Gallup reports historic poll margin for GOP in Congress

First!!

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“And in this particular frame, the Republicans have the bases loaded and nobody out, with the Dems just hoping to limit the damage until their own turn at bat.”

Jay–Any guesses WHY the Republicans are poised to retake the House and Senate?? Could it have anything to do with the disastrous leadership the past 1 1/2 years?? From my perspective, the Democrats asked for a chance to do things their way, and it was granted by the American people. Since then, it’s been one stifling bill after the next coupled with regular verbal assaults on business by Obama. Not to mention the runaway spending.

Did I mention the runaway spending??

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Obama and the democrats have been the most partisan government in the history of this country. Bookman knows that the democrats decided to jam the most liberal bills they could pass the congress down the throats of the American people. From the beginning when Rham said not to waste a good recession, it’s been nothing but scorched earth from the Democrats. The birds are coming home to roost.

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Did I mention the runaway spending??

which most people don’t especially care about, at least not nearly as much as they do unemployment.

http://nw-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/1004-ftop.pdf

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Did I mention the runaway spending??

Do you know who was President when the TARP was issued?

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Generic candidates always win against candidates with an actual record. When these tea party candidates start explaining that ‘taking America back’ means taking away Social Security, Medicare, civil rights, and other things Americans enjoy the GOP support will wither.

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Bruno – congratulations, you got ALL of the excuses down pat.

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Shorter Nate: yeah, it’s probably just an outlier, but it still matters.

I’ll add this: if that’s what’s gotta be done to finally light a fire under yo’ butts…

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“Do you know who was President when the TARP was issued?”

Yup but Obama voted for it and people will remember that.

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well said Jimmy62 @ 12:05!

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So, you are telling me that the library cop’s name is Bookman? That’s weird.

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““To the extent that governments can help or hurt an economy, it’s been all hurt from Obama and the Dems.”

But…but…look what Obama inherited.

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Bruno: if you really understood Keynes, you would get that stimulating in a recession is only HALF of what Keynes wrote. He also wrote that on the way out of recession you raise taxes and run a surplus so that you have some flexibility for the next recession.

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As long as Obama doesn’t veto every damn bill the Republicans try to push through after November then everything will be ok.

As long as the Republicans refuse to cooperate on every damn bill the Democrats try to push through then everything will be ok.

Oh well.

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Normal: They’ll hope that the Fed and Treasury save their political butts faster next time. They won’t vote for a thing and just get Obama to do the job behind the scenes. Again.

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Jay, do you think …maybe, just possibly, that it might just be…..the POLICIES and priorities of this Administration, and the Dems in Congress?

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Bruno, we’ve had lousy leadership for a long time now. So, yes, it has to do with lousy leadership … from both parties for many, many years.

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“You can’t back that up at all.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39495.html

“Do you know who was President when the TARP was issued?”

See Peadawg’s 12:07. TARP is only the tip of the iceberg. The health care bill will make that look like chump change one of these days.

“Bruno – congratulations, you got ALL of the excuses down pat.”

Thank you, Doggone. As I told @@ below, I do try.

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Government is like lawyers, everyone hate them until they need them. A flood, earthquake, other disaster and people seek their help.

Correct me if i am wrong, but i distinctly remember when Bush came into office USA national debt was $5 Trillion, when he left it was $10 Trillion.

Every administration is going to spend, the problem wasn’t the spending but bailing out the banks who, rather than loan the money, choose to shore up their balance sheet.

Citizens send their congressperson to bring home the bacon, if they don’t they aren’t re-elected. Stop this romanticizing of what your elected official does and does not do.

Americans are so short sighted, Obama fails we all fails, same if it were a repub in office. At the same time China and India are moving past this country. Wake the hell up!!!

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Correction Jay… there is no “demand to be saved”. It is a demand for the govt to quit pokint it’s nose where it doesn’t belong. Nice try twisting the rhetoric though.

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Seems you were once proud that [President Obama's] polls mirrored Reagans early polls. How do you like me now?

Well, I’m happy he hasn’t hit Saint Ronnie’s lows of the mid/high-thirties approvals experienced in late ‘82/early ‘83, yet. But I won’t be terribly surprised if he does.

Remind me, how’d Ronald Reagan do in his re-election bid, in ‘84? It was a squeaker, right?

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USinUK–Did I mention how much I look like Damian Lewis??

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From Bruno’s politico piece:

some business leaders listen only to Obama speeches being tough on BP or on the excesses of Wall Street and assume Obama is hostile to business across the board.

Aren’t they being kind of, well, stupid for assuming such things?

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Newsweek had this great article about Obama and Wall Street.

To me it said alot about Obama’s lack of experience, over trust, lack of loyality of his advisors and more…read it.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/29/how-obama-got-rolled-by-wall-street.html

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Wow Jay, your vacations must have really done you some good. 2 good posts in a row. See what happens when you post real news and not bashing anyone to the right of liberal…

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Bruno

August 31st, 2010
12:22 pm

Front or back?

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“Bruno, we’ve had lousy leadership for a long time now. So, yes, it has to do with lousy leadership … from both parties for many, many years.”

“This describes republicans in concept only. Did you have your head in a hole the last 10 years? Spend spend spend is the Republican way. Ever heard of any other party running two wars while giving out tax cuts?”

No argument from me, fellows. And sadly, I don’t see any outstanding individuals on the horizon who can lead us out of this mess.

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As I’ve noted earlier, the GOP base has made it clear that it has no interest whatsoever in any sort of compromise
———————————–

There’s no compromising with evil. Conservatives are expecting their elected leaders to stop the Idiot Messiah’s various big-spending, big-government, freedom-smashing programs in their tracks.

Idiot Messiah: Fascist evil-doer.

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“Aren’t they being kind of, well, stupid for assuming such things?”

sfd–One of the most important jobs of any President is to be the Head Cheerleader for the country. Jimmy Carter failed completely at it, Ronald Reagan succeeded beyond any expectations. Thus far, Obama is making Jimmy Carter look like Hayden Panettiere.

“Front or back?”

Whichever view USinUK prefers, Normal. Actually, I have no idea who Damian Lewis is, but whatever works, right??

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And what was the generic ballot advantage for the GOP in 1994?

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The real issue lies with Congress’s spending and budgetary habits. I believe the average American is tired of hearing about and feeling the effects of a downtrodden economy while Congress continues to spend the American taxpayers’ money, business as usual.

If the Senate and House are truly committed to fixing the economy, they’ll start in their own backyard by eliminating pork-laden bills, lavish entitlement programs, and by reducing their operating budgets.

The time for people to practice self-reliance is upon us, and Congress needs to lead by example.

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sfd–One of the most important jobs of any President is to be the Head Cheerleader for the country.

I would love to hear the reaction if Obama were ever to utter such a thing.

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I always feel smarter when ByteMe is around. It’s like osmosis.

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Ah, as I have long said ……….. the backlash is coming.

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Looks like in 1994, when the Republicans won a landslide victory, their generic ballot advantage was never more than 5 points, and was zero in November.

Uh-oh, Democrats.

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If you make ‘middle’ bucks, vote against your own economic interests in preparation for the day when you might be making big bucks < seems to be the mantra of the TEA party types.

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Amen Scout. This is adirect referundum on Obama, Pelosi, Reid, and they jerk Barney Frank. These people would never make it in the private sector and they are all about government. Get out of our way government hacks.

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Like that Nazi rule,

There needs to be a Reagan rule.

I would call it the “subconcious yearning for adult leadership and parental control and Decency” rule.

SYALPCAD Rule.

It is the Default of Decency,

The DOD rule.

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Just remember, backlash spelled backwards is hsalkcab.

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Based on the above “rationale”, we might as well discard murder, stealing, lying, worshiping other gods, etc. while we’re at it. In other words, adopt the Democrat party platform in toto.

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These people would never make it in the private sector and they are all about government.

Mister we could use a man like Herbert Hoover aaah-gain.

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Jay

August 31st, 2010
12:38 pm
In August ‘94, the two parties were tied on the generic ballot, 46-46

Oh boy, Jay….if that’s any indication, there must be a Tsunami on the way!!! YES!!!!

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mm,

“Do you folks ever think outside of your talking points?”

Do you really need to ask that?

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USinUK -

The Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, FIFTY state banking and insurance departments,…

Each of these government agencies promulgates its own set of federal or state regulations to regulate the banking industry. There are thousands of pages of regulations that all banks must follow in order “to promote sound banking practices.” There are thousands (I do not overestimate) of regulators/examiners who, at least annually, must examine each and every bank in this nation, perform a regulatory audit and produce a Report of Examination detailing the bank’s condition. Each and every year. The government knew what was going on in the banking industry. The insurance industry is likewise heavily regulated.

