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

[tuckerfor3]

That's simply false

As it turns out, having done some checking on this, the story that I heard about her was wrong. I stand corrected.

But does that mean that she's not a slut?

More civil skull-bashing from the clawed dove.

[ewingxmanstarks]

Oh and not to mention this windbag you so respect, had political views that were CONSERVATIVE in his early years {wikipedia- is that a legitimate source to quote?-LMAO}

He's the perfect example of someone who doesn't believe in the justice he preaches....Being a Lib is a better
business model...he's not even a good actor.

Being a liberal is a "better business model"? Please explain.

Do you put your foot in your mouth like this all the time, even in your life outside of this forum? You'd make a lousy lawyer.

Apparently, being "liberal" a better "business model" for doctors too. lol.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/healt ... ml?_r=1&hp

As Physicians’ Jobs Change, So Do Their Politics
By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: May 30, 2011

AUGUSTA, Me. — With Republicans in complete control of Maine’s state government for the first time since 1962, State Senator Lois A. Snowe-Mello offered a bill in February to limit doctors’ liability that she was sure the powerful doctors’ lobby would cheer. Instead, it asked her to shelve the measure.

“It was like a slap in the face,” said Ms. Snowe-Mello, who describes herself as a conservative Republican. “The doctors in this state are increasingly going left.”

Doctors were once overwhelmingly male and usually owned their own practices. They generally favored lower taxes and regularly fought lawyers to restrict patient lawsuits. Ronald Reagan came to national political prominence in part by railing against “socialized medicine” on doctors’ behalf.

But doctors are changing. They are abandoning their own practices and taking salaried jobs in hospitals, particularly in the North, but increasingly in the South as well. Half of all younger doctors are women, and that share is likely to grow.

There are no national surveys that track doctors’ political leanings, but as more doctors move from business owner to shift worker, their historic alliance with the Republican Party is weakening from Maine as well as South Dakota, Arizona and Oregon, according to doctors’ advocates in those and other states.

That change could have a profound effect on the nation’s health care debate. Indeed, after opposing almost every major health overhaul proposal for nearly a century, the American Medical Association supported President Obama’s legislation last year because the new law would provide health insurance to the vast majority of the nation’s uninsured, improve competition and choice in insurance, and promote prevention and wellness, the group said.

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The institutions that have all been infiltrated by liberalism are academia, the media, Hollywood and entertainment, and any union public or private profession employment...being a conservative in any of these areas of employment can be very damaging to one's career.... liberalism sells, because it's easy to romanticize, and they promise you free stuff....while conservatism evokes that this is not a perfect world, and we will all have more stuff, if u allow the spirit of capitalism to flourish...It's not as easy to sell like that utopia Libs push.

[HarthorneWingo]

Keep your head buried in the sand while the rest of the world moves on with or without you.

Germany, the european economic powerhouse is abandoning nuclear power - in light of the Japan's Fukishima disaster - in favor of renewable and green energy (solar, wind and hydroelectric). But, I'm sure, you're against that. "Drill, baby, drill," right?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/3 ... 68786.html

Germany Nuclear Power Plants To Be Entirely Shut Down By 2022
JUERGEN BAETZ 05/30/11 03:15 PM ET AP

BERLIN — Europe's economic powerhouse, Germany, announced plans Monday to abandon nuclear energy over the next 11 years, outlining an ambitious strategy in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster to replace atomic power with renewable energy sources.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hopes the transformation to more solar, wind and hydroelectric power serves as a roadmap for other countries.

"We believe that we can show those countries who decide to abandon nuclear power – or not to start using it – how it is possible to achieve growth, creating jobs and economic prosperity while shifting the energy supply toward renewable energies," Merkel said.

Merkel's government said it will shut down all 17 nuclear power plants in Germany – the world's fourth-largest economy and Europe's biggest – by 2022. The government had no immediate estimate of the transition's overall cost.

The plan sets Germany apart from most of the other major industrialized nations. Among the other Group of Eight countries, only Italy has abandoned nuclear power, which was voted down in a referendum after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The decision represents a remarkable about-face for Merkel's center-right government, which only late last year pushed through a plan to extend the life span of the country's reactors, with the last scheduled to go offline around 2036. But Merkel, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, said industrialized, technologically advanced Japan's "helplessness" in the face of the Fukushima disaster made her rethink the technology's risks.

