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DEL.ICIO.USWho’ll be hit by tax surge? You, of course
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you listened closely to two exchanges in Thursday night’s vice presidential debate, you’ll know precisely what those of us in Middle America most despise about Washington.
One was on taxes. You don’t have to be smarter than a fifth-grader to know that Barack Obama’s campaign promises add up to a massive amount of new spending, probably in the range of $800 billion. Maybe more. Maybe far more.
Nor do you have to be very smart to understand the pretense behind the claim that “the rich and greedy corporations and Big Oil” will pick up the tab. The thing about the left is that they’re convinced you won’t mind getting soaked if “the rich” are getting wetter. It’s that class warfare that, election after election, is the primary weapon in the arsenal of the Democratic Party.
Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) had the Obama Democrats nailed in his GOP convention speech. They tell you, he said, “not to worry about their tax increases. They tell you they are not going to tax your family.” And then he zinged: “No, they’re just going to tax business. So unless you buy something from a business, like groceries or clothes or gasoline, or unless you get a paycheck from a big or a small business, don’t worry. It’s not going to affect you.” He went on.
“They say they are not going to take any water out of your side of the bucket, just the other side of the bucket. That’s their idea of tax reform.”
Sarah Palin can’t be Thompson or any other experienced Washington insider. Her job Thursday night was to talk directly to the people in Middle America, to convince them that she understands their problems and can represent them as an outsider in Washington.
While she could have used a few more of Thompson’s distillations of the effects of an Obama presidency, the next-day consensus was she had met the challenge. The elitists who were dead certain she would come off like a South Carolina beauty queen in her responses were dead wrong. She passed the third, and probably final, test of this political season. She held her own in debate with a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Senate. She aced the first two tests — her initial introduction and her first major address to the nation at the GOP convention. And she held her own on the third, confounding the critics who were poised to capture the responses they thought would cause her to destroy herself. Didn’t happen. And in that sense, she won.
The first of the two exchanges that reminded us of what we hate about Washington had to do with Senate votes to raise taxes. “Barack Obama and Senator Biden voted for the largest tax increases in U.S. history. Barack had 94 opportunities to side on the people’s side and reduce taxes, and 94 times he voted to increase taxes or not support a reduction, 94 times,” Palin said.
Biden, the stern lecturer, experienced in the games of Washington, set the record straight, explaining to the young newcomer from the Alaskan frontier the processes and procedures of the insiders. “The charge is absolutely not true,” Biden declared. “The vote she’s referring to, John McCain voted the exact same way. It was a budget procedural vote. It did not raise taxes. Using the standard that the governor uses, John McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes. It’s a bogus standard.”
Ah, that’s Washington. They may indeed propose $800 billion in new spending programs, but it takes a forensic audit to find their fingerprints.
The same is true on Iraq. Obama voted against funding troops there after promising that he would not do so, Palin said. “And Sen. Biden, I respected you when you called him out on that. You said that his vote was political, and you said it would cost lives. And Barack Obama at first said he would not do that. He turned around under political pressure and he voted against funding the troops.”
To which Biden replied: “John McCain voted to cut off funding for the troops. Let me say that again. John McCain voted against an amendment containing $1 billion [for] those things that are protecting the governor’s son and pray God my son and a lot of other sons and daughters.” He did it, Biden acknowledged, because of an amendment to set a withdrawal deadline.
What America saw Thursday night was the consummate Washington insider lecturing the hockey mom on why this doesn’t mean that — and why nobody there can ever be held accountable. They spend without fingerprints. They tax without fingerprints. Yes means no.
Biden gave America an insider’s explanation of why nothing works there. Give me the Washington outsider any day.
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By Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST
October 4, 2008 8:25 AM | Link to this
Well we have 7 REAL REPUBLICAN Congressmen & 2 RINO/Socialist Senators. Saxby has sold out to the LOBBYIST again. McCain says COUNTRY FIRST,, Saxby says LOBBYIST(especially Bo Chambliss) FIRST.
By Ga Values
October 4, 2008 8:29 AM | Link to this
Jim, how about writting a CONSERVATIVE Republican piece, you know about cutting waste & corruption. Look back at the 1 you wrote about President Bush’s veto the Farm Bill editorial.
By Churchill
October 4, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this
Today’s Palin..
Palin’s Alternate Universe
By BOB HERBERT Published: October 3, 2008 Sarah Palin is the perfect exclamation point to the Bush years.
We’ve lived through nearly two terms of an administration that believed it could create its own reality:
“Deficits don’t matter.” “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job.” “Those weapons of mass destruction must be somewhere.”
Now comes Ms. Palin, a smiling, bubbly vice-presidential candidate who travels in an alternate language universe. For Ms. Palin, such things as context, syntax and the proximity of answers to questions have no meaning.
In her closing remarks at the vice-presidential debate Thursday night, Ms. Palin referred earnestly, if loosely, to a quote from Ronald Reagan. He had warned that if Americans weren’t vigilant in protecting their freedom, they would find themselves spending their “sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was like in America when men were free.”
What Ms. Palin didn’t say was that the menace to freedom that Reagan was talking about was Medicare. As the historian Robert Dallek has pointed out, Reagan “saw Medicare as the advance wave of socialism, which would ‘invade every area of freedom in this country.’ ”
Does Ms. Palin agree with that Looney Tunes notion? Or was this just another case of the aw-shucks, darn-right, I’m-just-a-hockey-mom governor of Alaska mouthing something completely devoid of meaning?
Here’s Ms. Palin during the debate: “Say it ain’t so, Joe! There you go pointing backwards again … Now, doggone it, let’s look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future. You mentioned education, and I’m glad you did. I know education you are passionate about with your wife being a teacher for 30 years, and God bless her. Her reward is in heaven, right?”
If Governor Palin didn’t like a question, or didn’t know the answer, she responded as though some other question had been asked. She made no bones about this, saying early in the debate: “I may not answer the questions the way that either the moderator or you want to hear.”
The problem with Ms. Palin’s candidacy is that John McCain might actually win this election, and then if something terrible happened, the country could be left with little more than an exclamation point as president.
After Ms. Palin had woven one of her particularly impenetrable linguistic webs, Joe Biden turned to the debate’s moderator, Gwen Ifill, and said: “Gwen, I don’t know where to start.”
Of course he didn’t know where to start because Ms. Palin’s words don’t mean anything. She’s all punctuation.
This is such a serious moment in American history that it’s hard to believe that someone with Ms. Palin’s limited skills could possibly be playing a leadership role. On the day before the debate, the commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, made an urgent appeal for more troops, saying the additional “boots on the ground,” as well as more helicopters and other vital equipment, were “needed as quickly as possible.”
The morning after the debate, the Labor Department announced that the employment situation in the U.S. had deteriorated even more than experts had expected. The nation lost nearly 160,000 jobs in September, more than double the monthly losses in July and August.
Conditions are probably worse than even those numbers indicate because the government’s statistics do not yet reflect the response of employers to the credit crisis that has taken such a hold in the last few weeks.
Where is the evidence that Governor Palin even understands these complex and enormously challenging problems? During the debate she twice referred to General McKiernan as “McClellan.” Neither Ms. Ifill nor Senator Biden corrected her.
But after Senator Biden suggested that John McCain’s answer to the nation’s energy problems was to “drill, drill, drill,” Ms. Palin promptly pointed out, as if scoring a point, that “the chant is ‘Drill, baby, drill!’ ”
How’s that for perspective? The credit markets are frozen. Our top general in Afghanistan is dialing 911. Americans are losing jobs by the scores of thousands. And Sarah Palin is making sure we know that the chant is “drill, baby, drill!” not “drill, drill, drill.”
John McCain has spent most of his adult life speaking of his love for his country. Maybe he sees something in Sarah Palin that most Americans do not. Maybe he is aware of qualities that lead him to believe she’d be as steady as Franklin Roosevelt in guiding the U.S. through a prolonged economic downturn. Maybe she’d be as wise and prudent in a national emergency as John Kennedy was during the Cuban missile crisis.
Maybe Senator McCain has reason to believe that it would not be the most colossal of errors to put Ms. Palin a heartbeat away from the presidency.
He’s got just four weeks to share that insight with the rest of us.
By Manny
October 4, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this
We’ve already heard the talking points, and commentary from liberal, moderate, and conservatives. But even leading up to the debates, Youtube made viral her performances on past debates, so I don’t think that many people were surprised by her performance. That’s why the snap polls were so decidedly in favor of Biden.
If those earlier debates didn’t hit the Internet and she gave that performance, more people would be astonished. But they did. And people watched clips of those debates. So when she debated Joe Biden, the “wow” factor was diminished.
That being said, again, she did a good job for herself. I see her as an asset. But the people running the McCain campaign is simply terrible!
Think about it: The strategy of the debate was so shallow that the public saw right through it. Attack Obama with Biden’s words during the primary. And old talking points that just fills up space. And when attacked, deny it and use your experience as governor of Alaska as a fall-back position. Terrible! Why? Because it didn’t account for a defense of McCain’s policies, which makes her look like she didn’t know them. And the strategy made her, at times, look like she was running for re-election as governor of Alaska, and not the VP position.
And also, they didn’t give her basic talking points about basic Civics- like what would be the role and responsibilities of a Vice-President. That’s why when asked, she was rambling through her cue cards looking for a good answer and couldn’t find one. So her fall-back position was to actually agree with Dick Cheney!
Watch this: The American public will watch this debate over and over again in clips on the news. And pundits will dissect her answers along with Joe Biden. It’s happening right now. And people will come away with the same impression that they had when she first left the stage:
She didn’t fall off the stage and cry, so she exceeded expectations. But she was well-rehearsed but had no insight. And she’s not ready.
But I like Sarah Palin. I do, because I think that once she gets her own insights and some depth of knowledge, she may very well be the next Republican President. But right now, she’s merely a star on a sinking ship that displayed to the world that she doesn’t have the weight to keep it afloat.
By Redneck Convert
October 4, 2008 8:47 AM | Link to this
Well, if us conservatives don’t get moving soon we will have a n* in the White House and high taxes to boot. This Obama done took the lead in all the swing states and old man McCain just folded the tent and moved out of Michigan. We need to get on the innernet tubes and tell people about how Obama went to a towelhead school and is a towelhead that helped blow up U.S. buildings and hates America and everything.
If he gets elected President we will be in awful shape. Those People will be taking out after us White people over what we done to them in the past 200 years. And Wooten will loose half of his readers. Jbmlaw will be too busy finding ways to hide his money to write, and Sister Dusty will have to go into hiding. For two years now she’s been telling people that crittersized My President that they can’t do it because they got to have Respect for the Presidency. If Obama gets elected she will be in a awful way. She won’t be able to come up with nice things to say about him. And she can’t call him a empty suit no more without loosing Respect for the Presidency.
So she will just have to drop out. The cost to the Wooten blog will be huge. Sister Dusty got the closest thing to my brain there is.
Anyway, everybody get on the innernet tubes and start blasting Obama. Send e-mails to people you don’t know. And have a good day everybody.
By Devastator
October 4, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this
In the VP debate, Joe Biden pushed for change and advocated for rebuilding our economy from the bottom up.
Sarah Palin couldn’t identify a single way in which she and John McCain would change the disastrous policies of the Bush administration.
As he wrote in a recent magazine article, John McCain wants to deregulate America’s health care industry in the exact same way he helped deregulate the banking industry and Wall Street. This reckless, “Wild West”-style deregulation is precisely what led to the ongoing economic crisis.
