Republicans win House of Representatives Elections
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Well, I cannot speak for the whole of Europe, not even for my country, but my own opinion is that the Bush regime was scary, and that a democratic leadership in the US always seemed to have brought out the very best in US economy and people.
I really like Barrack Obama and I really liked Bill Clinton. I still remember being very upset at how Bill Clinton was removed from office, very unfair.
I do not know enough about US politics to know what effects a change in majority in the House of Representatives has. But I think it might have an impact on Obama administration's ability to govern.
I'm glad they made sure that the core parts of the health reform will be safe from changes in political leadership when they introduced it.
I've often contemplated moving to the US, and having proper health care under all circumstances certainly is a good prospect.
Our media tries to stay unbiased, but I think I've often sensed a pro-democrat notion.
Bush often evoked the cliche image of the gun-toting cowboy of old Western movies. Many of the elder people still think about the USA as a wide empty country, with lots of cow herds, and cowboys with stetsons and guns, shooting each other. I still remember reports about the USA from the 80ies that made it look like in the USA people eat only hamburgers, and so on, which obviously gave many people a false impression.
When I was in the USA, I noticed also that Germany often gets portrayed in a false light, and one of the culprits is the German Deutsche Welle TV itself, that makes sure people in the US will associate Germany with classic Bavaria clothing (leather pants), the Alps, and so on. That is apparently what tourists are supposed to want. I almost pissed myself laughing when I saw that. Also, many Nazi movies are often blatantly inaccurate. And some people in the US still associate Germany with the 3rd Reich, which lasted only 12 years between 1933 and '45. I had many weird experiences related to this when I was in the US: When I was in a bar, and people learnt I was German, they began to hold hands and sing the US national anthem with me. One guy in a plane sitting next to me explained that he's a Jew and asked me what crimes my parents have done. My parents were kids in WWII, and they did nothing. I had one uncle who was in the SA, and another uncle who was put in a concentration camp in Eastern Germany by Russians. My mother's father was a lowly soldier in WWII and survived, he was stationed in the Netherlands. Being a carpenter, he passed his service time with making wooden art. My parents were deeply indoctrinated however, they hated all things foreign until their death. My father was often angry at me for liking the US, b/c he got shot at during WWII from a plane when collecting firewood with his mom in a forest in Winter. When he saw reports about US nature catastrophes, he often made fun of that, and advised me to avoid going to the US, b/c I would either suffer from an earthquake or being shred to pieces by a tornado.
That's why I don't rely on television to provide me with information about the US.
When I was there in the US a couple of times, I had the impression of a monarchy or dictatorship b/c of the way the US television works. Most of the news reports appeared to be the same on all major channels, and little information was given on everyday people's affairs, general policies and so on. Scary!
On the internet I found a much different rendition of the US. I'm glad that the internet gives us opportunity to see the real side of things in every country.
But one thing I definitely notice is how strong the cultural effects of the US are over Germany. One US-American entertainer that lived in Germany once jokingly remarked that Germany would one day get to be the 51st state of the US.
- We watch American movies and television series, eat American fast food, use American computers and software, I even drive an American car. lol; and there's a perceivable erosion of our social systems that gets blamed on "world market" situations. In past times, there was often the scare of "American conditions", but I'm still glad we've kept some of our social network, but it's getting worse every year, as it seems, and people drift more and more into poverty. Today I noticed that books are twice expensive than before the introduction of the Euro currency, much like everything else. But salaries didn't double. People seem to buy much less stuff, not surprisingly. The introduction of the Euro currency must've pumped a lot of money into corporations, probably all in the name of being able to compete on the world market, whatever that is.When I was in the USA, I noticed also that Germany often gets portrayed in a false light, and one of the culprits is the German Deutsche Welle TV itself, that makes sure people in the US will associate Germany with classic Bavaria clothing (leather pants), the Alps, and so on. That is apparently what tourists are supposed to want. I almost pissed myself laughing when I saw that.
That's why I don't rely on television to provide me with information about the US.
LOL, I almost pissed myself laughing when I read this at the fact that Americans could have this stereotype of Germans! I've never had this stereotype in my mind about them, with the Bavarian clothes and all, but my grandmother is from Germany so that's probably got something to do with it.
And you're right that television is a terrible source for news. It's very rare that I watch TV news, as I know how false it can be. I try to find out the reality of some things, but it's very difficult to find the truth of such things these days. And every news station seems to have their own version of the story, as well as different biases! I just read a little bit of news and hear it from other people mainly. Oddly enough, that same grandma from Germany has fox news (a very republican-slanted TV news station) running constantly, all day long, on her kitchen TV- you wouldn't think so, but she does watch all this fox news, and goes totally by it.
I for one couldnt be happier about this election win. BUT! They cant be the fake republicans we had during the Bush years. They were just progressive democrats we have now and just like Bush was that seem to think we have a bottomless piggy bank of endless wealth to spend and able to grow and spread entitlements. This election was a statement from the people to Obama and the congress saying stop the spending of money we dont have under control. The majority of the American people hate and dont want the obama care and repeal it. Get the entitlements under control. Stop the encroachment into our lives so our economy can once again recover. And finally dont compromise and do what you promised you said you would do. If the establishment republicans ignore the people this time while the elected tea party group like Marco Rubio keep their promises. The next election in two years will be a sweep for Tea Party candidates in the Senate, House and Presidency. Either way the president isnt going to make a second term with this horrible economy.