Phasing out nuclear power within a decade will be a challenge, but it will be feasible and ultimately give Germany a competitive advantage in the renewable energy era, Merkel said.

"As the first big industrialized nation, we can achieve such a transformation toward efficient and renewable energies, with all the opportunities that brings for exports, developing new technologies and jobs," Merkel told reporters.

The government said the renewable energy sector already employs about 370,000 people.

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[ewingxmanstarks]

Listen, I like fishing, camping, the ocean, and what nature has to offer...I'm all for alternative energy that works...unfortunately wind, solar, tide is not at the point were it can be used on large scales, and it's not consistent enough....In regards to Germany, it's not by accident they are a economic super power...we saved them from fascism and they thrived as a democracy...Its true that there has been a anti-nuclear movement there, which has climaxed due to japan, but what politicians say prior to elections should be taken with a grain of salt....they today are highly dependent on nuclear, and I don't see that going away soon....In regards to drilling, of course we should drill....It makes us more energy independent and brings price down.....We should get rid of all corporate well fare....No more subsides to big oil, and less restriction will benefit the tax payer to fold...we also need to hold oil companies accountable for their mistakes by stopping the limited immunity they receive....The private sector will one day provides us with a replacement for fossil fuels, Natural gas, and Nuclear....that day is not today...enough with subsides to wind, solar, tide, ethanol, and all the other stuff that doesn't work...The vast majority of these alternative energy companies are in business to get tax payer dollars.

[HarthorneWingo]

Listen, I like fishing, camping, the ocean, and what nature has to offer...I'm all for alternative energy that works...unfortunately wind, solar, tide is not at the point were it can be used on large scales, and it's not consistent enough....In regards to Germany, it's not by accident they are a economic super power...we saved them from fascism and they thrived as a democracy...Its true that there has been a anti-nuclear movement there, which has climaxed due to japan, but what politicians say prior to elections should be taken with a grain of salt....they today are highly dependent on nuclear, and I don't see that going away soon....In regards to drilling, of course we should drill....It makes us more energy independent and brings price down.....We should get rid of all corporate well fare....No more subsides to big oil, and less restriction will benefit the tax payer to fold...we also need to hold oil companies accountable for their mistakes by stopping the limited immunity they receive....The private sector will one day provides us with a replacement for fossil fuels, Natural gas, and Nuclear. ...that day is not today...enough with subsides to wind, solar, tide, ethanol, and all the other stuff that doesn't work...The vast majority of these alternative energy companies are in business to get tax payer dollars.

(Wait a second. Did somebody take over your body? Is this the same guy I've been locking horns with?)

The Germans have always been a smart and resourceful people both before and after fascism. So, I don't about us "saving" them. I don't know that Germany would give us that credit. In any event, they should be commended for taking this position on energy.

As for more off shore U.S. drilling, I guess I could go conitionally along with it if (1) it were temporary and part of a bigger strategy to ween us off oil; (2) it was regulated in a smart and meaningful way; and (3) no deep water rigs.

But why wait for the private sector to provide or develop "replacement" for fossil fuels when we already have wind, solar, water? Why not utilize them?

[ewingxmanstarks]

Listen, I like fishing, camping, the ocean, and what nature has to offer...I'm all for alternative energy that works...unfortunately wind, solar, tide is not at the point were it can be used on large scales, and it's not consistent enough....In regards to Germany, it's not by accident they are a economic super power...we saved them from fascism and they thrived as a democracy...Its true that there has been a anti-nuclear movement there, which has climaxed due to japan, but what politicians say prior to elections should be taken with a grain of salt....they today are highly dependent on nuclear, and I don't see that going away soon....In regards to drilling, of course we should drill....It makes us more energy independent and brings price down.....We should get rid of all corporate well fare....No more subsides to big oil, and less restriction will benefit the tax payer to fold...we also need to hold oil companies accountable for their mistakes by stopping the limited immunity they receive....The private sector will one day provides us with a replacement for fossil fuels, Natural gas, and Nuclear. ...that day is not today...enough with subsides to wind, solar, tide, ethanol, and all the other stuff that doesn't work...The vast majority of these alternative energy companies are in business to get tax payer dollars.

