ToTheCenter - Member Profile: Anthony Leone

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Boy, this reminds me when former President Bush would go on vacation and the liberals would jump up and down, screaming how he's not doing anything and the troops are getting killed while he's playing golf or whatever. Do you people, and when I say people, I mean you liberals and conservatives, honestly believe that the president does not have meetings and is not in touch with his people while he is away? Personally, I want my president to take a little time off so the stress of one of the most demanding jobs ever doesn't kill him!

I think it's foolish to assume that such a resolution would do any good. After all, most of us sleep well knowing that the U.S. has the nuclear power to protect the country. Because if a country like Iran does have the ability to produce nuclear weapons, then a resolution like this against them is laughable. But you made a great point: The U.N. doesn't enforce their own resolutions, which has caused many countries and their people hardships, sadness and death.

That's just scary and sick. What type of twisted mind would want to spread that kind of fear?

Either Democrat or Republicans, these politicians never admit when they screw up. A "vicious smear campaign," against him? He was the one who used a curse word to describe a political party and he signed a petition from the 9/11 truthers. Those people honestly people that the government was behind the 9/11 attacks and that a plane really didn't hit the Pentagon but a missile, despite hundreds of eyewitnesses who say otherwise.

What a shame. Despite whatever differences people may have had with Ted Kennedy, the fact is that America lost a great senator.

As a journalist myself for a good couple of years now, this is a hard blow for me. Just like most newspapermen and women before me, I never had much love for broadcast news. Today, the men and women behind the camera have to look pretty, be able to read a teleprompter and say good-bye to objectivity each night as high tech graphics dance to either the side of them or below them. But Walter Cronkite was different. He cared about journalism and being objective and he had something that very few TV anchors have today: Integrity. So long Uncle Walter. You're brand of professionalism and familiarity will be deeply missed, especially to a young man like me who cares about the old ways of journalism and what it’s supposed to be.

I wonder if Jenny has any political ambitions. I believe that's why Hillary Clinton stuck with Bill after his affair, because she knew that gravy train would serve her well. And it did. But I guess she's a better person than most people to forgive her husband. There is no way my wife would ever forgive me if I did that and paraded my family's shame all over the TV like that.

It’s not “whining,” Meghann, it’s about being careful. Today is taking away smoking (not really but you get my point), but what about tomorrow? Our Second Amendment rights? Our First? How about Fifth? I’m just saying that it’s a very slippery slope when you start to regulate anything. Maybe I would feel a bit better if we, the average citizen, had a vote on this. That way we have some say in the matter. And if the majority of Americans want the government to regulate the tobacco business, that's great. Because we had a say in the matter. Sure, smoking is bad and it is harmful. But so is taking away our own right to decide what is best for us.

As a journalist, I do have a problem with it. It's just like what happen with President Bush a few years back and I didn't agree with that either. If the president wants to address an issue, he doesn't need a reporter to bring it up. Nico Pitney should have been up from during the press conference and said that the White House wanted him to ask that question. This goes into journalistic integrity and ethics. You have to be and appear to be objective or you will lose your readers’ trust. And without any credibility, then a journalist can find him- or herself out of work.

Actually Rwahrens, I'm a die hard Independent. But it’s funny, because I’m usually accused of either being a Republican or Democrat depending on the topic. Anyway, medicine is one thing. But the people should be the ones voicing their opinion if they want change. You mention that some jurisdictions do forbid places serving red meat. Fine. I’m not happy with that, because eating red meat isn’t nearly as bad or as deadly as McEwen’s Eagle Cough Cure. But if the people of the jurisdictions voted for places to stop serving red meat, then that’s great. Because it’s the will of the people and that is something that I can respect. I’m from the school of thought that people should be responsible for themselves. I don’t smoke because I choose to. I don’t eat meat if it’s too bloody that if you put a knife in it, it will moo. I just think that people need to exercise a lot more common sense in their lives so the government doesn’t have to do it for them. Now, I’m glad the FDA is doing a great job. I have a lot of faith in them and I never said that I didn’t. I just think that when big government starts to regulate tobacco, it could lead to a very slippery slope and a watchful eye is needed.

I don’t know. I’m not a big fan of the government regulating anything. Granted, I’m not a smoker but I don’t like the idea of the government telling any business what they can and cannot do with their products or how they do business. Because while everyone can rally behind this “good cause,” what happens if it’s something else next time? Let’s say that the government wants to regulate restaurants and mandate that they are not allowed to serve raw meat anymore because it’s not good for the public? Does it sound silly? Sure it does, but then again, five years ago people thought it would be silly for the government to regulate the tobacco companies.

