Obama, Boehner dispute gravity of Wall Street crisis

Give ‘em the chair, Obama!!!

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This is killing an ant with a nuclear weapon.

There’s your sign.

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“Obama doesn’t know anything about the economy because he’s never held a real job in his life.”

oy. this? AGAIN???

I wonder how the hundreds of thousands of professors across the country feel about holding those fake jobs.

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Get ready for more fees!!!!! Hope and change baby!!! The more regulations they put on the banks, the more banks will just put the cost on the customers.

Let’s just hope we know exactly how the bills works before the vote for it!

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“The bigger the government the smaller the citizen” Author Unknown

Jay:

I found it ……………. it took 70 days !!!!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-accepts-international-apf-4104246595.html?x=0&.v=2

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Scout – “Correct ……… most “professors” teach theory and have never held a job in the real world.”

sorry – teaching IS a real profession and IS the “real world”

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What Boehner obviously meant to say was that we have too many regulations and that fewer regulations, along with another tax cut, is the only way to our salvation.

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Obama lecturing on economics is laughable.

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Great Boehner pic, Jay.

I wonder how the hundreds of thousands of professors across the country feel about holding those fake jobs.

Not to mention those fake business analysts, fake book authors, fake state senators, and fake US Senators.

And lest I forget: fake Baskin-Robbins ice cream scoopers.

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USinUK:

Sorry ………. must agree to disagree.

You can teach math ……….. or you can be an accountant.

You can coach football …………. or you can play it.

You can teach history …………… or you can help make it.

You can teach about the 4th Amendment ………….. or you can put the handcuffs on someone.

………………….

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“sorry – teaching IS a real profession and IS the “real world””

Technically yes, but there is a big difference in studying “cases” vs creating “cases”. Case study does not compare to the “real” world.

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Scout,
Here’s a bit of news I think we can both agree on…

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/06/military_petraeus_afghanistan_062910w/

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md and scout – gosh. I guess folks are just going to have to learn about quadratic equations and case law by their own damn selves.

and, yes, md – there is a difference between studying cases and understanding why some cases set precedent and others do not – which is where a good professor comes in.

and, scout – you think all those football players are going to go out there and come up with their own strategies? you think tomorrow’s accountants aren’t in today’s classrooms (believe me – you NEED a good accounting teacher to understand it -it’s a minefield!).

and … speaking of history … aren’t you the person who said that we don’t teach enough history? we need MORE (and BETTER) history teachers – not fewer!

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I swear officer, I had no idea my horse was high…

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scout – NOW I’m heading home – have a good night!!

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Raid kills bugs international financial meltdowns dead!

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USinUK:

Don’t get so upset or you won’t be able to sleep.

Some teach ………….. some do.

It’s that simple.

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Only the wilfully stupid would read the two paragraphs you produced as the minority leader saying that financial crisis was of no consequence. What he said is that the financial reform bill is the wrong solution.

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USinUK- http://www.math.com/students/calculators/source/quadratic.htm

Found this link in .002 seconds- what else you need?

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Some of us do and teach.

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Boner—ain’t that they guy with the orange skin? Anyhow, I like the way he stands up for Wall Street. Those poor people weren’t doing nothing wrong and along comes a whole bunch of wicked stuff that made them go broke and ask for a guvmint handout. It was just like a roulette wheel. Some people bet on black and some bet on red and when the wheel stopped the few people that bet on red made a fortune and the cos. that bet on black went flat broke. It sure seems like what Wall Street does is a dangerous business. I mean, you buy a bunch of house loans that’s already went bad and you package them up and sell them to a bunch of people that don’t know they’re bad and you pay a bunch of raters to tell everybody the loans are great. You could get downright cheated that way.

I ain’t figured out what this Obama wants to do to Wall Street but I’m against it, whatever it is. I’ll take a guy with orange skin over a guy that has skin that’s—well, you know.

Have a good p.m. everybody.

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So what, Bush thought he was a COWBOY.

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Obama wants his ugly mug gracing the cover of RollingStone Mag.

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Some teach and some do do.

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Most teach do do.

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“OFF TOPIC” #1

I am a legal American citizen and must show my ID when:

1. Pulled over by the police.

2. Making purchases on my department store credit card.

3. When I show up for a doctor’s appointment.

4. When filling out a credit card or loan application.

5. When applying for or renewing a driver’s license or passport.
6. When applying for any kind of insurance.
7. When filling out college applications.
8. When donating blood.
9. When obtaining certain prescription drugs.

10. When making some debit purchases, especially if I’m out of state.

11. When collecting a boarding pass for airline or train travel.

12. When purchasing beer, liquor or any tobacco product.

I’m sure there are more instances, but the point is that we citizens of the USA are required to prove who we are nearly every day!

Why should people in this country illegally, be exempt!!!!!

For that matter, perhaps the liberals can answer the question:

Why shouldn’t we guard our borders as closely as every other country in the world does?”

Author Unknown

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Normal
Read the article. A bouquet of white roses at Byrd’s empty seat? Was the florist out of white camelias?

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Bush did do do a lot. He was trying to be a good Reaganite and trickle down but he failed and all we got as a result were his piles of… well, I do hope my words are not misoverinterpreted.

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I’d like to dedicate this clip to all you hypocritical wingers out there: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-june-29-2010/blame

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Uh…I heard of a junk professor now let me ask you a question. How’d you like one of these cross yo lips?

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I can’t believe y’all are hatin’ on school teachers!! What’s the matter, no dragon flies in the yard to rip the wings off of? I mean, er… off of which to rip the wings? THIS is your contribution to the dialogue of bettering our nation? Hey, how about Sunday School Teachers? I mean gee, they’ve never actually BEEN to heaven or WORKED WITH God, so they must be full of poo, right?

Beyond sad. Truly.

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Yes! These regulations are absolutely necessary to reign in the excesses of Freddie and Fannie, the quasi-government institutions responsible for guaranteeing mortgages enabling the market for derivatives.

Oh, Fannie and Freddie aren’t affected by this legislation, you say?

Nevermind.

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josef:

I guess you are getting no takers (convenient denial) regarding Obama’s dreadful failure regarding accepting assistance on the oil spill.

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Good one, Matti.

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I’ll take the one that has some actually experience working in their field.

What part of those years Obama spent as Director of the Developing Communities Project, doesn’t count as “actual experience working”?

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Josef @ 1:14…

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Scout, do you have a paystub that proves you WORKED WITH Jesus? How ’bout a photograph of the two of you at an office Christmas party? Didn’t think so. Poser.

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Matti:

You’re so right. We are not in the same league.

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One difference I do see is that Conservatives sing “Mothers, Don’t Let Your Children Grow Up To Be Teachers” and Liberals sing “My hero’s Have Always Been Teachers.”

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stands for decibels

June 30th, 2010
1:25 pm

Lots of people would consider that as volunteer work, you know giving of ones self to improve others with no expectations of anything in return. And may have another job too.

I know little about the actual enterprise you speak of other than internet research.

Exactly what was it that he did for them during that time, not what his title was? What was accomplished?

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Public school teachers = dragonflys.

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Southern Comfort

June 30th, 2010
1:27 pm

ABM, Calling ABM …You are correct though…garbage in, garbage out.

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the pols do a hatchet job on the banks, the banks respond with a hatchet job on the economy. the taxpayer gets cut off at the knees.

do we, the people, get a say how this plays out? hell no! we’ll pay one way or another.

the banks and govt have deemed themselves too big to fail. two power brokers that will leave the people broke.

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NEA! NEA! NEA!

BTW Matti:

Here is your paystub ………….

Matthew 12:50
“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Gotta run ……….. back later

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What was accomplished? Nothing, Nada, Zilch, A Big Goose Egg. And now we have a Big Goose Egg as our Leader…lol…what a joke.

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Normal

June 30th, 2010
1:29 pm

Yes normal ALL conservatives have no respect for teachers and all liberals honor them as kings……Until a teacher claims some of the responsibility for education lies with the individual and the parents… then the teacher needs to be fired.

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Frankly, as one with conderable experience both on the street and as an executive manager in the commercial banking segment, Boehner is correct, The problem wasn’t too little regulation, rather it was stupid, incompetent regulators who never understood the risk positions taken and the risk management methodologies used by banks.

More and more, each day Obama trult earns his acronym:

O – oh
B – boy
A – another
M – mistahe
A – again

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Did Boehner request paneling that matched his skin tone in that picture?

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Either that or they are being a bunch of Smart-Asses.