(Wait a second. Did somebody take over your body? Is this the same guy I've been locking horns with?)

The Germans have always been a smart and resourceful people both before and after fascism. So, I don't about us "saving" them. I don't know that Germany would give us that credit.

But why wait for the private sector to provide or develop "replacement" for fossil fuels when we already have wind, solar, water? Why not utilize them?

Every country has smart resourceful ppl...It takes the right system of government molded from a belief system, to cultivate a culture, and harness individual greatness within a country...In America the constitution derives from the Judeo-Christian belief system.

Wind, solar, and tide do not work consistently enough, and isn't able to work on a massive scale, as of now....America's private sector has taken us further by leaps and bounds than any centralized government in world history....There's also plenty of incentive for any private company in creating an efficient alternative, so no need to incentivise.

[HarthorneWingo]

Listen, I like fishing, camping, the ocean, and what nature has to offer...I'm all for alternative energy that works...unfortunately wind, solar, tide is not at the point were it can be used on large scales, and it's not consistent enough....In regards to Germany, it's not by accident they are a economic super power...we saved them from fascism and they thrived as a democracy...Its true that there has been a anti-nuclear movement there, which has climaxed due to japan, but what politicians say prior to elections should be taken with a grain of salt....they today are highly dependent on nuclear, and I don't see that going away soon....In regards to drilling, of course we should drill....It makes us more energy independent and brings price down.....We should get rid of all corporate well fare....No more subsides to big oil, and less restriction will benefit the tax payer to fold...we also need to hold oil companies accountable for their mistakes by stopping the limited immunity they receive....The private sector will one day provides us with a replacement for fossil fuels, Natural gas, and Nuclear. ...that day is not today...enough with subsides to wind, solar, tide, ethanol, and all the other stuff that doesn't work...The vast majority of these alternative energy companies are in business to get tax payer dollars.

(Wait a second. Did somebody take over your body? Is this the same guy I've been locking horns with?)

The Germans have always been a smart and resourceful people both before and after fascism. So, I don't about us "saving" them. I don't know that Germany would give us that credit.

But why wait for the private sector to provide or develop "replacement" for fossil fuels when we already have wind, solar, water? Why not utilize them?

Every country has smart resourceful ppl...It takes the right system of government molded from a belief system, to cultivate a culture, and harness individual greatness within a country...In America the constitution derives from the Judeo-Christian belief system.

Wind, solar, and tide do not work consistently enough, and isn't able to work on a massive scale, as of now....America's private sector has taken us further by leaps and bounds than any centralized government in world history....There's also plenty of incentive for any private company in creating an efficient alternative, so no need to incentivise.

The constitution does not derive from the Judeo-Christian belief system. It's a secular system. It was a reaction the Judeo-Christian oppression which victimized them. Ever here of Deism? Many of our founding fathers were Deists. Do you know why?

[ewingxmanstarks]

Ah, but this is common misrepresentation of fact....No where in the constitution is there any mention of separation of church and state....It was not until the first amendment that separation of church and state was incorporated....No one is denying that this is a secular nation, but the Christian-Judeo belife system is ever present in our way of life....One doesn't have to believe in organised religion to inherit these values and principals....As far as the religion of the founding fathers, much has been said...I've heard everything from Atheist to Paganism, but the historical consensus, as far as everything I've read, is that majority were Pentecostal....That may or may not be true, but its easy to conclude that the groundwork of the constitution was laid by Judeo-Christian philosophies, because the Judeo-Christian belief system is consistent in the writing.

[mugzi]

Lets see how the Saudi's lap dog moves to shut this down. Because everyone here should pay 5 dollars a gallon to placate the nice people from OPEC.


Texas Shale Oil Could Add "Another Venezuela Or Kuwait" Worth Of Oil By 2020
Business Insider ^ | May 31, 2011 | Robert Johnson


Oil companies are moving quickly to tap shale oilfields in Texas that could increase domestic oil production by 25 percent over the next decade.

