| Author |
|
Matt Hawes
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 16633
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 7:15pm | IP Logged | 1
|
|
|
In regards to the "Bomb Iran" thing with McCain...
Offered without comment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXyhD5yiY6s
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
|
| |
Rich Rice
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 08 April 2008
Posts: 195
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 7:24pm | IP Logged | 2
|
|
|
Props to Michael for his extended and quite technical breakdown of the Banking Industry's relation to burst of the housing bubble. One can't help (particularly your average citizen) but walk away with 2 points in mind. How the financial industry handled it all with such clean hands. And secondly, how everyone involved were pretty much 'resigned' to watch the engine run it's course. Just the market in action, folks. Nothing to see here. Keep a movin'.
Except (as an example) Georgia state senator Vincent Fort didn't find it to be so 'clean', nor did he feel resigned to let the industry run its course. In 2001, he pushed -and passed- reform legislation to the on going sub-prime practices in his state. And in the years between 2002 and 2006 industry lobbyists backed by one of the nation''s largest subprime lenders poured tens of millions of dollars to push back. Ultimately they won. But my point being, there was in fact a generous amount of malfeasance in action through it all. And there were manipulations that could have been brought to bare.
Now the particulars of all these moving and shaking... it's a bit like 'ostentatious'. (Thanks.) I'm more of a Ronald Reagan sort of a guy. When you come before the American people you want to reason as if you would sitting around the dinner table, using a bit of good ol' common sense.
Still, a bit of ostentatious technical MBA-ish mumbo jumbo doesn't hurt.
Now that we are on the subject of money, let's put that higher reasoning power to work. -Keith says he wants to stay in Iraq -'as long as it takes.' And, not increase the budget. And not raise taxes.
So Michael, construct how this works? (If you would, please.)
Heck, Keith. Construct for me how this works. (If you would, please.)
We're all sitting around late Uncle Ronny's kitchen table. And Keith has the checkbook out...
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Rich Rice
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 08 April 2008
Posts: 195
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 7:28pm | IP Logged | 3
|
|
|
ps.
I am so looking forward to the film IOU.S.A.
Perhaps to see the real deal. Not the con game numbers...
But in the meanwhile, take it away boys!!!!!!!!
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Jodi Moisan
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 19 February 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 6808
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 7:31pm | IP Logged | 4
|
|
|
Because people never get high and make a White Castle run.
OK this gave me a chuckle.
Did you catch the guy the other day who was trying to equate drug use with drunk driving? Unbelievable. There is no indication that Obama ever endangered anyone other than himself with his drug use.
Joel: You could make the argument that illegal drug use of hard drugs like coke, heroin or crack DOES endanger others bc they support the illegal drug trade (which is is responsible for drug-related shootings, violence etc., etc.).
I do see Joel's point on this.
Edited by Jodi Moisan on 02 September 2008 at 7:37pm
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
|
| |
Kevin Hagerman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 15 April 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 18272
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 8:06pm | IP Logged | 5
|
|
|
"-Keith says he wants to stay in Iraq -'as long as it takes.' "
--------------------------
Me too. I am sick of hearing Iraq discussed in terms of winning or losing the war. We won the war if you mean we got rid of Saddam. We lost the war if you mean we did it in the best way possible. What's left now is to honor the commitment we made when we invaded. Whatever it takes. There's no rooting for us now, only for the law-abiding citizens of Iraq.
Oh, and we should make sure we never do something so stupid ever again.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Al Cook
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 21 December 2004
Posts: 12735
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 8:10pm | IP Logged | 6
|
|
|
So do I, Jodi, but the difference is in the passivity, or lack thereof. When one
gets behind the wheel drunk, one is actively endangering the lives of
innocents by becoming a first-hand participant in that endangerment. It is
a first-degree act.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Jeff Gillmer
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 30 August 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1920
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 8:30pm | IP Logged | 7
|
|
|
On the "Bomb Iran" thing, it wasn't something that John McCain created. That song was on the radio back in 1979. Can anyone in class remember what was going on back in 1979?
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Steven Myers
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 10 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5729
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 8:36pm | IP Logged | 8
|
|
|
I was in fifth grade in 1979 when the hostages were taken in Iran.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
|
| |
Keith Elder
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1973
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 9:05pm | IP Logged | 9
|
|
|
Rich: -Keith says he wants to stay in Iraq -'as long
as it takes.' And, not increase the budget. And not raise taxes. Heck, Keith. Construct for me how this works. (If you would, please.)
Sure.
