K
Kitty Sinatra
Well, he is right. Montreal is truly fan-fucking-tastic because of that, though.Lamont said:
Gas Bandit's Political Thread III
- Thread starter GasBandit
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GasBandit
Staff member
Sorry for my absence yesterday folks... work once again conspires to keep me from that which I love. 
rly: It looks like the next few days might be similar as well, and don't even get me started what's going to happen the last week of the month.
Hopefully tomorrow I can come back to it. Stupid work.
Ok, link time.
Good column today on government fiddling in banks and auto companies by George Will.
India and Ireland are crapping themselves over Obama's tax ideas.
The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Israel to accept a two-state solution to its conflict with Palestine.
Forbes Magazine says the recession is over.
Gallup polls show that Americans want less government control when it comes to gun ownership.
China is building up its military power and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes that this is aimed at the United States.
The White House is still on a mission to support corn ethanol.
"At the White House, We Love MSNBC." They love you too, man. They love you, too.
A man has sued the New Orleans Police Department for $1 in damages over his "right" to wear a skirt.
Government efficiency in action: Paying teachers not to teach. Where else have we heard of that sort of thing? Wasn't it the UAW?
When the budget gets tight, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declares that it's time to study whether to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use.
The Oklahoma legislature has approved legislation claiming Oklahoma's sovereignty. Overrode a veto to do it, too.
Have you ever heard of a pika? Well it could be the first animal in the contiguous states to get Endangered Species Act protection because of climate change. Pika pika. Pika!
You ever seen a Saudi beauty pageant?
rly: It looks like the next few days might be similar as well, and don't even get me started what's going to happen the last week of the month.It all started with "The Real World" on MTV, anyway.Espy said:
I didn't mean francophones. I meant francophiles. You know, lover of frenchy-type things? Opposite of francophobe? Now, granted, I haven't BEEN to montreal to count pseudofrogs, I'm just going on what the Ontarions and British Columbinoids have told meDieb said:
Man, I'm sorry but I'm not going to have the usual free hour straight to spend crafting the daily megareply and the link list today.Dieb said:
Hopefully tomorrow I can come back to it. Stupid work.Ok, link time.
Good column today on government fiddling in banks and auto companies by George Will.
India and Ireland are crapping themselves over Obama's tax ideas.
The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Israel to accept a two-state solution to its conflict with Palestine.
Forbes Magazine says the recession is over.
Gallup polls show that Americans want less government control when it comes to gun ownership.
China is building up its military power and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff believes that this is aimed at the United States.
The White House is still on a mission to support corn ethanol.
"At the White House, We Love MSNBC." They love you too, man. They love you, too.
A man has sued the New Orleans Police Department for $1 in damages over his "right" to wear a skirt.
Government efficiency in action: Paying teachers not to teach. Where else have we heard of that sort of thing? Wasn't it the UAW?
When the budget gets tight, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declares that it's time to study whether to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use.
The Oklahoma legislature has approved legislation claiming Oklahoma's sovereignty. Overrode a veto to do it, too.
Have you ever heard of a pika? Well it could be the first animal in the contiguous states to get Endangered Species Act protection because of climate change. Pika pika. Pika!
You ever seen a Saudi beauty pageant?
See, that's the thing. I was afraid you actually did mean francophiles. And now I'm thinking, if he's so obviously and complacently talking through his hat about things I actually know about, how can I trust he's not talking through his hat about things I'm not necessarily well-versed in?GasBandit said:I didn't mean francophones. I meant francophiles. You know, lover of frenchy-type things? Opposite of francophobe? Now, granted, I haven't BEEN to montreal to count pseudofrogs, I'm just going on what the Ontarions and British Columbinoids have told me
Everybody speaks French in Montréal. Almost everybody is thoroughly irritated by the French, though. Saying that there are many francophiles in Montréal, indeed in Québec, today, reveals such laughable ignorance that anything you say becomes suspect to me now. Not that you give a fuck, what makes you happy is telling people that they're deluding themselves about their own life experiences.
Posters from outside the US, by and large, are happy to let you be American. You, however, seem to resent the fact that many people are fine with not being American.
Did you read the article closely, GB?GasBandit said:
Only 15 percent, in the CNN poll, want "less government control". 85% want either more or the same level of control as now. 61% want stronger enforcement of current laws. Gallup's own most recently available public poll agrees with this.Article said:
Now if you had said, "fewer Americans want more government control when it comes to gun ownerships than before", then okay.