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SoCo

The first country to send aid following Katrina was Mexico…it was not turned down…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_response_to_Hurricane_Katrina

Normal…

Speaking as a teacher, liberals are just as bad as conservatives when it comes to teacher bashing and their politicians go right along with those across the aisle when it comes to slashing budgets that affect the classroom…

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Thomas, Josef…Correct on both counts, but I thought the Willie Nelson parodies were a nice touch. For the record though, I revere teachers and the classrom should be their kingdon inviolute

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Tend to be more conservative but does the Fox News job application form simply ask are you white with blonde hair and shiny teeth?

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” Fox News job application form simply ask are you white with blonde hair and shiny teeth?”

It must not or either FOX had some sexy hot black fems sneek in under the wire…so to speak.

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normal..
You BETTER revere teachers. I’ll tell your Mama on you…

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If Obama is correct about the economy why did Germany and other G20 countries school the messiah in Toronto?

Also, why is unemployment still 10% when Obama said the stimulus package would keep it at 8%?

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From TPM

On MSNBC’s Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough made a damning accusation against House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), with whom he used to work in the House of Representatives. Scarborough said that the rap on Boehner amongst people who know him best is that he’s lazy:

SCARBOROUGH: I hear it on the Hill, I’m sure you hear it on the Hill all the time, it’s not reported but so many Republicans tell me this is a guy that is not the hardest worker in the world. After 5 o’clock, 6 o’clock at night, he is disengaged at best. You can see him around town. He does not have, let’s say, the work hours of Newt Gingrich. … Every Republican I talk to says John Boehner by 5 or 6 o’clock at night, you can see him at bars. He is not a hard worker.

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Jackie

June 30th, 2010
1:50 pm

Since apparently you are for this bill maybe you could educate us all a lil about whats in it.

Like for say is there a provision to eliminate banks too big to fail?

Does the financial reform bill cover Car Loans from dealerships? You know the 2nd largst purchase we make to our home.

You have read the entire bill right? I mean it would be dishonest and wierd to claim that something is needed and good without knowing exactly what is stated in the bill right?

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@B. Morris

When does the health care reform start? Has that change in the health care caused the economy to defalte and lose more than 8 million jobs from 2005 to 2009?

Did the Obama Administration initiate Medicare, Part D?

The tax rate for the current year has been reduced with the future rate going back to where it was when the Bush Administration was in power. Isn’t lower taxes a cornerstone of the conservative mantra?

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Granny Godzilla

He needs time to tan

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kingdon inviolute

I don’t pass any spelling tests but honest Teacher, I meant to hit spell check and hit submit instead…and the dog ate my homework!

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Sfd – “What part of those years Obama spent as Director of the Developing Communities Project, doesn’t count as “actual experience working”?”

I never said that he did not have actual work experience. But what part of being a dismal failure as a Director of the Developing Communities Project qualify him for any job, much less being POTUS?

Normal – “One difference I do see is that Conservatives sing “Mothers, Don’t Let Your Children Grow Up To Be Teachers”

I do not believe that too many people believe that teaching, as a profession, is something to look down on. I think most people prefer teachers that have some actual work experience in their field. Can a math teacher teach math and never worked as an accountant or in some other field that depends on math? Yes, they can. Can a MBA teacher teach that course without ever working in the business world? Yes, but I would be leery of their knowledge. Again, all they would have to share in book learning, no real world experience.

Are teachers needed? Hell YES. Is teaching a field to be respected? Again, hell YES. Are all teachers created equally? HELL NO!

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@thomas

I have not read the bill, nether have you. You speculation is just that, speculation!
The provision concerning “banks to big to fail” is designed to have the banks self-finance any probelms relative to the cost related to failure, much like you and I have when we purchase any insurance.

Not sure if the provision covers car loans; do you know? Since we are conerned about car loans, the bill is concerned about the rules and regulations covering Wall Street, i.e., credit default swaps, erivitives and other unregulated financial instruments that has a total value of roughly $600 Trillion dollars. Wonder if that needs to be regulated by the government, or should it be left to the good faith and credit of the banks that you support?

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josef nix

June 30th, 2010
1:59 pm

Not really I went into thinking that would be what I did for the remainder of my life.

But I got into teaching to change lives through athletics, which is something i am very skilled at doing. I also believe that a classroom teacher may come in contact with more students a Good Coach changes far more lives, as they interact with the athletes on a much deeper level.
I take offense to the “Do Better” comment. Had nothing to do with that. A job presented itself in which I would be able to spend more time and focus making better young men for this word. Some who will go onto become teachers.

So explain to me how a person who has given their entire professional life to bettering young people the last thing education needs now?

Do you think ALL the teahers in your school are there for that reason or is it a paycheck and their precious summers off?

say what you will about teachers doing what I did as being bad or not good for the profession…… but explain then why i was consistantly evaluated as one of the top teachers in the county?

Better to have motivated people teaching than those only going after a pay check… and there are far too many of those still in classrooms everyday.

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LOST

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered
her altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him,

“Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet
him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am.”

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, “You’re in a hot
air balloon, approximately 30 feet above ground elevation of 2,346 feet
above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and

100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

“She rolled her eyes and said, “You must be an Obama Democrat.”

“I am,” replied the man. “How did you know?”

“Well,” answered the balloonist, “everything you told me is
technically correct. But I have no idea what to do with your
information, and I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help to
me.”

The man smiled and responded, “You must be a Republican.”

“I am,” replied the balloonist. “How did you know?”

“Well,” said the man, “you don’t know where you are or where you
are going. You’ve risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot
air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me
to solve your problem. You’re in exactly the same position you were in
before we met, but somehow, now it’s my fault.”

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night train

Are you a teacher? Yes, it is looked down on as a profession. Oh, a lot of people talk a good line, but do they encourage their children to become teachers? Would they do it themselves?

I’m not whining. I get all the validation I ever need with a snot-nosed hug from a knee-high yard ape…but if we were looked up to we wouldn’t be facing budget cuts, lay offs and would be paid a salary up there with those we taught to do what they do…

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Shhh. Tone down your criticism of Boehner. Despite that devilish red hue countenance, he, like Lloyd Craig Blankfein of Goldman Sachs, is doing God’s Work.

Seriously now, the Good Ship Lollipop is fast sinking under the weight of the economic crisis thanks to our beloved God-fearing corporations like Goldman Sachs, Lehman, and AIG, and all Boehner wants to do to plug the gushing leak in the boat is to consult his ideological playbook. While ranting about Big Gov’s Big Nuke, his ideological buddies in the party of no, would just let the boat sink. Plug it up, Boehner.

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josef nix,

“It’s day 70 and they’re still waiting for the green light…as Carville and Nungesser said, there’s no sense of urgency in this “war.””

You may have seen this before, but I thought it was right on the nose…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AAa0gd7ClM

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@josef nix

HIGH FIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

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LOST,

I’ve always loved that joke

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Night Train, first of all, a good math teacher does not need to be an account in life first before entering the teaching profession. Moreover, I seriously doubt that accountants would necessarily make good math teachers. My father was an aerospace design engineer for nearly all of his professional life. He helped design the C5A Galaxy for Lockheed in Marrieta, the lunar lander (LEM) for Grumman, and his last project be retiring was the B2 stealth bomber for Northrup. He was brilliant. But he could not teach to save h is life. You think that he could help me out in my high school algebra class? Not a chance. The fact is, it takes a teacher to teach.

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@thomas

I can read and hear information from those who have been intimately involved in those proceedings. Watch C-SPAN sometimes and you will become better educated about proceedings. Secondly, I have family members and friends who work for members of Congress. Third, listen to the Repubs pontification and this will give you indications as to why one should be supportive of the bill itself.

How could someone with your education level not be for the bill?

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Eyes,

From downstairs, step by step and take it from there:

From that site, it states that there is a “conscientious objector” clause in the hc bill.

The same clause that deals with SS and medicare – correct?

In relation to SS and Mc, the clause requires one sign a waiver to the right of any future SS an MC benefits………… with me??

My question was this, if the same clause is in the hc bill, does it require the waiver of any future hc benefits?? And if it does, how does that conflict with the SCOTUS ruling that no one may be denied hc??

In a nutshell, one can use the conscientious objector clause to opt out of hc and not loose benefits according to the SC – right??

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Read the quote: Boehner didn’t say the financial crisis was an ant. He used a metaphor saying it was like using a nuke to kill an ant.

And he’s right about this: “most as a result of ineffective enforcement by the bureaucracy who have no idea what these financial products look like today.”

