McCain Pro-home schooling

[runninmommy]

While watching the debates I was very impressed with McCain and his views. One of them being pro-home schooling. I think McCain and Obama spoke very well tonight but I was most impressed with McCain.

 

Just thought I would share.

 

: )

[amy g.]

Is there a way to see these online?

[Mom to Aly]

From what I have read, Obama is very in favor of homeschooling as well. I haven't seen anything that has impressed me from McCain yet, especially not since he seems so close to Bush on too many things--I'm too frightened to think of what another four years of anything close to that could do, not only to us, but to the world.

[EKS]

What she said!

[RebeccaC]

From what I have read, Obama is very in favor of homeschooling as well. I haven't seen anything that has impressed me from McCain yet, especially not since he seems so close to Bush on too many things--I'm too frightened to think of what another four years of anything close to that could do, not only to us, but to the world.

 

Well being from the great state of IL I can tell you that Obama tried to put through legislation that would have made hsing almost impossible here. He was backing a bill that the NEA wanted and I remember the phone calls and letter writing that IL hsers had to do to keep that bill from passing. I am not a McCain fan by any means but I know what Obama did when he was at the state level and he was not in favor of hsing then. He may have changed his feathers since then but he did not ever vote in favor of anything that would help hsing or was pro-hsing in his home state.

 

Can I point to to something to read about this on the web..... no all of his state stuff has mysteriously disappeared. I really hope that we are all mature enough to not hand out negative rep for stating an opposing experience regarding Senator Obama and again I have no horse in this race. Of course his voting record on the state level matched his voting record on the national level lot and lots of present hardly any yeahs or nays, few bills if any that he actually wrote or backed.

[runninmommy]

Obama is not "against" home schooling but he is not overly supportive either.

 

Here are a few links that may interest some..

 

http://spunkyhomeschool.blogspot.com/2008/07/obamas-position-on-homeschooling.html

 

Here is Obama's plan for education (his zero to five plan really scares me)

 

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/education/

 

McCain position on Education

http://www.ontheissues.org/Social/John_McCain_Education.htm

 

 

I just found it interesting that McCain seemed more supportive. Not to start a debate..I personally don't like either one of them. I am just trying to figure out which of them is the lesser of two evils...

:001_smile:

[Melissa in FL]

I thought McCain did very well. I'm really surprised. Generally, I don't like him, but I liked a lot of what he said tonight. I thought Obama did fine, but he seems like a lot of fluff. I'm waiting to see who they choose for VP before I make any decision. Until tonight I was thinking about voting for Barr, but I'm going to really watch McCain. He might just change my mind! I loved how fierce he sounded when he brought up education and homeschooling!

Melissa

[HSMom2One]

with all due respect to the varied political positions represented on this board, and please don't think I am bashing anyone by stating my views in this thread...I only want to say that I have a real dilemma with this coming election. I cannot vote with a clear conscience for either candidate. My highest priority is the issue of violence, both in vitro violence and aggressive warfare. Whenever I think of this election I feel so sad and concerned for my country. So my thought is this, yes, we'll hopefully have a good shot at continuing with our home schools, but lives are going to continue to be lost every day with the election of either candidate.

 

I'm crying...

Lucinda

[RebeccaC]

Obama is not "against" home schooling but he is not overly supportive either.

 

 

 

 

Well his actions in IL were in no way in favor of hsing. He can write all he wants in his books but what he did here would have made this one of, if not the hardest state to hs in. I have always thought that actions speak louder than words and that bill was scary. I think he had no idea how well organized hsers were in IL and he did not again put forward an anti-hsing bill but he also did not help hsers in Il in any way. So he may have written what he did not ofend a well organized group. Sorry but I am quite jaded when it comes to Obama mostly because I am from the same state he is and know a bit more from his days here in our state house. I am not meaning to debate either just stating what his actions were here in this state.

[Kelli in TN]

My highest priority is the issue of violence, both in vitro violence and aggressive warfare. Whenever I think of this election I feel so sad and concerned for my country. So my thought is this, yes, we'll hopefully have a good shot at continuing with our home schools, but lives are going to continue to be lost every day with the election of either candidate.