And as Sarah Palin confirmed last night, she and John McCain will continue to fight for tax cuts for the wealthy, Big Oil, and giant corporations while ignoring the fact that this trickle-down strategy has utterly failed under George W. Bush.
Please take a minute to forward this email. Make sure your friends see the ad and know the truth about John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Then will you make a donation of $25 to make sure people all over America see this ad before they vote?
https://donate.barackobama.com/changeweneed
Thanks for everything you’re doing,
David
David Plouffe Campaign Manager Obama for America
By joan
October 4, 2008 9:11 AM | Link to this
Why aren’t you talking about how Congress just stole about $890 Billion from us under the guise that “If we don’t pass this bill, America will fold.” In spite of that chilling prognosis and the fact that they HAD to pass the bill, they HAD to add $190 Billion in pork barrel bribes to it in order to get the needed votes. I will never again vote for a current incumbent. Term limits PLEASE.
By zeke
October 4, 2008 9:17 AM | Link to this
What constantly amazes me is the gullible stupidity of liberals and democrats! How can anyone continue to vote for these idiots! Socialism, class warfare, make everyone the same, have no individual initiative,freedom or responsibility, the government from cradle to grave and numerous other ridiculous agendas! But, those who want to get something for nothing, who want to get even with those who work hard, work longer hours, risk investments, persevere and become successful, WILL CONTINUE TO VOTE FOR THESE IDIOTS THAT PROMISE THEM MORE AND MORE OF SOMEONE ELSE’S MONEY!!! The most dangerous enemy to the US is the liberal socialist politicians and voters! How can we allow voting at 18 but limit drinking and smoking to 21? Stupid! If 18 to 21 year olds are not mature or responsible enough to decide whether to drink or smoke, HOW CAN WE LET THEM VOTE ON THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO US AND OUR COUNTRY?? Those who own no property must not be allowed to vote on zonings or property taxes! Those the cannot read, write, and, comprehend the things that are to be voted on cannot be allowed to vote! Those who receive a dole from the government, welfare, social security, healthcare, atdc, food stamps and any other must not be allowed to vote on those measures! It is time we determine who can vote on what issues! A 16th or 17th century British politician wrote that when those who get something from others or the government figure out that thay can vote themselves more and more from that government, THE GOVERNMENT IS LOST! THAT IS WHERE WE ARE NOW!! All the democrats want is to stay in power by whatever means! They want fellons and murderers to vote, illegals to vote, people to vote more than once, and, dead people to continue to vote! WAKE UP PEOPLE! THE SHRINKING MIDDLE CLASS IS NOT SHRINKING FROM LOWER INCOMES, BUT, FROM HIGHER INCOMES THAT THEY ARE EARNING AND MOVING UP, NOT DOWN!
TIME TO LIMIT WHO CAN VOTE ON WHAT ISSUES!
THERE IS NO CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO VOTE!!! READ IT!!
By Devastator
October 4, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this
CHICAGO - Barack Obama launched a multifaceted attack on presidential rival John McCain’s health care proposal Saturday, elevating an issue that has been on the back burner in the White House race but remains a top concern for voters.
Obama planned to criticize McCain’s plan to tax health care benefits as “radical” during an event in Newport News, Va., while his campaign echoed the message in four new television ads, four separate mailers targeted to swing state voters, radio commercials and events in every battleground state.
The McCain plan would be a dramatic change to the way Americans get health insurance. The Republican presidential nominee, who makes opposition to tax hikes a centerpiece of his campaign, has proposed to tax the health benefits that 156 million people get through the workplace as income. In exchange, McCain would give tax credits to help pay for insurance — $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families, paid directly to the insurer they choose.
“On health care, John McCain promises a tax credit,” an announcer says in one of Obama’s new ads, over images of families examining their bills. “But here’s what he won’t tell you: McCain would make you pay taxes on your health benefits, taxing your health care for the first time ever, raising costs for employers who offer health care so your coverage could be reduced or dropped completely. You won’t find one word about it on his Web site, but the McCain tax could cost you thousands or even your health care. Can you afford it?”
By Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST
October 4, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this
Saxby delivers—for the LOBBYIST, Cash Only
The special provisions of the $810,000,000,000.00 Rip Off of the Taxpayer include tax breaks for:
Manufacturers of kids’ wooden arrows - $6 million.
Puerto Rican and Virgin Is- lands rum producers - $192 million.
Wool research.$60 million.
Auto-racing tracks - $128 million.
Corporations operating in American Samoa - $33 million.
Small- to medium-budget film and television productions - $10 million.
Another measure inserted into the bill appears to be a bald-faced bid aimed at winning the support of Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who voted against the original version when it went down in flames in the House on Monday.
That provision - a $223 million package of tax benefits for fishermen and others whose livelihoods suffered as a result of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill - has been the subject of fervent lobbying by Alaska’s congressional delegation.
Some of the pork-barrel measures buried in the financial rescue package had been contained in a bill that previously passed the Senate, but died in the House.
The Congressional Budget Office said the package of breaks - including obvious pork and some more defensible tax-relief measures - will add about $112 billion to budget deficits over the next five years because the bill doesn’t contain enough offsetting revenue hikes to keep the budget balanced.
The legislative lard annoyed Tom Schatz, president of the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste.
“There’s always something that goes on at the end where the last dozen members are trying to get something for themselves or for a special interest rather than what might be good for the country,” Schatz said.
Some of the other measures added to win approval include a $3.8 billion health-care provision that forces insurance companies to provide coverage for mental-health treatment equivalent to the coverage they provide for physical illness.
Other add-ons will increase individual tax credits and help shield more than 20 million Americans from the painful alternative minimum tax, and offer breaks for businesses that invest in alternative fuels.
Also, several federal income-tax breaks due to expire will now be extended through 2009.
By Churchill's Mom
October 4, 2008 9:36 AM | Link to this
Love my girl Palin
By Jim Hoagland Sunday, October 5, 2008; Page B07
Candidates Obama, McCain, Biden and Palin, take a bow. And you in the huge television audiences, bask in the reflected glory. You all have established in two national political debates that a lot is going right in America, despite our enormous problems.
The value of these debates comes not from any particular information they convey. Voters know they get spit-polished views confected by campaign consultants from polling data. So they greet Barack Obama’s endorsement of an immediate NATO membership plan for Ukraine, or Sarah Palin’s pledge to work on peace in the Middle East, with appropriate skepticism.
But these debates have become important conveyor belts of indelible attitude and character, of trend-sensing and zeitgeist, sliced into digestible 90-minute segments. Our most successful politicians reformat what we have told them about who we are and what we want, and they play it back to us in ways that reveal much about us and, at times, them.
And they do so under the pressure of television’s relentlessly clicking clock, the ultimate arbiter and mix-master of entertainment and political values. The unfulfilled opportunity that Palin would crash and burn — that is, show definitively that she is John McCain’s Achilles’ high heel — turned Thursday night’s clash with Joe Biden into “must-see television,” our society’s equivalent of a pilgrimage to Lourdes or Mecca.
As they verbally wrestled over the shape and size of the middle-class kitchen table, Biden vs. Palin offered a fuller glimpse of an idea that took shape during Obama vs. McCain: This year, culture wars are being eclipsed by culture truces in U.S. politics. Wedge issues of gender, race and sexual orientation are being overshadowed or even defanged by an imploding economy and war-and-peace choices. And that is doubly bad news for the McCain campaign, in light of its recent choices.
One indication of shifting cultural ground came when Biden and Palin warily and hurriedly stressed that they agreed on opposing gay marriage while endorsing civil rights for same-sex couples.
The candidates went into a debater’s clinch, each more intent on preventing the other from extracting advantage than in scoring points. (See also: Obama’s debate rush to say he agreed with McCain on Russia’s invasion of Georgia. And the two presidential nominees staying in lock step on the $700 billion bailout.)
Also notable was the ease with which Biden avoided the gender trap of old-boy politicians seeming to be dismissive of or condescending toward the rising class of new female rivals. The old boys have caught on in handling a challenge that Gerhard Schroeder flubbed in debating Angela Merkel for German leadership in 2005 and that Nicolas Sarkozy mastered in winning the French presidency against Ségolène Royal in 2007.
In as impressive a performance as the Democrats could have hoped for, Biden never gave a hint that he faced an opponent whose gender made any difference. He avoided correcting Palin’s entirely understandable fluff of a little-known American general’s name and concentrated his fire entirely on McCain, not her.
The general demeanor recalled the Sept. 26 presidential debate, which helped start McCain’s slide in the polls. For long stretches, viewers had no cause to recall that they were watching the first black presidential nominee of a major party in American history. Obama himself did not call attention, even indirectly, to this achievement until the very end of the debate, when it would no longer distract.
That night, and even more so in his appearances afterward, McCain confirmed that he had decided to run this race as a Republican, not as an independent-minded maverick with a program different from Bushonomics 101.
Instead, McCain hammered away on tax cuts and restricting government spending as cure-alls. His choice of Palin was an offering to the party’s conservative base. It worked for that group, but her presence has begun to cost him dearly with other parts of the electorate who are focusing on pocketbook rather than social issues.
With flashes of humor and spunk, Palin survived Thursday evening. But she did little to dispel the serious doubts about her readiness to be vice president, much less president. America’s economic implosion has put issues more urgent and important than culture warfare on the electorate’s agenda.
It is far too early to say that just as there are no atheists in foxholes, there are no racists or sexists in bankruptcies. But for the moment, by choosing Palin and sticking with Bushonomics, the Ancient Mariner seems to have tied the albatross around his own neck.
By norman ravitch
October 4, 2008 9:37 AM | Link to this
Only a fool impressed with the baloney of Christianity, the most irrational religion ever invented, could think a McCain-Palin administration would be anything but a disaster. But thank God for the coming recession! It will enlighten even the dumbest Christian.
By Donkey
October 4, 2008 9:44 AM | Link to this
Under an Obama & Pelosi US government, we will see..
1) More businesses will close shop and/or go overseas
2) Private investment in US companies will dry up.
3) Oil prices will double what they are now (at the least).
4) Russia will move forward with recapturing former Eastern Bloc nations and set eyes on Europe.
5) Car miles driven will be rationed (global warming initiative).
6) Meat eating will be rationed (global warming initiative).
7) Private schools will be banned and taken over by the federal government.
8) Schools will be nationalized.
9) Democrats will jail any negative commentators on Obama.
10) Instead of the US military, our tax dollars will go to funding global causes.
But hey, Obama is the greatest thing to ever happen to this nation.
America, you will be so proud.
By Peter
October 4, 2008 9:50 AM | Link to this
Jim…Are you tired from ALL THE SPINNING ?
Gee Jim after the 8 years of Bush, we should lower all taxes take in less money and BUILD on to the DEFICIT as you REPUBLICAN’S like to do !
SPEND, SPEND, SPEND…..The Republican WAY !
Please, what Country should we invade Next Jim ?
We need the Hockey Mom to tell us where to invade next….. she is Soooooooo astute with foreign policy !
By Devastator
October 4, 2008 9:58 AM | Link to this
donkey,
Whatever you say jethro.
By bearcasey
October 4, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this
Who suggested the “bailout” in the first place? GEORGE W. BUSH… the republican glorified frat boy. By the way, Palin is a sideshow… won’t matter at all.