And yet I’m am continually amazed at seemingly intelligent individuals who believe the banks and insurance companies were not already inundated with regulations and examiners who monitor their activities closely and can, with relative ease, have a Cease and Desist Order issued to make ANY bank comply with those regulations and sound banking practices. ANY bank.

The unfortunate fact is that the regulatory community is not capable of instilling sound banking practices (whatever those are) and regulating the banking industry like the free market does. The exact same reason the Soviet Union could not keep up with the United States. Free (or more free) markets simply work better at governing market behavior AND generating wealth. In addition, when other government agencies like FNMA, FHLMC and GNMA are undermining sound lending principles in the residential mortgage banking it absolutely works counter to the primary regulators purposes. The insanity of too much government. I now understand how the average communist worker must have felt. Bring on the vodka!!

The issue does not appear to be too little government involvement, but too much government involvement and differing government agencies that worked counter to each other. In the end, only the market can truly and fairly discipline the participants.

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In our President Bush’s first midterm elections, Republicans picked up four seats in the House and two in the Senate. How many seats in each chamber will Democrats pick up in November after two years of the Idiot Messiah?

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jt: no idea what you’re talking about. I’m sure you’re not surprised by that either.

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ByteMe

A while back you posted something about Godwins law.

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People don’t start wars, governments do.

Ronald Reagan

And he didn’t.

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“If you make ‘middle’ bucks, vote against your own economic interests in preparation for the day when you might be making big bucks < seems to be the mantra of the TEA party types."

That seems to be a recurring liberal talking point, Red. A deeper analysis will reveal that the "TEA party types" simply have a better grasp of what makes capitalism succeed. (Hint: capital). Saddling those at the top has never benefited those in the middle or at the bottom.

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jt: Lordy, you’ve reached into the “way-back” machine for that reference!

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I’ll stop spamming now. But be aware of the DTD rule.

Progressives got nothing. The current Republican or Democrat parties have nothing. Don’t let them turn you into a federosexual.

To sit back hoping that someday, someway, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last–but eat you he will.

Ronald Reagan

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Jay

August 31st, 2010
12:49 pm

Really Jay? Really? EVERY article I’ve read about this recession/double dip recession says it’s the worst since the depression.

What about the second part of my original comment? Reagan didn’t have two wars going on. Really Jay?

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The Democratic majority led Congress, led by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, has done nothing to cooperate with the other side.

There’s your sign!
——————————

But that does bring a thought. If the GOP wins the House, can the Democrats become the Party of no? IS turn-about fair play?
———————-

My crystal ball says: The Democrats will be “The Party of No Way, GOP”,
which the GOP will ride to the White House. Then, when the economy collapses after all the regulations are removed and the tax cuts resumed, the GOP will blame the prior administration, but will lose the mid terms of 2014, giving the Dems the Control over Congress, which they will ride to the White House in 2016. Then when WWIII starts over a Middle East oil embargo of the West, the Dems will blame the GOP for not regulating stuff. After WW III is over, Adam bash Eve over the head, drag her to his cave and it will start all over again.

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Clearly, if the government would just eliminate all social programs and give us a tax cut, the Koch brothers will start trickling down on us and all will be good.

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Jimmy62: you are correct that the multiplier is not as high as Keynes claimed it was… but it might have actually been that high back in his day before our debt approached 100% of GDP, thereby reducing the possible effect of additional deficit spending. Milton Friedman also claimed that velocity of money was essentially a constant… and it was during the nearly 50 years when he did his work. However, near the end of his life, velocity started fluctuating quite a bit, so all that work based on what he observed is now considered wrong.

The multiplier effect has slowed as we’ve increased debt. Is there a correlation between them? There is today. Maybe not tomorrow.

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Blame the Republicans!!!! Blame the Democrats!!!! Truth be told.. We should be blaming ourselves….

How many have abdicated their rights to others? How many of you have voted in every election since the time you were eligible to vote? How many of you have taken an interest in the direction of the country?

It is easy to post the crude, rude and ridiculous comments… You will not change the thinking of some Democrats, nor will you change the thinking of some Republicans…. Some of you will find and post negative stories regarding former President Bush, and some of you will find and post negative stories regarding President Obama…. And that is your right to express yourself…..

The Republicans post from the right media outlets and the Democrats will post from the left media outlets. And both sides will argue they are correct…..

You also have Democrats and Republicans that come here just to say things to fire people up… (I have done it).

At the end of the day, this is all crap…. We have not really accomplished anything. If we have meaningful discussions, we just might get somewhere…… Why do I come here,,,, IT’S ENTERTAINMENT”.

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Be careful what you wish for. Actually America will not be able to cpmpete with the likes of China if we keep returning to past remedies i.e. tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans as the economic balm. Without government investment in people and government partnerships with businesses to help them comepete China will pull ahead of us while we bicker about partisan crap. Wonder why Michigan has opened 16 battery plants to power electric cars recently. Could that have anything to do with government investing and partnering with business? Why is GM now making profits again and rehiring workers? Does that have anything to do with government rescuing GM and restructuring it? No government does not have all the answers, but as Jay stated people want government to do something. Unfortunately fear, uncertainty and the nay sayers having the biggest megaphone will cause us to retreat in the face of change for a better future. The world has changed. We no longer have the Soviet Union to compete against militarily. Screaming God and Country, beating our chest, and cutting taxes will not do it. We now have China gaining quickly on our ecenomic heels. Today they are number two. Soon they will be number one. Be careful what you wish for.

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You’ve got to hand it to the Republicans. They botched the economy badly and got thrown out of power. In fact, they botched it so badly that there’s no repairing in two years or even four. As a result, the unhappy public is ready to put them back in charge.

And once they control Congress, they’ll point to Obama as the reason their initiatives aren’t engineering a miraculous turnaround. And the public will buy it.

It’s sheer brilliance, I tell you.

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We do need serious entitlement reform. After all, who says we’re entitled to just start wars with whomever an evangelical happens to be scared of. Ma Gog, Man.

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Jay, don’t know where you got the Liberal indoctrination, but you have a real deep dose of it. Poster child. Liberals/you continuously spout the answer to our problems is government, yet when we have a mess like this, especially when the Dems are in control, you state – “–government even under President Bush didn’t deserve the lion’s share of the blame for getting us into this mess, and nothing government can do under President Obama can turn it around quickly either.” I disagree.

Government did cause this mess. What the government did not directly cause, they enabled. Both parties shoulder blame, but the overwhelming blame rests with Democrats. Citizens now see that, thus the data you list where voters are abandoning Democrats like rats from a sinking ship. And, of course, the majority of Americans are rejecting Obama.

Yes, deny it was you will, the root is CRA – a Jimmy Carter bill – government social engineering at its finest. Yes, the Republicans helped it along over the years by not ending or controlling CRA, and Republicans especially screwed up by passing the legislation that allowed the subprime trading.

Deny as you will. Obama owns this; he has not fixed it although he has spent more money in 20 months than Bush did in 8 years.

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Gordon,

“which means getting serious about entitlement reform, gets my vote”

That will never happen. If the GOP was really serious about entitlement reform, they’d have done something about it during 2003-2007 — and they wouldn’t have expanded it.

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Bosch,

And the Democrats aren’t serious about it either. They are expanding it. We either need one side to change or have a third party, or entitlement reform will happen the hard way. What we are doing is unsustainable. This isn’t politics, its math.

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Dave the Man

August 31st, 2010
1:11 pm

Because of Obama being elected to POTUS.

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Gordon,

I don’t think the American people want to do anything about entitlements. Once implemented, it is very hard to reel back in. Remember Bush’s magical mystery Social Security tour? Remember how that crashed and burned? Remember all those tea partiers screaming in town hall meetings “you leave the government out of my Medicare?” Okay, that was just one person, but you get the point, surely.

If politicians start taking back entitlements, there will be riots. I think the best approach is a gradual reform like Clinton and Congress initiated back in the mid-90s with welfare.

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Bosch
August 31st, 2010
1:14 pm

I tend to agree, but I don’t think Clinton was originally in favor of welfare reform. I believe the “contract with america” election had something to do with it. Bottom line – it will take both parties to succeed.

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Later…..

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Bruno, when/if you’re back, far as I can tell, several of the nations atop this purchasing power list have progressive income taxes, so I’m not sure what point’s being made.

anyway, I gotta leave the time suck as well. Later, all.

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Bosch,

Adult leadership would explain to the American people the actuarial position we are in. They would resist blaming one political party or the other for the problem, and instead would focus on realistic solutions. They would provide a long term plan for solvency, and provide as much information as possible for what it would look like and how it would affect different people. They wouldn’t pretend there is an easy way out of this, because there isn’t. Finally, they would explain the consequences of not changing our ways.

