Obama campaign talk becomes budget reality

Better to be near the top here than the last post on “Republican give themselves a tongue-lashing”

Jay, you are the man. You know and understand so clearly what is wrong with the Republican Party. You have such a clear plan for how to save Republicans from themselves.

Clearly there is no option for you. You must step up before it is to late. You must convert to Republicanism and lead the Party out of this mine-field. Please do not abandon us. Please, now before it is to late.

Thank you in advance for your help.
Your reverent follower, JDB

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Mrs. G., you’ll have to wait until they come out from under their beds.

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(Can we get a list of words and phrases that cause comments to get rejected, apparently my nickname is one of them?)

~~~~~~

Ushering us to oblivion is what I like to call it-

America is dying but it laughs, as was once said of the Roman Empire. A grinning Obama greets unemployed Americans as they whisk past the memorabilia section of grocery stores in search of Spam to eat on their inaugural commemorative plates.-AmSpec

I got a question, why do liberals have to disguise their true intentions behind a cloak of “Conservatism,” even as they say Conservatism is “dead?”

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19 state lawmakers failed to pay taxes, report says, Wilkinson said House and Senate leaders are now discussing what should happen to the 16 House members and three senators in wake of the disclosure.-Wall Mounted Restroom Fixture

I know what we can do with them, appoint them to Oblahma’s kabinet.

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$787,000,000,000.00 Porkulous bill–Obama

$350,000,000,000.00 TARP–passed by Bush, held for Obama to decide whether to spend

$275,000,000,000.00–Housing relief–Obama

Add to that the $401,000,000,000.00 that Congress is just now sending to Obama that they’ll claim was last year’s budget bill. Can you really blame that one on Bush when Obama signs it and Bush has no say in that spending going under his name?

Is it really fair to say Obama “inherited” the bulk of a 1.75 trillion dollar deficit? Hardly

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“the government working to narrow the growing gap between rich and poor.”

1. That gap is closing all by itself, thanks to the recession

2. The same questions lefties can’t seem to find an answer to:

HOW
DO
WE
PAY
FOR
THIS?

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I eagerly await the sad and woeful tales of those struggling to get by on 1.25 million per year, who are looking at being socked with a confiscatory 8% hike in that one million 100K that’s now in the top marginal rate.

However will they cope with a tax rate that will be–gasp–what it was during Clinton’s terms in office?

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Mornin’ RW. would it be unfair to ask if you are among those in the running for Jim Wooten’s columnist slot? Reason I ask is, I noticed in today’s dead-tree that they’ve got (I think) Candidates F-J’s writing samples printed for review – now I want to go back and read the earlier ones and weigh in.

If you’d rather not say that’s fine, just wondering.

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Speaking of screen names, I’d been thinking about adopting some over-the-top rightie handle just for a bit of double-irony. Something like “Hairy Reed’s Disney Train” or suchlike.

(But that would be wrong.)

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“You could confiscate every dollar earned by every person in this country making a quarter mill and you still couldn’t pay for this.”

I guess that kind of answer is why I find it hard to take modern-era conservatives seriously. It’s like they refuse to acknowledge that such a thing as “marginal tax rates” exist–in your reply, for example, you’re implicitly saying that Obama is reaching back and applying his rather modest tax hike to the income BELOW 250K.

I don’t know if you meant to do that, but such sleights-of-hand seem to just pour out without effort.

and honestly? I haven’t looked at any recent SWAG analysis from anyone as to just what would be required in the way of tax rates to, honestly, bring us within shouting distance of balanced. Gots ye a linkee that’s not going to require brain bleach, i’m all eyes. (well for a few minutes anyway)

Oh, one other thing, I hope you’ll pardon the somewhat personal intrusion, but when you say “off to the forest” is that a colorful way of describing the (field?) work that you do, or are you literally capable of hitting the trails most days? It’d be cool if the latter were true but sadly I assume it’s probably the former…

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And Jay? Hope & Change is no sheriff; he’s more like a benevolent dictator with the Congress he has now.

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DB,

Off to the forest has many meanings, but it usually involves being out amongst the trees.

I don’t maintain a blog at all and never did with the thought of any ad/traffic generation. It’s, as I guess you figured out, a pain in the rear after a while.

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Obama, along with the rest of the republic, inherited a cesspool of filth and corruption. Left primarily by a Republican White House along with the nearly as equally culpable aiders and abetters in a Democratically controlled US Congress.

The man inherited the reins of government from a morally bankrupt administration more distrusted and discredited than even Nixon/Agnew. And one, more amazingly incompetent than even Carter/Mondale.

And a gridlocked legislative body so feckless and self-serving as to be laughable, were all of this not so damned serious and painful.

And those in the twin partisan “bases” never did, and never will, stop shucking and grinning for their “side” or even acknowledge what dupes they were/are.

Bring on the competitive democracy.

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Pres Obama has a point. He did inherit a deficit. One produced by his predecessor with lots and lots of acquiescence from Democrats.

RW-(the original) has a point. Obama expanded the deficit far past the amount he inherited, even discounting the bailout or the honesty in accounting changes with war costs.

