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#1101
11-11-2009
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Veterans who don't get healthcare through the VA; if the Gov. is so unwilling to give them healthcare after they bravely serve their country, what makes you think that the same Gov. will give it to them through another Gov. instituted program?
Miss Fran is right about what she said.
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*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1102
11-11-2009
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__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1103
11-11-2009
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__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1104
11-11-2009
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Let's see what John Stossel says: Sick in America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEXFUbSbg1I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpsEA...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=refrY...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzhiG...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsp_J...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_KCLm9cekU&NR=1
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*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1105
11-11-2009
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[QUOTE=TheAngryPostman;116638]I did read it and still it sounds bogus. Canada's Healthcare system. Sure...
The study was done by doctors at Harvard, that would seem to provide it with considerable credibility. I find it tragic that there are veterans that have fallen through the cracks and are not getting adequate health care. Our so called "competitive" private health care system is the most expensive and inefficient in the world. In Japan health care is paid for by the government. Hospitals, however are all private. A typical room is ten dollars a day and a luxury room is eighty a day. Hospitals here charge you five thousand dollars a day just to sit in the emergency room waiting for help. Until we get profit obsessed companies out of the health care system we will have nothing but endless escalation of health care costs.
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1106
11-11-2009
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So now it's time to hear from someone who uses Canada's healthcare system. I am able to choose any doctor that I want. It doesn't cost me anything to see a doctor. If there is something that requires a specialist to look at then I will be referred to a specialist; no costs involved there. If I get a life threatening disease everything is paid for. I won't become homeless or destitute because I can't afford to pay my medical bills. I don't have long wait times to get medical tests or procedures. My hospital stays don't cost me anything. So what do I have to pay for: Prescription medications - but I have group health insurance to cover those costs Hospital stays - if I want a private room I pay extra, but again I have group health insurance Eyes - eye examinations and prescription lenses - group health insurance for that too Dental - all dental expenses - group dental insurance for that. Note that should I have a serious disease I will be guaranteed further medical treatment because there is no insurance company to cancel insurance. I won't lose my group health and dental insurance because it is group coverage. |
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#1107
11-11-2009
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HC Canada
Hey Ila,
Its always good to have someone come into these discussions who has first hand experience. The so called news media pundits are so often misinformed, uninformed, biased or just plain dimwits. Personally, I have health care from a non-profit HMO (Kaiser Permanente). The care is excellent, I wish everybody had such a good plan. Yes, they saved my life (burst appendicitis).
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1108
11-11-2009
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The "Costs" of Medical Care by Thomas Sowell We are incessantly being told that the cost of medical care is "too high" — either absolutely or as a growing percentage of our incomes. But nothing that is being proposed by the government is likely to lower those costs, and much that is being proposed is almost certain to increase the costs. There is a fundamental difference between reducing costs and simply shifting costs around, like a pea in a shell game at a carnival. Costs are not reduced simply because you pay less at a doctor's office and more in taxes — or more in insurance premiums, or more in higher prices for other goods and services that you buy, because the government has put the costs on businesses that pass those costs on to you. Costs are not reduced simply because you don't pay them. It would undoubtedly be cheaper for me to do without the medications that keep me alive and more vigorous in my old age than people of a similar age were in generations past. Letting old people die would undoubtedly be cheaper than keeping them alive — but that does not mean that the costs have gone down. It just means that we refuse to pay the costs. Instead, we pay the consequences. There is no free lunch. Providing free lunches to people who go to hospital emergency rooms is one of the reasons for the current high costs of medical care for others. Politicians mandating what insurance companies must cover is another free lunch that leads to higher premiums for medical insurance — and fewer people who can afford it. Despite all the demonizing of insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies or doctors for what they charge, the fundamental costs of goods and services are the costs of producing them. If highly paid chief executives of insurance companies or pharmaceutical companies agreed to work free of charge, it would make very little difference in the cost of insurance or medications. If doctors' incomes were cut in half, that would not lower the cost of producing doctors through years of expensive training in medical schools and hospitals, nor the overhead costs of running doctors' offices. What it would do is reduce the number of very able people who are willing to take on the high costs of a medical education when the return on that investment is greatly reduced and the aggravations of dealing with government bureaucrats are added to the burdens of the work. Britain has had a government-run medical system for more than half a century and it has to import doctors, including some