If no one steps up to provide adult leadership, or the American people are just too stupid, greedy, or shortsighted to accept any change, then we will suffer severe consequences. It won’t matter whose fault you or I think it was.

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Jay,

By comparison, from the day Mr. Obama took office last year to the end of the current fiscal year, according to the Office of Management and Budget, the debt held by the public will grow by $3.3 trillion. In 20 months, Mr. Obama will add as much debt as Mr. Bush ran up in eight years.

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How to turn a pigs ear into a purse:

“The US commander of the Afghan war acknowledged Tuesday that the Taliban were expanding their footprint across the country even as foreign forces close in on their traditional southern strongholds.
But US General David Petraeus said a sharp rise in attacks on international troops showed that the hardline Islamist militia were feeling threatened in their safe havens after almost nine years of war.”

Yep ……….. threatened enough to come out and fight.

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Again with the ANGRY, jay?

Angry? No! Frustrated that Obama is not as intelligent as he would have had us all believe? Yes!

To appease his uber lefties, he came out of the chute on the attack against business, as though ALL business was as guilty as the few. Now he wonders why the private sector has responded as they have. Somebody needs to tell Obama, he is not the be all and end all of OUR time.

But that doesn’t stop people from wanting what they can’t have.

Certainly hasn’t stopped Obama and his left-wingers from their attempts to confiscate what I will not surrender willingly. Insist on taking it…..Obama and your precious party will pay for decades to come and whomever follows will know the American people mean business.

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Headline : “Troops yet to give Obama full salute”

Not to mention the recent slights by Gen. McChrystal, the Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/aug/30/troops-yet-to-give-obama-full-salute/

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@@:

Our Sunday School lesson for this week:

Ecclesiastes 10:2

“The heart of the WISE inclines to the RIGHT,
but the heart of the FOOL to the LEFT.”

Matthew 25:31-33

31″When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the SHEEP on his RIGHT and the GOATS on his LEFT.

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**If I had my druthers I would like to see one party control the House with a 218 to 217 margin.**

That’s about the most intelligent suggestion I’ve seen today – I agree 100%..

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scout

Nice play of the words left and right, however the original bible was in greek, I wonder if you haven’t tried to gain something non existent in the translation. Remember, “he who exalts himself shall be humbled while he who humbles himself shall be exalted”.

Jay @ 1:23 Thanks for clearing that up again and again etc….

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Go to Barrett Parkway Friday night, go from resteraunt to resteraunt. Look at the lines, look at the bars. Where the concern for the economy. Look at the box office sales, millions to watch movies each week. 2 worlds out there, those with jobs and income are spending the hell out of money and having a good time. I guess those with out are at home.

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If no one steps up to provide adult leadership…

I think you’re placing too much faith in the magical powers of adulthood.

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Polls are great. Unfortunately a good pollster can get almost any result they want by careful (and misleading) wording.

It’s a shame that no one really looks at what the Republicans did for American workers and jobs, and the American economy from 1994 when they controlled the House and from 2000 – 2006, when they controlled the House, Senate, and the White House, and the White House for 2007 – January 29, 2009.

1) They supported and voted for ending the Glass-Steagall Act in 1999 which separated commercial banks from investment banks which directly led to the near collapse of the American economy in the summer of 2008.
2) Defined benefit pension plans are now only available to approximately 8% of working Americans. Of course all Members of Congress and defined benefit pensions.
3) Millions of good-paying technical, professional, and manufacturing jobs for Americans are permanently gone via off-shoring or replacement by H1-b visa jobs restricted to foreign nationals.
4) House prices doubled between 2002 and late 2007 due to providing millions of new homeowners with sub-prime mortgages with delayed significant increases in monthly payments (utilizing a wide variety of false documents and issuing loans to people who would not be willing or able to pay).
5) The financial services sector that comprises 7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was scooping up 40% of the profits of the American economy.
6) The total lack of oversight of the financial services sector, combined with refusal to enforce the regulations in place, led to the largest financial collapse since the Great Depression.
7) The country now has tens of millions of homeowners who purchased homes in the 2004 – 2007 period who are upside down in their mortgages, owing far more than the house is worth. This means they have no way to sell their current home or buy a new home, restricting their ability to relocate for a new job.
Most personal IRA plans and 401-k plans lost one third of the value or more in the summer of 2008.
9) Republicans are proposing delaying the start of full Social Security benefits to age 70 because they don’t want to redeem any of the $2.5 Trillion Dollars of U.S. Treasury securities belonging to the Social Security Trust Fund.

The Republicans have always emphasized the need for fiscal responsibility. Republicans wrote and passed the 2001 and 2003 tax cut bills that were unfunded. Republicans wrote and passed a Medicare Rx prescription plan that was unfunded. Republicans wrote and utilized emergency appropriations that were never included in budgets to pay for the entire cost of running the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Most of the funding for these expenditures was simply borrowed from foreign lenders, including Saudi Arabian princes and (communist) China, via the sale of more than $4 Trillion Dollars of U.S. Treasury securities that the Republicans are perfectly willing to redeem.

And now, Republicans propose extending the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts at an estimated cost of $3.1 Trillion Dollars without funding or paying for them. How much more Republican fiscal responsibility cans the American electorate take?

Based on their running commentary from Republicans over the past two years, does anyone think that they would do anything differently if they get control of the House or Senate?

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Please tell, what do you call it when Republicans do it?

Being fiscally responsible—of course.

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@ retired early

Glad to see you don’t have any axe to grind. Your attempt to turn a political discussion into one about religion demonstrates your lack of intellectual depth.

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Really, what has Obama attempted to “confiscate?”

My child and your children’s future. I opposed Bush’s TARP and I oppose(d) the stimulus.

Drama?

Is your cause a lost one? You’ve only to ask and [You]
Will rush to defend [Him] with wit and audacity,
With valor beyond mankind’s normal capacity,
This dreamer whose vigor, whose kindness, whose verity
Are great as his nose–God forgive my temerity!–

Nosey!

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Current balance sheet information shows major corporations are making record profits and not reinvesting those funds in expanding their business in the USA.

They complain about a business environment that is not friendly, yet, the American worker continues to be the most productive in the world who is used up and thrown away while the business bottom line keeps growing at a record pace.

The Dems may lose in the fall, but the result of those elections will affect all of us, even those who claim to be conservative.

Secondly, the problem that many of those with the loudest megaphone do not want us to understand is the economy is in a deflationary spiral and we have not way of stopping it. Ask yourself the question, how much is your house worth today relative to what you paid for it?

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Agreed that some of his debt was inherited, but he ran for the office knowing the situation so it’s time to stop doing the oh yeah, but it’s really Bush’s fault. It’s his job, he asked for it, he got it. But your earlier column said his spending was only at 4 trillion and if that’s true, and if the 3.3 trillion deficit is true, then we only received 700 billion of revenue in 20 months and he is spending $4.5 for every $1 in revenue.

It’s time for him to come up with a plan that gets us out of this mess. Unfortunately, he spends most of his time orating and telling everyone why it’s not his fault. That’s not the issue. I think most people have gotten tired of the wise a___’d remarks and jabs and want to see some maturity and direction. He needs to put his ego aside, sit down with the opposition (without lecturing them) and work out a coalition response that will get Washington back on track. This is not the time to be proposing new tax and spend; it’s time for Washington to provide direction and clarity which have been sorely missed for way too long.

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Jay,

I’m not trying to pick a fight with you, but I would like you to answer a question for me if you don’t mind. Early this year, during the time the health care bill was being debated, you stated in one of your blogs that by law the health care bill cannot add to the deficit. I expressed surprise at that, and you confirmed it by posting some language directly from the bill.

Now I am hearing that in fact the bill could add to the deficit. I think whether that is true or not is unclear, but if that language were in the bill, I would think the response would be that it can’t add to the defict by law – end of discussion. But I’m not hearing that.

Is the health care bill, by law, deficit neutral? And a second question, if you are inclined to answer, is this: Has the $500 billion that was supposed to be cut from Medicare to help pay for the health care bill happened yet? I have never been sure on what the timing on that was, and assume it was to happen over several years. Thanks.

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scout

No biblical scholar am I, but words of wisdom will transcend all barriers and languages. Here’s one for you; Why don’t you ever see the headline “Psychic Wins Lottery”?

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Larry,
read that Newsweek site at my 12:24…It gives you some insight as to what he’s up against, even with his own advisors. and remember Obama can’t do squat without the backing of Congress…

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Gordon: when compared to the “do nothing” alternative or some of the other proposals being put forth by the opposition, HCR was scored by the CBO as lowering the deficit over the next 10 years and more after that. There’s a cost, no doubt, but that cost is still less than the cost (to the government) of the health care “system” in its current form.