By Ace Tracy
October 4, 2008 9:59 AM | Link to this
REPUBLICANS RAISE TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS and that is the absolute truth.
Since 1982, under the plan developed by Alan Greenspan for the Reagan Administration, the taxes on Social Security have more than doubled for anyone earning under $90,000, where it is capped.
AMT Tax is now hitting people earning just $100,000 when it should be only for people earning over $1.0 million. Why? Because it was the only way Bush could pay for the tax cut to the upper 1%.
Before The Republicans changed the tax code there were 15 tax brackets that had the top bracket (people making over $1.2 million - adjusted for inflation) paid nearly triple tax rate over someone making $30,000. Today with the Republicans the difference is only 5 percentage points (28% to 33%). As matter of fact, before the Reagan “Tax Cuts”, that family making $30,000 paid already around 28%. Get it? We have not had any tax break but just the opposite.
Now look at our State and Local Taxes. In most Southern states the local gov. is mostly Republican. Have they cut state spending? Have they cut your taxes? Just the opposite.
So wake up Southern middle class, we have been screwed by the Republicans. Since the 1960s all we heard was how integration was going to ruin the South. We have been voting against Democrats because we are more concerned about our prejudice against blacks that putting someone in office who will give us a break rather than the big lobbies and super rich. And now we hear how the gays are going to ruin our marriages and pollute the minds of our children. What will the Republicans think of next to scare us into voting against our best interests? Alien attacks?
Before you vote for McCain, remember that he is on the side of Wall Street and its hedge funds. Last year the biggest hedge fund manager made $3.0 billion in income!! and was taxed at 15% and much of that was off-shore with no tax. Is that fair? Does that make sense.
Mr. Redneck Convert is exactly the kind of voter McCain is looking for. The southern racist who will vote against his own best interests just because Obama is black. The stock market is back to where it was in 1998. The bond markets are shut down. The world financial markets are on the brink of a melt down. Yet Mr. Redneck Convert is gong to put back the people into the White House who orchestrated this who mess.
Remember that Phill Gram, McCain’s economic advisor and a vice chairman on Wall Street, is pushing for more deregulation and freedom for the fat cats of finance. Remember that Phill Gram called us a nation of whiners. Now that sounds like someone who is thinking about the southern middle class.
Wake up, get over your own bigotry and vote Obama
By Peter
October 4, 2008 10:05 AM | Link to this
Jim you wrote the WRONG Column today…it should read…….
“WHO WILL BE HIT BY THE QUITTING SURGE ?”
Looks like your OLD Boy McLost has Quit ………he is saying to folks …….. I give UP !
What a Pathetic bit of LEADERSHIP we have seen today……
Maybe he should fold up his entire campaign, save a few bucks, and go OUT to PASTURE Sooner than Later !
Gosh Jim how do you feel about this ?
I can tell the Folks in Michigan are SHOCKED !
Mc Chicken, McLoser………
“The Song Bird of Hanoi”…….sang loud and clear to Michigan !
Not that is really “REPUBLICAN Family Values”….. Quitting !
By B. Frank
October 4, 2008 10:08 AM | Link to this
Typical liberal comment:
Only a fool impressed with the baloney of Christianity, the most irrational religion ever invented
Ever notice how no disgusting Christian-hating liberal ever trashes Islam?
By Peter
October 4, 2008 10:14 AM | Link to this
Hey Jim..Don’t you feel SILLY TODAY…….
Gee I see how the REPUBLICANS are so together……
Interesting comments from those on both sides Jim……..
Governor Jennifer Granholm says Republican presidential nominee John McCain is abandoning his Michigan campaign the same way President Bush’s policies have abandoned the state for the past eight years.
“A candidate who is so out of touch on the economy as John McCain, who thinks the fundamentals of our economy are strong, however he wants to spin that, he could benefit from being here, and listening to Michigan,” says Granholm.
Palin………a NON QUITTER is NOT too HAPPY JIM……..
She also said she made her disagreement known to top campaign officials:
“I fired a quick e-mail and said, ‘oh, come on! Do we have to call it there?’ she said. ” Todd and I would [be] happy to get to Michigan and walk through those plants [with] car manufacturers.
“We’d be so happy to get to speak with the people there in Michigan, who are hurting because the economy is hurting,” she added. “Whatever we can do and whatever Todd and I can do in realizing what their challenges in that state are, as we can relate to them and connect with them and promise them that we won’t let them down in the administration.”
POOR PALIN……… I actually thought she was the dumber part of the Platform, turns out McChicken is !
Well Regroup Jim……. SPIN, SPIN, SPIN…… !
By B. Frank
October 4, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
Donkey @9:44 think Jimmy Carter years. A lot of left wing monkeys think he was the greatest president ever.
Ace @9:59, Barney Frank told the Bush Administration to go to hell on increasing Fannie and Freddie regulation in 2003. That is a fact. Second, we already know you pathetic monkey liberals on the left are going to call us Republicans who vote Republican no matter what racists. You pathetic liberals are the ones constantly bringing up race, and you know what? As far as I’m concerned just because you pathetic entities on the left exist in this nation, this nation isn’t ready for a black president.
THINK about it.
By B. Frank
October 4, 2008 10:19 AM | Link to this
And another thing, Ace: the way you disgusting feces slinging monkeys on the left have treated BLACK conservatives in this nation speaks VOLUMES about who the real haters are. Now GFY but have a nice day, ahole.
By dirty harry
October 4, 2008 10:20 AM | Link to this
Well, it looks like Palin won’t be hit by the tax surge!
It seems she failed to report the $17,000 she received in pr diem.
http://www.unbossed.com/index.php?itemid=2325
By Peter
October 4, 2008 10:24 AM | Link to this
McQuitter……is coming soon to a Pasture near you !
VOTE FOR the QUITTER……..
Republican’s Quit on America ! Or is that not ALL Republican’s ……Perhaps just the Fearless LEADER you have Chosen……… McQuitter ?
Poor Palin………….
I am sure she is REALLY EMBARRASSED TODAY………Are you not Jim ?
By john gault jr
October 4, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
the only thing different about the two senator candidates for president is their respective amount of pigmentation. using history as a guide, voting on these attributes is no more silly than voting on what each candidate claims he will do. get a clue people. vote third party. any third party.
By Peter
October 4, 2008 10:38 AM | Link to this
Gosh Jim………maybe the column today should have YET a different NAME…….
“Who’ll be hit by tax evasion surge?”
I just love how REPUBLICAN’s talk Family Values then do not report taxes………
It’s very clear that taxes were due on these per diems. This is tax evasion by Sarah Palin, pure and simple. It doesn’t quite rise to the level of Richard Nixon’s utter failure to pay any taxes for a few years while he was president. But what a standard to be flirting with.
Hey JIM EVADING TAXES……I guess that must be more “Republican Family Values”…..
I guess that is what Palin meant during the debate when she said she knew how tough it was for some folks out there……….
I guess we should ALL follow the Leadership she exemplifies……… We should ALL Evade Taxes !
Evading Taxes….. A Republican Family Value !
By Pig with Lipstick
October 4, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this
The fact that taxation is the revenue source for our bloated government will not change. Our forefathers tried to change it, and look where we are.
The reality is that everyone in Washington will be taxing us. The Republicans spend the money on business development and military. The Democrats spend it on “community” development and global initiatives for the less fortunate. I for one wish to see my redistribution support those that support me, not the other way around. If we cease to feed the corporate machine, it ceases to feed the middle class which supports the “less fortunate”. This middle class then joins the “less fortunate” en masse, diminishing the support base for the most needy.
Even if you do not remember The Great Depression, you certainly have heard the stories. Try to imagine our consumer, instant gratification generations adapting to a rationing, savings oriented, family living for life, jobless world. No iPods, no cell phones, no dining out 4 times each week. No vacations, no need for a two car garage, hey, maybe no need for a garage at all. Think about it…
When you vote next month, think about the delicate balance we’ve created in this country. Do you want to see taxes and jobless rates increase, or just taxes. For me, I’d rather have a butt kicking maverick than an alms bearing community organizer.
By Jackie
October 4, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this
@B. Frank,
It sounds like you need some counseling.
By GAPeach
October 4, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
It is time for the McCain campaign to pull out all the stops and let Obama have it. Isn’t anyone on the McCain campaign reading the anti-Obama internet postings; they could learn a thing or two (i.e, it was the Clinton administration that pushed for mortages for the low-income minorities … no credit, no down payment. . you have a house — “the American Dream.” We have created a society of people who can have a car, a cell phone and yes, a house — no credit, bad credit, no down payment — doesn’t matter. And who gets the blame — Wall Street.
By GAPeach
October 4, 2008 11:00 AM | Link to this
It is time for the McCain campaign to pull out all the stops and let Obama have it. Isn’t anyone on the McCain campaign reading the anti-Obama internet postings; they could learn a thing or two (i.e, it was the Clinton administration that pushed for mortages for the low-income minorities … no credit, no down payment. . you have a house — “the American Dream.” We have created a society of people who can have a car, a cell phone and yes, a house — no credit, bad credit, no down payment — doesn’t matter. And who gets the blame — Wall Street.
By GAPeach
October 4, 2008 11:01 AM | Link to this
It is time for the McCain campaign to pull out all the stops and let Obama have it. Isn’t anyone on the McCain campaign reading the anti-Obama internet postings; they could learn a thing or two, i.e, it was the Clinton administration that pushed for mortages for the low-income minorities … no credit, no down payment. . you have a house — “the American Dream.” We have created a society of people who can have a car, a cell phone and yes, a house — no credit, bad credit, no down payment — doesn’t matter. And who gets the blame — Wall Street.
By Mad As Hell
October 4, 2008 11:22 AM | Link to this
Will someone finally stop James Wooten? He is as dangerous as he is ignorant. From his column dated Dec. 3, 2007:
“The point is that the marketplace has dealt brutally and efficiently with an industry that invited fraud and speculation while failing to check borrower income. It should be noted, too, that the so-called teaser interest rates have not yet reset to higher levels — meaning that the foreclosures now are largely loans that were fraudulent or were to speculators looking to make a quick buck or to borrowers who never had the income to justify the mortgages they got.
Prospects are good, too, that within the next couple of weeks, lenders, borrowers and regulators will agree to relief, for some period at least, to credit-worthy borrowers with loans about to reset to higher interest rates.
That, combined with the lessons the marketplace has already taught, are sufficient.”
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 4, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
Good morning all. Jim must have argued his case brilliantly as there is no dispute by the leftists on this blog. I there there is no intellectually honest counterargument. The painfully foolish opposing arguments so far seem to be that “republican-pushed tax cuts are actually tax increases,” or “Bush is evil so it’s time for a change” (even if that change implicitly means new higher taxes or prices of goods.) This is an argument that leftists cannot win. I cannot imagine why republicans argue any other position.
By Jim Jr.
October 4, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
Mission Accomplished 4,000 + W - The President
Four more years 8,000+ John, George Jr., McCain
By Fleeced
October 4, 2008 11:27 AM | Link to this
I worry less about national taxes than about local taxes. My 2008 real estate assessment went up 20%, even though no houses have sold in my subdivision for the past year, my property was reassessed only two years ago, and I am surrounded by foreclosed, abandoned homes. I wasn’t even given the courtesy of a separate notice of the reassessment; it merely appeared on my property tax bill.
