Just Wondering

Colleges and Universities A-Z Naval Academy - Annapolis
41

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Tell me then, why this "Republican" is more popular among DEMOCRATS than Republicans?

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<p>Maybe he's just popular. If he were a wolf in sheep's clothing, Republicans in his state wouldn't have elected him. </p>

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Yes, because he's anything but Conservative, laet alone ULTRA-Conservative.

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<p>Hardly a liberal. If you examine his voting record, he comes down on the conservative side - except maybe where campaign finance is concerned. Check out his voting record here:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.home.earthlink.net/%7Enycada/newnews/news0003-2.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.home.earthlink.net/~nycada/newnews/news0003-2.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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What good is having the seat in the Senate if the guy votes with the OTHER side most of the time?

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<p>See post above.</p>

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Reagan was NOT a moderate. He was a proud, outspoken CONSERVATIVE.

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<p>Or an actor playing the part of a proud, outspoken conservative. But hey, I admit it, I'm a fan! Seriously, it was easier for Reagan to be a symbol of conservatism, because the Rebublican Party didn't stretch quite as far to the right as it does now.</p>

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Impossible, especially with today's liberals. The only way a Conservative can appease a liberal these days is to commit suicide.

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<p>That could probably be said in reverse as well!</p>

<p>Isn't it possible that the moderates were who turned all those states red?</p>

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<p>I'm going to run down to the local library and try and find the book "Great Moderates in History".</p>

<p>Back in a bit....</p>

<p>Oh, before I go, I should mention that liberals would appease me by simpling shutting up and getting a clue.</p>

<p>Actually, if they'd shut up and get real jobs (other than professional protesters), I'd be happy, too.</p>

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<p>More detailed & recent account of John McCain's voting record:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0061103%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0061103&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Many of those protestors are protesting JUST because they don't like the president. Some people voted for Bush JUST because they think we're doing the right thing in Iraq. Some conservatives voted for Bush JUST because they like the Republican agenda...</p>

<p>You can fool some of the people some of the time...</p>

<p>I thought I was pretty ultraconservative (until I took that test!), so I'm no champion of the moderate middle, but I can't see abandoning an otherwise solid republican just because he takes a stand against his party on a couple of issues (provided those aren't the issues important to me, such as you mentioned, Zaphod). </p>

<p>Toss the Liberals a crumb (catch more flies w/ sugar, you know) and maybe they WILL eventually get a clue - that's better than saying, "Shut up & go away until you think exactly as I do!".</p>

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<p>I used to be a liberal. Then I grew up.</p>

<p>No joke.</p>

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<p>"I am a high school sophomore girl. I was just wondering what types of things Navy looks for."</p>

<p>Due to other committments, I haven't been here for a while....and I can't believe how this thread has gone astray.</p>

<p>A young girl asks a question about the USNA...some anonymous "being" criticizes USNA --- and you all jump in and voice your "political" views,etc....</p>

<p>Meanwhile, this young person is questioning "is this what the Navy looks for"???</p>

<p>To those of you who pride yourselves on "having all the answers".....I think in this case, you missed the mark.</p>

<p>Hecticlife, honey...PM me...I'll help you...sometimes those with the MOST knowledge "play dumb" to see how much others who claim to know...really know.</p>

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<p>I was actually enjoying all the political talk. I definitely agree with Zaphod. I see a liberal as someone who can criticize everything about what a conservative believes, and get personal about it, and then cry, cry, cry when they're criticized back. Putting down our troops, wartime or any time, is just unpatriotic, but a lot of the liberals named do it quite often.</p>

<p>Now that I've spouted, MamaSparrow has it right. We've corrupted this poor young girls thread and maybe scared her off. But I will say thatoneironaut really started the whole thing by calling the Academy a godforsaken place amost a group of people who are working there butts off to get there, and know why they want to be there.</p>

<p>Peskemom, thanks for defending a depressed mid, if that's what he is, but he sounds more like some spoiled brat who has nothing better to do than put down other peoples dreams becasue he has none of his own.</p>

<p>Hecticlife, come on back and ask more questions. You are definitely on the right path. If you're worried that you won't ;look attractive to the Academy because of Public Service look into the Congressional Awrd program. It rewards people like you for doing what you'd be doing anyway and makes you look even more attractive.</p>

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<p>These threads rarely stay on topic! We should be more mindful of the original topics rather than individual posts I suppose.</p>

<p>Hecticlife, perhaps these posts have demonstrated to you that USNA can be a place of diverse political views. It is a place where love of country is fostered, where duty is taken seriously & leadership is a matter of course. The subject of USNA goes hand-in-hand with the subject of the future of our country. (You are thinking ahead too & that is good!).</p>