from Third World countries where the medical training may not be the best. In short, reducing doctors' income is not reducing the cost of medical care, it is refusing to pay those costs. Like other ways of refusing to pay costs, it has consequences. Any one of us can reduce medical costs by refusing to pay them. In our own lives, we recognize the consequences. But when someone with a gift for rhetoric tells us that the government can reduce the costs without consequences, we are ready to believe in such political miracles. There are some ways in which the real costs of medical care can be reduced but the people who are leading the charge for a government takeover of medical care are not the least bit interested in actually reducing those costs, as distinguished from shifting the costs around or just refusing to pay them. The high costs of "defensive medicine" — expensive tests, medications and procedures required to protect doctors and hospitals from ruinous lawsuits, rather than to help the patients — could be reduced by not letting lawyers get away with filing frivolous lawsuits. If a court of law determines that the claims made in such lawsuits are bogus, then those who filed those claims could be forced to reimburse those who have been sued for all their expenses, including their attorneys' fees and the lost time of people who have other things to do. But politicians who get huge campaign contributions from lawyers are not about to pass laws to do this. Why should they, when it is so much easier just to start a political stampede with fiery rhetoric and glittering promises? http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/sowell110309.php3 Mr. Polar Bear. I am not saying you are wrong or anything, but the majority of Canadians I've met seem to dislike the system you guys have. Same with the majority of British I've met likewise. However, I think that your opinion is insightful and helps give a balanced view to this debate.
__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. Last edited by The Conquistador; 11-11-2009 at 10:02 PM. |
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#1109
11-11-2009
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The rabid hyperbole is VERY similar to the rants and threats of strikes by the doctors in Saskatchewan where this was first introduced in the 50s. NOw you would be hard pressed to find a doctor who would want to go back to what you have in the US. The only difference with what we have in Canada and what there is in the US is that the government here pays the bill, not the user. We still have the freedom to chose who treats us, where and how. |
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#1110
11-11-2009
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There is a difference however, in most countries health care is not viewed as a profit making business. Look at the attitude of the bankers in this country in this country. They think its their right to make obscene incomes at our expense. The drug companies and the medical profession seem to have the same attitude.
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1111
11-11-2009
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__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1112
11-11-2009
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Free markets and have their limits. Success is often masked as guys in suits robbing the public they claim to serve -- including HMOs! |
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#1113
11-11-2009
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__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1114
11-11-2009
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*http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/page.cfm?pg=1
__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1115
11-12-2009
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Stimulus?
I got this from a friend this morning. I LOVE it!
Q. What is an Economic Stimulus payment? A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. Q. Where will the government get this money? A. From taxpayers. Q. So the government is giving me back my own money? A. Only a smidgen. Q. What is the purpose of this payment? A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ? A. Shut up. Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending Your stimulus check wisely: . If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China . . If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs. . If you purchase a computer, it will go to India . . If you purchase fruit or vegetables, it will go to Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala . . If you buy a car, it will go to Japan . . If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan. . If you pay off your credit cards, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses, and they will hide it offshore. Instead, keep the money in America by: 1. Spending it at yard sales, or 2. Going to ball games, or 3. Spending it on prostitutes, or 4. Beer, or 5. Tattoos. (These are the only American businesses still operating in the US .) It would be best if you went to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink American beer with all day. 
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1116
11-12-2009
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__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1117
11-12-2009
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A cold beer and a hot tranny! 
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1118
11-12-2009
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 Jerseygirl Jen
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#1119
11-18-2009
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We already knew the democrats were corrupt because of organizations like ACORN that they wholeheartedly supported, and still support despite being shown to be the corrupt organization they are.
And how they like to spend billions-trillions on projects no one wants, and how their social policies have resulted in the recent financial meltdown, and how they want to move the US census to the White House, thereby taking control of an important driver of election processes, etc etc... We now know that some of the money from the stimulus package is going to districts to create jobs. Only these are fictional districts. It has been happening in many states and US territories as well. There are hundreds of millions of dollars going... somewhere. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/jobs-...ory?id=9097853 Do you really trust the government to take over health care?