Well, it is a very interesting question. Symington hopes that the clone dogs will be just as heroic as the first Trakr. If so, or even if not, it may answer the question that many have asked: Who/what creates us? Are we a byproduct of our genes from our parents? Do our parents and family shape us? Or does society mold who we are? Or do events in our lives make us who we are? Or do we take control and become who we want to be? I don't think that any single one of these scenarios fits any one person, but I think a combination of all or some of them determine who we are as individuals.

Well, Robertschwar, we can't censor people, as you said, because it defeats the purpose of freedom of speech. However, I'm a big believer in giving a person enough rope that they'll hang themselves with it.

If this is true, it's really disgusting that the mother would just abandon a baby like there. Surely, a hospital or a church would have been better than just leaving a baby outside in the bushes.

No, not all the time BlackJakk. In this case, the story says that water crashing into the glacier is causing the ice to fall.

Don't get me wrong, Ethwc. I'm not saying we should outlaw jokes that would offend people. Trust me, I love the next dirty joke as the next guy. I'm just saying that dragging a well-known politician's daughter into the spotlight and tell a sex joke about her is pretty tasteless. What really burns my bacon more is how many don't care about Palin's feelings and mock her for being upset that her daughter was used in such a way. I think any parent would feel upset and I think everyone has a right to shoot back at Letterman if they were in Palin's situation. But censoring Letterman? No, because that becomes a slippery slope that leads us into places like China or Iran, where voicing your opinion gets you a nice little vacation that you don't come back from.

But that's not the point Scribbles. This isn't some stand up comic in a little comedy house we're talking about. We're talking about David Letterman who made a sex joke about her daughter. As I said in my column it doesn't even matter which daughter Letterman was talking about, it was a bad joke that shouldn't have been said. I just can't get over why some people want to mock a mother for being upset that a late night TV host made a sex joke about her child.

Well, it's a good start. It's something that Mexico should have done many years ago. But Mexico has a long history of corruption, so as the drug lords had some type of involvement with Mexican government, that wasn't going to change. I realized that many American homeowners along the Mexican border had problems with illegal aliens either messing up or destroying their properties. There have been cases of break-ins, but I haven't heard about drug dealers kidnapping. But it's worth fighting the drug dealers, especially if they are kidnapping innocent people now.

I hope this works. From what I read, when the swine flu hit in 1976, they also made a vaccine. I think someone died from the vaccine and it scared people into not getting it.

Ethwc, I know what you mean. Years ago I was working for a local newspaper and I was given a story about a bike shop owner who was donating to charity. I forgot how it came up but he mentioned that he was in the Vietnam war. I asked him some questions about it but he refused to answer. He said he didn't want people to know he was in the war. Later I thought how sad it was that nearly 30 years later (at the time) here was this man who did not feel safe enough to let the public know that he fought in that war. In fact, my father, who was in the Rangers unit during the war, said that many protesters would used to call up the parents of soldiers and told them that their son was a baby killer, despite any proof.

I agree MplsVala, There are many fathers out there who play the role of "mother" and if they were refused to participate in this event, I can really see their case. However, this guy sounds like he enjoys making waves. It's people like him that give a bad name to legitimate cases of sexism against males.

It is a shame. I wonder what the suicide rate was for other big wars, like W.W. II and Vietnam, for example. Maybe that could give some clues as to why today's soldiers are taking their lives.

Well Ethwc, I've heard similar stories like this one in recent years. In fact, I remember reading a story a few years back that stem cells collected from the nose are a very good alternative to embryonic stem cells. If that's the case, then the controversy of embryonic stem cells can finally be over and there will be no need to use them.

So Ahmed is 24 and the best defense for him is that he is emotionally volatile and that he was misled by Internet Web sites while trying to find his religion? And then he decides to discuss that there is no difference between Islam and Christianity? OK, first things first. He's 24. By age 5 we all pretty much know that killing people is wrong. By age 6, we all pretty much know that plotting to blow up landmarks and government buildings in creative ways are on the No No list. And then he tries to mention that the two religions are the same? Is he out of his mind? (Probably, if he was helping to plan the death of thousands of people.) I wish I could break it to the guy that even if he was a Christian and he was planning these attacks that no one would have any pity for him. No matter what your religion is, if you happen to read the twisted version of it that tells you that killing innocent people is OK, then it's time to pick a new religion.

I saw the video and she was doing everything that the police said. She was walking towards the right lane and the officer did push her hard away from the lane. And she resisted arrest and twisted away from him. However, I don't believe that gives him the right to taser her. I did not like his tone of voice to her. He was yelling at her in a way that was uncalled for. My brother was a police officer and he told me that he always spoke to suspects in a quiet tone of voice and he usually got more information and cooperation from them than the older police officers who were yelling and being rude like this officer in the story. And if this officer couldn't arrest a little old lady who was resisting him and he had to use a taser to tame her, then it's time he hang up his badge. At that age, he really could have killed her.