Paul Ryan erases Ayn Rand from the picture
With his new-found high profile, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan is now on the “oft-mentioned list” of potential vice presidential candidates. Not coincidentally, he also finds himself trying to defend brutal cuts in services to the poor and others in need that he has proposed in his “Path to Prosperity” budget.
So, in an interview published Thursday in National Review, Ryan made it a point to dismiss as “urban myth” the notion that he draws inspiration and guidance from Ayn Rand, the libertarian philosopher-queen who celebrates the self over all else and who dismisses the very notion of a social contract.
Ryan was pretty explicit:
“I reject her philosophy. It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview. If somebody is going to try to paste a person’s view on epistemology to me, then give me Thomas Aquinas. Don’t give me Ayn Rand.”
I find urban myths a fascinating phenomenon. For example, you could write a book about all the urban myths that have popped up about Barack Obama, from the “whitey tape” and the birth certificate to “see India on $200 million a day.” If you try to trace them back to their source, as you would trace a creek back to its source, you often find yourself peering into a dark, dank swamp of fear and fabrication.
So which vile soul started this urban myth about Ryan’s supposed affection for Ayn Rand? I think I have found a clue:
And then there’s this:
“I give out Atlas Shrugged as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it. Well… I try to make my interns read it.”
And:
“Ayn Rand, more than anybody else, did a fantastic job explaining the morality of capitalism, the morality of individualism, and that, to me, is what matters most.”
And:
“The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.”
That’s all Paul Ryan, folks.
Now, as to this Thomas Aquinas fellow to whom Ryan suddenly and conveniently pledges such allegiance. If the budget chairman truly has begun to study the works of St. Thomas, such as his 13th century classic Summa Theologica, that’s great. He will have much to gain from the experience.
Regarding this alleged “urban myth,” for example, Aquinas might remind Ryan that “A lie is evil … it is unnatural and undue for anyone to signify by words something that is not in his mind.”
And as to that budget?
“Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need.”
I can’t wait to see such lessons reflected in Ryan’s politics, can you?
– Jay Bookman
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358 comments Add your comment
James Thomas
April 27th, 2012
1:43 pm
LIberalefty
Where are the jobs? Well I’m working one right now….So’s my wife.
Now you answer…Where is the cutting the deficit in half we were promised? The new most transparent government ever? Hmmmm Hmmmmmm…..?anybody
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2012
1:43 pm
Will the real Paul Ryan please stand up and defend your Etch-A-Sketch self.
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
1:44 pm
Dear Both @ 1:31, we will agree that a “foolish consistency the hobgoblin of little minds” but you may not understand that phrase if you think it condemns intellectual consistency.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
1:44 pm
TBS – I’m seriously confused by you thinking there is a problem with someone following their own set of morals and ideology. I’m not arguing with the fact that it is basically the pot calling the kettle black with him, I’m just saying your post doesn’t make much sense. If you had said he was following someone else’s ideology, or the Republican ideology, or something like that then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I follow what I believe, and question myself as needed, but even when I do, I’m still following myself.
After Zimmerman's website raises more than $200,000, prosecution asks judge to raise bond
April 27th, 2012
1:44 pm
The prosecution in the second-degree murder case against George Zimmerman asked a Florida judge Friday to raise Zimmerman’s bond in light of recent revelations that a website for his defense raised more than $200,000.
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/27/11427416-after-zimmermans-website-raises-more-than-200000-prosecution-asks-judge-to-raise-bond?lite
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
April 27th, 2012
1:46 pm
James Thomas
Go ahead and hold your breath.
Thyra
April 27th, 2012
1:46 pm
actually there is a good “liberal/socialist” novel that is a MUST read. It is Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906). It exposed conditions in the U.S. meat packing industry, causing a public uproar that contributed in part to the passage a few months later of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
1:47 pm
JamVet – My parents paid my sister and I to read when we were younger. Although, we typically got to chose our own books, if there was something they thought we should read, they would suggest it. Their philosophy and a lot of others I know is whatever it takes to get kids to read.