 

 

That is my dilemna too. Pro-life is pro-life. I wish we had a candidate who valued all life.

[Parrothead]

Well his actions in IL were in no way in favor of hsing. He can write all he wants in his books but what he did here would have made the one of if not the hardest state to hs in. I have always thought that actions speak louder than words and that bill was scary. I think he had no idea how well organized hsers were in IL and he did not again put forward an anti-hsing bill but he also did not help hsers in Il in any way. So he may have written what he did not ofend a well organized group. Sorry but I am quite jaded when it comes to Obama mostly because I am from the same state he is and know a bit more from his days here in our state house. I am not meaning to debate either just stating what his actions were here in this state.

Thanks for the info from one who is there.

[RebeccaC]

I tend to be a two issue voter pro-life and pro-hsing. Obama leaves me cold on both issues and McCain is at best lukewarm. Thus I have no horse or dog or man in this race :eek: I hate election seasons like this :glare:

[LizzyBee]

Here is Obama's plan for education (his zero to five plan really scares me)

 

I had to go read the zero to five plan. Wow. When I was a kid, our county didn't even have kindergarten; school started with first grade. Then they started kindergarten, but it was mostly structured play time. Then kindergarten became academic; and now kids are supposed to learn a bunch of stuff to be prepared to enter kindergarten. We keep pushing skills down so that they are expected to be learned at younger and younger ages, yet basic foundational skills are not being taught in many schools. Now Obama proposes we need public education in some form to begin in infancy. What's next, required memory song CD's played to our in utero babies?

 

Dh said it best: voluntary this year, mandatory next year.

[runningirl71]

That is my dilemna too. Pro-life is pro-life. I wish we had a candidate who valued all life.

 

This is me too. I hate to see one lifted up as more important than the other.

[runninmommy]

I had to go read the zero to five plan. Wow. When I was a kid, our county didn't even have kindergarten; school started with first grade. Then they started kindergarten, but it was mostly structured play time. Then kindergarten became academic; and now kids are supposed to learn a bunch of stuff to be prepared to enter kindergarten. We keep pushing skills down so that they are expected to be learned at younger and younger ages, yet basic foundational skills are not being taught in many schools. Now Obama proposes we need public education in some form to begin in infancy. What's next, required memory song CD's played to our in utero babies?

 

Dh said it best: voluntary this year, mandatory next year.

 

I have to say, I completely agree with you. You had me laughing....but it really is not funny is it?

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I have to say, I completely agree with you. You had me laughing....but it really is not funny is it?

 

It's not... but then you meet some three-year-olds who have never actually been read to. Or worked with in ANY way.

 

I don't want it mandatory, either, but Head Start is voluntary, and I haven't seen in all the years that it's been operational that there has been any encroachment on early parenting for non-at-risk kids.

 

I know that the more Libertarian of us don't agree with any of these programs, but I'm more on the side of a happy medium.

[Trivium Academy]

http://www.homeschoolersformccain.com/index.html

 

I didn't watch the entire thing and I wanted to see McCain's comments from tonight's forum.

[Kuovonne]

Delete

[Mrs Mungo]

It's not... but then you meet some three-year-olds who have never actually been read to. Or worked with in ANY way.

 

I don't want it mandatory, either, but Head Start is voluntary, and I haven't seen in all the years that it's been operational that there has been any encroachment on early parenting for non-at-risk kids.

 

I know that the more Libertarian of us don't agree with any of these programs, but I'm more on the side of a happy medium.

 

I agree. Also, the fact is, when you start cutting back welfare and food stamps to single, working moms they can't even afford child care. I see the results of *that* and I would rather the kids be in a publically funded preschool then tended to be a 7 year old sibling. That's a piece of the issue nobody wants to talk about.

[anissarobert]

I have to agree with all of you who comment that neither canidate seems like a great choice. However, one of them will win. As is often the case in our political system it comes down to the "lesser of two evils." I'm not a big McCain fan, but Obama is the most liberal senator in Washington. As president he could change the makeup of our courts and push for Congress to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child. This tricky treaty threatens the rights of homeschoolers in America in a very subtle way. I really believe that if we want to continue to enjoy the right to homeschool, McCain is the best choice. Our only other option is to work together to pass the Parental Rights Amendment, which is at best an uphill battle. We don't have the luxury of ignoring this election, even though the canidates are much less than ideal.

