Hello Old People!
 

Hey there :) My name is Brother Karl and I am 19 years old. I joined this forum because I would like to talk about world politics, philosophical conundrums and USA politics because (1) I am a geek and (2) I am currently studying the politics of the USA.

I am located in a small town in England but I dont consider myself to be English or any nationality at all.
I have never been to America but I admire the distrust of government and individual spirit that many Americans seem to hold. :cool:

Please do introduce yourselves to me on this thread so I can get to know you better. I would like to know (1) what your political leaning is, (2) what is your ideal day, (3) what is your job and (4) what is the most important political issue to you at the moment. Thanks! :D

Welcome Laddie,

Conservative, but this lot thinks I am a Liberal, any day that I wake up, retired, getting some of the wingnuts out of politics.

Howdy Limey, Yank here :)

Whereabouts in England are you? Me mum came from the Hartepool Headlands. Fresh off hanging the monkey lol.

1) Slightly to the right. As all my leftie friends would agree.
2) Off work, quiet cool morning with a good fresh breakfast, a $20 record run through garage sales, thrifts, and stores, light lunch, mess about the car a bit, or putter around the yard or house, or read, solid dinner, and a bit o' bitter (maybe two or three bits) while listening to lps and perhaps playing some cards with the wife or a fire with friends. Sometimes a road trip fits the bill too, or maybe tweaking some lefties :)
3) Sales. Need an umbrella? :D
4) Fighting the slower or faster creep of upsurped power to the Federal government. Although I believe it is now a lost cause, so I guess I'm just a thorn :grin: I might be able to stave off attacks on our prosperity single handedly though. Just kidding.

Oh, and I like to kid around too.

Do you own a car?

Pete

South. On the coast. Under London. In a Conservative safe seat constituency.

Sounds great :D

Nope. I dont really feel that I need to own a car. I dont want to waste all of my money on something that I dont really need.

Ah the fairer south. I withdraw my umbrella comment :D

No worries with the car, I like to hear about other cars is all.

So, whats your answer to 2, 3, and 4?

Pete

What car do you have?

Rainy day. Surrounded by food that will make me fat, my computer, my playstation and a few books. All phones off. Nobody in the house but me. Dinner HAS to be curry and beer. Absolute heaven :D

Working in a supermarket part time but I am also studying Politics at college. I am a real political nerd :p

Government control over peoples lives, I think.

1). Slightly to the left on a good day, nearly Stalinist when I get angry.:D
2). Any day I can free myself from the yoke of the capitalist machine and spend the day spinning Lps, tweaking my gear and taking naps.
3). Industrial Maintenance Mechanic. Currently, high speed canning. But I have worked in robotics, plastics injection molding, and aviation.
4). The dreaded "Social Justice" issues that Beck decries ad nauseum.

Dave

Talk about someone who has learned the art of conversation - asking and listening - a good start kid, from one of the middling old farts here.

1) Pretty solidly on the left. The more I see the gap between rich and poor widen, and the lagging opportunities for the working class, the closer I get to Marxism.

2) As and empty-nester, I'm working on developing an ideal day that does not include spending time with the boys. Still, I would have to say that my favorite day would be to go on a road trip to see a ballgame with the boys, preferably to see the St. Louis Cards in the post-season. Otherwise, Pete described a pretty nice day as well.

3) I fight for truth justice and the American worker, and I get to argue for a living. I'm a partner in a small labor law firm.

4) The overwhelming voice that money owns in politics. Major financial folk are getting ready to control the airwaves before the election, spewing well-honed right-wing propaganda. It appears that the the same folks have been providing substantial backing for what has been made to look like a grass roots tea-party movement.

And, uh, I'm also kind of opinionated.:cool:

Regards,

D-Ray

what up brother Karl


I am a conundrum.

BTW, I am fighting corporate control of my life by rallying for more government protections.

You're not alone.

Dave

I am directly taking on the corporations and I intend to win.

Regards,

D-Ray

if you ever figure out how to get a false charge corrected on a phone bill, credit card or insurance premium... without having to just pay it you get back to me

I know the first name is Don, is the last name Quixote?

Dave

One small victory at a time. One pension potected. One comp claim fully paid. One arbitration telling the corporation that "you can't do that." Every once in a while, expose some corruption along the way.

