Gas Bandit's Political Thread IV

[Shakey]

It's not a cause, it's an indicator. And it's a lot easier to be nonchalant about citi when one doesn't have their savings in them.

Do you mean you have a savings account with them (in which case your money is as safe as houses - actually, a hell of a lot safer than houses are) or that you've invested money with them (given it to them to manage, in which case this wouldn't be a good indicator, but it'd hardly be the first bad indicator in the last few months) or have you invested money in them (own stock of theirs, in which case you've already lost nearly all your money). Big difference between all of those.

I know that my savings are supposed to be backed up by the FDIC, but even they have asked for a bailout. I'm not as assured by that little "FDIC" in the bank's window as I used to be. Basically, the FDIC doesn't have any real money, all it has is accounting tricks to conjure money electronically.

That wasn't a bailout. They basically wanted the ability to borrow as much money from the treasury as they want to in case a large string of banks fail and they don't have enough money to cover it all. [strike:3q041f6p]I believe they have around 50 billion in the reserve fund to cover insured deposits.[/strike:3q041f6p] I know they pushed through a one time charge for banks, along with an increase in the cost of insurance to increase the size of the fund. They aren't strapped for cash, they just wanted a back up plan. Name one insured deposit since the beginning of this program that has not been covered. Your money is just fine.

*edit* OK, guess that is an old number, it's a lot lower now. There still isn't any reason to worry about your deposits though.

 

[AshburnerX]

States, Congress Eyeing Sales Taxes on Internet Purchases

Don't they already charge sales tax on things bought in certain states online? Regardless, I don't think this will ever become wide-spread.

54% of Americans do not want to see the detainee prison facility at Guantanamo Bay closed.

There are polls all over the place about this, some showing one way and others the other. Regardless of whichever public opinion is currently being tallied, it's a prison built on a legal loophole where things we know to be illegal happen as a matter of policy. It's an embarrassment to the nation and it needs to be closed, period.

New Orleans has recovered... it's title of murder capital of the nation.

Is anyone else not surprised that a large number of people don't want NO to fully recover because it's easier to get what you want in a lawless war zone than it is in a fully developed city?

 

[Covar]

That wasn't a bailout. They basically wanted the ability to borrow as much money from the treasury as they want to in case a large string of banks fail and they don't have enough money to cover it all.

right, and GM just wanted to barrow as much money from the treasury as they wanted so that they could continue to operate their business. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all the other banks just wanted to borrow all the money they wanted in case they failed and wouldn't be able to cover it all.

 

[Shakey]

That wasn't a bailout. They basically wanted the ability to borrow as much money from the treasury as they want to in case a large string of banks fail and they don't have enough money to cover it all.

right, and GM just wanted to barrow as much money from the treasury as they wanted so that they could continue to operate their business. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all the other banks just wanted to borrow all the money they wanted in case they failed and wouldn't be able to cover it all.

They needed the money to keep going. The FDIC didn't, they wanted to do it to boost confidence. They still haven't touched any of the money they can borrow through the treasury. They have free access to 100b from the treasury if they need it, but they are still operating with the reserves they have. They can get even more if they go through congress. You aren't going to loose any of your insured money.

 

[Dieb]

That wasn't a bailout. They basically wanted the ability to borrow as much money from the treasury as they want to in case a large string of banks fail and they don't have enough money to cover it all.

right, and GM just wanted to barrow as much money from the treasury as they wanted so that they could continue to operate their business. And Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and all the other banks just wanted to borrow all the money they wanted in case they failed and wouldn't be able to cover it all.

Except the FDIC is, and always has been, a government agency. A little different than your examples.

I know that my savings are supposed to be backed up by the FDIC, but even they have asked for a bailout. I'm not as assured by that little "FDIC" in the bank's window as I used to be. Basically, the FDIC doesn't have any real money, all it has is accounting tricks to conjure money electronically.

Not true, at all. The FDIC is funded by the banks. The banks have to pay a certain percentage of their deposits to the FDIC as insurance. The FDIC built up a rather huge amount of cash over the decades it has existed (as Shakey said above, 50 billion dollars), and while that has declined by a large amount (down to about 15 billion dollars), I don't know how that isn't "real money". More importantly, the FDIC is a federal agency. It is backed by the full faith and credit of the government. The only way the FDIC would be allowed to fail would be if the federal government no longer existed.

 

[GasBandit]

Ben Bernanke says that large budget deficits threaten financial stability and the government can't continue indefinitely to borrow at the current rate.

Alan Greenspan says that bailing out financial institutions viewed as "too big too fail" is the greatest threat to the free market and the economic future of America.

