With New Year, a chance to dump ‘negative waves’
In cultures around the world, the arrival of a new year means more than the mere changing of the calendar. It is a time of cleansing and renewal, an opportunity to set past disappointments aside and to look ahead with optimism.
But let’s be honest: These are not the easiest of times in which to set aside fear in favor of optimism.
The financial meltdown of four or five years ago lingers like a hangover from a holiday party that went on much too long. The economy continues its slow recovery; Georgia’s unemployment rate last month was 8.5 percent, down a full percentage point from a year earlier and down almost two full percentage points from 2010. But it is sign of diminished expectations when a statewide jobless rate of 8.5 percent is considered evidence of progress.
And as too many of our fellow Americans know, those cold, impersonal numbers hide deep personal pain, loss and frustration. The American dream and its inherent promise that hard work will be rewarded no longer seem plausible for many, particularly the young. Only the foolish would try to deny that profound, unsettling changes are under way, and for one of the few times in our nation’s history, parents have cause to wonder whether their children and grandchildren will live in a world of reduced opportunity.
On the other hand, anger and disappointment can become self-fulfilling prophecies if indulged too long, and a backward-looking fixation on what used to be will blind you to what can be. That is as true for nations as it is for individuals. Previous generations of Americans faced times much more challenging than these and overcame them, and there is no reason to believe that we are not their legitimate and equally capable heirs.
At the moment, though, such context seems in short supply. In a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, just 40 percent of Americans describe themselves as hopeful about the course of world events in the coming year, while 56 percent described themselves as fearful. Unfortunately, a good part of that dismal showing can be explained as the aftermath of a deeply divisive, hard-fought election campaign that both political parties treated as a life-and-death struggle.
According to the Post poll, just 18 percent of Republicans report that they are hopeful about the course of world events in 2013, compared to 38 percent of independents and 61 percent of Democrats; 72 percent of Republicans describe themselves as fearful about what the next year will bring.
In the political world, such numbers have a way of compounding themselves. As Ronald Reagan knew better than anyone, and as the Democrats learned from Reagan the hard way, a party animated by the belief that this is a country in decline will find it difficult to rally others to its cause, creating a spiral that is hard to reverse.
It’s also important to remember that people of all political persuasions tend to exaggerate the importance of government and who runs it. Except in times of war, and at moments of economic crisis such as that of 2008-2009, government actually plays a relatively small role in the course of human events. At times we like to believe otherwise; we like to believe that acting through government, we exert direct control our own fate, but most of the that time, that simply isn’t true.
Faith in ourselves, each other and our country — or the lack of it — is far more important.
– Jay Bookman
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1,425 comments Add your comment
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:06 pm
Josef, I know there are constraints within the Jewish faith about speaking H_s name, but could you tell me if the second syllable is “weh” or “veh” in terms of pronunciation?
josef
December 31st, 2012
5:08 pm
JACK
Not to worry…been at it for years, and still make plenty…but now, thank G-d, we can blame it on auto correct!
FROG
TC
For Fred, it’s the Baptists, for you it’s the Papists…it’s something like Bombay v Tanqueray, the way I see it.
TaxPayer
December 31st, 2012
5:09 pm
A person making 35k can actually afford much more than a family making 21.7k.
saywhat?
December 31st, 2012
5:09 pm
Maybe the cons would be less negative without all the misdirected hostility toward the poor, the immigrants, the teachers, unions, the Democratic party, and of course, President Obama.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRVe7ieGXZD0&sa=U&ei=TQziUI-yBrTJ0AHKq4CADw&ved=0CB0QtwIwAA&usg=AFQjCNG7Wc1dggscWnAkkxcbA0Xb0S-f4A
JamVet
December 31st, 2012
5:10 pm
You will die before you have an answer
Sounds like a fortune from one of those Magic 8-balls.
No conversion therapy for me, thanks!
