Random???? Political thoughts.

[michaelben]

i really really hope they run her in 2012.

[Unsomnambulist]

i really really hope they run her in 2012.

You are overestimating the intelligence of the electorate. I think she actually has a chance of winning if she runs.

[michaelben]

yeah but i think her camp is underestimating the intelligence of the electorate too. her support of the tea party with its "ni@@er this" and "ni@@er" that is going to bite her in the butt. if she disavows it; she loses the fringe which is where her support mostly is. if she doesn't disavow it, i have a hard time believing any but a few mountain and southern states will fall for her.

then again, they were probably saying this in 1930 Germany.

(edit: not that i am comparing her to nazism. more that 1) complacency is evil and 2) underestimating anti-intellectual thugs can be dangerous.)

[azimuth]

i really really hope they run her in 2012.

You are overestimating the intelligence of the electorate. I think she actually has a chance of winning if she runs.

I don't think that vice presidential candidates from past failed elections get 2nd chances. She was a desperation pick in the first place, to counter the Hillary threat, and the party was not quite aware of her flaws.

[Arbitrator]

yeah but i think her camp is underestimating the intelligence of the electorate too. her support of the tea party with its "ni@@er this" and "ni@@er" that is going to bite her in the butt. if she disavows it; she loses the fringe which is where her support mostly is. if she doesn't disavow it, i have a hard time believing any but a few mountain and southern states will fall for her.

then again, they were probably saying this in 1930 Germany.

(edit: not that i am comparing her to nazism. more that 1) complacency is evil and 2) underestimating anti-intellectual thugs can be dangerous.)

Well said, my oriental.

As azi said, they probably won't run her, though. If the Tea Party emerges as a real political party (is that happening? I haven't kept up), then she could run as a fringe candidate. I wouldn't mind that at all.

[shallowgal]

speaking of hands... looks like somebody was using theirs during a speech @ the Tea Party Convention.

Link to pic -------------- > TMZ hand!

[Nickyboy]

speaking of hands... looks like somebody was using theirs during a speech @ the Tea Party Convention.

Link to pic -------------- > TMZ hand!

I'm no fan of the Tea Party movement - if it can be called such - but if this is their leader I actually sympathize with them.

[Arbitrator]

speaking of hands... looks like somebody was using theirs during a speech @ the Tea Party Convention.

Link to pic -------------- > TMZ hand!

I'm no fan of the Tea Party movement - if it can be called such - but if this is their leader I actually sympathize with them.

++ LMAO

It's kind of a dumb thing to harp about, but it does speak to her preparation skills and ability to think on her feet, which are very essential in a world leader. Of course if you didn't already know this, writing notes on her hand isn't the sort of thing that will convince you.

[michaelben]

you guys are elitist snobs. just because she can't read fast enough to use a teleprompter...

[michaelben]

John Murtha died!!!!

Where will the pork go now?

May he rest in peace.

[*MB*]

speaking of hands... looks like somebody was using theirs during a speech @ the Tea Party Convention.

Link to pic -------------- > TMZ hand!

I'm no fan of the Tea Party movement - if it can be called such - but if this is their leader I actually sympathize with them.

++ LMAO

It's kind of a dumb thing to harp about, but it does speak to her preparation skills and ability to think on her feet, which are very essential in a world leader. Of course if you didn't already know this, writing notes on her hand isn't the sort of thing that will convince you.

I'll guess I'll save you the colossal "who gives a fuck?" especially given the massive bloated joke that the entire Democratic party has become in their one shot at "leadership."

Oh wait, I didn't save it.

[Arbitrator]

I'll guess I'll save you the colossal "who gives a fuck?" especially given the massive bloated joke that the entire Democratic party has become in their one shot at "leadership."

Oh wait, I didn't save it.

You don't think a 40-something year old writing notes on her hand is funny?

[Nickyboy]

I'll guess I'll save you the colossal "who gives a fuck?" especially given the massive bloated joke that the entire Democratic party has become in their one shot at "leadership."

Oh wait, I didn't save it.

You don't think a 40-something year old writing notes on her hand is funny?

not just notes, either, but what she supposedly considers her core beliefs. You need crib notes to remember what you fundamentally believe in?

Yes. It is very funny.