As the federal government continues to pass irresponsible tax cuts without corresponding cuts in spending, the burden of unfunded mandates gets passed down to the local level. Now that the governor’s office is having second thoughts about the state’s subsidy of local property taxes, I fear that counties are becoming preemptive about imposing tax increases on the citizenry. We can also look for a revision of the state income tax structure in the coming legislative session, one that will inevitably result in a tax increase on most citizens.
Believe me, state and local taxation poses a far greater threat to most citizens than anything Congress is likely to do.
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 4, 2008 11:31 AM | Link to this
Post script, Jim’s essay reminds me how differently the election may have looked at this moment if we had Fred Thompson at the top of the ticket. I tried.
By gerrie
October 4, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this
100 years if needed - John McCain
One day in Iraq OR 84 new elementary schools.
One day in Iraq OR 12, 478 elementary school teachers
One day in Iraq OR 95, 364 Head Start places for children
One day in Iraq OR 1, 153,846 children with free school lunches
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 4, 2008 11:38 AM | Link to this
Dear Mad @ 11:22, appropriate bloghandle. Sounds like Jim got it exactly right.
By AmVet
October 4, 2008 11:45 AM | Link to this
It seems that at last, the rabid right, senses that all is lost. Their abysmal long term track record has sunk them for good this time, and there is no Ronnie on a white horse coming to save them.
B. Frank, get angry much?
And did you buy any of those Obama monkey t-shirts from that sleazebag bar owner in Marietta?
Just learn how to lose like a man and you’ll feel a lot better.
Donkey, that is an interesting list.
The first three points, though, are a tad ironic aren’t they?
The unvarnished truth is that President Bush and his team have been exceptionally poor stewards of the economy: They have amassed the worst jobs record in more than half a century, piled up a mountain of government debt for the nation’s children and, equally bad, they have no realistic, fair and effective plan to fix the economy and put America back to work.
The nation has lost jobs in the majority months that President Bush has been in office, and he has worst jobs record of any administration since Herbert Hoover.
On the day President Bush took office, the national debt stood at $5.727 trillion. The latest number from the Treasury Department shows the national debt now stands at more than $9.849 trillion. That’s a 71.9 percent increase!
I don’t know if you don’t have any kids, but those of us who do, know that Messiers Bush/Cheney and this non-conservative gang have made an already tough economic situation for them, hellish now.
When BushCo was first selected, I mean elected, the price of gas was about $1.50. Now about $4. That’s not a doubling, that’s a 260% increase.
Don’t get me wrong - the Obama fear factor is not entirely unwarranted.
But the neo-cons who voted for this worst ever president (some twice!) should take a VERY, VERY long look in the mirror and admit that they were the enablers, of the the men who helped create or at least greatly exacerbate, these very problems.
Of course, much of the nation now doubts the Bush apologists have the acumen for their opinions to be taken seriously.
And that spells another Republican bloodbath next month.
By ron
October 4, 2008 11:48 AM | Link to this
Good late morning,I pay Jim.I always pay.Tax cuts don’t help me and increases always see me paying more.I won’t vote for Obama and that’s about the extent of my power.
I read a column on Fox News this morning about how the unemployment rate is figured in this country.It behooves everyone to look this up and read it.You will get a glimmer of what Jim means when he says there are no fingerprints left on anything.
Yesterday I had a better day than O. J.Simpson.
By getalife
October 4, 2008 11:48 AM | Link to this
The Pope said greed is evil.
Nuff said.
Lets check out Sat. morning toons
By Churchill's Mom
October 4, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this
Ragnar Danneskjöld
We have to play the hand we got, I’ll be voting McCain & Buckley..When do you think our party will try the cut spending & eliminate waste policy??
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 4, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this
Dear Fleeced @ 11:27, you are an extraordinary soul indeed if your state and local taxes exceed your Federal taxes. For most people, social security alone exceeds state and local taxes, especially if you include that portion paid by your employer, implicit income diverted by the overlords. Not to mention the dozens of hidden taxes, buried in the cost of goods, arising from “corporate income” taxes and excise taxes and import restrictions.
By AmVet
October 4, 2008 11:54 AM | Link to this
I very much agree with that post at 11:31.
I suspect that with lazy Fred as the nominee, the GOP would be behind by 20 - 25 points!
The germane point is that the neo-cons have already lost this election.
They trotted out more than a half a dozen of the Bush “faithful” and NOT ONE could best an aged, underfunded RINO, despised by the Rovian power brokers in this imploding GOP!
And by 2012, I suspect their demagogue-ish ideology of faux conservatism will be relegated to little more than a footnote in American history…
By getalife
October 4, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this
As our country collapses, the radical right should breakaway and form their own country in Alaska.
John can be king and sarah the queen of the wingnuts. In their new country of Alaska, they can wait for the end of days and breed pure wingnuts.
By AmVet
October 4, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this
When drug smugglers are captured, their assets are seized.
Why is this not the case with the corrupt fraud brokers who exacerbated this “economic crisis”?
All the way up AND down the line.
I heard one tiny news item about the FBI “aggressively” investigating the massive fraud in this meltdown.
Then, nary another peep.
Where is that bipartisan support for such steps?
Where is that “personal accountability” that the neo-cons used to blather on about?
Where is that faux-conservative penchant for ending welfare?
Where is the outrage???
We all know.
The foxes don’t want anyone on the “outside” to really see what goes on in the henhouse.
And we fools keep sending these very same Dems and Repubs right back for more of this treatment, sans Vaseline….
By Pharo
October 4, 2008 12:31 PM | Link to this
Palin showed what a dumbass Biden really is. She tricked him into repeating so many lies that even the mainstream media could not overlook them. Obama and Biden will be terrible for the country, but maybe it’s worth their winning because it will kill the Democrat party for a generation.
By Peter
October 4, 2008 12:43 PM | Link to this
Vote for the “Tax Evader” and “Song Bird of Hanoi”…….
What a ticket……….!
By Dusty
October 4, 2008 12:48 PM | Link to this
Good work, Jim Wooten, you’ve got the liberals shooting off their mouths like the Shoot-for-Prizes at the County Fair. Not one of them even won a Chinese trinket.
Churchill & His Mom, Devastator, Peter, Manny, and Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST (best friend of Hunter Biden LOBBYIST), undercover agent RedNeck and of course, the Dismal Hole of Despair AmVet…all crying “Success” while tears roll down their posts. They WANT to think they are winning.
Then they finally realize they MIGHT really get OBAMA the Snake Charmer and then they cry some more. Liberals shoot themselves in the foot either way. No wonder they cry and lie.
Meanwhile McCain and Palin go staunchly on their way, aiming to lead America in the American way of self reliance, low taxes and patriotic protection. They are the closest leaders we can get to the American way of life.
The American Way has been good since 1776 and I am not ready to CHANGE the basics. Vote for the candidateS that know what you mean when you say THE AMERICAN WAY.
Dusty’s advice: Stay with the way for every American to enjoy freedom. McCain 2008
By Peter
October 4, 2008 12:54 PM | Link to this
Go Dusty……..Dusty’s advice: Stay with the way for every American to enjoy freedom. McCain 2008 !
VOTE FOR TAX EVADERS !
By Churchill's Mom
October 4, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this
Dusty
“Then they finally realize they MIGHT really get OBAMA the Snake Charmer and then they cry some more.”
You get me excited when you talk that way..
By Churchill's Mom
October 4, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this
This the number 1 vent, see how far we have sunk.
Let me get this straight. $700 billion (that’s with a B) is too much but $850 billion is OK. Throw all the bums out!
By Churchill's Mom
October 4, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this
2 vent.. Jim you need to get your material from these people.Some asked - “Is there any such thing as LEGAL gang members” - YES, take your pick Wall St. Bankers or Congress
By WashingtonState
October 4, 2008 1:16 PM | Link to this
What a choice. Democrats who will balance the budget even if it means raising taxes. Republicans who will spend money they don’t have and let our children and their children and their children’s children pay off the debt and hope they don’t bankrupt the country in the meantime. We all know how well that strategy is working. Vote Republican for four more years of corruption, war, and recession. Or vote for a change.
By Peter
October 4, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this
America won’t vote for a REPUBLICAN TAX EVADER !
Wow talk about imploding…………..or would that be ?
“InPalining” ?
In an overview of Sarah Palin’s tax returns for 2006 and 2007, which she has finally released, the Associated Press reports that Palin neglected to pay the taxes due on $17,000 she received in per diem payments as Governor of Alaska. A McCain campaign official claims, falsely, that Palin owed no taxes on those payments.
Gosh read more folks about the REPUBLICAN CONSERVATIVE SPENDING …… the “Wrongs” want to elect !
Palin’s per diems are themselves controversial. She billed the state of Alaska nearly $17,000 for 312 nights she spent at her house in Wasilla. Because the governor has a mansion in Juneau and is supposed to reside and work there (though she is in fact absent far more than she’s present in the capital), she may be permitted technically under state regulations to claim a per diem for lodging while she’s staying at her own home. But it looks pretty cynical to claim to be a reformer while seeking payments for living at home. That’s particularly true since Palin also billed the state to fly her husband and children around the state, to the tune of more than $43,000. Once Palin brought one of her daughters with her at great expense to a Women and Leadership conference in New York City, where they stayed in an extremely luxurious hotel.
Gosh how much are TAXPAYERS paying for the……………….. “REPUBLICAN Family VALUES” ?
Where is the PORK Sarah ….Gee did anyone catch the pork ?
OK so you take the Wolf (Actually wolf killer) and you put HER in the Hen house……but funny she ends up in the sty………. Gotta Get my Family some PORK of course !
Gosh Dusty why don’t you just pay the outrageous bills Palin feels the TAXPAYERS should pay for her FUN !
Gosh she is hardly at the Governor’s Mansion it says……
I see the CHANGE in GOVERNMENT you “WRONGS” speak of……..
Republican’s just don’t show up, and then they EVADE Personal Taxes !
REPUBLICANS = Zero MORALITY, or LEADERSHIP FOR AMERICA’S FUTURE !
But wait ………We want to take the books out of Libraries too ! Those are Bad books………Please do not “EDUCATE” the Children of Alaska ! Fire the Librarian !
Vote Against……….. TAX EVASION………………
Vote FOR MORALITY…….. Vote Obama / Biden 08
By Churchill's Mom
October 4, 2008 1:18 PM | Link to this
1 from the Clayton county vent.Between the Victor Hill law suits and the money wasted by the school board, this county could have bailed out Wall St. by ourselves.
By Peter
October 4, 2008 1:24 PM | Link to this
Dusty your party is……. “ImPalining”…..
Tom Davis Gives Up By PETER BAKER
He was a star in the Republican Party. Now, like dozens of his G.O.P. colleagues, Tom Davis is quitting Congress, fed up with his party, his president and the process.
Boy now here is a REAL REPUBLICAN………….
I am sure he has a few things to say about ……
“Republican Family Values”
McLost Picked a Tax evader for Running mate…….and you folks HONESTLY THINK……..She is capable of Running the country ?
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA …………..!!!!!!!!!
By Kip
October 4, 2008 1:26 PM | Link to this
Jim, you know it and I know it relative to the tax increases, but unfortunately we should never underestimate the ignorance of the voting populace. I fear Obama/Biden are going to win this thing big and the whining will begin a year or so after the massive tax increases. Of course Obama will say the tax increases were necessary because Bush left the country in such a mess, defecit…etc. It’s going to be a rought next 4 years….
