Everything posted by quartermainefan
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The Politics Thread
for all the talk about what a great speaker Obama is, the NY Times had an Op-Ed exposing his oratorical shortcomings. and all we have is this milquetoast who wants consensus and compromise. Impotent is a great word for Obama. And this op-ed is in the left wing NY Times. oh here is the FDR speech in question. It is like he is talking about the Murdochs and Cheneys of today <iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/D9yoZHs6PsU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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The Politics Thread
This meme that NBC is somehow this ultra left network is a joke. This is the network that has David Gregory hosting their marquee talk show. The same David Gregory that never met a republican talking point he couldn't parrot and who only asks follow up questions of democrats. The same NBC that had Chris Matthews having an orgasm watching George Bush fly in in his little pilot costume in front of a Mission Accomplished sign, and the same network that invites right wing hacks night after night on their network to lie and bullshit their way through phony interviews.
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The Politics Thread
McGovern was before my time. I honestly don't know much about him. The whole speed limit thing is annoying, but the government has used the commerce clause to do some good here and there. I think that is how we got seatbelt laws.
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The Politics Thread
I think Max you can figure out why they picked Obama over Hillary. There are a lot of facts of life that are better off unsaid but are true anyway, and a less than one term senator with no legislative record of note to his name doesn't get elected President unless there are extenuating circumstances. I thought the party abandoned Hillary and she and Bill should have said "call us when you suffer buyer's remorse if we're still interested we'll get back to you" but that wasn't a realistic option for them.
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The Politics Thread
all your post does is illustrate just how insanely right wing modern republicans are. You are right, Clinton's economics were right of center but to listen to the goddess of all things republican today, Michelle Bachmann, the Clinton tax rate is something Brezhnev concocted. And "mainstream" John Boehner grovels at the tea party throne and goes along with their insane worldview. Recently someone likened them to the taliban, with an equal zeal for purity. They want religious, the tea party wants religious and economic purity. And with their propaganda machine in full swing, they have managed to convince themselves that Obama's call for the return of the Clinton tax rate is to the left of a McGovern-Nadar love child.
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The Politics Thread
The people who could answer that rhetorical questions are each and every republican who voted for the Bush Tax Cuts ten years ago, insisted they be extended two years ago, and demanded there be no tax increases two weeks ago. For all the BS (and that is truly what it is) about how republicans are the party of fiscal responsibility and the democrats are the party of big government, let no one forget that the Great Satan himself, Bill Clinton, balanced budgets and was the most financially responsible President of them all. Then Alfred E Newman ran in 2000 and said "the government is not in the business of making a profit" and all the sheep voted for what can only be described as someone totally unqualified for office. He and his sheep followers in congress promptly decimated the budget all in the name of the religion of tax cuts. Predictably, every republican who didn't care about budget deficits (and who magically won't care about them once again when a republican is in office) suddenly sees deficit spending as kryptonite. Obama sucks, but if anyone can name a single republican presidential candidate who doesn't kneel at the shrine of Reaganomics and tax cuts, lets hear their name. Of course the answer republicans always give (and have been giving since 1936) is social security must be decimated. They sugarcoat it with different slogans, but that is what it comes down to. No one will ever cut a dime from the military, that somehow is unamerican. It doesn't matter the soviet union died 20 years ago and warships and nukes are not efficient in the fight against islamic terrorism, republicans demand the military budget still be some untouchable portion of the government in case the mythical "they" one day come calling. Ask Gorbachev how the military budget worked out for the Soviets.
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The Politics Thread
wow what a shock. Who would have ever imagined Obama would cut a deal where democrats get absolutely nothing and republicans get everything they ask for? Obama caving in is the biggest shock since Claude Rains learned there was gambling going in Casablanca.
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The Politics Thread
The tax foundation site (which seems to have info on everything!) has a huge state by state file http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/22685.html http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html and in your link Ezra Klein himself adds
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The Politics Thread
But that's not true at all. The 1990s were a boom time, and look what America did next: decided "why should I pay for them?" and cut taxes. Then the wars came and there was no draft and Bush bribed everyone with some dumb $600 check to go shopping, and people still didn't want to pitch in and wanted taxes even lower. Then the country went broke and instead of saying "we have to take care of everyone" conservatives want to cut the social safety net even as they refuse to raise taxes. So when it comes to modern conservative theory, where is this sacrificing for the greater good? The joke of it all is that while conservatives bemoan welfare and government subsidies, a run down of the states that get more federal dollars than they send to Washington, is state after state the reddest of red states. The very people who hate liberals and NY and the north and see me and my state and city as socialist anti-american atheist abominations, are the very people who come around every year with their palm facing up demanding a hand out. For all the republican talk about everyone has to be self reliant, how is it that it is the republican dominated states that are charity cases, and it's broke NY and CA that send more money to Washington every year than it gets back? And then these same states that take all the liberal tax dollars turn right around and say we are not real americans and and are socialists. Well we have to be socialists, because if we didn't use the government as a way to funnel money to Podunk, Green Acres and every other hick town in some backwoods state that doesn't believe in education, they'd starve. I have no problem with government loans to auto companies. What was the cost of the loan, $14 billion? And lets think about all the jobs and cars that money went and saved. Now think how long $14 billion lasts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a week? Maybe two? So it is priorities. Do you consider the auto industry less or more important than two weeks in Kabul? And then if you think they are both important, well, take that 14 billion and drop it in the bucket that is the money that would have been saved if the Bush tax cuts expired. I think with the auto industry Obama did good. They're still there making cars, and if we can spend a trillion to save wall street we can spend a few billion to save all those union jobs in Detroit.