Speaking of which…
My uncle has a runs a major fairy farm
I know I overuse it, but that really is a laugh out loud!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-uiGb-UwdM
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 31st, 2012
5:11 pm
Fred: Man. I want DDR’s paella recipe lol
It’s Maria Estrella’s, (my mother’s) recipe – she makes it every new year’s eve. We have a big “feast” around 11:00 pm with a lot of wine and acarajé, which are fried balls of shrimp, black-eyed peas, and onions. Fried rice balls (bolinhos de arroz) are similar to hush puppies made with rice instead of corn meal, empadinhas de palmito, which are small empanadas with a hearts of palm filling, and Pao de Queijo (cheese bread).
She made ME help this year – but I started to deliberately mess stuff up so that she could yell at me and tell me to leave the kitchen. After all these years, that trick still works!
Common: Ask DDR for her red beans and rice recipe for the pressure cooker
God will get you for that Common – God will get you…………..
TBG: I bet you got your azz in that kitchen, tho…
Well she may be little, but she’s MEAN! When she’s around, I’ve learned to trust discretion WAY more than valor!
Oh and I learned to keep my mouth shut too!
barking frog
December 31st, 2012
5:11 pm
Nunna yobinnes
I was unaware there were constraints against typing h_s pe_sonal p_onoun.
oldguy
December 31st, 2012
5:11 pm
Josef
The young are becoming enamored by Victorian England. Look at the revival in Shurlock Holmes and the whole Steam Punk thing. I have been putting together a Steam Punk outfit for next year’s DragonCon myself.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:12 pm
I would instead nominate your emotional knee-jerk response as the winner of this dubious honor, because you obviously haven’t thought it through (I mean, really – are you unable to imagine a scenario in which tremendous debt might be accumulated and income might vary considerably over time?). It’s clear you are merely uncomfortable with the implications but demeaning the poster only wins you an argument on the playground.
I thought it over, but maybe you can explain it better then. How can a family accumulate $150k in credit card debt when their income doesn’t eclipse $25k? What credit card company or bank has lending rules that are that relaxed to allow that to happen? Maybe you know something about lending that I don’t know. You can probably also explain why I can’t get refinanced with credit scores hugging 800.
Please educate me, Einstein. I’m all ears.
————————-
So that is why the Federal government kept allowing people that made $30 to $35 thousand a year to get loans on $300 to $400 thousand homes.
Failure number 2… The Federal government doesn’t write loans for homes. That would come from private lenders, either banks or mortgage firms like Countrywide. Please insert another quarter and try again.
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:12 pm
BF – Well, Joseph does use a hyphen rather than an underline. I just don’t want to offend.
Towncrier
December 31st, 2012
5:13 pm
“For Fred, it’s the Baptists, for you it’s the Papists…it’s something like Bombay v Tanqueray, the way I see it.”
You see it wrong with respect to me. I have no animosity for the Catholic Church – I simply use it for illustrative purposes since I believe it has deviated from what the Bible (mainly the NT) teaches more than any other “Christian” denomination. The Baptists (and just about every denomination you can think of) deviate as well, but usually not as much.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:14 pm
Towncrier
To ask you a question, since you apparently agree with td’s methodology, how does dropping 8 zeros accomplish anything? The ratios are screwed royally using that method. He would make a better point if he reduced the amounts by an equal percentage so that the percentage of income to debt would be the same. However, I’ll await your explanation on the credit issue first.
josef
December 31st, 2012
5:14 pm
NUNNA
In that particular one, it’s -yeh-
I’m not sure what you know about the Hebrew language, but traditionally it is written without vowels, the reader supplying them. It’s based on a three consonant basic morpheme, with the addition of vowels to create new words which are derivations in meaning of the three consonant root. The reader supplies them from context. In the name of G-d, these vowels are unknown. Thus, the tradition of leaving out a vowel when writing a name of G-d…
oldguy
December 31st, 2012
5:15 pm
going out for some Fajitas and Tocate. later.
DannyX
December 31st, 2012
5:15 pm
“TC
For Fred, it’s the Baptists, for you it’s the Papists”
Towncrier, how ’bout? Are you the only one that gets to decide what a Christian is? Kind of like cherry picking pro choice and gays as not being Christian like you did earlier.