We may have a new sheriff, but the badge is the same. Pentagon costs up four percent. Remember the federal spending as a percentage of GDP discussion from the other day? Four percent of a low number, say, 100 million, is a lot less in absolute terms than 4 percent of 500 Billion. Lots of talk about halting production of big-ticket weapons systems, such as the F-22 fighter. I believe the Bush Administration had already pretty much stopped it, then industry and local politicians started a campaign to spend a few billion more. If Obama ratifies the Bush decision, Republicans will give Obama the blame and Republicans will give Obama the ‘credit.’

But in other defense areas, from preserving American presence in such crisis-ridden troublespots as, say, the vacation discrict of Germany or the continuing presence in Kosovo (I keep waiting for that Christmas to come – the one by which we were supposed to have left. Thanks, Clinton and Bush. And now Obama).

In this area, at least, we now have Bush the Third.

The President has a point – if we were to wait for fiscal solvency to address certain issues, they’d never get addressed. I have to think, though, if Bush had proposed the Medicare cuts Obama did the headlines would be full of Democratic denounciations.

One thing I’ve been thinking about with this ‘redistribution’ thing. If much of the wealth accumulation of the upper tier has been accomplished through taking advantage of more-favorable tax rate schemes than ordinary income tax rates, why shouldn’t the gov’t redress this to put all earnings on a more equal taxation level? Obama has already done this by cutting out some of the nonsense, like taxing hedge fund managers’ gazillions at income tax rates, not capital gains rates.

But, if you have a wealthy person who got that way by pretty much spending a few decades by earning and saving and not using trusts and those all-too ill-defined ’shelters’ of the rich, just paying regular income taxes each year..

why should that person get hammered, again?

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HOW
DO
WE
PAY
FOR
THIS?

I wish you wingnuts would have been asking this during the Reagan, Bush and Bush administrations. You guys didn’t seem to be to fiscally conservative while they were sinking billions into advanced weapons that never worked, giveaways to the agribusiness corporations, wars that were going to pay for themselves and welfare for the military industrialist complex. But now when we want to help people who need food, shelter and a safety net you get all high and mighty? Please

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I think ya’ll got the intent, but just to make certain, I should’ve typed ” If Obama ratifies the Bush decision (to halt F-22 production), Republicans will give Obama the blame and DEMOCRATS will give Obama the ‘credit.’

And, regarding forces pullback for Kosovo and other places, I keep waiting for it to happen. Dangling paragraph, there. Sorry Jay. You gave us that spiffy ability to proof our comments before hitting ’submit.’ Okay, okay, I’ll use it.

Hey, reading my stuff before publishing it. What a concept! Maybe Congress could do it too, ya’ think?

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G, the Founders were pretty clear that ‘murica was for rich white men.

The RightWingnutterbutters think the Founders were gods, but they put their pants on one leg at a time, or had their slaves do it.

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RW, thanks for linkee. It’s the WSJ so the brain bleach will only need be applied at half-strength…

I’ve gotten a bit into it, will have to read more later, as, alas, my own forest awaits. Later, all.

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RW-(the original)

Your are correct. All I meant was the ability to scroll thru what I’d just typed before hitting ‘Submit Comment.’

Try your daughter’s Starbucks. That stuff has about three times the caffeine!

I see Pres Obama has picked up the phrase “create or save three million jobs.” Or save. Talk about wiggle room. Wow. I’d love to see how they calculate THAT.

AmVet 8:22

That sounds like a pretty attractive proposal. Where’d you get it? Heritage Foundation? MoveOn? I gotta know who wrote it before I can decide if I like it or not!

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The middle class is the backbone of economic success of America. If the middle class has no income growth, then they will not have merely no spending growth, but lose spending power as prices rise.

The easy credit phenomenom was just a short sighted means to increase spending power of the middle class without having their income grow.

The rich class doesn’t seem to understand their wealth cannot increase(and they always want more) if middle class income does not ultimately increase. As the saying goes, you can’t get blood from a stone.

After 8 years of Bush making a huge shift of the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle class and keeping the income growth of the middle class minimal, things have finally come to a head. The wealthy got so greedy they wanted to pay less and charge more.

It’s time for the wealthy to abate their greed for the good of all Americans and to give back to the country that enabled them to become wealthy.

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* The Dow at a 10-year low.
* A tax cheat running the IRS
* Another tax cheat as the Chief of Staff
* A trillion-dollar plus federal deficit
* Over one-half of voters relieved of any federal tax liability
* Government mandated limits on executive compensation
* Three failed attempts and still no Commerce Secretary
* Tom Daschle rides his free limo into the sunset – after paying taxes he evaded.
* The White House performance czar turns out to be a tax cheat also
* Lobbyists hired to work for the Obama Administration
* The census gets politicized
* Double government spending in one year
* Increasing home loan mortgage rates across the board
* Millions of Americans made dependent on government
* Moving unionization-by-intimidation forward
* Welfare checks become “tax cuts.”
* Illegal aliens free to work on taxpayer-funded “stimulus” projects
* Welfare reform reversed, states ordered to increase welfare roles
* Move to silence critical talk radio shows
* Selling Senate seats
* Obama books in religious sections of book stores
* More government workers, not private sector jobs
* A government bureaucracy to intrude on doctor/patient relationships
* Stage set for medical services rationing
* Annual welfare checks for middle income families

Ah yes, nice, nice indeed, but only a partial list of things we can call the “ Change we can
Believe In “.