[*MB*]

I'll guess I'll save you the colossal "who gives a fuck?" especially given the massive bloated joke that the entire Democratic party has become in their one shot at "leadership."

Oh wait, I didn't save it.

You don't think a 40-something year old writing notes on her hand is funny?

It did give me a chuckle.

[lownotes]

I guess if you need A LOT of notes you use a teleprompter? Meh...much ado about nothing.

[shallowgal]

some may attempt to make hay over the judge in the Prop 8 trial.... of course, I guess it depends on his ruling.

[Arbitrator]

It did give me a chuckle.

much ado about nothing.

Pretty much the same thing I said.

++ LMAO

It's kind of a dumb thing to harp about ...

We agree. Let's just enjoy the comedy.

[michaelben]

Levi Johnston hit Playgirl this week.

[Unsomnambulist]

Chris Matthews stated that the questions Palin was cribbing for were PRESCREENED. She knew what she was going to be asked, and still needed to have notes to answer, apparently.

[lownotes]

Levi Johnston hit Playgirl this week.

[*MB*]

We laugh at the ventriloquist's dummy, but what do you do when the dummy is President of the United States of America ?

[michaelben]

MB. Why are you brining up old quotes about Bush?

/tee hee hee

[*MB*]

MB. Why are you brining up old quotes about Bush?

/tee hee hee

/poke, poke

[michaelben]

/poke, poke

[*MB*]

The younger Bush was hammered in the press because his two tax cuts reduced the rate paid by the rich: But the same cuts nearly eliminated federal income taxes on the working class and lower middle class. That is, George W. Bush's tax cuts were progressive.

[Arbitrator]

The younger Bush was hammered in the press because his two tax cuts reduced the rate paid by the rich: But the same cuts nearly eliminated federal income taxes on the working class and lower middle class. That is, George W. Bush's tax cuts were progressive.

Source

This is pretty sensationalist, but I think it's dead-on with this:

The reality is that we are being sucked into an economic black hole from which the U.S. economy will never fully recover.

The problem is debt. Collectively, the U.S. government, the state governments, corporate America and American consumers have accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. Our massive debt binge has financed our tremendous growth and prosperity over the last couple of decades, but now the day of reckoning is here.

Tax cuts are great, but they are short-term bursts (suited for enhancing 1 or 2 administrations). The consequences of massive debt are felt over decades. Easy to diffuse and shift the blame. I don't think tax cuts are a good idea any more. The only question is how much we "stifle" growth so that we can start paying off what we owe.

[*MB*]

The younger Bush was hammered in the press because his two tax cuts reduced the rate paid by the rich: But the same cuts nearly eliminated federal income taxes on the working class and lower middle class. That is, George W. Bush's tax cuts were progressive.

You quote selectively from Easterbrook...

(I read TMQ religiously for the occasional football insight and, of course, the cheerleader pics. The politics, not so much.)

I did. Hey, these are supposed to be random thoughts, right? I make no claims that they are my random thoughts.

[*MB*]

The younger Bush was hammered in the press because his two tax cuts reduced the rate paid by the rich: But the same cuts nearly eliminated federal income taxes on the working class and lower middle class. That is, George W. Bush's tax cuts were progressive.

Source

This is pretty sensationalist, but I think it's dead-on with this:

The reality is that we are being sucked into an economic black hole from which the U.S. economy will never fully recover.

The problem is debt. Collectively, the U.S. government, the state governments, corporate America and American consumers have accumulated the biggest mountain of debt in the history of the world. Our massive debt binge has financed our tremendous growth and prosperity over the last couple of decades, but now the day of reckoning is here.

Tax cuts are great, but they are short-term bursts (suited for enhancing 1 or 2 administrations). The consequences of massive debt are felt over decades. Easy to diffuse and shift the blame. I don't think tax cuts are a good idea any more. The only question is how much we "stifle" growth so that we can start paying off what we owe.

We actually largely agree here.

My general objection was more with those who tried to turn a generally progressive tax cut into another shot at class warfare. Cut to scene of Bush surrounded by menacing middle aged white men in pressed suits, and Bush yelling out "Hey...who wants a tax cut?! High five!"

[MilltoneBlabbit]

My general objection was more with those who tried to turn a generally progressive tax cut into another shot at class warfare. Cut to scene of Bush surrounded by menacing middle aged white men in pressed suits, and Bush yelling out "Hey...who wants a tax cut?! High five!"

