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Politics (split from 2008 Presidential race)

metirish May 17 2007 12:02 PM

Long but an article worth reading,not really about the prez but perhaps worthwhile reading for the next one. http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2007/05/2635198

Nymr83 May 17 2007 12:07 PM

FoxNews.com is reporting that a bipartisan agreement on immigration reform has been reached, it has the approval of the Bush administration as well. No word on when it will actually come to a vote.

Nymr83 May 21 2007 09:44 PM

Joe Biden wants U.S. forces in Darfur [url]http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May21/0,4670,UNSudan,00.html[/url] what the hell makes him think the job there would be any easier than the job he is unwilling to continue doing in Iraq?

Nymr83 May 22 2007 02:17 PM

why was this split off? Joe Buden is a declared candidate for President, his opinions are certainly part of the discussion.

Willets Point May 22 2007 02:24 PM

There were three posts in a row not directly related to the election in a thread that's already a monster, that's why.

cooby May 22 2007 03:09 PM

Let's talk about fuel prices then. I was lying in bed this morning thinking about gas prices, and I got to thinking about some of the ways Jimmy Carter, bless his heart, tried to help Americans save money on their fuel bills. Some of them were: 1) Lower the thermostat to 62 degrees (clearly a bad idea) 2) Odd/Even days at the gas station (might have worked except the people would line up to top off on 'their' days, thus creating horrendous lines) 3) One winter, we went to school in the dark, when to cut down on fuel use, we switched our clocks in some strange way so that 8 am was really 6 am or something like that. I'm still not sure how that was supposed to work, but I was only in 9th grade so I guess I never really understood it 4) Compact cars and alternative fuels (helped except everybody was already driving small cars) 5) Car pool lanes (great idea but who does it?) 6) Lower speed limits (since raised and reraised. When I drive 70 mph on the interstate, the cars from NJ barely flick their eyelashes at me as they sail by) What's Bush doing for the American fuel crises? Any answers out there? I'd like to hear them This man's got his head up his butt on so many issues that I just can't count them any more

Nymr83 May 22 2007 03:58 PM

]1) Lower the thermostat to 62 degrees (clearly a bad idea) why is it a "bad idea" to use less energy in your house? but its a good idea to make other people use less on the roads?

cooby May 22 2007 04:11 PM

I'm not against lowering the temperature in the home, I do it all the time, all winter long. Particularly the week after the oil bill comes. However, 62 degrees is way too cold for most folks during the day, and if you don't believe me, try it next winter. About three weeks ago, I figured out that my husband and I are spending at least $100 per week for gas (that doesn't count our son) and it's probably getting closer to $150 now. That's $600 a month. I have to cringe when the "experts" claim that gas usage has not declined despite the higher prices, what do they think, we are all going to walk to work?

Edgy DC May 22 2007 04:51 PM

Here in the city we do (or bike). China sure does. Localities will create better mass transit when the cost of fuel demands we do. It's hard but the reality is we've likely gone past peak production of oil and we're better off confronting to that now rather than staving off the inevitable by artificial price control policies.

Nymr83 May 22 2007 05:10 PM

it's little coincidence that Europeans, who have had higher gas prices than us for decades, drive smaller cars. higher gas prices are probably in the long-term best interest of everyone as they create demand for fuel efficiency, and demand drives (no pun intended, really) development.

metsmarathon May 22 2007 05:32 PM

bbbbbbbut its our god-given american right to consume as much fuel as we damned well please in our muscle cars and big stinkin suv's, and only the communists would have us do otherwise!