Adding a 4 trillion (that’s a lot of zeroes, like the people that are pushing this agenda) deficit then complaining about your predecessor’s deficits sounds a bit, well, pedestrian, and comes off as essentially, for lack of a better word, stupid.

And there are still people that just loooove this man! Sort of reminds me of a phrase that I think I came up with, a takeoff of a PT Barnum phrase of note, that goes something like this:

“No politician will ever be voted out of office by underestimating the intelligence of the average American voter.”

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They do, G. At a 35% tax rate. For virtually NO services. What’s acceptable to you Socialists? 50%? 75%? What?

And why no answer about my sovereign rights, G? Perhaps you forgot this little Amendment in the Bill of RIGHTS:

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

Then try reading some of the Founding Father’s writings regarding INDIVIDUAL liberty and rights.

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G

[[After 8 years of Bush making a huge shift of the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle class]]

I believe Pres Bush reduced the marginal rates on the lower and middle classes, taking some off the roles completely; expanded credits for such things as child care and other things so families got money ‘back’ even if they paid no taxes. Much of the rest of how gov’t was financed was through borrowing.

RW-(the original)

My impression was when Pres Obama began the stimulus talk it was to “create” n million jobs. Once it was in and he knew people would track it for that ‘accountability’ thing it became ‘create or preserve.’

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Bud Wiser

February 27th, 2009
8:44 am

I suspect Daschle owes much more, that’s why he was so quick to ride off into the sunset. I’ve proposed a tax amnesty. Can you honestly say you haven’t “fudged” a little on yours at least once over the years?

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@8:44 – why do people plagarize things?

Hey Jay – how about a plagarization rule – you do it – you’re gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wasn’t trickle down economics supposed to redistribute wealth and make everybody happy healthy and prosperous?

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Paul,

I first noticed the create or save back when the speeches were being made from behind the phony seal of The Office of the Transition or whatever he called that make believe office. It began long before Porkulous I became law.

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Paul, you know, my friend.

Why this concept, that is WAY past due, gets little or no traction form the sovereign people leads me to believe they are utterly cow towed to the duoploy. Stupid is as stupid does.

Speaking of which, many here realize that you are a great Constitutional Scholar, Dave R, while the rest of us toil along merely as the enlightened, free thinking and concerned citizenry.

Whenever someone compresses a matter as complex as this down to sound bites and slogans, you know their depth of knowledge is obvious. For mastery of this, Dave I suggest you read the Collective Works of Dusty. Shallow as the Platte River, that graduate of the Goebbels School of Cheerleading and Propaganda could one day be a real idol of yours.

Like your knowledge of sunspot activity and “energy”, it would appear that you yet again miss the mark, IF you contend the concept of us a sovereign people was not an integral part of the founding of this nation.

From your semi-coherent ramblings, it is damned near impossible to ascertain exactly what you posit. But it appears you are a full blown anarchist, where everybody has the right to do jolly well as they please (or “govern their own rights”), and legally determine what their liberties are or aren’t, given their own sense of duty, overseen by NO ONE or nothing else. If so, this is just more of your uninformed childish nonsense.

Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the belief that the legitimacy of the state is created by the true will or consent of its people, who are the source of ALL political power. It is closely associated to the social contract philosophers, among whom are Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Popular sovereignty expresses a concept and does not necessarily reflect or describe a political reality. It is often contrasted with the concept of parliamentary sovereignty. Benjamin Franklin expressed the concept when he wrote, “In free governments the rulers are the servants and the people their superiors and sovereigns.”

This has NOTHING to do with the different rights reserved for the Federal Government versus those of the states, whose constitutions virtually all parallel the US Constitution.

Left to intentionally misinformed, Republiconned knuckle-draggers like you, there would be no Republic.

And you would neither feel any obligation whatsoever to obey the common laws as one of the sovereign people, or pay for your share of the shared resources (which is your goal anyway, I presume) nor contribute to the nation’s continuance (well that may be the case already).

Wish I could stay to hear what William Jennings Bryan has to clarify regarding the sovereign people of the United States of America, but duty calls.

Someone’s gotta pay for the corporate destruction of capitalism and the Bush Crusades while the “faithful” base sits here and blogs all day long.

Pray for rain…

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GHT, Hence, the wording in the 10th amendment. I’ll take 50 different states over one all knowing, all encompassing Federal government any day.

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AmVet – still LOL.

Hey – has anyone ever seen Dusty and Dave R at the same time?

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Lucky you for you Bosch…you get both!

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I wonder what the South Carolina Food Inspection Department would be like without the folks in the Federal gummint them backing them up.

Poop in your peaches, anyone?

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Paul,

In case you’re interested it looks like the genesis of the “or save” weasel words was in November of 2008.

“The plan will mean 2.5 million more jobs” by 2011, Obama said. His Web site clarified that the plan would “save or create” that many jobs.

He’s been pretty careful to include “or save” ever since.

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I’ll readily admit that all this financial stuff with all these zeros has surpassed my level of understanding. I think the vast majority of those in Washington and Wall Street are in the same boat but they’ll never admit it.

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AmVet, it’s hard to believe that someone who allegedly swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution would be so willing to ignore it.

Are you enlightened? No.

Are you concerned? Probably.

