NickolasJames8

George Bush has taken a lot of punishment in the polls for the things that have gone wrong during his time as president, but if he was really so awful, why was he re-elected? Shouldn't the nation have given him the boot in 2004? I think he's made a lot of mistakes, but years from now, I'm sure history will view him as an overall success. Did we go into Iraq unconstitutionally? Yes, but if you look back over the events that led us into Iraq, it's hard to only blame Bush. I mean, the Senate voted to give him the authority to take us into Iraq on his own, at a time of his choosing. Was it a republican Senate that gave him that power? No. A lot of people say that Bush caused the housing crisis and the current credit crunch, and I agree that he has some blame, but in the end, he wasn't the one who kept interest rates so low for so long. That was Alan Greenspan, but I'm sure that Bush didn't mind what was happening at the time. What I really dislike about Bush is the fact that under his administration, the size of the federal government increased by 50%. Add to that the fact that he presided over the creation of two new entitlement programs and the homeland security department, and it's easy to get seriously ill about his time in office. While the republicans were running the house and the senate, he never vetoed a spending bill. When the democrats took over in 2007, he suddenly found his veto pen, but it was too late. I think Bush could have done a lot better, but given the circumstances he was facing, he was adequate. He's a likable guy, and values mean a lot to him. It's too bad he couldn't have looked to those values more often when times were better. If nothing else, we should give Obama a chance to succeed, if only for our own sake. He needs to reconsider some of the things he wants to spend money on and concentrate on paying off the deficit. But I have a feeling that he's in over his head, and that in about 6 months, he's going to be wishing he was still in the Senate.

http://rodonline.typepad.com/rodonline/200...d-and-raci.html Back in 2007, when Jerry Falwell died, I made an entry titled The Sickness, which is exactly what I saw in the gloating and seething hatred that reared its ugly head in the gay community. Unfortunately, I'm seeing it again. When the voters of California passed prop 8, I was disapointed and saddened, but I was also grateful that the laws of that state have no bearing on the laws in states that do allow gay marriage. That's the beauty of a republic. Sadly, I feel more disappointed in the harsh reaction of some people in our community who have taken to hurling racial slurs at a time when we're preparing to see our first black president inaugurated. I question the sincerity of someone who says they want equality, yet chooses to invoke the memory of a time when blacks were so blatantly mistreated that the scars they incurred are just now starting to fade. How can one speak of discrimination out of one side of their mouth but stereotype in the most hateful way out of the other? I understand that there's frustration and anger, but how does anyone justify hurling racial slurs?

Wow, it's been around two months since I've been online long enough to log on to GA. That's a friggin record for me. Anyway, I took a self imposed sabbatical for a lot of reasons, most of them stemming from my own need to figure out what I want to do with myself. Not in terms of GA, but in terms of life in general. Looking back on the last few months, it's easy to see that I was spinning out of control. I was ranting and raving at the people I love at home, and even a few people I was fond of online. But the breaking point came for me when I made my girlfriend cry. I didn't hit her(I never would), and I didn't even yell at her(I'd never do that either). I did get pissed off and destroy my room, mainly out of frustration at myself for not being able to do something for her that I tried my hardest to do. It's funny (well not really) because that same day I got a friendly swat on the hand for the way I was treating GA members, and that was when I realized that I had to calm down. My anger in life was coming through loud and clear online, and I'm afraid that a lot of my readers and other members of this site had to plug their ears while I broadcast that anger. So I did the one thing that made sense at the moment. I logged out and didn't log back in for a while. While I was gone, I got a lot straightened out in my personal life. I got my work schedule, my school schedule and my Nick schedule (the schedule where I don't owe anyone anything and can do something for myself) straight, I talked my dad into helping me get my girlfriend a car and me and Taylor are talking again. Believe it or not, it was Kate who wanted me to make up with him. Even after all the crap we went through, all the nasty back and forth and the name calling, she still wanted me to let him come around. He's clean for now, and I want to help him stay that way. I'm also working with a publishing agent, and she's driving me up the wall. The first thing she did when we met was hand me back my manuscript and tell me she wouldn't look at it until I gave it back to her with 1 inch margins and 12 point font. Now she says that the damn thing needs about 25,000 more words, and on top of that, she's assigned me two books to read. Oh yeah, and she wants me to attend at least two writing workshops by Spring. I tried avoiding her, but if I don't call her when I say I'm going to, she practically hunts me down, and she's never in a good mood. (sigh) She basically told me that her job is to be as blunt and hard on me as possible so that we'll send in my best work. I guess I see her point, but damn. She has a way of making me feel like I screwed something up at the exact same time that she's telling me how much potential I have. So, blah..... Speaking of writing, I haven't forgotten about If By Chance. I just haven't had much time to get the next chapter out. I have a few things that I need to iron out here at home, and I need to get my mind in the right place, then I promise I'll get it done. In the meanwhile, I'm sorry that I haven't already posted it and please don't give up on me.

There's no getting through to some people, no matter how much proof you set right in front of their faces. You just have to let them be, because they get off their own ideas.

She might be those things, but she nailed this one perfectly. Obama brings out this God like worship in people, and it's weird.

Here's a dead on analysis of the candidacy of Barack Obama by Kyle_Anne Shiver American Thinker: Why I'm Thanking God For Obama

Anna Nicole Smith Daniel Wayne Smith Eric "Eazy E" Wright Road Warrior Hawk Michael James Hegstrand Miss Elizabeth Huelette Brian Pillman Sylvester "JYD" Ritter Eddie Gilbert

He lived in this area but for whatever reason, was more famous away from this area. I think it had something to do with people wanting to respect his privacy.