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A lesbian trapped in a man's body |
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#1120
11-18-2009
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In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, George H.W. Bush congratulated his son on running a "clean operation." Bush apparently wasn't paying very close attention. Everyone remembers weapons of mass destruction, the US attorney firings. But historians will note that those are only the beginning of the Bush administration scandals...
The Bush administration will leave the annals of presidential disrepute several times thicker than it found them. There's Iraq, the hospital visit to John Ashcroft, the US attorney firings. But historians will note that those are only the beginning of the Bush administration scandals. Does the name Jeff Gannon ring a bell? Boxgate? What about the anti-prostitution AIDS tsar who purchased the services of-wait for it-the D.C. Madam? The Daily Beast has put together 20 of Bush's greatest forgotten scandals. Interior Department officials "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives." Sex and Shoplifting 1) In March 2006, Claude Allen, Bush's top domestic policy aide, was arrested when he tried to return items he had shoplifted from Target for cash refunds. Allen, who made $161,000 a year, blamed stress from Hurricane Katrina. 2) In 2005, bloggers pricked up their ears when a reporter named Jeff Gannon asked a softball question at a Bush press conference. Some sleuthing turned up nude photos of Gannon-real name: James Guckert-on male escort websites. 3) Randall Tobias, Bush's AIDS tsar, mandated that organizations must oppose prostitution in order to receive American aid. It later emerged that Tobias purchased services through the notorious D.C. Madam, though Tobias maintained he only bought "massages." 4) The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service would not seem to be the sexiest government agency. But a departmental investigation last year found that officials had "frequently consumed alcohol at industry functions, had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives." Where'd the Money Go? 5) When testifying before Congress in 2007, L. Paul Bremer, the former head of reconstruction in Iraq, was unable to account for as much as $12 billion-about half of his budget-as the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority between May 2003 and June 2004. According to a report by Rep. Henry Waxman, contractors brought bags to meetings in order to collect shrink-wrapped bundles of money. 6) In 2004, Pentagon auditors found that Halliburton had not adequately accounted for $1.8 billion of the bill it sent to the United States government for its work in Iraq and Kuwait. 7) Also that year, Bunnatine Greenhouse, the Army Corps of Engineers' chief contracting officer, charged that KBR, a Halliburton subsidiary, unfairly received billions of dollars worth of no-bid contracts in Iraq. Greenhouse was demoted in 2005. Disappearances 8) In 2002, Canadian citizen Maher Arar was detained at an airport in New York and spirited away to Syria, where he was tortured and held for 10 months by his captors before being returned home. Canadian officials investigated Arar's case, declared he was innocent, and paid him $9 million in compensation. American officials refused to admit the mistake and instead kept Arar on a terrorist watch list. 9) Army Captain James Yee, a Muslim chaplain in Guantanamo Bay, was hooded, shackled, and detained in solitary confinement for 76 days on charges of espionage. Within a year the case against Yee had collapsed and the Army tried to save face by charging him with hoarding pornography. All the President's Wordsmiths 10) In an email to friends, Danielle Crittenden, the wife of White House speechwriter David Frum, bragged that her husband had written Bush's famous "Axis of Evil" line. The e-mail leaked to Slate, causing a minor scandal. 11) Part of the self-created mythology of White House speechwriter Michael Gerson was that he composed his speeches in longhand. But as fellow scribe Matthew Scully later noted: "At the precise moment when the State of the Union address was being drafted at the White House by John [McConnell] and me, Mike was off pretending to craft the State of the Union in longhand for the benefit of a reporter." President Bush Ron Edmonds/AP No Administration Friend Left Behind 12) First there was Columnist Gate: In 2005, USA Today reported that conservative commentator Armstrong Williams received a $240,000 contract from the Department of Education to promote No Child Left Behind on his television show and to sell other African-American journalists on the legislation. Later, The Washington Post uncovered a similar deal with columnist Maggie Gallagher to promote a marriage initiative for the Department of Health. 13) A Defense Department report in 2006 urged the military to end its practice of paying Iraqi journalists to publish pro-American stories in their newspapers, arguing the tactic would "undermine the concept of a free press." 