[pqr]

The NEA president has come out strongly in favor of Obama.

 

http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2008/nr080803.html

 

This, when coupled with what RebeccaC has stated I do not see that there is much room for debate here.

[Nestof3]

Here is Obama's plan for education (his zero to five plan really scares me)

 

 

Oh good grief -- more wasted tax money. People keep thinking more money and more programs will fix the eductional system. The educational system itself isn't broken. The families are. Society is. There are just too many apathetic, self-absorbed, immature, lazy people walking around. Too many people having babies because they have sex rather than having sex to have a baby.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

The educational system itself isn't broken. The families are. Society is. There are just too many apathetic, self-absorbed, immature, lazy people walking around. Too many people having babies because they have sex rather than having sex to have a baby.

 

Wow. Do you really think that every poor person is apathetic, self absorbed, and lazy? Do you think it is realistic to ask people not to have sex unless they want to get pregnant?

[I talk to the trees]

Wow. Do you really think that every poor person is apathetic, self absorbed, and lazy? Do you think it is realistic to ask people not to have sex unless they want to get pregnant?

 

If I my ever so humbly reply, Dawn never used the word "poor." (Heck, I know quite a few apathetic, self-absorbed, lazy people with far more in their bank accounts than I have in mine!) She merely pointed out that throwing money at a problem won't fix it. Especially when it's someone else's money! And that, in general, a lack of concern for the consequences of certain activities is prevalent in our society.

 

-Robin

[Susie in CA]

I tend to be a two issue voter pro-life and pro-hsing. Obama leaves me cold on both issues and McCain is at best lukewarm. Thus I have no horse or dog or man in this race :eek: I hate election seasons like this :glare:

 

 

If these are the issues you vote on McCain would not have left you luke-warm yesterday evening! He very certainly agreed with you on both issues - quite strongly I might add. :001_smile:

 

Susie

[cin]

Oh good grief -- more wasted tax money. People keep thinking more money and more programs will fix the eductional system. The educational system itself isn't broken. The families are. Society is. There are just too many apathetic, self-absorbed, immature, lazy people walking around. Too many people having babies because they have sex rather than having sex to have a baby.

 

 

I agree with this. From the top to the bottom. There are 2 income families living in the biggest and best houses and neighborhoods whose kids are the classic latchkey. They come home to an empty house and play video games until they get hungry; fix their own dinner and say goodnight to mom or dad when they finally get home.

 

Then there are the low income families, in the worst of neighborhoods. If the parents aren't home, the kids are exposed to crime and drugs.

 

And neither of these children are getting time with parents, or read too. I will say this: I student taught in a VERY low income school. One of the Worst of the Worst. In a class of 25 there were 3 HIGH acheivers. It was just too bad that his parents couldn't afford to put him in a better school (Yeah, it was that bad). But at the same time there was one who threw chairs across room and, at 4th grade, was a latchkey kid. No one even showed up for parent conferences. The first child, I remember his mom at the conference. VERY interested and attuned to everything the teacher was saying.

 

How much money we throw at education has NOTHING to do with it. How much TIME the parents throw at it has EVERYTHING to do with it.

 

 

OH, and as an aside. The fact that the NEA supports Obama....That alone is almost enough to decide my vote.:glare:

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

If I my ever so humbly reply, Dawn never used the word "poor." (Heck, I know quite a few apathetic, self-absorbed, lazy people with far more in their bank accounts than I have in mine!) She merely pointed out that throwing money at a problem won't fix it. Especially when it's someone else's money! And that, in general, a lack of concern for the consequences of certain activities is prevalent in our society.

 

-Robin

 

Well, the education programs that Obama is proposing are going to help the poor tremendously. We have a program in our area that sets up home visits with parents of at-risk infants and preschoolers. It is a wonderful resource. They provide books for children who otherwise would not have a book in the home, they make mothers aware of what developmental goals their children should be meeting. They help parents get special services for their children if they need them.