Obama’s remarks are incomprehensible. First of all, some of the 8 million jobs lost are due to his ineffective policies. Second, this legislation has no prescription for the out of work for months at a time just barely hanging on people. Third, this legislation does not prevent it from happening again because it’s based on vague oversights for the government and regulators to regulate better (see Boehner comment above). Fourth, his administration hasn’t done anything to punish the most egregious culprits from the last one. So he’s just words….

When Obama and co. start indicting some of the worst culprits of the subprime CDO/CDS scam, which doesn’t require any new legislation btw, then he can say he’s done something about preventing the next one. But he won’t…..

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md

June 30th, 2010
2:09 pm

No i wanted to teach, and wanted to coach.

I had many great coaches and teachers and wanted to give back.

Problem was the stereotyping of being a coach. Having to listen to self induldged teachers claim how coaches do this and that… but they were the first ones to leave everyday, while I was there til 9,10 11 o’clock, then taking about 5 kids home.

But i assure you people like me and my attitude and work ethic are the last thing the teaching profession needs.
It needs more teachers who place their motives to teach above others.

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@Outhouse Gokart

No rhetoric on my part. Can you, as a staunch so-called conservative tell us why we don’t need reform of Wall Street?

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Don’t use a bomb to kill an ant, let obama kick it’s little ass.

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@Outhouse Gokart

I certainly don’t have to prove anything to you as I know what I say is true. Have you been able to google the question I asked you about the restructure of our financial system?

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What about Fannie and Freddie, Jay?

Captain Kickass and Sergeant Smartass don’t have a clue.

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Freddie and Fannie need billions just to stay afloat.

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@NIF

The government can not put an end to “all” the misdeeds of Wall Street. However, significant roadblocks can be put in their way to stop them from trading uregulated securities, bundling them and selling pieces of the bundles without have a way of insuring their(our) interest in the package.

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USinUK

Yes. He had a real job, teaching constitutional law.

And his next job was as a political hack that was active in the Chicago Mob and then he became President, still active in both the Chicago mob and the Democratic Party Mob.

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@Outhouse Gokart

Sounds like you don’t even know what question(s) to ask, therefore, you have no idea as to where to start. Good response.

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And what in this legislation fixes that?

“The government can not put an end to “all” the misdeeds of Wall Street. However, significant roadblocks can be put in their way to stop them from trading uregulated securities, bundling them and selling pieces of the bundles without have a way of insuring their(our) interest in the package.”

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@Outhouse Gokart

To give you a clue, ask the question, what caused the economy of Greece to implode?

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md, please read the bottom of the article in which the requirements that must be met to allow for that exemption are discussed. It is decidedly difficult, if not prohibitive, for the exemption to be granted. Even some in the Amish community may not be eligible for the exemption. I am not going to return that link anymore myself; please check it out.

josef, I would agree in general that teachers have more influence than coaches on one’s life. However, I am wont to say that when one generalizes, one is generally going to be wrong. To me one of the greatest educators of our time was Coach John Wooden. I am reminded of his words, (i will paraphrase from memory) “It is much more important what you are as a person than what you are as a basketball player.” Moreover, Pat Riley, former Laker and Heat coach, published a book years ago that was often showing up not just on the basketball courts but in the offices of executives as well.

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Nothing is Free, that’s a trillion dollar question, isn’t it? do we need more or less legislation/regulation? I think we need more. we the People have to decide if the Constiturion “ensures the Blessing of Liberty” for individual citizens OR the “blessings of capitalism” for America’s corporate citizens. it’s obvious who the politicians represent. I know this is a scary thought because all the free market and faux-libertarian, Randian fools yammer about deregulation, oppressive government, and how oversight stifles the market, but are corporate citizens the same as individuals? what IS the Constituion, but a “regulation” or “oversight” of individual behavior (life itself)? are we the Sheeple suppose to accept that you or I is entitled to the same “rights” as Bank of America, General Electric, or Pfizer? as I said, in 2010 we know who the politicos “represent” – and this little good cop/bad cop show is insulting. they’re both owned by Wall Street, so stop pissing on us and telling us it’s raining.

Maybe we need a “corporate” constitution. Again, all the pundits like to say, “we are a nation of laws…” OK, well then we can’t have anarchy on Wall Street, can we? We are a “market” of laws as well, and when you have the lobbyists, drafting laws which in essence say, “there are no laws” well ask yourself about the proverbial falling tree?

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theBob.bob

**Republicans want to create the illusion that the current economic crisis is just and ordinary, run of the mill, economic downturn.**

Wrong. Republicans understand that this is an effort by our government to gain as much control as possible for the Fed and to make as much money as possible for their billionaire cronies before they are voted out of office.

We understand the relevance of what Obama is doing to our country. The problem appears to be that most supporters of Obama aren’t aware of what he is doing to our economy.

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“In fact the crisis borders on a major World Wide Recession and drastic action IS necessary.

Fear, Hatred, Distortion, Distraction and Division is all they have to offer.”

Couldn’t that sentence be described as “fear”??

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Night Train, first of all, a good math teacher does not need to be an account in life first before entering the teaching profession. Moreover, I seriously doubt that accountants would necessarily make good math teachers.

Every job evaluation system I’ve ever seen regards knowledge as the starting point. Teachers have knowledge. I’m reminded of a colleague, a math whiz with a PhD, who started college teaching with me. The hot-shot actuaries at insurance companies sometimes require years to earn the Fellow, Society of Actuaries designation. They talk about how tough the exams are. This guy passed all the exams in one sitting and became a full-fledged actuary very quickly. I doubt that some water-cooler cowboy at an insurance company could do the same.

I’ll take a knowledgeable teacher as a starting point if I’m to hire somebody to train into a job. Teachers not only have the knowledge base, but any job other than dealing with 100 students in a day and then grading student assignments at night and on weekends will seem like a breeze to them. It takes a lot of self-discipline to handle something like that.

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bada bing, I am more of an Ant and the Aardvark fan.

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“md, please read the bottom of the article in which the requirements that must be met to allow for that exemption are discussed. It is decidedly difficult, if not prohibitive, for the exemption to be granted. Even some in the Amish community may not be eligible for the exemption. I am not going to return that link anymore myself; please check it out.”

Doesn’t matter how many can qualify, what matters is those that do have a loophole.

And as we all know, loopholes have a way of being exploited.

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neo-Carlinist

No, the Constitution we have works really well. We don’t ned another one.

I can’t point to anything that the government does well. Can you? Hell, even the military is so tied up with bureaucrats that they can’t even do their job.

The government is too big and now it is being infested with 21st century unions, i.e. thugs so it will soon go the way of Detroit.

Government = necessary evil.

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So you’re saying that there are none now? Why is madoff now in jail? And why wasn’t he busted earlier. There are plenty of current rules and mediocre enforcement. What in this new “reform” fixes that? Please be specific. It doesn’t even fix the derivative/CDS problem.

“Having some rules and regulations enforced by agencies like the SEC, the Fed and other alphabet-soup agencies would require a reporting structure and accountability of transactions. Those that violate those rules and regulations would be held accountable with potential punishment being fines and jail time.

Can you say Bernie Madoff?”

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Enter your comments here

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Obviously, Boehner was using an analogy of something akin to overkill. Bringing too large of a fix when a smaller fix is needed.
He did not compare the crisis to something small and insignificant as an ant. Surely Obama can tell the difference.

Yes, he can!

And yet, he plays it politically with some slick BS.

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If this is a financial bill how come they are not fixing their piggy bank, I mean Fannie and Freddie… If this is such a REAL crisis why did government employees and unions get raises? If Obozo had any brains at all he would cut government paid jobs by 15% across the board…. Better yet why not all you liberals get together and move to Cuba, I hear they have everything you want, a socialist society… spread the wealth, just like Castro did, right?

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But OB is fine with taxing the banks to the tune of $19B to make sure the American people get back every penny. OB may want to call the OMB to get his facts, the banks have paid back virtually all of the tarp money, with interest. Now if he wants to go after AIG etc. that is a different story, and a story he appeas to be incapable of comprehending and communicating.

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Thomas…
I am with my kids from 7:30 until 2:30 three days a week…the other two days are other duties pertinent to their schooling, but not in the classroom instructing. I live a block from my school. My kids are not just “with me” that time. They and their families are my neighbors. My specialty area has me with the immigrant children. Their parents come here at all hours of the day or night with questions about everything from how come Juanito got into trouble, to help with explaining the homework and such “unrelated” things as explaining some condition of the lease, letter from a collection agency, filling our a form for immigration…you name it…

Road trips? Oy! yep, I know what it’s like to herd a pack of little miscreants through a roadside fast food joint for supper and I know what it’s like to have the employees come and tell me how well behaved and how well mannered they are…

Do they tune me out? Some days yes, some days no.

