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Very funny!!!
Sad the
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21 hours 6 min ago - What I meant by the first
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Comments
mark, this is one of your
mark, this is one of your very finest! thank you, thank you thank you.
mark, this is one of your
mark, this is one of your very finest! thank you, thank you thank you.
I just found out about an
I just found out about an announcement by Ron Paul: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDgHGLpSnR4V9L_yGzr2USAwY4BQD933E5BO2
It's going to be @ the National Press Club tomorrow 10AM, maybe 10:30AM, but I'll keep my bets on 10AM.
Very interesting...
Republican Pr--ks can kiss
Republican Pr--ks can kiss my A$$!! No How, No Way, No McCain!! [;-)
johnny johnny how many times
johnny johnny
how many times do we need to tell you it's spelled "violate"...v.i.o.l.a.t.e.
not "kiss"
just say NOBAMA!
cris
One of your better ones,
One of your better ones, Mark. Like the design as much as the message. Hey, with Cheney leaving office and Obama becoming President, won't that take away alot of stuff to satire....?
Love,
Tim
Why does the download stop
Why does the download stop at 43%? Been that wy for two days
Very good, very effective.
Very good, very effective. The use of the ol Dick and Jane theme can appeal to anyone educated in the U.S. Thank you!
Let's see, now. Palin was
Let's see, now. Palin was FOR the so-called bridge to nowhere, suggesting that Alaska use "earmarks" when they were available. Then she wasn't for it.
Asked the librarian of her little town how to go about banning books. Threatened to fire the librarian for not cooperating with her. Won't agree to anything other than "abstinence-only" sex ed. Wants creationism taught in public schools.
Gave a welcoming talk to a organization wanting Alaska to secede from the United States. You know, her potential employer. (Hubby's a member.)
Has traveled so much that she needed a passport in order to go out of the country last year. Oh, wait--her handlers say she has gone to Ireland, too. Date not stated.
Has governed (for less than 2 years) a state with a total population that's a 10th of the population of the Houston metropolitan area.
McCain voted pro-Bush the vast majority of the time (I've heard 90% and 95%). A real maverick.
Palin said she sold the state plane--"put it on Ebay," she said. McCain said "sold it on Ebay." Yup, she put it on Ebay. Nope, it didn't sell. McCain said "for a profit." Nope, it sold at a loss through an aircraft broker, a venue which would have made more sense, anyway.
McCain doesn't know how many houses he has. Thinks rich is $5 million a year. Take a look at the clip--amazing how he sidesteps the question until he has to give an answer, then pops out an absurd number:
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/stumper/archive/2008/08/18/mccain-s-5-mil...
Bush's party line with health care is 1. "There's nothing wrong with the system" and 2. "If there is, give a tax CREDIT." Typical rich man's answer! Credit? On what? And McCain buys it, hook, line, and sinker.
Palin doesn't believe in man's contribution to global warming. Guess not. Guess that's why she has 5 kids. And McCain has 5 biological children. And in the "rich man" quote above, he proposes giving families $7,000 credit per child. Sounds good--imagine hearing $7,000 (credit). See comment in previous paragraph. BTW, Palin contradicts her own party's platform.
And McCain has now stooped so low that he's doing the "patriotic American" spiel himself--as if it's not enough that every single speaker has to tell and retell the story about his Vietnam imprisonment. Yup, he is indeed a real hero. Nope, you shouldn't brag about it yourself.
On the Iraqi war, McCain said: "I don’t think Americans are concerned if we’re there for 100 years or 1,000 years or 10,000 years." Oh. I didn't know that I felt this way. (Does ANYONE?)
Lots of good and bad things coming out, and we still have 2 months to go. Not a lot of good things coming out of McSame and company, though.
Alaska population as of July
Alaska population as of July 1, 2007: 683,478
Toledo population 2000: 711,952
Why did he not consider the mayor of Toledo? It looks like he/she governs about the same amount of people.
FAMILY VALUES=
Putting son going to Iraq in a month on stage to the world at the national convention to show what a GOOD mom you are.
Putting daughter who made a mistake on stage to the world at national convention to show that you are a TOUGH mother that makes your children stand up to their mistakes (in front of the whole country...did I say that already?)
Show your adorable baby (and he really was!) with Down Syndrome on stage to the world at the national convention to show how you are PRO-LIFE...even if you aren't going to take the REAL responsibility of dealing with all the early intervention your child will need in the next 4-5 years to help him be as well-adjusted and self-sufficient and HAPPY as possible...
Yes, I would say this if she was a man too! I have worked for over 10 years in early intervention in the state that John McCain resides in and have met him, a very personable, likeable man. Maybe he wants to lose?
"Why did he not consider the
"Why did he not consider the mayor of Toledo?"
simply put he wanted a woman to get some female votes :/
Weak argument regarding
Weak argument regarding population size. What has Obama led, besides his campaign (sorry Obama campaign manager)? I'm curious.
Family values commentary - also weak. Imagine if Sarah Palin were a man. Would this change your perception? Would you consider that Biden had weak family values for continuing in the Senate even though he tragically became a single parent right before?
Yes, REREAD and you will
Yes, REREAD and you will see that I had already said that in the first post. I would say that even if she was a man.
Early intervention is for the whole family and since I've worked in the field AND have a child with special needs myself, and work with other early interventionists that share the belief that for special needs children the best person for the child's primary caregiver USUALLY is the mother of the child, Sarah, however could be one of the exceptions to the rule. And I WOULD NOT be saying this if her baby did NOT have special needs. I know how important those first few years are.