 

More safe, quality day cares and preschools are needed in this country. Leaving the poor out of this, not every family chooses to have one parent stay at home. Certainly this one doesn't make someone lazy or any of the other things. Also, our childcare workers are highly overworked and underpaid. I would love to see them get the same kind of benefits Kindergarten teachers get.

 

Homeschooling is an optional choice for those who can afford it. Many many families can't and others simply just don't want to or it is not in the best interest of their children. We need to have public schools that work because that is how the vast majority of children are educated in this country.

 

Where I live, I believe a child has to be 12 to be allowed to stay at home alone. Shouldn't the goal be to help parents raise kids who are responsible enough to stay by themselves for a few hours by the time they are 12? Shouldn't the goal be to provide safe afterschool care for children who need it?

 

Oh and the NEA is always going to support the Democratic candidate. It's a union. They were supporting Hil before she didn't make it.

[Amy in NY]

The NEA president has come out strongly in favor of Obama.

 

http://www.nea.org/newsreleases/2008/nr080803.html

 

This, when coupled with what RebeccaC has stated I do not see that there is much room for debate here.

 

and I love pqr's signature, too!

[StaceyinLA]

Obama just scares me. He just comes across as totally dishonest. I think he has WAY too many skeletons in his closet for my taste. McCain just seems human to me.

 

That is what I have liked about GW. He has made mistakes and done things wrong (who hasn't?), but I like that he is just a man. I also respect him for standing up for what he believes in, even though it makes him unpopular. He is doing a VERY difficult job, and has done it through some of the worst times this country has seen, and he is just doing the best he can. I have to commend him for that.

[sheryl]

I agree with you runninmommy and LizzyBee!

 

To others who disagree. We are conservative Rep's here. I didn't say we are perfect or high and mighty with that sentence. Christians will be the FIRST to admit their faults.

 

The world needs to wake up and realize that alot of this world is corrupt and slanted to the left agenda. THE MEDIA IS MOSTLY LEFT and will PRESENT stories favoring the left and brainwashing people. The media will portray stories and make it look like the whole world is in agreement. Such is not the case alot of the time. I have no interest in debating media with you. My dh has been in non-broadcast media for 30 years after we graduated from college.

 

Put on your thinking caps and realize there is a bigger issue here...it's called spiritual warfare. Unless your eyes are spiritually opened, the world will continue to "make sense" to you.

 

From a strictly practical viewpoint....why would you want someone telling you what to do? That is what you will get with Obama....he is a master in disguise. What experience does he have?

 

NObama.........Yes, McCain

 

 

 

I have to say, I completely agree with you. You had me laughing....but it really is not funny is it?

[PameliaSue]

Well being from the great state of IL I can tell you that Obama tried to put through legislation that would have made hsing almost impossible here. He was backing a bill that the NEA wanted and I remember the phone calls and letter writing that IL hsers had to do to keep that bill from passing. I am not a McCain fan by any means but I know what Obama did when he was at the state level and he was not in favor of hsing then. He may have changed his feathers since then but he did not ever vote in favor of anything that would help hsing or was pro-hsing in his home state.

I was unaware of this and it is REALLY important!!

 

 

Can I point to to something to read about this on the web..... no all of his state stuff has mysteriously disappeared. I really hope that we are all mature enough to not hand out negative rep for stating an opposing experience regarding Senator Obama and again I have no horse in this race. Of course his voting record on the state level matched his voting record on the national level lot and lots of present hardly any yeahs or nays, few bills if any that he actually wrote or backed.

 

And this is what really concerns me about Obama. He has come across as SO shallow to me making it difficult to know where he ACTUALLY stands on important issues!!

HOW CAN YOU NOT VOTE ON MORE THAN 100 ISSUES?!?!?! when you are there (and PAID to be there) for the express purpose of representing and voting on issues for the people who have sent you to represent them!?!?!?

[kokotg]

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/24/fact_check_obamas_present_votes/

 

Obama acknowledges that over nearly eight years in the Illinois Senate, he voted "present" 129 times. That was out of roughly 4,000 votes he cast, so those "presents" amounted to about one of every 31 votes in his legislative career.

 

I have a difficult time seeing how this qualifies as "hardly any" yes or no votes.