And your evaluations….how did that rank you nationally? I’ve got my own evaluations from the locals and they are good. More importantly, though, my file is stuffed with those from parents and students who took the time to write me up in a positive fashion…

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Mike,

WELL SAID

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@MAC

As you know Bernie Madoff was convicted of 11 federal crimes and running a ponzi scheme.
The gist of his operation was the lack of reporting, oversight and fidicuiary responsibility.

The need financial reform package is designed to make those events more accountable and have greater oversight and reporting requirements.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124604151653862301.html

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SoCo

The one that I got bent out of shape over during Katrina was when the Cubans offered to send a hospital ship staffed with men and women who are world-class professionals and with plenty of experience of their own in dealing with hurricane related traumas and we refused…because they were Cubans…here was a chance to do something good and lay politics aside and we let our pride get in the way…I think that’s what’s at work here…false pride…

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Wyld Byll Hyltnyr:

Be careful. The libs. will accuse you of racism. You used the “B” word.

popeye:

Good. I see you are reading my posts.

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I truly wish I could say good things about this president. He’s a good father…. check, he’s got good taste in music…. 1/2 check, a community organizer….. check, a good politician and president….. well, you can’t have everything can you.

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Rep. Boehner and the Repubs had ample opportunity to read the bill because it was voted on and passed in the House. The Senate passed their version and now the both bills are in confrence to be clarfiy difference between the two pieces of legislation.

Are the Repubs absent from the confrence?

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NIF, I have been following the SCOTUS confirmation hearings on C-SPAN. When asked to show relative value of “original intent” versus “precedent” in interpreting the Constitution, Elena Kagan responded that the Constitution is “a document of genius”. She went on to underscore that point in mentioning the durability of our form of government and the the three separate branches thereof. To me if you value the Constitution, you necessarily value the form of government. If you posit that the “government is necessary evil”, you necessarily posit that our Constitution is evil. I, for one, must disagree.

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off topic — josef @2:50 This is a good reminder of how much good it does to recognize someone’s work in writing. It always feels good when our “customers” take the time to let us know we are doing good work.

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Jackie –

Try reading his comment again. And better this time.

He was talking about “the American people” not Republicans.

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I give Obama credit for picking his place to speak. Ke-nowhere. You could throw a rock and not hit a brain cell in that audience. I’m sure it will be all standing “O’s” if he makes his way up to the welfare state of Milwaukee or stops over to see his marxist friends in Madison.

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@Outhouse

I believe it costs you nothing but gives you great benefit in the protection it provides for your deposits.

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@md

All business is in business to make money. The scorecard of a business is money. I do think we are aware of that fact.

However, banks and other businesses have to account for all the costs to determine how much it costs to do business. Being the business person you are, these things are readily apparent to you?

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Nothing is Free, I am sure glad you were not around in 1776 – perhaps you were? I like the Constitution, but it was written 220 years ago. There was no Wall Street, no Federal Reserve, no Globalization, no labor unions, no internal combustion engine/petroleum. It was written to protect establish rights for individuals; not corporations. we were intended (I think) to be a democratic republic, or a representative democracy and we have become a plutocratic society, which borders on the feudal systems capitalism (and socialism) was intended to replace. if you believe government = necessary evil, you are capitulating to the whims of “evil”.

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“Wasn’t there a study that republicans were more educated and knew more about the issues done during the election of ‘08?”

Don’t know about Republicans in general, but Tea Partiers are mored educated an knowledgeable about the issues than the average citizen:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/us/politics/15poll.html

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“we have become a plutocratic society, which borders on the feudal systems capitalism (and socialism) was intended to replace.”

What nonsense. You clearly know nothing about feudal economies.

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“The cost of any government regulation is not passed on to the consumer.
How much does it cost you to have FDIC insurance?”

However much the bank has to hold out of the interest you earn, or has to tack onto the fees you pay, to cover the cost of that insurance.

Bottom line: EVERYTHING is paid by the worker. No workers, no money. EVERYTHING costs the worker/taxpayer in the end.

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Jackie –

There is no distinction between “the American people” and Republicans?

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about Tea party smarts…

http://punditkitchen.com/2010/06/14/political-pictures-teabagger-sign-obama-cloth/

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mike, even if one accepts that the typical Tea Party aficionado is more knowledgeable or educated on the issues dear to them, it is does not of itself suggest that the Tea Party aficionado is any more knowledgeable or educated on the whole. Judging by some of the signs and placards one sees at their rallies, it can be said that some could have stayed awake longer in spelling class.

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Just a reminder: it took a while, and a Constitutional Amendment, before “those people” could be included in “We the people”.

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“believe it costs you nothing but gives you great benefit in the protection it provides for your deposits.”

And I believe otherwise. The costs involved to manufacture, produce, sale, service, maintain, provide a service are built into the cost of said service.

There is no free lunch.

Does the benefits out way the costs? In this case probably so, however, there is no free lunch. Someone is gonna pay and that would be the consumer.

Sorry and thanks for playing. Johnny has some nice parting gifts for you!

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SoCo,
wait for me! Later y’all.

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True TP…there is no specific charge appearing on a bank statement, however, I dont imagine is a freebie either.

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Regulations is just another phrase for higher costs. And who ultimately pays these higher costs? The consumer…ie see the credit industry reform…Obama & Co made a mess out of it…

And I suppose that the 40% drop in the value of my 401k as the result of the lack of regulation of Wall Street and the subsequent crash is not a cost, in your way of thinking.

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GALE

I make a point of writing those letters myself. I know what it’s like dealing with the public and I know what it takes sometimes to keep from strangling somebody. I truly appreciate it when someone either goes out of their way to make my day easier or who handles my problem with courtesy, dignity, and yes, a sense of humor.

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@Outhouse

Nothing is free in doing business. We pay taxes, the government regulates and the business complies to those regulations to maintain a safe, secure and “equal” business environment.

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Something Jay would never share with you:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/30/news/economy/fiscal_commission_cbo/index.htm?hpt=T2

Oops, spent to much!

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Jay:

You are pretty good at this sort of thing. I would like your opinion as to the logic and accuracy of the figures regarding something I just heard on the radio:

If I heard correctly, according to the GAO, when Bush left office the debt (as a percentage of gross domestic product) was 32%. Under Obama it is now 66% of GDP headed for 90% in a few years if nothing is done.

What say ye?

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Ever wonder why these boom and bust cycles gained in frequency since around 1980? Even in the most fervent “free markets should rule” mindset, the correlation between deregulating banks and boom/bust cycles is clear.

Yes, banks are businesses. But they are unique in that they hid huge risks from their investors/stockholders, betting for/against the same funds and making money both on gains and failures, nearly taking down the world economy with them. Those responsible were not held to account nor the practices stopped, so they are continuing the exact same practices today.

The next economic Armageddon is not a matter of “if”, but “when” and there’s no getting rescued again. Don’t fret about the bankers, though. Their private islands are ready for them when it’s time to grab all they can and disappear.

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md,

I made my point regarding FDIC insurance in that post. I suggested that the indirect cost of FDIC insurance could be converted to a direct cost so that customers could then include that into their considerations when shopping around for a bank. If you wish to add teller fees to the list, I’m good with that too.

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I think Obama should promote a War Fee that is structured like an insurance policy/premium. You pay a baseline premium that is determined based on your assets and then you can tack on extra coverage just in case you think your ass[ets] are worth more. The War Fee will vary depending on how much the DoD decides it needs to keep us safe on an annual basis.

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Scout,

Any truth to the rumor that the character “Forest Gump” is based upon your life? If so, did you have any say in casting Tom Hanks?

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Should be good opportunities for buying stocks somewhere around S&P 800, or a few months from now. Or the economy might be in really serious trouble and 800 will be the new baseline. This regualtion bill is mostly a dog and pony show intended to look like the gov is doing something other than lining their pockets with donations from the ever wealthier.

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Jefferson:
We review our insurance suppliers every year and the $800K will be implemented by all at some point, remember this increase is due to a government mandate, not a push by the insurance company. The average American has no idea how much health care reform is going to cost us all. My example is just the first of many increases to come.
It is not our company policy to dump our valued employees into the open market because it is easier. The trouble with this country is everyone wants to take the easy course versus the right course, we prefer the right course.