14) According to The New York Times, Karl Rove scored lobbyist Ralph Reed a lucrative contract with Enron in 1997 to gain his support in the 2000 presidential race. 15) David Safavian, the former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, was convicted of helping Jack Abramoff on a shady land deal as well as concealing a "lavish weeklong golf trip" paid for by Abramoff. 16) As head of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz was forced to resign in disgrace after he helped his "female companion," Shaha Riza, score a $60,000 pay raise and promotion-and then tried to cover it up. Down the Memory Hole 17) Bush fundraiser Lurita Doan's gig as chair of the General Services Administration went down in flames when she was accused of asking agency staff to help Republican candidates win elections. Doan denied any wrongdoing. When witnesses said she asked her staff at a meeting, "How can we use GSA to help our candidates in the next election?" Doan claimed she had no memory of the presentation. 18) Though Army microbiologist Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide in 2008, was suspected of being the anthrax mailer, that didn't keep Bush and Cheney from openly speculating that Al Qaeda was behind the attacks and even going so far as to pressure FBI officials to come up with a bin Laden connection, according to the New York Daily News. Mission Accomplished 19) In 2003, Bush went to a warehouse in St. Louis to give a speech titled "Strengthening America's Economy." But the boxes laid out before the presidential podium bore the label "Made in China." The labels were then obscured with white paper. The White House blamed an "overzealous advance volunteer." The Last Word 20) The administration ethos was nicely summarized during the investigation in the firing of US attorneys, in a testy exchange between former White House Political Director Sara Taylor and Sen. Patrick Leahy. Taylor: "I took an oath to the president...And I believe that taking that oath means that I need to respect, and do respect, my service to the president." Leahy: "No, the oath says that you take an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States. That is your paramount duty. I know that the president refers to the government being his government-it's not." Hi Tracy, just a little reminder of the wonderful Republican administration we just survived. Don't you think Republicans should clean up their own house before complaining about others? 
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1121
11-18-2009
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__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1122
11-18-2009
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Torn Between Left And Right-----
On the left or liberal side I only have one need SEX. On the right or conservative side I have the rest of my life, dollars and the idea that I earned it so it's mine--keep your damn hands off it. I don't want to share-equalize with any lazy S.O.B. If it wasn't for TS Ladies--I would be the biggest tight as conservative going.
Love this: (These are the only American businesses still operating in the US .) It would be best if you went to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute (TS Lady Preferred) that you met at a yard sale and drink American beer with all day. Want me to stop talking ????? Feed me a nice TS cock  
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#1123
11-18-2009
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__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1124
11-18-2009
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Zardoz is right, it's always going to be Republicans for a while, then Democrats for a while. If Obama can pull it off, we can put extended Medicare on the list of things our taxes pay for, like Schools and Social Security. That would be a huge boon for the American Citizen. No matter who's in the White House, or who controls the House and Senate.
Insurance Companies don't want to cover sick people, they want to cover healthy people. That's a direct conflict to what they're needed for. Drug companies don't want a cure for Diabetes, they want a patent for Viagra. As for taxes, you don't even KNOW how much money you spend on taxes! You buy gasoline, you pay taxes, you buy booze and cigarettes, you pay taxes, Cable TV, Cell phone, Property tax, sales tax, you buy a Coca-Cola, Coke doesn't pay a dime in taxes, the people who buy Cokes do. When someone steals something from Safeway, the average consumer makes up the loss. The Middle Class pays for EVERYTHING!! And we can't afford Universal Healthcare? BULLSHIT! |
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#1125
11-18-2009
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5p-qIq32m8 I didn't read most of that because I never said Bush was the solid example of small government. For some reason there's the automatic assumption that I'm a Bush fan. I will defend him against lies from the left, and I can see why he did a lot of what he did, but I wouldn't say I'm a fan. There's a lot I didn't like about him as well. Actually there's debate within the republican party between moving towards the center (i.e. the left) or staying with tried & true conservatism. For the republicans, I say it's Small Government stupid. Bottom line, making up districts to funnel money to who knows where is pretty crooked.
