Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (11921)	4/28/2009 2:07:02 AM
From: pompsander	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 103300

The Republican Shrinkage Problem The new Washington Post/ABC news poll has all sorts of intriguing numbers in it but when you are looking for clues as to where the two parties stand politically there is only one number to remember: 21. That's the percent of people in the Post/ABC survey who identified themselves as Republicans, down from 25 percent in a late March poll and at the lowest ebb in this poll since the fall of 1983(!). In that same poll, 35 percent self-identified as Democrats and 38 percent called them Independents. These numbers come on the heels of Steve Schmidt, former campaign manager for Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential bid, declaring the Republican party a "shrinking entity" last week -- citing the decline of GOP numbers in the west, northeast and mountain west as evidence. And they show a somewhat significant decline from even last November's election when exit polls showed 32 percent of voters identifying as Republican as compared to 39 percent for Democrats and 29 percent for independents and others. (A caveat: voters tend to see things through a more partisan lens after having just voted in a presidential election than they do in an April poll.) The Post poll numbers show the challenge for Republicans in stark terms. The number of people who see themselves as GOPers is on the decline even as those who remain within the party grow more and more conservative. That means that the loyal base of the party has an even larger voice in terms of the direction it heads even as more and more empirical evidence piles up that the elevation of voices like former vice president Dick Cheney does little to win over wavering Republicans or recruit Independents back to the GOP cause. Put simply: Republicans find themselves stuck between a political Scylla and Charybdis -- with apologies to the Police. voices.washingtonpost.com

To: Hope Praytochange who wrote (11921)	4/28/2009 7:25:13 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

Anti-Christian violence in Pakistan prompts fears of ‘Talibanization’ catholicnewsagency.com Taliban militants Karachi, Pakistan, Apr 27, 2009 / 11:29 pm (CNA).- Last Wednesday’s anti-Christian violence in Karachi left 15 people wounded and resulted in the houses of 15 Christian families being set on fire, putting Christians on alert as the Taliban increases its influence in Pakistan. Fr. Mario Rodriguez, the Karachi-based Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Pakistan, told Fides news agency that several Taliban members were caught spraying offensive and intimidating messages on the walls of a church. The vandals were stopped by a group of Christians, but they returned with over 40 armed soldiers who began firing on the gathered Christians. Fifteen were wounded, one man seriously. The mob then began to sack the nearby houses of 15 Christian families, later setting them on fire. Police arrived and imposed a ceasefire in the neighborhood. Local communities are seeking protection and justice from the local government, Fides says. The “Muttahida Quami Movement,” which represents the religious minorities in the Pakistani Parliament, organized a protest and condemned the violence, saying “no to the Talibanization of Pakistan.” The aim of the Taliban is to force Christians to leave the area or pay a tribute imposed by Sharia law on non-Muslim minorities. Taliban forces have taken control of the Swat Valley in the country’s northwest, where they have implemented a rigorous form of Sharia. Their show of strength in the southern city of Karachi has caused much fear among Christians and other religious minorities.