Regards,

D-Ray

In a country where most have been convinced that the working folks are screwing their employers and should be beaten down and left defenseless, you are a rare character indeed, Don.

And I think it's a good thing.

Dave

Welcome, glad to have ya here. Look forward to hearing your perspective on ours and other countries politics.

Bit late here, so ill post more on your questions tomorrow.

Grumpy

Simple, if I can't get it done by whoever is local a strongly worded but polite letter goesto the CEO. They seem to hate getting them and things happen. Also where the phone company is concerned there is always the PSC, verizon really hates me.:p

Christine O'Donnell says conundrums cause AIDS.

John

Hello, Karl -

Welcome to AK. Your perspective will add measurably to the discourse here.

Me:

1) Quite left-of-center (by American terms), probably closest to a European Social Democrat.

2) A day spent with my dog (the best person I know) enjoying the natural world here in one of the most beautiful spots in the world.

3) I'm a self-employed handyman/contractor.

4) The wholesale purchase of government and the press by American oligarchs.

John

You HAD to ask :p

Currently a 1985 Lincoln Town Car, a symbol of excess and vinyl tops run amok. Bulletproof and comfortable though, with a small block 5.0L V8.

Pete

Thanks Dave, but not really. Just like you, Dave, I do a job for which I am suited. You have mechanical ability and an ability to understand systems. I happen to enjoy writing, and, in case it's not obvious, I like to argue. :p As a labor lawyer, the arbitration cases we love to get are the ones that look like losers. Expectations are low. We are going to get paid, win or lose. When we do win one of those, we come out the hero, and we get to claim that it took some lawyerin' to beat the MAN. In other words, it's fun sometimes. :cool: And we don't have to watch Fox at lunch. (It's usually ESPN, CNN, or MSNBC)

Sorry to thread crap Karl. As you can see, some of us here are windbags.

Regards,

D-Ray

South of London, my family came from Oxfordshire (Mum) and Lincolnshire via Yorkshire (Dad). Last place he worked was in the Thornhill Lees Glassworks, emigrated to Canada in 1906.

Welcome to the site my friend :)

I hope you like it here!

I have four cars for my wife and I, yeah I know it speaks volumes about todays "excess society" but someones gotta keep the oil companies in biz :D

Sultan Abdullah Bin Hussain needs another Rolls! :D

Pete

Before I became ill I had three shinny ones, just for me. :D

I have two.

1997 Dodge Dakota.
Short bed, regular cab, 5.2 liter V8.
She looks a little rough with dents, faded paint and rust.
But she runs like a dream, even at nearly 180,000 miles.

2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi.
5.7 liter Hemi V8-370 horsepower.
Deep Water Blue, Dark Charcoal (Black) Interior.
She's beautiful and scary fast.
0-60 in 5.8 seconds, top speed 152mph.

Dave

I spoiled my kids by buying them a 1991 Olds Cutlass with 130K miles on it. My Wife drives the '03 Intrepid with 110K, except when she drives to OK to check on her folks, she takes my daily driver, an '08 Saturn hatchback that we bought new. Brother Karl might recognize it as the Opel Astra, which was re-badged for sale in the states.

Regards,

D-Ray

Just curious what small English town you might hail from. I've got some family "over there".

No need to apologise. I like to read along and learn more about you guys and what you think. Carry on ;)

I know nothing about cars :o

Its near the city of Brighton, in the county of Sussex. I'd rather not say any more.

Are "they" after you too?

Dave

They have already found me. They are everywhere. Didnt you know? :eek:

I . . I. . I love Big Brother.

Regards,

D-Ray

Reminds me of North Korea. Its so horrifically fascinating to me. I cant wait to hear more about North Korea in the news. Apparently The Dear Leader Kim Jong-Il is positioning his third son to take over from him. Hopefully some more documentaries come out on it soon, I've watched all the ones on YouTube over like 5 times :p (I'm a nerd :(:D)

OK. You're roughly on the southeast side. My family is primarily on the southwest end - Cornwall, near St. Austell.

The last time we were in London we rentaed a car, had the hotel pack us a picnic basket and went for a drive. From London to Brighton, along the coast to Portsmouth and had a picnic in a pasture overlooking the harbour. Annoyed the sheep no end, guess they were not used to humans picnicing in their field. Car was a Ford Granad Ghia if memory serves. Still like our Chev Impalas the best.