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RDG...
Businesses hire because the top line is growing, not for tax credits. Without demand for the products, tax credits will not help. What this administration and both the democrats and the republicans need to understand is that the spending needs to be done by the private sector, the consumer, not the government.
The only way out of this catastrophe we are in is for the government to slash wasteful spending and cut taxes. I side with the "no" voters on this one.
mlsoft
red...
I watched Beck's address yesterday. Frankly it was the best speech of CPAC, and one of the better ones I have heard in years. Actually it was less of a speech than an informative lecture about the dangers of the progressive movement, which are many. I have long said that if Beck would drop his schtick, he could well be a strong leader of the "real conservative" movement.
Beck makes sense, and his outline of the progressive movement since the early 20th century is very hard to argue against. Because he has his facts correct, the liberal has only ridicule and personal attacks as an answer to him, and they are using plenty of that.
The left has used ridicule and personal attacks as their primary argument for years now -- the clintons perfected that gambit into an art form. When they cannot defend their agenda on the merits, that is what they immediately turn to. To date, it has been sufficient.
The question now is whether or not the American people finally have enough collective intelligence to see through such a shallow ploy and reject the liberal/progressive agenda for the intellectually bankrupt foolishness that it is at its very core.
mlsoft
gulf...
You have hit the proverbial nail on the head. Our congressmen and senators have been all about partisan politics for a very long time. I have made this rant here before.
The dems care only about what benefits the democratic party. The repubs are interested only in what benefits the republican party. It is all about partisan politics and the good of the nation is on the mind of only a very few -- the rest could care less.
From the moment they are elected, both sides try to spend their way into the good graces of the electorate, to buy votes in order to get reelected, using the taxpayers money as if it were monopoly money -- and pretty soon that is exactly what the $US will be, worthless monopoly money. The only goal is to buy votes and pay off lobbyists who will contribute to their reelection campaign.
In a very real sense, the republicans are more culpable than the democrats, for they are the ones that run pretending to be conservatives, and espousing conservative fiscal values. When elected to office, they reveal themselves to be the same political prostitutes as the liberal dems. At least the democrats make no such pretense -- they tell you up front how they are going to spend like crazy to push their radical agenda.
And our nation is going down into ruination while those in congress are oblivious.
mlsoft
gulf...
I agree.
The problem is with those who voted for the bill. Once the bill was passed and signed into law, it would have been irresponsible to turn down the chance to get a fair share of the "loot". As you noted, those citizens will have to pay back their share.
mlsoft
extel...
Excellent post -- thanks.
mlsoft
RDG...
extel...
Good article -- I agree, but think the author was a bit soft on obama's history to date.
Thanks for the post.
mlsoft
ordinary...
As I said in my post, I expect the downsizing to be pretty dramatic -- less than half the current members will remain, with virtually all of the Baltic countries among the casualties. I look for the remnant EU nations to form a stronger alliance than the current group.
As for the Russians, it was my belief when the old Soviet Union collapsed that Russia, in some form, would reemerge on the global stage, and they have done so. I look for them to increasingly be a significant player on the international scene, especially in the middle east, and continue to recover, both militarily and economically. The arab/islamic alliance with Russia is a natural one with a previous history. Russia's influence over and protection of Iran will only increase, and Russia will reforge its alliances with the arab world, backing them in their opposition to Israel.
Book it -- that is what is going to transpire. The scenario is perfectly logical for both Russia and the arab/islamic states. I am sure that is what is coming for Russia and the middle east. I also expect that because of Russia's growing ties to the arab/islamic states, at least some of the EU countries and probably the US (if we survive the current economic crisis and obama's administration without turning into a third world country) will support Israel, backing her out of their own self interest.
mlsoft
RDG...
Look for the EU to drastically reduce the number of its member nations over the next few years. Also expect Russia to continue to regain its former strength and increasingly strengthen its ties to the arab/islamic world.
mlsoft
RDG...
I agree completely.
mlsoft
rollingrock...
Backtrack the thread a few steps and read extel's original post on the subject -- that will explain what is being talked about.
mlsoft
extel...
I agree -- reid hijacked the process for his own purposes.
mlsoft
rollingrock...