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
1:47 pm
Dear Mick @ 1:28, we can agree that leftists think the right of free contract would be a symptom of a sterile life. I made an offer to my kids for an intellectual exercise, they accepted. Only a leftist would condemn teaching children principles of business law.
I'm a "con" and a vet. STOP SPITTING ON ME!!! (That Black Guy)
April 27th, 2012
1:47 pm
They BOTH suck
April 27th, 2012
1:00 pm
Rag
Why is Ryan attempting to deny Rand? It is not the “left’s” words, but his own
_________________________________________________________________________
Because he is a politician and have read the polls that say America is not behind the extremes in the party.
He has to dial it back.
He has an R after his name, so some will buy it.
Have fun on your Lupus walk tomorrow.
My SIL thanks you again.
JamVet - Stay ignorant, my friends...
April 27th, 2012
1:48 pm
“It would be hard to find such a display of grotesque eccentricity outside an asylum. Galt is really arguing for a dictatorship.” — Adam Kirsch, The Los Angeles Times
“Perfect in its immorality” — Gore Vidal
“Longer than life and twice as preposterous” — anonymous.
“Makes well-poisoning seem like one of the kindlier arts” — anonymous.
mm
April 27th, 2012
1:48 pm
“steal from the rich and give to the poor.”
Examples please.
liberalefty
April 27th, 2012
1:49 pm
@james thomas
i’m working too, but i bought up jobs because the gop is complaining that the unemployment is somehow the presidents fault. and who cares about deficits? thats just a number and we dont even know if its true or not…the deficit could be trillions or it could be zero. we only know what they tell us.
JamVet - Stay ignorant, my friends...
April 27th, 2012
1:49 pm
And apparently the film was just as abysmal…
Passionate ideologues may find it compelling, but most filmgoers will find this low-budget adaptation of the Ayn Rand bestseller decidedly lacking.
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
1:50 pm
Dear Thyra @ 1:46, I respectfully disagree. “Jungle” was poor journalism, and mostly untrue. A better reflection of old-school “liberalism” – and one I similarly encouraged my sons to read – was Sinclair Lewis’s “Arrowsmith.” A Nobel prize winner no longer on reading lists, but it accurately and sympathetically presents the desirability, and potential heartbreak, of a compassionate soul.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
1:50 pm
This is HILARIOUS. I guess even Paul Ryan realizes Ayn Rand is toxic for the level of Vice Presidency, or even as a leader of either major party.
I'm a "con" and a vet. STOP SPITTING ON ME!!! (That Black Guy)
April 27th, 2012
1:52 pm
JamVet – Stay ignorant, my friends…
April 27th, 2012
1:08 pm
I read Rand in college,complete rubbish.
Franklee, I bought Anus Shrugged in paperback years ago and tried to read it. Twice.
It was so insufferably awful that I could not get past 50 pages either time. Seriously…
______________________________________________________________________
Your good to get to 50 pages.
I stopped around 25.
It reminded me of when you ask someone “is it raining outside”? and 15 meandering minutes later they get around to saying “yes”.
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
1:54 pm
“JamVet – My parents paid my sister and I to read when we were younger”
Funny. My parents had to pay me to STOP reading.
James Thomas
April 27th, 2012
1:56 pm
You know… The curse of being President is you get the blame for things beyond your reach. But you also get credit for things you have nothing to do with. It’s part of the job no matter who is in office. The current administration and liberal supporters just seem to be a bit more thin skinned than administrations in the past…….Whatever happened to the buck stops here. That sign must have been lost over the years.
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
1:56 pm
For the record, I bought four copies of the well-done “Atlas Shrugged Part 1″ one for myself, and one as gifts for friends. I attended the movie with a friend who had no acquaintance with the story, and the friend marveled at the quality of the production and the performances. Impressive scenery work, assume it was CGI. I was impressed to see Rand’s “mediocre” dialogue performed credibly – I did not “hear” it when I first read the book. I was never wild about the “John Galt Speaks” chapter, but I look forward to it now, which I assume will be “Part 3.”