Quite possibly, but that link is extremely vague on the particulars. The article does not really distinguish between corn ethanol biofuel production, which is specifically growing corn to turn into biofuel, and general cellulosic material refining, which is primarily about refining already existing celluloid waste by-products (wood-chips, tree bark, vegetable husks, food production waste, etc). We've already seen that the former seems questionable, at least in its current suggested implementation, but we haven't really seen much about the latter yet.
Interesting. See any details about what that federal tax money was intended for? If they're really giving money back they don't need, good for them. If they're refusing to fund underfunded hospitals to score political points, that's a lot less admirable, IMHO.
:bush: It's a contest about who is more "moral" according to prevailing Saudi interpretations of Islam? Considering the plight of women in Saudi Arabian society, that's...just a little disturbing.
No, they aren't actually giving any money back. It's a silly resolution with claims about the Constituion that are just wrong. They're certainly not turning down any money (just like all those conservative Governors that bloviated about the stimulus). Oklahoma (and red states in general) pays way less in federal taxes than it gets back in federal spending. Which is pretty hilarious if you think about it.TeKeo said:
We scared off the ewok by using logic and the truth - his only weaknesses.
J
JCM
He always does that, dissapears for a few weeks, during my more arguementive days back on the image forums.
He´ll be back.
He´ll be back.
North_Ranger
Staff member
He better keep his mouth shut about Finland, then.
I hear Ewok fur makes good cloak material.
I hear Ewok fur makes good cloak material.
K
Kitty Sinatra
Down with GasBandit!
Long live PropaneBurglar!
Long live PropaneBurglar!
J
JCM
Who´s that?Gruebeard said:
Hank Hill wearing a mask?JCM said:
K
Kitty Sinatra
Steal the meat, not the heat.
Y
Yoink
It´s comfortable but rather smellyNorth_Ranger said:
that would be the tauntaun-intestine lining. keeps you toasty warm!
GasBandit
Staff member
Indeed, and it's a good thing you and your cohorts bring neither to the boardEdrondol said:
No, much as JCM has observed, from time to time I have to deprive you all of my presence as occasionally my comfy sinecure becomes a real, actual job where I actually have to work instead of post all day. This is one of those times. When the shit hits the fan, I'm the chief de-shitter. It's why I keep my job when for months at a stretch so much of what I do on the clock is come here and irk you guys.
I'm not out of the woods here yet, either. I might get some time in today and later this week, but that traffic director's so very with child I literally expect her water to break any day now, and then I'm REALLY in the shit because I'm the only one with the knowledge and the skill to cover for her... so we're staring down the barrel of a possibly 6-week-plus GasBandit hiatus.
PS: Finland blows.
J
JCM
WB Gas.
GasBandit
Staff member
The republicans have just been on a roll recently. Perhaps they should rename the "Straight Talk Express" the "Facepalm Express." First they get together and have a big pow-wow to decide what to do about their current emaciated state, and the best they can come up with is to start publically calling democrats socialists. And now, RNC Chairman Michael Steele has decided that the Republicans need a new way to oppose gay marriage... so they are going to say that it will affect small businesses. 
What we are witnessing here is a political party bludgeoning itself to death. People didn't stop voting republican because of democrats, people stopped voting republican because of republicans. The party abandoned conservatism in all areas except what I like to call "fake conservatism" (but what most people would label "social conservatism"), and the last two elections have simply been a choice between Democrat and "Diet Democrat."
Do you remember last week when Obama said that healthcare leaders pledged to cut costs by $2 trillion? Yeah, turns out that it isn't exactly accurate.
A column by Mark Steyn on torture, Pelosi, Cheney and the media.
According to a Rasmussen poll, 32% of Americans say they'd be willing to pay higher taxes so that the government could provide health insurance for all Americans.
The federal income taxes for every taxpayer would have to rise by roughly 81% to pay all of the benefits promised by the government under current law.
Research suggests Wal-Mart can actually reduce obesity in low-income neighborhoods.
Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be attention whores.
Thousands lose jobs due to higher minimum wage.
The Obama administration is now considering plans to detain some terror suspects on U.S. soil indefinitely and without trial. A gitmo by any other name...
The DHS report about right-wing extremists that caused such a ruckus has been withdrawn and is being rewritten.
If the Antarctic ice were to melt, the amount the sea would rise has been grossly over-estimated.
Social Security and Medicare are becoming insolvent much sooner than previously thought.
Government at work: The US will pay $2.6 million to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.
Great Britain is spending its tax dollars wisely in order to provide government healthcare. ... *snrk*
Fannie Mae needs another $19 billion from the taxpayers to stay afloat.