However I would still feel, whether Sarah was a man or a woman, putting her daughter in the limelight at this time is outrageously selfish. How long before the boyfriend/husband-to-be signs up for the service? I bet pretty soon!
BTW, I was also irritated when John Edwards went ahead with his campaign while his wife had just been diagnosed with cancer again. I think FAMILY VALUES are taking care of your own before you take on the rest of the world. Apparently John didn't have family values on his mind during that time...
I am so grateful I live in a country where I can express myself. I feel better already.
There's no right or wrong on
There's no right or wrong on this as each family has its own dynamics and means of dealing with challenges.
You are entitled to your own opinion as to how the Palin family should function, but without knowing the actual dynamics of their family, I just think that such opinions should be kept to ones self.
One final question. Would you be voicing these concerns regardless of which candidate or party it happened to belong to? (i.e. if Obama picked Palin for for his VP for example)
Yes, I would be voicing
Yes, I would be voicing these same concerns and would be actually considering McCain seriously for my candidate. Like I said, IF you would READ what i've written carefully, that I have a hard time with people (men or women!) running for office who do NOT put their family first regardless of the party. And every family is different and I am careful not to judge the families I work with, but they are not running for President either. I am only questioning what family values and pro-life really mean to Republicans. Easy to say you are Pro-Life, but a lot harder to LIVE.
See John & Sarah rise in
See John & Sarah rise in polls ... rise rise rise
See Dem's panic ... panic panic panic
LOL!! Liberals are so
LOL!! Liberals are so negative... lol I'm waiting for Obama's crisis to happen... lets see how Mr. Senator for-a-month handles that one! ;)
except they're not....dear
except they're not....dear dear dear
Obama's still ahead......Americans are not that dumb dumb dumb
See the poll for yourself
See the poll for yourself ... see see see
Americans are indeed ... smart smart smart
9/6/08 Zogby Poll
http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1548
Zogby International was the most accurate pollster in every one of the last three presidential election cycles, and continues to perfect its telephone and interactive methodologies using its own live operator, in-house call center in Upstate New York, and its own secure servers for its online polling projects.
In the 2004 presidential election, not only was Zogby's telephone polling right on the money, its interactive polling also nailed the election as well. In 2006, the Zogby Interactive online polling was on the money in 17 of 18 U.S. Senate races (the 18th was within the margin of error) a record of accuracy that is unmatched in the industry - as no other leading firm even attempts to poll statewide political races using an interactive methodology for public consumption.
That's great, I will wait to
That's great, I will wait to see what the Zogby poll says the first week of November when it really matters.
And thank goodness
And thank goodness for....that that that
We might just get....a president who's smart smart smart
for....once once once
The thing that worries me
The thing that worries me most about Sarah Palin is that she is a fundamentalist "end-timer" who would be a heartbeat away from her finger on the button.
"BRING ON ARMAGEDDON! I WANT TO SEE JESUS!"
When Obama wins, I hope that
When Obama wins, I hope that he will eliminate the FDA completely.
I just got the shock of my life today.
I just went to the FDA homepage, I forgot for what. Seems that there was a bill, H.R.6940, about safe infant formula. So, I checked it out first.
What a surprise I found. The bill was from 1980 and never was passed! Why did they even list it? Why, why, why?
This bill, H.R.6940 and the republican version, got the same treatment, it was postponed and never seen again. No wonder infant formula that is 50% sugar can be sold as healthy. There is no law against it.
Funny, isn't it, that it's been since 1980 that baby formula has steadily gotten worse. And so many have been recalled as dangerous.
Did the FDA want this bill passed, did they ever do anything about this bill? Do they really care what is or isn't in infant formula?
No, why should they.
Why indeed.
It was listed as though something had actually been done about infant formula. Again, why?
It's bad enough that the crap now cost about $27 per can for 14oz of powder, but if you read the label it has a total of 50% sugar in it. It's glorified sugar water with a touch of milk whey in it. And anything else they want to test on babies. If it's never been in formulas before, then this is a test, worldwide.
I swear to God, that is what it is, sucrose, lactose, and other forms of sugar that add up to 50% of the powder. Fancy names for milk sugar, corn sugar and whatever sugar. It originally was restricted to the special formula for milk sensitive babies, but now even the regular formula is half sugar. It's right on the labels.
What would happen if all you ate was 50% sugar? How healthy would you be?
Is there any wonder that our kids are all hyperactive and crazy?
In the book, "Brave New World" they chemically altered the embryos to be Alphas, Betas and Gammas, Smart, Dumb and Dumber.
These helpless babies are sent home from the hospital with "gift packs" full of this formula and other goodies. If you, as a new mother don't make it clear and fight the system, your baby will be given formula from day one. They won't even tell you that your baby is being fed formula, even if you have signed up to breastfeed. How can it be assumed that all babies should be fed formula?
It's becoming absolutely clear that the FDA and the USDA are controlled by pharmacuetical companies and companies like, Monsanto, Merck, Mead-Johnson and Nestle.
It makes me sick, literally. I got this knot in my gut right now as I read more and more from this website. The one posted to help new moms. It describes, sort of, what this new formula is supposed to be and do, but no details, just glowing PR. And it's been pushed worldwide.
http://www.meadjohnson.com/app/iwp/Content4.do?dm=mj&id=-8794&iwpst=B2C&...
