The US presidential campaign

The electoral fraud now is being blamed on 70-year-old people who couldn't pierce a damned complicated card…

Civilised countries have a single national ballot with big squares and parties' bloody insignia so even illiterate people like Bush can mark the card with a bloody 'X' and bloody vote!

I perfectly know this. And that's why I say it's stupid.

There's not such a thing as the 'left' in the US. A 'leftie' in the US is a right-centrist in the rest of the world…

Disaster? Bloody hell!!! You must indeed keep Lenin's gang away from the White House… just look what heap of ruins the Democratic Socialists have made of Europe…

 

Never understood that either - now we have puchcards, levers, touchscreens, etc - every third world county has simple voting procedures - why does the US have to complicate things - I guess we overestimate our intelligence?

 

ah the can of worms is being opened further..........

 

Another reason for hating that liar bastard of W.

http://www.elchulo.net/files/pentagon.swf

 

the worms are starting to ooooooze out..........

 

Fried, why the big hard-on of this countries leaders,you don't even live here. Now as I tried to do in my first reply to Kia's question,did popular Presidents spend the same on 'mud-slinging'or is this a by-product of unpopular ones?

 

Framer my opinion it happened after Kennedy's assasination. This year of course the two boyz got onto it earlier I think around April instead of waiting till the holy days of September before casting their lots at one another.........the whole thing is a crime and yes as Kai asked, should it not be one of who is telling the truth and who can be trusted. Hate to say this but we Americans have become "soft", not relying on the issues debated over the long months or the integrity of an official but by staying firm behind one's party through thick and thin and even if there is a bozo running for the office in the Republican/Democratic party, if you are in the party you vote for that candidate.........how ridiculous ! sounds weird but I have to say that over 1/2 of my business accounts that are in the ages of 60 yrs and older feel this way.

v/r

Erich ~

 

But I travell there a lot and I live in the country next door, as well as in globalised world in which the White House's decisions no longer affect only the US.

 

do you feel yourself as a luckier young man living in Mexico ? I am curious

E ~

 

Luckier than? What's the question for? Please, explain. I'll answer it to-morrow morning without delay.

 

Fried, luckier than us Americans. Your answer will probably shape the way I will post my reply if I reply.......

 

I have to say that US elections are less bloody than Mexican elections. I can remember watching a news clip of a guy in Mexico running for election standing in a crowd and anouther man walking right up and blowing the guys brains out and calmly walked away. To my knowledge they never caught the man even though it was filmed. The man who was shot was running against the Pre Party (sp). This was approx. ten years ago.

The US has not had that happen since the 70's when someone shot George Wallace and crippled him.

 

DWD and Drache: thank you both.

When I was working for Kaiser Engineers (of Hoover Dam and Liberty Ships fame I was invited at a time to go to Pittsburgh to one of the company offices. I took a test on the US Embassy with questions on language, US history, politcs etc (no, no one asked me if I intended to invade the White House armed with a chainsaw ) and per the marks I got I should be entitled to be automatically enrolled in the NRA, American Legion, Boy Scouts, Nation of Islam (oops!), National Guard (as a F-102 pilot!) plus God knows what else

But then companies switch decisions quickly, and the deal went down the drain. A pity, really.

 

Indeed, the guy's name was Luis Donaldo Colosio and he was running for the PRI and was assassinated on 1994 and became almost a martir. The intellectual authors are still unknown, though people think it was the very President, Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

In the next six years, Mexico incredibly recovered from the greatest economical crisis in its History —the 1995 crash— and slowly became a democratic country in 2000 under President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León. After 71 years in power, the PRI was replaced in rule by the oldest oposition party.

Elections are very different nowadays. The institution in charge of them —IFE (Federal Electoral Institue)— is widely respected around the world in it will help in the first free-elections of Iraq.

Mexico, however, is still fighting to consolidate the democratic system and that will take a while and hard effort. The best paralell I can think of is Spain. Mexico in 2004 is like Spain in 1979, fighting 35 years of Franquism.

Difficult questioning, but quite interesting. Thanks, Erich.

Well, speaking only for myself then I can tell you: yes, I am luckier in many respects.