I was referencing the repubs described in the article posted by extel who negotiated the "bipartisan" stimulus/jobs bill with the dems -- the bill reportedly was laden with pork and special interest provisions.
mlsoft
extel...
My question about your article is why the Republicans (and dems) were supporting a pork laden bill with provisions in it that had nothing to do with the subject of the bill?
Just from the descriptions in your article, I would vote against the republican backed (bi-partisan) bill and would prefer the bill advanced by reid -- although that sentiment, shocking as it is, is subject to knowing the actual provisions in each bill.
This is the kind of thing that have Americans so irate right now. The republicans that proposed the pork laden version are not conservatives and are no different from their democratic counterparts. That kind of free spending republican (along with free spending dems) we do not need and are exactly the group that needs to be purged from congress.
mlsoft
RDG...
You are correct. No one disputes the the average global temperature warmed during recent decades. But there is zero scientific evidence that man has had anything to do with causing either the rise itself or the magnitude/velocity of that rise in temperatures.
The current data tends to show evidence that the warming trend has in fact reversed itself and we are now in a cooling trend. Only time will tell us if this new trend is sustained.
What we know for sure is that various "scientists" most responsible for propagating the global warming theory were guilty of falsifying their data in order to perpetuate their claims. They now claim to have conveniently "lost" all the original raw data, so now neither side can objectively construct a "scientific" conclusion from it.
We also know that the scientists involved had a large financial stake in continuing the idea, so their motives are not to advance science but to obtain grants for financial gain. Because of that, their scientific conclusions are immediately suspect.
Then there are the likes of al gore, the high priest of the religion of man made global warming, who is motivated out of pure greed, and is a great example of the bankruptcy of the nobel prize system, like arafat and obama. Corrupt liberals like obama, pilosi, and reid, are pushing it to soak the American taxpayer and gain power over all of us.
Until true science can establish a positive link establishing man as the cause of global warming, the whole movement has to be properly classified as a giant hoax perpetrated on a gullible public.
mlsoft
RDG...
I thought hillary said bill was heartless.....
mlsoft
extel...
"During an exclusive interview with Roll Call on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) suggested that Democrats would not hesitate to use the parliamentary procedure of budget reconciliation to push a health care reform bill through the Senate with only 51 votes."
Ummm... I don't think pilosi can push anything through the senate, and it takes far more than 51 votes to get anything through the house -- even though a super majority is never needed there. It is the house that has to accept the senate bill, not the other way around. The reconciliation would only come into play if the house required the senate to make some changes in their bill and the senate has already dug in their heels on that subject.
At the present time, though, in the wake of the Brown election, I doubt that the dems can muster enough votes to pass the anything resembling the current bill through either house even without a super majority in the senate. Times have changed, and more moderate dems are much less willing to put their already endangered future into more peril by voting for a HC bill that is opposed by a majority of the folks back home.
mlsoft
"Stocks are tumbling as investors realize President Obama is simply not offering policies that will fix the U. S. and global economies."
extel...
As I have said several times here, the stock market is not going to fall out of bed -- at least not yet. At some point it will, and when it does, it will be an awful sight to behold, but not now.
Notice how the market usually strengthens as the afternoon goes on. How it is never able to complete a bad sell off even on significant bad news -- the worse the news, the less likely it is that the market will sell off much. The way it is unable to complete a significant downturn of any length. And on and on...
Short this market at your own peril no matter the underlying technicals or fundamentals. This is not a free market folks, no matter what they try to tell you. We are seeing exactly what we saw right after 9/11 and for a long time afterwards, only by a hand that is more experienced (and only slightly less obvious) this time around.
The fundamentals are awful, the market is severely overvalued, and the economic outlook is poor -- if the market went into a serious downturn here we would almost certainly go quickly into a deep recession at a minimum, and that is exactly the same underlying condition that we were in following 9/11. That is also why we now have a manipulated market, rather than a free market.
Regardless of the right or wrong of the matter, it is what it is. It is the old greenspan put with nuclear afterburners.
At some point, they will no longer be able to sustain the artificial "strength", and as noted above, the result will not be pretty with many folks getting wiped out. But until then, the market will be ok -- at worst, a slow decline, but even that is not likely.
mlsoft
ordinary...