What we are witnessing here is a political party bludgeoning itself to death. People didn't stop voting republican because of democrats, people stopped voting republican because of republicans. The party abandoned conservatism in all areas except what I like to call "fake conservatism" (but what most people would label "social conservatism"), and the last two elections have simply been a choice between Democrat and "Diet Democrat." Do you remember last week when Obama said that healthcare leaders pledged to cut costs by $2 trillion? Yeah, turns out that it isn't exactly accurate.
A column by Mark Steyn on torture, Pelosi, Cheney and the media.
According to a Rasmussen poll, 32% of Americans say they'd be willing to pay higher taxes so that the government could provide health insurance for all Americans.
The federal income taxes for every taxpayer would have to rise by roughly 81% to pay all of the benefits promised by the government under current law.
Research suggests Wal-Mart can actually reduce obesity in low-income neighborhoods.
Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be attention whores.
Thousands lose jobs due to higher minimum wage.
The Obama administration is now considering plans to detain some terror suspects on U.S. soil indefinitely and without trial. A gitmo by any other name...
The DHS report about right-wing extremists that caused such a ruckus has been withdrawn and is being rewritten.
If the Antarctic ice were to melt, the amount the sea would rise has been grossly over-estimated.
Social Security and Medicare are becoming insolvent much sooner than previously thought.
Government at work: The US will pay $2.6 million to train Chinese prostitutes to drink responsibly on the job.
Great Britain is spending its tax dollars wisely in order to provide government healthcare. ... *snrk*
Fannie Mae needs another $19 billion from the taxpayers to stay afloat.
GasBandit said:
And I'm only using that image because I can't find one of a guy throwing something at a wall while shouting "God Damnit!" :grrr:
C
Chazwozel
Heh! I got a call from the NRA the other day about the gun restriction bills being passed through. I told them I fully support the bill.
Me, too! I told them I do not support the NRA or anything that they stand for. I thanked them for their call but that I would not be helping their cause, sending them money or staying on their calling list.Chazwozel said:
I got a click-do. Don't know what that is? Tell the NRA you think they are insane warhawks and the line goes *click* dooooooooooooooooo
-- Mon May 18, 2009 1:23 pm --
As to Gas' massive wall of text, he's right about the Republicans and the way that people are running away from them in droves. You can actually thank the Bush administration and people like Limbaugh and Palin for doing them in. Having said that, if the Democrats keep pulling shit like this Pelosi denial that is obviously false and desperation they will chase the voters away from them, too. The problem is, there's no viable alternatives that matter. I know you like the Libertarian party, but unless they get a major surge they are still not an option to 95% of the nation.
In short - Pelosi is full of shit. Story at 11. And if the rest of that Democratic farce we're calling the Congress doesn't pull their heads out of their asses & start legislating with more than their God damned careers in mind then they are going to go the way of the dodo as well. Stop being so fucking superior about running the show and fucking do something with it that will have lasting and beneficial impact instead of worrying about your next fucking election cycle.
As to Obama keeping some people held indefinitely, I am really of two minds about this. First, I think that he discovered that they have some pretty bad guys there - information that he did not have when he was campaigning. Now he's stuck either releasing said bad guys and reneging on a campaign promise or releasing them and putting lives in danger. His proselytizing put him in this corner. I'm just glad he has the balls to take the heat in the name of safety. On the other hand, if these guys are so bad and we know it, why not try them and be done with it? Do they not have enough proof to convict? If not, shouldn't they be let go? That's a pretty sticky situation...and it's why I'm glad he's president and not me.
North_Ranger
Staff member
And you, sir, may go and fork yourself.GasBandit said:PS: Finland blows.