Penny Pincher
April 27th, 2012
1:56 pm
The left keeps saying the rich need to pay their fair share, can you please quantify what that fair share would be?
carlosgvv
April 27th, 2012
1:57 pm
liberalefty – 1:32
Both Rand and Hustler are filled with wishful thinking and fantasy.
Mighty Righty
April 27th, 2012
1:58 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqHL404zhcU
The above is a link to an “urban myth” when Obama matter of factly states that under his energy plan energy cost will sky rocket. This is the same Obama who says, with help from his suporters, that he can’t control energy prices! In this clip he estimates that his policy will cost the average household around $3900 per year. Well Mr. President, your oil policy has us about half way there.
Don't Forget
April 27th, 2012
1:58 pm
Bob Dylan to be one of many Medal of Freedom recipients this year.
Awesome!
Doubt I’ll be at FNM tonight, yall have fun.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
1:58 pm
Doggone – I figured out how to “scam” the system early. I love reading, and feel somewhat lost when I run out of books to read, so I never had to be “bribed” to read. My sister, she would read now, but nobody pays her.
carlosgvv
April 27th, 2012
1:58 pm
Penny Pincher – 1:56
Their fair share is the same tax percentage the middle class pays.
I'm a "con" and a vet. STOP SPITTING ON ME!!! (That Black Guy)
April 27th, 2012
1:59 pm
TM
April 27th, 2012
1:20 pm
and our President’s mentor is Robin Hood, steal from the rich and give to the poor.
______________________________________________________________________
Wrong
Robin Hood stole from taxman and gave BACK to the taxpayer.
JamVet - Stay ignorant, my friends...
April 27th, 2012
1:59 pm
(ir), man o man o man.
I came up in a different era.
Paying kids so they can fake some sort of intellectual curiosity?
Get rid of three of the four TVs in the house. Toss their precious iPhones into the lake. Burn the game consoles. And limit their computer time to an hour a day. And no vapid and vacuous movies except on the weekends and even then occasionally.
They can then either contemplate their navels or pick up a good book – not that bilge water from the comic book author from Russia – and read it.
And for other cheap entertainment they can go outside and ride their bikes and play baseball…
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
2:02 pm
“so I never had to be “bribed” to read.”
Me either. I did sometimes have to be bribed to stop reading and go outside and play. Then I figured out I would ride my bike clear across Harrisburg, PA to the state library to get REALLY interesting books…so did both in one fell swoop!
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:02 pm
Union: NO BUDGET NEEDED?
“Senate Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Conrad himself, have said for months that a budget resolution was not necessary because fiscal 2013 spending levels were already set by legislation to end last year’s debt limit standoff.”
Do you deny the truth of his statements?
Penny Pincher
April 27th, 2012
2:02 pm
liberalefty
April 27th, 2012
1:07 pm
am i the only one tired of the faux individualistic bs spouted by all career politicians? these career bs artists have been on the government dole for decades while telling everybody how bad the government is
I fixed this for you
JamVet - Stay ignorant, my friends...
April 27th, 2012
2:03 pm
The left keeps saying the rich need to pay their fair share, can you please quantify what that fair share would be?
Warren Buffet paying something more than a17.4% effective annual tax rate versus his secretary paying 35.8%.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:04 pm
99% of rightwingers never read RANDS book
Here’s a quote from Ayn Rand: “Damn conservatives.”
Speaks volumes I think. Oh, and Saul Alinsky? Right wingers like his tactics more right now than left wingers. Just sayin. The GOP, aka Party of Psychological Projection, needs to look in the mirror.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
2:04 pm
JamVet – Yeah, it was more for my sister than me. I read everything. If it is something I like, I’ll read it multiple times. Having said all that, if I took your post seriously towards me, I would respond by saying, we had one TV and no cable, cell phones weren’t really around until I was older, didn’t have any type of video games until I was in college, you got me on computers (I’ve always been a nerd), didn’t watch too many movies, but my dad made sure I saw the important ones (Porky’s, Animal House, ect.), but of course, only when my mom was out of town. As a child, I spent all my time reading or roaming through the woods around my house. Then I got a canoe, and spent all my time in it.