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@ jay. ?? you can put your fingers on this more quickly than i can.. but when bush took office.. the projected surplus was a bubble based on the economy from the dot com era?? as with any projection, with the elements are modified, the true number comes out? (asking.. not saying)

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ByteMe,

That wasn’t my question. I know how the CBO originally scored the bill. What I want to know is if, BY LAW, HCR is deficit neutral. Every major entitlement this nation has created or significantly expanded has ended up costing orders of magnitude more than originally projected. I want to know if we will actually have to pay for this entitlement if the same thing happens again, or if we will be left with just one more insane unfunded liability that was started with the best of intentions.

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Jay
August 31st, 2010
2:06 pm

“Blaming Obama is like blaming the quarterback who took over in the fourth quarter down 45-3.”

if thats the case.. obama shouldnt have been on the sidelines telling the team he knew what to do to win the game..

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ogk

All you counters of rotten eggs before they hatch, two months is still a very long time in politics and as yogi said: it ain’t over till its over.

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We just returning the Imam “rotten egg” Obama to Chicago or where ever he wants to go. Dont need him or want him. Ayetoolah Obamas fate was sealed the day he took office.

He was a failure then just as he is now.

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jackie.. that last part made no sense..what do you want them to do with their money? unlike the govt.. when they run out.. they cannot print more. i know you are aware of that.. just saying.

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Jay, the Clinton surplus that Bush allegedly spent is myth. The surplus was almost gone when Bush went into office. The recession actually began in March 2001 and 9/11 wiped out the remainder. I’ll look for the article on that one also. My learning moment on this is to keep the articles. I may exaggerate occassonaly for effect, but I strive not to out right lie about statistics.

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“You know that most of the foreign auto manufacturers have moved to states in the South because they are right-to-work states meaning they can pay what they choose and have you work in any condition they choose without having to worry about someone complaining.”

That isn’t strictly true. The states still have labor and working condition laws. Basically a “right to work” state has laws making it illegal for you to be required to join in union in order to be hired.

” Isn’t the average beginning wage at many of those manufacturers close to $15 dollars per hour? Wal-Mart starts you at $10 per hour.”

I don’t know about this, but I think it was Toyota (some Japanese car manufacturer anyway) that had to essentially pay their non-union workers competitive pay with the unionized car factories in TN in order to get good workers. So they weren’t unionized, but they might as well have been.

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jackie.. remember eastern airlines? how bout ford? its unions made concessions to ford.. gm’s did not.. how much have we tossed that way? unfunded pensions.. in the hundreds of billions.. even trillions.. to mostly union employees.. will have to be covered. you want to work at walmart? thats your choice.. i have gone back to school twice to change jobs when i lost one. meanwhile.. an employee in california, has their paycheck garnished by the unions.. no choice there.. some areas it $1500 a year going to the union.. just for the right to work

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Oh gawd not this load of hooey about the 1.2 trillion dollar deficit Obama “inherited”

It includes the TARP money, $700 billion, as if that were never being paid back so if Obama brought it in at 1.4 trillion then he’s on the hook for 200 billion plus any TARP funds that were repaid and even then Obama as a Senator voted for all that spending.

/drive by…unfortunately.

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Jackie

It’s almost useless to argue with the anti-union loosers, they are all about sterotyping, not reality.

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@DogoneGA

When you indicate my post about right-to-work laws and working conditions are not “strictly” true, I will concede this is a point that is open for discussion. However, the link I am posting leaves lots of leeway concerning what can be done in implementing work rules.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law

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@mick.. sorry.. i have a spine.. dont need a union to pretend to be my backbone..

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The Imams latest failure…only “non-combat” troops remain in Iraq. LOL…kinda like when we had “advisors” in Vietnam.

Nice try Sucka!

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“People are scared and frustrated, and in their fear and frustration they want government to do something. (The demand to be saved even comes from those — in some cases ESPECIALLY from those — who claim they want government out of the economy). ” –Jay Bookman

This is a perfect exposition of the paternal/maternal-istic straw-man excuse for the anti-Democrat sentiment. The economy sucks (and it’s really nobody’s fault), and so we’re all just scared and worried that we’re not going to be taken care of. It’s entirely understandable that people would cling to their ___________________ (Obama said “guns and religion”, but YOU Bookman, seem to be saying, “jobs & security.”) Fine. Let’s assume your obvious moral narcissism is instead a true reality.

First, let’s acknowledge the truth. If the shoe were on the other foot and if this recession weren’t captured by Obama-Pelosi for two years now, Republicans would be getting all the blame. Second, if you had been listening to the tea party AT ALL you would know that personal and financial security is not really a personal concern of tea party members. Yes, for all Americans, it is about the “economy stupid,” but ALL Obama-Pelosi prescriptions for fixing it are so appalling that most tea partiers have solid philosophical and ideological reasons why this is outrageous–fine arguments that have been utterly ignored by you, Cynthia, Mike and the hard-left Atlanta and newspaper establishment.

Most Americans DO NOT want security at any price–that is tax and redistribute. Each O-P diagnosis, indicates that they believe in a whole lot more of it, and we hear the rumblings about the VAT, increases on taxes, and we still know nothing about what the O-care is going to cost us. We don’t know that cap and trade isn’t yet going to be imposed on us unilaterally by the EPA. You ignore these arguments and concerns, and essentially echo the O-sentiment of the term: It’s just those stupid sheep I’m leading and their clinging to their ____________________ (fill in form).

If financial security is, to you Mr. B, is THE reason why the Pres 0 is having a hard time doing anything that doesn’t look stupid to the American people, then there is no hope for you in understanding what is going on in this country, much less for you making a valid case against it.

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Jay,

I appreciate your response, but what you posted were projections. What I was looking for was a yes/no answer to the question of whether the bill has a provision that it MUST BE DEFICIT NEUTRAL BY LAW. You actually quoted directly from the bill during our conversation in January at one point, before it was law, that the provision was in there. Obviously I don’t expect you to remember that as you have written hundreds of columns since then, nor do I believe you deliberately misrepresented what was in the bill. But my objection was that this bill is ultimately not paid for (e.g. the $500 billion being cut from Medicare which is one of the assumptions the CBO used). ByteMe refers to those cuts in his 2:19 but I’ll believe them when I see them.

Thanks again for your response.

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@Union

The union did make concessions to GM two years past. They agreed to take on the health care cost and remove that liability from the company. The fight the unions were having with GM was pension funding and health care costs for retirees. Ford had exactly the same contract.

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Strong unions:

Teacher’s union – things are in the crapper there. I believe reductions in teachers have some classrooms in Georgia exceeding 30 students with no parapro.

Auto workers’ union – oh yes, the automakers are in great shape.

Steelworkers union – does the US produce steel anymore?

Airline union – another strong union.

“Made in China” = American company with a union.

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Mick

August 31st, 2010
2:33 pm

But if a homebuilder decides to forgo a union plumber for a non-union plumber to control costs, how much will $0 buy you?

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Over and over and over again President Obama has tried to include the republicans in the house and Senate, but all they do is obstruct and say no. If they’re voted back into the majority I guess we get what we deserve….nothing!

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mick.. i have always managed to get a very decent wage.. its all about making yourself marketable. so.. using yours and jackies example.. lets say you start a business, it grows and prospers.. you pay your employees competitive wages with the area. all of a sudden.. a group called a union comes to you and says if you dont pay more, they are going to shut you down until you do. this group, that had nothing to do with the growth of your business, now dictates to you what are to do?

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@DoggoneGA

Last bit about this subject.
Had a family member who was injured on the job and went through the medical process and filed for worker’s compensation. When he returned to work, he was fired for missing too many days. Fight is still ongoing after 4 years.

So, you contention about what the companies can’t do in violation of state law is not factual.

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leg

How much will the homeowner have to pay when the job gets botched and has to pay for a recall?

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@jackie.. yeah.. of course you do.. and my girlfriend lives in canada..

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Things that WON’T change between NOW and Nov. 2nd.
1. Unemployment of close to 10%
2. A tape of Pelosi saying ” we’ve got to pass it to know what’s in it”
3. Every American worker being told in the last 60 days by their employer that Health Insurance rates are going through the roof.
4. A President that been on what seems on permanent vacation that can’t smell the smoke of Rome burning.
5. Democrats who continue to say the stimulus wasn’t big enough, but created few jobs but plenty of pork.
6. A president who openly bribed Senators with tax payer money for votes.
7. Increased more National debt in 19 month’s than in the last 20 years.
8. Uses tax payer money without Congressional approval to give money away overseas under the guise of foreign affairs.
9. Gave in to the soviet union for a missile shield WITHOUT GETTING ANYTHING IN RETURN
10. Has insulted every friend we have in the world.