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What Are You Listening To?
If you like Bette Midler, take a listen to this. It is from when The First Wives Club opened and was a big hit, and she had recently had a big success on TV in Gypsy <iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/f5BGpvtha3g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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The Politics Thread
And this is supposedly a great political leader. It's frightening. The economy is in trouble, so lets pray. Well, there is a great policy sure to balance all budgets. I only wish I can vote twice for this guy because his economic policies and cures are things Wharton and MIT never thought of. I'm jewish but I too will lift up my cry to Jesus! I want to make a sound that will be made in heaven. I wasn't planning on fasting but I could stand to drop a few pounds. And this is who they think should run for president. It's mind boggling.
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The Politics Thread
According to a site called thetaxfoundation http://www.taxfoundation.org/publications/show/151.html in 1916 a married couple earning $250,000 paid a tax rate of 10% in 1917 when WWI hit, the same couple, if I read this chart correctly, paid 46% to help finance the war by 1925 things settled and they paid 25% when the depression hit and FDR was elected, they paid 58% by the time of WWII they paid 88% So there is a logic. Times and huge events come up, expenses get incurred, the government raises taxes to finance the needs of the day. So what happened in recent years? Modern conservative thought has adopted this new theory that when times are good you cut taxes (Bush tax cuts) and when times are bad you cut taxes (today). How does that economic theory make any sense? Someone had to pay for all the bombs and soldiers, but nobody wanted to raise taxes to pay for this adventurous US policy. Now Obama is president and the very same people who just two years ago were all for financing wars on Visa and Amex suddenly want balanced budget amendments. They don't need an amendment for that, they just need Bill Clinton to tell them what to do. The tax rates today are historically on the low end of the spectrum of the last 100 years. Not coincidentally, more and more money is being consolidated by an ever narrowing top tier of society. These people don't even want to cut loopholes for the wealthy. I never heard of a politician saying "I am pro loophole. I am pro legalized tax evasion if you have a good accountant" but there you have the republican position as it stands currently. And then to turn right around and want to cut social security and medicare? When each bomb costs tens of millions of dollars? If that is not class warfare, then I don't know what is.
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HBO: Game of Thrones
That panel was interesting in that Jason Mamoa is the only one who has any charisma or sense of celebrity or an ability to be entertaining. Without him it would have been more like a funeral, and I think that is why they kept coming back to him. I am shocked he wears eye shadow even in his normal life, but I guess when you are 6'4 and 300 lbs of muscle you can wear whatever the hell you want.
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HBO: Game of Thrones
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lpL6F2hKgV8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PsZ-acZYqco" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)
One scene I remember which I loved when I saw it on aol was Nola was drunk at Elliot's bar I think, and was just giving this lament about how it sucks to get old and become a has been no man wants. And again, today you see Erica portrayed 20 years younger than she is, characters like Alexis on GH are ten years younger than the actress playing her, and characters like Kate Roberts on DOOL never get old, they just get ever more fascinating to the men in their world. Nola got old, and she knew it.
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Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)
I loved the Nola story. How refreshing that your leading lady and biggest name is not insisting on a glamorous role reeking of empowerment and status? Try finding someone like that today on soaps.
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HBO: Game of Thrones
Game Of Lego more http://www.flickr.com/photos/dufresne07/
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HBO: Game of Thrones
Joffrey is the best. I don't know where they found this kid or how old he is, but he is the best villain on TV no exception. I do hope we see more of his grandfather next year because he looks like a real piece of work himself.
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The Politics Thread
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The Politics Thread
That's a sure fire way of handing the white house to the fundie freepers known as republicans. Anyone who believes Adam and Eve should be taught in school as science is not qualified to be President, but perhaps they could be an imam somewhere in a fundamental country they would feel right at home in.
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The Politics Thread
Hasn't that been the defining characteristic of his entire presidency? He is a joke in this regard. He was going to raise taxes back to the Clinton levels--not even raise them, just let the Bush cuts expire--and he caved in and then said with a straight face "ok, but NEXT TIME I am going to let those cuts expire!" His medical bill is an incomprehensible joke, he reneged on his pledge to end Guantanamo, he doubled down in Afghanistan, and here he comes again and sure enough if the republicans hold firm he will cave again. Like Nancy Pelosi or hate her, she was tough. David Brooks, a conservative, wrote today in the Times, this month, David Stockman, architect of Reaganomics, what all Republicans pledge allegiance to said this If Mr Reaganomics says you have to raise taxes and cut the military alongside cut to entitlements, what the hell are these new Republicans waiting for?
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The Politics Thread
And she speaks for the hivemind and tops polls. But no, they're not evil I'm told.
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The Politics Thread
No he is not. He never should have been the democratic nominee. That said, the idea of a republican president coming in who believes that man sprung up out of the ground and woman popped out of his rib is frightening. The country is in decline and everything all goes back to the quality of education. If you want to teach kids to believe fairy tales, then where will the scientists come from? If you want to ratchet up the contempt of education with nonsense like "don't trust him, he speaks french!" and "these college northeast elites are not real americans" then what you wind up with is a bunch of buffoons and ministers running for office all racing to shout from the highest hills they don't believe in global warming or evolution, and say the word "science" with a sneer.