Casual Observer
April 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
Looks like more bad news for Obama (GDP growth). I think that by November, the electorate will be so tired of all the negative headlines about Obama and his administration, he could lose by a landslide, much like dems did in the mid-terms of 2010. Not so much a vote for Romney than a vote against Obama.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
Doggone – I just took the books to the woods and would spend the afternoon chilling on a fallen tree, reading.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
House Passes Student Loan Bill That Cuts Women’s Health Program
Still trying the same old tricks to pretend they are for something when they are really against it, by extracting some other thing from Democrats (or trying to) in a “deal.”
JamVet - Stay ignorant, my friends...
April 27th, 2012
2:05 pm
Excuse little old me. Those rates above are not effective tax rates…
Fred ™
April 27th, 2012
2:06 pm
There was a time right after I read Atlas Shrugged for the first time, that I thought it was the end all and be all of of political and critical thought. Of course that was before puberty so I didn’t have much life experience.
It didn’t take me long to see that Ayn Rand was pretty much shot out and living in fantasy land. Of course at that time I didn’t know it was METH LAND.
I always find it quite amusing how the God and Goddess of the NEO-Con movement are two huge f’ing drug addicts……… Rushie and Ayn……….. The Upper and the Downer. The yin and the yang as it were lol. Just goes to show that it takes a kook are a drug addict to think like they do……..
Oscar
April 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
Penny Pincher
April 27th, 2012
1:56 pm
The left keeps saying the rich need to pay their fair share, can you please quantify what that fair share would be?
_____________
Forty five per cent of all income earned in excess of one million a year sounds about right.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
Great hatchet job on Paul Ryan…well deserved..He can’t have it both ways….
To be fair, this story is popping up EVERYWHERE. Because just about everyone knows he’s a liar on this one.
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
“Their fair share is the same tax percentage the middle class pays”
I would have said “Their fair share is AT LEAST the same tax percentage the middle class pays” – because I actually think their fair share is MORE than the middle class pays.
Casual Observer
April 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
JamVet – Stay ignorant, my friends…
April 27th, 2012
2:03 pm
Here is an idea. Instead of raising taxes on the rich, why not lower the taxes for everyone else.
Penny Pincher
April 27th, 2012
2:08 pm
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
1:24 pm
Now that was funny!!
Mad Max
April 27th, 2012
2:08 pm
Can each of you here borrow $200,000 for every living person in your household and send it to the feds since that is your fair share of the debt and you all think the current admin has it right. You will still owe some because by the time they receive and process your check, it will have gone up.
It’s not about punishing the poor, it’s about sanity and living within our means. While Bookman smears the only guy who at least has the guts to offer up a plan, our debt continues to spiral out of control. And the guy in the White House wants to speed up our descent over the cliff and the Reid Senate refuses to put forth a plan so people can see where they are taking us but this is good according to the great seer who writes this blog. Our debt probably increased by a billion dollars while he wrote this column. Yeah, that makes sense, just keep to the course even if we don’t know where we are going.
Just my opinion.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:08 pm
James: Now you answer…Where is the cutting the deficit in half we were promised? The new most transparent government ever?
Ok we didn’t get the deficit cut in half by the end of the first term. Transparency? I think we got a good bit of that, especially considering just how much MORE you know about THIS administration’s activities than you did about any other previous admin while they were in office. Would you deny you can probe much deeper into the ins and outs of this admin versus the others during their time?
Fred ™
April 27th, 2012
2:09 pm
Me either. I did sometimes have to be bribed to stop reading and go outside and play. Then I figured out I would ride my bike clear across Harrisburg, PA to the state library to get REALLY interesting books…so did both in one fell swoop!