Are you free-thinking? Absolutely NOT! You’d have to think first in order to be free-thinking.

My comment had NOTHING to do with the rights of states, but rather the rights of INDIVIDUALS! Which is what the 10th amendment pretty much sums up (unless you have been brain-dead since birth).

And for the 10th time, moron, I’m not a Republican. I’m a Constitutionalist, which is why you have so much trouble trying to refute simple statements by me that you cannot hope to ever understand. And if you did have a brain cell that still worked, you’d know that even a Constitutionalist still believes in the role of government, as opposed to an Anarchist. But government should exist ONLY to protect me from those who would take my life, liberty or property through the use of force or fraud. That’s IT!

But like a typical brain-dead liberal (sorry for the redundancy, there) you like to change the rules of the argument when you can’t make a cogent, logical case.

You keep thinking of “people” as the masses, rather than people meaning INDIVIDUALS. The Founding Fathers did not write about democracy being a good thing, but rather a bad thing in it’s truest form. That is why we have a Republic.

You are the most mean-spirited, morose, negative poster on Jay’s blog. You do not add the the conversation around here; you merely exist to whine and complain. You provide no suggested solutions. Frankly, I don’t think you’re up to providing any. That would take real, independent thought.

Something you have yet to prove exists within you.

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Bosch, can you even define Fascism? Because if you could, instead of using it as an ignorant liberal punchline, you might try to use some other word to describe the government Bush ran.

It was many things, depending on the moment. But Fascist? Not even close.

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Bosch

Eeaaaggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! (No, I wasn’t channeling Howard Dean). I forgot!!!

12 hours 10 minutes!

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GHT, how many cases of salmonella did we have back in the 50’s and 60’s? You know, back before all those great government regulations put in place to protect our food supply?

GHT? Hello?

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Dave R,

Why yes I can – would you like me to post it? – can you define socialism?

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Dave R,
If Obama Hussein changed the flag and put a sickle and hammer on it these morons would still ask you for proof.

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RW-(the original) 9:12

Thanks for the information. It really hit me a couple weeks ago when I saw a DNC guy and an RNC guy on a split screen, interviewer ran a video of Pres Obama talking about “creating job,” the RNC guy said “creating” and the DNC guy said “create or preserve.”

your 9:34

They figured it out pretty quickly, didn’t they?

AmVet 9:15

Yeah, I know (grin).

I read an article about how, duing the height of the Vietnam War, some college kids (who looked like the typical college kid of that era), as part of a political science class, went door to door with a petition. People read it, hurled epithets like (GD hippies! Communists! and slammed the door.

What the people read was “all created equal… with Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness… That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”

From our Declaration of Independence.

getalife

[[Ford will reopen an engine plant to provide jobs.]]

Who are you today? Mr. Merry Sunshine? Really, that’s good news. And not just an assembly plant. A manufacturing plant. This is good.

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Paul,

You forgot? My God man, what’s wrong with you? You must be pre-occupied or something. I thought you were having some kind of fit. I hope you’re okay now.

You lost your word of the day calendar? Dammit Paul, I liked it when you had that calendar – it was so educational.

Wait a minute, you sly one, is “intelligene” one of your fancy words?

I hate it when the realist in me wins out, most of the time, it’s so depressing.

“But I do not care for it when it’s a calculated “how can I score political points” or “I wonder if they’ll buy this” attitude”

Good lord, why do you even keep up wit politics then? I’m surprised you haven’t had a real fit of some kind.

Will you give my question a shot? Wasn’t trickle down economics designed to redistribute wealth as well?

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Cool, if the dimwit president you stuck your neck out for has no real accomplishments other than burning through the US Treasury, then make some up for him-

WAR “DEVELOPMENTS:” Obama sets 2010 Iraq withdrawal- Wall Mounted Restroom Fixture/Jihad

“Withdraw” except for the tens of thousands that he doesn’t withdraw.

Just like “Betrayus” planned to do 2 years ago.

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Good morning, Jay. I’m off to a late start this morning. I ran out of Geritol last night. Anyway, it looks like Andy is back in a new costume. That’s nice. I see Obama has put together quite the budget. What’s not to like about that other than the fact that he should have just gone back to the 90% tax rate on the Republicans. That would really give them something to “Report” about. And, the sooner we quit making those FU-2 Raptures, the better. We don’t need any more of that just. Drones are much more cost effective in today’s fight against terrorists. But, we do need some way to park them in remote locations with sensors keeping an eye out for the bad guys so they can strike at the most appropriate time. Then, there’s that absolute waste of good money on agribusiness that Saxby was so proud of. At least Bush had the sense to oppose that one but Saxby was determined to have his way then. Times have changed and the time to change is upon us. Long live Obama. When can we vote on giving him more than two terms.

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I Report/ You Whine

February 27th, 2009
10:17 am

Reagan and Bush are responsible for $10 trillion of the national debt to date, and Bush will be credited with another $5 trillion at least. I agree with you about the troop withdrawal tho. Totally unacceptable.

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Jay- No biggie, thanks.

TN- So this gives the democrats the right to unload whatever remains in the Treasury?

We’ve admitted to our mistakes and are correcting them, proof of this can be found by all the liberal concerns about our “well being.”

Let’s talk about the future, shall we?