John Kerry's presenting his credentials, showing he's qualified to be in the Obama administration. (bdum-tssh)

Dick Cheney says that Bush passed the buck to the Obama administration when it came to pulling the plug on GM.

Unfortunately for Barack Obama, the USA is not "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." Here are the real facts.

The unions want to use the bailouts as leverage to fundamentally reshape the boards of directors at some of America's largest, evil corporations.

FEMA is considering putting Florida hurricane victims into foreclosed homes in their communities in order to keep people closer to their homes.

 

[DarkAudit]

 

[GasBandit]

That's some insightful and reasoned discussion, there, Lou.

If that's what you truly think, and you've written it all off as worth nothing more than mere emoticons, why even show up?

 

[DarkAudit]

That's some insightful and reasoned discussion, there, Lou.

If that's what you truly think, and you've written it all off as worth nothing more than mere emoticons, why even show up?

It's spun you up, so it's obvious it's done it's job.

 

[Espy]

Unfortunately for Barack Obama, the USA is not "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." Here are the real facts.

Great little piece

“And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world,” Obama told reporters.

With an estimated 5 million to 8 million Muslims, obviously he does not mean by percentage; Muslims are less than 3% of the U.S. population.

By sheer number, the United States is far behind Indonesia (213 million), Pakistan (156 million), Bangladesh (127 million) and so on. At least 23 nations have more Muslims.

Assuming these numbers are true, and he seems to have his sources straight, why is Obama lying about this? Just to kiss butt? Does he really think it's true? If Bush had said something this stupid he would be getting ripped apart in the press, and rightly so.

 

[AshburnerX]

Alan Greenspan says that bailing out financial institutions viewed as "too big too fail" is the greatest threat to the free market and the economic future of America.

I may not subscribe to the Randian philosophies that Greenspan does, but even I agree with this. Yes, this would get bad if we let them fail... VERY, VERY BAD. We could possibly even have a depression rivaling that of the early 20th century. But we would recover and have better companies for it. It is not the job of the federal government to protect a floundering business.

Unfortunately for Barack Obama, the USA is not "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." Here are the real facts.

The unions want to use the bailouts as leverage to fundamentally reshape the boards of directors at some of America's largest, evil corporations.

I have no problem with this. Tell the ones who want to stay to shape up and hang the rest. Okay, maybe not hang... but don't give them any fucking golden parachutes. American companies need to get their heads out of their asses and stop using 1980's ethics in their business decisions.

FEMA is considering putting Florida hurricane victims into foreclosed homes in their communities in order to keep people closer to their homes.

Sounds like an interesting idea. Perhaps we could go a step further and offer these homes to victims at a reduced market price to help stimulate the economy in the area too?

 

[GasBandit]

That's some insightful and reasoned discussion, there, Lou.

If that's what you truly think, and you've written it all off as worth nothing more than mere emoticons, why even show up?

It's spun you up, so it's obvious it's done it's job.

I wish it had spun me up. I'm here for the argument. I'm here for the conflict. You're buying a newspaper and then yelling to yourself for the listening enjoyment of everyone around you "I can't believe I bought this paper! It's garbage!" And doing the same thing tomorrow.. and the day after that.

If anything, it's a downer, not a stimulant. I remember fondly when you used to at least spout some half-baked leftist pyorrhea in retort. Now you're just copping out.

Assuming these numbers are true, and he seems to have his sources straight, why is Obama lying about this? Just to kiss butt? Does he really think it's true? If Bush had said something this stupid he would be getting ripped apart in the press, and rightly so.

The error was probably on the part of his speechwriter, and naturally Obama would assume things would get fact checked before being given to him. Regardless, it's not true. Well, everybody is more educated for it, now, including (hopefully) Obama.

 

[DarkAudit]

Why should I post anything more when you're just throwing out the day's talking points per Rush's marching orders? The right is doing quite well at marginalizing themselves on their own without my help. Local parties are following the big boys' lead in purging themselves of anyone who dares oppose Boss Limbaugh, such as the recent case in Wisconsin. Add to that Limbaugh's comparison of Obama to Al Q-whatever-the-fuck-today's-spelling-is.

We're not at the tipping point yet, though. The tipping point will be when Rush finally goes far enough that the advertisers and stations no longer want anything to do with him. We've seen it already with Billo. UPS had enough and dropped their account from the show. Naturally the Clown attacked them on his very next show.