I could possibly see the Green Party becoming the new Democratic Party, if things get REALLY bad. As for the Libertarian Party... yeah, that's never going to take off. A Political Party that actually tells it's members to *GASP* TAKE CARE OF THEIR OWN PROBLEMS?! That's really appealing if you have the bankroll to fund your own life, but the lower class would never give up it's government assistance. You'd see full scale riots if the Libertarian Party ever took control of the White House or Congress.Edrondol said:
I don't care whatever reason he has to keep some of these people prisoner: This is the United States of America and it is our belief that all people have certain inalienable rights. Yes, some of the rights that Americans have are only available to citizens (right to vote, right to run for public office, etc.) but the last time I checked, the right to a fair and speedy trial wasn't one you had to be born here to get. Ether let them go or put them on trial.Edrondol said:
This whole fucking ordeal with Gitmo has been an utter embarrassment. It's bad enough we were grabbing people just for looking suspicious... but we crossed the line when we refused to let the innocent ones go because it made us look bad. I remember seeing a documentary on IFC about 3 British nationals of Muslim decent that got sent to Gitmo... in the end, US officials demanded they sign papers that basically said they were justified in holding them. When they wouldn't sign them, they were held for an additional 6 months before finally being sent home. I wish for the life of me I could remember the title... knowing my luck, somebody is going to dig it up and tell me it was fictional drama
I didn't think you'd go down this road, Gas. The headline there is very misleading. The NIH (National Institute of Health) is funding a research study, looking at the link between prostitution, drinking, and HIV. The purpose of the study is to prevent HIV. Seems like a pretty good use of government money to me.GasBandit said:
As to Gitmo - I really, REALLY don't want to indefinatly hold some prisoners. Either they aren't dangerous, and thus should be released, or they should be tried, convicted, and locked behind bars. The problem is Bush FUCKED us over on this. The dangerous ones have been tortured. Makes it hard to prosecute them. Moreover, many of the essential records (you know, what you'd need to prosecute these people) are missing, destroyed, or simply never existed.
If we'd have called them POWs in the beginning, there are rules for detention such that we wouldn't have to prosecute them. If we'd conducted the War on Terror as more of a police operation, we'd have evidence, records, ways to prosecute these people. We didn't do either of those things, however, and moreover we contaminated any potential trial by torturing the detainees. Bush's incompetence has made this into basically an impossible situation for Obama. There are no good answers here.
GasBandit
Staff member
This is silly. The link between drunk prostitutes and HIV needs a 2.6 million dollar study to be shown? I need to cook up some hairbrained scheme to test the link between... I don't know, the LENGTH of the shared needles and what affect this has on the spread of HIV, maybe I can get 2.6 million dollars and your blessing because, obviously, my intentions are goodDieb said:
A
Armadillo
When we're facing the MASSIVE deficit we are, it's time to take a hard look at the ol' budget and see what can be cut. This seems like quite the no-brainer easy call to me.Dieb said:
Even if it can be agreed by all parties that Bush royally fucked up the War on Terror, when will the day come that Obama or anyone else in the administration takes ownership of their decisions and policies? Blaming Bush will only take him so far. $1.7 trillion deficit? Bush's fault. Restarting military tribunals, even though this was supposedly one of Bush's greatest crimes? Bush's fault. Indefinitely holding detainees STILL? Bush's fault.Dieb said:
Obama's foreign policy is resembling Bush's more and more every day, Is it possible that maybe, just maybe, Bush was on the right track on some of this stuff, even if the execution was flawed?
Well, prostitution IS one of the largest causes of AIDS, not just in the US but around the world. The "drunk" angle was more of a side issue, from the article - just one of the things reseachers were looking at in regards to HIV and prostitutes.GasBandit said:This is silly. The link between drunk prostitutes and HIV needs a 2.6 million dollar study to be shown? I need to cook up some hairbrained scheme to test the link between... I don't know, the LENGTH of the shared needles and what affect this has on the spread of HIV, maybe I can get 2.6 million dollars and your blessing because, obviously, my intentions are good
Seriously, it pisses me off when people take one study, blow up some tiny portion of the study that sounds bad, and trumpet that to the wind. It was like when Palin was deriding "fruit fly research". Well, as it turns out, fruit flies are an incredible source of information on genetics - much of what we know about genes comes from that research.
Funding basic science, the kind that has no immediate commercial application but that has potentially giant social benifits, is one of the best things government can do. Research into how HIV spreads seems to be an obvious instance of that. Plus:
Remember when conservatives were all up in arms because Obama cut 100 millions dollars in spending? It was rightfully called a "drop in the bucket". Well, that is FORTY times what this study will cost. Do you seriously think it matters? Unless one of you gets a hold of the actual grant proposal, and shows it to be ludicrus, I'm going to trust the NIH on this one and think that research into HIV is worth spending money on.
Maybe they'll take ownership of the world situation more than a few months into Obama's tenure? I mean, come on, nothing that Obama has done or could have done has had time to change anything. I wasn't a Bush fan back in 2001 (I wasn't old enough to vote, but it definatly wouldn't have been for him) but I know I wasn't blaming him for the state of the world a few months after his inaugeration. Come on.
The difference between ANY American politician on foreign policy is, quite frankly, not that large. People will argue about those differences for days, but truely original thinking is non-existant.