 

And he has a great deal of legislation with his name attached to it in the Senate:

 

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/02/dear-chris-matt.html

[Donna T.]

with all due respect to the varied political positions represented on this board, and please don't think I am bashing anyone by stating my views in this thread...I only want to say that I have a real dilemma with this coming election. I cannot vote with a clear conscience for either candidate. My highest priority is the issue of violence, both in vitro violence and aggressive warfare. Whenever I think of this election I feel so sad and concerned for my country. So my thought is this, yes, we'll hopefully have a good shot at continuing with our home schools, but lives are going to continue to be lost every day with the election of either candidate.

 

I'm crying...

Lucinda

 

 

:iagree:

 

This is the first presidential election that I will not be voting in.

I agree with you totally.

[I talk to the trees]

:iagree:

 

This is the first presidential election that I will not be voting in.

I agree with you totally.

 

AAAACK!!!! Don't do that! Vote third party, or write in a vote, but DO NOT give up your right and responsibility to vote!!( :001_smile: Just so you know I'm not *really* yelling at you!)

 

-Robin

[Donna T.]

The world needs to wake up and realize that alot of this world is corrupt and slanted to the left agenda. THE MEDIA IS MOSTLY LEFT and will PRESENT stories favoring the left and brainwashing people. The media will portray stories and make it look like the whole world is in agreement. Such is not the case alot of the time.

 

NObama.........Yes, McCain

 

 

I agree with you. And, I'd add that alot of the world is slanted to the Right. And, I'd further submit that both are corrupt. I have personally been engaged in spiritual warfare. I'm only bringing that up because you mentioned it in your post. Not... oh, I'm feeling depressed, it must be spiritual warfare... and not, oh, somebody disagrees with me, it must be spiritual warfare... I mean, spiritual warfare where the devil moves into your house. And, it is absolutely my testimony that that was a result of the influence of the so-called "Right" on my life.

 

McCain has illegally received funds from the Rothschilds.

 

http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2008/apr/judicial-watch-calls-fec-investigate-mccain-presidential-fundraising-luncheon-held-lon

 

http://www.judicialwatch.org/files/2007/0408FECComplaintMcCain.pdf

 

And, no, I don't get my info. from one source, but you can read a bit about the allegations at the above posts. And, McCain has not denied this and much of the info. was taken from his own press releases.

If you don't know who the Rothschilds are, then I very respectfully urge you to check them out. Talk about bigger issues... this is a huge issue. Actually, they have given him money for many years. McCain has plenty of skeletons in his closet, so to speak.

 

And, as for the media... I understand you don't want a debate and I don't either because frankly, I'm not smart enough to debate anybody, but the truth from my perspective is that it's the Right who dominate the media. Almost all of the media outlets in this country are owned (and, it's a tangled web that I've spent YEARS researching) by the Rev. Moon. And, you just don't get anymore Right than that. Not only does he have the media in his pocket, he also has many of the conservative Christian ministries in his pocket.

 

Sad, but it's true.

Blessings,

Donna

[Donna T.]

AAAACK!!!! Don't do that! Vote third party, or write in a vote, but DO NOT give up your right and responsibility to vote!!( :001_smile: Just so you know I'm not *really* yelling at you!)

 

-Robin

 

Thanks for your concern Robin. You are very sweet and I know you mean well, but frankly, it's my position that they are all corrupt.

 

I'm looking for a city whose Maker and Builder are God and unlike alot of Christians, I'm not expecting Him to set it up on earth through our political system. Actually, I guess I'm especially fired up today as I just posted about this on my blog - earlier today, not as a result of this thread.

 

I do have a video of Ron Paul's statements on homeschooling on my blog. So, maybe I'm a little engaged in the process :tongue_smilie:

 

Many, many warm regards,

Donna T.

[Erica in PA]

From what I have read, Obama is very in favor of homeschooling as well.

 

I find that hard to believe. Most of what he stands for seems to me to be pretty counter to a homeschooling mindset. I 'm not suggesting that he would actively seek to end homeschooling as an option, but based on his philosophical viewpoints and the actions he took regarding education in Illinois, I would be very, very surprised if he were a true supporter of homeschooling. It's easy to *say* that you support XYZ, but as with all politicians, we have to look and see whether that bears out in relation to the rest of what we know of that person.