 

[GasBandit]

Why should I post anything more when you're just throwing out the day's talking points per Rush's marching orders? The right is doing quite well at marginalizing themselves on their own without my help. Local parties are following the big boys' lead in purging themselves of anyone who dares oppose Boss Limbaugh, such as the recent case in Wisconsin. Add to that Limbaugh's comparison of Obama to Al Q-whatever-the-fuck-today's-spelling-is.

We're not at the tipping point yet, though. The tipping point will be when Rush finally goes far enough that the advertisers and stations no longer want anything to do with him. We've seen it already with Billo. UPS had enough and dropped their account from the show. Naturally the Clown attacked them on his very next show.

Well, that's better than 3 emoticons anyway. And it further illustrates how detached you are from reality.

 

[Dieb]

Alan Greenspan says that bailing out financial institutions viewed as "too big too fail" is the greatest threat to the free market and the economic future of America.

Actually, I don't think that's what he was saying. It'd be hard for Greenspan to be against bailing out financial firms entirely - after all, as Fed Chairman, he did it himself a few times. What I THINK he's saying here is that having banks that are too big to fail to a threat to our economic future - that going forward we shouldn't allow banks to get to the point where they are too big to fail. Which is something I agree with.

Contra Ashburner, if we let these banks fail, it would probably be worse than the Great Depression. Probably much worse. If these banks had failed, the entire financial system would have failed. Any credit, any credit at all, would have been impossible to get; the entire economy would have grinded to a halt like an engine without oil. I think it's pretty much impossible to overstate how bad it could have gotten.

For one thing, either A) the FDIC would have failed or B) the US government would have taken on trillions of dollars in new debt to pay for accounts insured by the FDIC - almost certainly more debt than that caused by TARP. For reasons explained before, almost certainly B) would have happened. Yes, that's right, I'm saying the US government probably saved money because of TARP. Funny how that happens.

Unfortunately for Barack Obama, the USA is not "one of the largest Muslim countries in the world." Here are the real facts.

Yes, he was wrong, but it wasn't some outrageous lie or anything. As the article points out, the US is probably around 25th in the world in terms of Muslim population. The US has more people of the Islamic faith than, say, Libya or Jordan. Now, saying we're "one of the largest" is obviously a distortion, an exaggeration, his larger point - that the US can also be seen as an Islamic country (the same way we can be seen as a Jewish country because more Jews reside here than in any other country, including Isreal) is true. Oh, and Gas - this wasn't in the context of a speech. He said it in an interview with a French TV station. Which makes it more understandable that he would exaggerate an essential truth.

 

[Mr_Chaz]

Why should I post anything more when you're just throwing out the day's talking points per Rush's marching orders? The right is doing quite well at marginalizing themselves on their own without my help. Local parties are following the big boys' lead in purging themselves of anyone who dares oppose Boss Limbaugh, such as the recent case in Wisconsin. Add to that Limbaugh's comparison of Obama to Al Q-whatever-the-fuck-today's-spelling-is.

We're not at the tipping point yet, though. The tipping point will be when Rush finally goes far enough that the advertisers and stations no longer want anything to do with him. We've seen it already with Billo. UPS had enough and dropped their account from the show. Naturally the Clown attacked them on his very next show.

Ah come on, the rest of us (minus JCM) still manage to have meaningful discussions with Gas, chill out! Relax! Don't take him too seriously and just enjoy some political banter. You complain about the right getting all righteous and making broad, sweeping statements etc, but at the moment you're not offering anything other than "They're being idiots so we should ignore them". How is that any better than what they're doing? Just step back, and argue effectively, it's much more fun.

Plus, when you do that you can get Gas to spout some absolutely brilliant BS

 

[DarkAudit]

Why should I post anything more when you're just throwing out the day's talking points per Rush's marching orders? The right is doing quite well at marginalizing themselves on their own without my help. Local parties are following the big boys' lead in purging themselves of anyone who dares oppose Boss Limbaugh, such as the recent case in Wisconsin. Add to that Limbaugh's comparison of Obama to Al Q-whatever-the-fuck-today's-spelling-is.

We're not at the tipping point yet, though. The tipping point will be when Rush finally goes far enough that the advertisers and stations no longer want anything to do with him. We've seen it already with Billo. UPS had enough and dropped their account from the show. Naturally the Clown attacked them on his very next show.

Well, that's better than 3 emoticons anyway. And it further illustrates how detached you are from reality.

Meaning not at all. All three items I mentioned really happened. Two of them in just the past couple of weeks.