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Doesn’t matter what Congress does regarding Financial reform unless Barney Frank gets off his gay lover and actually reforms Fanny and Freddie and the congressional rule to strong arm banks to give mortgages to low income people that could NOT afford themthat started all this mess.

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slumped?

pile?

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U.S. stock markets close worst quarter since 2008.

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Trouble was, in 2008 after the Lehman Bros crash, the market sank so fast that there wasn’t time to reallocate before the losses occurred.

And why did it and others sink? Well, Phil Gramm and his buddies wiped out the regulation that formerly kept such companies in check. Lehman and others were operating in a Wild West mode—taking outrageous risks because they could. But you’ll never get Outhouse and others to acknowledge that it was the lack of regulation that cost most of us such horrible losses. And he considers that only a “risk,” not a cost.

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The DemReps/RepDems are now so utterly craven they not only can’t admit that this bill doesn’t make any significant reforms of the corrupt system that got us into this problem in the first place, they bicker about even these miniscule do nothing changes.

All this debacle does is shuffle the same powers around among the same agencies in a little different way. It really doesn’t change anything.

You plutocracy loves should be thrilled instead of whining…

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Wow! I was reading some of @@’s posts and she is one tough dude.

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It was proper for BHO to call out the slimy Bonehead’s nuclear statement though…

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House lawmakers have started calling for an investigation into reports that more than 1,800 veterans from Missouri, Illinois and other states may have been exposed to HIV or other diseases while getting dental treatment at a VA medical center in St. Louis.

Rep. Russ Carnahan, who represents St. Louis, on Wednesday asked the White House, the Veterans Administration and the House Committee on Veterans Affairs to look into the possibility that potentially deadly viruses were transmitted through equipment used at the John Cochran Division of the St. Louis Veterans Affairs Medical Center from February 2009 to March 2010–FOX NEWS

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We need to have more faith in the folks at Moodys and S&P and we need to believe folks like Blankfein when he tells us that he’s just doing God’s work. Anyone doing that has to be doing what’s best for us. Regulations and taxes are just not the way to show them our gratitude for looking out for us either. So, obviously, we need to get rid of regulations and give those hard-working millionaires and billionaires really big tax breaks. Really big, just to show them how much we appreciate what they have done for us over the years. Maybe even appoint them to government positions. Positions like Senator and Ambassador and Congressman and Judge. Just to show our appreciation, of course.

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Scout …Doyouknow what ‘Teaching ‘involves? How dare you even suggest that teaching is not a real job!!!

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“How dare you even suggest that teaching is not a real job!!!”

No, no…you’re taking it all wrong. It’s only “not a real job” when Obama does it. It’s a real job for everyone else in the profession.

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Peyote, why don’t you use your usual ID? Afraid to be known!

I don’t “take” anything so what’s your problem? I think you overdosed on Dem doses for dumbells today.

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Is that better, Dusty.

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Sounds like those Repubs want to throw people life jackets made of concrete, Dusty.

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Oops! Sorry, Jay B. I read Obama’s misrepresentation of Boehner’s quote as being yours.

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had a professor that basically did nothing but update text books, usually with minimum changes. How did he teach – go to the bookstore and buy “my” $200 textbook (he was the author), read it, tests every other week. Never around for questions, always – read the book.

Sounds like a lot of professors I once knew. Of course, we need to remember that the United States is one of the few countries where students basically pay colleges to force them to learn. “Threaten me and make me learn what the textbook says.” In many colleges and universities in England, people “read” for their exams. There’s no such thing as attending classes MWF or TTh and scribbling notes to study assiduously just before exam time. You want to learn here? Buy the assigned textbooks at inflated prices and then submit to the forced discipline you pay for.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been the editor, author, or co-author of some books used in college courses. However, I have never stooped to forcing students to buy my books as a condition of course participation, although I know many who have done so with respect to their own books.

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Why all the outrage from Republicans about banks raising fees? Republicans love raising fees. Besides, if I think the Big Banks’ fees are too high, I can go to a no-fee online bank or a credit union.

(Wait… I already do both.)

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Bank fees are going up under the Democrats, and it’s no accident. When Democrats raise the banks costs and try to prevent them from making a profit in one area, the banks are going to have to find other ways to maintain revenue.

They are businesses after all, morons.

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Dusty

But, on the sensible side (if you have one) do you like the deficit facing the USA? The expansion of government at every turn as instigated by our President? There must be something in your life besides funny IDs. Go do your homework.

Well, I’m with Sister Dusty. We need to go back to early times when poor people tugged on their forelocks to their betters because they couldn’t afford hats to tip. Let them eat stale bread or something, but no cake. I draw the line at that.

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Day 71 Oil Spill.

Only 31 days (at least) until August 1st. Total – 102 days.

When in August are they suppose to stop the leak?

The Obamunists are scared stuffless about November. They should be!

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md..re: about ‘pushing’ students to read !! In a criticism of your former professor you have touched on one of the major functions of a teacher which is to broaden the horizons of students by having them research the opinions of several authors and not rely on the lectures of one professor and slavishly copy his/her notes as gospel truth !! This is a vital function and requires that the teacher is well aware of the opinions in a field that he/she specializes in …This is a darn time consuming JOB and requires great skill!! Sham? You obviously have no idea what you are talking about!!

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“Bank fees are going up under the Democrats, and it’s no accident. When Democrats raise the banks costs and try to prevent them from making a profit in one area, the banks are going to have to find other ways to maintain revenue.

They are businesses after all, morons.”

Yep, businesses who must, at all costs, keep the top executives in their mansions and the corporate jet polished and ready to go. Heaven forbid they should consider paying the CEO what he’s really worth and cutting a little profit. The banks will use this as an excuse, and that’s all it is. Actually, the current bill has so softened the direct impact on their profit that there won’t be any need to raise fees. But hey, any excuse will do. Profit as a business is fine, and that is indeed what they’re designed to do. But is there a limit to how much profit they should consider successful? Is there ever a point where the purpose of the business is to do the job well and thus increase business? No, they start complaining and screwing the “little people”…and it’s all because of the big bad government trying to protect actual taxpaying citizens. Perish the thought!!

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Jack
And what, pray tell, do you do to put beans on the table?

OTHERWISE

Professors and books. When I was in college I was researching a paper. I so doing I ran across a book authored by my professor which I found was about “the best” I had come across on the subject at hand. When I asked him why he had not required it or at least put it on his reading list, his answer was, “that would not be ethical.” “But a lot of other professors do it…” “Then there are a lot of other professors I wouldn’t consider ethical.”

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Lil’ Barry Bailout
June 30th, 2010
5:54 pm

“When Democrats raise the banks costs and try to prevent them from making a profit in one area, the banks are going to have to find other ways to maintain revenue.
“

Please tell us when bank fees started going up, and for how many years this has been going on, and enlighten us on what percentage of the Big Banks’ revenues currently consist of fees vs non-fee income, compared to say, 30 years ago.

You say the Democrats are to blame? Wow. Here I thought all along that the Big Banks just found fees to be more lucrative than boring old interest.

Heck, if the reform bill passes, won’t the banks be overjoyed at the chance to charge another fee? They love raising fees. Fees, fees, fees! And so do Republicans. The Free Market shouldn’t let the fees get too high, lest we all start flocking to credit unions. So again… what’s the big deal?

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“Then there are a lot of other professors I wouldn’t consider ethical.”

Yup. I attended a graduate school where three senior professors were the editors of the recognized anthology of English literature in American colleges and universities. And guess what anthology was required in courses involving surveys of English literature for undergraduate students. If you can’t guess, you don’t belong on this blog. One of those professors was my doctoral dissertation adviser, so I couldn’t righteously protest.

It happens all across the country. And just to make sure their books are adopted, publishers pay other professors across the country to “review” their forthcoming college textbooks. If you’re recognized as a “contributor” to an anthology, it’s pretty hard to adopt a rival anthology. BTW, Georgia State’s business school is one of the worst offenders in this self-serving course textbook adoption business.

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Hey, those book royalties are nice. I got a nice sum for just doing a little co-authoring in the past.

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curious

I ran afoul of one of those professors. For another class, I had used a work to which he had contributed as a reference presenting the interpretation of the historical event that I disagreed with. The professor for whom I had written the paper marked the paper highly and asked me if I minded if he shared it with his colleagues. Of course, silly little twit that I was, “I would be honored.” It turned out that the author was assigned a seminar I would have to take and it was the quarter from hell. My papers and bluebooks looked like the Battle of Gettysburg and his comments, scathing ones, filled more space than I had used to write the d*mned thing. I guess he knew his colleagues would question it if my final grade was too low, so he gave me the only B I had on my transcript…I think, in the long run, I was prouder of it than any of the A’s…

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That DOW just keeps on going down…I guess we can blame George Bush, huh? mmm, mmm, mmm…..