LOL Not me, either one. I would play until forced to come in then read until forced into bed. At that point I did the flashlight under the covers thing. Of course I had 6 or seven hours of good reading time everyday that school was in session. I used my class time to read books.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:09 pm
TBG nails it at 1:47p
Gale
April 27th, 2012
2:10 pm
Fabulous. Never read the book. I just love how politicians explain away earlier protestations when the wind changes. I love more how people like Jay catch them doing it and tell the world about it.
Fred ™
April 27th, 2012
2:11 pm
Oscar
April 27th, 2012
2:07 pm
Penny Pincher
April 27th, 2012
1:56 pm
The left keeps saying the rich need to pay their fair share, can you please quantify what that fair share would be?
_____________
Forty five per cent of all income earned in excess of one million a year sounds about right.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I disagree. I think the same percentage as everyone else pays (sans deductions and other chicanery) is sufficient. And I mean ALL income. Not just “wages.”
Common Sense
April 27th, 2012
2:11 pm
Always nice to see folks criticize that which they cannot grasp.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:11 pm
Mighty Righty: The above is a link to an “urban myth” when Obama matter of factly states that under his energy plan energy cost will sky rocket
And also leaves out that he wasn’t talking about gas or oil energy, but another specific type of energy. I’ll leave it to you to research which one.
Matti
April 27th, 2012
2:12 pm
I was ten or eleven when I read Herman Wouk’s “The Winds of War” for the first time. Wow. While it was historical fiction, the author did a great job of putting the reader into many pairs of shoes to show how personal war can be. Self-serving politicians start them. Other people’s lives are forever changed.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
2:12 pm
Adam – I realize it is somewhat silly to ask you this, but did you bother reading the article attached to that? It cut funding from part of the ACA, not specifically to a part that funded women’s health care either. Well, not a part that only funded women’s health care. It was for a preventative health care fund that was for cancer screenings and what not. Having said that, it isn’t much better, but it isn’t the “war on women” that it is being portrayed as by certain news outlets. Also, what exactly is wrong with paying for something before you “buy” it, or finding a way to pay for it?
Mad Max
April 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
JamVet – Stay ignorant, my friends…
If Buffet’s secretary is paying 35%, she is a very well paid secretary. I think you pulled that one out of the air.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
Looks like more bad news for Obama (GDP growth). I think that by November, the electorate will be so tired of all the negative headlines
One supposedly negative headline out of hundreds of others that show positive economic news?
Casual Observer
April 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
And it looks like Obama has not impressed the SCOTUS with his incredible wisdom yet. Maybe they didn’t see him on Kimmel the other night?
liberalefty
April 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
the gop believes in less government, except when it comes to a woman’s womb. they obviously think women are incapable of making tough decisions and need men to make decisions for them.
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
“I just took the books to the woods and would spend the afternoon chilling on a fallen tree, reading”
Well, that wasn’t so much an option for me. The only woods nearby (I was raised a city girl) weren’t safe for girls to be in alone.
Fred ™
April 27th, 2012
2:14 pm
Common Sense
April 27th, 2012
2:11 pm
Always nice to see folks criticize that which they cannot grasp.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And whom are you accusing of doing such a thing? Can you be specific?
Union
April 27th, 2012
2:14 pm
adam…
the no budget needed comment was in response to a previous post..
second…
still waiting on where you came up with the reason obama won the nobel prize.. a few posts yesterday that you never responded to.. in summation.. the noble committee was vague to say the least.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:14 pm
Fred: Your take might help explain the seeming fervor of Ron Paul supporters…. But I do happen to think it’s a bit hyperbolic. It certainly does seem like Ayn Rand/Ron Paul/Paul Ryan people all focus in on a single philosophy and try to bend reality around it, though.
Casual Observer
April 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
Adam,
We are talking credible news sources here, not HuffPo and Media Matters.