According to a report in the New York Times, more than a dozen companies will drill up to 3,000 wells in the next 12 months at Eagle Ford and other sites. Just five years ago the fields were thought to be worthless.

Despite concern about the environmental dangers of fracking, oil companies are betting the government won't stop such a big boost to reserves.

Texas shale is up to three times larger than Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, the last great onshore oil discovery in the U.S.

And it's coming online fast...

[mugzi]

And this is why I don't read news from reputable sources that Wingo follows like the AP. Notice how they think theyre smart by sneaking in words like gambit- ie a risky scheme, a ploy. Ladies and gentleman this is the propoganda wing of the democratic socialist party.

House rejects debt limit increase without cuts
Associated Press ^ | May 31, 2011


WASHINGTON — House Republicans have engineered the defeat of their own proposed $2.4 trillion increase in the debt limit, a political gambit designed to reinforce a demand for spending cuts to accompany any future increase in government borrowing.

The vote Tuesday was 97-318, far below the two-thirds majority needed for passage.

Now everyone lets keep borrowing and follow your party into this harmless sinkhole.

[mugzi]

Im shocked, shocked.

TV Executives Admit in Taped Interviews That Hollywood Pushes a Liberal Agenda
By Paul Bond, The Hollywood Reporter | Wednesday, June 1, 2011, 8:57 AM



Some of TV's top executives from the past four decades may have gotten more than they bargained for when they agreed to be interviewed for a politically charged book that was released Tuesday, because video of their controversial remarks will soon be hitting the Internet. The book makes the case that TV industry executives, writers and producers use their clout to advance a liberal political agenda. The author bases his thesis on, among other things, 39 taped interviews that he'll roll out piecemeal during the next three weeks.

The Hollywood Reporter obtained several of the not-yet-released clips. Each contains a snippet of an interview, usually some historical footage of the TV shows the interviewee was responsible for and, naturally, a plea to purchase the book, "Primetime Propaganda" by Ben Shapiro and published by Broad Side, an imprint of HarperCollins. In one video, "Friends" co-creator Marta Kauffman says that when she cast Candace Gingrich-Jones, half-sister of Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, as the minister of a lesbian wedding, "There was a bit of [a middle finger] in it to the right wing."
Kauffman also acknowledges she "put together a staff of mostly liberal people," which is another major point of Shapiro's book: that conservatives aren't welcome in Hollywood.
Maybe that's because they're "idiots" and have "medieval minds." At least that's what "Soap" and "Golden Girls" creator Susan Harris thinks of TV's conservative critics. However, the ranks of dumb right-wingers has dwindled, according to Harris, whose video has her saying: "At least, you know, we put Obama in office, and so people, I think, are getting — have gotten — a little bit smarter."

Some of the videos have executives making rather obvious revelations, like when Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds talk about pacifist messages in "M*A*S*H" or when "MacGyver" producer Vin Di Bona says anti-gun messages were a recurring theme in that show. But an additional video has Di Bona, who also created "America's Funniest Home Videos," becoming remarkably blunt about his approval of a lack of political diversity in Hollywood. When Shapiro asks what he thinks of conservative critics who say everyone in Hollywood is liberal, Di Bona responds: "I think it's probably accurate, and I'm happy about it."

Another video has Leonard Goldberg — who executive produces "Blue Bloods" for CBS and a few decades ago exec produced such hits as "Fantasy Island," "Charlie's Angels" and "Starsky and Hutch" — saying that liberalism in the TV industry is "100 percent dominant, and anyone who denies it is kidding, or not telling the truth." Shapiro asks if politics are a barrier to entry. "Absolutely," Goldberg says.

When Shapiro tells Fred Pierce, the president of ABC in the 1980s who was instrumental in Disney's acquisition of ESPN, that "It's very difficult for people who are politically conservative to break in" to television, he responds: "I can't argue that point." Those who don't lean left, he says, "don't promote it. It stays underground." Another video rolling out soon has "House" creator David Shore acknowledging that "there is an assumption in this town that everybody is on the left side of the spectrum, and that the few people on the right side, I think people look at them somewhat aghast, and I'm sure it doesn't help them."