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RF @ 6:09 Great post! I think that this “reform” is just posturing and nothing is really going to change. I am in favor of a financial transcation tax.

A financial transaction tax on speculative trading is sometimes called a “Tobin tax,” after the man who first proposed it, Nobel laureate economist James Tobin. The revenue potential of a Tobin tax is huge. The Bank for International Settlements reported in 2008 that total annual derivatives trades were $1.14 quadrillion (a quadrillion is a thousand trillion). That figure was probably low, since over-the-counter trades are unreported and their magnitude is unknown. A mere 1% tax on $1 quadrillion in trades would generate $10 trillion annually in public funds. That is only for derivatives. There are also stocks, bonds and other financial trades to throw in the mix; and more than half of this trading occurs in the United States.
A Tobin tax would not generate these huge sums year after year, because it would largely kill the computerized high-frequency program trades that now compose 70% of stock market purchases. But that is a worthy end in itself. The sudden, thousand-point drop in the Dow Industrial Average on May 6 showed the world how vulnerable the stock market is to manipulation by these sophisticated market gamblers. The whole high-frequency trading business needs to be stopped, in order to protect legitimate investors using the stock market for the purposes for which it was designed: to raise capital for businesses.

Besides protecting legitimate savers and investors by exempting stock held five years or more, they could be exempted from a Tobin tax on total stock purchases of under $1 million per year. That would make the tax literally a millionaire’s tax — and a small one at that, at only 1% per trade.

http://www.counterpunch.org/brown06302010.html

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Was it Nortons?

Yup. And now you’re down to three names to determine my dissertation adviser. The university should be obvious from the credits. One of the names on those books was a drunk who eventually died of the disease. I had ignorantly bought him a bottle of whiskey as a thank-you present for serving on the dissertation panel. I think I helped kill him. Another became a distinguished professor and chair of the Humanities Institute at the University of Chicago and the University of Virginia. The third died in place as a well-publicized professor at the university I attended.

And josef, I’ll never forget turning in the final doctoral dissertation. My adviser’s comment? “That’s six dissertations on ___. Now I can write my book.” You can imagine how I felt after all that research and work.

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Curious…

A funny…I had one of those professors who, I swear, had included verbatim a section of one of my undergraduate papers in his “work.” I was furious, but it wasn’t worth the effort at the time to make a to-do about it. A few years later I was invited to address a group of “experts” in the field on a topic which I had, inadvertantly, re-opened with a little thing I had found and had translated and which was causing a reassessment of traditional interpretation. In my remarks, I said something to the effect that, “according to the former interpretation, and I am quoting here from a professor’s quote of an undergraduate student…” blah-blah and tweet-tweet. Afterwards he approached me and was huffy. I laughed, “…and just think, you had to ask your department to pay good money for you to come and hear that…” Revenge is sweet!

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RW

Got your note. The Left/Right issue isn’t what struck a nerve earlier. It’s just that no matter what the topic is, it ends up “my guy’s right” or “your guy’s at fault”. Not one person on this blog has accepted any fault for the situation we’re in, yet we’re all voters and have cast votes in the past.

Whether the person we voted for won or lost, this is still our country. Instead of b*tchin’ about anything and everything, why can we not just agree to disagree and work on a solution to our financial problems? If we continu to fall for these politicial strategies that keep us divided as a people, then we’re due for whatever we get.

It took us years to get into this mess, and we rode the gravy train until the wheels came off. Well guess what, now we gotta repair the locomotive and put the train back on the rails. It’s not going to be an easy task, and it will take some tough decisions. I think we’re at a point now, where if we don’t act, we’re screwed for a long, long time.

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Jay:

You are pretty good at this sort of thing. I would like your opinion as to the logic and accuracy of the figures regarding something I just heard on the radio:

If I heard correctly, according to the GAO, when Bush left office the debt (as a percentage of gross domestic product) was 32%. Under Obama it is now 66% of GDP headed for 90% in a few years if nothing is done.

What say ye?

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SoCo,

I’ll have you know that I have apologized on numerous occasions for voting for Bush. I was wrong. I’m trying to make up for it.

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Information—
I understand wet wiccan is a she…can’t be a warlock of Marxism… aw, Hecuba,,,

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wicca, wiccan, whatever…….. They have their “sky fairy”.

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IR/YW

“They have their “sky fairy”.”

And you don’t?

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“And you don’t?”

jonix, LOLOLOL! You are the man.

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I have a sky fairy?!?!?

But other than that . . . what is it about a financial transaction tax that you think is Marxist?

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#1 – We already have that in the form of elections. Sometimes serving a couple of terms helps with continuity of the job. It’s up to the public to demand better candidates.

#2 – Good luck with that one. In order to do that, you’d have to know what your income would be. If income is tied to a consumption based tax, you set yourself up for failure in an economic downturn. A better idea would be a better budgeting of current funds.

#3 – The Religious Right will never back a lottery or any form of gambling. Check the state of Alabama for that. There’s already taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Increasing them will only cause a decrease in their usage. Before all these “Free Trade” acts, the US Customs Service used to raise a fair amount of money thru tarriffs and fees.

#4 – No disagreement with you on that one.

#5 – Good luck with that one too. Remember, we have a Northern and Southern Border. The amount of manpower/technology it would take to seal them would dwarf what we currently spend on the entire budget. Open borders is one of the pitfalls of having an open society. One has to decide which is more important.

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TaxPayer

LOL!!! This country needs a 12-step program to wean ourselves from the current corrupted system we have. There may be some good politicians out there. I do not wish to paint them all as corrupt. However when there’s more focus on scoring political points to appease the base as opposed to focusing on what’s best for the country, we’re floating up sh*t creek in a sinking canoe.

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“we’re floating up sh*t creek in a sinking canoe”

Now THAT’s a good one! Hat’s off to ya, SoCo…

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SoCo,

If one is of the belief that the actions being taken right now by our political leaders will exacerbate any problems we have now and create a slew of new ones should they really just shut up and go along with the “fixes” that are being done in our name?

I think not.

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No need to sugarcoat anything.

Don’t let Saxby hear you say that. He might just pop in unannounced during your next merit review, just to set the record straight, of course.

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I know you don’t remember this Jay, but you once told me that by law the Health Care bill had to be deficit neutral. Now clearly it is not. The CBO is forced to take the assumptions of those who present the bill. Has the $500 billion been cut from Medicare yet? That was one of the assumptions.

We better get rid of the term “non-discretionary” when it comes to government spending. I would really be interested in you writing about the over $100 trillion unfunded liability that exists with Social Security and Medicare. Please show me that it’s not as catastrophic as I think it is. Nothing you ever talk about (Bush tax cuts, defense, etc.) even approaches those numbers.

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RW

I would not expect one to go along with what they felt was not right. An alternate, viable plan would impress the hell out of me, though. Demonization of the plan on the table doesn’t, in itself, offer an alternative.

There’s been some good alternatives/changes that have been offered by the GOP, and I think the Democratic Party will pay a price for not giving them serious thought. At the same time, the GOP can’t act like the kid that doesn’t get picked and decides to take their ball home.

Conversely, when the GOP returns to the White House and attains a majority in Congress, they can’t decide to “payback” the Democrats for what they’re doing now. Someone has to be the grown up and put country over party and revenge.

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I’ve found the college textbook discussion quite interesting. Reminds me of something that happened to me in the 5th grade, I believe it was. We were given a project on “using the encyclopedia”. Had nice little booklets that were given to us with all kinds of questions. I was sort of naive at the time, just being 10, I hadn’t advanced to the level of cynicism that I have today. Anyway, I took the booklet home and spent an awful lot of time going through the encyclopedias that we had at home, which were probably 5-6 years old. I was always and A & B student but I got a pretty bad grade on this project. So I went back over it and found that most of my answers were in line with what my encyclopedias said and took proof in to show the teacher. Well, seems they World Book Encyclopedia said something different. I explained to the teacher that I didn’t have access to those. I was told that they were in the library, which was all well and good, but the only way home I had was to take the bus and it left right after class got out. So I told the teacher all that and my parents wrote notes and all. The teacher’s suggestion was to buy a new set of World Book Encyclopedias. It was politely explained to her that we didn’t have the money for that.

Long story short, the teacher had a friend who sold World Book Encyclopedias. The whole damn thing was a ruse to sell encyclopedias. It was good for me though, because I learned one of life’s most valuable lessons, don’t trust anybody, especially when they stand to make money off the situation.