If they damage our babies, what will become of all of us? It's cutting Humans off at the knees. Each generation is dependent on the generation following them. Our elders are already being turned into over drugged vegetables and zombies.
They, the FDA, have declared that obesity is a disease. They want to push Lipitor and Vytorin on kids and load them up with Aspartame sweetened pop tarts and diet Pepsi. You know, so they won't get heart disease when they grow up, if they grow up.
In middle and high schools, Pepsi has taken upon itself to help our young girls stay thin but selling only diet drinks in their vending machines.
Who the Hell decided that kids should have vending machines in school in the first place!?!
Hint: it makes money for the school districts to buy band and sports equipment.
Coke has a program to push sodas and diet drinks as healthful because it hydrates the body, just like water. But it's not the water they are pushing. Just like Pepsi, it's only the diet drinks that are available to the kids.
Why, you gotta ask why only the diet drinks. And this info is from the Pepsi and Coke websites.
It may not be a conspiracy to eliminate people, but it sure looks like it.
What it does look like is a plan to turn the entire next generation into a bunch of brain damaged, prescription drug addicted and handicapped people, with shorter lifespans due to all the vaccination and prescription drug side effects.
I'm a retired nurse and baby boomer. There is something seriously wrong here.
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck...?
This website is totally scary because it appears to be so helpful to new moms.
Congress:
They spent all this time looking at the bill but didn't do anything about the bill, then they postponed it, forever. The only thing it tries to do is force the manufacturer to report if they think a batch is bad. Like they ever would do anything to kill sales.
Why do we even have a congress?
They never do anything, just look important.
Ever watch CSpan?
What's good for General Motors is good for the USA
The business of government is business
Drink more Pepsi and get more stuff. 5 caps to get 1 MP3 download.
Better living thru chemistry. (Dow Chemical slogan) Michigan has always been run by Dow. I'm from Michigan.
I think I'll go get drunk, never been drunk before, but why not?
It's about the only thing that doesn't have Aspartame in it.
as far as global warming
as far as global warming goes the obvious problem is population less people less ussage da
Am I the only one who
Am I the only one who noticed the LACK of color at the Republican Convention as the cameras scanned those in attendance!?!? I really don't think they care about ALL Americans..........looked like mostly WHITE upper class to me.
I'm white middle class and pay taxes they have loop holes for. Certainly I can afford it....afterall I'm a retired school teacher trying to live on teacher retirement and Medicare. It scares me to see so many far less fortunate. I can't even imagine their struggles.
Sarah Palin also scares me! I do not "heart" Sarah! How can anyone who claims to be the least bit intellegent think this person is going to save our country and be President if necessary?
I'm sick of "poor picked-on Little Sarah" whinners! Sarah has a very sharp knife and a very powerful gun; both of which she isn't afraid to use in attack.
AND why is Cindy McCain (with her $300,000 outfit/jewelry and 7 or 9 houses) potrayed to be that concerned about the poor? How many children could the cost of that one outfit feed? ALSO, why is she right on John's heels while he and Sarah are on the road?!?
I LOVED Fun With John and Sarah!
Gerri
I so agree! I counted 4
I so agree! I counted 4 people of color one night that I could handle watching it.
I am also white, middle-class, and worried about if I will ever be able to retire.
A side splinter, and I am
A side splinter, and I am an Australian and many of us closely follow the political goings-on on in the US. Very funny.
Richard.
I loved it
I loved it
Great!!! I was wondering
Great!!! I was wondering when Mrs Bubbles would show up in a cartoon. There is a "wellspring" of material here; perhaps more than the two misfits now in the Whitehouse generate.... Well let's hope it does not come to that. "More cookies Mr. Putin?, I baked them this morning before our meeting"
Well, that was...
Well, that was... placid.
The Obamaphiles were expecting blood. Gore. Viscer and shredded flesh flung to the far corners of the browser. A wild orgy of rabid MoveOn.org-esque anti-Palinity!
And they got... Dr. Seuss.
Scandal!
U.S. forces handing over Anbar province to Iraqi security, Obama's party faithful demanding details on his pie-in-the-sky energy plan, Palin's 'double-X-chromosome' royal flush currently trumping Obama's 'melanin-in-the-skin' high straight for the 'whatever's new' impulse voters, and Mark Fiore pulling his punches!?
Dark times for Democrats, indeed.
Dark times.
Hi Campion was by
Hi Campion was by me:
GJKBEAR
HI Champion... I thought it
HI Champion...
I thought it was cute. As a Democrat I was not expecting blood or gore and I quite like Dr Seuss!
As for Sarah Palin, I think he hit the right note. She is for drilling - the only thing that she is on the big oil companies for is who gets the windfall profits. She is tied in Alaska to a party that is for taking their state and making it free of the US - her hubby is a card carrying member and she has made speeches to the party - on tape! (But, she wants to be VP of the USA). She was for the Bridge to Nowhere until she was against it. She really helped Ted Stevens - right up until he was indicted! These are things that I think the US people should be concerned about.