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
Of course there’s always the story of Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats who this Sunday will have gone three full years avoiding a budget vote. Maybe they’re working on “The Path To Bankruptcy” budget. Nice diversion from the growing evidence that the ongoing weak recovery is now reversing as we see an unexpected drop in GDP from 3% down to 2.2%.
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
“Always nice to see folks criticize that which they cannot grasp”
And it funny to see folks touting that which they cannot grasp.
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
Funny essay, we know how leftists look at us normal people:
hollywoodreporter.com/news/ann-coulter-america-hates-hollywood-317007
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:16 pm
Here is an idea. Instead of raising taxes on the rich, why not lower the taxes for everyone else.
Because that does not help increase revenue. It in fact decreases it and gives the right more of a reason to attack the other programs that help reduce poverty and hunger.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
2:17 pm
Doggone – Yeah, I grew up in the “sticks” so, I had plenty of nature around to hide in. There weren’t any neighbors to play with though, so I had to find ways to amuse myself. I either read, built things, or blew things up. Life was good as a kid.
Union
April 27th, 2012
2:17 pm
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:13 pm
“One supposedly negative headline out of hundreds of others that show positive economic news?”
you mean.. several negative facts.. out of hundreds of news opinions?
Mary Elizabeth
April 27th, 2012
2:17 pm
Moreover, I suspect this false dichotomy myth, i.e. capitalism and individualism vs. social programs based on human rights (socialism?), has been deliberately perpetuated in the minds of average Americans to benefit the financial interests of those who run major corporations. Social programs, which lift millions of Americans, will not serve their purposes. They wish to control government as much as possible, through legislative contacts, to use our government to serve their mercenary ends. They do not support social programs, from the government, that would serve the human rights’ welfare of ordinary Americans. They do not want THEIR “individualism” restricted by the government. What they want is monetary advancement for themselves, personally, and for their corporate interests.
The government was designed to be for the masses, not for the few. Do not be fooled by these asserttions of the “moralilty of individualism and capitalism.” I smell propaganda that will not benefit average Americans, including the level of their wages.
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
2:18 pm
Where is this blog’s ombudsman?:
theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/04/what-kind-klouchebag-are-you/51655/
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
2:18 pm
“still waiting on where you came up with the reason obama won the nobel prize”
Why do you even care? The money didn’t come out of YOUR pocket, did it?
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:19 pm
Mad Max: It’s not about punishing the poor, it’s about sanity and living within our means
Our means are adjustable, very much UNLIKE any analogy you can come up with. It’s one thing to say we shouldn’t spend tons of money on nothing. it’s another thing to declare any and all government programs that the poor depend on as having little to no value, and therefore need to be cut, all the while proclaiming the added value of even further tax cuts for the rich and corporations, and sometimes EVEN suggesting we raise taxes on the poor.
Personally, I would be fine with either rolling back all of the Bush Tax Cuts, OR having a hard line policy of “No New Tax Cuts.” The latter is a “well, if one side can’t RAISE taxes, then the other side isn’t allowed to LOWER them either.”
Penny Pincher
April 27th, 2012
2:19 pm
Warren Buffet paying something more than a17.4% effective annual tax rate versus his secretary paying 35.8%.
You are talking about two diffent taxes. Warren is paying capital gains tax, his secretary is paying income tax. If his secretary reports capital gains, she would be paying the same rate as Warren on the capital gains she reported.
Fred ™
April 27th, 2012
2:20 pm
ragnar danneskjold
April 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
Funny essay, we know how leftists look at us normal people:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You aren’t a normal person. Normal people don’t espouse the trash that you espouse, not even Republicans. Normal people aren’t supportive of child, slave labor. Normal people find the notion of starving folks to death while others feast on caviar repugnant.