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“You’ve heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession,” he said, noting that growth has held up at about 1 percent despite all the publicity over losing jobs to India, China, illegal immigration, housing and credit problems and record oil prices. “We may have a recession; we haven’t had one yet.”
“We have sort of become a nation of whiners,” he said. “You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline” despite a major export boom that is the primary reason that growth continues in the economy, he said.

Phil Gramm
July 2008

I’m sensing a pattern.

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The only people I know that want term limits are the people that don’t want the people they got in office now.

You don’t know me. If they can’t line their pockets in two terms, they’re too dumb to be there anyway.

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SoCo,

If I feel the GOP has better plans for things I find more important than things I think the Democrats have better plans for then it’s my duty to do whatever I can to help the GOP. I’m on record here as saying that Obama would be a much better pick for President than McCain if your long term goal was the health of the Republican party.

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“Obama is blind……..”

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Thank you SoCo.

A polite and mature response is refreshing.

We can pick this up later I hope.

I gotta go for tonight. Early start tomorrow.

Cheers,
Info

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Hillbilly

You don’t know me. If they can’t line their pockets in two terms, they’re too dumb to be there anyway. ”

My sentiments precisely! I won’t ever forget when one of the school board bigwigs was run out for roughtly $4000 in fraud…a lot of folks were say, “well, look at what some of the others…” My contention was that when we’re talking millions in scam, $4000 just speaks to how ‘unqualified’ he was to begin with… I feel pretty much the same way about “Cold Cash” Jefferson…chump change…

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time for me to hit the sack. That 3am alarm waits for no one.

Later all…

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Welcome to the Journolist Top Secret Progressive He-Man Wingnut Haters Club and L33t H4xoR Chat Room. Disclaimer: this is a private discussion forum intended solely for the benefit of JournoList members. Reproduction, transmission, redistribution, or description, in whole or in part, of any content (including, but not limited to, private insults, insider innuendo, political manifestos, hair styling tips and/or gossip)…

Hmmmmm, where have I seen ^^^ that before?

…without the expressed written consent of the commissioner is strictly prohibited. Please read and agree to the User Consent Form. And, as always, remember the first rule of JournoList: there is no JournoList.

http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2010/06/ill-take-a-cashiers-check-mr-breitbart.html

Warning: strong language

Too funny!

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Jay,

I really appreciate your response. I must slightly disagree with you about SSI. If you take SSI as a separate entity, it is indeed in decent shape with the “trust fund” not running out of money for several more decades. But in reality, it is simply another agency of the federal government, not a separate entity. The income it produces is spent in other parts of the government, and the costs will come from other parts of government in the future. The question isn’t where SSI will get the money, it is where the federal government will get the money. If I were in charge, I would eliminate the payroll tax, and simply raise the federal tax to pay SSI benefits. That would raise revenue because the cap on the OASDI portion would be eliminated, and it would reflect on the revenue side what SSI has truly become: just another future liability the federal government must somehow meet. I know it would look to some as the first step in breaking a promise the government has made, but that line was crossed in 1983 by Reagan and Tip O’Neill. The trust fund is just an accounting mechanism that shows how much one part of the government owes another.

Here is what alarms me: the baby boomers are producing close to their maximum amount of revenue right now. Very few have retired, and they are in their highest income earning years. Yet we have massive debt, are running huge deficits, and building unfunded liabilities that are simply impossible to meet. Once more and more boomers become comsumers and not producers of government income….yikes!

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@@ 8:40

That sounds amazing like the disclaimer read on every Major League Baseball broadcast.

Any rebroadcast, reproduction or other use of this game without the express written consent of Major League Baseball is prohibited.

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Hillbilly
@8:37

And if I DID have to, I certainly wouldn’t admit it…

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RW
Ten o’clock…
“tell ‘em I’m not here…”

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@@

Thanks! You mean to tell me we’re interested in something besides our own agenda? I didn;t get the memo…sssh DADT…

ISH

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Hillbilly:

Whenever you guys talk about baseball, all that comes to my mind is Bob Uecker. He was???/is??? so funny!

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Get real. Obama was a adjunct professor. That just means part time, maybe once a week like a temp. Not a real honest to God, work most days professors. And if he thinks this economy is recovering he needs to be living in the real world of unemployment, higher prices, and daily business closings.

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Draft Clark Howard for Governor in 2010.

If he’s so cheap he won’t mind the pay cut and Georgia needs a leader EXACTLY like him.

BTW – Is Clark a Dem Or Repub or Liber or ?????

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2012?

Right now Carville/Nungesser…

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For several years I’ve had the subscription where you can listen to any MLB radio broadcast. Several years back, Eucker said one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard on a broadcast. It was a slow game and they were talking about unusual reasons that players gave for not being able to play in a given game. They went through the usual “slipped and fell in the shower” ones. Then they told about Jose Cardenal once saying that he couldn’t play because he’d been unable to sleep at all the night before. When asked why, Cardenal supposedly said that there was a cricket in his room chirping all night. The other broadcaster made a comment about how loud crickets could be and how they make the noise by rubbing their legs together. Eucker says, “Yeah, funny thing about it, after they investigated, they found out it was Jose’s roommate rubbing HIS legs together that was making the noise”

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josef nix,

Jindal/??? in 2012

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Jay:

Thanks for your input. Most of this is a little about my rank but it does as they say look “unsustainable” especially if we are headed to 90% of GDP. The Europeans are even saying we are nuts. Dark days ahead.

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High School Harry is out there again campaigning, while Americans want him to govern. The problem is he doesn’t know how to be a president, he’s only good at charade. His charade has been peeling off as his approval rating continues to fall along with our economy. The neo-comms continue this stupid mantra that it’s all Bush’s fault and that their dear leader inherited this problem and if America will only wait several years hope and change will come along. Oh, the lemming mentality.

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Josef and Curious, I’m here late. I do not recall the things that you mention while in grad school and seeing my professor’s name on a linguistics textbook did not bother me. But the type of shenanigans that you talk about did happen to me in the business world. Once upon a time, I rescued a product that my company had done well with but had started to get competition on with the advent of cheap Taiwanese knock-offs. I gave the product a smaller footprint, took out the bulky inner packing, gave a new package dress and reduced the price while maintaining a strong profit margin. I was the GM. Standing in a conference room with our president, his brother (the parent company’s CEO) praised HIM for saving the product. I could feel him turn and embarrassing shade of red, but he never told his big brother that the credit should have been directed my way.

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RW, when I was just a young punk (as compared to the old punk I am now) I lived to read good sports books.

I remember Ball Four by Jim Bouton, one of the very first kiss and tell exposes on baseball. Another fave was Confessions of a Dirty Ballplayer by Johnny Sample of the NY Jets and others.

Recently I read The Mick. A must read for Yankees fans of that era…

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Scout is promoted to the rank of “Colonel”.
My question is simple… What’s the plan?

Repeat….. What’s the plan? What’s the strategy?

Information is dangerous to the “collective”.

The Obamunists are on the brink. They will either succeed or fail into oblivion in 125 days.

Liberty and Capitalism are good.

Marxism and Progressivism are bad.

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Please do your homework for November.

Understand who you are voting for and why.

Otherwise you’ll end up with someone like me.

Thank you,
Alvin

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Alvin,

Why you’ll fit right in with the democratic party. Once you’re elected just get close with Barney and Al Frankin.

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Sounds good, as do those Luciano books!

A few Christmases back, my son gave me a book about baseball parks and it is haped, you guessed it, like a baseball park. Just kind of cool to look at.

Back in the late 80s I was lucky enough to get to Cooperstown. It was not long after Clemons struck out 20. And they had this larger than life cutout of him. And underneath it all it said was 20. They had this one room setup like Ebbets Fields with turnstiles and seats, etc. from it. Very, very cool…

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Please send political contributions to my dads’ house. Cash Only.

Thank you for your support.

Green jobs and Higher Taxes,
Alvin

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Boehner has a strong challenger this year. http://www.coussouleforcongress.com/

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josef,

I don’t know about Minnesotans, their brains must freeze during the winters up there and then take the rest of the year to partially thaw. I mean voting in Jessie Ventura as governor and Al Franken, doesn’t get any more stupid.

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Del, really? How about Texas and South Carolina to start?

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Oh yes it gets plenty more stupid – Michelle Bachmann.

Amy, thanks for that link. Very encouraging.