 

While I doubt that McCain is very concerned with homeschooling, either, I believe that support for homeschooling meshes more with his general philosophies, so I tend to believe his expressions of support a bit more than I do Obama's.

 

Erica

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I agree with you runninmommy and LizzyBee!

 

To others who disagree. We are conservative Rep's here. I didn't say we are perfect or high and mighty with that sentence. Christians will be the FIRST to admit their faults.

 

The world needs to wake up and realize that alot of this world is corrupt and slanted to the left agenda. THE MEDIA IS MOSTLY LEFT and will PRESENT stories favoring the left and brainwashing people. The media will portray stories and make it look like the whole world is in agreement. Such is not the case alot of the time. I have no interest in debating media with you. My dh has been in non-broadcast media for 30 years after we graduated from college.

 

Put on your thinking caps and realize there is a bigger issue here...it's called spiritual warfare. Unless your eyes are spiritually opened, the world will continue to "make sense" to you.

 

From a strictly practical viewpoint....why would you want someone telling you what to do? That is what you will get with Obama....he is a master in disguise. What experience does he have?

 

NObama.........Yes, McCain

 

There are none so blind as we who will not see. :D

[LizzyBee]

The fact that the NEA supports Obama....That alone is almost enough to decide my vote.:glare:

 

Same here.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

In terms of where a candidate stands on homeschooling, I don't get the impression there is a whole heck of a lot that can be done on the federal level.

 

And even if it were a federal issue, it is Congress that would have to pass any federal laws that govern homeschooling. As a matter of fact, over half of what both candidates say are nothing but ideas, because it will take Congress to turn those ideas into reality.

 

With the economy in the state it is in, the fuel and environmental crises that are going on, our country's position in the world, and people's rights in danger, there are many more important problems to worry about than whether or not someone else (not you) has an abortion or another couple (not you) has equal rights under the law.

 

While I respect everyone's reasons for voting any way they choose, I think that voting because one wants the rights of others to be taken away (which is IMHO exactly what a vote for John McCain is) is against my principles as an American.

[anissarobert]

EEK--Congress does not have to pass a law for homeschooling to be affected at the federal level. The UN Convention on the Rights of a Child (UNCRC) is an international treaty that gives governments the right to intervene in a family to enforce "the best interests of the child." The best interests of children under this treaty would be determined by an international body of "experts." If ratified this treaty would superceed all laws save our Constitution. This includes state homeschooling laws. The international community is not overly in favor of a parent's right to direct their children's upbringing. This treaty is very dangerous. Courts in the US have already began to use it in their decsions even though it has not been ratified.

 

This treaty could easily be ratified by a unified liberal President and Congress. We have not had both in quite some time. (It is my understanding that Clinton signed the treaty, but it stalled in Congress, and since Bush is not in favor of it, it has stalled since then.) We are the only major western nation who have not signed this treaty. In other nations the treaty does not affect them as dramatically because it does not superceed national law. Our laws are different, so UN treaties are more serious here, as they become binding on us all.

 

Please research this issue, before you decide that your vote does not count. I am no great McCain supporter, but Obama has made it clear that he believes in united world governments. He supports the UN and what they stand for.

 

We have much to loose in this election. Even conservative Supreme Court justices like Alito, no longer see homeschooling as a right protected by the Constitution. No matter how good our state homeschooling laws are, the federal government does influence our right to homeschool.

 

I hope this makes sense, as this is a somewhat complicated issue.

[Kimberleigh]

As far as McCain, he's from Arizona, which ranks in the bottom 3 in every measure of education, from funding to reading. The graduation requirements for high school don't match those to get into even ASU (the country's top party school), so unless a student is truly college-driven and aware of the requirements, they'll wind up at the community college taking remedial math. Homeschooling is the only viable way to get a decent education in AZ.

