A $1.5 trillion deficit ought to be cause for compromise
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the deficit for fiscal 2011 will hit $1.5 trillion, or almost 10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. While the estimate is considerably higher than earlier CBO estimates, it’s also not a surprise. The estimates jumped after Congress and President Obama agreed late last year to extend the Bush tax cuts and continue paying extended unemployment benefits, in some cases for as long as 99 weeks.
Source: CBO/Jay Bookman
By law, the CBO is also required to try to look 10 years into the future in order to give policymakers some guidance about the longer-term impact of their decisions. The chart to the right, for example, documents the CBO projection of what the deficit — as a share of gross domestic product — will do between now and 2020.
At first glance, it doesn’t look so bad. Note the sudden improvement in fiscal 2013 and 2014, with the deficit as a share of GDP dropping by more than two-thirds. However, that improvement assumes that the Bush tax cuts disappear as scheduled after 2012, with taxes reverting to 2000 levels. (It also assumes that other pieces of law, including the so-called “doc fix,” are allowed to disappear as scheduled.)
Congressional Republicans, of course, have no intention of allowing that to happen. They have convinced themselves and their followers that it is possible to address a problem of this magnitude simply by cutting spending.
They have not, however, been able to convince the accountants or anybody else with any familiarity with the numbers.
For example, the GOP’s ambition is to force a cut of as much as 20 percent in non-defense discretionary spending, a step that would do very real damage to popular, even necessary programs. But let’s say that they succeed, that they are able to get those cuts through a Democratic Senate and signed into law by President Obama. What will they have accomplished?
Well, nondefense discretionary spending amounts to 15 percent of the budget. Cutting 15 percent of the budget by 20 percent cuts the overall budget by a whopping 3 percent. That doesn’t come close to offsetting the impact of making the Bush tax cuts permanent.
Earlier this week, in the GOP response to the president’s State of the Union, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan spoke of the deficit in near apocalyptic terms:
“Speaking candidly, as one citizen to another: We still have time… but not much time. If we continue down our current path, we know what our future will be.
Just take a look at what’s happening to Greece, Ireland, the United Kingdom and other nations in Europe. They didn’t act soon enough; and now their governments have been forced to impose painful austerity measures: large benefit cuts to seniors and huge tax increases on everybody.
Their day of reckoning has arrived. Ours is around the corner. That is why we must act now.”
Personally, I thought Ryan’s rhetoric was a bit melodramatic, but the problem he describes is real. If he is honest in his concern, he knows that as a matter of politics and a matter of math, the problem can be addressed only through a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.
Republicans can’t enact spending cuts of the size needed, particularly in slowing the growth in entitlements, without Democratic help. Democrats can’t enact tax increases of the size needed without Republican help. Together, it is possible to fix this. Apart, it is not.
Bottom line, says the CBO:
“To prevent debt from becoming unsupportable, policymakers will have to substantially restrain the growth of spending, raise revenues significantly above their historical share of GDP, or pursue some combination of those two approaches.”
The longer we pretend otherwise, the worse the problem becomes.
– Jay Bookman
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508 comments Add your comment
Disgusted
January 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
is to change social security to start at 75, eliminate Medicare benefits and increase the amount provided for burial expenses. Problems solved.
Fine. Just stop pulling 7.5% out of my paycheck every time. And stop lying to me that it’s for SS and Medicare. Don’t make me pay more because I work.
poison pen
January 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
Doggone, I remember all the evils that would happen if we put in the Alaska pipeline, and guess what?
I don’t think anyone knows what’s in Anwr until you at least try to find it, sitting back and doing nothing gets nothing done.
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
frog
The $255 went to the boys’ paternal grandparents who made the funeral arrangements…
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
7:54 pm
For 95%, I would guess it’s strictly for the e-fellowship. The other 5% are likely taking themselves too seriously.
Oh, ye of limited mathematical skills.. It’s 94%.. 5%.. and 1%. I bet you’re wondering what the 1% stands for??? That’s the one percent of us twisted enough to post something like this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-OkHz2Lmy0&NR=1
or
http://www.visittex.com/images/headup.jpg
whenever people post dumb sh*t.