Christopher Wallace Alliah Left Eye Lisa Lopez Jam Master Jay Eddie Guerrero Nancy Benoit Daniel Benoit Owen Hart Davey Boy Smith Bam Bam Bigelow Tony Snow Tim Russert

I'm sure that as long as she gets ratings the network won't take her off, but the real question for me is this: What's the appeal?

It looks like Obama's overseas trip did absolutely nothing for his poll numbers here at home, a fact that irritates many democrats desperate to see the incompetent candidate elected. Perhaps he should have tried to draw a crowd of 200,000 Americans rather than go to Berlin seeking approval. He and his campaign aids must have forgotten that large crowds are only helpful if they can actually cast a vote in an American election. Gallup Daily: Obama 45%, McCain 44%Race returns to statistical tie PRINCETON, NJ -- The race for the presidency has moved back into a statistical tie in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update of national registered voters, with Barack Obama now ahead of John McCain by just one percentage point, 45% to 44%..... and then there was this........ Gallup/USA Today Poll: McCain +4 Republican presidential candidate John McCain moved from being behind by 6 points among "likely" voters a month ago to a 4-point lead over Democrat Barack Obama among that group in the latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. McCain still trails slightly among the broader universe of "registered" voters. By both measures, the race is tight..... Other polling data shows that although Obama had a rough week, the republicans are still weaker in the polls than the democrats overall. The most disturbing number in this poll is the congressional approval rating. It speaks volumes about the pathetic state of the republican party that they can't capitalize on a 17.3% approval rating and win the house and senate back this year. General Election: McCain vs. Obama RCP Average Obama 46.8 McCain 43.9 Obama +2.9 Generic Congressional Vote RCP Average Democrats 49.7 Republicans 37.7 Democrats +12.0 President Bush Job Approval RCP Average Approve 29.5 Disapprove 65.0 Spread -35.5 Congressional Job Approval RCP Average Approve 17.3 Disapprove 75.0 Spread -57.7 Source: Real Clear Politics

It's weird how she has an almost cult like following. I can't imagine who her show would appeal to, though. I mean, she's a mean, spiteful woman in desperate need of liposuction and a face job. I guess she's bitter because her fianc

Well Mike reference my first story, What's The Difference Between Me and You? so I'll talk about writing that story. At first it seemed like a good idea, especially when I was writing the first ten or so chapters and all kinds of memories were flooding my mind. It felt good, but the more I wrote, the more I realized that I had a lot of issues with people in my life who happened to be in the story. I released a chapter last week, but the previous chapter was released like 8 months prior. It's just gotten really hard to work on it because so many things have changed, especially with the person I considered to be my best friend for so many years. I don't think it was a mistake to write the story, but I do think it was a mistake to base it on things that actually happened. I tried to portray myself as honestly as possible, and when I did I can see how I came off as a real jerk in the story. Unfortunately so did my dad. So if I could change one thing about it, I would have skipped over a bunch of details and just focused on the main point of the story, which was me coming out and meeting my best friend. Also, it probably would have been a lot better to use aliases for myself and my family, but I don't think it was that big of a deal.

My favorite recipe is anything with Goat In fact, over in the Domaholics forum, there's a thread specifically for people to post their favorite goat recipes.

I typically hate The Young Turks, but this time Cenk is dead on....please watch.

Thanks for the props, Kevin!! Can you believe that there are some people (at a site totally unaffiliated with GA) who think encouraging safe sex is disruptive and ignorant? It's unbelievable but true, sadly. As for the lack of attention that the CRVboy forums get, yeah, it's pretty lame. Maybe they should have used an invision forum and recruited moderators that were, oh, I don't know.....good?

You must be talking about the democrats that control the house and senate.

Father Pfleger: We must be honest enough to address the one who says, 'don't hold me responsible for what my ancestors did.' But you have enjoyed the benefits of what your ancestors did! And unless you are ready to give up the benefits

And we're sooo happy he found us I'd definitely love to see more great authors come to GA, where they can enjoy all of the benefits of being a part of a warm online community.

I want every gay story site to succeed, but I'm definitely going to call things the way I see them. If the next forum crumbles, it'll be sad, but not a shock. Having said that, it's never too late for a site to change its course until the owner(s) decide that the time has come to shut down.

Very observant

Yeah I'm sure back in the late 70's-early 80's CRVboy was a hot site, but since then, they've really fizzled out. They're a great place for new authors to use as a stepping stone to other things, but beyond that, I can't imagine aspiring to be hosted at CRVboy. And the authors that they have there that I regularly check on for updates are hosted at other sites like GA and Deweywriter, so there's no need for me to visit the site anymore.

When I say restrictive practices I mean that I was told that I could release one story at a time, one chapter at a time. Since most of my stories are 20 chapters or more, it would be years before all of my work would be released. Furthermore, if I wanted to release a short story, I would have to wait for whatever chapter story that was posting to be finished first. I've talked to other authors who've said they ran into the same thing. My hope is that they see where they're going wrong and do something to fix it before they become completely irrelevant because I honestly hold a soft spot in my heart for CRVboy. After all, that was the first site to host my work

That was classic

Well if you're stale I'm a burn out BTW, is it time to start putting out yellow ribbons for Dom???