Btw Towncrier, what are your sins that are a danger to society?
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:16 pm
Thanks Josef. Very interesting.
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:19 pm
I have seen the name written as YHWH and YHVH. Strictly based on my understanding of your phonetics lesson, would it be more like YHYH?
Thanks, I really am interested.
td
December 31st, 2012
5:20 pm
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:12 pm
“I thought it over, but maybe you can explain it better then. How can a family accumulate $150k in credit card debt when their income doesn’t eclipse $25k? What credit card company or bank has lending rules that are that relaxed to allow that to happen? Maybe you know something about lending that I don’t know. You can probably also explain why I can’t get refinanced with credit scores hugging 800. ”
How can a government have $14.7 trillion debt when they only bring in $2.1 trillion in Revenue each year? You just do not like the analogy because it shows just how bankrupt this nation really is.
“Failure number 2… The Federal government doesn’t write loans for homes. That would come from private lenders, either banks or mortgage firms like Countrywide. Please insert another quarter and try again.”
They sure did guarantee those loans by the full faith and credit of the USA and they sure did right the rules that allowed the banks to write the loans.
Kramer
December 31st, 2012
5:21 pm
For his first two years Obama had control of the majority in both houses and passed no budget. Now you liberals like book man want to blame Republicans for Obama’s lack of leadership. ACCOUNTABILITY….that is a word that neither book man nor any liberal posting on here can spell or define. Book man is right in one way, with obama as President we will ride the negative wave into more debt and more dependency on government. 60 million sheep made sure of this fact.
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:23 pm
“Clinton has a blood clot between brain and skull behind her right ear.” cnn.
JamVet
December 31st, 2012
5:23 pm
Well as a fake Jew, all I can say is that I’ve never heard it pronounced Jah-veh. (I think you mean oy, vey!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HDMCCLlGl4
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:23 pm
getalife – sorry to hear that. any prognosis?
josef
December 31st, 2012
5:24 pm
FROG
The rationale in leaving the vowel out of the pronoun is, essentially, that since we are capitalizing the pronouns, then we are making the “proper” in the sense of naming…
NUNNA
It’s not offensive to put the vowels in,it’s more a tradition than anything else. As Granddaddy explained it to me, for that brief moment, you remind yourself that G-d is the Gr-at Unkn-wn.
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:24 pm
Thanks Jam.
indigo
December 31st, 2012
5:24 pm
that black guy – 5:05
Here’s your link.
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/bush_crusade_179.html
This also was a “credit card” war. With taxes already cut, these wars cost us money we did not have.
This in turn weakened the economy – hence the recession.
A weak economy hurt many businesses, including the one I worked for.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:24 pm
For his first two years Obama had control of the majority in both houses…
The president controls congress?
Boy, the things that I learn here just amaze me.
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:25 pm
Thanks Josef.
USA Patriot
December 31st, 2012
5:26 pm
Uhm, Brosephus™ – Ever heard of Freddie & Fannie? These two gov’t subsidized “entities” were part of the real estate melt down.
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:26 pm
kramer,
ODS much?
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:26 pm
How can a government have $14.7 trillion debt when they only bring in $2.1 trillion in Revenue each year? You just do not like the analogy because it shows just how bankrupt this nation really is.
Dude, do you even get oxygen to your brain? Seriously? How long has the US existed to accumulate that debt? What family would have that income for more than 200 years and accumulate such debt on credit cards?
The Federal budget IS NOT like a household budget. When you can find a household that can print and back its own currency AND have that currency used as the world reserve currency, you will have a valid comparison. Until that point, that talking point is useless.
They sure did guarantee those loans by the full faith and credit of the USA and they sure did right the rules that allowed the banks to write the loans.
But they did not ALLOW those loans as you originally stated. If the banks didn’t make those loans, the government would not have stepped in and made them. I like your thinking though. If at first you don’t fail hard enough, you double down to fail even harder.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:27 pm
Uhm, Brosephus™ – Ever heard of Freddie & Fannie? These two gov’t subsidized “entities” were part of the real estate melt down.