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
7:55 pm
“For 95%, I would guess it’s strictly for the e-fellowship. The other 5% are likely taking themselves too seriously”
I have different percentages. I would say: 75% for the conversation, 10% who take themselve too seriously, and 10% a combination of those who only come here to spout talking points and/or who only see it as a venue for spouting vitriol.
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
nice white people from 47 generations of notable German peasants up there
Unless those notable Germans tainted the gene pool with some Sioux blood or something, they’ve gotta be f**king like jack rabbits to get 47 generations in that quick.
TaxPayer
January 27th, 2011
7:56 pm
you are not suggesting Burial First, Medicate Later are you?
Just providing options that Republicans will be most likely to buy into once they get rid of Obama. First things first, dontcha know. Speaking of, I haven’t heard much from Mitch lately.
RB from Gwinnett
January 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
Surely you meant to properly label the tax rate legislation the “Obama tax cuts” Jay as it was Obama who signed that legislation. To call it anything else would be dishonest.
BTW, while we’re on your “raise taxes” kick, I’d like you to state publicly here you will follow through with your commitment to pay “a few thousand” more in taxes during this tax season. It should be quite easy for you to do your taxes, then change your deductions until that number drops “a few thousand”. So, are you going to man up or welch?
Mick
January 27th, 2011
7:57 pm
sc
Don’t forget the music!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAvEiLpboqk
barking frog
January 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
josef, when my mom died they paid my dad 255.00.
when my dad died they paid 0. no surviving spouse.
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
7:58 pm
“been that way downstream since 1699 and ain’t gonna be changing anytime soon, FEMA, GOP, Dems of little consideration”
There’s still a clear difference between Florida and Louisiana. There’s a LOT of Hispanics in Florida and a LOT of people would would place them about on a level with the groups you identify. FEMA STILL did an outstanding job in Florida.
F. Sinkwich
January 27th, 2011
7:59 pm
Doggone:
“It would take a minimum of 10 years to get that oil flowing and by then demand will have greatly outstripped the available reserves there.”
BS. Typical liberal response to all new energy extraction: since we can’t get the payoff tomorrow, let’s not even try.
More supply drives down prices worldwide. You should have put that bong down the night before waking up at noon to go to your ECON 101 class.
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:00 pm
Mick
There is that… That even brings some unity to those who butt heads all week.
Adam
January 27th, 2011
8:00 pm
Disgusted: When the h*ll was it 7.5%
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:00 pm
“I don’t think anyone knows what’s in Anwr until you at least try to find it, sitting back and doing nothing gets nothing done”
You might find it interesting to educate yourself on things like “shaker trucks” and how they FIND OUT where to drill for oil. Or do you think they just toss a coin and keep putting holes in the ground until they find some? (here’s a clue: if they were using that method the world would quickly resemble swiss cheese)
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:01 pm
SoCo
Notable peasants back all the way to the Barbarians and the Fall of Rome… A generation being calculated as 25 years!
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:01 pm
ya’ll or is it y’all???….have proved my point…you’d rather argue with one another than actually solve a problem…wake up…YOU are the problem…..when you get serious let me know
Mick
January 27th, 2011
8:03 pm
doggone
FEMA actually did a standup job after hurricane andrew and was even more efficient under clinton. With the proper leadership, it is a vital agency for response to natural disasters.
Adam
January 27th, 2011
8:03 pm
F Sinkwich: BS. Typical liberal response to all new energy extraction: since we can’t get the payoff tomorrow, let’s not even try.
Typical conservative response. Find the problem in everyone else’s solutions while having no real solutions of your own. Hint: Drilling in ANWR isn’t a real solution.
barking frog
January 27th, 2011
8:03 pm
josef, you’re correct, a minor child(guardian) is eligible also.
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 27th, 2011
8:04 pm
quick
It’s y’all. It’s a contraction for you all.