Kid Carsey May 22 2007 05:35 PM

If you look at it unemotionally, gas is actually a bargain compared to most other daily consumed things. No matter who was in charge and how far he or she's head's up their ass, it just hasn't risen the same way most other things have over the last two decades percentage wise. I was looking over the shopping receipt the other day KB brought home and a freakin' bag of Eight O'Clock Coffee was like $12. How am I supposed to walk to work if I can't afford a pot of joe in the morning and leave the car home? I'm not complaining, but the published inflation rate versus what has really been going on compared to salary increases ... most people are feeling a bit of a crunch. You can blame it on the administration, just as much as you can blame it on the previous one, and the one before that.

cooby May 22 2007 05:51 PM

I'm not blaming the administration for the gas prices, I'm just saying it'd be nice if he would actually acknowledge the fact that they are going out of control. $3.00 a gallon would not be a shock if the price of gas hadn't been $2.50 a gallon just last month. It's not so much the rise in price as the rapidity that I'm talking about. How much was your coffee last month? I'll bet it wasn't just $10 a bag with a 20% jump since. That's what I'm talking about. And all Bush does is sit around trying to figure out ways to justify keeping troops in Iraq. He needs to think about America for a change.

Benjamin Grimm May 22 2007 05:58 PM

cooby wrote: And all Bush does is sit around trying to figure out ways to justify keeping troops in Iraq. He needs to think about America for a change. I'd rather he didn't. We don't need him screwing things up at home as badly as he's screwed things up in Iraq. He needs to totally disengage. I'd be happy if he just played video games and did Junior Jumble for the next 20 months.

Kid Carsey May 22 2007 06:04 PM

Things will be better in 2010, don't stop thinking about tomorrow. Lower gas prices, your property taxes will be lower, you'll be able to buy coffee again and have two cups instead of one! The middle east will be at peace and all nations will get along ... just like the good old days.

Kid Carsey May 22 2007 06:28 PM

Just one more small thought on that note. For everyone who thinks the winds of change are going to bring about grand solutions to all that is wrong with stuff ... How about that four month barrage of media coverage of how congress was doing this and doing that about getting out of Iraq and now it's starting to look like there's big compromises on the way and no one is saying they're bending over and not following through? Where's that new majority leader? I thought they were taking things under control? Funny how the BS stinks less and less the further you get from November.

cooby May 22 2007 06:34 PM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: ="cooby"]And all Bush does is sit around trying to figure out ways to justify keeping troops in Iraq. He needs to think about America for a change. I'd rather he didn't. We don't need him screwing things up at home as badly as he's screwed things up in Iraq. He needs to totally disengage. I'd be happy if he just played video games and did Junior Jumble for the next 20 months. lol, Yancy, you're right. KC, again, I'm not blaming Bush for the energy costs, I think Americans can place the blame squarely on ourselves and our over consumption of oil and gas (and water for that matter), all I'm saying is a word of acknowledgement from our President that times are tough and oil prices are out of hand would be nice. Kinda like a pat on the head from your dad when you get a C in English or something, to make you feel better, without actually making things any different.

Kid Carsey May 22 2007 06:51 PM

c: >>>And all Bush does is sit around trying to figure out ways to justify keeping troops in Iraq. He needs to think about America for a change<<< I don't even like Bush, and I don't like participating in these discussions for a variety of reasons. But when I read a statement like yours, and the urge to respond takes over, it's really no different for me than responding to some- one saying, "All Wilpon does is sit around trying to find ways to screw the fans. He and Willie need to think about getting us back in first instead of jus- tifying the bad moves." I see what the hell do you know about what Bush does all day (although I'm sure it involves some solitary time with lubricants) anymore than someone who has a beef with the Mets knows what Willie or Wilpie think or how they spend their day or how it would be better spent? I'll be happy with pretty much any new president, Obama to Guliani ... so long as it isn't you know who (I'm not aloud to say her name)

cooby May 22 2007 07:44 PM

="Kid Carsey"]c: >>>And all Bush does is sit around trying to figure out ways to justify keeping troops in Iraq. He needs to think about America for a change<<< I don't even like Bush, and I don't like participating in these discussions for a variety of reasons. But when I read a statement like yours, and the urge to respond takes over, it's really no different for me than responding to some- one saying, "All Wilpon does is sit around trying to find ways to screw the fans. He and Willie need to think about getting us back in first instead of jus- tifying the bad moves." I see what the hell do you know about what Bush does all day (although I'm sure it involves some solitary time with lubricants) anymore than someone who has a beef with the Mets knows what Willie or Wilpie think or how they spend their day or how it would be better spent? I'll be happy with pretty much any new president, Obama to Guliani ... so long as it isn't you know who (I'm not aloud to say her name) Oh come on, Laura Bush is lovely

