ThomasWest3 started a new discussion called Discouraging in politics.
2 months ago
Is anyone else discouraged by the blatantly racist representations of President Obama that seem to be floating around everywhere? For a country that was supposed "past racism," we still seem awfully full of racism.

ThomasWest3 started a new discussion called What's So Bad About Socialism? in politics.
2 months ago
I'm just curious as to why everyone seems to throw around the word "Socialism" like it's a completely bad form of government. Need we be reminded that all of our trading partners have elements of socialism in their governments, and their citizens have better education, better health, and are generally happier than we are. What's the deal?

ThomasWest3 responded to a discussion called Gladiator vs. the 300 in gladiator.
2 months ago
Although I enjoyed both films, I think that "Gladiator" was the better piece. At points in "300" I got a little bit bored with all of the bloodshed. Furthermore, I find the movie rather disturbing in a lot of ways, not least in its presentation of Easterners as somehow dark and scary, full of mysticism, which is in itself characterized as bad. Westerners, on the other hand, are portrayed as bri...

ThomasWest3 commented in a discussion called Discouraging in politics.
2 months ago
I am so glad that someone else agrees with me. I wish that people could see these ridiculous presentations for what they really are: scare tactics to distract otherwise intelligent people from thinking too much. If anything would solve this problem, it would be a more educated citizenry, but Americans tend to think with their hearts rather than their heads. This, combined with guns, is definite...

ThomasWest3 commented in a discussion called Discouraging in politics.
2 months ago
I am in no way suggesting that people who disagree with Obama or who didn't vote for him are racist. What I AM arguing is that pictures of him dressed as a witchdoctor reveal certain assumptions on the part of those who would create such an image. (FYI, this particular image was carried in several of the "tea parties" many protesters have been throwing.) This image clearly has some very racist ...

ThomasWest3 commented in a discussion called Discouraging in politics.
2 months ago
As I said in my earlier post, the racist pictures of Obama I was referring to can be seen in all sorts of media, but in particular the tea parties thrown by protesters. There are many ways that people can choose to express their views and oppositions to Obama's policies, without resorting to ridiculously racist portrayals of an African American President.

ThomasWest3 commented in a discussion called What's So Bad About Socialism? in politics.
2 months ago
Thank you so much, EnemyofEmpire, for pointing that out. Unfortunately, many people respond to socialism the way they do because it has come to be associated in the cultural imagination with "communism." They are indeed NOT the same thing at all. Communism was an unfortunate bastardization of what was intended to be a revolution that would end the inequality of everyone. Furthermore, I would ...

ThomasWest3 commented on a news article called Kate Gosselin: Jon cleaned out joint account in television news.
2 months ago
Does anyone else find it faintly disgusting how the break-up of a marriage has become a form of entertainment?

ThomasWest3 received a best response in the discussion favourite colour car by doormouse.
2 months ago
Orange has always been my favorite color, so I would have to say that orange is my favorite color for a car. When I was a little kid I told my grandmother that I was gong to buy an orange car and give here a ride in it!

ThomasWest3 received a best response in the discussion What can you say about the TV series in HBO True Blood? by jlamela.
2 months ago
"True Blood" is definitely one of the best series currently on television. It's actually a lot more sophisticated than most people give it credit for. For example, who would have ever guessed that a Maenad of all things would show up in the middle of a small town in Louisiana? Although I knew what a Maenad was, I'm wondering how many other people in the viewing audience had ever even heard of o...