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RW-(the original)

[[I bet you could have gotten away with intelligene. If anybody called you on it you could have linked them to the genome project.]]

Bosch did. Now you’re gonna have the conspiracy theorists on this blog speculating if you were cloned from Bosch of if Bosch was cloned from you!

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Only a democrat would think of spending their way out of debt. Do fat democrats eat their way out of obesity too? Same principle. Survey the folks in line for free things…ya know Those That Must be Kept and see how many voted democrat. Don’t hate us because we planned better. You can hate us because we’re beautiful though, that’s cool.

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Dave R,

Our means of producing and distributing goods are still done by private businesses – ones who are failing because they put all their profits in their CEOs and stockholders pockets and are cutting jobs and asking the government to pick up the slack – that’s not socialism – that’s failing capitalism.

Actually, fascism like socialism is impossible to define because there are many different types. It’s rhetorical – and sometimes I like using rhetoric – but I can back up my rhetoric with and opinion.

Fascism: An ideology that promotes extreme nationalism, one-party system ruled by dictator or promoted cronies, corporate protectionism, and is extremely anti-liberal (as they are seen as the enemy). Fascists also promote military power as a means of exerting national agenda, social darwinism, and social interventionism.

And if you’d like a run down of how it ties in the the past administration here’s a good list (in my opinion):

14 points of Fascism

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If the intent of trickle down was to have it trickle down but it did not trickle down then the intent of trickle down was not met so trickle down, if its intent is to be met, must be renamed to “pass some around, you porker” and forceably trickle it down so that pass some around becomes the new trickle down. Otherwise, just admit that trickle down never was what it was portrayed to be. It was never about helping to maintain a vibrant economy. It was about making a few rich, richer. That’s all. And, trickle down is just a Republican code for yellow rain. Yup. We’re on to you.

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Paul,

That was a mean thing to do to RW – us….clones. He’s gonna be mad at you ya’ know. I already have a copy, remember? We’re not clones, but close – couple of obvious differences. Ew. I don’t want to go there.

I was soooo thinking “intelligene” was a word! I liked that word. Let’s just keep it. What do you say? RW’s right – you could have passed it off. People trust you here.

Thanks for answering my question. Too bad it didn’t work.

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Sorry, Bosch, but you earn a failing grade. While our means of producing goods is still in the hands (largely) of the private sector, the MANAGEMENT of the private sector and the economy is done through the millions of pages of laws enacted by Congress.

We’re well on our way towards Socialism in our time.

And please. Can’t you think for yourself? Have to go to someone else’s website to have your thinking done for you? Try doing it with the definition YOU gave, and see if you can make the case for Bush.

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Dave R,

Part of the reason for my previous post to Davo was that it’s frustrating to me when people throw out the word socialism when others can throw out something just as ridiculous (as fascims) and each can back it up when they cherry pick what they want to in order to legitimize their own opinions.

Socialism and Fascism are both ridiculous to throw out there as what our government is or is not – because one could argue almost any kind of ideologue to define what our government is – based on what their mood is for the day.

See my point?

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To Paul:

Hadn’t heard of Sen. S.I. Hayakawa in years. He was the butt of many a Johnny Carson joke back in the day. Wasn’t he once filmed asleep in his chair during a Senate debate?

That also reminds me of the old quote attributed to Sen. Everett (sp?) Dirkson, “A billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you’re talking about real money”.

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I’m sorry, Bosch, but I don’t see your point. If you can’t back up your statements, then don’t make them. It really isn’t a stretch to understand how close we are to Socialism right now, with all the talk about potential nationalizing of banks, propping up industries, mandating CEO salaries, mandating lending and banking policies, and the thousands of regulations such as from OSHA, the IRS, etc, etc, etc.

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CommunistAJC

February 27th, 2009
10:33 am

“No more blaming Bush because this recession is officially Obama Hussein’s.” Sorry, but this is Bush’s baby and O! is just carrying it to term.

Cuba would be doing much better except for our hostile trade policy. And its education and health care systems are good considering the poverty. We haven’t had true capitalism at least since the Great Depression. How Many times has the government had to step in and bail out big business, usually during or right after a Republican administration? And we aren’t the richest or greatest (subjective) country on Earth. It’s that kind of arrogance that makes so many hate us. In case you’ve forgotten, Bush stepped in to keep the world wide banking system from collapsing and it’s still teetering on the brink. Obama is just continuing that policy, but on steroids. I think it’s to protect the hedge funds, but really don’t understand it all and have no idea. At this point we have to trust the “experts,” the ones that got us into this mess.

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Down with the wasteful FU-2 Raptures. The design does not even incorporate turret-mounted LASERs. What a waste of billions of dollars for something that’s not even remotely in step with the Stars Wars Trilogy. Death Star. Now, that’s an end times tool that any war-monger would salivate over. You can’t have that either, war-mongers, unless you pay for it yourself.

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WhoCares

February 27th, 2009
11:02 am

Great idea! Back to the simple life.

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Let’s just give these members of the minority party their socialism and be done with it. Let’s get them wired into the collective with their Wi-Fi’d Blackberries and Blueberries and Rasberries and then mount the little tools onto the machine and put them to work doing something productive. We don’t need no steenking constipationists or wanna-be anarchists or conservatised librarians. We need hammers and nails to put to work for the common good. So, it’s about time we drive that point home.