And when did they become banks, lenders, or mortgage underwriters? They back the loans, but they did not originate them.
And the failure train continues.
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:27 pm
usa.
Ever heard of a gse?
congress created them.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:28 pm
Ever heard of Freddie & Fannie? These two gov’t subsidized “entities” were part of the real estate melt down.
Part of?
Maybe.
Read more here.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2008/10/12/53802/private-sector-loans-not-fannie.html
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:29 pm
“any prognosis?”
That is what I am trying to find.
Paul
December 31st, 2012
5:29 pm
Nunna Yobinnes
Getting josef to write about language is one of the high points of this blog.
DannyX
December 31st, 2012
5:29 pm
“Book man is right in one way, with obama as President we will ride the negative wave into more debt and more dependency on government. 60 million sheep made sure of this fact.”
Kramer, speaking of debt and responsibility, how did Republicans decide on paying for their 2 unfunded war$$$,, their ’socialist’ Medicare Part D, and their massive tax cuts that went together with their massive spending? You know, because they are so responsible and all. Are they planning on raising sheep to pay for everything?
josef
December 31st, 2012
5:29 pm
NUNNA
The Hebrew consonant would be the equivalent of our V. The use of W comes from the early phonetic transcriptions in the Germanic languages where the sound is represented by W…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 31st, 2012
5:30 pm
Hmmm… control of both houses for 2 years..
How many times do we have to point out the falseness. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-m-granholm/debunking-the-myth-obamas_b_1929869.html
And of course, Senators and Congress must VOTE as the President tells them?
td
December 31st, 2012
5:31 pm
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:26 pm
“But they did not ALLOW those loans as you originally stated. If the banks didn’t make those loans, the government would not have stepped in and made them. I like your thinking though. If at first you don’t fail hard enough, you double down to fail even harder.”
Yes, and when those lending institutions threatened to make those “risky” loans the Dems accused them of being racist and Jesse was threatening to be out in front of their places of business with protest in the streets. Try again.
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:31 pm
Josef – so really phonetically, something like VHVH?
td
December 31st, 2012
5:33 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 31st, 2012
5:30 pm
Hmmm… control of both houses for 2 years..
How many times do we have to point out the falseness. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-m-granholm/debunking-the-myth-obamas_b_1929869.html
And of course, Senators and Congress must VOTE as the President tells them?
And tell us again when Republicans have had close to that big of a majority?
Paul
December 31st, 2012
5:33 pm
Kramer
“For his first two years Obama had control of the majority in both houses and passed no budget”
Can you please tell us how the head of the Executive Branch controls the leaders of the Legislative Branch, even if they’re of the same Party?
Isn’t there a bit of a constitutional separation of powers problem with how you see the operation of two of the three branches of government?
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:33 pm
td,
Your party is “there is plenty of blame to go around” too.
Admit it td.
TBS
December 31st, 2012
5:34 pm
USA
Fannie, Freddie and their execs are surely not without “dirty hands” in regards to the mortgage bubble.
With that said, there is a lot of emphasis put on them, yet they were not the ones who made the majority of the sub prime, balloon, arm type loans.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 31st, 2012
5:35 pm
Indigo: Unlike a light switch, it cannot be turned on and off.
You’re going to have to try indigo. You’re going to have to learn how to let stuff go – by holding on to each pain and each hurt, the only person it’s affecting is you.
My favorite gin is Beefeater – I like the guy on the bottle!
josef
December 31st, 2012
5:37 pm
ZamVet
Well, if you do hear it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_hlMK7tCks
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 31st, 2012
5:38 pm
td, you’ve already proven your lack of capacity for comprehension when the correct information is provided. The claim was CONTROL of both houses. It’s been proven false. I cannot help you with your inability to comprehend reality.
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 31st, 2012
5:39 pm
SoCoBro: How can a family accumulate $150k in credit card debt when their income doesn’t eclipse $25k? What credit card company or bank has lending rules that are that relaxed to allow that to happen?
First Conned Financial Services Bank. Duh!