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:04 pm
barking
That’s interesting…was just going on our own family experience…
Doggone
Yeah, but Louisiana doesn’t have all those snowbirds/retirees from Up North…if it did…
TaxPayer
January 27th, 2011
8:05 pm
I think everyone on here is going to have to spring for a lot more than a few thousand dollars extra to the tax man if we are going to do the fair thing and divide up that 14 trillion dollar debt equally amongst the tax filers. That is what Republicans want to do though, right. It’s the fair thing to do, right. After all, why should a person with a billion dollars in assets pay a higher insurance premium (aka DoD protection, etc.) than someone with a thousand dollars in assets. They’re just two people with the same equal rights and equal opportunities after all.
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:05 pm
“BS. Typical liberal response to all new energy extraction: since we can’t get the payoff tomorrow, let’s not even try.”
Don’t know much about how long it takes to bring an oil well online, do you? Education really IS worth the effort.
“More supply drives down prices worldwide. You should have put that bong down the night before waking up at noon to go to your ECON 101 class.”
and more DEMAND drives prices up. By the time ANWR could be brought online DEMAND will have outstripped the supply of available oil there. ECON 101.
The money could be much more productively spent in helping to get us OFF the oil train.
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:05 pm
josef
Ok. Thought you were just counting generations on the Platte River.
More supply drives down prices worldwide. You should have put that bong down the night before waking up at noon to go to your ECON 101 class.
LMFAO!!!!!!!!! How does that guarantee more supply. For all we know, for every barrel from ANWR that we put on the open market, OPEC could subtract two. What would that do to prices then, genius? We don’t control the market, therefore we don’t control prices. Look at how things are rising even when demand is down here in the US..
AmVet
January 27th, 2011
8:06 pm
quick, with this crowd, it would be awfully quiet in here!
It is a topic of some discourse, in and of itself, of course.
Free speech. Social mores. Accepted, tolerated limits. Shifting lines in the sand…
Mick and B, we are just killing it tonight. (Rush!) Notwithstanding that parting shot by @@ that really did make me bust out laughing.
From Umma Gumma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze-p4e6rJaM&feature=related
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:07 pm
“FEMA actually did a standup job after hurricane andrew and was even more efficient under clinton. With the proper leadership, it is a vital agency for response to natural disasters”
Yes, I know that…it’s Josef who seems to be reluctant to admit it.
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:08 pm
“Yeah, but Louisiana doesn’t have all those snowbirds/retirees from Up North…if it did”
If it did, the response would still have been just as bad. They weren’t ready, because unlike Clinton the Bush admin had “better” things to spend the money on.
Bruno
January 27th, 2011
8:09 pm
Mick–Loved the SOYCD selection, Am–Awesome live Echoes.
Oh, ye of limited mathematical skills.. It’s 94%.. 5%.. and 1%.
LMFAO @ ABM. You need to bust Doggone’s chops since she left out 5% in her blog equation.
BTW, Doggone, in what category do you place Scout??
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:12 pm
“You need to bust Doggone’s chops since she left out 5% in her blog equation”
Did I? Ok, I can fix that, how about 5% who come here by accident and can’t figure us out?!
Scout
January 27th, 2011
8:13 pm
You guys are reinventing the wheel here.
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:14 pm
“BTW, Doggone, in what category do you place Scout??”
10% who take themselve too seriously
barking frog
January 27th, 2011
8:14 pm
josef, I once managed an office that transported FEMA
campers for emergency housing. This agency should be
disbanded and the name blotted out of history. A much
better solution is to just send money and let volunteers
assist.
Bruno
January 27th, 2011
8:14 pm
how about 5% who come here by accident and can’t figure us out?!
We can definitely place quick in that 5%, Doggone. I can hear him now “Well, then, I’m going to take my football and go home!!”
Dusty
January 27th, 2011
8:14 pm
Well, I don’t believe I can add much here tonight. But I will give it a try.