Just a few………This will all be on our minds and in play in the next 60 days. Dem’s are toast.

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Mick

August 31st, 2010
2:41 pm

Oh, okay. In your world “non union” workers are sure to botch something every time while the “union” worker does it right every time. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Try selling that to the public.

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union

Actually that example works both ways. What do you do if you are a union worker making a decent wage and then a non-union shop starts up paying his workers half that wage with no benefits? Besides, I’m mostly talking about the big commercial jobs versus private homes. At least the union worker has served an apprenticeship and knows how to do the jobs. Non-union, not so much. I’ve seen some plumbers down here that have to use color codes on pvc because they don’t know the correct fittings. So, not all unions and workers are the bad guys.

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.President Obama will spend Labor Day alongside AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, the union announced Monday.

Obama, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Trumka will all participate in a Labor Day “celebration and rally” in Milwaukee on Monday, an appearance confirmed by the White House this afternoon, which separately announced the president would travel to Wisconsin for the Laborfest.

makes sense to me.. lol

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did the dems pass a budget yet?

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Jay: the reconciliation process can’t increase the deficit beyond what it already was projected in the earlier passed bill. Not that it can’t increase the deficit if the original bill increased the deficit. It just couldn’t be higher through the reconciliation process. What Gordon was asking was whether there was any specific provision in the bill that the bill had to be “deficit neutral” and I don’t recall seeing any provision like that in the bill and in fact the bill was scored as being a path to reducing the deficit when compared to current trajectory.

And Harry is talking about the total Federal debt issued and you’re talking about revenue vs. outlays in the budget, which are really two different things, since the budget does not include several large off-budget programs, like Social Security.

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Midori !

How have you been ?

“will you be ready to hold hands and kiss him then, Scout?”

Now I explained this to you once but I will do it again.

One (handholding/kiss on the cheek) denotes “friendship” (at least outwardly).
The Other (bowing) denotes subservience (outwardly).

The Vietnamese “men” liked that hand holding stuff too and it drove us Marines crazy!

“The president’s bow to the Saudi King should have surprised no one. It was a submission to their mutual aspiration: a symbolic moment in the transformation from the America that was to the America of Barack Obama’s fancy, a vision that would mark a giant leap forward for the global Islamist project.”

“The Grand Jihad” by Andrew McCarthy
(Mr. McCarthy was the federal prosecutor in the first World Trade Center bombing)

Big difference and I hope you can understand that.

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Leg Lamp,

I believe you attributed words to Mick that he did not write. Nobody said what you claim at 2:46. The credibility of any reference to “always,” “never,” or “every” is suspect, IMO. A study of American history shows that there were reasons unions developed. Isn’t that the free market at work? Supply and demand? If the reasons these unions were able to rise up and take power had not existed in the first place, then they would not have succeeded, or perhaps would not have endured. As to whether they’re still necessary, there are no unions for what I do, so I can’t comment.

I can say that the fresh food and service at (unionized) Kroger SUCK, though the prices are better on many things. The food and servcie at (non-union) Publix are much better, but prices on some things are absurdly high. Can anyone comment on what it’s like to be an employee of either?

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union

I can only speak for my experience. My dad ran a union shop and every job he ran was on time and under budget with practically zero call backs. Those that went with the non-union shops, well break out the chipping hammer. So in the end that old maxim stands true – you get what you pay for,

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@DoggoneGA

Sorry, your posting can not disprove what I know to be factual. The company did not have the right to fire the worker; they did and are continuing to get away with it.

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mick.. i dunno about you.. but in california a union driven economy has netted a several hundred billion dollar plus hole.. i would call that a pretty dang big break..

and good for your dad.. some folks in dc could learn a thing or two from him..

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@Union

It is such a thing as prevailing area wage that usually help in keeping most workers in place. Plus, the way the company deals with their workers is a major factor in worker loyalty.

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Jay,

Thanks for your response. I’ve heard the CBO is limited to making projections based on the assumptions of the authors of the bill. One such assumption was that $500 billion would be cut from Medicare. I’m sure they do the best they can with the assumptions they are given, but I’m afraid this entitlement will end up just like the others. I hope I’m wrong.

By the way, you asked Harry Callahan for his link supporting his contention that the debt has risen constantly, including under Clinton. I don’t want to speak for him, but I did find this:

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt.htm.

Thanks again for your responses.

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**some wage is better than no wage**

So, that’s the american future our children have to look forward to? Might as well be a socialist or communist for that matter.

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Dave The Man, your point is moot. Ford was not at bankrupt’s door. Oh I know you and others were betting that governmental action would kill GM. Why you wish for the demise of an American Institution like GM that has meant so much for increasing the middle class in this country all because the wrong party took control is foolish. Blind party loyalty means your critical thinking skills are woefully lacking at best. By the way Ronald Reagan bailed out Chrysler. Are you old enough to remember that? Ask mama, daddy or grandma.

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Jay: what Gordon posted about the numbers is what I’ve seen as well. It’s the total debt issued by the Treasury. And it didn’t decrease under Clinton in any year, although it came VERY close at the end. Now how that number reconciles with your numbers, I’m not clear.

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mick.. OMG.. thats two funny.. who do you think demanded all those unfunded pension liabilities? you can retire in ca after 20 years making more in retirement than you did while you were employed (if you scam the system properly).. i am sure all the strikes and threatening to strike had nothing to do with those demands?

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Doggone/GA,

Thanks for the correction, but my point remains. Has it been cut? Will it? Do you believe it will be? I’ll believe it when I see it. I believe tt is one of the assumptions used by the CBO to score the HCR bill. If it is not actually done, those assumptions are meaningless.

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Folks if you think one party is better than another…..drink more of the Purple Kool aid…..

When Republican’s are in they squander the money on WAR and let the American infrastructure go to heck, and when the Dem’s get in the waste their time on silly stuff.

Neither party will work as a team to HELP AMERICAN’s the two party system is a JOKE !

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And Hillary smiles.

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Gordon – I don’t know the answers. It’s moot to me, because my attitude was that we need health coverage for all. Get that, and we can tweak it in the future if need be. I’m willing to wait until it actually goes into effect to see what the fall-out is.

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union

Is limbaugh worth $15 million a year? Don’t blame the union for negotiated contracts, blame the gov’t entity that approved them.

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“the two party system is a JOKE !”

so are multi-party systems. There’s no REAL difference. In a two-party system compromises have to be made before elections. In a multi-party system compromises have to be made after elections. Either way, compromises have to be made. And the end result is ALWAYS a two-”party” system…the legislators either vote yes or no.

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flacker@12:19 pm re: hypocrites who yell for government help ONLY when their needs are threatened. Of course…just reference Palin’s indignation that the Obama govt was not involving itself enough in

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Midori :

Now, now ……….. you’re being a little infantile.

Did you bother to read my 2:52? Would you like to debate any of those issues?

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@ doggie…

” And the end result is ALWAYS a two-”party” system…the legislators either vote yes or no.”

nicely put.. shame there is not room for a “maybe” vote

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Daddy, what does ‘lame duck’ mean?

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union

Ever see clear channels bottom line? Limbaugh’s salary is killing them and because he is so top heavy they have cut staff to the bare bones and are as we speak – not profitable. Hey nice to debate you, we just disagree.

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This election will be very interesting. A lot of working folks have come to the realization that their employers are poised to dump their health care plans if HCR does not get repealed. And Cap & Trade is a job killer.

I’ll say it again. Losing the House majority, and hopefully the Senate majority, and dumping Pelosi and Reid is the only way for President Obama to pull his legacy out of the toilet. Better to finish his one term as a lame duck than Daffy Duck.

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mick.. back at you..

@doggie.. maybe i should have expressed that better.. you are correct it is “dues” based on a flat rate.. the flat rates went up in california over the last few years as the salaries went up…

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BADA BING:

Did you see the new “double-wide” trailer den Obama made out of the Oval Office? Real class.

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“the flat rates went up in california over the last few years as the salaries went up…”

And that didn’t have anything at all to do with the costs of doing business going up as well, now did it? Unions ARE a business of sorts, and they DO have expenses…and just like the government they generate no income of their own. So if members want the advantages of having a union they have to be prepared to pay for them.

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Folks if you think one party is better than another…..drink more of the Purple Kool aid…..

Not this Kool-Aid sh_t again.

Too many people post this “Kool-Aid” cliche thinking they are cute and clever.

In my eyes it makes you trite.

No one needs to drink “more” of the Kool-Aid, and addressing someone who actually did “drink the Kool-Aid” is pretty worthless because they are dead.