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 31st, 2012
5:40 pm
I should have been clearer: The claims was Presidential control of both houses for 2 years. That is wrong. Even Democratic party control for 2 yrs is false.
Towncrier
December 31st, 2012
5:40 pm
“I thought it over, but maybe you can explain it better then.”
Sure. Let’s say the family in question a few years back was earning over 150k (with both the husband and wife working). Let’s further say their house was mostly paid off, they had a credit rating of over 800 and that they had 6 credit cards each with a limit of 25k apiece ( I have cards with that 20k limits). Now, let’s imagine the husband gets sick and they put a lot of their rapidly accumulated medical debt on their credit cards. I’ll leave the rest to you.
FYI, I personally know people with hundreds of thousands of dollars of school loan debt. And they are NOT going to be clear of it for a LONG time, given their income. So, instead of nitpicking an analogy, why don’t you stop deflecting from td’s point? Namely, that we have a very serious debt problem that no one in DC seems to be taking seriously?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:41 pm
FYI, I personally know Morgan Fairchild.
Yeah, that’s the ticket.
Kramer
December 31st, 2012
5:43 pm
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:24 pm
For his first two years Obama had control of the majority in both houses…
The president controls congress?
Boy, the things that I learn here just amaze me.
You are a bigger idiot then you seem to be on these blogs kamchuck. Show me a president who had control of both houses who did not get his agenda through. Dumba**.
td
December 31st, 2012
5:43 pm
Keep Up the Good Fight!
December 31st, 2012
5:40 pm
I should have been clearer: The claims was Presidential control of both houses for 2 years. That is wrong. Even Democratic party control for 2 yrs is false.
Just making excuses for not accomplishing your agenda in 2 years when the democrats had “overwhelming majorities” (does that description make you feel better) in both houses.
Could it be because even some Dems could not believe and would not support the radical agenda of the President?
josef
December 31st, 2012
5:44 pm
NUNNA
It gets complicated…I’m going to refer you here…a pretty good article on it…I’ll spare you the rabbincal..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetragrammaton
Paul
December 31st, 2012
5:44 pm
Kamchak
Yeah, but does Morgan Fairchild know you.. more than the description necessary for the restraining order?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:45 pm
Show me a president who had control of both houses who did not get his agenda through.
Show me a president that ever had control both houses of congress.
Ever heard of separation of powers?
Ever take a civics class?
Nunna Yobinnes
December 31st, 2012
5:46 pm
Thanks Josef, I’ll try to stop the dumb questions.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:47 pm
Yes, and when those lending institutions threatened to make those “risky” loans the Dems accused them of being racist and Jesse was threatening to be out in front of their places of business with protest in the streets. Try again.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-7300082.html
For Darren Thomas that ocean view was quickly losing its value. He says, “I bought it for [$1.385 million]. It is worth less than [$800,000], maybe less.”
Thomas bought his townhome in 2006 but after seeing its value drop steadily he stopped paying.
“I haven’t made a payment in two years,” he says. “It was business decision. It was an easy decision. I have a property worth six or 700,000 less than when I bought it. I was making payments of 10,000 a month.”
Thomas has gone into strategic default. He could make payments but is refusing to put more money into a home that is worth less than his mortgage. Among luxury homeowners he is not alone.
One in seven homeowners with loans over $1 million are seriously delinquent compared to one in 12 with mortgages below $1 million.
Yep, Jesse was out there protesting for millionaires who were walking away from their homes faster than everybody else could get foreclosed on. Oh wait… Nevermind. That’s just td chalking up another failure. Pretty soon, you’re gonna run out of quarters. What are you going to do then, put it on credit?
JamVet
December 31st, 2012
5:47 pm
How great is it to watch the lowlifes from USC stink the place up? Go Tech!
Yep, jo, in Germany they are called Wolksvagens.
And that wonderful Monty Python scene is more proof that they were the Beatles of English comedy.