I mean, in Europe or the United States I could never afford to have the material level of life I have here. Mexico is a far cheaper country to live in and I earn my salary in American dollars, so when it becomes pesos then it becomes a lot of money.

A disadvantage is that Mexico and Latin America, even if countries with a strong musical tradition, there could never be a demand as numerous as in the European or two of the North American countries. However, competition is fewer and the pay is proportionally bigger.

There are many things which are indeed much worse than in the US: Mexico, don't forget, is not a First World country, nor it is a Third World one, since it's far more developed and rich than let's say, African or Asian countries of similar size. Actually, if you looked at some parts of this city, you could easily say that it seems far richer and prosperous than Rome, Miami or London! But there are 40 million people who live in poverty, and justice, transportation and many other services are caothic. But that's pretty normal in a 30 million-innhabitants city.

What is worse than the US? There is many poor people. Goverment and civil services are very inefficient, I don't like the weather —too sunny for this pseudo-vampire—, there are high levels of insecurity and a lot of pollution, traffic jams, etc., etc.

What is better? People is more 'free' and happier —according to a recent UN worldwide 'happiness-poll' Mexico is the 2nd 'happiest country'— than at the US. Mediterranean and catholic family traditions make it a place in which people is very funny, hospitalarious and warm. Food is goddam excellent and there's History in every corner. Did I mention it's a very funny nation? Little-towns' religious festivities are all the same: games, fireoworks, religious festivities, a lot of food and drink —in the streets— and all houses' doors opened for everyone.

Last year I went to a little town, where one of my best friend's family is from, very ugly little town, I must admit. But everywhere we went, we were received with wide-open arms and people make their house your own. You were walking down the street and if there was a wedding taking place people just invited you into their places and immediately offered you tons of food and alcohol… then you could go down the main square in front of the church —with a beer in hand, of course— to watch fireworks, dance, do a little shooting, playing Bingo, eating, and playing at the fair.

There happened something that convinced me that I, at the moment, felt very confortable there and in this country. After being chased by a 'bull' —ie. a person with a bull full of fireworks on his shoulders—, taking photographs like if I was a combat cameraman, when we were in the middle of the crowd, someone spiced myself —on my pants— with pepper-spray. We cried and 'smother' one or two minutes and then we laughed about the incident and kept drinking until we forgot about it all…

Could this had happened in the US? After of before 9/11 such an incident could have been taken by a terrorist attack and I would have been held on quarentine because my pants could have been covered in pepper-spray with anthrax or God-know-what!

I mean, I don't know if you get my point… All countries have their advantages and disadvantages, their good and bad things. That's why I criticise people when claim that their country is better than any other. No, it isn't. Every single country is different and special.

I like the US very much. I enjoy going over there. And if I didn't like Americans I wouldn't spend my time 'chatting' with them on this forum, would I?

In conclusion, I don't know if I am indeed 'luckier' to live here than if I lived, let's say, in New York. I know that I've been living here almost 5 years and that my friends, family and all my life is here. Spanish has become my first language, I'm a cumpulsive chili-eater and I love Mexican music…

Maybe the same would happen if I lived in San Francisco, Paris or Timbuktú… I'm bloody versatile!

 

Thanks for the link General. I had thought he ran against the PRI but no matter he is still dead as a door knob. But I do remember the graphic news clip of him getting shot.

 

You're right, in the US people wait until the candidates become incumbents. See http://www.usatrivia.com/pasnatt.html for a list

 

Just goes to show, you can't please everyone.

 

That was an interesting web sit ZA !! I always thought I was up on history but I never even heard of the attempt on Truman by Oscar Collazo and the pardon by Jimmy Carter. Learned something new from Portugal.

 

Noam Chomsky

 

Kerry lied as good men died...

my great uncle served two tours in vietnam, and made it home i'm proud of him, kerry served 4 months, came home and supported communism, and the vietcong along with Jane Fonda. He called our troops neck slitting baby killers, used the blood of our men to further his political carrier. Now he wants to be president... whats wrong with this picture? sorry guys I would NEVER vote for this man in my life. =\