I disagree that obama has done little during his year in office. To the contrary, I believe that he, along with pilosi, reid, and their ilk in congress, have caused us much and perhaps irreparable harm in the past year. I personally believe that he has already done more than enough to distinguish himself as the worst president in history, and given my opinion of carter, that is saying a lot.
I am not aware that Bush did as you claim as to calling off the CIA on finding bin laden -- I would guess that it was more of a lessening of emphasis on his capture given the realities of the odds of that happening. I have no way to know his motivations, but I would guess that experience showed him that bin laden had gone so deep into hiding that intel on his location was zero and finding him was highly unlikely and politically unfeasible if he was indeed in Pakistan.
Why did Bush keep quiet about that?? Only he knows, but my guess is that he understood that his original public statements on the subject were not going to be fulfilled, so it was best to let the sleeping dog lie.
While we are on the subject of Bush, I would like to very much commend him for the grace he has shown (like his father, but unlike clinton) in refraining from criticizing the current president. That is in the best tradition of previous presidents and a credit to both he and his father.
As for Cheney, I stated in an earlier post that I agree with his criticisms of obama's anti-terrorist policies and actions. I see nothing in that to suggest he or anyone other than Bush was in charge of the White House during his term in office. Personally, I suspect that Cheney was more qualified to be president than Bush (not to mention obama) and perhaps would have been a better president than Bush, but no one will ever know about the latter.
mlsoft
ordinary...
I understand the theory, but its defenders want to point to everything that happens as proof of their theory. If it gets warmer, it is because of global warming. If it gets colder, it is because of global warming. When it snows record amounts, it is because of global warming. Droughts?? Global warming. Floods?? Global warming. Increased storms?? Global warming.
Hmmmm -- how was that last hurricane season for ya?? Must have been because of global warming though.
You have to admit that any "science" claiming so many contradictory "proofs" of its theory has to be suspect, at the very least. I believe it is foolishness, and that foolishness has been taken over and fueled by those who through greed want to profit from it, either monetarily or politically in a quest for power.
Yes, the earth went through a period where average global temperatures increased over time. The current evidence is that the warming cycle has now reversed itself and now the climate is beginning to cool once again. Such climatic cycles are perfectly normal and part of the cyclical nature of our climate throughout history. The earth goes through both warming and cooling cycles, and there is absolutely no true science that suggests that man has anything to do with either. There is also not even a hint of proof that man can somehow alter these cycles -- he cannot. It is extremely probable that these temperature cycles are due to normal physical laws having to do with solar cycles and the orientation to the sun of our planet. All of the laws of physics that control these things are set by God, and only God can alter them.
Al gore, the high priest of the religion of man-caused global warming, is either an ignominious fool or a huckster of the worst kind. obama, pilosi, reid, and their liberal compatriots are equally guilty with their insistence on cap and trade and other tax gimmicks to fleece the American people.
mlsoft
"....Cheney seems to think he is never wrong, and therefore, finds it necessary to be hypercritical of Obama's anti-terror policy...among other things."
ordinary...
Hypercritical?? I would stick with just critical, and justly so. I agree completely with his criticisms of the obama administration policies and actions against the threat from islamic terrorists.
"Say Cheney, how DID that hunt for Osama Bin Laden go???"
Chaney was not in charge of the hunt for bin laden, Bush was. Why do you not ask the same question of obama?? His success level is no better even though he and the other dems spent years criticizing Bush for his lack of success in that area.
mlsoft
"Yup, one uses plain English when he speaks....the other uses a "faux-Texan" accent when he speaks."
ordinary...
I much prefer the "faux-Texan" to all the lies that we are continuously being fed by obama and his friends. The content of what a person says is much more important than the manner of delivery.
Relatively speaking, Bush is looking better and better to me now.
mlsoft
"...they continue to resist calls for a bipartisan effort to reform/fix a system that is broken."
ordinary...
The dems are not seeking "a bipartisan effort to reform/fix a system that is broken". They have yet to ask for what you cite, although that is exactly what some of the Repubs are offering.