 

[GasBandit]

Why should I post anything more when you're just throwing out the day's talking points per Rush's marching orders? The right is doing quite well at marginalizing themselves on their own without my help. Local parties are following the big boys' lead in purging themselves of anyone who dares oppose Boss Limbaugh, such as the recent case in Wisconsin. Add to that Limbaugh's comparison of Obama to Al Q-whatever-the-fuck-today's-spelling-is.

We're not at the tipping point yet, though. The tipping point will be when Rush finally goes far enough that the advertisers and stations no longer want anything to do with him. We've seen it already with Billo. UPS had enough and dropped their account from the show. Naturally the Clown attacked them on his very next show.

Well, that's better than 3 emoticons anyway. And it further illustrates how detached you are from reality.

Meaning not at all. All three items I mentioned really happened. Two of them in just the past couple of weeks.

The events happened, your interpretation of their meaning is what enters the domain of lunar flying mammal.

 

[DarkAudit]

Which is exactly what a blind-to-the-harsh-truth-and-can't-admit-his-party-is-cratering wingnut would say.

Marathon County GOP fires spokesman over Rush Limbaugh op-ed article. You oppose Rush, you get your head handed to you. Just ask Michael Steele.

UPS Drops O'Reilly Ads After Blogger-Stalking Controversy. You dare to speak against Billo the Clown, and he sends stalkers after you.

The self-styled "leaders" of the right are tone-deaf to the population at large. The country is shifting left, and the right is getting desperate, angry, and a little bit violent.

 

[Armadillo]

You know more about Rush Limbaugh than anyone you call a "right-wing nut."

Add to that the humor of accusing people WHO AREN'T REPUBLICANS of being "blind to what their party is doing."

 

[DarkAudit]

You know more about Rush Limbaugh than anyone you call a "right-wing nut."

Add to that the humor of accusing people WHO AREN'T REPUBLICANS of being "blind to what their party is doing."

He's on EVERY CHANNEL. You can't get away from him. And that bouncing is hypnotic... :bush:

And get your own damn house in order. Take care of the high profile idiots calling for revolution and secession before you start carrying on about what the rest of us are doing. You're a dwindling minority, and the current path you're on will only lead to more dwindling.

 

[Espy]

You know more about Rush Limbaugh than anyone you call a "right-wing nut."

Add to that the humor of accusing people WHO AREN'T REPUBLICANS of being "blind to what their party is doing."

He's on EVERY CHANNEL. You can't get away from him. And that bouncing is hypnotic... :bush:

Maybe you should watch less cable news. I'm a hell of a lot closer to the republicans than you are and I don't know anyone (despite what the oh so reputable HuffPo and MSNBC tell you) who considers Rush Limbaugh anything other than an entertainer who they get some news from.

 

[Armadillo]

You know more about Rush Limbaugh than anyone you call a "right-wing nut."

Add to that the humor of accusing people WHO AREN'T REPUBLICANS of being "blind to what their party is doing."

He's on EVERY CHANNEL. You can't get away from him. And that bouncing is hypnotic... :bush:

Last I checked, Limbaugh was a radio guy, so no TV. In the Twin Cities, he's on one station out of something like 50. I think you can get away from the blowhard if you want to. Lord knows I can seem to avoid him.

And get your own damn house in order. Take care of the high profile idiots calling for revolution and secession before you start carrying on about what the rest of us are doing. You're a dwindling minority, and the current path you're on will only lead to more dwindling.

Again, who's the "your" here? I'm not a Republican; I voted for Bob Barr in the last election. I don't have a house to get in order.

 

[AshburnerX]

Again, who's the "your" here? I'm not a Republican; I voted for Bob Barr in the last election. I don't have a house to get in order.

That's because your house is a cabin in the woods, stocked full of guns, ammo, and canned food

 

[Espy]

Again, who's the "your" here? I'm not a Republican; I voted for Bob Barr in the last election. I don't have a house to get in order.

That's because your house is a cabin in the woods, stocked full of guns, ammo, and canned food

Whoa. Wait. Yours isn't? :aaahhh:

 

[Armadillo]

Again, who's the "your" here? I'm not a Republican; I voted for Bob Barr in the last election. I don't have a house to get in order.

That's because your house is a cabin in the woods, stocked full of guns, ammo, and canned food

It has a lovely fire pit.

 

[Twitch]

I haven't heard Limbaugh's voice in as long as I can remember and I'm a republican who watches alot of news...

 

[Troll]

I haven't heard Limbaugh's voice in as long as I can remember and I'm a republican who watches alot of news...

Lies. I know damn well you all have some sort of evil hivemind thing going on.

 

[Iaculus]

I haven't heard Limbaugh's voice in as long as I can remember and I'm a republican who watches alot of news...

