Politics
- Started
- Last post
- 33,610 Responses
- joeth0
If we want to be "more free" as a society, which we probably all do, we seriously need some better education and some better parenting in this country. I can't even make it through a single day without running into some jackass who doesn't know how to hold a door for someone, or not cut you off in traffic, or not blow smoke in your face. Americans have got to be the most selfish people in the world. Not a lick of common sense, or respect for our neighbors, or our environment, or even for ourselves. Every day I can feel our country getting closer to the movie Idiocracy.
- tommyo0
Couldn't agree more with you. When I started kindergarten my dad told the teacher, in front of me, that 'if he does something bad, you have my permission to spank him till he's raw.' haha I never did anything bad. But parents these days, while I don't condone allowing school officials to spank your child, have effectively tied the hands of teachers and schools. Also, this whole 'no one loses' idea in sports ... such a horrible idea. These kids are being raised to think they can do no wrong and nothing is ever their fault.
haha A few years ago I saw the most awesome display of good parenting. I was driving up the corner by my house. It was around 3PM when the school was letting out and there were cars everywhere. I see these two boys holding up signs and their mother was sitting in a chair behind them. When I got close enough to read the signs I was dying laughing. 'Last Tues I threw a rock at your car and I'm really sorry' and 'I was with him and I'm really sorry too.' They were out there every day that week. Made me really happy to see a parent being a parent for once.
- joeth0
haha... That's really funny that you mention that story, because I actually threw a stick at a car once at recess and got caught. The driver got our and yelled at me, then talked to a teacher. They called my parents into school and I felt so guilty and stupid that I never really got in any more trouble than that as a kid.
- joeth0
Anyway, that's why I like Obama... I think he acknowledges the fact that we all need to give more of a shit about one another and not just look out for number one all the time. He knows that we're much stronger when we're united and we work together. If that means putting some regulations on the people that don't get it... well, I'm ok with that.
- I totally agree! It is the direction we need to go. Bush/Cheney don't care about you and IDCDesigns
- colin_s0
what is happening right now with the press blackout is INCREDIBLE.
i realize most people don't like the media but does any rational thinker honestly believe mccain / palin will answer to "the people" if they don't even have to answer to the press? an institution designed to keep powers in check with the will of the people on their mind - even fox news said that mccain's actions were "unprecedented" now with 40 days of silence (25 for palin).
outright insanity.
- he's pretty much getting away with it, that fucking nutjobhallelujah
- do you have a link?tommyo
- ex;
http://blogs.abcnews…TheBlueOne - That's odd. Says that they finally agreed to a CNN camera. Weird, wonder what the hell they're thinking.tommyo
- tommyo0
Really good article by Ron Paul talking about the bailout:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS…- This guys smart, why isn't he on the ballot!?robotron3k
- He was one of the last Republicans standing in the race for the R nod. No surprise though, I think he was more ...tommyo
- liked by the fence sitters than the hard core right. It's a shame I think he's got the ideas to guide us through this mess.tommyo
- mg330
joeth,
I'm with you there. I think that's how I realized why I've always been a Democrat and identified with those ideals. And to think that Bush ran on a platform of "compassionate conservatism!" What a joke.
My main thought for the past several years has centered around the fact that we can make and subside on just about everything we need here in the United States. Remember the Buy American / Made in the USA campaigns in the 80s that seemed really lame at the time? We need that again. That form of patriotism seemed silly back then, at least it did to me as a kid, but now more than I ever I think that ideal is what will help this country and create a cycle of opportunity, employment, economic prosperity, and self-ownership.
- mg330
Additionally, I hope we can see this really take hold with renewable energy efforts. So many jobs could be available in that sector that will benefit workers and consumers.
There is only so much money that the people at the top really need. I think this will take a strong belief that a little self-sacrifice can go along way, and as for the corporations and CEO's and people in that top 5%, they need to realize that their greed has driven people out of work and sent jobs elsewhere.
Let me put it to you this way, because I think about this all the time: How much more would you be willing to pay for a product, say, an LCD TV, for you to know that it was made in this country and that your expense went to paying an American worker to make it?
I may be totally out of my mind, but that is a principle that I think about constantly.
- Totally... and the Repubs are completely blocking the renewable energy with this "drill, baby, drill" shit.joeth
- Id sacrifice 25% of my disposable 'fun and gadgets' income for this to be true.mikotondria3
- Dunno if I'd say they are 'blocking,' unless you plan on powering your car with a windmill. :Ptommyo
- Manufacturing needs to catch up .. which I think they're starting to. We need bigger batteries!!tommyo
- http://www.huffingto…joeth
- Offshore drilling would supply 1.2% of total US annual oil consumption, and it would be sold at an international ratejoeth
- It's a drop in the bucket. We could save a lot more with the efficiency technology we already have.joeth
- Meanwhile, the Repubs refuse to sign on to a bi-partisan energy bill so that the offshore moratorium will expire next week.joeth
- Domestic renewables and green jobs get the shaft, while we keep spending more on foreign oil than anything else.joeth
- ukit0
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The FBI is investigating four major U.S. financial institutions whose collapse helped trigger a $700 billion bailout plan by the Bush administration.