As a woman, I am concerned that she chose to have this Down Syndrome child - but seems to be letting Nannys, her other children and her husband have the responsibility of raising him. I am concerned that her 17 year old daughter is unwed and pregnant only because this poor child - if Sarah wins will be in the glare of the spotlight and will also have to depend on others to help her through a difficult and trying time. Now, I could be wrong, I don't live in Sarah Palin's life and I don't know everything about her. I could give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she is probably an excellent Mom - but it just seems to me that she is running for a job that puts her family 2nd after her ambition. She is most definitly pro life - even in the cases of rape and incest (and life of the mother, I think). I read somewhere that she even thinks that condoms prevent babies so she is against them too (but even though it said it was her personal site- I thought it was a satire sight. I can't believe some of the things I read there because it made her sound like an 18 year old airhead).
So, I think Mark concentrated on just the right things.
I know that you and I agree to disagree on homosexuality and probably abortion too - but I think Obama has at least explained more of how he intends to do what he has promised to do than McCain. If you notice - Obama has been very kind to Palin and has refused to talk about her family or any of her troubles. The thing is I think that the Republicans want things both ways sometimes. If the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak - if Chelsea Clinton had become pregnant at 17 - there would have been no quarters drawn - but no one should say anything about Bristol Palin. When Hillary said that people were being sexist she was whining - but no one should scrutinize Sarah or her resume - because they are being sexist.
I sent President Bush a letter the other day. Told him I thought creating the marine sanctuaries was a good thing and I thought it would improve his legacy. I also think he gets immigration (having lived in TX all my life I can tell you this Border Wall is going to cause more damage to American lives than to the illegals who cross the border).
So, I am not sure these are dark times for Democrats nor Republicans nor even Independents- but they certainly are proving to be interesting times. I look forward to discussion....
> As a Democrat I was not
> As a Democrat I was not expecting blood or gore and I quite like Dr Seuss!
Well... uh... technically speaking, 'Dick and Jane' is Dr. William S. Gray and not Dr. Seuss, but you get the point.
> As for Sarah Palin, I think he hit the right note. She is for drilling -
Ugh. Here we go again.
What will it take to convince you people that... ugh... (*sabertooth roar of desperation*)
The keyboard you're typing on, the monitor you're staring at, the polyester clothes you're wearing, the... the... McDonald's milkshake you're drinking—are all petroleum-derived. Everything that makes your resource-sucking life 'go' is petroleum-derived.
Please, visit some of the other oil-related forums on markfiore.com, where you will find goodies aplenty. You'll learn, in six-to-twelve easy steps, how 'energy' is a tiny fraction of what oil is used for. Marvel at the realistic solar and geothermal energy plans that can replace 25% of the current power grid by 2025! Be amazed by the identical 'green' research funding of the McCain and Obama camps!
I realize that pie in the sky is very tasty pie indeed, but you can only power America for three months at most by shoveling 'hope', 'change', and 'Obama/Biden' signs into the hope-o-rhetoric reactors come post-election time.
And I shouldn't even say that, because even Sen. Obama has embraced the reality that oil cannot simply be 'dispensed with' without considerable cost, time, ingenuity, and consumer change-of-heart.
> She is most definitly pro life - even in the cases of rape and incest (and life of the mother, I think).
She isn't, in the 'life of the mother' case. And for the other two cases: good for her.
> I read somewhere that she even thinks that condoms prevent babies so she is against them too.
People are 'against condoms' because they give people a middle-of-the-road option. And 'reasonable people' always take the middle-of-the-road option.
Morally, would you like to be bad, good, or perfect?
Ninety-nine percent of (responsible) people will pick 'good' every time.
Condoms are 'good'. They prevent unwanted pregnancies and disease. But pre-marital sex divests the participants of a rich, spiritual sanctity that can never be recovered. The act 'kills off' a great and invaluable part of what makes marriage special—the uniting of man and woman into a single flesh, with both man and woman having saved themselves for such a union.
As much good as condoms have done, to endorse their use is to undermine 'perfect'. Responsible people choose 'good'—the happy middle road where they can have their cake and eat it, too—every single time. In reality: you can't have your cake and eat it too, and there's no end of condemnation for the people that seem to realize this. As damaging as the consequences of people choosing 'bad' are (and they're admittedly devastating), abstinence advocates cannot cede their ground to the middle-of-the-road. They would be throwing away far more than they gained.
> Obama has been very kind to Palin and has refused to talk about her family or any of her troubles.
Good for him. ;)
> If the shoe was on the other foot, so to speak...
I agree. Bristol Palin's predicament does not reflect on her mother's capability to govern. Neither would Chelsea Clinton's, and I agree without you that the rabid right would not spare her her dignity.
> Having lived in TX all my life I can tell you this Border Wall is going to cause more damage to American lives than to the illegals who cross the border.
I'll take your word for it. Although you might think differently when you're in the minority.
I'm cynical about Palin as VP pick like the most of you. I suppose 'critical' would be a better word. As I eluded to in another post, they picked her to 'balance out McCain', pure and simple. A kind of 'to pot with the rest' mentality.
I've taken up the 'Republican' mantle in this forum because I'm so darned disappointed with Obama. Every speech in every rally: McCain will take... McCain will undermine... Hope. Change. Hope. Hope. Change. McCain will...
Every engineeringish bone in my body cries out for details. How, Sen. Obama? How will you finance those healthcare reforms? How will you save your nation's damaged and near-death economy? How will you overcome poverty and hardship in the face of souring demographics and a bankrupt US treasury? Why did you never take a stand on a contentious issue during your tenure in Chicago? Why have you never consented to an unscripted, clear-the-skies debate? Why does it seem as though your whole life has been a struggle to become the perfect politician: void of commitment, void of elaboration, void of jeopardization?