By Captain Freedom
October 4, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this
THE Captain wonders what Mr Wooten has against South Carolina. Why would our host call out a South Cackelacky beauty queen as non plus ultra of base ignorance, when we have plenty of homegrown beauty queens every bit as bubble headed as theirs? THE Captain suspects that proud sons of Alabama and Louisiana will soon rise up and protest their states’ exclusion from this comparison.
By Peter
October 4, 2008 1:34 PM | Link to this
Hey Kip……..
What’s your plan to get the country out of debt ?
I would be interested in “The Plan”…..
A question Sarah Palin failed to answer as of yet.
By getalife
October 4, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
The States are lining up for socialism.
Americans are buying ammo and getting ready for the collapse of America:
Taxes are the least of our problems Jim.
Lets hope our enemies do not attack us while we are collapsing.
By Justaskin
October 4, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this
Are you talking about the McCain Tax Surge? When he taxes my employer furnished healthcare so I can pay a lot more income tax and have less benefits. Or maybe you are talking about the NO TAX CUT for working families so he can give it to the oil companies and his millionaire friends. Poor dumb redneck republicans will cut their own throats financially just to keep Obama out of the WHITE House!
P.S. Britney Palin winkin, blinkin and turnin her head looked like a crackho with Tourette’s.
By Dusty
October 4, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this
Whew…looks like a severe case of blogitis today. Symptoms: Peter is carried away screaming on a stretch babbling about tax evaders, alligators and darth Vaders..
Churchill’s mom gets all excited over “might”. Doesn’t take much, does it?
Captain Freedom missed out (as usual) on one of the funniest answers of the year from Miss Teen Age America of 2007 who happened to be from South Carolina. She concocted a confetti answer out of a map question. Try Google for a smile.
getalife is busy digging a foxhole. Hope he knows that rattlesnakes are very active in his parts i.e. Louisiana. At least he’ll have SOMETHING to shoot. He’s ready!! Rifle, sword and slingshot!!
Justaskin thinks rich oil companies gonna get those big tax cuts !! Yes sir, we GOTTA take from the rich and give to the poor.
Suppose we get rid of THOSE oil companies, huh Justa? Who ya think is gonna supply you with gasoline? The Boy Scouts? Who ya think is going to be looking for new oil supplies? Sierra Club? Tax cuts spur economic development, such as new sources of energy.
Suppose YOU, Justa, stop using gasoline and that will solve the problem. No gasoline!! No money to BIG OIL! That’s it, Justa. Bicycles are NEAT. Better still, USE YOUR FEET!
By Peter
October 4, 2008 3:34 PM | Link to this
Very Funny Dusty………
By Dusty
October 4, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this
Whew…looks like a severe case of blogitis today. Symptoms: Peter is carried away screaming on a stretch babbling about tax evaders, alligators and darth Vaders..
What do you have to say about all the Republican Congress folks quitting ?
Tom Davis Gives Up By PETER BAKER
He was a star in the Republican Party. Now, like dozens of his G.O.P. colleagues, Tom Davis is quitting Congress, fed up with his party, his president and the process.
Are they …….. “ImPalining”
By Grading Wooten
October 4, 2008 3:48 PM | Link to this
What is the mission of US troops in Iraq?
800 billion is the price of the bailout. Clever slight of hand, Wooten.
But what I want to focus the troll’s attention on is the article itself. the title suggests a new approach to exposing tax and spend democrats, who without question would, if unchecked by a two party system, ruin all these great economic times W provided with eight years of fine tuning.
But look at the mess Wooten wrote. He gets a C-. Y?
Because by the fifth sentence, the reader is knocked senseless by triteness. Why go with the overused, now obsolete phrase, “Smarter than a 5th grader”? Wooten lost half his audience right there. The shelf life of using a title of a clever, unusual game show is the following tuesday, OKAY?
Wooten, I know you’ve had to dumb this thing down, but respect the learning curve, dig? cool. (eye roll)
Then, in the main body of your blog, you referred to a wow factor. Nobody could wade through that and come away with anything more than a knot in the connection between their brain and their eyeball. Too wordy. You presume too much. It’s not that conversational tones are innappropriate in a blog setting, it’s that you forget that subject matter dictates tone, which dictates structure.
Everybody repeat this, because it’s important: Subject matter dictates tone; tone dictates structure.
Taxes implies a serious tone. Like Death, try joking about death or taxes. But Wooten immediately goes to the “smarter than a fifth grader” cliche. Wooten, you dont know what you’re doing. I can say to your face that you stink.
but i love you. I’m your biggest fan, and I know you’ll be a big star someday. you and I should write a book. You, with your far right evangelical lunatic fringe view of politics and man’s rights as our founders saw them when they rebeled against tyranny, and my counterpoint, that is……my…my….Cara mia why? must we say goodbye?
C-
By Cornelia
October 4, 2008 3:49 PM | Link to this
If you say give a Washington Outsider, then you need to BOOT McCain, he has been part of the Washington establishment for YEARS…
By Analchord
October 4, 2008 4:03 PM | Link to this
You all know who I am. I told you that Obama wins by a landslide that will compete with Reagans knockout of Mondale. I think Mondale got 4 electoral votes. McCain will get more than 4.
It’s in the air. It’s in the zeitgeist. Paul Newman in dead, baby boomers. Your parents are Paul Newman’s age. Time moves on. The economy, and thus political momentum, moves in CYCLES
I’m going to stick my deck out here and say that Obama will only get four years. I say that because I’m under the spell of the SnowWitch. Dont listen to me. I am under severe pain and stress from the spell. I can barely type these words. Palin is the SnowWitch. She is going to kill me. She knows I’m the only one who can stop her….auuughhh…..vote for Obama in….2 thousand…and……twel……..ugh
(the ajc regrets to report that analchord has died. no cause of death can be determined, but we’re sure it’s because of his lifestyle, in which he lived as a no good, dirty, lyin’ thievin’, yellah piece of government cheese-eatin’ lazy liberal trash)!!!!!
By Captain Freedom
October 4, 2008 5:01 PM | Link to this
Sister Dusty wrongly (naturally) assumes that the rest of the world is as ill-informed and sheltered from the verities of the day as she is. THE Captain assures Dusty that He did not miss that particular clip of Miss South Carolinny and her VPILF-quality answer to a softball question. THE Captain urges Our St John to consider Miss South Carolina as a replacement should Sarah Plain decide to withdraw from the race to return to Wasilla to spend more time with her family and lover. From my recall of the video clip, young Miss SC does not even use note cards to achieve her Palinesque heights of rhetoric. Just think of how such a Bold and Mavericky move would captivate the electorate and focus everyone once again on Johnny Sidekick’s mad skilz of judgement.
So saith THE Captain, and tis very true indeed.
By Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST
October 4, 2008 5:17 PM | Link to this
Our new signs, I’ll do anything for money.
http://www.safehavenpointe.com/signs.html
By Analchord
October 4, 2008 5:18 PM | Link to this
Tis very true what the cap’n doth sayeth in the above comment, it ‘tis.
(okay, here’s your chance, dusty, write these five letters: zzzzz)
‘muff said
By ron
October 4, 2008 5:37 PM | Link to this
Dusty—- Next year I’m thinking about joining the World Naked Bike Ride.I’ll buy a bicycle built for two if you go with me.
By Time Will Tell
October 4, 2008 5:45 PM | Link to this
Obama is probably going to get his four years. He won’t get more than that. With a totally Democratic controlled Congress (which, with it’s greedy brothers in the Republican Congress, have overseen the undoing of America), there is no limit to the damage this man can do. These same people that sold out America are going to have ultimate power now. Then the revolution is going to begin. That revolution is going to begin in about two years when losers like Barney Frank, Christopher Dodd and Pelosi are thrown out and it will continue through the next election cycle. We Americans are tired of these people in both parties. Blacks, whites and hispanics will be disgusted by Obama in about one year into his presidency. He is not going to be the Black Jesus for the blacks because he can’t be. America is broken and life for blacks is not going to be better, just like it won’t be for the rest of us, because he is president. Our problems will not be fixed by tax and spend. It will be interesting to see all of the media that now so adamantly supports him turn on him. They will turn with the people. Everybody thinks that Bush is the worst president ever. He is terrible but he did one thing well; he kept us from being attacked on our own soil by muslim terrorists. Let’s see if Obama will.
By Dusty
October 4, 2008 5:56 PM | Link to this
Ah PoFo…. but the Captain is worth so much more than five zzzzz. He is worth at least seven or eight zzzzzzzz. But I shall answer him in my usual forthright manner. Yes!
Captain Freedom has lost his compass. He wanders in the wilderness of finest finesse. He hath lied!!! Of course he sneaked a peak at Miss Tenn Age America video and then loudly proclaimed “I knew that. I knew that!!
And then to attach all his liberal liberties to the remarkable Mrs. Palin, a sharpshooter of moose(s?) which of course puts the Captain in mortal(or is it moose) danger. Mrs. Palin has no fear of donkeys, moose(s) or anything else resembling the Captain who firmly backs the nebulous neophyte of numbered nonsense aka Obama the Obscurer.
I return to my worthy pursuits and will not tangle the fragile cranial strands of the Captain’s tender thoughts. It will only bring more zzzzzzzz to us.
By Dusty
October 4, 2008 6:00 PM | Link to this
Dear ron, 5:37
Thanks for the invite but I do not have an all over tan. Sorry ‘bout that. Let me know how you COME OUT.
By Captain Freedom
October 4, 2008 6:24 PM | Link to this
A Captain anti-Kudo to ron, whose ill advised invite to Sister Dusty has created a mental image so toxic as to put any sentient person off their food for days. Oh, the humanity.
Just picture it…fold after fold of mottled, necroticized flesh, a pustulent prairie of pimpled and purple protoplasm perched precariously in a purulent pile.
{{{erp}}}
Sorry. THE Captain just threw up in His mouth just a little. The thought of Dusty at all, much less of her skanktabulosity on a velocipede in the altogethre…well, there is only so much a Man can take.
Have a fine Saturday night everyone, if it is even possible now. Thanks for nothing, Ron.
By Commander Guy
October 4, 2008 9:14 PM | Link to this
Poster Time Will Tell nearly found a coherent truth near the end of his post.
“Everybody thinks that Bush is the worst president ever. He is terrible but he did one thing well; he kept us from being attacked on our own soil by muslim terrorists.”
Well, not quite everybody. There are still the dead-enders like Wooten and Dustbowl who cling to fantasy. So, almost true.
“He is terrible…”
Yes. Bravo, and well done, blind squirrel.
“…but he did one thing well; he kept us from being attacked on our own soil by muslim terrorists.”
MASSIVE FAIL. In fact, he failed at this utterly, despite persistent warnings throughout the first months of his presidency. “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US” according to his own briefing report. Yet, the manchild fiddled about on his “ranch” and let thousands die through his own callow ineptitude and stupidity.
Odd, isn’t it, that the main thing he gets credit for is something he actually failed to do.
Worst. President. Ever. game over.
By Redneck Convert
October 5, 2008 8:25 AM | Link to this
Well, I’m headed down to the Church of Holiness in a few minutes to hear the Rev. Postlewaite blast this Obama. The Rev. is part of the bunch of preachers that are telling the IRS to go hang and letting it all loose. The Rev. Postlewaite still ain’t as good as the Rev. Jim Bob Buice, but they won’t let the Rev. Jim Bob around kids no more after going to prison over being found in the bushes with that nekkid boy.