Two law enforcement officials said the FBI is looking at potential fraud by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., and insurer American International Group Inc.
A senior law enforcement official says the inquiries, still in preliminary stages, will focus on the financial institutions and the individuals that ran them.
Officials say the new inquiries brings the number of corporate lenders under investigation over the last year to 26.
- ukit0
Uh oh.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/2…
WASHINGTON — One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain’s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.
The disclosure undercuts a statement by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years.
Mr. Davis’s firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the people said.
They said they did not recall Mr. Davis’s doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than speak to a political action committee of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the approaching midterm Congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis’s firm, Davis & Manafort, had been kept on the payroll because of Mr. Davis’s close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who by 2006 was widely expected to run again for the White House.
Mr. Davis took a leave from Davis & Manafortfor the presidential campaign, but as a partner and equity-holder continues to benefit from its income. No one at Davis & Manafort other than Mr. Davis was involved in efforts on Freddie Mac’s behalf, the people familiar with the arrangement said.
A Freddie Mac spokeswoman said the company would not comment.
- ********0
moamoa?
- ukit0
This pic is real?
F*cking hilarious
- I thought it was PSed, but it's on the cover of Drudge: http://drudgereport.…ukit
- HA we are of one mind...or at least haunt the same news sitelocustsloth
- it is psd'd.. the original said no blank checkshans_glib
- joeth0
Obama to voters:
Please sign on to show your support for an economic recovery plan based on these guiding principles:
* No Golden Parachutes -- Taxpayer dollars should not be used to reward the irresponsible Wall Street executives who helmed this disaster.
* Main Street, Not Just Wall Street -- Any bailout plan must include a payback strategy for taxpayers who are footing the bill and aid to innocent homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
* Bipartisan Oversight -- The staggering amount of taxpayer money involved demands a bipartisan board to ensure accountability and oversight.
- ukit0
ABC/ Washington Post Poll:
Obama: 52%
McCain: 43%
- threadpost0
I LAUGH
- threadpost0
then I realize there are still these absolutely oblivious americans who really think business should be left alone by the government 364 days a year, this completely antiquated Lockeian laissez-faire system, as long as they're making dividends and their stocks are relatively stable. The funniest/saddest/most infuriating/funniest/saddest part about all of this is they cant see the irony in asking the government to bail them out when things are unregulated and left to the "free market" devices they so desired. Bush and co. gave you guys a free market, and you ran it into the dirt. many people became billionaires and guess what? They've managed to absolutely fuck it up for generations starting with the bullshit Reaganomics trickledown effect.
I wish for those people who still beat the free market, no governmental interference drum, to loose their houses and their retirements. Cause guess what? Now the rest of us have to pay for you're dumb millionaire asses.
- threadpost0
Oh and free cock punches to any dissenters. I live in Long Beach, Ca. let me know if you want to come by and get a junk punch.
- ukit0
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonl…
In a major shift in the polls, Barack Obama has brought Democrats home, and now leads McCain by a clear majority. If borne out by other surveys, this will represent a tectonic shift in the electorate. According to this new poll, Obama has done something Gore and Kerry could not... reach 50% in a pre-election poll.
John McCain, otoh, is leaking enthusiasm from virtually all sub-groups.
ABC/WaPo, 9/22 (9/7) Likely Voters, Moe +/- 3
Obama 52 (47)
McCain 43 (49)More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support. The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.
As for Sarah Palin:
Over the past two weeks, the percentage of independents with favorable views of Palin dropped from 60 percent to 48 percent. Among independent women, the decline was particularly sharp, going from 65 percent to 43 percent. Her favorable rating among whites without college degrees remained largely steady, but among those with college degrees, it dropped nearly 20 percentage points.
And that reflects on McCain, as does his "fundamentals of the economy are sound."
Among Republicans, conservatives and white evangelical Protestants, strong enthusiasm for McCain's candidacy has dropped by double digits.
End result? Democrats in this poll have come home.
Independents, key swing voters, now break for Obama, 53 percent to 39 percent, reversing a small lead for McCain after the Republican convention. McCain is the choice of 86 percent of Republicans, while about as many Democrats, 88 percent, back Obama.
Bottom line is that everything we have been seeing (and saying) is catching up with McCain. If the election were held today, he'd lose and lose badly. McCain cannot win if D's go for Obama more than R's go for McCain.
It will be hard for the media to claim this as a virtual tie. Given the small amount of time we have left, it will also be hard for Team McCain to change the subject or run against the media.
The campaign, of course, is not over yet. This may be a Wall Street bounce. Still, this should give us something meaty to talk about before the debates.