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TnGelding – In your 11:01 post, you said, “We haven’t had true capitalism at least since the Great Depression. How Many times has the government had to step in and bail out big business, usually during or right after a Republican administration?”

I assume your question was rhetorical. If so, please answer it for us. How many times has the government had to bail out big business? Apparently, according to you, it happened rather frequently following the administrations of Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush (41) and Bush (43).

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Dave R. I am going to share this with you just this once. I am ignoring you from now on and I will no longer direct a comment to your label. So, if you want to have an exchange with me, your first step will be to try (be warned that I might still choose to ignore you) to contact me under a different label.
Have a good day.

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For anyone who is against guns. This lady puts everyone of you to shame.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4069761537893819675&pr=goog-sl

TnGelding,
Ms. Gelding, I do not take anything you say seriously. Anyone who defends communism over capitalism is a complete moron.

Taxpayer,
then start learning the Chinese language, comrade. Because without state of the art weaponry we will be overtaken. By the way, for someone who complains about job loses, you’re looking mighty hypocritical right now. Because if you shut down the manufacturing of the greatest fighter jet in the world, you shut down jobs.

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Bosch, so all those millions of lines in the U.S. code are just for fun?

What do you think they are regulating – i.e., managing? Business! Tell me that OSHA rules don’t regulate business, that IRS laws don’t regulate business, that the CRA doesn’t regulate banking, that Sarbanes-Oxley doesn’t regulate business. How about EPD and EPA rules? Tell me the thousands of other, nameless laws are not out there to regulate and manage business.

And I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

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Tax dollars pay for what is spent. Lots and lots and lots of tax dollars will pay for what has been spent. Over 400 billion tax dollars go to pay the annual interest on what we have borrowed from others.

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Thank you, Taxpayer. You’ve just proved to me and everyone else out here that you are afraid to answer direct questions asked of you.

Brave, brave, liberal, you!

Now, do you have anything useful to say about – anything? Or do you just favor mindless slogans like “Down with the FU-2 Raptor”.

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Taxpayer,
you’re bitching about the F-22 yet you say NOTHING about the billions going towards worthless $hit in the stimulus package.

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BDAtlanta,
the cost of war compared to the cost of the stimulus is lopsided.

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Taxing hedge fund managers is a good start, BD. Also, I see Commie is going to start contributing to the whole by teaching us Chinese. That’s so thoughtful. By the way production of FU-2 Raptures may provide jobs for a few and tons of cash for some of the war-mongers but they are then used to take lives instead of enhancing lives. That’s bad. We have had enough bad to last us lifetimes. Take that money and spend it on enhancing lives or just cut it from the budget and help to reduce the deficit.

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I was just reading some of the reports on Obama’s proposal to increase corporate taxes by $350 billion and I was struck with an interesting thought. As a general rule, corporations don’t pay taxes, they merely collect them from their customers and pass them on to the IRS. This is done in the form of raising prices on goods and services to offset the increased budgetary expense of taxes. Since the resulting price increase will have a disproportionately adverse effect on those with lower incomes, isn’t this unfairly taxing the poor?

Gosh, for eight years I‘ve been listening to liberals rail against this very practice. Hmmm.

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Dave R,

Seriously? Regulations do not manage businesses, the regulations are there to protect workers and taxpayers. Too bad the businesses like the peanut corp. didn’t pay any attention to those and now we are left with tainted peanut products for years – and God knows how many people will get salmonella and die from those pesky laws that they ignored.

And OSHA? Oh yeah, those guys are really annoying. Setting standards for business practices so workers don’t work in asbestos filled fogs, and lob off a few fingers or other body parts – yeah, those rules suck. Hell, why stop there, bring back the 10 year olds working in the factories – damn, lazy drogs.

And the CRA? Well apparently they’ve been asleep.

Yeah, those damn regulations and rules put forth by the government to keep us safe – who needs ‘em right?

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Whiner,
I for one like your new name.

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Taxpayer,
ah yes, tax cuts are bad. You know absolutely nothing about business, comrade.

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Paul,

What’s up with calling Hillbilly Deluxe, HillyBilly? It’s not like you to mess with people’s names.

Nice analogy on the F-22, but wasn’t Chevy making crap like the Vega in 1975? You might want to back that one down to the 50’s the next time you trot it out.

Bosch,

I think I’m older than you so barring any time bending you would be the clone in Paul’s scenario. Scary ain’t it?

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a budget that represents unachievable financial goals , negative cash flow and and optimism that taxes will be raised from over $250,000 income earners. Is the administration so myopic to not relaize these earners will not support the rabble below them in this conversion to socialism and we will soon see the biggest expodus of earnings and assets in the history of this country ( to go along with the rape of our fiscal responsibility of our poor government lack of leadership )

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See if you can fill in the blanks properly, but I warn you you’ll have to shut off 99% of your intelligene and get in touch with your inner moonbat to get it right.

President _________is using our military as props to try to sell us his Iraq policy

President _________ is proving what a fine Commander in Chief he is by addressing the troops with his Iraq policy.

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BDAtlanta, how do you know I haven’t been yelling this same thing for years and years? It’s a great way to deflect from answering the question I asked, so I’ll just assume you don’t have an answer either.