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A lesbian trapped in a man's body |
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#1126
11-18-2009
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Tracy -- Small government?
I wonder if corruption and excess government regulation is correlated with government size. The more government you have, the worse it gets. This seems to be true at all levels. I know from personal experience it is true at the county level.
__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1127
11-20-2009
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__________________
A lesbian trapped in a man's body |
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#1128
11-21-2009
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A Brief Ideological History Of American Politics Pt. 1
Democrats are liberals and progressives who believe in the expansion of government and more federal control. Republicans are the conservatives who stick up for individual rights, state rights, and smaller government... right?
WRONG! While there has been truth to both of these statements at one time or another in our modern era... it just isn't that simple. Both sides have expanded freedom, and more often than not, reined it in. So I thought I'd try to provide everyone with a short ideological history of the modern era to show who the real heroes and villains really are. It is best to start with Republican Herbert Hoover who took the presidency in 1929. While the government had been growing slightly for some years, it was the Hoover administration that started things down the wrong path. In an effort to deal the the Great Depression Hoover began to listen to Keynesian economists... he started make-work programs, raised taxes, and signed the disastrously protectionist Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act that caused far more economic distress that it could ever have solved. A lot of conservatives like to blame FDR for our problems, but the really bad shit started under Hoover... FDR just took things much, much further. FDR was a Democrat and an egotistical monster who wanted to be king. Yes, that is harsh, but I'm going to stick by my statement. He did more than anyone in American history to shit all over our Constitution. In a practical sense, we lost our balance of power and very nearly our democracy under FDR. We only gained it back because Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy were better men. FDR ruled by executive order, declaring things law, and sending them to congress to pass the next day, often without finished text. When the Supreme Court struck down a number of his "New Deal" policies... he threatened to simply nominate a few new justices... the court backed down. FDR also broke President Washington's precedent of only running for two terms, which is essential for balance between the executive and the courts. FDR won four terms... this allowed him to pack the court with a bunch of his ideological cronies who were willing to sign on to any of his schemes. I'm not done with FDR. His most offensive violation of our Constitution and of human rights was Executive Order 9066 in which he imprisoned over 100,000 Japanese nationals and American Citizens based purely on their race. They lost their homes and their businesses because of this tyrant's rule by fiat. Short of slavery, this was the most flagrant violation of the the wording of our Constitution ever committed. Fuck you FDR... fuck you! Yup... still not done with FDR. He raised top marginal tax rates as high as 90%, and he ran the farm sector like a command economy with price controls and output quotas. Surprise... farm output went down disasterously. The government started paying large farming operations to destroy crops and livestock during a time of food shortages. FDR redistributed taxes to swing states and political cronies, and sold so much government debt he crowded out all sorts of private investment... making a proper recovery from the Great Depression that much more difficult. Nobody in private industry could work around federal encroachment in most sectors of the economy, and as a result only large businesses with political ties succeeded while others failed. FDR claimed to be for "the little guy", but government control of the economy left thousands without their farms and businesses. I could go on, but I think I've made my point. FDR was more than a well meaning progressive pushing failed ideas, he was downright sinister. Harry Truman took office on April, 12 1945 following the death of FDR. Humorously, FDR had left the nation and Truman with one more example of his egomania... Truman hadn't yet been briefed on many issues pertaining to the the war, and had zero knowledge of The Manhattan Project. Keeping Truman out of the loop was a dangerous decision, thankfully Truman didn't drop the ball, and pulled the fucking trigger when given the opportunity to nuke the Japanese... twice! While Truman was a much more likable and humble man than FDR, he did share many of FDR's political ideas. Thankfully, Truman was not a popular president after the war, and the Republicans were able to do away with many of FDR's price controls, labor laws, and they passed tax cuts over Truman's veto. Truman's "Fair Deal", and his ideas of providing national health insurance never went anywhere. In the end I'm no fan of Harry Truman, but it's hard to argue that his Presidency set us back in any way. I might also add that Truman fought hard for civil rights, and it was Truman who desegregated the US Military. Good work Harry! The Eisenhower administration was not filled with strict constitutionalists, but Ike was a huge improvement of the tyrant FDR. The Eisenhower administration kept income tax rates high, but they did undo many of the most offensive of FDR's policies. Ike also oversaw the passing of the 22nd Amendment, making George Washington's two term precident law. Eisenhower was also on the right side of the civil rights movement, and enthusiastically enforced the Brown v. Board of Education decision. By 1953, America was in a much better place. Things start to get really confusing with John F. Kennedy. Kennedy really wasn't very liberal... at least not in the FDR mold. In Fact, Kennedy passed one of the the biggest tax cuts in American history. Top marginal rates fell from about 90% to around 60%. This was certainly a win for those who believe in freedom. Kennedy was also a hawk, though he entered office a bit naive, made some early mistakes, and began our Vietnam entanglement. Kennedy did abuse the FBI and the CIA with illegal wiretaps on political enemies and civil rights leaders... but the real tragedy of the Kennedy administration is his untimely death, which gave his Vice President Lyndon Johnson all the political capital he needed to tear up what was left of The Constitution.
