The Politics Thread - please direct all related posts here..

[tuckerfor3]

Well. This is interesting.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/critics-slam-obama-administration-hiding-massive-saudi-arms/story?id=12192558

[richardhutnik]

Here is a question: Would how Reagan governed as president make him unelectable today among Republicans. Cenk pitches case for a Democrat, but I just want to focus on the Republican side. Watch this:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILVtwO0AYPg[/youtube]

Gee, how far have we come? It does look like that one has to be seen as more conservative than Reagan, in order to be electable today.

- Rich

[richardhutnik]

Here is another thing that boggles my mind. Republican members of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which is looking into what happened with the financial crisis, omitted words from their preemptice report (and also the final findings. These words: Wall Street, derivatives, shadow banking, deregulation.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gop-om ... 2010-12-15
http://www.bnet.com/blog/financial-busi ... treet/9302

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw0vxS73HWM[/youtube]

- Rich

[richardhutnik]

I wonder when the media is going to stop reporting every stupid comment that comes out of the mouth of Sarah Palin. I was greeting by the Daily News sticking this on page 1 today:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/sa ... s-12443274

Yes, Palin takes a shot at Michelle Obama's attempt to fight youth obesity by saying she is making s'mores because Michelle Obama wants no one to have desert.

Five ways to Tuesday I can comment on this. Like, if you find the video, she says this in front of kids who look like they have weight problems themselves. I could also comment that I don't recall Michelle saying there should be no desert either. Am I to comment, on Palin's level, that Palin wants there to remain an obesity problem in America? What happened to encouraging personal responsibility for health... so you know, we don't have to have nationwide health insurance or tax emergency rooms due to people not taking care of themselves?

Palin apparently wants to CELEBRATE personal freedom and responsibility, but doesn't want people to ACT as such. I hope Mike Huckabee, who pushed for getting into shape as governor, has a few words for Palin regarding this.

And people still want her in the White House? REALLY?

- Rich

[duetta]

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/20 ... istory/?hp

[CHARLYMURPHY]

I wonder when the media is going to stop reporting every stupid comment that comes out of the mouth of Sarah Palin. I was greeting by the Daily News sticking this on page 1 today:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/sa ... s-12443274

Yes, Palin takes a shot at Michelle Obama's attempt to fight youth obesity by saying she is making s'mores because Michelle Obama wants no one to have desert.

Five ways to Tuesday I can comment on this. Like, if you find the video, she says this in front of kids who look like they have weight problems themselves. I could also comment that I don't recall Michelle saying there should be no desert either. Am I to comment, on Palin's level, that Palin wants there to remain an obesity problem in America? What happened to encouraging personal responsibility for health... so you know, we don't have to have nationwide health insurance or tax emergency rooms due to people not taking care of themselves?

Palin apparently wants to CELEBRATE personal freedom and responsibility, but doesn't want people to ACT as such. I hope Mike Huckabee, who pushed for getting into shape as governor, has a few words for Palin regarding this.

And people still want her in the White House? REALLY?

- Rich

Im a Conservative, but i agree. I think Sarah Palin is stupid for the most part and dosent know alot of things about how the government works. I think she would be a terrible president

[CHARLYMURPHY]

Also another question for REALGM: What do you think of the legalization of marijuana? Im kind of 50/50 on the subject.

[cgf]

Also another question for REALGM: What do you think of the legalization of marijuana? Im kind of 50/50 on the subject.

It's one of the most obvious good things that they could do...aka never going to happen. Could imagine how much better the deficit would look if we didn't have to pay what way for the DEA and Prison system and instead just taxed Marijuana like Alcohol? That's as close to a silver bullet as you'll find in politics today.

[duetta]

I support legalization. Sure, some people will misuse it - but they misuse it anyway, as is. In fact, human beings misuse everything available to them, and given the nanny state model (which I don't support, even though I'm a lefty), we could probably justify banning just about everything available to men.

My motto is teach psychological awareness, personal responsibility, and the importance of critical thinking - and then let men make intelligent choices for themselves in any area that primarily impacts the personal realm.

[vergogna]

I support legalization. Sure, some people will misuse it - but they misuse it anyway, as is. In fact, human beings misuse everything available to them, and given the nanny state model (which I don't support, even though I'm a lefty), we could probably justify banning just about everything available to men.

My motto is teach psychological awareness, personal responsibility, and the importance of critical thinking - and then let men make intelligent choices for themselves in any area that primarily impacts the personal realm.

http://www.time.com/time/health/article ... 46,00.html

Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.

[richardhutnik]

I wonder when the media is going to stop reporting every stupid comment that comes out of the mouth of Sarah Palin. I was greeting by the Daily News sticking this on page 1 today:
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/sa ... s-12443274

Yes, Palin takes a shot at Michelle Obama's attempt to fight youth obesity by saying she is making s'mores because Michelle Obama wants no one to have desert.

Five ways to Tuesday I can comment on this. Like, if you find the video, she says this in front of kids who look like they have weight problems themselves. I could also comment that I don't recall Michelle saying there should be no desert either. Am I to comment, on Palin's level, that Palin wants there to remain an obesity problem in America? What happened to encouraging personal responsibility for health... so you know, we don't have to have nationwide health insurance or tax emergency rooms due to people not taking care of themselves?