What the dems are asking for now is not bi-partisan help in solving the problem, but instead they want republican help to get the multiple thousand page monstrosity of a "health care" bill cobbled together solely by dems passed into law. The bill is a hugely partisan disaster that the American people have already rejected, but the dems still want it passed. They were unable to do it when they were in complete control, but now they belatedly ask for repub help in getting it passed, perhaps with a couple of band aids.
That is not bi-partisanship cooperation to solve the problem.
The partisan, liberal, health care disaster has to be scrapped entirely and a real bipartisan effort begun from scratch to try to fix the problem with measures that both sides can agree upon. As noted above, a number of Repubs have shown a willingness to do exactly that.
mlsoft
"the ad "glorifies violence against women"".....
RDG...
It is extremely hard to fathom the strident absurdity of that response by the proponents of the pro-baby murder faction. They back a morally bankrupt view in favor of abortion and can only reply with shrill inanities to an understated pro-life commercial.
My congratulations to Tim Tebow for his courageous stand for what is right.
mlsoft
ordinary....
Let's then assume that something happens to Obama. That makes Bill Clinton President--and elevates Pelosi to VP. -- ordinary
I may be mistaken, but the speaker of the house does not get automatically elevated to the position of VP if something changes the status of the current VP, be it an elevation to the presidency or through death or resignation.
This has happened several times (Agnew's resignation, Ford's ascendancy to the Presidency) and the speaker of the house has never been elevated to the VP slot. The VP either remains vacant (not a good option) or a new VP is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
mlsoft
extel...
... and folks in the D.C. area are digging out from up to 30" of Robert Kennedy's "global warming". What a hoax he and others like al gore have perpetrated on the American people -- some out of ignorance and some, like gore, out of greed.
I fully expect Robert Kennedy to be a casualty of the next round of elections in 2010. May all of his ilk go down in flames as the American people rise up to take back their government.
mlsoft
rollingrock...
has Obama ever told the truth?//
I seem to remember that when he received the nobel peace prize, he said something to the effect that the award was a bit premature.
Other than that massive understatement, not that I can recall.
mlsoft
ordinary...
The ruling of the USSC was correct -- the campaign finance law, as passed, was unconstitutional, because it restricted free speech which is constitutionally protected. Obama also lied because the ruling expressly had nothing to do with foreign contributions, which are covered by other laws.
I do not understand why you attack Alito, who did nothing wrong, and support obama in this.
mlsoft
ordinary...
Perhaps you saw a different SOTU speech than the one I saw, but Alito did not "interrupt" obama in any way. He soundlessly mouthed the words "that's not true", and in doing so he spoke the truth -- obama lied in what he said, and Alito's reaction was perfectly correct and natural.
mlsoft
ordinary...
I would have answered several of those questions differently.....
1. Should Barack Obama be impeached, or not?
Yes ______________
No ______X_______
2. Do you think Barack Obama is a socialist?
Yes _____X_________
No ______________
3. Do you believe Barack Obama was born in the United States, or not?
Yes ______X_______
No ______________
4. Do you believe Barack Obama wants the terrorists to win?
Yes ______________ Unsure of this question -- I think he would be willing to accept it, but that is different from "wanting it"
No ______________
5. Do you believe ACORN stole the 2008 election?
Yes ______________
No ______X_______ -- The margin of victory was too large, but ACORN was trying its best to steal it if it had been closer.
6. Do you believe Sarah Palin is more qualified to be President than Barack Obama?
Yes _____X_________ Sarah Palin is not qualified for the job, but she would have been preferable to obama.
No ______________
7. Do you believe Barack Obama is a racist who hates White people?
Yes _____X_________ "hates" is probably too strong a word, but he blames white America for the ills in the world.
No ______________
8. Do you believe your state should secede from the United States?
Yes ______________
No ______X_______
9. Should Congress make it easier for workers to form and join labor unions?
Yes ______________
No ______X_______
10. Would you favor or oppose giving illegal immigrants now living in the United States the right to live here legally if they pay a fine and learn English?
Favor ______________
Oppose ______X_______
11. Do you support the death penalty?
Yes ______X_______
No ______________
12. Should openly gay men and women be allowed to serve in the military?
Yes ______________
No ______X_______
13. Should same sex couples be allowed to marry?
Yes ______________
No ______X_______
14. Should gay couples receive any state or federal benefits?
Yes ______________
No _______X______
15. Should openly gay men and women be allowed to teach in public schools?
Yes _____________
No _____X________
16. Should sex education be taught in the public schools?
Yes ______X_______ using common sense as to when and how it is taught.