Kid Carsey May 22 2007 07:48 PM

aloud? That's a bad one even for me.

Nymr83 Sep 20 2007 11:45 PM

God Bless the mayor of Kansas City, and shame on the NAACP. [url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297517,00.html[/url] Frances Semler, a 73 year old grandmother, has been appointed to that city's park board (a nice diverse group of 5 people that includes 2 blacks and a hispanic as well as mrs. semler who i asuume to be white and a 5th person, unmentioned who i also assume to be white) Mrs. Semler is a member of the Minutemen, a perfectly legal and admittedly right-wing organization, which apparently disqualifies her from being eligible to sit on parks board, at least according to the NAACP. i find this dispicable. you'd never hear members of the federalist society or the NRA protesting the appointment of a member of a legal left-wing organization to a city's park board. this is the kind of double-standard (where liberal groups think free speech is only allowed as long as you agree with them) that happens alot and isnt talked about enough.

Nymr83 Sep 20 2007 11:51 PM

and heres a good free-speech protecting court while we're at it... [url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297514,00.html[/url] some kids in NJ are protesting school uniforms with a button that says "no school uniforms" superimposed on a picture of hitler youth (no swastikas appear on the button, just a bunch of german kids all dressed alike who are obviously hitler youth) obviously there has to be a line between free speech and a school's ability to maintain order and respect for the purpose of education, but i think its pretty crazy to say these buttons go near that line.

Vic Sage Sep 21 2007 08:33 AM

this is one of the few areas where Nymr and i are in agreement.

Edgy DC Sep 21 2007 08:48 AM

I like the judge cited an actual precedent. The protest itself invokes Godwin's Law and lands itself in dubious territory.

Nymr83 Sep 21 2007 10:16 AM

i think the kids (or their parents) did an excellent job of finding the right way to "invoke the nazis" by using an image of the hitler youth, had they decided to wear red armbands with swastikas they would have earned a suspension.

Edgy DC Sep 21 2007 10:31 AM

I'll disagree with the notion of excellence.

Nymr83 Sep 27 2007 04:32 PM

Democratic candidates disagree with Bill Clinton's statement: Bill Clinton wrote: "... Every one of us can imagine the following scenario: We get lucky, we get the number three guy in al-Qaida, and we know there's a big bomb going off in America in three days and we know this guy knows where it is," "Don't we have the right and the responsibility to beat it out of him?" [url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070927/ap_po/the_clinton_trap[/url]

MFS62 Sep 28 2007 08:39 AM

Happened to hear part of dubya's UN speech live the other morning. At one point, he was chiding the member nations for not living up to the charter of the organization. He mentioned (IIRC) article 25. One of the items specified in that article are rights of ALL citizens of the member nations. Among them, he mentioned "health care". Yesterday, Congress passed a bill that would provide health care for 4 million American children who do not currently have health care insurance. Dubya said he would veto it. This means one of two things. Either his UN speech is yet another example of massive hubris on his part, or, He was showing his support for Hillary. Later

Benjamin Grimm Sep 28 2007 09:01 AM

He's not opposed to health care, he just wants to do it the right way, by giving tax cuts to the wealthy.