You really SHOULD read the tripe you write and evaluate it’s content. If you are no more “normal’ than Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Kaczynski.
liberalefty
April 27th, 2012
2:20 pm
the gop slogan should be; BACK TO THE FUTURE….the good ole days when women and minorities knew their place
Peadawg
April 27th, 2012
2:21 pm
Obama’s threatening to veto the student loan bill now? THIS is one of the reasons I’m voting for STABILITY and not necessarily for Obama (damn he gets on my nerves sometimes) in November.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/obama-veto-republican-student-loan-bill-says-white-160233278.html
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
2:21 pm
“You are talking about two diffent taxes”
Yep. And that’s what needs to be changed. Income is income, regardless of it’s source and the rates should reflect that.
Union
April 27th, 2012
2:22 pm
Doggone/GA
April 27th, 2012
2:18 pm
“Why do you even care? The money didn’t come out of YOUR pocket, did it?”
just showing a pattern of ignorance..
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:22 pm
Union: Facts are neither negative nor positive.
That said, the unemployment rates (plural, as in U-1 through U-6) given by the BLS have been dropping steadily for the past year. More and more people believe the economy is improving. Businesses believe it enough to start hiring and stop laying off workers. What is negative about any of that?
Peadawg
April 27th, 2012
2:24 pm
“THIS is one of the reasons I’m voting for STABILITY and not necessarily for Obama (damn he gets on my nerves sometimes) in November.”
And hell if if vetoes this student loan bill I may not even vote for him seeing as it affects my wife and I directly.
Working Man
April 27th, 2012
2:24 pm
Jay,
Why do all you liberals want to take money away from people who work for a living and give it to the poor? Why change a good thing? I love the poor just the way they are.
Thanks to the poor, I can ride around town and point them out to the younger members of the family as examples of misspent youth, wasted educational opportunities, products of government social programs, drunken excess and drug use, political reasons for higher taxes, and Obama constituents.
Peadawg
April 27th, 2012
2:24 pm
Stop the war on college students, Obama and Senate Democrats. Vote for this bill and DON”T veto it!
Fred ™
April 27th, 2012
2:25 pm
There weren’t any neighbors to play with though, so I had to find ways to amuse myself.
You SO left that teed up, but I won’t drive it down range……. I won’t drive it down range, nope I won’t…….. well I tried to be good…….
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=South+Park+masturbation&oq=South+Park+masturbation&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&gs_l=youtube.3…32591.40158.0.40350.23.23.0.4.4.0.54.617.19.19.0.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:25 pm
(ir)Rational: I realize it is somewhat silly to ask you this, but did you bother reading the article attached to that? It cut funding from part of the ACA, not specifically to a part that funded women’s health care either. Well, not a part that only funded women’s health care. It was for a preventative health care fund that was for cancer screenings and what not. Having said that, it isn’t much better, but it isn’t the “war on women” that it is being portrayed as by certain news outlets. Also, what exactly is wrong with paying for something before you “buy” it, or finding a way to pay for it?
I was not aware of ALL the specifics, but I knew it was an ACA cut. It’s still extracting something from Democrats in order to get something they want, which in this case is an attack on the ACA.
Nothing wrong with wanting to fund something. HOW you do it makes a load of difference. Do we not value preventative care enough to fund that? Do we value tax cuts for the rich and the Department of Defense MORE than we value safety net programs that help reduce poverty and hunger? I would like to think we do not have the latter value, but it seems the GOP DOES have that value judgment based on their votes and proposed policies.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:26 pm
Peadawg: Obama’s threatening to veto the student loan bill now?
You’re not seriously falling for the political game that the GOP played on the student loan bill are you?
carlosgvv
April 27th, 2012
2:27 pm
Doggone/GA – 2:07
The easy part is saying they should pay at least the percentage the middle-class pays.
The next to impossible part is finding politicians with the stones to make them pay it.
Peadawg
April 27th, 2012
2:28 pm
“You’re not seriously falling for the political game that the GOP played on the student loan bill are you?”