Lefties wanted this job. They won in 2006. They won some more in 2008. Contrats, you got your wish. Now answer the damn question: HOW DO WE PAY FOR THIS?

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RW-(the original) and HillyBilly Deluxe

No slight intended. I suppose I was just thinking ahead to what I was writing. Same as I used to just write RW but then realized it’d be like typing Ja instead of Jay.

Dave R

I believe the F-22 was one of the systems SecDef Rumsfield was talking about when he first became SecDef and said we should just skip the current generation of replacement weapons in the pipeline. Wait a bit, let these other technologies develop (sensors, stealth, remote control, etc) develop and then design anew.

But we know how the Pentagon, industry and politicians with local job interests bought that idea -

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Someday some of you limousine libs that voted for Barry are going to realize that theres a bag over your head it’s rapidly filling with helium. Despite your kicking an screaming you’re being held down and even though you’d like to take it back, soon it will all be over………Thanks.

MN

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Jay -

I remember you writing that you were a Ford Republican or something to that effect until the party went off and left you when Reagan was elected. If you felt that way once, what is it going to take for the Democrats to go off and leave you? Even a Ford Republican must surely be having doubts by now.

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Gordon-Well Said,Bravo!!!

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Gordon

[[3) Where does the confidence many of you have in the federal government to solve problems come from?]]

I suppose it depends on the topic. I think the military (part of the federal government) does a pretty good job of ’solving problems’ when they’re given a rational mission by their civilian overseers.

I think federal creations like the earlier mentioned Centers for Disease Control and Inspection do a pretty good job of solving problems relating to disease outbreaks.

I think the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission can do a pretty good job (operative word is ‘can’) – at least it’s better than what would happen if they didn’t exist.

I think the FBI does a pretty good job in solving kidnappings, corporate fraud cases, etc.

I think the gov’t can do a pretty darn good job with health care – at least, if you’re a member of the military or a dependent.

I think the EPA does a pretty good job of going after people who pollute waterways.

The Coast Guard does a decent job, with the resources we give them, of safeguarding our… coasts? Better than letting each coastal state do it, I’d imagine.

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Eric: I thought the answer was obvious: cut unneeded programs, allow some tax cuts to expire, and increase tax rates to their proper (and needed) levels across the board.

Don’t forget, in the conservative Dream Era of the 1950s, corporate tax rates were much higher–and the top income-tax rate was 90%! Did America crash and burn? Gee, it did not. Tax rates aren’t the sole determining factor of our economy… and yet, the GOP has been held hostage to that notion for more than 20 years now, obsessed with “tax cuts” as the solution to any and all problems.

Good thing for America they’re out of power now, so more sensible people can start setting policy based on something OTHER than blind economic ideology.

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Dave R @ 11:54

I really have abssolutely no idea what you are talking about there – sorry. I’m really glad we are not talking avionics and radar, because I don’t even know what that means. And if we were talking airframes, then wow, that’s great! My intelligene must be working really hard because I don’t even know what the hell that is, but if I was talking it, then that’s super fantastic.

@ 12:10

I had to run out, but Paul kind of answered for me. Although I didn’t know about the CDC stuff.

But yeah, in the peanut case, the regulations were there but the companies ignored them – so much government management, huh?

Paul,

Did you hear? My intelligene is working great! I was talking airframes and I don’t even know what that is! See I told ya’ it was working just fine.

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So, now that the election is over, it’s ok to call it redistribution of wealth? We now have a new strategy. Stop growing our businesses, no more employees, reduce the current work force and prepare for departure or income reduction to no more than $249,999.99 by 2010. Great job Obama!

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Is it true that as CNN reported that the Hate groups increased as reported but that actual membership was not part of the increased calcualtion? Were additional groups renamed as hate groups in order to senastionalize the issue?

With the rise in unemployment and the backtracking of the Obama administrations enforcement of immigration enforcement does anyone believe that there will be additional friction towards minority groups if unemployed legal citizens feel as though illegal immigrants are taking jobs?

Do you think that the cost of wars have been added to budget in order to mask the other increases in other areas?

By keeping the cost of the wars as a seperate item did this not give a better idea of the amount the wars cost versus including the cost in the normal budget?

If Clinton was called Slick Willie then what will be an appropriate nickname for Obama?

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When businesses or corporations pay more taxes does the consumer pay for the tax thru higher prices? Do you think when Walmart has to pay higher taxes they will take it out of their profit? Will businesses and corporations cut back on other expenses (labor, etc.) in order to cover the additional tax expense if they do not raise their prices? Will oil and and gas companies pass along the increase in taxes to the consumer in form of higher prices on gas? Since the federal government taxes the price of gas don’t they get a double hit by forcing the price of gas up which in turn raises additional revenues?

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Why do we need to bring home any money? Obviously the gov knows what better to do with it than we do. If obama is smart enough to put good ole joe in charge of the stimulus going to the states then he would def be wiser with our money than we would be.

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CommunistAJC

February 27th, 2009
11:23 am

He’s coming right AFTER a Republican.

I don’t hate America. I hate what politicians have done in her name. America doesn’t lauch preemptive strikes. America doesn’t torture. America doesn’t spy on its citizens without due cause. America doesn’t fire bomb, napalm or nuke women and children. America doesn’t shoot its own citizens fleeing inhumane living conditions. America doesn’t kill elderly citizens defending their homes from invasion. America doesn’t refuse to pay its way as it selfishly sits on trillions of wealth. America doesn’t inject itself into family medical decisions. Etc., etc.