We need to pull out all the stops in the next 30 days to keep a Terrist and one of Those People from taking over the White House. I saw last night a poll that said this Obama already had 353 of the 270 election votes he needed to win. They even say old Saxby and that NC Sen. Dole are in big trouble.
The good Gov. Palin is already taking out after Obama about being pals with a Terrist that blowed up guvmint buildings, and more will follow. The rest of us need to get on the innernet tubes and e-mail to talk about how he’s a towelhead that went to a towelhead school and how he will raise all our taxes and get rid of churches and abuse our good White women by treating them all the way Clinton treated that intern. I would hate to see Sister Dusty and @@ wearing knee pads and getting abused every day.
It don’t look much better for us men. If Obama gets elected old jbmlaw or Raghead or whatever he calls hisself will have to get to work just to pay his taxes, instead of spending half of his time on this blog and charging people 400 bucks a hour while he does it.
Anyhow, it’s about time for church. I’ll be checking in later to see what people have to say. Have a good Sabbath everybody. If you got it, drink it, but don’t try to buy any on my Holy Day. Tell this ron to stop painting pictures of him and Sister Dusty nekkid on a bicycle built for two. Some of us like to build up a good appetite for the Sunday trip to Ryans.
By Bo Chambliss LOBBYIST
October 5, 2008 8:34 AM | Link to this
Score:: Saxby 1—-McCain 0..Saxby takes care of his paying LOBBYIST.
Not without an economic message. McCain’s most persistent attempt, his self-righteous crusade against earmarks, collapsed with his poll numbers. Next to a $700 billion bailout package, his incessant promise to eliminate all Washington pork — by comparison, a puny grand total of $16.5 billion in the 2008 federal budget — doesn’t bring home the bacon. Nor can McCain reconcile his I-will-veto-government-waste mantra with his support, however tardy, of the bailout bill. That bill’s $150 billion in fresh pork includes a boondoggle inserted by the Congressman Don Young, an Alaskan Republican no less.
By Chad Hartley
October 5, 2008 8:53 AM | Link to this
You know…I use to read Jim’s comments…….Who cares anymore. It is the same old thing, over and over. AJC, please get someone new, who is inspiring and has some intelligence.
By @@
October 5, 2008 8:56 AM | Link to this
Loved that bucket analogy Thompson delivered at the convention. The “business raising to pay for” is, without a doubt, the simplest concept that SHOULD be understood by any and all. Why it isn’t amazes me.
I’m thinkin’ that these leftists are covert. They’re next plan of attack to our free America will be to implement price fixing like Hugo. Of course, that’ll be after all industry is nationalized, regulated, and virtually ground into dust. We’ll all be forced into slave labor under the government.
Anyhoo, enough with the doomsday dems.
For some strange reason, I’ve always liked Joe Biden. It was a rare occasion that I caught Ann Coulter the other night declaring that Joe was delusional. I prefer her term, “delusional” to “big fat liar”.
There was a look on Joe’s face when Governor Palin went after Joe’s campaign criticisms of Barack OBlahMa that said it all. It was like “I can’t believe she just did that.” “Who does she think she is?”
Another debate encounter that amused me was when Palin picked up on Joe’s nuanced answer to the same-sex marriage question. Gwen Ifill joined in the fun. From the transcript:
IFILL: Do you support, as they do in Alaska, granting same-sex benefits to couples?
BIDEN: Absolutely. Do I support granting same-sex benefits? Absolutely positively. Look, in an Obama-Biden administration, there will be absolutely no distinction from a constitutional standpoint or a legal standpoint between a same-sex and a heterosexual couple.
PALIN: But I will tell Americans straight up that I don’t support defining marriage as anything but between one man and one woman, and I think through nuances we can go round and round about what that actually means.
But I’m being as straight up with Americans as I can in my non-support for anything but a traditional definition of marriage.
IFILL: Let’s try to avoid nuance, Senator. Do you support gay marriage?
BIDEN: No………
Priceless.
By Conservative Republican
October 5, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this
By Eve Fairbanks Sunday, October 5, 2008; Page B01
Sure, 91 House Republicans finally voted to pass a tweaked version of the financial bailout bill Friday. But for the GOP’s big honchos, last Monday’s defeat in the House of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.’s plan was still the most stinging humiliation they’ve suffered in years. To unlock the mystery of the earlier bill’s stunning rejection, consider two numbers: 82 and 0. The first is the percentage of retiring Republican representatives who voted for the bill. The second is the percentage of Republican freshmen who did.
Think about that for a moment. The GOP’s retirees, the people who finally no longer have to make anybody happy, went overwhelmingly for the bailout, but a grand total of zero GOP freshmen agreed to back the plan that their party’s president, Treasury secretary, House leader, whip and ranking member on the Financial Services Committee all begged them to support. John Boehner, the House minority leader, even teared up before the roll call as he choked out the pleading words, “Vote yes.” It’s basic math: If Boehner could have controlled his freshmen, the bill would have passed. In a political season overwhelmed with claims to audacity, it was one heck of an audacious coup.
What the GOP’s next generation did Monday was the political equivalent of a family’s babies shaking off their daddy and their mommy and their grandpa and every elder within eight branches of the family tree. But their gesture of defiance was bigger than a $700 billion bailout bill. It was the big reveal to a question we’ve been asking ever since the GOP flubbed the 2006 midterm elections and embarked on a journey of reinvention: What will the Republican Party’s new guard look like? The answer lies in that most extreme and uncompromising of numbers: zero. The new guard is fiercely stubborn, gutsily insubordinate, drama-loving and — compared with the 82-percent-for-compromise old guard — unadulteratedly ideological. And it could take the GOP off an even higher cliff than the one the party lurched off two years ago.
Therapists often say that hitting bottom can be a blessing in disguise because it gives you the chance to redefine yourself. And in the aftermath of 2006, when the Democrats retook both houses of Congress in the midterm elections, downtrodden Republicans had big dreams of redefinition. Some held onto that old-time Reagan religion. But the scribes at National Review imagined a Republican Party repackaged around pragmatic voters prone to “talk more about health care than about the budget.” Washington Post columnist and former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson hoped that the Republican brand could become more compassionate.
The 2007 presidential primary promised to provide a swift survival-of-the-fittest test for the competing new visions. When Sen. John McCain prevailed, it seemed that the winning philosophy was one that, in the main, dumped Republican orthodoxy in favor of solutions-oriented practicality. (In case you’ve been living in a spider hole this year and haven’t heard, McCain likes calling himself a maverick, a doer, a wooer of independents, a post-partisan.)
But McCain’s triumph actually hid the fact that, at the lower levels of the party, the emerging center of gravity is more conservative, not less. In the House, such young members as Jeb Hensarling (Tex.), Mike Pence (Ind.) and their ideologically purist soulmates on the Republican Study Committee (which absorbed most of the GOP freshmen) began to influence the party’s agenda from the right, clamoring to make pork-busting the GOP’s focus, demanding legislation to lower taxes and even mounting a prank revolt on a war-funding bill in May, just to flex their muscles. “The American people thought Republicans weren’t acting like Republicans,” Hensarling explained.
Across the Capitol, Hensarling’s ideological allies in the Senate, Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, hauled their own caucus rightward, forcing appropriations freezes, waylaying an intelligence authorization bill that required the administration to report on its secret CIA prisons and killing the moderate immigration reform bill backed by Bush and McCain. DeMint recently launched a political action committee that donates only to senators who have their right-wing bona fides in order. Over the last two years, these new-guard conservatives — all of whom were awarded a perfect “100” rating from the American Conservative Union in 2007 — have arguably fashioned themselves into the most listened-to Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The bailout bill was the new guard’s biggest show of force yet. Hensarling’s Republican Study Committee (“The Caucus of House Conservatives,” proclaims its Web site) gave those GOP freshmen the political cover to buck their leadership. They made it clear that their revolt was more over principle than over details, a stand on behalf of what one GOP Hill staffer calls “true, rock-ribbed, hard-core conservatism.” Hensarling derided the bailout as the “slippery slope to socialism,” while his ally Tom Feeney (Fla.) insisted that the crisis was actually produced by a failure to adequately venerate deregulation. Another young Turk, Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), even compared the bailout to the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. (I suppose that makes George W. Bush a communist. I told you these guys were audacious.)
Not every Republican is happy about the rise of the new conservatives. Washington Post political reporter Dan Balz wrote last week of “a veteran of a past Republican administration” who “could barely spit out his contempt Monday for the actions of the House Republicans. ‘They would rather be right in their views — that ideology counts more, that ideology is crucial in any decision — rather than making incremental progress.’ ”
But Republicans like that guy will have to get used to the growing influence of the conservatives. They have enthusiasm and demographics on their side. Moderate Republicans are getting offed all along the Eastern seaboard; eager grassroots activists are nominating right-wingers such as New Mexico’s Steve Pearce and Virginia’s Jim Gilmore in Senate primaries; and the American Conservative Union’s congressional ratings dramatically show which way the wind is blowing. The Republicans who are retiring this year got an average ACU rating of 78 in 2007, placing them squarely between conservatism and centrism. But by my calculations, the Republican freshmen — the vanguard of the generation that will be replacing these fleeing moderates — got an average rating of 97.
If you’re a true, rock-ribbed, hard-core conservative, you’re probably happy about all this. As a card-carrying moderate weenie, I’m not, obviously. But it’s not just the policies of the GOP’s new guard that spell trouble; it’s the attitude. What these young Turks do share with McCain is a taste for the grand gesture and the attention-getting stunt, the determination not to go gently into defeat and the psychological pleasure derived from creating a whole lot of political Sturm und Drang. After their May revolt on the war-funding bill, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) challenged Mike Pence about why on Earth his faction had bolted on what was supposed to be bipartisan legislation. “Never stop fighting,” Pence replied.
But all this drama, fun as it is, doesn’t make you look like you’re ready to be at the governing wheel. (See McCain, John, and recent polling.) And it’s this attitude — the thrill of doubling down on ideology, of damning those torpedoes — that helped get people such as Pearce and Gilmore nominated in states that obviously won’t support their degree of conservatism. They’ll probably lose in November, and Republicans will be two Senate seats closer to being ideological irritants rather than the Democrats’ serious rivals.
If the GOP’s ultimate goal is to take down the Democrats and regain power, then I’ll let Jeb Hensarling make the case against his new guard’s strategy in his own words. After the 2006 defeat, Hensarling laid out how he thought the GOP should proceed: “Like mosquitoes in a nudist colony,” he said, “Republicans will have more than enough opportunities to show the voters we deserve our conservative brand back.” It’s just the strategy of ideological irritation and provocation he went on to undertake.
An attack of mosquitoes in a nudist colony would, quite literally, be a frightful pain in the bum. But who thinks that nudism will meet its end because of mosquitoes?
By Analchord
October 5, 2008 9:01 AM | Link to this
Sarah Palin refers to herself as a Maverick. That’s not accurate. She’s more of a “Have Gun Will Travel”
Sarah Paladin 08: Have gun. Will wrangle.
Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam? Paladin, Paladin, far, far from Nome….
Sarah Paladin 08: Have guns. Will poach. Wolves. Moose. Liberals.