<p>To have a political view is to care about your country - nothing wrong with that.</p>

<p>Just in case you were wondering!</p>

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<p>"Hecticlife, perhaps these posts have demonstrated to you that USNA can be a place of diverse political views"</p>

<p>Diverse political views? All i have seen here are a bunch of right wing conservatives tear anything liberal or left wing to shreds. I have seen liberals being called weak, immature, and almost anti-american (and almost all done by the same person).</p>

<p>I hardly call that diverse. In fact its almost quintessential of the right wing party.</p>

<p>And apparently my previous call to end this corruption of thread went unnoticed by the seemingly early-to-criticize right wing club.</p>

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<p>ughhhh can't yall just call it quits already???</p>

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"Hecticlife, perhaps these posts have demonstrated to you that USNA can be a place of diverse political views"</p>

<p>Diverse political views? All i have seen here are a bunch of right wing conservatives tear anything liberal or left wing to shreds. I have seen liberals being called weak, immature, and almost anti-american (and almost all done by the same person).</p>

<p>I hardly call that diverse. In fact its almost quintessential of the right wing party.

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<p>Truth hurts, don't it?</p>

<p>I'm going to shut up before I seriously blow my stack. Sorry, BZ, but while your last post may sound great, it defies reality, and everyone knows it.</p>

<p>If I've offended anyone, TOUGH. I'll not stand by and have USNA called a God-foresaken place, or have political realities in regards to the military ignored or glossed over.</p>

<p>Zaphod out.</p>

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<p>First off, I can't even imagine how much time each of you spends checking this website, among probably countless others. </p>

<pre><code> Zapper, I'm not here to prove you wrong, and mom-type, I'm not here to vindicate you either. However, at least I can appreciate the role that she is playing, "mother to the masses". Zipper's role apparently is to present the life that the academy already does in its brochures and videos. If any potential applicants want that kind of sappy, feel-good bull then they can go ahead and find it in print else where. But I refuse to be manipulated and forced into a role that "tradition" assumes I must take upon myself. Like a snake who sheds its skin as it grows, humans regenerate their bodies every seven months. What makes us ourselves? Some people are soft on the inside and sponge up what is around them, assimilating it into their being, no longer thinking for themselves and they have become the majority here believing and reciting as their own, something like plagiarism, but dangerously close to brainwashing. I am not one of these. I remain unequivocally myself, learning and growing, but distinguishing between the real and the paranormal. Instead of sleepwalking through the waking life, I constantly scrutinize my lucidity.

Am I egotistical in my approach? Naturally. Does my parents’ privileged position preoccupy a place in people’s psyche? Perhaps. However, we should recognize that from this time on, the world belongs to the bold and the talented that are in position to change things as they see fit. My ego will become the fountainhead of our country’s progress, for better or for worse. And now, as other prospective plebes peruse the plethora of phony publications, I will stand up and speak for the counterculture. We exist! And as long as the academy stands apart, we will come and thrive.

This is not to say that we exist to rebel or protest the great accomplishments of the past. Zonker may generalize and categorize us as a group of disgruntled midshipmen, unhappy with recent policy changes and dissatisfied with spoiled security. I am proud of the choices I’ve made, but unhappy with the deception. Hecticlife, listen to the members of your generation who are closer to the front lines than the worn-out doughboys of the past. Together you and I are the ones who must pave our own road to future: destination unknown. Searching your soul is not poor advice. Why should you not choose for yourself? Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see. You may, of course, learn from others mistakes, but be wary what you label as a mistake. I will follow their regulations, but do not mistake my intentions. The academy is my tool on a quest for adventure, and never the other way around.

We are not here to revolt, or to subjugate our minds. Don’t be threatened because we mean none harm, but we will not deviate from my path and the best will fine-mesh it all the way to the top. Join us and become who you always were. Or go to a state school and become a librarian. But make up your own mind, and take nothing for granted.
</code></pre>

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<p>Okay...so, can you answer simply who you are and where you're from? I'm just curious. </p>

<p>btw, nice alliteration :-)</p>

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Zipper's role apparently is to present the life that the academy already does in its brochures and videos.