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yes.. they do have expenses.. mostly spending dues to get elected officials in to vote more wages to the unions.. i guess..

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In my opinion, people need to stop paying attention to the Dow Jones, as an indicator of how the economy is doing. It goes up; it goes down and the real economy stays in the same place as it’s been, for a while. It’s mainly just the institutional investors who are playing the market now. They can have their casino and I’ll stick to the real world. I may never make the big score but I won’t lose my fanny in one day, either.

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Scout, the refurnishing of the Oval Office is quite pleasant with subtle, understated colors. I hated the bright blue rug that Clinton had. The Bush Oval Office wasn’t bad either but each President has his or her own taste.

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Kamchak:

I drank lots of grape Kool-Aid in Nam. It hid the taste of the halazone tablets in my canteen water.

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kam “the squirrel” chak..

you have not posted enough today to participate in this discussion..

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now I’m infantile.

Scout always posts about bowing.

yet when I do it, I’m infantile.

that right wing logic kicks in yet again.

wanna hold hands, Scout?

I promise not to bow.

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BADA BING:

Yep, the really hate me …….. those emotional liberals.

Swede Atlanta:

“but each President has his or her own taste.”

Like I said, “double-wide” trailer den.

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**The president’s bow to the Saudi King should have surprised no one. It was a submission to their mutual aspiration: a symbolic moment in the transformation from the America that was to the America of Barack Obama’s fancy, a vision that would mark a giant leap forward for the global Islamist project.”*

How exactly do you know this? Are you in his head? I don’t care how you spin it, I’ll take a bow before a kiss. Still, name one american president who hasn’t bowed to the saudi’s symbolically or not?

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Doggone/GA,

“I’m willing to wait until it actually goes into effect to see what the fall-out is.”

Here is the root of our disagreement. I think that approach is downright irresponsible. Also, the federal government is well past the point of “tweaking” anything when it comes to entitlements.

I’m not arguing against your position on healthcare, though I don’t agree with it. I’m arguing about your support of the method of trying to achieve it. It amounts to “legislate now and ask questions later.” It is exactly that attitude that will be dealt with by the voters in November.

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Scout…..you know that when Bill moved out of the Oral Office, he didn’t get his cleaning deposit back.

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scout **Deal with it.**

No, you deal with it. I don’t believe my truths to be absolute, they are just opinions on this blog.

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Liberal Chicks are UGLY @ 3:36 – More like OH SH_T!!!

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I’ve linked to articles by Ed Wallace before. In this one, he paints a different picture of the economy. All the indicators that would lead to one conclusion, while most of media (and therefore the public) has a different view. Why?

Makes me wonder if those Wall Street speculators have any responsibility in this.

And for those of you not interested, maybe this will get your attention. All the concern about the ’superrich’ and the haves and have nots? Look at the data – it may not be the top one percent against everyone else. It just might be 60 percent against 40 percent. Suddenly, a lot of bloggers find themselves on the side of the ‘haves.’

http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/28/2429553/a-tale-of-two-cities.html

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Mick:

Oh yeah? My dad can whip your dad !

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Really, Rickster? Then why was HALF the 2009 stimulus package tax cuts that Republicans wanted?
Thats wrong, it was closer to 25% but who got the tax cuts, people that already get the earned income tax credits ? And dems keep saying tax cuts got us into this mess, now they are for tax cuts, unless they were Bush’s tax cuts that need to go away because tax cuts are bad, except for the tax cuts in stimulus ?

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Hi Midori!

Bada Bing 3:31

You’ll have to ask someone who likes to go bungee jumping who lets others tie the cord -

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Jay, you’re wrong…these polls show that the American people DO NOT WANT government doing things for them. In fact it is quite the opposite. We want government out of the way. It’s sole purpose in the economy is the create an environment where business and individuals can pursue the God given talents and not punish those who have success nor reward those who are lazy.

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you have not posted enough today to participate in this discussion..

You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that I require your permission, sport.

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Huge hurricane headed for the East coast. No matter what state is torn up, they will be rebuilt in a year. Why can’t New Orleans?

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Hi Paul

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extremerightwing

So… what would you recommend to bring down federal outlays, not punish the successful nor reward the lazy?

Better yet, can you provide examples of how success is punished and lazy are rewarded?

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kam “the squirrel” chak -

why so bitter?

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The hurricane is going to just skirt the East Coast, and continue bending north. England will probably get more rain from it than the US. The high pressure area over us now is going to prevent it from making serious land fall…Don’t clean the stores out of milk yet. As usual the media has blown this waaaay out of proportion.

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why so bitter?

Why do you assume that I’m bitter, sport?

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NEXT TWO YEARS: GOP will win one house, if not both. They will shut Obama down. GOP will sit with arms crossed daring him to present anything. He will make a speech everyday telling the American people HE can’t put them back to work because of the GOP. So, here we’ll sit. No way Obama invites those guys to the white house and say’s, OK, We’ve heard the American people, let’s deal”……. Obama won’t, can’t, will not be able to bring himself to do it…………….Nothing will happen in two years, Americans will be pissed, and after hearing Obama blame the GOP for 24 months every night, America will re-elect this fool…..It’s a vicious cycle.

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Ahhh…the good old days of clinton bashing…such a relief.

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Liberal chicks

Isn’t that her district office in San Francisco? Why would she have to pay rent on an office in the in the House Office Building?

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cause anyone that uses the word sport has to be bitter..

You seem to be confusing me with someone from your past.

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When I was a kid, lots of people called me “sport”. They didn’t seem bitter.

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hillbilly.. you would be surprised.. maybe they were repressing it?

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bada

Never let a good hurricane go to waste…why its nature’s stimulus..

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thats “wanting”

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…im all for it.

Whew! That’s a relief, ’cause I was facing many sleepless night worrying about your support.

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Dem jokes that Pelosi could die before next year

By: BEN EVANS
Associated Press
08/26/10 9:10 PM EDT

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) (AP)
WASHINGTON — A conservative Alabama Democrat often criticized for backing Nancy Pelosi as House speaker dodged a question about supporting her again next year by saying she might get sick and die before he has to decide.

its tough to be a politician these days..

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Hillbilly
Don’t want to go scrolling back on such a long lot of posts, but is there supposed to be something wrong with calling someone “sport?” Now, A sport, maybe…but just “sport?”

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JB @ 4:04 – tooooooooooo funny.

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Ron Paul – 2012.

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Josef

You’ll have to ask Union. He seems to think so.

Union

Nobody I grew up around repressed anything. If they were pissed off, it was no secret, especially to the object of their ire.

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Bowing, holding hands or b*tt kissing makes me no never mind…the mere fact that the leader of what is supposed to be an open, democratic society dedicated to human rights would even be seen within a hundred miles of that murderous, medieval, repressive thug goes againstt my grain. But, hey, it’s all about the oil and money…what’s a little stoning, hand chopping, a beheading or two among friends, eh?

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When you favor small government and fiscal conservatism…

There is just one itsy bitsy little problem with that inane reference.

It is akin to believing in aliens and their abductions of humans for experiments.

There is not the first scintilla of credible evidence.

Beginning with BIG, BIG, BIG government Ronnie, the Republican Party has for thirty straight years exploded the size, scope, cost and interference of government. Not to mention the escalating fraud, waste and abuse they’ve helped implement.

Calling these spendthrifts, that make drunken sailors look like penny -pinchers, “fiscal conservatives” is hysterical.

If it weren’t so devastating to American families…

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Kamchak, you better get back to Gor before mommy comes home and unplugs your DSL connection, sport.

It’s a laptop and an aircard, mystery meat.

Thanks for playing, and Vanna has some lovely consolation gifts including a lifetime supply of Rice-A-Roni—The San Fransisco Treat!

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Kam, Rice a Roni is old school…

What can I say?

I’m a product (get it?—product) of my time.

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Jay, that may be, but the only way for this to be mathematically possible is for the surplus Social Security revenues (taxes collected minus benefits paid) to get added into the equation. It seems to me dishonest to use Social Security revenues to reduce public debt, ignore the increased future Social Security liabiliteis, and call it a “surplus.” In fact, if you did that in the private sector, you’d find yourself in a jail cell next to one of the Bernies (Madoff/Ebbers).

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harry..

have you read this?

http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/during_the_clinton_administration_was_the_federal.html

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“As I’ve noted earlier, the GOP base has made it clear that it has no interest whatsoever in any sort of compromise, and will in fact punish any of its leaders who suggest otherwise. ”

Substitute “Democrats” for “GOP”, and you have the situation in Congress for the past two years.