Hope. Change. Change. Change. Hope. McCain doesn't... McCain thinks that...
Speech in, and speech out.
It just surprises me, for all the criticism Democrats heap out on the Christian right for 'trusting in faith and hope rather than in reasoned, concrete scientific argument', just how willing you are to place faith and hope in Sen. Obama.
Day after day, it just seems more and more like he isn't worth it.
Warm Regards,
COTO
COTO When you get right down
COTO
When you get right down to it; Obama has at least given a plan and he has given some ideas of how he is going to pay for that plan. McCain has given us - well, Sarah Palin. Distractions and hype. Their convention did not really offer many plans nor how they are going to pay for anything they propose. (I may be wrong - I have been before, but I didn't hear it.)
When Obama graduated at the top of his class, he could have gone to work anywhere. Any big law firm would have taken him. He chose to give back to his community. At least that is what I thought Community Organizing was. What I believe the difference in Obama and McCain to be is that Obama has lived the life of a middle class person - as has Biden. They have known what it was like to wonder if you were going to be able to afford what they needed. Now, I don't know about Palin - but McCain does seem a bit out of touch with what middle class is and what poor is. He has actually been on the government payroll so to speak most of his life - first as a dependent and then as a Senator. Middle class people do not make $5 million a year! I guess I just see the gap getting wider and wider between the haves and the have nots. I France, the ruling class at one time disregarded their poor and middle class and the ruling class lost their heads for that mistake. I don't see that happening here - it just seems to get worse. Government by the corporations - and the emphasis is on what you can buy.
As far as being in the minority - Anglos are already in the minority and we have been for some time. I live in the cradle of liberty in TX. I can go to the Alamo anytime I want. The movies about it are uplifting - but there were Hispanic people here in TX that fought for its independence along with those whites. The border wall is disenfranchising real people in the USA. Land owners are finding themselves walled off - in some cases, their land - real honest to god farmland and homes are finding themselves on the other side of that wall. In some places it separates family farms and ranches. Land that has been in families for generations is finding itself in a no man's land. Wildlife habitat and all is being destroyed and disrupted. It will not stop those who want to come across - It seems funny that we worked for so many years to tear down that wall in Germany - and we credit Reagan for tearing down that wall - and now we put one up! So, that is my reason for saying what I did. It is scary to think that the Director of Homeland Security has this much power to take land, to disregard any laws just to build a wall.
As for faith and hope. It is not a Republican stronghold - exclusive to them only. He just seems to get it, I guess. He understands that there are people living in poverty right here in America and that these problems need to be addressed. When I look at McCain's campaign - he had 118 paid lobbyiests in the high echeleons ! To me, that means he will be beholden to every last single one of them. I don't know about you - but I face real problems with health care. The idea of health policy being written by insurance companies and drug manufacturers and energy policy being written by big oil companies and other policy by big corporations doesn't float my boat - because they mostly are concerned about their bottom line. So, yes. I can put faith & hope is someone who seems like they will change the status quo. I think Obama will and I had not heard that he had ducked debate with McCain on any issue.
May God Bless you & yours
GJK
> When you get right down to
> When you get right down to it; Obama has at least given a plan and he has given some ideas of how he is going to pay for that plan.
No. He's given a plan. The 'how to pay for that plan' got lost in the mail somewhere. Let us begin a short odyssey of discovery.
Consulting his website: "Barack Obama will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000 emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills."
Excellent! Lessee... the three major U.S. oil players collectively have a projected 87 billion dollar profit for 2008. And $1,000 for 150 million middle-class US taxpayers is... 150 billion. Meaning that either i) Mr. Obama is going to tax the oil companies at 172% their total profit, in which case they'd really have no choice but to move their business operations out of the US, or ii) Sen. Obama is going to 'borrow' that money. He's going to turn on the printing presses that have devalued the US dollar to near-toilet-paper status.
More goodies: 'Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families', 'Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than $50,000' ...
If we look into the details, he's purporting to eliminate roughly 200 billion in income taxes.
Great! Obviously the 2.2% of Americans in that 'upper bracket' (with all those Bush tax cuts) will have to take up some of the slack. That's a mere... $30K per year more for those freeloaders. Which i... Well, whaddaya know—they're now paying more in taxes than they would in my little socialist paradise in Canada. And here they come! Not that we mind. We've been bleeding away your fortune 500 companies and high-income earners for years. Bleed, investors! Bleed, bleed, bleed!
And the rest of it, he doesn't even bother with the pretence that he knows how to finance it.
'Double Funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership'
'Invest In A Clean Energy Economy And Create 5 Million New Green Jobs'
'Make the Research and Development Tax Credit Permanent'
'Provide Tax Relief for Small Businesses and Start Up Companies'
'Raise the Minimum Wage'
'Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit'
'Reward Companies that Support American Workers'
Etc.
Excellent! Excellent! A never-before-incurred $50 billion here; a piddling $225 billion there. Mere pittances, these. Turn on the printing presses!
We've got tax cuts across the board. Corporate taxes, income taxes, education taxes! All down for you!: the hard working American. Sen. Obama will make up for it by
'End[ing] Tax Breaks for Companies that Send Jobs Overseas'
Sounds like a plan. That'll keep 'em in America. Who cares if they can't compete in the global market? (That annoying sound you hear in the background is another major US corporation silently being bought up by foreign owners and slinking away from a foundering ship.)