Debbie, most of those high end, dry English gins rock.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIv4PQ3XX1Y
DannyX
December 31st, 2012
5:48 pm
“For his first two years Obama had control of the majority in both houses…”
As long as there is a filibuster that takes 60 votes to pass legislation you don’t control the Senate unless you have a filibuster proof majority. Democrats had that for 9 months. Republicans have taken filibuster abuse to new levels.
td
December 31st, 2012
5:48 pm
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:45 pm
Show me a president who had control of both houses who did not get his agenda through.
Show me a president that ever had control both houses of congress.
Ever heard of separation of powers?
Ever take a civics class?
Making excuses again as to why Obama can not get his agenda passed. First it was all the Republicans fault and now it was the Democrats fault that they did not march in lock step with Obama. Is this why people keep calling you Kamspam?
Towncrier
December 31st, 2012
5:48 pm
“The Federal budget IS NOT like a household budget. When you can find a household that can print and back its own currency AND have that currency used as the world reserve currency, you will have a valid comparison. Until that point, that talking point is useless.”
The FR cannot simply print money to alleviate debt without serious consequences in the end. And the US dollar cannot be the world reserve currency without the rest of the world accepting it as so. One that ceases to be the case (and our debt and fiscal irresponsibility threatens this), we are cooked. The Federal budget SHOULD be TREATED like a household budget to the extent that we strive every year to nearly balance it. To do otherwise is pure folly, in my opinion.
USA Patriot
December 31st, 2012
5:50 pm
Janet Reno 1992 – “The agencies will not tolerate lending discrimination in any form,” the document warned financial institutions.” – Guns to the head of banks, either start making more loans to further the “affordable housing act” or you will be investigated by the AG office.
Yep, y’all are right – Freddie & Fannie don’t make loans, the banks were/are forced to make loans for political reasons backed by (get) GSE’s – and make those in charge of Freddie & Fannie very rich MF’s.
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:50 pm
td,
You can’t even admit your party voted for the mortgage scam.
You can’t be taken seriously.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:51 pm
Making excuses again as to why Obama can not get his agenda passed.
Reading comprehension fail.
Insert another quarter, try again.
TBS
December 31st, 2012
5:53 pm
td
Which President ever had his whole agenda passed?
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:53 pm
usa,
We are still bailing out fan/fred so see if you can figure out the total costs of the bush collapse.
Good luck with that since it is ongoing with Qe1, 2 and three.
josef
December 31st, 2012
5:54 pm
PAUL
Thanks for the compliment…I fear, however, OREP might take issue!
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
5:54 pm
…the banks were/are forced to make loans for political reasons backed by (get) GSE’s – and make those in charge of Freddie & Fannie very rich MF’s.
“Banks” did not make the majority of sub prime loans, private mortgage companies did.
td
December 31st, 2012
5:54 pm
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:47 pm
Wow, unintended consequences does not mean anything to you either? When you write the rules (government) so that loans are made easier to acquire for the sake of the poor then everyone else is going to take advantage of the same rules.
Are you actually trade marking stupid or blind loyalty to Obama?
TBS
December 31st, 2012
5:56 pm
“Are you actually trade marking stupid or blind loyalty to Obama?”
This from the guy who claimed Romney was probably up by as many as 10 pts because he allowed himself to be brainwashed by brietbart, theblaze, Rush, Morris and Rove
Righteous………………….
hahahahahaha
td
December 31st, 2012
5:56 pm
TBS
December 31st, 2012
5:53 pm
td
Which President ever had his whole agenda passed?
None, but you do not read 100’s of post each and everyday and hear speech after speech blaming Republicans, Democrats and even the American people for those agenda’s not getting passed.
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:56 pm
Are you actually trade marking stupid or blind loyalty to the gop?
No cred td.
Towncrier
December 31st, 2012
5:57 pm
“Are you the only one that gets to decide what a Christian is? Kind of like cherry picking pro choice and gays as not being Christian like you did earlier.”
How about this DX:
“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. ” John 12:47-48
Please show me in the Bible where the practice (as opposed to the temptation to practice it) homosexuality is said to be permissible. And please show me where advocating for sinful practices to be legalized is also said to be permissible.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:57 pm
Towncrier
I’ll give you an A+ for effort in trying to dig td out of his hole. However, he did not stipulate any such scenario, AND that pre-credit downturn scenario would not apply to the US Government. Hence my point that the two are not equivalent.
