when you don't understand the state's election laws, the process or the equipment that Florida uses to vote?

RE: ~~What is wrong with you Americans?~~

I think that you are on to something here, Detente. Take GITMO for example. People see photos of it.....and say....What are the American doing to Muslim GWOT captives? They look at pics of a modern Federal
Prison and see a massive modern facility and immediately they see two different standards of treatment between the groups.

But here is the problem. We could not mix the GITMO detainees into the regular prison populations here. It was really dangerous to place them into a environment of mostly gangs. Individually, they would not have lasted very long in that environment. Also it was far better if we were going to gain intell from them, to keep them together.....with a special intell team of translators/anaylsis/and debriefers. Not something you have at a Federal Prison. A military prison was about the only option. GITMO because its location on Cuba on a military base
seemed the safetest and most secure place to have it. But when the GWOT began....nothing was there.....it was all designed and constructed on the fly.

But look at the GITMO facilities and one is going 'oh my what are the Americans doing'? Compared to many other foreign prisons GITMO is not so bad. In Afghanistan, some Taliban and AlQueada were held in RoRo containers for a long period of time. Not by our choice, but because that was the only avialable security facility there for the numbers. But these are not the standards that many expect for an
American prison and prisoner treatment.

We do have standards and when we do fall short of them, the world does notice. But we also think that it is better to set high standards and fail...than not to set any standard at all and not try. Thanks for the chance to let me explain this some.