Yes, I read Jay’s teacup predictions and find that he has switched from. “Bush did it” to “Bush tax cuts”. After that, if those unruly Repubs would just drop their demands everything would be “super”. So sayeth Jay(D). We could sail into the rosy sunset with sweet dreams of 2020.
Then he adds daintily.”But I want to restrain the growth of spending TOO!!” I give a Palin “You betcha!” for that one.
Why oh why can’t we get Robert Gates to be president? Do you not realize that he is the only person in Washington who has great intelligence, vast experience, and makes sensible decisions without holding his finger to the political wind to get direction??? He is definitely NOT from Chicago. And he performed just as well for Bush as he does for Obama. Why! Because he makes decisions based on study and facts. Let Obama star at Harvard as devine Democrat.. Suits me.
And another thing, those of you who have never even been mayor of a village, much less a governor, please refrain from dumping your male doldrums on Palin. It makes you seem the perfect Male Chauvenist Pig of small statue. By the way, there’s been a black pig running on I 75 all day..(AJC news). They can’t catch him. I think he must have a laptop. Been blogging all day. (Yep, right here!)
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:16 pm
Bruno
Going back to check Doggone’s math, I came across this from her…
You might find it interesting to educate yourself on things like “shaker trucks” and how they FIND OUT where to drill for oil. Or do you think they just toss a coin and keep putting holes in the ground until they find some?
F’N PRICELESS!!!!!
But she did recover at 8:12, so all is forgiven with her math.
Bruno
January 27th, 2011
8:17 pm
Am kicking some major ass @ 8:06!!!!
Several months back, Outhouse GoKart and I had a Pink Floyd/Rush throwdown that went on til 6 AM. Took me several days to recover.
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:18 pm
I gotta run… Time to put the lil sidekick down for the evening. I’m finally starting to wear her down.
Check y’all later…
Bruno
Anytime I see some pure un-cut bs posted, that Picard face palm with sound effects will be my standard response from now on. I don’t think I’ll even post a comment.
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:19 pm
Thanks AmVet..I’ve followed you and few others for a while…(does that make me a stalker?)
It would be a fun experiment to see those here have to temper their rhetoric and actually offer a solution…It would be a slow start but could catch on….it is a worthy experiment…I’ll host it…no charge
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:19 pm
Doggone
I beg to differ again…nice white people on rooftops would have gotten a much quicker response…those scenes from NOLA hit the same response mechanism as similar scenes from the rest of the Third World…sympathy, but no empathy….
F. Sinkwich
January 27th, 2011
8:20 pm
So Co:
“For all we know, for every barrel from ANWR that we put on the open market, OPEC could subtract two. What would that do to prices then, genius?”
Typical lib.
America doesn’t wave the white flag like you puzzies do. Then drill in the Gulf and off the coasts. Mine coal. Build nuclear. Construct natural gas pipelines.
Never give up.
A partial pic
January 27th, 2011
8:20 pm
Employment and wages of the largest occupations, May 2009
wet wiccan
January 27th, 2011
8:21 pm
If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t FEMA brought under the control of Homeland Security after 9/11? I remember when Katrina happened, one of the reasons they wouldn’t let volunteers with boats try to rescue people was because they had not been cleared previously by Homeland Security. Which I thought was stupid, by the way.
TaxPayer
January 27th, 2011
8:23 pm
You guys are reinventing the wheel here
Nah. Just cuttin’ a few corners.
TaxPayer
January 27th, 2011
8:24 pm
Then drill in the Gulf and off the coasts. Mine coal. Build nuclear. Construct natural gas pipelines.
Done. Now what.
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:25 pm
Thanks SoCo!
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:25 pm
America doesn’t wave the white flag like you puzzies do. Then drill in the Gulf and off the coasts. Mine coal. Build nuclear. Construct natural gas pipelines.
typical Southern Compassionate Conservative Republican.
an’t stand when you’re not right, so you shift the goal posts, name call (usually something vulgar), and try to score points. In actuality, your answer sounds like a tree-hugging, Prius-driving, Democratic Party supporting Liberal. You’ve pretty much described finding alternative fuel sources. It must really, really suck to be you sometimes. Can’t even win a f’n debate with a “typical liberal” without actually sounding like what you hate.