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Back inside the Eggs and Issues breakfast, the citizens of “the only superpower in the world” are still beseeching their local elected officials for help, trying to figure out how Georgia would cope with the looming massive cuts in higher education, or whether any local companies might be expanding instead of laying people off for a change, or why their state spends more money on incarcerating citizens than other states.

Meanwhile, Congressman Broun misses most of his constituents’ economic complaints by heading off — even though his event in Atlanta actually isn’t until 3 o’clock that afternoon. It’s a Tea Party rally organized by the pro-business FreedomWorks on the steps of the state capitol — 90 minutes removed from where the economically battered constituents of Broun’s 10th Congressional District live and look for work.

I dont think the pollesters talked to the people of the 10th district . They would get a whole different answer.
This man has done nothing to help the people of his district at all. And he isnt very popular.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=ToJry8diwTs&feature=related

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Private sector…
The whole idea of the Tea Party movement is not just the ouster of the ” we’ll force feed the heathens” Democrats, it is to remove all the big spender Republican’s that caused as much trouble as the idiots across the aisle.

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Oh. And by the way, because all you do is badmouth Democrats, I’m canceling my subscription to the AJC, Mr. Bookman!

(j/k. Doing my self-righteous con imitation…)

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Sadly, thanks to the two-faced one-policy party, we will only have the democrats or republicans to choose from in November. We have such horrible ballot access laws in Georgia that a 3rd party candidate has not been able to qualify for the US congressional races since 1935 ! And that party was the socialist party. Now, that is really the only party we have to vote for (the two wings of it).

A Libertarian choice certainly would be a refreshing change to the big government, big war, big spending, no liberties, no freedom choice the two major parties offer.

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What’s wrong with Rice-a-Roni?

Absolutely nothing.

A lifetime supply was the ubiquitous consolation prize on TeeVee game shows during the 60’s when the contestant failed to win the grand prize.

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K’Chak

Rice-a-Roni was haute cuisine in my college days!

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josef

I have eaten my share of the boxed rice/pasta side dish, but a lifetime supply is a curse.

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Raw ignorance & gross stupidity are ever alive withing Murcuh’s rancid masses. For proof – merely glance this site for a sampling. The worst & most demeaning years in Murcuhn history.

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“It amounts to “legislate now and ask questions later.” It is exactly that attitude that will be dealt with by the voters in November.”

No matter how it was/is/might have been framed…it was always going to be that. It’s breaking new ground, no matter how it was done.

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Then sell that concept to Andy and the innumerable other drive by cons, etc. who post that very drivel. Either they do or they are delusional. I’d say that one is a 50 – 50…

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“translation: Bush bow GOOD!!”

Always…IOKIYAR

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harry -

but then someone will see something you worked hard to accomplish all of your life and shout.. thats not fair.. and then want a piece of it..

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paul -

she has such a frown on her face though.. .looks like someone was squeezing her leg or something.. lol

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josef –

thought you were talking about this for a minute.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q14u0LtZrqk

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Brett
And you’re not one of the masses? Do tell…

Big D…
Aw, what’s wrong with a little MSG?

Harry
What’s wrong with manufactured housing and spam?

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My brother called me “squirt”.

I got called sport, squirt, bubba, bud, bochepus (long before anybody knew who Hank, Jr was), bo, cicero, wildcat, skinny, slim and who knows what else, that I can’t remember. Where half them names came from, I have no idea.

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I’m old enough to remember when Republicans loved our representative democracy and federal constitutional republic!

Now the never-served, never-will just want to mooch off of Uncle Sam, contribute nothing and make taxes voluntary.

And blame him when everything doesn’t go their way and they don’t make it to easy street.

The Party of Personal Responsibility my ___…

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The Tea Party will lead taking America back and let the majority rule for a while. Imagine that, the majority ruling the representativie republic. Who knows, we might even have a President who will lead a national prayer.

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AmVet…don’t support Democrats and claim you’re in favor of personal responsibility. It’s laughable. And as far as never-served, never-will, I think you’ll find that more of our armed forces personnel are Republican than Democrat. But don’t let the facts get in the way of your ignorant rant.

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Jay says, “As I’ve noted earlier, the GOP base has made it clear that it has no interest whatsoever in any sort of compromise,”.

Like the Democrats compromised with Bush, right Jay? Oh, how you must hurt from those terrible uncompromising republicans! The self-righteous agony must be overwhelming!

I do however agree with you on what I think your point is. If this country is ever going to pull itself together the political rankor coming from the “lunatic fringe” on both sides has to go. But with most of the printed press and the major networks being solidly on the side of the liberal/progessive’s, Americans know they can no longer trust the only information outlets they have historically had to base their opinions on. The press and the networks, who are supposed to be trusted to give us unbiased opinion are totally out of whack. They are infested with left leaning ideologues. Fox, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Times are the only major exceptions to the media bias and and this explains their success. It is not just because everything they report is somehow beyond question or that it is profound but it is because they don’t walk lockstep with the rest of the progressive media such as the NYT’s, the Washington Post, the AJC (locally), NBC, ABC, CBS, etc. etc. The liberal press is responsible for its own financial doom. If it would have stuck to unbiased reporting instead of trying to mold the world into its own progressive ideological image it would have been successful.

The peoples voices have been ignored by Obama, his advisors and the traditional press from the very start because his supporters believed so deeply in what they wanted him to be which was their “Progressive Moses” (or the 21st Century FDR, whichever you prefer). The Democrats big mistake was to believe that the 2008 election was some kind of mandate for the socialist/progressive movement. All it was was a vote for change from Bush because the most radical arms of the democratic party in the press and in the government (and George Soros, who is another story) had portrayed Bush (and any conservative, though I don’t consider Bush a conservative) to be on the same social level with the Anti-Christ. But the truth is, Americans do not like progressivism and they do not like political correctness taken to the extreme and they especially do not like socialism. Those are ideas that this country was founded souly against. The Americans that pay the taxes work too hard to believe in the distributionist dreams of liberal career politicians and “intellectual” political ideologues and the American are now thorougly pissed that they elected a government that pretty is much comprised of just these. Americans are at heart, Capitalists. Sorry Jay, but that is the truth. And the progressive agenda just doesn’t mix with Capitalism too well.

Now an argument could be made as to why they (we) bought into the whole Obama thing in the first place. It was because they (we) had had 8 years of Bush bashing by every progressive/liberal voice in this country plus Bush made some very bad decisions on his own. Let’s face reality; out of the three last presidents we have had in this country all three were losers. Clinton was slick and he helped set the gears in motion for what we are suffering now (the credit built boom years of the 1990’s) but, having a republican congress actually helped Clinton and it actually helped America. Neither party should ever, EVER control all three branches of our federal government. Terrible times come to all of us every time this mis-alignment happens.

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Union

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But wiili, would the prayer be to Yahweh, Vishnu, Zeus, Allah or my personal favorite, Aphrodite?

That chick was hot!

http://tinyurl.com/2vj6hsf

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“Like the Democrats compromised with Bush, right Jay?”

Uhh conservatives LOVE to trot out that a bunch of democrats agreed with every stupid thing that Bush did when it suits their purposes, like the Iraq War. Now you’re telling me that was all a lie?

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Headline: “Anti-Muslim Rhetoric: Free Speech or Hate Speech?”

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/anti-muslim-rhetoric-free-speech-hate-speech/story?id=11519631

“Islam and the West, distinct civilizations, can neither assimilate nor co-exist harmoniously.”

Andrew McCarthy

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Yeah, punk too bad none of them ran for high political office during the Bush chicken-hawk years!

The only two you fools ever had in your midst – McCain and Hagel – you damn near swift-boated!

Big talking cowards from Cheney to Saxby to every other GOP “leader” of note over the past 10 years or more.

They should all be waterboarded…

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The social security “surplus” was what Bush and his cronies used to fund their temporary tax cuts. That plus what they borrowed from China. Now, the cons want the Dems to make the Bush temporary tax cuts permanent even though there is no more social security surplus to tap and the Chinese are not willing to loan us more money. However, the cons would be more than willing to stop paying out social security benefits while continuing to collect the payroll tax in order to make those Bush temporary tax cuts permanent, especially if it is the Dems that do the dirty work for them so they can honestly say to their aging old retired constituency, like Scout, kayaker, et al, that they did not do it.

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What’s with this blog? People pop up, make assertions and they’re asked to explain, then they disappear? Extremerightwing, harvey, yesterday’s Anonymous…. they appear from their style to not be drivebys, so I assume they’re regulars who create a new name to hide behind?

New Rule of Thumb: discount veracity of anyone who pops in, posts, then runs.

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Aahhh, yes, Republicans mooch off the government, it’s true what they say, you learn something new everyday.