You mean by paying for it by cutting something that Obama wanted to cut in his own freakin’ budget to begin with? Obama’s better than that…atleast I thought.
liberalefty
April 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
@working man
yeah WARREN BUFFET is definitely broke
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:30 pm
You mean by paying for it by cutting something that Obama wanted to cut in his own freakin’ budget to begin with?
I would like to see evidence the cuts are the same please.
carlosgvv
April 27th, 2012
2:30 pm
For anyone who is thinking about going into a military combat unit, I would strongly suggest reading All Quiet On The Western Front first.
(ir)Rational
April 27th, 2012
2:30 pm
Yeah Fred, I did leave that one out there. Whoops.
Adam – What exactly does this have to do with reducing poverty or hunger? They’re working to dismantle ACA, which EVERYBODY knew they wanted to do when they were elected. Somehow people are acting like it is a surprise. And last time I checked, that is typically how things in politics work. You want something, I get to take away something else you want (less?) in exchange for giving you what you want.
I'm a "con" and a vet. STOP SPITTING ON ME!!! (That Black Guy)
April 27th, 2012
2:30 pm
Mick
April 27th, 2012
1:28 pm
ragnar
What a sterile life it must be if you need to pay someone to read a book…
________________________________________________________________________
I used to pay my daughter $5 for every book she read over the summer.
Now, she goes through about 4 books per month.
Mad Max
April 27th, 2012
2:30 pm
Adam – I agree they are adjustable to an extent. However, there has to be accountability and when you run without a budget, you are doing just that. I also believe all of the Bush/Obama tax cuts should be rolled back including the payroll tax. And how about a NO NEW SUBSIDIES regardless of whose vote you are pandering for? And if one expires let it expire. We hear all the talk about student subsidies and how doubling the student loan rate might cost them a $1,000. Just add it to their share of the debt. So now they owe 201,000 instead of 200,000. There is no right to a college education so why are we subsidizing it. Isn’t that taking money that could be used in more direct help to the poor. What about the boondoggle at GSA, didn’t that take money that could be used for the poor? That’s what happens w/o acountability. No different in business, if you don’t set expectations and budgets, you’re almost guaranteed an overrun.
TaxPayer
April 27th, 2012
2:31 pm
…Simply put, it’s disingenuous to claim that the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis shows the president’s policies hurt the economy, based on a comparison with an unrealistic current law baseline. Even the House-passed budget of Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan—despite its draconian spending cuts—has somewhat higher debt over the next decade than the budget’s current-law projections. Compared to current policy, however, the president’s budget would boost the economy more in the short run and promote stronger growth in the long run.
Well there is that.
Union
April 27th, 2012
2:31 pm
Boeing will reveal its first 787 Dreamliner built at a non-union plant in Charleston, South Carolina….
actually got one out the door.. shocker
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:32 pm
(ir)Rational: Compromise is what politics is supposed to be about, not blackmail. There IS a difference.
Now, if as Peadawg says, the cut is one that Obama proposed in his own 2013 budget, then I do wonder what his objection is. It might just be political games on his part, and then he’ll sign the bill anyway, if he’s already getting two things he wants.
Peadawg
April 27th, 2012
2:34 pm
Adam, all I got is this from the article:
Boehner – “”The president is so desperate to fake a fight that he’s willing to veto a bill to help students over a slush fund that he advocated cutting in his own budget.”
Then later in the article,
“Obama’s budget, unveiled earlier this year, calls for tapping into the same fund to cover other programs.”
Don’t make me bring up reading comprehension….again.
Recon 0311 2533
April 27th, 2012
2:34 pm
Working Man@2:24, Why waste the gasoline? You can just bring up the blog and point them out to your younger members from the comfort of home.
Adam
April 27th, 2012
2:34 pm
Mad Max: I would agree with you if it was applied universally and some of the subsidies that are actually considered permanent are axed. That might be more reasonable. As it stands, right now it’s students, education, and health should all suffer while we continue to keep large subsidies and tax cuts for wealthy people and large corporations. Nothing in that scenario is “shared” sacrifice.