In the book, subtitled "The true Hollywood story of how the left took over your TV," Shapiro also tells anecdotes of bias against conservatives. One example is Dwight Schultz, best known for his roles as Murdock in "The A-Team" and Barclay in "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
The late Bruce Paltrow knew that Schultz was a fan of President Ronald Reagan. When Schultz showed up to audition for "St. Elsewhere," a show Paltrow produced, to read for the part of Fiscus, Paltrow told him: "There's not going to be a Reagan [expletive] on this show!" The part went to Howie Mandel.

"Most nepotism in Hollywood isn't familial, it's ideological," Shapiro writes in the book. "Friends hire friends. And those friends just happen to share their politics." Another video Shapiro will release shortly has producer-director Nicholas Meyer being asked point-blank whether conservatives are discriminated against in Hollywood. "Well, I hope so," he answers. Meyer also admits his political agenda for "The Day After," a TV movie he directed for ABC that was seen by 100 million people when it aired in 1983.


"My private, grandiose notion was that this movie would unseat Ronald Reagan when he ran for re-election," Meyer says. Even seemingly harmless shows like "Happy Days" and "Sesame Street" have been used to advance a progressive agenda, according to Shapiro. For example, William Bickley, a writer on "The Partridge Family" and a producer on "Happy Days," says he infused Vietnam War protest messages into the latter. "I was into all that," he says in a soon-to-be-released video. "Television has been perhaps the most impressive weapon in the left's political arsenal," Shapiro argues in the book.

Other upcoming videos include: "Family Ties" creator Gary David Goldberg explaining how he tried to make Republican character Alex Keaton the bad guy but that actor Michael J. Fox was too darn lovable; and president of MTV Networks Entertainment Group Doug Herzog talking about his network having "superpowers" when it comes to its influence over young people. The advancement of a gay and lesbian political agenda is mentioned by multiple executives, including Marcy Carsey, a producer of "Soap" and "Roseanne," and "Desperate Housewives" producer Marc Cherry, who is a rarity in Hollywood: a gay Republican.

In her video, Carsey also says she insisted on portraying characters smoking marijuana in "That '70s Show." "If this is a problem for you, we certainly understand, and we just won't do the show," she told executives at Fox. Shapiro released two videos Tuesday, one featuring "COPS" creator John Langley saying he's partial to segments where white people are the criminals, and the other has Fred Silverman, the former head of ABC and later NBC, saying "there's only one perspective, and it's a very progressive perspective" in TV comedy today.

Shapiro said the executives felt comfortable talking about politics with him because they assumed, incorrectly, that he is on the left. "Most of them didn't Google me. If they had, they would have realized where I am politically," he said. "I played on their stereotypes. When I showed up for the interviews, I wore my Harvard Law baseball cap — my name is Ben Shapiro and I attended Harvard, so there's a 98.7 percent chance I'm a liberal. Except I happen not to be."

Shapiro said he'll time the debut of certain videos for maximum effect. One that slams Sean Hannity, for example, is reserved for his scheduled appearance on Hannity's show on the Fox News Channel.
And conservative pundit Ann Coulter has a new book out June 7. "I have two people ripping her by name, so I'll release those the day Ann's book is released," Shapiro said.
One of those slamming Coulter is George Schlatter, who directed and produced "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" in the 1970s, using the show to knock Republicans and the Vietnam War. "The fact we [ticked] the Pentagon off, that pleased me enormously," he says before calling Coulter a vulgar word.In his video, Schlatter also goes off on right-wing radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham.

Shapiro says he didn't disclose that he'd be releasing the tapes, but that his subjects have no reason to complain."I asked them for permission to tape, and there's no reasonable expectation of privacy when you're being interviewed for a book," he said.
"If they're going to be shocked at at something, it should be themselves, not me," Shapiro said. "They should be shocked that opinion is so one-sided in Hollywood that it's OK to say, 'I'm fine with discrimination.'"

Liberals, tolerant of others opinions as long as its theirs.

[HarthorneWingo]

... and your point is?