When the honeymooning period is over, if Sen. Obama is elected, the dough-eyed media (who should be asking these questions now) will eventually get around to asking these questions. And the hard pill will come out: either Sen. Obama is lying through his teeth to win this election, or another record deficit will send America's economy into the tank faster than you can say 'Change you can believe in.'
The Democrats have never been afraid to raise taxes, and for the sake of my family in the US, I was hoping beyond hope that Sen. Obama would roll up his sleeves, keep a stiff upper lip, and say to Americans: "My friends, the circumstances are dire, but we can still fix this. And if we tighten our belts, and raise taxes across the board, we'll pull through."
But he hasn't said it. Not even close. He's got Republicans bellyaching about his 'burdensome tax plan' and Democrats thinking that he'll suck dry the only thing the US has left to offer haemorrhaging corporations: a favourable investment environment, to finance their debt-ridden lifestyles. He can't. It simply isn't the least bit economically feasible. And the solution, if you can call it that, is to turn on the printing presses. Borrow more money. Borrow, Obama! Borrow! Borrow! Borrow!
That's my rant. (*panting*)
> When Obama graduated at the top of his class, he could have gone to work anywhere. Any big law firm would have...
After that long spiel, you'll understand why Sen. Obama's education really doesn't mean squat to me right now. I know at least three people whose raw IQ and knowledge of economics would put Sen. Obama’s credentials to shame, and none of them purport to having all the answers. Like anything else, responsible governance is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.
> As far as being in the minority - Anglos are already in the minority and we have been for some time.
I haven't really been following the US border issues closely. I had an uncle running a medical practice in Phoenix who recently moved it to Washington, claiming that things were going to pot pretty fast in AZ. He pointed to the fact that many of the illegals had no sense of American nationalism whatsoever, and many were starting to demand access to healthcare and voting rights. Mexico is an economic disaster, and you'll pardon my 'racism' in pointing out that it's not because they have an 'oppressive government'.
Whether the wall will do anything... *phht*... who knows? I'll defer to your judgement on that one. All I can tell you is that you do not want to be in the midst of a majority population with no sense of American nationalism if the US economy goes south.
> As for faith and hope. It is not a Republican stronghold - exclusive to them only.
I know. But the raw contempt for Christians, and the prevailing mentality that science and religion are at odds have featured many times in these forums; I can pretty much guarantee you that the ones voicing these foolish opinions are young Democrats.
> I think Obama will and I had not heard that he had ducked debate with McCain on any issue.
He has, and... to pre-empt your reply, I know that McCain's plans aren't any less non-existent than Obama’s.
They're selling your countrymen vapourware. McCain is too.
The real question for an undecided, detail-starved right-wing voter is: do I want vapour that comes in a 'Well-Educated, Two-Autobiography-But-Zero-Law-Authoring Career Politician' flavour, or a 'War Hero, Trust-Me-I'm-Not-Bush, I-Share-Your-Values Neoconservative' flavour.
And why pick the former if you already know you can stand the taste of the latter?
Thanks for the Discussion,
COTO
OK - I can't resist. You
OK - I can't resist. You have a long discussion about how Obama will not be able to pay to solve social problems within the US.
Interesting that you people have no problems finding money to pay for the Iraq war. Is it because:
1. Making bombs to kill people outside the US is much more fun.
2. Providing huge paydays to Pentagon consultants on how to catch Osama bin Laden, how to fight a war, how to build armored carriers that do not protect troops, how to not provide body armor to troops (because, my God, it is too expensive), how to ____ (you fill in the blank), it is endless. While the beltway bandits get rich, the poor smuck enlisted person in Iraq being shot at gets about $2.00/hour, if you add in his time after the initial 8 hours per day, every day. Also, McCain is against giving the same smuck improved education benefits in the Vet's bill, because it might hurt retention. Didn't seem to hurt officer retention, who get the education free before they go in.
3. We must protect Israel - except that they have their own nucs - I think they can take care of themselves by now. They were the only ones vulnerable to Sadam, and they are the main reason right-wing, bible thumping Bush sent our troops in to get Sadam. Seems like he believes it is destiny. I'm sure Palin feels the same way - look out Iran, you're next. I'm not against Israel and Egypt, but give me a break, we're paying money throught the nose to support them, and our troops are being shot at to protect the entire middle east. So don't complain about how to find money to pay for the healthcare of your old grandpa that lived and worked his entire life in the US, and can't afford a hip replacement. If other countries can find money for health care, we should be able to as well.
I'm sure there are alot more, but I am tired of the subject.
I suspect that the 1 trillion $s the war cost us could have gone along way to cover grandpa. And the money McCain wants to spend to keep a "South Korea" type presence in Iraq would help over the next 50 to 100 years.
My, so bitter simply because
My, so bitter simply because Bush whacked you. ;)
To address your conveniently enumerated concerns:
As for military spending: decent soldiers' wages and education benefits for veterans cost money. Given that Obama will (wisely?) direct the war machine into Afghanistan and Pakistan to prevent the defence sector of the US economy from folding, we're looking for cost saving policies in the long-term, not ways to spend more.
> If other countries can find money for health care, we should be able to as well.
'Other countries' have markedly higher taxes, well-established public healthcare infrastructure, and a small fraction of the debt burden that Americans do. Living relatively tax-free in 'the greatest, most prosperous nation on Earth' has been steadily catching up with your countrymen.