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:26 pm
Can’t stand. I was laughing so damned hard, I dropped my C…
Bruno
January 27th, 2011
8:27 pm
quick @ 8:19–If you’ve got some answers, start posting them instead of complaining about others blog behavior. Did that ever occur to you??
Since we’re going super-deep tonight, Am, here’s a little Astronomy Domine for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5Tne92jfxo
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:27 pm
“I beg to differ again…nice white people on rooftops would have gotten a much quicker response”
I wouldn’t argue that…but overall the response would not have been significantly better, because – there’s no getting around it – they weren’t ready. There’s just no comparison between the Clinton FEMA and the Bush FEMA. None. Clinton considered FEMA of great importance. Bush appeared to consider it a waste of money. And the difference showed.
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:27 pm
Now… I really gotta go. If I stay around for any more debate, I’m liable to piss myself from laughing so hard.
Later y’all…
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:29 pm
“Can’t stand. I was laughing so damned hard, I dropped my C…”
And the best part is he’ll never see that “drill in ANWR” IS giving up.
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:29 pm
wiccan and frog
Let’s face it, they just flat didn’t care…that’s all there is to it…I know, I’m bitter on this one, but a pox on the lot of them and BP has been no better…and you can bet if BP were off Cape Cod of Santa Catalina, there wouldn’t still be people literally getting on their knees begging…
Bruno
January 27th, 2011
8:29 pm
Might as well pulll out all the stops:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2wud_RqEaM&feature=related
Southern Comfort (B.P.O.I.B.W.)
January 27th, 2011
8:32 pm
Doggone
You know!!! I wasn’t too hard with that post was I?? I’ve got tears in my eyes from laughing. “Puzzies”… LMFAO!!!!!
I’ll admit it… I was trying to top that post of yours that I read. That was one of the funniest ones I read all day.
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:32 pm
quick
BTW, have you been in on Friday night? If not, let me extend you an invitation…get to see sides of us you’d never expect during the week…
AmVet
January 27th, 2011
8:32 pm
quick, stalker? When I first began I called them lurkers. Drive bys. Often only to hurl some invective and then leave. Or change personae.
Temper the rhetoric! (I’m guilty, as not charged!)
So lead the way!
Some of us take great liberties with the “An Atlanta blog with a little bit of opinion about a whole lot of things”, and many, many topics come up.
And music…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8RhZDGLEXM
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:34 pm
“I wasn’t too hard with that post was I?? ”
Considering who you were responding too, I’m not sure it’s POSSIBLE to be too hard!
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:35 pm
Bruno….sure if that’s what makes you feel special…I’m not complaining as much as I am pointing to the obvious….again, you’ve offered nothing in the way of a solution
YOU are part of the problem…..dont worry about being right…worry about being understood
F. Sinkwich
January 27th, 2011
8:38 pm
So Co, don’t Bogart that joint. You gotta get up at 11:00 AM for counseling.
Then you gotta go to CVS for some smart pills. They don’t seem to be working much, but at least they’re retarding your rapid descent to stupid-ville to some degree, however negligible.
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:39 pm
AmVet
And some of us come here because…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBGZTCwPhQQ
Scout
January 27th, 2011
8:41 pm
Doggone/GA:
“10% who take themselve too seriously”
There’s a reason for that.
Since I was 18 I have served my country and I have done some very, VERY serious things.
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:41 pm
I have a variety of topics but dont wanna punk J’s blog
I just thinka blog with a mandate of civil discourse can be a positive force and worth pause…how wrong can that be?
Mr_B
January 27th, 2011
8:42 pm
G’evenin” gang.
Scout
January 27th, 2011
8:42 pm
In other words, some of us have “seen the elephant” and some of us have not.
It makes a difference.