And yet again the contrast couldn’t be anymore stark. A young, battle tested, bright democrat or an old failed neo-con chickenhawk…

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Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin in 012…hey now, sure beats Obama and The Old gaffer Joe Biden, what a pair.

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Mick,

Well what walk and talk are you talking about. I guess you think we should all strive to be politicians or work for them. I take it you’re on the public payroll or maybe you’re a politician wannabe.

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No Minnesota for me…them folks are w–a-a-a-y too white…in mind, body and spirit!

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Mick

What’s wrong with Al Franken…he wants a Committe for Public Safety? That’s not funny even for a commedian on stage, much less talking about a Supreme Court nominee…
Now Ventura? I kinda like him…a maverick’s maverick…

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Del, 10:17

South Carolina is one of the finer states in the Union. The people there are not wishy washy and whether you like them or not, you know exactly where they stand. They are honest. a state of being hard to find these days.

I won’t say that they don’t have a few well known politicans who love to play with valentines & pretty women. But their wives give them the heave ho and then write books about it. Getting to be a favorite pastime, not just in SC but in many states. But SC politicians do it with high style from mountain trails to fandangos in Argentina. High steppers if you want to call it that.

Besides all that, Spanish moss is a dreamy touch hanging from those great big trees on the coast where the waves come lapping on happy sand while dolphins leap.. Yep, South Crolina is a great place.

Now I leave with a happy smile. Braves WON their game tonight against the Nationals. Go Braves!

Goodnight!!. Pleasant dreams… .

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Del

What exactly is the public payroll?

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Sounds good, as do those Luciano books!

Bogey Man is light years better and the first of the Luciano books is a giant leap better than the other two of his, but none of them would be a disappointment to the reader.

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josef,

If he wouldn’t go downtown it really could be a dealbreaker. Why isn’t this show on a real network? It’s better than almost all of what they have.

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South carolina? Give me sweet home new jersey with all those gardens and magnificent shoreline..

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Please send cash only to my dads’ crib.

Support da Progressive agenda in November.

Go back to sleep. We got dis.

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del,

Please, I am not the one fighting for a party of slogans.

I chose to call you dumb because you do.

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Obama doesn’t know how to be presidential or lead, and his economic policies are a failure. With the massive deficit he and the congress is running up, the pain is just beginning. How about the latest CBO revelation! The Wall Street crisis will be a minor story compared to the coming disaster being created by this corrupt and inept administration that remains out of touch and in denial – everything is the fault of someone else or something inherited.

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getalife,

I think josef@10:46, offered up some good wisdom. Have a nice evening.

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Yes, congrats to South Carolina for winning the college baseball championship.

demint is taking vitter’s place on doing the gop dirty work of holds on everything.

He put a hold on subpoena power for the oil committee.

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Geez…if you’re gonna leave with some South Carolina, leave with some rockin’ South Carolina

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del,

I will not blame God for you being dumb.

That is your “chose.”

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Well if we’re going to the 57 states, y’all come, now, y’heah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLKsk16FAWE

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Scout,

Yes sir…this is great. I made a financial contribution some months back to the museum. Thanks for informing about the Recon section. Will look for it. Semper Fi. Taps

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Ahhhhhhh—– Travlin’ music on Wednesday?

Phish – Jesus Just Left Chicago……

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3VxinNVdWI

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Jimma @ 10:51 -

so the past 8 years never happened? How soon we forget.

I suppose things were so much better with a war mongering jack @ss in charge, bankrupting the country and destroying everything he put his inept, simple minded hands on.

Huh?

You must be REALLY dangerous behind the wheel of a car.

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Lowlands? Even a transplanted New Englander like me knows it’s Low Country.

/should I commence with the stories?

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Hillbilly @ 11:00

In public school? Oh, the horror !!!!

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The denigration of educators is just priceless. Those professors might taint the Joe the Plumber bloc so that they might not drink the Kool Aid. Horrifying.

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slap yo white a33 back where it came from!

Brockton?

Goodnight y’all

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[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]

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Boehner makes an outlandish comparison and Obama mocks him.

Here’s the truth. The reforms are not nearly enough. The Dems watered them down so much as to make them ineffective. According to Sen. Russ Feingold, this bill will not stop the abuses that led to the freezing of our credit markets. This legislation doesn’t do anything about the too-big-to-fail institutions.

Obama is a lousy advocate for reform. Wall Street gets a little reform and the Republicans get to pretend they are outraged.

Meanwhile, all the politicians have received and will continue to receive large donations from these same too-big-to-fail financial interests. This includes Saxby and Johnny. Who do you think pays for their golf outings at the most expensive golf clubs?

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For example-

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday officially overturned a 16-yearold Texas air permitting program it says violates the Clean Air Act, leaving some of the country’s largest refineries in a state of limbo.-Urinal

The enemy attacks the economic well being of a state and it’s free born US citizens, for what, I’m askin…

Malicious violence in the name of a jihad inflicted by the terrorist enemy, nothing more, nothing less.

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Wow, our goony enemy shifts strategy-

“The commission should be aware that there is a higher probability of the Vogtle project being uneconomic than portrayed” by Georgia Power in its disclosures to regulators, said Hayet, president of Hayet Power Systems Consulting.

Even after factoring out everything already spent on the two new reactors, the project may end up costing ratepayers more long-term than if the company had built a series of natural gas-fired power plants instead, he said. -Urinal

Neat, they whined about the pipeline that made natural gas cheaper for the citizens of Georgia, now they whine because we aren’t using the natural gas pipeline.

They terrorist enemy whines and attacks everything, don’t they?

We are targets of opportunity to them, just sayin…

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Normal

If it doesn’t appease Whiner, it’s just whining and bellyaching.

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Well appears sad day are here again for The Goron. Not only did his bossman, Clinton, get caught up in a sex scandal now seems his fat is in the fire.

Police to re-open investigation regarding “The Goron visits the massage parlor”. What a fine example from Mr Green Genes himself.

PS…Me love you long time.

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Ofumbler to speak on immigration reform. Perhaps he might think about speaking on the economy, jobs, unemployment etc…but wait…that involved numbers and counting and arithmetic so we can kiss that good-bye.

Yea a nice rousing speech about something is what this Country needs right now.

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dB – 7:31 – I don’t think self-medicating counts …

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Wonder how many different drug therapies have been tried and found wanting to date?

Valium always worked for me…

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USinUK,
Thanksgiving??!!?? The nerve…

Tell them I do believe that if America had stayed a colony we would have
had a better World Cup than this one…and Whiner would have nothing to rant about…

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Why?

Just curious, Outhouse.

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In case you’re interested in some deficit cutting…

Subject: Does Congress have the courage to leave Afghanistan?

Dear Friend,

One of the best tactics we have as citizens for bringing our troops home from the Afghan quagmire is to convince Congress to end the war by controlling how it’s funded.

A House vote on the supplemental funding bill for the war is imminent. I just told my member of Congress to oppose the war funding. I hope you’ll join me by telling your member of Congress to vote against the funding as well.

You can take action at the link below.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/afghanistan_timetable/?r_by=9831-2457263-2zmPN7x&rc=confemail

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USinUK,
Don’t tell me he’s fasting? That would be too cruel…

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A question totally off the block, but I need some input. Does anyone own a Kindle and if so, what do you like and/or dislike about it.

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“If Al Gore actually groped a massage therapist, it would logically follow that everything we know about climate change is wrong.”

HERE HERE!!!! *Applause* Glad it was a lefty that said. Must admit I was thinking the same thing…

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Slash the DoD budget NOW. For each million dollar soldier that we take off the payroll, twenty, fifty-thousand-dollar jobs could be created. For every billion dollars we slash from the DoD’s trillion dollar annual budget, twenty thousand, fifty-thousand-dollar jobs could be created. And we don’t even have to tax the nation’s millionaires and billionaires more in order to do that so it’s a win-win.

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Because I’m a nice guy, OGK, I’ll point out that it’s actually spelled “Hear, hear.”

It’s a common enough misspelling, but I’ve never quite understood why; I’m not sure why a person would shout “here, here” so as to make people notice where he happened to be sitting, or possibly standing, as opposed to drawing attention to someone he agreed with.

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USinUK,
Four vials…ykes. I don’t look when they take mine, but I will say my arm looked like a flat tire when they were done. Made that sugar rush that much better with the doughnuts…

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Normal – “I don’t look when they take mine”

I can watch blood be taken from someone else – I donate every opportunity I get – but I can’t watch the needle go in my own arm. Once it’s in, I can watch them fill vials and fiddle around with collection bags … but the initial stick … uuuurrrrrgggghhhh … nope.

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