If you're personally shouldering any consumer debt, I can't stress enough how much good it will do you belt-tighten and put in the extra working hours to go debt-free.
> I suspect that the 1 trillion $s the war cost us could have gone along way to cover grandpa.
It wouldn't. The latest estimate on US Medicaid and Medicare liabilities is $15 trillion. If government pension liabilities are included, it's $40 trillion. The 'above-the-surface' treasury arrears (now to the tune of $9.3 trillion) seems almost negligible by comparison.
Thanks for your input...
... 'Bushie' ;)
Your Doomsaying Pal,
COTO
You're either stupid, lying,
You're either stupid, lying, or simply don't know the facts. Israel gets about $3B per year from the US. And as far as Israel providing logistics support and friendly skies to the US for military operations in Iraq, more of the same. The US can't use Israel for military operations in Iraq, for flights or logistics. Our so-called friendly Arab nations would pull whatever support they provide to the US (including Bush's favorite ally, Pakistan), if it was discovered the US used Israel in such a manner. The US can only provide Israel with "self-defense" support, and Israel cannot provide us with anything, other than a big drag on our budget. Illustrates the total zoo we are in. So try to talk about something you know. Considering that I worked for the Defense Dept for 30 years, including spending time in Israel working on their Arrow Weapon System, I think I know a little more than you on the subject. So regardless of any more responses from you, I will sign off the discussion. I just wanted to make sure other readers of this site realize you do not know much about what you talk about. So respond with more stupid comments, realizing you have been revealed as an idiot.
> Israel gets about $3B per
> Israel gets about $3B per year from the US.
You're right. I was referring to the total military grants, which can be found at the bottom of column 4 here—just slightly over 50 billion. If I'd intended 50 billion per annum, I'd have said so. And if you challenge the credibility of my source, by all means, post your own.
> The US can't use Israel for military operations in Iraq, for flights or logistics.
> The US can only provide Israel with "self-defense" support, and Israel cannot provide us with anything, other than a big drag on our budget.
The article here and the white paper posted here would appear to strongly disagree with you.
Again, if your experiences differ from what I tracked down in the public domain, perhaps you'd care to share your own sources/experience instead of calling me a doody-head.
> Considering that I worked for the Defense Dept for 30 years, including spending time in Israel working on their Arrow Weapon System, I think I know a little more than you on the subject.
It might also explain your notable lack of tact. :P
> So respond with more stupid comments, realizing you have been revealed to be a big meanie who can go... who can just go and jump in the lake... 'cause he's just a big ol' doody-head.
Your Crying-Because-Your-Mean-Words-Hurt-His-Feelings Pal,
COTO
P.S. Dare I ask why an individual with your views about war and the middle east would spend his career in the DoD working on an Israeli weapon system?
Uh, that was satire, right?
Uh, that was satire, right?
Sounds for like Fun with
Sounds for like Fun with Dick and Jane.
Casey?
One of the reasons I
One of the reasons I supported Hillary was that she really impressed me in the debates and Biden impressed more. I honestly wasn't very impressed with Obama. Hence my support for Hillary.
One of the reasons for the switch was that Obama seems to be surrounding himself with pragmatists and experts while McCain and seems to surrounding himself with Conservative hacks and idealougues.
McCain voted AGAINST equal pay for equal work and I can't help thinking that his pick is a shameless attempt to win over disaffected Hillary voters.
The way I see it, if Obama can't run the country then his VP can. Heck we all know that Cheney is the guy that has really been running the country for the last eight years like Hillary was the one that was running the country for the eight years before that.
One of the reasons I
One of the reasons I supported Hillary was that she really impressed me in the debates and Biden impressed more. I honestly wasn't very impressed with Obama. Hence my support for Hillary.
One of the reasons for the switch was that Obama seems to be surrounding himself with pragmatists and experts while McCain and seems to surrounding himself with Conservative hacks and idealougues.
McCain voted AGAINST equal pay for equal work and I can't help thinking that his pick is a shameless attempt to win over disaffected Hillary voters.
The way I see it, if Obama can't run the country then his VP can. Heck we all know that Cheney is the guy that has really been running the country for the last eight years like Hillary was the one that was running the country for the eight years before that.
As a former supporter of
As a former supporter of Hillary Clinton I found McCain's pick was shameless pandering and patronizing to women at best. I mean, their two VP picks are what pushed me throughly into Obama's corner. I once liked McCain and even seriously thought about voting for him but this pick was shameless and pushed further into letting go about my doubts about Obama and into his camp.
At least Biden actually can help Obama run the country.
Your comment doesn't make
Your comment doesn't make any sense.
She has about as much experience as Bush did when he was elected and that’s more experience than Obama has. I think Sarah is an excellent choice for many different reasons. Besides McCain picking a conservative woman is no more political then Obama selecting a “experienced” white male. Both are trying to shore up what they see as short falls. McCain with the conservative base and Obama with "Regan Democrats" as the media like to call them.
Except that Obama's choice,
Except that Obama's choice, Biden, is actually intelligent and experienced with negotiating and lawmaking and speaking knowledgeably with heads of state.
And McCain speaks of change from the Bush administration but selects a poster child for Bush/Cheney and ExxonMobile: an outdated energy philosophy that will sell every inch of Alaska to drilling; a destructive environmental policy (kill wolves from helicopters to boost the moose population for hunters; does not believe global warming is manmade); an Evangelical theology that thinks abstinence-only sex education (that's working well for both her AND Bristol) and intelligent design should be taught in schools. Geez!