Nonetheless, differences are there, differences that Obama expressed on the campaign trail - differences that he's followed up on. We've got a timetable to get out of Iraq - one big difference. Sure, that timetable could be altered based on facts on the ground - just like Obama said when campaigning. We're sending more troops into Afghanistan - just like Obama said when campaiging. Obama has a greater emphasis on realist diplomacy, less emphasis on moralistic lecturing (witness his handshake with Chavez) - just like he said when campaigning. But he hasn't taken the miltary option off the table when it comes to Iran - just like he said when campaigning.
Seriously, anyone who's surprised with ANYTHING Obama has done foreign policy wise, so far, wasn't paying attention during the campaign. He's more of a realist than Bush (in fact, he resembles - and many of his foreign policy advisers served under - George HW Bush) but it's truely not a giant difference. The consensus, Washington, elite view - whatever you want to call it - in American foreign policy is increidbly strong, and anyone who makes it through to the Presidency will share it. For good or for ill.
An independent candidate wins in the Lithuanian presidential election thanks to the popular vote system and a 51% voter turnout rate. She is the budget commissioner for EU.
http://www.newsahead.com/preview/2009/0 ... /index.php
Rah rah independent candidate.
http://www.newsahead.com/preview/2009/0 ... /index.php
Rah rah independent candidate.
GasBandit
Staff member
Confirmed: I will be a no-show next week. Don't go slitting your wrists or tearing down statues of me, I'll be back 
though if the Traffic Dir. pops while she's on this "last vacation before the baby comes" thing, it'll go from a 1 week absence to a 6 or more, I am thinking.
LINKS!
The Waxman-Markley "Cap-and-trade" tax bill will:
* Reduce aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) by $9.6 trillion
* Destroy 1,105,000 jobs on average, with peak years seeing unemployment rise by over 2,479,000 jobs
* Raise electricity rates 90 percent after adjusting for inflation
* Raise inflation-adjusted gasoline prices by 74 percent
* Raise residential natural gas prices by 55 percent
* Raise an average family's annual energy bill by $1,500
* Increase inflation-adjusted federal debt by 26 percent, or $29,150 additional federal debt per person, again after adjusting for inflation.
Ethanol: Bad for you, bad for your car, bad for the environment, bad for the economy... just bad. Stop burning it and just go back to drinking it. I especially giggled at the quote from 1925 screaming how within 2 decades there would be no domestic oil left for us to use.
Timothy Geithner has decided that the government should not impose caps on executive pay at companies receiving bailout funds.
Obama and Israel's Netanyahu aren't seeing eye-to-eye on Obama's plan for a two-state solution.
Obama has laid out a timetable for talking to Iran. Yeah, this ought to go over real well. Iran has a timetable too.
Your next adventure vacation?
Barack Obama is backing off promises to renegotiate NAFTA.
Here is some potentially good news from Washington ... the card check bill is pretty much dead.
Seven weeks after being ousted by Barack Obama, former GM CEO Rick Wagoner is still on the payroll. Is he UAW?
Medicare is paying billions of dollars in fraudulent payments.
though if the Traffic Dir. pops while she's on this "last vacation before the baby comes" thing, it'll go from a 1 week absence to a 6 or more, I am thinking.LINKS!
The Waxman-Markley "Cap-and-trade" tax bill will:
* Reduce aggregate gross domestic product (GDP) by $9.6 trillion
* Destroy 1,105,000 jobs on average, with peak years seeing unemployment rise by over 2,479,000 jobs
* Raise electricity rates 90 percent after adjusting for inflation
* Raise inflation-adjusted gasoline prices by 74 percent
* Raise residential natural gas prices by 55 percent
* Raise an average family's annual energy bill by $1,500
* Increase inflation-adjusted federal debt by 26 percent, or $29,150 additional federal debt per person, again after adjusting for inflation.
Ethanol: Bad for you, bad for your car, bad for the environment, bad for the economy... just bad. Stop burning it and just go back to drinking it. I especially giggled at the quote from 1925 screaming how within 2 decades there would be no domestic oil left for us to use.
Timothy Geithner has decided that the government should not impose caps on executive pay at companies receiving bailout funds.
Obama and Israel's Netanyahu aren't seeing eye-to-eye on Obama's plan for a two-state solution.
Obama has laid out a timetable for talking to Iran. Yeah, this ought to go over real well. Iran has a timetable too.
Your next adventure vacation?
Barack Obama is backing off promises to renegotiate NAFTA.
Here is some potentially good news from Washington ... the card check bill is pretty much dead.
Seven weeks after being ousted by Barack Obama, former GM CEO Rick Wagoner is still on the payroll. Is he UAW?
Medicare is paying billions of dollars in fraudulent payments.
- Status