Palin apparently wants to CELEBRATE personal freedom and responsibility, but doesn't want people to ACT as such. I hope Mike Huckabee, who pushed for getting into shape as governor, has a few words for Palin regarding this.

And people still want her in the White House? REALLY?

- Rich

Im a Conservative, but i agree. I think Sarah Palin is stupid for the most part and dosent know alot of things about how the government works. I think she would be a terrible president

She now makes her money, like Donald Trump, by getting into the news and propping herself up. The media now feeds on it. With her, if things were normal, she would end up having her own TV show, make a comment like that, and her fans would get a kick out of it. The media would ignore it completely. But, you get the Daily News thinking that it is something that would get them attention, so they make it PAGE ONE.

- Rich

[duetta]

Pat Robertson, the televangelist who once ran for president, said on his show “The 700 Club” that he thought marijuana should be legalized.

Yep, the Christian conservative preacher who said that Hurricane Katrina was God’s way of punishing America for its abortion policy is now on the side of the pot lobby.

“I’m not exactly for the use of drugs, don’t get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kind of thing, it’s just, it’s costing us a fortune and it’s ruining young people,” Mr. Robertson said. “Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That’s not a good thing.”

- more -

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010 ... -robertson

[richardhutnik]

Fear the Boom and Bust:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk[/youtube]

Keynesians Economic vs the Austrian School. Cool rap video actually.

- Rich

[HarthorneWingo]

Health care bill beginning to do its job.

Thank you, President Obama.

But what a shame the rest of the provisions don't really go into effect until 2014.

http://www.latimes.com/health/healthcar ... full.story

More small businesses are offering health benefits to workers
The increase is partly attributed to a tax credit created by the nation's new healthcare law. Some insurers are aggressively marketing the break, which can offset up to 35% of a company's costs.

By Noam N. Levey, Los Angeles Times
December 27, 2010

Reporting from Gladstone, Mo. —
Major insurers around the country are reporting that a growing number of small businesses are signing up to give their workers health benefits, a sign of potential progress for the nation's battered healthcare system.

The increase, although not universal, has brought new security to thousands of workers, many of whom did not have insurance or were at risk of losing it.

An important selling point has been a tax credit that the nation's new healthcare law provides to companies with fewer than 25 employees and moderate-to-low pay scales to help offset the cost of providing benefits. The tax credit is one of the first few provisions to kick in; much of the law rolls out over the next few years.

-more-

[Marty McFly]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SOW7uCquNw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[richardhutnik]

Here is the site for the American Dream film:
http://theamericandreamfilm.com/

- Rich

[Z[dt]]

When it comes to American Politics, these elections and politicians are put into place in order to give Americans the illusion, that they have freedom of choice. We are meant to feel free by the exercise of meaningless choices. Our choices are paper and plastic, smoking or not smoking, choosing to decide which of the 32 flavors of jellybeans you want to eat. These are our real choices.

This country is controlled by the ownership class in which they spent billions of dollars lobbying, to get what they want. That is why the health Care bill was 1000 pages long. The owners of the country have reduced and limit our choices.
Ex) 2 major political parties, 3-5 major oil companies, handful of insurace companies, 3-4 Mainstream media companies, and 4-5 major bank coporations. Reduced in choice, as you can see.

You know what they don't want? They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. That is against their interest. Citizens in the States have been bought off by toys, gadgets and gizmos. That is why we will never see Universal Health Care in this country. Sorry, but this is how the game is. They have rigged this country.

[mugzi]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgTFiMUF4kY[/youtube]




You're welcome liberals.

[HarthorneWingo]

Can you come up with something new, please. Ugh.

I'm still waiting for all those jobs to be created with THE EXTENDED tax cuts to the most wealthy. Where are the jobs mugz? So, by my - and everybody else's calculations - that's 8 years of tax cuts to the rich "elite" and, coincidentally (or not so much), dismal job creation. How'd that happen? Oh, I'm sure It was Clinton's fault. lol. Since the rich weren't spending their "extra money" to create jobs, the federal government had to step in and do it with the stimulus bill (30-40% of which were .... drum roll please .... tax cuts), which saved about 3 million jobs, or something like that.

Anyhow .... back to the jobs republicans are supposed to creating, but aren't ...








Still waiting for the jobs ....










Still waiting .....









Yawn .....









.... going to bed. Any more jobs yet?

[mugzi]

Funny I didnt hear you complaining about jobs in the early and mid 2000s when unemployment was HALF of what it is now. I suppose its just a coincidence that unemployment has skyrocketed since the dumocrats took control of congress 4 yrs ago and has continued to rise with Obama in office.

You and your ilk are either too haughty or ignorant to understand that less taxes mean more economic growth. And a macroeconomic lesson would be lost on you Wingo, keep reading Krugman's puff pieces in the NY slimes about failed Keynesian policies that are vital to destroying I mean repairing this economy that Obama has so willfully ignored.

Now go to sleep and if you can't do that then start counting the deficit, its up to 14 trillion, trust me its better than counting sheep.