Dusty
January 27th, 2011
8:44 pm
Wet wiccan,
I don’t believe anyone has mentioned one downer in the Katrina time although it usually is.
The Federal Government cannot move in a state emergency until the governor of the state requests help. The governor of Louisiana took two days after Katrina hit land to ask for Federal help.
The mayor of New Orleans was supposed to start a fleet of school buses to rescue city resdents without transportation. He never did. The buses sat in the parking lot until they were flooded.
The police of New Orleans were as demoralized as much as the other citizens. The few who remembered their duty were overwhelmed.
There’s a lot of blame to be spread around for many things and it has been. But, the start of getting help was delayed by those in the state, not by Washington.
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 27th, 2011
8:44 pm
I just thinka blog with a mandate of civil discourse can be a positive force and worth pause
I agree with that but the name of the game is blog hits. I think they’d rather have hits than civil discourse.
Scout
January 27th, 2011
8:47 pm
You V.C. !
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/27/dan-choi-repay-army-bonus-dadt-discharge_n_815102.html
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:47 pm
screw hits!…it’s about solving a problem…I’d rather be right and understood than popular
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 27th, 2011
8:50 pm
quick @ 8:47
But it’s not our blog. We don’t make the rules and we don’t pick the topics.
Mountain Man
January 27th, 2011
8:50 pm
Doggone/Ga
I owe you an apology for my comments on the other blog about the Let’s Make a Deal paradox. I was wrong and you were right. Apparently I am the product of the Georgia education system.
Mr_B
January 27th, 2011
8:51 pm
Hillbilly, why would hits and civility be mutually exclusive?
TaxPayer
January 27th, 2011
8:51 pm
I’d rather be right and understood than popular
A climate scientist, huh. Two out of three ain’t bad though. You can be right and not popular.
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:51 pm
“But, the start of getting help was delayed by those in the state, not by Washington.”
Horse sh*t, Maybelle…the minute that levee broke everybody knew what was coming and Washington should have had the military out pulling people off rooftops, out of that cesspool at the Dome, rescuing folks from that hell on earth at the Convention Center…d*mn ‘em all,,,
There, is that more up to my standards?
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:52 pm
but we can Hillbilly
I want an honest debate…partisian free
TaxPayer
January 27th, 2011
8:53 pm
why would hits and civility be mutually exclusive?
Why are people like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck so popular amongst the right wingers.
Mr_B
January 27th, 2011
8:53 pm
And given where this thread has gone in only 372 comments, neither does Jay.
AmVet
January 27th, 2011
8:53 pm
Hillbilly Deluxe, sadly I suspect you’re correct.
Even still…
You don’t see one like that 8:50 in a very long time.
So there’s a sign…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ6wEtUm8Nw
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:53 pm
Taxpayer…tell me about your education…how do YOU qualify
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:53 pm
Hillbilly
“We don’t make the rules and we don’t pick the topics.”
True on the first, but the Bruin is pretty good about leaving us be to do the latter!
Bruno
January 27th, 2011
8:54 pm
josef–Here’s my response to your 8:39:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvR6d08L3nc
Mountain Man–No love for Bruno???? I’m the one who put the problem up in the first place. i was really hoping Jay would chime in with his answer since he likes to look own his nose at the education system here.
Del
January 27th, 2011
8:54 pm
Scout, reaction force now on, direct where to direct fire suppression, over
josef nix
January 27th, 2011
8:56 pm
Quick
“I want an honest debate…partisian free”
And I want peace on earth and goodwill toward men and women…
Mr B
Shalom!
Mr_B
January 27th, 2011
8:57 pm
Jonix: You have to understand that somebody in DC actually had to find Constitutional authority before they could help anybody. Do you have ANy idea what thse liberals could do if they could only get their hands on a heliocopter???!!!
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:57 pm
“I owe you an apology for my comments on the other blog about the Let’s Make a Deal paradox. I was wrong and you were right”
Thank you. It’s definitely NOT an easy concept. I only knew the answer already because I have read Marilyn Vos Savant’s books and she has a very detailed explanation, but even so, it’s just not the INTUITIVE response!