FYI, I personally know people with hundreds of thousands of dollars of school loan debt. And they are NOT going to be clear of it for a LONG time, given their income.
Unless they charged their school loans to their credit cards, that still doesn’t apply to td’s example. My wife has student loan debt, and we’re not dumb enough to charge it to a credit card with high assed interest rates.
So, instead of nitpicking an analogy, why don’t you stop deflecting from td’s point? Namely, that we have a very serious debt problem that no one in DC seems to be taking seriously?
Were you not the same one who claimed nobody wanted to address his point?
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/12/31/with-new-year-a-chance-to-dump-negative-waves/?cp=6#comment-1189325
Towncrier
December 31st, 2012
4:31 pm
[...]
LOL, td. Guess no one wants to argue things are just peachy when put in this perspective. The problem I see with your analysis is that we are not talking common sense here, as we might for our own households.
Now that I’m addressing it and dissecting it to pieces, you want to accuse me of nitpicking? C’mon man, even YOU found fault with his analysis. We do not have a debt issue in this country. If we did, no other countries would be buying US Treasuries, right? If we had a debt issue, we would not own the world’s reserve currency, right?
We have a Job/Career issue in this country. Put people to work with jobs that pay worth a crap, and all the other stuff will take care of itself. Our economy thrives on consumption. When the private sector increases its consumption, the public sector doesn’t have to spend as much.
If you want welfare cut, then put people to work earning enough where they don’t need welfare. If you want health care costs cut, then give people a place to go see a doctor for routine stuff other than the emergency room. Quit relying on insurance coverage to pay for basic stuff and use it for the major stuff that it was originally designed for.
JamVet
December 31st, 2012
5:57 pm
Insert another quarter, try again.
Lordy.
Bro Kam, it’s like some even worse version of that insipid movie Groundhog’s Day around here, isn’t it?
Saw them once at Chastain and they were badass sexy and smart to the bone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVxv6AFt7YM
USA Patriot
December 31st, 2012
5:58 pm
get – yep, you’re correct, “we’re still bailing out fan/fred” – the Bush collapse w/ Dem’s in the majority in the house & senate. Go check out Barney Frank’s position (no pun intended) on pushing the “new” lending rules in 2002.
Towncrier
December 31st, 2012
5:59 pm
Okay….I am out for the night. Enjoy your evening everyone!
getalife
December 31st, 2012
5:59 pm
usa,
Watch and learn:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2nZbo8SKbg
TBS
December 31st, 2012
6:00 pm
td
Lets not forget your lame assertions several weeks ago about the OH voting and the same blogger you just claimed was “trade marking stupid” schooled you all over this blog.
It was bad that it appeared paddling was back in schools.
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
6:01 pm
Put people to work with jobs that pay worth a crap, and all the other stuff will take care of itself.
THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
6:01 pm
When you write the rules (government) so that loans are made easier to acquire for the sake of the poor then everyone else is going to take advantage of the same rules
td
Keep making excuses, but nobody put a gun to those people’s head to make them take a loan. It’s all free choice. Using your logic, it’s better to deal crack now because the government changed the sentencing guidelines to make the sentences more equal to being caught with powdered cocaine.
Talk about somebody peddling stupid. You have the market cornered on it. Keep going though, as I’m laughing hysterically at your failings.
TBS
December 31st, 2012
6:01 pm
USA
Frank was able to strong arm a majority Republican House and Senate?
getalife
December 31st, 2012
6:02 pm
If you think the gop had nothing to do with the bush collapse you have zero credibility and are a joke like td.
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
6:02 pm
They BOTH @ 5:56
We both know that if any one of us here knows stupid when they see it, it has definitely got to be td.
josef
December 31st, 2012
6:02 pm
ZamVet
I loves me some Python…
“…strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government…”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAaWvVFERVA
USA Patriot
December 31st, 2012
6:03 pm
Kam – No kidding, most (not all) loans start w/ banks and then get underwritten by mortgage companies. And your point is?