__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1129
11-21-2009
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A Brief Ideological History Of American Politics Pt.2
Lyndon Johnson was a miserable asshole racist intent on growing his political base by making more Americans dependent on the government. It was under Johnson that black Americans gained the remainder of their civil rights... and while this was clearly a positive development... black America was then saddled with LBJ's "Great Society". Federal welfare programs would go on to completely destroy black culture and the black family in America. Just as blacks were poised to enter American life on equal footing... they were crassly struck down by LBJ's political maneuvering to secure long-term majorities. I know, some of you will say that black Americans still had opportunities... and they did... but I'd like you to show me any culture that wouldn't be destroyed by getting everything for free. The catastrophic cultural failure of black America can be placed on the head of LBJ as far as I'm concerned.
LBJ's administration tried to deal with economic problems with a loads of unconstitutional federal price controls. He also escalated Vietnam and made that "war" the disaster we now see it as by micro-management and running the war from behind a desk. But as LBJ won his second term in a landslide, his opponent Barry Goldwater helped to change the entire political landscape for decades. Barry Goldwater lost when he ran against LBJ, but Goldwater was a true believer in freedom and The Constitution. Even with Goldwater's example set, we would still have to suffer through two terrible Republican Presidents before seeing any real change. The Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations bleed together for me. They abused their power, and continued failed "Keynesian" economic policies. Price controls were used to "solve" food and gas price inflation, monetary inflation ran rampant destroying savings accounts, high interest rates made home ownership more difficult... and Americans were overall becoming less and less free. At best, our basic freedoms lay stagnant for most of the 60's and 70's... as did our economy. Ronald Reagan was a Goldwater conservative. He entered office determined to lessen the power of the federal government, solve our economic problems, and stand up to the Soviet Union. On most accounts... he delivered. Top marginal tax rates fell from 75% down to 50%, then down to 28%, while government revenue went up. New monetary policy from the fed managed to control inflation, enabling middle class citizens to save their money again. Interest rates came down. Entire industries were deregulated (some of which began under Carter), and the economy responded in a big way. Reagan may not have cut the size of the federal government, but he did succeed in minimizing its encroachment into our daily lives. Ronald Reagan wasn't perfect, but his administration was a huge plus for those of us who believe in freedom and the Constitution. The best thing about the Reagan era, was that it continued for two more administrations. George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton both raised taxes before they left office. But Clinton's top marginal rate was never higher than 40%... and Clinton cut capital gains taxes as he raised income taxes. This was clearly a better situation than we had under Nixon, Ford, and Carter. Clinton also signed the massive federal welfare reform that has raised the living standards of many who were previously on federal aid, and who are now productive workers. I have my complaints about Clinton personally, but in hindsight, his administration was a huge improvement over the Democratic, and most of the Republican Presidents that came before him. The Reagan era lived on! George W. Bush ran as a conservative against Al Gore, but Bush was no conservative. Bush expanded government entitlements with Medicare Part-D, ran up massive debt with pork-laden budgets, pandered to religious groups to consolidate power, and build a new and completely unnecessary cabinet level bureaucracy called The Department of Homeland Security. Now our airports are filled with fat depressed federal employees, just sucking up our hard earned tax dollars. Fuck you W! All of this is bad, but the single worst thing about the Bush administration wasn't Bush's big government liberal policies... it was the fact that his failure was branded as conservatism in the