If McCain is elected, you can bet your bottom dollar, Pallin will, at some point, be president and would take us straight back to the 60s!
I have always had a high opinion of John McCain, thought he might be able to make changes in Washington and would have been okay with him as president until he allied himself with the oil companies on offshore drilling (a week after they donated $1.3 million to his campaign). Then he sucks up even more to them and the religious base by selecting Palin.
How's he going to stop bi-partisanship when convention speakers like Huckabee, Romney and Guiliani get up and hurl nasty lies, condescension and divisiveness to a rabid, angry crowd screaming "drill, drill, drill?" They're the angrier party by far and they've been in control for decades!!
Dick Cheney with lipstick!!
Had the average person on
Had the average person on the street who is not from Alaska heard of Palin until last week? NO
Has she run a national campaign? NO
Has she been scrutinized by the mainstream media for the last four or more years? NO
Has McCain ever worked with her? debated her? NO
Has she worked in Washington? NO
Is Wasilla, AK or the state of Alaska like being in Washington? NO
Is Wasilla like the south side of Chicago with the same issues? NO
I say the republicans are really trumping up her resume for the public and anyone with a lick of sense will hopefully see through their theatrics.
Had the average person on
Had the average person on the street who is not from Alaska heard of Palin until last week? NO, but then again, none of us had ever heard from you until last week either, and we're still willing to judge your ideas by their own merits
Has she run a national campaign? NO, but she has run a state, which admittedly makes her job a little too unlike Karl Rove's for my taste
Has she been scrutinized by the mainstream media for the last four or more years? NO, and even though we've suffered through so much Obamamania that it pretty much seems like it, neither has Obama. He was virtually unheard of two years ago.
Has McCain ever worked with her? debated her? NO, because t... what? Working together: advocating the same policies. Debating: advocating conflicting policies. Net result: nothing gets done, a little bit like a certain congress.
Has she worked in Washington? NO, which according to the polling is the strongest thing she's got going for her
Is Wasilla, AK or the state of Alaska like being in Washington? NO, and yet she's managed to pass major federal legislation while Obama has yet to do so during his tenure
Is Wasilla like the south side of Chicago with the same issues? NO, and neither job is a particularly glowing endorsement of presidential qualities
And let us not forget the most important battery of rhetorical questions (with big 'NO's and coloured fonts for the kiddies):
Is Palin on the top of the ticket? NO
Is the likelihood that McCain suffers an illness, the illness takes him out of office, Palin proposes sweeping policy changes in the 8 month interim period, those policy changes are implemented by congress, the effect of the policy changes is bad, and these 'bad' policies (that aren't McCain's) also aren't Obama's—is the likelihood of this scenario greater than 5.228 x 10-43? Historically, NO. But the mathematicians haven't completely ruled it out.
VPs are chosen to balance out the perceived deficiencies of the candidates themselves.
McCain is a soft-on-abortion, too-close-to-Washington, rich, old *shudder*, many-home-owning Republican-old-guard 'white guy'. Palin, not surprisingly, is a staunch anti-abortion, anti-corruption, distant-from-Washington, bucholic, young and down-to-Earth 'not a white guy'.
Obama is a foreign policy lightweight who choked hard on the Russia/Georgia affair, and seems to have (at present time) royally bet on the wrong side on Iraq. Biden, not surprisingly, is a foreign-policy heavyweight with legitimate experience and administrative connections.
Which brings us to the most rhetorical question of all:
Would we be having this conversation if Palin was Obama's running mate?
- COTO
Obama has a lot more
Obama has a lot more experience than Palin, and far better judgment besides. Furthermore, Obama has strong numbers with white guys, so he doesn't need any help there. The main qualification to be VP is to be ready to take over if the worst happens. Biden meets that qualification easily. Palin doesn't even come close.
McCain chose Palin for lots of reasons: because the far-right religious extremists wanted a show of obedience to their beliefs; because he cynically thought Hillary PUMAs would flock to her; because he's looking for his next mistress and she's young and pretty; because she has exactly the same dishonesty-and-shameless-pandering mentality that the GOP demands of its politicos these days.
Obama chose Biden because they know each other well and Biden is qualified.
Sarah Palin is a lot more
Sarah Palin is a lot more ready than Barack Obama is, and she is running for VP.
Barack considers his experience to be greater than Palin's just because he has been running a presidential campaign! Don't take it from me, watch/listen to Obama himself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwkOOrp0HyE
Obama:
"Well, my understanding is that Governor Palin’s town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We’ve got 2,500 in this campaign. I think their budget is maybe $12 million a year. You know, we have a budget of about three times that just for the month. So I think that our ability to manage large systems and to execute I think has been made clear over the last couple of years,”
Obama conveniently left out the fact that Sarah Palin is the Governor of Alaska and has the executive experience managing a budget of over $10 billion and more than 24,000 employees. Not to mention the expertise she brings to the table in the field of energy independence which has direct impact on our economy as well as homeland security.
Everyone benefits from paying less per gallon at the gas station and less for heating their homes, and Sarah Palin is uniquely positioned to be potentially the most significant change agent to make this a reality.
PS: One final note ... isn't Obama taking credit from his campaign manager by claiming this executive experience as his own?
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