 

I agree that Obama most likely isn't pro-homeschooling. I don't know that he's necessarily anti-homeschooling, but I don't expect him to do us any favors on that front. Even so, he's got my vote in November. After eight years of fiscal mismanagement, loss of privacy and rights, and horrible foreign policy, I'm ready for a change. I want to be able to afford to put my kids through college. I want to be able to take out a library book without wondering what the government thinks of my choice and if it'll get me put on some watch list. I want us as a nation to be able to look other nations in the eye and say that what they're doing is wrong, having not been doing the exact same "wrong" ourselves.

[pbjmeyer]

on CNN.

 

I was much more impressed with McCain's depth in his answers than I ever was before. And also, I was dismayed at how often Obama tried to dance around clear answers to several questions (IMO). I believe this is the first time we have had an opportunity to truly compare them side by side, with the same questions and with longer answers than sound bites or stump speeches. I look forward to the debates, too.

 

If you didn't catch it last night, it's worth the time to watch.

 

Joyce

[StephanieZ]

with all due respect to the varied political positions represented on this board, and please don't think I am bashing anyone by stating my views in this thread...I only want to say that I have a real dilemma with this coming election. I cannot vote with a clear conscience for either candidate. My highest priority is the issue of violence, both in vitro violence and aggressive warfare. Whenever I think of this election I feel so sad and concerned for my country. So my thought is this, yes, we'll hopefully have a good shot at continuing with our home schools, but lives are going to continue to be lost every day with the election of either candidate.

 

I'm crying...

Lucinda

 

What on earth is in vitro violence? Shaking a test tube too hard? :confused:

[Hot Lava Mama]

can you tell me exactly what he stands for except "change"? Do you realize all "change" may not be good. Change in the wrong direction can be a disaster. He doesn't seem to really stand for much. Just curious. I haven't decided who to vote for, just trying to sort out the issues.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

can you tell me exactly what he stands for except "change"? Do you realize all "change" may not be good. Change in the wrong direction can be a disaster. He doesn't seem to really stand for much. Just curious. I haven't decided who to vote for, just trying to sort out the issues.

 

Well, there's his website you could go to and find what he stands for. That's easy enough.

 

And I reckon most of us do realize some change may have negative and far-reaching horrific consequences. And some change may have positive consequences. Good ripples in the pond.

 

The way you worded that made me wonder if you were actually curious or were attempting to make a point.

[Mom-ninja.]

What on earth is in vitro violence? Shaking a test tube too hard? :confused:

 

Ok, that made me snort!

 

Watching this thread with interest.

[Academy of Jedi Arts]

What on earth is in vitro violence? Shaking a test tube too hard? :confused:

 

And if I accidentally drop the test tube, am I headed for lethal injection?

[Hot Lava Mama]

finding out what both stand for. It seems as though whenever I ask an Obama supporter what he stands for, I get this vague "change" answer. That just doesn't sit well with me. Frankly, I think they are BOTH terrible choices. I don't know how on earth McCain got the nomination, either. It just stuns me that in this great country of ours, we have to choose between "the lesser of two evils" time and time again. It shouldn't be that way.

 

There are just so many serious issues we have in this country right now. I just can not, with good conscious vote for "change". It feels too much like the naive reaction of a new college student voter.

 

Is McCain the answer. I don't think so, either. At this point, I am not going to vote for either one. I still have some thinking to do based on some of the serious issues raised here regarding the homeschooling issue. I have heard about the UN issue and all the problems with Germany. Frankly, it's very scary.

 

Another point I think is worth thinking about. McCain literally put his life on the line for our country. Obama's dedication to this country is, at best, questionable. I just can't believe someone can be married to someone who "has never been proud of this country" and not have at least a little of that soak into your subconscious.

 

I don't fault anyone voting for whomever they feel is the best candidate. I'm not here to tell you your vote is wrong. I am just trying to figure out my own conscious and how to best use my one and only vote.

 

This has been a really interesting thread, and I hope everyone reads all the comments with an open mind. My mind is not made up.

 

Hot Lava Mama

[Meljoy]

 

While I respect everyone's reasons for voting any way they choose, I think that voting because one wants the rights of others to be taken away (which is IMHO exactly what a vote for John McCain is) is against my principles as an American.

 

What about protecting the rights of an unborn child?

 

What about taking away their right to live?

 

 

I have a lot of mixed feeling about this election -but I will not cast my vote for a pro-choice candidate.