media and the public's eye. The name of conservatism was tarnished... which leads us to Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama is a power hungry statist who has been able to lead America to the left by falsely calling Bush's policies the failed ideas of the right. Right now the Obama administration is making Bush's already massive debt look like child's-play, and they are passing out federal dollars to all sorts of political interest groups in very much the same way as FDR. The government now owns Chrysler and GM, and is dictating where they build their cars, where their front offices must be located, and what types of cars they make. Money from government managed bankruptcies (a bankruptcy through the courts would have been just fine) was illegally given to bankrupt union pension programs, while preferred lenders stood around contemplating the meaning of "the rule of law". We may soon be saddled with federally managed health care, and a debt that will be impossible to pay off without massive tax increases and inflation. We are looking at an almost certain return to the stagflation of the 1970's. It seems Obama has learned nothing from the mistakes of the past. If the Democrats are smacked down in the mid-term elections we may be able to avoid disaster... but don't bet on it. Thanks a bunch George W. Bush! There you have it... a modern ideological history of both parties. Some good, some bad, some presidents who fit our conventional wisdom, and some that break it... The article can be found here: http://arthurshall.com/x_2009_presidents.shtml
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*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1131
11-25-2009
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F--k wars
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1132
11-25-2009
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Jerseygirl Jen
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#1133
11-25-2009
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Barrack is doing a good job in a tough sitation. He cant fix everything right away
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#1134
11-25-2009
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__________________
*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1135
11-25-2009
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Jerserygirl Jen
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#1136
11-25-2009
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You forgot to mention the $10 trillion debt that Lord Zero ran up.
If they do enact a tax, everyone will get hit by it, not just the "rich". Any tax will hurt the "working man" regardless of why it was formed and who it was originally aimed at. The problem with a tax like that would be the standards of such legislation. If you allow them to tax someone who makes a certain amount of money, it will be a matter of time before they start taxing you because you are making a couple more bucks than your neighbor. If you give them an inch, they'll take a mile.
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*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1137
11-26-2009
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Since you don't want to pay tax to dry up the red ink then stop crying about the debit since it appears since you don't want to help pay it down then you must not be as worried about it, The upper tax brackets made out like bandits for 8 yrs so they can afford to start paying the tab that was rung up for all there perks, I say start hitting making them pony up and pay there fair share Jerseygirl Jen
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#1138
11-26-2009
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The amount that W spent on the war since it first kicked off to when he left was roughly 900 billion.
Zero just spent 10x that on handouts for his cronies, "stimulus spending" that was supposed to "jumpstart the economy" and pay increases for the politicians(professional bullshitters) who voted on the stimulus bill. Quote:
The Gov. has been notorious for their wasteful spending such as $100,000 on an oak desk, $750 on a toilet seat, and $50 for a flathead screwdriver and you expect them to be fiscally responsible with money that they take from you? Quote:
You are advocating for the same type of bureaucracy that got us into this financial mess in the first place. The less Gov. meddling there is, the quicker things can get fixed.