Don't raise taxes. Federal yearly gross receipts are currently $2.7 trillion/year. This will continue to grow in proportion to the growth of the US economy. That figure includes all sources of income; individual income tax is $1.3 trillion of that.
Total spending is currently $2.9 trillion. That's all spending, some mandatory. Hey, that's too much! It's a few hundred billion too high.
Answer: One step is to decrease military spending over the next four years, by cutting forces in Iraq over time. This will happen as troop levels are reduced. Military budget is the third highest item in the budget, at about 700 billion. Let's try to get it down to under 600 billion.
The biggest item in the budget is Health and Human services; isn't that crazy? That can easily be cut by just as much as the military. Let's save another 100 billion there. Second highest is social security. Reluctantly, I'll say we need to leave that alone.
Between other departments, we could cut a lot more. We could save 50 billion by simply disbanding the department of education.
That would have us completely in the black, and that's not touching social security, and that's not accounting for the fact that federal receipts will climb along with the GPD, 4-5% a year or so. Actually, if we simply held spending at this year's level, we would balance the budget without doing a damn thing within four years.
Would McCain do this? Not a chance in hell, especially with a democratic congress. But I don't think he'll go as far in the opposite direction as Obama would.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
e-mail
|
| |
Jason Czeskleba
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 30 April 2004
Posts: 4636
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 9:12pm | IP Logged | 10
|
|
|
Scott Richards wrote:
| There are a great many people who are voting McCain because he's the
lesser of two evils. They feel Obama would destroy this country. |
|
|
I'm not sure if you are describing yourself as one of those people, but I'm curious... how do you (or the "many people" you describe) think that Obama will "destroy this country"? I think George Bush is the worst President in at least the past 100 years, and I think he's made some terrible decisions. If it were possible for him to run for a third term, I would think that term would be disastrous in many ways. But even then I wouldn't go so far as to say he would destroy the country. I don't think a President, even the worst one, can destroy the country.
As to Jodi's question, I'd say the following five things are important to me in voting. They're the first five things I can think of, maybe not necessarily the most important things if I really thought about it at length.
1. Timely withdrawal from Iraq
2. Health care for the uninsured via government program.
3. Increased government regulation of banking and industry to prevent future financial meltdowns such as Enron and the subprime crisis.
4. Stabilization of social security via raising the income ceiling
5. Appointment of liberal supreme court justices to balance out recent spate of conservative justices appointed. (Because in reality, it is politics, not beliefs about the original intent of the founding fathers or strict interpretation of the Constitution, that drive the decisions of the Court, no matter what either side may say. Conservatives for example say they are against activist judges, but they didn't feel that way in 2000 when the activist conservative judges stepped in and halted an ongoing recount to proclaim Bush the winner of the election, for example).
I know Obama supports items 1, 2, 4, and 5 on my list. I don't know his exact position on item 3, but I would suspect he'd be more likely than McCain to support increased regulation.
On an unrelated topic, I'm still surprised so many people give McCain a pass on Iraq. The majority of Americans think the invasion was a mistake. McCain was one of the prime supporters of the invasion. Regardless of who has the best idea about how to get out of this mess, McCain showed very poor judgment in supporting the war and to me that speaks to his judgment in future situations. Why is that not being discussed more, or why is Obama not trying to make more of an issue out of that, I wonder?
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Marc Baptiste
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 17 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 3633
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 9:51pm | IP Logged | 11
|
|
|
I REALLY should have been supporting Hillary. DAMN.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
|
| |
Dave Pruitt
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 16 April 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 6184
|
| Posted: 02 September 2008 at 9:55pm | IP Logged | 12
|
|
|
Jason wrote:
| On an unrelated topic, I'm still surprised so many people give McCain a pass on Iraq. The majority of Americans think the invasion was a mistake. McCain was one of the prime supporters of the invasion. Regardless of who has the best idea about how to get out of this mess, McCain showed very poor judgment in supporting the war and to me that speaks to his judgment in future situations. Why is that not being discussed more, or why is Obama not trying to make more of an issue out of that, I wonder? |
|
|
Because his VP candidate voted for the invasion, even pushed for it, ever since the late 1990's. If McCain had poor judgement in supporting the invasion, in your opinion, then Biden must get the same treatment. People think the war in Iraq was mismanaged, and that's a fair assesment. This is why people now think it was a mistake, but they didn't at first. There were definitely mistakes made, and those that opposed it in the begining can use that for political hay now. People like Obama and Biden also opposed the surge, which has proven a success and has totally turned around the war in Iraq. Bush and McCain pushed for it, and they were right.
|
| Back to Top |
profile
| search
| www
e-mail
|
| |
Topic Closed)