Nymr83 Sep 28 2007 09:07 AM

tax cuts help the middle class alot too. you can't cut taxes for poor people, because they don't pay any to begin with. keep the government out of healthcare, they'll make it 10 times more expensive and less efficient than it can be privately with their insane all-consuming bureaucracy. also, its simply not the federal government's job (though neither are half the other things they do)

Benjamin Grimm Sep 28 2007 09:11 AM

No, you can't cut taxes for the poor, but you can cut for the middle class.

Nymr83 Sep 28 2007 09:17 AM

which Bush did. edit- well, the Republican Congress under Bush. edit2- so i still havent figured charts out, go to the bottom of this page [url]http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/reports/taxplan.html[/url] for the rate differences between the tax code in 2001 and after the Bush cuts. the plan also gradually cuts out the death tax, a pretty unfair form of double-taxation and the cause of death for many small businesses and farms that end up needing to be sold or otherwise encumbered with debt just to pay off uncle sam when the owner dies.

sharpie Sep 28 2007 10:34 AM

The Estate Tax (let's call it what it's called -- "Death Tax" is a term created by Republican pollster Frank Luntz) was created early in the 20th Century to prevent wealthy families from hoarding funds over multiple generations. Presently it affects only estates over $2 million (or $4 million for couples) and there are all sorts of ways to shelter much of your income over that. There is also an exemption built into the law that is specifically designed for family-owned farms so the "it will drive farms out of business" line is wrong. Is there something so wrong about a transfer tax on income over $2 million or $4 million when, say, Warren Buffet dies? His heirs will still make a gigantic boatload of money, just not as much as they would have before.

Nymr83 Sep 28 2007 10:37 AM

yes there is something wrong, all the money was taxed in the first place when it was earned. ands by the way, unless the Bush tax cuts are extended the death tax goes all the way down to its previous level of $655,000 in 2011 (after having no limit at all in 2010, the final year of the tax cuts...and a good year to die if you're worried about taxes)

sharpie Sep 28 2007 10:49 AM

Sorry but I'm not sympathetic to that one. Just because grandpa made a lot of money doesn't mean that his heirs should enjoy a free ride. Get a nice benefit from rich grandpa kicking the bucket, sure, but Bill Gates' great grandchildren shouldn't automatically get to live like pashas.

Nymr83 Sep 28 2007 11:04 AM

so as long as you are alive you can spend your money freely on your descendants, but die and you suddenly have to give it to uncle sam? yeah, thats fair. you still havent said anything about its impact on businesses, who are forced to pay 9 months after their owner's death even when they don't have the money bewcause their assets are mostly land, buildings, and equipment necessary for the continuance of the business. Even if a successful business plans ahead and sets aside money for the death tax that is an incredibly inefficient use of the money, because the business, presumably successful if it can afford to pay the government without selling off important assets, could have been expanding (creating jobs and stuff)

sharpie Sep 28 2007 11:31 AM

I don't have a problem with exemptions for business continuance when it is a single-owner situation (similar to the farm exemption). If the $2 million (or $4 million) threshhold needs to be adjusted for inflation every once in a while, I'm ok with that too. When Sam Walton died his children were all subject to the Estate Tax and they are all among the 10 richest Americans. I just find it antithetical to what America should be to ensure that the moneyed class stay the moneyed class without necesarily providing any contribution to society.

Nymr83 Sep 28 2007 11:45 AM

money does contribute to society through investment, and investment takes place at lower levels when there are higher taxes. i'm going way off-topic here, but closely-held businesses are already killed by double-taxation because the business gets whacked with a tax and then the owner gets whacked again on the proceeds from the business (which have already been taxed.) combined with the tax at the death of the owner you can quite reasonably andaccurately say that the income has been taxed 3 times. of course the real solution would be a blanket sales tax and no other taxes at all (except perhaps protectionist tariffs in very limited circumstances) it would but be a hell of alot more cost-efficient to collect too. but you've got 2 big problems: the huge lobby of the "tax establishment" who would all be out of business and, if you subscibe to the view that the federal government has only those powers granted by the constitution and the commerce clause isn't a catch-all to enact any legislation it wants, you have the problem of the 16th amendment probably not being broad enough to allow this unless you are really twisting the words.