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*More posts than Bionca* [QUOTE=God(from Futurama)]Right and wrong are just words; what matters is what you do... If you do too much, people get dependent on you. And if you do nothing, they lose hope... When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all. |
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#1139
11-28-2009
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By Paul krugmen
November 27, 2009, 10:03 am Deficits: the causes matter "Jim Hamilton has a post challenging my optimistic view about current deficits. I won't go through it in detail, except to notice that Jim seems to be slightly rewriting history about his earlier analysis, which I critiqued back in August. What was then a seeming demonstration of the impossibility of servicing the debt - but in fact demonstrated no such thing - has now become just an effort to "personalize" the issue. OK, I guess. But rather than get into a he-said-he-said, let me try to focus on what I think is the key point: the source of the current deficit matters when you try to figure out what kind of problem we have. Broadly speaking, there are two ways you can get into severe deficits: fundamental irresponsibility, or temporary emergencies. There's a world of difference between the two. Consider first the classic temporary emergency - a big war. It's normal and natural to respond to such an emergency by issuing a lot of debt, then gradually reducing that debt after the emergency is over. And the operative word is "gradually": it would have been incredibly difficult for the United States to pay off its World War II debt in ten years, which Jim apparently thinks is the right way to view debts incurred more recently; but it was no big deal to stabilize the nominal debt, which is roughly what happened, and as a result gradually reduce debt as a percentage of GDP. Consider, on the other hand, a government that is running big deficits even though there isn't an emergency. That's much more worrisome, because you have to wonder what will change to stop the soaring debt. In such a situation, markets are much more likely to conclude that any given debt is so large that it creates a serious risk of default. Now, back in 2003 I got very alarmed about the US deficit - wrongly, it turned out - not so much because of its size as because of its origin. We had an administration that was behaving in a deeply irresponsible way. Not only was it cutting taxes in the face of a war, which had never happened before, plus starting up a huge unfunded drug benefit, but it was also clearly following a starve-the-beast budget strategy: tax cuts to reduce the revenue base and force later spending cuts to be determined. In effect, it was a strategy designed to produce a fiscal crisis, so as to provide a reason to dismantle the welfare state. And so I thought the crisis would come. In fact, it never did. Bond markets figured that America was still America, and that responsibility would eventually return; it's still not clear whether they were right, but the housing boom also led to a revenue boom, whittling down those Bush deficits. Compare and contrast the current situation. Most though not all of our current budget deficit can be viewed as the result of a temporary emergency. Revenue has plunged in the face of the crisis, while there has been an increase in spending largely due to stimulus and bailouts. None of this can be seen as a case of irresponsible policy, nor as a permanent change in policy. It's more like the financial equivalent of a war - which is why the WWII example is relevant. So the debt question is what happens when things return to normal: will we be at a level of indebtedness that can't be handled once the crisis is past? And the answer is that it depends on the politics. If we have a reasonably responsible government a decade from now, and the bond market believes that we have such a government, the debt burden will be well within the range that can be managed with only modest sacrifice. OK, that's a big if. But it's not a matter of dollars and cents; it's about whether America is still America." This is a very very big IF considering the behavior of our political parties.
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1140
11-28-2009
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Crasher
Biden with party crasher blonde babe. Hilarious! What ever happened to security! Heads will roll over this.
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1142
11-29-2009
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You know, what "benefit" does Washington provide to us, as citizens, anyway?   
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1143
11-29-2009
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#1144
11-29-2009
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__________________
"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1146
11-29-2009
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As a professor in S. Calif is doing, many of us may be doing dumpster diving soon if Obama's/Congress.s/ Bernake's programs fail. Who will be blamed? Bush's irresponsible administration or Obama's administration. Obama inherited this mess from the people who are criticizing him. His opposition is doing everything they can to lay the blame on him, endless lies, distortions and just plain bullshit. Its disgusting.
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1147
11-30-2009
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You obviously have little to no understanding as to the political legality within the United States. Barack Obama's political agenda is in direct defiance of the US Constitution; as such, he is breaking the law. The issue is not now, nor has it ever been, whether you agree with his principles, but rather are such principles allowed to manifest themselves into action within said country...they are not.
*Several of Obama's ideas can be inacted quite legally on the state level, but as aforementioned, they are illegal on a federal premise. *In any case, i do not even know why i am here, i just came to find pictures of hot girls with dicks |
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#1149
12-01-2009
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Lol
" With all of the comparisons to Hitler and the Nazis, young people are beginning to think that the allied powers defeated Nazi Germany because Germany had too much health care."
- Jim Hansen Proposed extensions of Godwin's Law
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"Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible; but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary." R.N. |
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#1150
12-01-2009
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Obama Blabs On --telepromptered Of Course
Well at this minute Obama is doing his speech before his friends and allies listening intentlyand the poor cadets from West Point who must sit there and listen to this idiot. The independant thinking people have barf bags in hand. Hopefully there will be enough country to take back in three years.
Think I'm going to be sick---see ya |
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Jerseygirl Jen
Linear Mode