Last night’s SNL parody wrote itself, and that’s what was wrong with it. One easy bit they missed was having Gwen ask Palin a Q, and Palin pulling out a shotgun and yelling “PULL” and firing it into the camera. Then show Gwen’s face in close up with multiple pellet wounds on her face, no mugging, no reaction, just, “That hurt, Governor.”
Then show Sarah Paladin vogueing cute and saying, “I think every american and joe six-shooter deserves a clear field of fire, and anyone who gets in the way is anti gun rights!!!!”
Pull, baby, Pull!
By William L Fell
October 5, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this
How can anyone be for the republican party after the damage they have wrought on this country over the last seven and one-half years? Voting republican is a betrayal of the USA.
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 5, 2008 9:08 AM | Link to this
Dear Redneck @ 8:25, you err - there is always the John Galt solution.
Best comic post so far, Washington State yesterday @ 1:16, suggesting that there has been a democrat Congress capable of balancing a budget in the last 70 years (yes, I know 1969 was an exception, but that reflected more trickery than substance.)
By Hulak
October 5, 2008 9:28 AM | Link to this
Can someone please explain this to me? Obama/Biden spout off that they are going to cut taxes for 95% of the people! How is this possible when approx 35-40% of americans pay no taxes at all? How can you cut someone’s taxes who doesn’t even pay?
Also, if you look at the opinion section in today’s paper you’ll see that under Mccain the middle income earners actually would pay less than under Obama!! Why is no one talking about this?
By Bernie B
October 5, 2008 9:29 AM | Link to this
I can’t believe you think that Palin is the right choice for VP. Please don’t go on about her executive experience. There are small companies that had more employees that the town she was mayor of. Wink all she wants, she still doesn’t have a clue. No substance. As to MaCain what happened to all the Republicans who could not stand him during the primaries?
By Rev. Destiny
October 5, 2008 9:55 AM | Link to this
Open sermon to whom it may concern, on a topic that shall not raise the ire of the IRE ARE ESS…
I see you everywhere. Goatee and baseball cap. You and your friend are out on a double-date with a couple of hot, well dressed young woman at a nice restaurant. You’ve done your best trying to dress up, picked out your least wrinkled pants and your least faded polo shirt, tucked in tight to emphasize your burgeoning beer belly. But you keep your damn baseball cap on through the entire dinner, ratty edges and all. Didn’t ya mama ever teach you to take off your hat inside? Have you had the damned hat since you were 7 years old or something? Afraid your dick might fall off if you show your head?
And that f00king goatee. Jumping Jesus on a trampoline, man…either grow the whole f00king beard or shave your chin. Goatees are the facial hair of the half-hearted and of sportscasters with hair plugs, feverishly clinging to some semblance of youth and hipness. Forget it. It’s over. You are not now nor have you ever been cool. Goatees were cool once for about ten minutes back when Lawrence Ferlinghetti was young. (you can look it up) When they returned in the 80s, they were the fashion statement of f00kwit Reaganistas who listened to Huey Lewis. It has only gotten worse.
Your friends are embarassed to tell you. Your girlfriend would like to shove that filthy cap in your a55. The only people who think your goatee and hat look good are brethren f000ktards who can’t cope with becoming a fully functioning adult.
Please. May the Holy Spaghetti Monster in the Sky spare me this fashion misstatement, or at the very least smite those who would perpetuate this horror with His Great Noodly Appendage.
To paraphrase the great Wesley Willis:
Shave that goata55
Shave that goata55
Cut that nappy rat’s pu55y off your face
Shave that goata55
Shave that goata55
Ask your friend for a razor
And beg him to burn your UGA cap
Tell him you’re tired of looking like a jerk. Shave that goata55 Shave that goata55
Adn thus concludes today’s sermon. Next week…pants suits in university colors on women in their 50s.
By LOL
October 5, 2008 9:57 AM | Link to this
Yeah, Ragnar, that Washington State bit was funny! You have a great sense of humor too.
Captain Freedom at 6:24 pm last night broke two cardinal rules of blogging: No onomatopoeia, (erp), and no alliteration that stinks.
You’re a bad man, Cap’n Knucklehead, You’re a VERY bad man.
And leave Dusty alone. We get it. SHe’s a troll. Like we haven’t already stopped reading her months ago.
Dusty: If you wanna be read again, at least for a while, change your ID.
Duhng: Nobody reads anything in italics. I triple crossed you into thinking that I dont want you to use italics, so you use them. I’ve never known a bigger fall guy than you..ever.
JKLOL
By ron
October 5, 2008 10:01 AM | Link to this
Yesterday Sister Dusty bruised my ego a mite,but I’ll survive.
Massachusetts is making “bail me out too” noises.48 states left to be heard from.
I read tha $700 billion is not going to get the banks to free up any credit at this time.Surprise,surprise.
On Monday,after a weekend to reconsider,the market may go back up a bit,but be aware that the traders have now won a huge victory over the taxpayer and like all blackmailers,they will be back for much more.
This morning I read what one is supposed to do when facing foreclosure,but the advice all seemed to be just for getting the bank a few more payments out of the foreclosee.The foreclosure was imminent and non-negotiable.
Obama and Bill Ayers is a union that needs to be scrutinized closely.For some reason the media has given him a pass on this and he doesn’t deserve one.A community organizer is a rabble rouser with a mission and Obama worked closely with Ayers during the rabble rousing times.This time they may get to the reason I don’t trust Obama.
I haven’t looked into the rumor that the police were harrasing Obama nay sayers in Missouri.
Cynthia McKinney has come up with a good accusation against the Government.Not good in the sense of believeability but good in the sense of ,WoW!Anothe conspiracy theory by a nutcase.
By Jim Jr.
October 5, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception (Hardcover)
by Scott McClellan (Author)
Your Government Failed You: Breaking the Cycle of National Security Disasters (Hardcover) by Richard A. Clarke (Author)
Study: False statements preceded war By DOUGLASS K. DANIEL, Associated Press Writer 19 minutes ago WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks. The study concluded that the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.” The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism. Four more years – John (George Jr) McCain
By getalife
October 5, 2008 10:36 AM | Link to this
[The Fall of America, Inc.] (http://www.newsweek.com/id/162401)
A neocon wrote that.
By Ragmop Duty
October 5, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this
Ron’s understanding of the bailout is surpassed only by the depth of his misunderstanding of the code.
I donts be expectin’ to be respectin’ no mans whats dontz lives by the code.
2B fair, few actually dig the bailout. And they’re all taking the fifth, like OJ did. I only know that the treasury secretary never mentioned the foreign banks he’s bailing out along with AIG, for which Goldman Sachs, his former employer, had a 20 billion dollar stake.
These crooks have our government by the throat. IT’s a defacto coup perpetrated by pirates. Real skull and crossbones.
WE’re in unchartered economic territory. Where capitalism is being destroyed by the very human nature that made capitalism go: greed. The old argument was that a man wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning if: A). He was married to Sarah Palin. B). He couldn’t make money exploiting the ignorance and trust of others C). He couldn’t earn money honestly by pulling himself up by his bootstraps and being an entrepreneur.
C was the correct answer, but wallstreet has shown us that you have to cheat to win. Nice guys, honest guys, and joe sixpack finish last.
Those who do make billions are embarrassed by their riches as they approach the grave. They sometimes even just give it all away, hoping to buy penance for the sins they committed accumulating all that wealth.
Capitalism makes one millionaire for every 100 slaves. I dont think capitalism works without war, or slaves, so you?
We need to change the entire way we do business in the USA. We need to enforce the Securities Laws already on the books, and initiate legislation to account for the evolution of graft as it dodges the legal safeguards we have in place.
jklol Buy Wachovia.
By Donovan
October 5, 2008 11:03 AM | Link to this
A firestorm of hatred from the liberals who are voting for this Obama thing that the Democrats have selected as their weapon of choice to furhter their ruinous agenda. Donkey seems to have the visionary leg up on the rest of you idiots that think that Obama is the Messiah. Sarah Palin is the common sense vote and a threat to the Democrat ticket. When threatened, the Democrat Party reacts in a predictable fashion. They assassinate the character of their opponent like Clinton did when all his female victims exposed him. Don’t listen to all these fools who want Obama to wreck what’s left of this country. Only fools follow fools. Nice piece by Wooten. Jim, please try to convince Bookman and Tucker that they are poisoning the well.
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 5, 2008 11:12 AM | Link to this
Dear Bernie B @ 9:29, we’re still here. i did not vote for Captain Queeg, but I did vote for Sarah Reagan for VP. The reason so many of us joined at http://www.getdrunkandvote4McCain.com is, as Chairman Ann noted so eloquently, “Liberals demanding to know difference between McCain and Bush - How about they answer how Obama is different from Karl Marx?”
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 5, 2008 11:18 AM | Link to this
Chairman Ann put a funny picture on her alternate site. Everyone needs to see the poster of Sarah Maximus with the label, “Dick Cheney in a dress.” At the aforementioned “getdrunkandvote4mccain.com” site.
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 5, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Apologies PoFo, obviously that should read “Sarah Maxima.”
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 5, 2008 11:30 AM | Link to this
Dear PoFo @ 9:01, just read this post, pretty funny, one of your best.
By Cal
October 5, 2008 11:35 AM | Link to this
The biggest thing I see going on in this election is the no more Bush. People seem to think that John McCain is Bush. They are going to elect Obama president because of the Bush years. This is the same attitude that elected Jimmy Carter and we see what he did to this country.
By Jackie
October 5, 2008 12:29 PM | Link to this
Every appearance by Gov. Palin further solidifies the thought the Repubs are desperate and need to have something else to talk about other than the issues.
She accused Obama of paling around with “domestic terrorist”, never mentioning the fact the William Ayers was never convicted of any of the acts he was charged with.
Makes one wonder if Gov. Palin did read something that she could remember.
I wonder if she will be able to read the papers that accuse her of abuse of power in he current position and can she adequately defend those charges when she is sent back to Alaska?
By getalife
October 5, 2008 12:33 PM | Link to this
Rove Gives Map To Obama Criticizes McCain Strategy.
Todd said he is one State away from clinching.
But McCain will go negative and the race will tighten. obl will make a tape to help McCain so he can stay free. They are famous for attacking after an election.
One more month of insanity while our country collapses.
If McCain was country first, he would attack the ones that caused this globalization meltdown for greed not Obama.
By Stone
October 5, 2008 1:08 PM | Link to this
Jackie- OJ wasn’t convicted of killing his wife either, guess that means he didn’t do it, huh? Williams Ayers has admitted to being a part of the bombing campaign so your arguement, as usual holds no water.
By getalife
October 5, 2008 1:50 PM | Link to this
“British commander says war in Afghanistan cannot be won :
Britain’s commander in Afghanistan has said the war against the Taliban cannot be won, the Sunday Times reported. “We’re not going to win this war,” says Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith”
Freaking Taliban are undefeated like our lobbyists.
Damn.
By Ga Values
October 5, 2008 1:56 PM | Link to this
getalife 10:36 AM
Thanks for the link, good thought proviking article.
By getalife
October 5, 2008 2:16 PM | Link to this
Here is another.
“After the Senate approved the $700 billion bank bailout, the majority leader, Harry Reid, tried to persuade his colleagues to address another economic calamity before they left town for the long election recess. He urged them to extend unemployment benefits for 800,000 jobless Americans. In the face of Republican opposition, the measure failed. Benefits start expiring this week. So much for Main Street.” NY Times editorial.
Countries will fall but the rich got paid.