Nymr83 Oct 10 2007 08:07 PM

[url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,301054,00.html]THIS[/url] is absurd. GODdamn whatever atheist clown put this bullshit policy in place.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 10 2007 08:33 PM

Atheist clowns don't fear being damned by God.

A Boy Named Seo Oct 10 2007 08:34 PM

I bet the atheist clown's fine with you God damning him. Edit: You're a quick draw, Yancy Street Gang.

Edgy DC Oct 10 2007 08:49 PM

Just once, not a link to Fox News,

Nymr83 Oct 11 2007 06:58 AM

gmail, espn.com, foxnews, facebook, cranepool in that order.... i'm a creature of habit with my web-surfing

MFS62 Oct 16 2007 05:26 PM

Cheney and Obama related? http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071016/pl_nm/usa_politics_cheney_obama_dc I'll bet the comedians and their writers will be working overtime on this one. Later

Nymr83 Oct 16 2007 08:54 PM

pretty funny. now cheney's got a homosexual AND a black man in his family, he must be pulling his hair out. updating last week's story, i'm pleased to report that God has returned to flag certificates [url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,302496,00.html[/url]

martin Oct 17 2007 12:58 PM

Nymr83 wrote: pretty funny. now cheney's got a homosexual AND a black man in his family, he must be pulling his hair out. these stories are incredible. i guess everyone is everyone's cousin. isnt bush related to kerry? i wont be suprised if next week we find out that giuliani and hillary are twins. ]updating last week's story, i'm pleased to report that God has returned to flag certificates [url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,302496,00.html[/url] i worship posiedon, i hope they will put that on my certificate. for me it is posiedon, family, and country, in that order. i think we need to get the old gods back into our lives. these new gods are bad news.

Benjamin Grimm Oct 17 2007 01:01 PM

Nymr83 Oct 17 2007 04:08 PM

martin wrote: ="Nymr83"]pretty funny. now cheney's got a homosexual AND a black man in his family, he must be pulling his hair out. these stories are incredible. i guess everyone is everyone's cousin. isnt bush related to kerry? i wont be suprised if next week we find out that giuliani and hillary are twins. ]updating last week's story, i'm pleased to report that God has returned to flag certificates [url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,302496,00.html[/url] i worship posiedon, i hope they will put that on my certificate. for me it is posiedon, family, and country, in that order. i think we need to get the old gods back into our lives. these new gods are bad news. not only are Obama and Cheney 8th cousins, Obama and Bush are 11th cousins through some 17th century Massachusetts couple. yes, you can have poseidon or anything else you want put on your certficate, and thats the way it should be.

Nymr83 Oct 24 2007 03:47 PM

I think whoever writes the headlines on foxnews.com has been spending some time at the CPF reading our intentionally misleading thread titles that arent what you thought they'd be when you open them. If you saw a news story titled "Possible sighting of world's most wanted fugitive" what would you think? i thought "hey someone saw osama" but it just some irish-american gangster that i've honestly never heard of. [url]http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304797,00.html[/url]

metirish Oct 24 2007 04:42 PM

The movie "The Departed "was based loosely on Bulger , at least that's what some say.

Nymr83 Nov 02 2007 02:51 PM

Carl Everett should move to Saudi Arabia where Saudi Clerics say "beat your wife... but not too hard" [url=http://www.memritv.org/clip_transcript/en/1594.htm]transcript[/url] [url=http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1594.htm]video[/url]

Nymr83 Dec 01 2007 03:10 PM

having mental health issues? just [url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/102943/Republicans-Report-Much-Better-Mental-Health-Than-Others.aspx] become a Republican[/url] ]Republicans Report Much Better Mental Health Than Others Relationship persists even when controlling for other variables