Frankly, I'm glad that Hollywood is full of progressive liberals. That's exactly the type of people I want creating my art. Not uptight, conservative, square jawed jerk offs who falsely portray themselves as upstanding patriotic americans with high moral and family values but then go hang out in public men's room stalls trying to solicit anonymous gay sex.

How's them apples? lol.

[HarthorneWingo]

I'm surprised I'm not getting more heat on Weiner-gate. Frankly, when I heard tonight on MSNBC that he's not denying that it may be a true and correct photo of his genital area, I had to stop and pause for a second and say "He didn't just say that, did he?" But, yes, in fact he did.

So, I don't know where this is going.

[Pharmcat]

I'm surprised I'm not getting more heat on Weiner-gate. Frankly, when I heard tonight on MSNBC that he's not denying that it may be a true and correct photo of his genital area, I had to stop and pause for a second and say "He didn't just say that, did he?" But, yes, in fact he did.

So, I don't know where this is going.

its a non story

[ewingxmanstarks]

^LMAO at this is a "non story"...This lunatic was mostly likely going to be the most progressive mayor in NYC's history.....The most relevant city in the world...This is national headline news......Maybe u think its only a story, if its about a Republican...LOL..."Non story", I still can't get over that....LMAO

[Pharmcat]

^LMAO at this is a "non story"...This lunatic was mostly likely going to be the most progressive mayor in NYC's history.....The most relevant city in the world...This is national headline news......Maybe u think its only a story, if its about a Republican...LOL..."Non story", I still can't get over that....LMAO

1)i didnt know he had already won the mayor election

2) nope, scandals get covered on all sides. see spitzer, clinton, etc

3) its a non story

[mugzi]

... and your point is?

Frankly, I'm glad that Hollywood is full of progressive liberals. That's exactly the type of people I want creating my art. Not uptight, conservative, square jawed jerk offs who falsely portray themselves as upstanding patriotic americans with high moral and family values but then go hang out in public men's room stalls trying to solicit anonymous gay sex.

How's them apples? lol.

Its how about them apples genius. And my point is obviously lost on a left wing hack like you. Liberals are hypocrites of the highest degree. They promote tolerance and understanding, yet they are intolerant of any opposing view. Groupthink comrade, groupthink.

You people are a joke. And the leading cause of death among your ilk is asphyxiation from self adulation.

And how about Weiners weiner? Theres some family values for you. I cant wait until that snide little left wing sycophant resigns. He's a puss boil on the skin of America.

[mugzi]

^LMAO at this is a "non story"...This lunatic was mostly likely going to be the most progressive mayor in NYC's history.....The most relevant city in the world...This is national headline news......Maybe u think its only a story, if its about a Republican...LOL..."Non story", I still can't get over that....LMAO

1)i didnt know he had already won the mayor election

2) nope, scandals get covered on all sides. see spitzer, clinton, etc

3) its a non story

Non story? LMAO. Guess it wasnt a NON STORY when that congressman who posted a bare chested pic of himself on craigslist was forced to resign hours later after the vermin in the media made it out to be a capital case.

Why dont you recuse yourself from this thread? You have no semblance of objectivity which as a supposed mod you are supposed to have. No other mod inserts himself into these discussions. You and your agenda do.

[Pharmcat]

rebulican NJ gov used state helicopter to get to sons baseball game, now thats govt waste right there

now that he has been called out on it, he will pay it back

[Pharmcat]

^LMAO at this is a "non story"...This lunatic was mostly likely going to be the most progressive mayor in NYC's history.....The most relevant city in the world...This is national headline news......Maybe u think its only a story, if its about a Republican...LOL..."Non story", I still can't get over that....LMAO

1)i didnt know he had already won the mayor election

2) nope, scandals get covered on all sides. see spitzer, clinton, etc

3) its a non story

Non story? LMAO. Guess it wasnt a NON STORY when that congressman who posted a bare chested pic of himself on craigslist was forced to resign hours later after the vermin in the media made it out to be a capital case.

Why dont you recuse yourself from this thread? You have no semblance of objectivity which as a supposed mod you are supposed to have. No other mod inserts himself into these discussions. You and your agenda do.

yea he resigned b/c that picture and email got leaked, in the email he also lied about his age and job and it was clear it was him in the pic...so there are some differences