TBS
December 31st, 2012
6:03 pm
td
While you probably lead the pack or are very close in making the most stupid statements on the AJC blogs, you are not without company from those on the left and right.
getalife
December 31st, 2012
6:04 pm
“Put people to work with jobs that pay worth a crap, and all the other stuff will take care of itself.”
That should be our focus but the gop are still trying to get our President.
Common Sense isn't very Common
December 31st, 2012
6:07 pm
Bro
I know my personal budget includes this new expense.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPLzB18Vq6c
USA Patriot
December 31st, 2012
6:07 pm
“Frank was able to strong arm a majority Republican House and Senate?”
Might want to check out who the majority was in the House & Senate in ‘02.
get – Never intimated the GOP wasn’t partly responsible, seems like all the nimrods in DC were AND are still, THE problem.
td
December 31st, 2012
6:09 pm
Brosephus™
December 31st, 2012
5:57 pm
I get it. Because you can not argue the numbers (because they are correct) and you do not like the analogy because it shows how bad of shape we really are as a nation then your only recourse is to attempt to bash the user with lame excuses. Seen through and totally rejected.
“We have a Job/Career issue in this country. Put people to work with jobs that pay worth a crap,”
And exactly how do we value jobs? Is that the governments responsibility? When people choose to not receive and education that is supplied to them for free then what should we set their pay at? When people choose to have babies out of wedlock, not live in a household where two incomes can take care of their children and themselves then what should we pay these people? When people refuse to accept the fact that we live in a nation that requires one to have a life long learning to keep up and give themselves a marketable skill set then how much should they be paid?
DebbieDoRight - A Do Right Woman
December 31st, 2012
6:10 pm
You know reading through and trying to catch up to the posts I am amazed that after 364 1/2 days of links, of postings, of proving again and again the lies that have been fed to the conned via faux news; and we still see stuff like:
Its Fannie & Freddie’s fault….
Nancy P and Barney F were the ONLY ones in Congers/Senate to go along with the destruction of America..
…the banks were/are forced to make loans for political reasons …
OMG it’s like “Ground Hog Day” on the blog!
I’m out — I have a bunch of family coming over for the New Year’s feast, and unlike the rest of the people here, i’m tired of rehashing the same old crap to the same old deaf Conned ears!
Happy New Year Everyone!! Maybe in 2013 we can get some better Conned with some better arguments!
getalife
December 31st, 2012
6:10 pm
usa,
Did you even watch the video?
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
December 31st, 2012
6:10 pm
…most (not all) loans start w/ banks and then get underwritten by mortgage companies.
Nope.
Private mortgage companies originate their own loans.
Insert quarter, try again.
DannyX
December 31st, 2012
6:12 pm
“Please show me in the Bible where the practice (as opposed to the temptation to practice it) homosexuality is said to be permissible.”
Towncrier, there are hundreds of thousands of divorced members of the Southern Baptist church. Please show me in the Bible where Jesus said divorce is acceptable. There must be a whole lot of adultery going on in the Southern Baptist church. I guess anyone who accepts divorce and or gets divorced, and breaks the rules on remarriage is not a true Christian. Just admit it, you are a cherry picker. Jesus made the divorce rules and said nothing about homosexuality.
Btw Towncrier, what are your own sins that society needs protection from?
getalife
December 31st, 2012
6:12 pm
” i’m tired of rehashing the same old crap to the same old deaf Conned ears!”
Word.
Happy New Year!
TBS
December 31st, 2012
6:12 pm
“Might want to check out who the majority was in the House & Senate in ‘02.”
Are you new to the US, politics or both?
Might want to check on that yourself. I don’t want to embarrass you.
josef
December 31st, 2012
6:16 pm
COMMON SENSE
and this…we gotta make sure we get the French on “our side!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vcVIJQ13DE
Paul
December 31st, 2012
6:19 pm
td
What, exactly, is your point about Freddie/Fannie? That it was a //primary// cause of the economic collapse or just one of several factors and not a major one, at that?