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Observer

February 27th, 2009
11:18 am

I wrote “usually.” I’m supposed to answer my own rhetorical questions?

I’m sure you know them better than I. But I was thinking Great Depression, S&L and the current banking “investment.” There have been individual cases, also; Chrysler, Penn Central and some steel companies(?). I found this after you questioned me:

http://www.propublica.org/special/government-bailouts

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Again we see the obsession with viewing taxes as “punishment” and tax cuts as “rewards.” This isn’t a dog-training academy. Taxes are an entirely legitimate NEED for a government to function.

The only question is how to apportion the tax rates fairly, with an eye toward both our spending needs and our ideals as a society. “Deregulate for the rich” is not an American ideal, so we’re dropping it in favor of something more just.

And those of us who have benefited the most, economically, from living and operating in our society, are not magically exempt from owing anything BACk to that society in return.

“The Free Market” may not like such a principle, but I search the Constitution in vain for any reference to the Free Market being sacrosanct… or even preferable.

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Copyleft, bravo to you for at least being honest.

Now that we’ve established you’re OK with jacking up tax rates (because that definitely won’t hurt the economy, right?), would you care to tell me a SINGLE “unneeded program” you want to cut that will amount to anything more than a DROP IN THE BUCKET? Because “cut unneeded programs” is pretty vague.

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re: TnGelding @ 9:01: No, I have never cheated on my taxes, they are complicated enough as it is. Why would i want to make them even more so.

With that said, i think the income tax should be 1) swapped for sales tax, or 2) set at a single percentage rate that does not vary by income and do away with all deductions….period.

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Exactly when did we get to the point where we now consider spending more money that we don’t have is going to be the better thing for us? It goes against the principles of everything that has ever been acceptable in basic economics. That is the strange thing about things that are considered basic. They have always held up to the test of time but for some unknown reason (maybe it is not so unknown considering that politics has now become the dominant force in nature and it is totally ignoring the rules of everything we know is right) we choose to ignore them. Obama has flipped. Bush had flipped. Pelosi has always been flipped and I would like to know exactly where good old rationale has gone? Jay, you and your toadies here love Obama. We know that and we know that you are more than willing to ignore anything he does in order to walk the walk of the liberal lemming. But do you really believe that this endless deficit spending in quantities never before known to mankind is a “good thing”? I mean, if you do, for the sake of your political beliefs, then you are sad creatures indeed.

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Pogo: Do some reading on the complexities of market forces and the array of policy tools government has available to respond to them.

The current choice is between deficit spending (often questionable) and a risk of inflation (bad)… compared to prolonged recession and increased unemployment (far, far worse). Interest-rate cuts are no longer available; tax cuts alone are too weak a tool to stimulate the economy. All that’s left is some deficit spending, which is what we’re doing.

Is deficit spending “good”? Of course not. Is it better than a depression and record unemployment? You betcha. And if deficit spending can prevent that outcome, it’s a necessary measure.

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by DaveR:”But government should exist ONLY to protect me from those who would take my life, liberty or property through the use of force or fraud. That’s IT!”

Also by DaveR:”What do you think they are regulating – i.e., managing? Business! Tell me that OSHA rules don’t regulate business, that IRS laws don’t regulate business, that the CRA doesn’t regulate banking, that Sarbanes-Oxley doesn’t regulate business. How about EPD and EPA rules? Tell me the thousands of other, nameless laws are not out there to regulate and manage business.”

Which is it dave? Should we have Sarbanes-Oxley “to prevent those who would take our property by fraud” or not? Should we regulate food producers so they don’t “deprive us of life” via poisoned food products or not? When a business viloates EPA regs and pollutes the environment we live in, and damages our property (remember Love Canal?), have we not been deprived of property?

On the one hand you claim to want the government to do one thing, but on the other you decry the government when they do it. Before you try changing anybody elses mind, perhaps you ought to make up your own first.

Are you the sole arbiter of who needs what protection from whom, or are the rest of us free to decide what represents a threat to our life liberty and property?

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Dave R said: “And I’m not letting the jackalope running the Peanut Co. off the hook. If negligent, he should go to jail and have whatever assets or insurance left go to the families of people who were harmed.”

So you would prefer your child needlessly suffer and die of food poisoning and possibly receive some compensation* after the fact, rather than regulate food production in order to reduce the chances of this happening?

* This assumes you can afford, and win, the 2-3 year lawsuit necessary to sue a multimillion dollar corporation

Wow! Sign me up as a Constitutionalist too!

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“…Obama’s agenda seeks to foster a redistribution of wealth,…” Jay – at last, socialism defined. Add in “punish success and reward failure” and we have further defined the present and future of the U.S…sad, very sad!!!!

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SL3

February 27th, 2009
5:06 pm

The wealthy have a good bit “invested” in tax-free municipal bonds. They prefer tax dodges and Ponzi schemes over U.S. treasuries.

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DaveR, did you miss the part where the courts and laws you rely on ARE the government? Your only recourse to defend yourself from another’s wrongful acts is — ta-daa! — THE GOVERNMENT.

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