Speaking of which, I need to go prepare for the hurricane, should it make landfall I am certainly not going to whine and moan to the government like a bunch of, uh, democrats did in New Orleans.

We can take care of ourselves where I live.

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josef…..hot dogs and viennas are OK. Everyone has to get their RDA of beef rectum and chicken lips.

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…and thanks for your 5:13, AmVet. Wow, calling people punks and cowards. Big talk from a guy hiding anonymously behind a keyboard, and too cowardly to take care of himself, so he wants all the rest of us to pay for his health care, retirement, etc. Joke-U-R

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Sorry folks, I’ve got to get in my big SUV, head on back to my big McMansion in the suburbs, and hang out with my wife and kid. I know these are all things liberals love to hate (gas-guzzlers, suburbanites, and people who get married and support their own kids) but hey, I gotta be me. later.

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Everyone has to get their RDA of beef rectum and chicken lips.

You’ve probably eaten worse than that, you just didn’t know it.

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Scout

ABC Lead: “Anti-Muslim Rhetoric: Free Speech or Hate Speech?aith Coalition Calls on DOJ to Take Public Stance Against Anti-Muslim Rhetoric”

“A coalition of faith groups met with Justice Department officials Monday to encourage the Obama administration to take a more public stance against anti-Muslim hate speech and hate crimes.”

That’s a muddled piece. No where in the article did I read where anyone, even Muslims, sought action against speech. The article’s examples were all about actions which are already against the law.

ABC?!!?

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Scout
Nothing they’d do for a dollar on that side of the border would surprise me…

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Hillbilly Deluxe

Unfortunately, I did know.

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Paul :

True ……… but it’s just a matter of time until you can’t speak your mind and criticize anything.

It’s already the law in Canada.

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All this talk of Spam has me hankering for a can of sardines packed in mustard and some saltines. My granddad and I would munch out on them every time we went fishing so we could tell everyone when we got back that we caught a bunch of fish but ate them all and that was why we did not bring any home.

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Looks like Hairy took his ball and bat and went home.

What a hoot…

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How to fix the economy:

1. Balance the budget and begin paying down fed debt because otherwise China gets to manipulate their mercantilist game. (with tools available below)
2. Increase minimum downpayment and income ratio requirements for housing.
3. Regulate the Hedge Fund industry like the banking industry.
4. End Corporate Taxes, end all farm and corporate subsidies; ban lobbying by corporations
5. Clean all outdated and stupid laws off the books (I don’t know what these are, but I’m certain they exist in large quantities).
6. End social security and medicare for anyone under the age of 50, require 10% of pre-tax income to go toward untouchable 401k style savings accounts for those under 50.
7. Means test social security and medicare immediately. Raise minimum eligibility age to 70 immediately then index to 95% of life expectancy within 10 years. Means testing exempt for anyone with assets less than $50,000 but still working (no disincentive for working).
8. For those under 50, social security becomes in essence a poverty program providing sustenance assistance, but good solid assistance if you don’t have any assets or income.
9. To replace medicare, HSA’s for long term healthcare become available with minimum contributions of 5% of income.
10. Capital gains and income taxes are equalized on a sliding scale (so it no longer matters whether your income is from wages or capital – its all taxed at the same rate).
11. Two income tax brackets: 10% on all wages up to $100,000, 25% on income over $100,000 (individually).
12. Phase out of portions of income tax with a VAT. For every VAT dollar of revenue however, income taxes (and capital gains tax) rates are adjusted downward (no net revenue increase for the government). Just rewarding saving over spending providing a more stable revenue source for government budgeting purposes.
13. Unemployment goes back to max 26 weeks.
14. Term limits of 18 years for members of Congress. Lifetime ban on any former senator or representative engaging in lobbying activities.
15. Banning of state laws permitting unions to require donations – all union donations are voluntary not mandatory in unionized states.
16. End taxing of overseas US citizens on wages.

There. Now that I’ve radically remade the American economy, I can go back to work….

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Harry Callahan

If you’re still here: “gas-guzzlers”

Ever taken a look at the percentage of US oil consumption attributed to vehicle use? Ever looked at the growth in imports from the Middle East? Ever looked at the effect of greater efficiency would have on the level of consumption when aggregated for the country?

Our reason for going to war in Desert Storm I was what? Our involvement in the Middle East for the past 50 years or so is because of what? Do you really think, absent oil, we’d care what went on over there?

So you glory in higher than necessary oil consumption?

Thousands of military families thank you.

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josef:

Exactly ………….. and there are leaders in this country who will try it here ! They want to silence anyone who disagrees with them.

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BADA BING:

“We don’t need no stinking badges”

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How, you ask?

*Jay
August 31st, 2010
4:56 pm

And @@, how is gov’t preventing you from “fulfilling your own prophecy”?*

*Paul
August 31st, 2010
4:56 pm

@@

Did government prevent you from that?*

Geez fellas! Try to remember, I don’t do emoticons. You’re like a coupl’a freakin’ vultures.

Paul & jay:

Right now, I’m out of a job. Other than that…they have big plans for our capital gains, estate, health care, AMT…..the sun is setting.
____________________________________________________

Kamchak:

Have you told everyone why you use the “you’re operating under the misconception…” schtick so often now?

Do you wanna tell ‘em or should I? Never mind…wouldn’t wanna put you out.

It’s because Grand Forks complemented you on its usage over at Kyle’s.

It’s kinda sweet that you’ve remembered.

Back to the paint can, ladder, paintbrush and walls.

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Scout

“but it’s just a matter of time until you can’t speak your mind and criticize anything.

It’s already the law in Canada.”

Much as I like Canada, it’s like any other country: they don’t have our Constitution, our guarantees and our freedoms. I don’t think it’s a forgone conclusion we’ll see greater and greater limits on non-violence inciting speech.

Unless we get more people on the Court who subscribe to the view “hey, speech is protected, but what others do to you if they don’t like what you say is fair game.”

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Remember the commercial? “Parts is parts!”

I do remember that!!!

I wish I could find audio for this but maybe it will read well enough to give you the idea.

http://www.lyricszoo.com/utah-phillips/moose-turd-pie/

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Has everybody been assigned to their reeducation camps yet?

“So, we have a lot of reeducation to do,” Sebelius said.

And you wonder why the poll numbers are doing what they’re doing

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Ninja:

I said “they want”.

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Harry
Suburbs, eh? East Cobb…? So déclassé!

Fish Tales–

I draw the line at sardines…but, yep, Unmentionable and the boys wouldn’t think of going fishing without them!

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Obama’s Speech on Iraq:

I could be wrong but “El Jefe” will say something tonight about all “combat” troops have been withdrawn from Iraq. That is deceitful at best and an outright lie at worst.

Why?

Seven combat brigades and two combat aviation brigades remain in Iraq. All that has been done is to change their designation from a “Combat Brigade” to an “Advise and Assist Brigrade”. They retain all of their weapons, troops, mobility, etc. These soldiers (except for aviation) are mostly 11Bravo’s (also known as infantry). These units also include armor and artillery.

From the “Army Times”:

“Of the seven Advise and Assist Brigades still in Iraq, four are from the 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga. The 1st Heavy Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, based at Fort Bliss, and the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson, Colo., are also serving as Advise and Assist Brigades. Two combat aviation brigades also remain in Iraq …………….. “

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Kam, you gotta chuckle just a tad at the Grand Forks/LA apologists. Talk about misguided pity…

HD, you’re probably right. Warren Buffett has noted for years that because of the infinite loopholes, etc. his effective tax rate is lower than his secretary’s.

Welfare for the wealthy…

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Scout your lack of respect for the president, with the cute little name calling takes away from anything you may have to say, imho. Man up, bro.

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OK, duty calls. Yep even at this otherwise late hour.

Be sure and say a prayer for those on the road who are anywhere near Hairy and his big “SUV”!

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Hillbilly Deluxe

The estate tax scheduled for 2011 is going to hit a lot more families than small business types or farmers.

“The federal estate tax is scheduled to return with a vengeance on Jan. 1, 2011, imposing a levy of up to 55% on estates valued at more than $1 million. And the same congressional paralysis that allowed the tax to expire in 2010 could thwart efforts to pare it back, estate planning attorneys say.

A $1 million exemption would affect a lot of families that are well out of Steinbrenner’s league. “You take a home, an IRA or 401(k) retirement account, some other savings and you get to $1 million pretty easily,” says Richard Behrendt, senior estate planner for Robert W. Baird and a former IRS attorney.”

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2010-07-21-estatetax21_CV_N.htm

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Maybe so, but you’ve gone full throttle with it since Grand’s nod of approval.

You seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that I am seeking CommieAJC/LA/Who Dat?/Grand Forks/I’m here…’s attention.

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