TaxPayer
January 27th, 2011
8:57 pm
tell me about your education…how do YOU qualify
Qualify for what.
Hillbilly Deluxe
January 27th, 2011
8:58 pm
quick, Mr B
I’m not disagreeing with y’all’s point. I try to keep thinks civil and though I am prone to wandering off on sidebars, I try to discuss the issues. For me personally, I can say most everything I have to say about a subject in 2-3 posts. I’m a man of few words. So after 2-3 posts, if the topic doesn’t get expanded on, I tend to lose interest, as it’s basically a rehash of whatever the conflicting views are.
As has been discussed before on here, there are certain “go to” topics that show up. If several columns in a row haven’t drawn many hits, one of those topics will pop up. It’ll be one of the ones which draw the most comments, the most hyperbole, and the most conflict. That’s what keeps the advertisers happy, is my guess, the number of hits.
Anyhow, that’s my opinion; others’ may be different.
Mr_B
January 27th, 2011
8:59 pm
Shalom! Careful with the allusions to the book of Matthew,somebody might think you converted.
Doggone/GA
January 27th, 2011
8:59 pm
“the minute that levee broke everybody knew what was coming ”
When the levee broke?! There’s absolutely NO REAON they should have waited that long. They were totally unprepared to even evacuate that city, and since they had what? 2 or 3 WEEKS notice that this was going to be a BIG storm…as you said, they just didn’t care.
More of that “I got mine, you’re on your own” attitude that I despise.
quick
January 27th, 2011
8:59 pm
Josef…all it ttakes is YOU
Taxpayer…qualify for honest debate
Keep up the good fight!
January 27th, 2011
9:01 pm
If someone is seeing elephants then maybe they have other issues. But to claim that somehow service to your country gives you a special right to be a birther, to spout hatred toward an entire religion and against those with a different sexual orientation is simply not credible. Just simply the claim of lunacy.
barking frog
January 27th, 2011
9:01 pm
josef, i tried peace on earth, almost anything is better to peace on….
Mr_B
January 27th, 2011
9:02 pm
Billy, it might be that threads tend to drift into areas that folks are the most passionate about. I suspect the advertisers already know they ain’t gettin no eyeballs from the posters.
Bruno
January 27th, 2011
9:02 pm
quick–My undergrad college is right here for you. Top of the page for you:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/22/colleges-with-the-highest_n_656372.html#s117600&title=undefined
Taxpayer went to GT, where he never learned about the Pauli Exclusion Principle, though he claims to be a materials engineer:
Mick
January 27th, 2011
9:02 pm
bruno
Whatever happened to outhouse? He had a great sense of humor- mod music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQTFRq1hjtM&feature=related
Scout
January 27th, 2011
9:02 pm
Del:
From Ford drop one, Chevy drop 3, azmuth 320 mils, one round, willie peter, will adjust, over.
Dusty
January 27th, 2011
9:03 pm
JOSEF
You can call my name even when you are rude. Perhaps you should notify Washington that you changed the rules after the fact with Katrina. Katrina, as bad as it was, was a STATE emergency.
9/11 was a national emergency.
Floods have happened all over the USA. Bad ones. The governors of those states called for Federal help right away. There were people on rooftops and homes washed away with people in them. You can get all bent out of shape about N.O. but the first big mistake was made by the Louisiana governor whether you like it or not.
AmVet
January 27th, 2011
9:04 pm
Yep, my take was that the dirty little secret that underpins our entire society got thrown right in our faces in a HUGE way with that storm, that there really was no way, for us a nation, to pretend any longer.
The poor go to the back of the bus. No matter black,brown, white, yellow, red, etc, etc, etc…
Just the way of man, I guess…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdIgZtdonBk
barking frog
January 27th, 2011
9:04 pm
Taxpayer, someone is taking debate here….
quick
January 27th, 2011
9:04 pm
come on…lose the party…live the message…left right…i dont care
let’s fix it!