Lies. I know damn well you all have some sort of evil hivemind thing going on.

WE ARE WINGNUT. WE ARE LEGION. YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED.

 

[Lamont]

I'm a hell of a lot closer to the republicans than you are and I don't know anyone (despite what the oh so reputable HuffPo and MSNBC tell you) who considers Rush Limbaugh anything other than an entertainer who they get some news from.

That's already pretty scary.

Mind you, the Left (or what's laughably referred to as the Left in the US) have Jon Stewart, so fair enough. I'm just happy Rush is doing a lot more damage to the Right than Stewart is to the Left.

 

[AshburnerX]

I'm a hell of a lot closer to the republicans than you are and I don't know anyone (despite what the oh so reputable HuffPo and MSNBC tell you) who considers Rush Limbaugh anything other than an entertainer who they get some news from.

That's already pretty scary.

Mind you, the Left (or what's laughably referred to as the Left in the US) have Jon Stewart, so fair enough. I'm just happy Rush is doing a lot more damage to the Right than Stewart is to the Left.

To be fair, I've never seen Jon Stewart throw his weight around to get what he wants from anyone. He can do that with civility and charm, without trying to destroy anyone who crosses him.

 

[Lamont]

I'm a hell of a lot closer to the republicans than you are and I don't know anyone (despite what the oh so reputable HuffPo and MSNBC tell you) who considers Rush Limbaugh anything other than an entertainer who they get some news from.

That's already pretty scary.

Mind you, the Left (or what's laughably referred to as the Left in the US) have Jon Stewart, so fair enough. I'm just happy Rush is doing a lot more damage to the Right than Stewart is to the Left.

To be fair, I've never seen Jon Stewart throw his weight around to get what he wants from anyone. He can do that with civility and charm, without trying to destroy anyone who crosses him.

Oh, I absolutely agree. I just wanted to head off any indignant mention of "Well the Left turn to a comedy show for their news" at the pass. But to my mind, the two men are not comparable.

 

[GasBandit]

Links:

Republicans in the House have decided to form a caucus to fight liberal media bias. Well, that's all very nice and good, fellas, but you're still missing the part where you need to provide an actual conservative platform. Despite his delusion, Darkaudit is right about one thing, the Republicans DO need to get their house in order, and they just. don't. get it. They lost the election because they tried to play to the center after 8 years of jettisoning what were supposed to be their core principles. Even the right wing punditry these days is saying the republican party sucks.

The CEO of Microsoft has said Obama's tax plans will have Microsoft moving jobs out of the country.

NASA study acknowledges solar cycles, not man, responsible for past warming.

A court of appeals has found that the 2nd amendment doesn't apply to states and municipalities. What is it SUPPOSED to apply to, then? Yeah, this one's going to the supreme court. But there might not be many freedom-minded faces there when it does.

Tax hikes in state taxes are coming soon. More than $23 billion in state tax hikes have been proposed around the nation.

In the battle over stimulus money in South Carolina, the state Supreme Court has ordered Mark Sanford to apply for the money.

Apparently, Barack Obama is killing the progressive movement. My favorite line of the article: that "the activists at this year's gathering feel a bit like the dog that finally caught up with the car."

Amazing what you can do unshackled by union waste: Wal-mart to create 22,000 jobs this year.

 

[AshburnerX]

A court of appeals has found that the 2nd amendment doesn't apply to states and municipalities. What is it SUPPOSED to apply to, then? Yeah, this one's going to the supreme court. But there might not be many freedom-minded faces there when it does.

There is no way we're going to be seeing an outright removal of the 2nd Amendment... never mind the fact that the Firearms industry employs hundreds of thousands of people in the US alone, the simple truth of the matter is that the police and military have no way getting the millions of existing guns off the streets. Besides, such a move would only provoke the multitude of armed militias that already exist in this country into actually doing something for once and nobody wants that.

Amazing what you can do unshackled by union waste: Wal-mart to create 22,000 jobs this year.

Amazing what you can do when your not forced to pay a living wage, bully your employees, force them to work unpaid hours or lose their jobs, and manufacture most of your goods in overseas sweatshops that basically operate as legal slave camps.

 

[DarkAudit]

How will moving further right help the Republicans when the rest of the country is moving the other direction? "More conservative than thou" will only antagonize the rest as that position gets more and more concentrated, and more and more out of touch with the mainstream. The New England Republicans, once the bedrock the party was built on, is a dying, if not extinct breed. Now you have a base of the Pat Robertsons, Alan Keyes', and Rush Limbaughs. The Moderate is no longer welcome.