No ______________
17. Should public school students be taught that the book of Genesis in the Bible explains how God created the world?
Yes ______X______
No ______________
18. Are marriages equal partnerships, or are men the leaders of their households?
Equal Partnerships ______________
Men are the leaders of the homes ______X________
19. Should women work outside the home?
Yes ______X_______ When necessary to provide for the family.
No ______________
20. Should contraceptive use be outlawed?
Yes ______________ Contraceptives that kill after conception should be outlawed, but those that prevent conception are ok.
No ______X_______
21. Do you believe the birth control pill is abortion?
Yes ______________
No ______X_______ but only if it prevents conception.
22. Do you consider abortion to be murder?
Yes _____X_________
No ______________
23. Do you believe that the only way for an individual to go to heaven is though Jesus Christ, or can one make it to heaven through another faith?
Yes _____X_______ poorly worded question. True faith in Jesus as one's Lord and Savior is the only way God has provided for salvation. God accepts no one except through Faith in Jesus.
No ______________
mlsoft
h24ever...
"For sure. American People will give almost anyone a chance, But when you lie to them or play them as a fool. your political creer is done.
That, unfortunately, is not true. Both houses of congress are full of people who lie to the public all the time and successfully play the American public for the foolish people they are. They have been there forever, but hopefully the folks back home are preparing to boot many of them out -- finally.
mlsoft
ng...
How's that "recovery" coming along for ya??
Smoke and mirrors.
There was little, if anything, in today's report to encourage anyone about the economy. The improvement in the unemployment rate was pure garbage, and the revisions show some of the extent that they are underreporting how bad things have been.
mlsoft
redfisher...
It is not a "jobs creation bill", it is yet another pork laden payoff to the left and to unions designed to advance the left's social agenda. No different from the stimulus bill, it is merely a clone and will do little to create permanent jobs, just like its daddy.
mlsoft
h24ever...
Actually, Toyota is probably too well managed to fail unless the economy fails -- and that is certainly a possibility. Toyota has made a very atypical blunder in not testing thoroughly the products (all made in the USA) of some of its vendors, and it is paying a heavy price for that mistake.
mlsoft
h24ever...
How's that "recovery" coming along for ya??
Smoke and mirrors -- the "recovery" is all artificially created to give the illusion of a recovery in the hope that a better consumer psychology will produce an actual recovery. It worked briefly after 9/11, will it work this time??
I think not, primarily because we are not addressing the root causes of our problems, especially out of control spending, and we are not willing to accept the economic fact that recessions are a necessary part of the process, to get rid of unproductive allocation of assets.
If we were to immediately get spending under control, there is a slight chance that the smoke and mirrors psychology ploy will work once again for a short while, although there will still be a prolonged deep recession with high unemployment. As it is, we are sealing our economic fate under obama and an out of control congress.
mlsoft
redwards...
"Still waiting for a progressive to explain trial- versus- termination decision process of Barry's administration."
How about -- liberals are strongly opposed to the death penalty unless it is carried out by remote control.
mlsoft
RDG...
I agree with a lot of what you said, but would add a few things.
In addition to bases around the world that could be closed (not all of them, for some are needed), there are also a number of domestic bases and facilities that the armed forces would like to close but congress has mandated they remain open for political reasons. There are also a number of procurement programs that are funded for purely political reasons. All of these should be eliminated.
The F-22 program that was basically scrapped after the production of a relatively few fighters, must be cranked up again -- the Russians have now successfully tested an equivalent fighter (stealth capability and all).
mlsoft
extel...
President Obama may soon feel as much heat as Detroit's now famous underwear bomber. With senators such as Joe Lieberman demanding that Mr. Abdulmutallab be tried in military courts rather than federal ones...
With all the far left liberal agenda now in disrepute, it would not shock me at all if Lieberman does not switch and caucus with the republicans rather than the democrats, although he will probably officially remain an independent. The only thing that would stop that from happening would be if he thought such a move would cost him his Senate seat.
mlsoft