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<p>LOL!</p>

<p>You obviously have only been here for 4 posts. I do no such thing. Quite the contrary.</p>

<p>ROFL!</p>

<p>Careful, kid. All that rancor will eat you up. If you're just a plebe and you already have that kind of an attitude, you're not going to make it three more years.</p>

<p>This "worn-out doughboy" went through it while you were still in diapers. I know what I'm talking about.</p>

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but unhappy with the deception

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<p>Been flipping through the catalog, have you? Funny just how well they polish it up, eh? I know my classmates and I laughed at it later. That marketing firm should be on Madison Avenue making the big bucks! :rolleyes:</p>

<p>That said, you shouldn't be putting off kids who are as motivated about the place as you were a year ago. Tell them the truth; the good and the bad. Is it like the catalog? Yes and no. Make sure they understand the "no", but don't make it out that the place is all bad, either, otherwise it begs the question, "Why are you still there, then?"</p>

<p>As to why so many of us spend so much time here, it's simple: WE CARE. We are graduates, mids, parents of mids, candidates, parents of candidates, and BGO's. Those of us who are already connected to the place love it, despite it's negative points, and those who are seeking that connection know what the place stands for. THAT'S why we're here.</p>

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<p>oneironaut, You remind me of the person that would go into a church and try to convince people there is no God. What are you doing here? You're just stirring up trouble. Go away and don't come back until you have something helpful to say. Or better yet just go away.</p>

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<p>okay, the self-satisfied sarcasm and rudeness at someone expressing another view has really reached its limit. the naval academy is, lets face it, an overwhelmingly conservative institution. i don't fall into that majority.</p>

<p>there isn't much diversity of political thought at the academy, and its a fact people should be aware of. while oneironaut's post was very long-winded and at times a completely estoeric bumble, no one has the right to say "go away and don't come back until you have something helpful to say". oh, was an opinion differing from the mindless conservative garble so difficult to stomach, that you'd tell a current mid to "go away"? way to go.</p>

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<p>Wheelah: I have the utmost respect for you as a Midshipman and as a person helping future Midshipman.
That is why it is difficult for me to sit here while someone, who can't even clearly identify them self, comes on and attacks mine and many others dream. I may have been a little more tolerant if oneironaut's approach was less hostile and mutinous. If he/she is having such a bad time, don't take it out on people who are trying to get there...ESPECIALLY people who are just asking simple questions!
Oneironaut, you are a Midshipman and a very smart one at that, thus I have to give you some respect for your accomplishments, but I will say you have no tact and a complete lack of maturity.</p>

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the naval academy is, lets face it, an overwhelmingly conservative institution. i don't fall into that majority.

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<p>Give it time. ;)</p>

<p>I didn't convert fully until I was out in the Fleet. :)</p>

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no one has the right to say "go away and don't come back until you have something helpful to say". oh, was an opinion differing from the mindless conservative garble so difficult to stomach, that you'd tell a current mid to "go away"? way to go.

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<p>We have just as much right to tell a bellyacher to get lost as you do to come here and (in typical liberal fashion) pontificate to people who know more than you do.</p>

<p>You are treated the way you treat people. The "mindless conservative garble" (Congratulations, you just told the overwhelming majority of your classmates and the other mids that they're idiots. Typical.) was aimed at a set of ideas and the leaders who espouse them, and it was done IN DEFENSE OF YOU AND YOURS.</p>

<p>Tell me, do you find anything that oneironaut posted to actually be helpful to the original poster? Did you find it thought-provoking or persuasive in any way?</p>

<p>If you don't like the responses, you are welcome to provide reasoned opposing commentary and try to prove them wrong. Regardless, I would recommend that you find oneironaut, who is doing such a poor job of representing our beloved Academy, and either get him/her some help, or else smack him/her into line, whichever is more appropriate.</p>

<p>You see, I've BTDT, and I know the place can get to you. I also know that the internet is a great place to vent. Sadly, venting like that can sometimes cause more damage than whatever good the person venting might think it's doing THEM.</p>

<p>I'll tell you what. If the place is getting to you that bad, send me a PM and I'll give you a call. Rave at me all you want. I'll listen, and I'll do what I can to help, because despite whatever differences you and I may have when standing before the ballot box, the fact remains that you wear the uniform I once did, and that makes you a brother. The invitation stands for oneironnaut, too.</p>

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<p>The academy "system" is historically well defined and "real" descriptions are available to candidates through books (Smallwood's for example), internet accounts (Zaphod for example), documentary films (National Geographic for example).</p>

<p>That said, some people blindly follow the "pride media", such as parades, brochures, catalogs etc.</p>

<p>The best candidates are those who research and then look deep inside for their motivation to attend an academy. It sounds to me like oneironaut is one of those who didn't do his/her homework before signing up, which is entirely contrary to his/her preachings above.</p>

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<p>i'm a girl. i'm going to go with the spirit of your message and infer that you meant a sister as well. and also, i'm not the one having the difficult time at the academy....it's not ever easy, but i'm not questioning what i'm doing here. and also, as one who understands what it means to pontificate yourseld, i'm sure you'll cut me a little slack. as you say, i may very well come to see things your way in time.</p>