By Ragmop Duty
October 5, 2008 3:08 PM | Link to this
Obama 08: He’s right for what’s left of America.
Paladin 08: Have bun (in oven) will blame liberals.
By Scholar
October 5, 2008 3:56 PM | Link to this
Donovan,
“Sarah Palin is the common sense vote…”
No where in your post did you even mention McCain. Don’t forget that McCain is the other half of that ticket. I guess I can’t blame you, as Palin has overshadowed McCain.
What does that say about McCain when all the press goes to his half-wit running mate?
Anyway, Palin has energized the dumbest of the Republican base and given them a new figure head to pleasure themselves to at night (sorry Ronnie, your picture is now in the trash).
By Ragnar Danneskjöld
October 5, 2008 4:20 PM | Link to this
Dear Scholar @ 3:56, it’s a character-thing, you wouldn’t understand.
By Ragmop Duty
October 5, 2008 4:28 PM | Link to this
Scholar. Great parody.
You creamed Donovan, who is no longer a sunshine superman.
I think with your contributions here, and duhng’s unwittingly obsequious blue state promos, which I totally manipulated him into thinking he’s doing the opposite, we should get that 65/35 landslide for Obama, who’s right for what’s left of America, in November.
The reason that the media keeps reporting that the “race is tight”, is that who would tune in if people realize it’s over.
One more possibility. The GOP will try to steal this election again with diebold fraud etc. And if they do, and America realizes that nobody even voted for Palin, then we’ll have a chance for revolution and overthrow this Cheney state, this defacto W coup, which has our country being run by foreign defense contractors. (hello saudi royal family)
We are a colony of the Islamic Superstate of Saudi Arabia.
Know it. Believe it. Internalize it. Bless it. Amen it. Corroborate it.
Diebold 08: You aint electing nobody.
By "Spank" the monkey
October 5, 2008 5:09 PM | Link to this
Ragmop Duty, aka post haste, aka Po Fo, political foreskin, Oz, Analcord sounds like I’m getting to you fraud. The cat’s out of the bag my sick friend.
By getalife
October 5, 2008 5:41 PM | Link to this
“Clinton said Biden called and asked her to fill in for him because of the family emergency. Rather than sharing her thoughts, she said, “I want to share with you the eloquent remarks that Joe had prepared.”
Clinton sought to tie McCain to Bush, saying the Arizona senator offered voters “more of the same.”
“He’s not a maverick. He’s a mimic,” she said.”
Need to get the green job bubble going, back to the Clinton taxes and trash the failed ideology of the right.
By hotlanta
October 6, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this
McShame needs to lay off Ayers before Barack brings out the gangsters from the Keating 6. Considering these economic times the really needs to chill on that.
By hotlanta
October 6, 2008 8:38 AM | Link to this
McShame needs to lay off Ayers before Barack brings out the gangsters from the Keating 6. Considering these economic times the really needs to chill on that.
By wdr
October 6, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this
So dunkey, I guess you have facts to back-up your assertions. As a matter of fact, we are well on our way, thanks to the guy you voted for, TWICE!! Repugs like you have no value system, NONE!!
By Tell It Like It Is
October 6, 2008 9:07 AM | Link to this
It is quite interesting how McCann and Palin are trying to link Obama to terrorist and a lack of love and respect for America when in fact most Americans are linked to terrorist in the past. For many years, good white citizens set in their churches on Sunday mornings knowing that the KKK and other white sepremacists groups were actively murdering blacks and jews(Andrew Goodman , Michael Schwerner, Viola Liuzzo,Lemmuel Penn, James Chaney, the four little girls in a Sunday school in Birmingham and many many more.
Thanks to the liberal media, these atrocities were made known to the world thus making it known that America has its own human rights issues. Thank god that we all(Blacks, Whites, Jews) overcame this and we are now in a position to elect a non-white candidate based on qualifications and character. Lets not allow the ambition to be president bring all the cultral diffrences and biases out again. We survived the Civil War but our country may not survive this especially in times of bad economic conditions.
By wdr
October 6, 2008 9:20 AM | Link to this
B.Franks,
Ready or not, get use to the fact; Senator Obama and Senator Biden will be our next President and Vice President. Now, take your racist garbage and go hide in a landfill.
By Ralph Emerson
October 6, 2008 11:33 AM | Link to this
I can’t believe that after 8 years of a leadership which has appointed people to positions of responsibility at practically every level of government with no more qualification than loyalty to the party’s talking points; after 8 years of this party infecting the country with an “ideology of thievery” and “casino capitalism”; after 8 years of this party fumbling, pandering to corrupt lobbyists, forcing us into a war that could lead to our international political and economic downfall—and then hiring as the presidential candidate’s campaign manager a man who took $15,000 a month from either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae for little more than being a friend of John McCain—after all this you still think anything remotely resembling the Republican party has ANYTHING to contribute to getting us out the mess we’re in????!!!!!?????
Virtually the entire planet is feeling the pain of this party’s possibly criminal neglect. No wonder they’re ridiculing us for our political, diplomatic, and economic policies and practices, and you’re going to vote Republican again???!!!???
Yes, I know that Democrats are far from perfect, and yes I know the Democrats didn’t do enough to stand up to the onslaught and staunch the bleeding. But this country is on the brink of economic ruin, and you cannot deny that Republicans have stood the watch for the last eight years. If this debacle had happened on a Democratic watch, there would be screams for restoring beheading to our penal code.
This administration’s ideologies, policies and practices have already reduced the overall wealth of every man, woman and child this country by something on the order of 15 to 20 percent, I’ll wager. Wouldn’t we have been better off to have lost this wealth to taxes which would have been invested in the restoration of America’s tattered and decaying economic and social infrastructure? And, guess what. This restoration would have created good ol’, home grown American jobs.
By Ralph Emerson
October 6, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this
I can’t believe that after 8 years of a leadership which has appointed people to positions of responsibility at practically every level of government with no more qualification than loyalty to the party’s talking points; after 8 years of this party infecting the country with an “ideology of thievery” and “casino capitalism”; after 8 years of this party fumbling, pandering to corrupt lobbyists, forcing us into a war that could lead to our international political and economic downfall—and then hiring as the presidential candidate’s campaign manager a man who took $15,000 a month from either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae for little more than being a friend of John McCain—after all this you still think anything remotely resembling the Republican party has ANYTHING to contribute to getting us out the mess we’re in????!!!!!?????
Virtually the entire planet is feeling the pain of this party’s possibly criminal neglect. No wonder they’re ridiculing us for our political, diplomatic, and economic policies and practices, and you’re going to vote Republican again???!!!???
Yes, I know that Democrats are far from perfect, and yes I know the Democrats didn’t do enough to stand up to the onslaught and staunch the bleeding. But this country is on the brink of economic ruin, and you cannot deny that Republicans have stood the watch for the last eight years. If this debacle had happened on a Democratic watch, there would be screams for restoring beheading to our penal code.
This administration’s ideologies, policies and practices have already reduced the overall wealth of every man, woman and child this country by something on the order of 15 to 20 percent, I’ll wager. Wouldn’t we have been better off to have lost this wealth to taxes which would have been invested in the restoration of America’s tattered and decaying economic and social infrastructure? And, guess what. This restoration would have created good ol’, home grown American jobs.
By ralph Emerson
October 6, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this
I can’t believe that after 8 years of a leadership which has appointed people to positions of responsibility at practically every level of government with no more qualification than loyalty to the party’s talking points; after 8 years of this party infecting the country with an “ideology of thievery” and “casino capitalism”; after 8 years of this party fumbling, pandering to corrupt lobbyists, forcing us into a war that could lead to our international political and economic downfall—and then hiring as the presidential candidate’s campaign manager a man who took $15,000 a month from either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae for little more than being a friend of John McCain—after all this you still think anything remotely resembling the Republican party has ANYTHING to contribute to getting us out the mess we’re in????!!!!!?????
Virtually the entire planet is feeling the pain of this party’s possibly criminal neglect. No wonder they’re ridiculing us for our political, diplomatic, and economic policies and practices, and you’re going to vote Republican again???!!!???
Yes, I know that Democrats are far from perfect, and yes I know the Democrats didn’t do enough to stand up to the onslaught and staunch the bleeding. But this country is on the brink of economic ruin, and you cannot deny that Republicans have stood the watch for the last eight years. If this debacle had happened on a Democratic watch, there would be screams for restoring beheading to our penal code.
This administration’s ideologies, policies and practices have already reduced the overall wealth of every man, woman and child this country by something on the order of 15 to 20 percent, I’ll wager. Wouldn’t we have been better off to have lost this wealth to taxes which would have been invested in the restoration of America’s tattered and decaying economic and social infrastructure? And, guess what. This restoration would have created good ol’, home grown American jobs.
By ralph Emerson
October 6, 2008 12:00 PM | Link to this
I can’t believe that after 8 years of a leadership which has appointed people to positions of responsibility at practically every level of government with no more qualification than loyalty to the party’s talking points; after 8 years of this party infecting the country with an “ideology of thievery” and “casino capitalism”; after 8 years of this party fumbling, pandering to corrupt lobbyists, forcing us into a war that could lead to our international political and economic downfall—and then hiring as the presidential candidate’s campaign manager a man who took $15,000 a month from either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae for little more than being a friend of John McCain—after all this you still think anything remotely resembling the Republican party has ANYTHING to contribute to getting us out the mess we’re in????!!!!!?????
Virtually the entire planet is feeling the pain of this party’s possibly criminal neglect. No wonder they’re ridiculing us for our political, diplomatic, and economic policies and practices, and you’re going to vote Republican again???!!!???
You did hear that of the last 3 presidents, only the one who was a Democrat left office with the federal budget in the black. It is nearly catastrophically in deficit under the current, Republican, fiscal conservative, president.
Yes, I know that Democrats are far from perfect, and yes I know the Democrats didn’t do enough to stand up to the onslaught and staunch the bleeding. But this country is on the brink of economic ruin, and you cannot deny that Republicans have stood the watch for the last eight years. If this debacle had happened on a Democratic watch, there would be screams for restoring beheading to our penal code.
This administration’s ideologies, policies and practices have already reduced the overall wealth of every man, woman and child this country by something on the order of 15 to 20 percent, I’ll wager. Wouldn’t we have been better off to have lost this wealth to taxes which would have been invested in the restoration of America’s tattered and decaying economic and social infrastructure? And, guess what. This restoration would have created good ol’, home grown American jobs.
By ralph Emerson
October 6, 2008 12:21 PM | Link to this
Sorry for the multiple entries of my comment.
The system kept informing me that the message hadn’t gone through.
By Don
October 6, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this
How wrong is Thinking Right?
Very Wrong! For the better part of the Bush Administration teh nation has seen a vast expansion of the Federal Government through the use of expensive contractors to replace cheaper Feds. We have also seen the National Debt explode by over $5 trillion under a conservative economic philosophy that has led to economic ruin.
Y’all and I need to get our heads out of the sand and stop the Spend, Spend and Spend some more Conservative philosophy and use of our tax dollars before our very sovernity too is in harms way.
I dont know about you but we gotta change something in Washington. That change is not Mccain/Palin. I am voting Obama
By Liposuction
January 6, 2009 2:21 AM | Link to this
How is that relevant?
By Personal Injury Lawyers
February 7, 2009 11:01 PM | Link to this
If someone is affected by the peanut butter recalls should they contact a personal injury lawyer?