Except how was it "generally progressive"? The high end did get the bulk of the dollars. And saying "class warfare" *is* class warfare - it's an endorsement of the extreme accumulation of wealth and the widening gap between rich and poor. Just another one-sided code word for a partisan position.

[*MB*]

My general objection was more with those who tried to turn a generally progressive tax cut into another shot at class warfare. Cut to scene of Bush surrounded by menacing middle aged white men in pressed suits, and Bush yelling out "Hey...who wants a tax cut?! High five!"

Except how was it "generally progressive"? The high end did get the bulk of the dollars. And saying "class warfare" *is* class warfare - it's an endorsement of the extreme accumulation of wealth and the widening gap between rich and poor. Just another one-sided code word for a partisan position.

The high end already pay the vast majority of the dollars. Just like you can't get blood from a stone, you can't offer a "tax cut" to those already paying nothing. Unless you want to just start stroking checks, Obama style. But then it's just a massive, government-sponsored charity; "charity" being the wrong word because it is essentially taken by force.

[MilltoneBlabbit]

My general objection was more with those who tried to turn a generally progressive tax cut into another shot at class warfare. Cut to scene of Bush surrounded by menacing middle aged white men in pressed suits, and Bush yelling out "Hey...who wants a tax cut?! High five!"

Except how was it "generally progressive"? The high end did get the bulk of the dollars. And saying "class warfare" *is* class warfare - it's an endorsement of the extreme accumulation of wealth and the widening gap between rich and poor. Just another one-sided code word for a partisan position.

The high end already pay the vast majority of the dollars. Just like you can't get blood from a stone, you can't offer a "tax cut" to those already paying nothing. Unless you want to just start stroking checks, Obama style. But then it's just a massive, government-sponsored charity; "charity" being the wrong word because it is essentially taken by force.

Well, this is my take. The economy is a closed system. It's a game that we all play together, as though we are contending for marbles or something. Rich people have the illusion that they are generating new marbles that everyone will get to play with, but that's often not true - sometimes they are just sucking them up and hoarding them.

There is nothing wrong with constraining how many marbles one person can accumulate. Nothing. Those people are winning the game, and if they don't like the rules they can stop playing. Somebody else would be happy to take their place. (There's a little free-market reverse kung-fu for you.)

You don't have a God-given right to get infinitely rich. There's nothing "natural" about a society that protects your business interests. So, people who don't like their tax rate can suck it. And I'll thank them for laying off the "class warfare," for once.

Think about if everybody voted their class interests. (I mean, you agree that "voting your interest" is fair and natural, correct? A kind of free-market system? Or is it "warfare.") So poor people in the Midwest stopped drinking the Christian cool-aid and just voted their interest (which would be Demo-socialist.) Rich people would be constrained - they couldn't win shit because they only make up a tiny portion of the population. And, things would reach a certain equilibrium - they'd be allowed to get as rich as society needed. That would be a free, self-regulating system. Beautiful, right?

So, anyway, my main point is that the term "class warfare" is one-sided partisan bullshit. And there are indeed another possible ways to do things - the current state of affairs is not God-given or natural.

[Rat Hunter]

The high end already pay the vast majority of the dollars. Just like you can't get blood from a stone, you can't offer a "tax cut" to those already paying nothing. Unless you want to just start stroking checks, Obama style. But then it's just a massive, government-sponsored charity; "charity" being the wrong word because it is essentially taken by force.

Out of curiosity, are you claiming the homebuyer credit?

[Arbitrator]

My general objection was more with those who tried to turn a generally progressive tax cut into another shot at class warfare. Cut to scene of Bush surrounded by menacing middle aged white men in pressed suits, and Bush yelling out "Hey...who wants a tax cut?! High five!"

I'm not really fixated on the class warfare idea, although I don't think anyone will deny that there is a growing gap between the rich and poor, and that the middle class is eroding. In the link I gave above, you can see a series of causes that they point to (again, admittedly sensationalistic) as being responsible for that increasing divide, including the erosion of OUR JERBS!!1!

I was initially prepared to say that you were making semantic arguments, that the tax cuts themselves were regressive but they still resulted in a progressive scale (just less progressive than before he got through with it). After doing some reading, it looks like I was wrong in what I thought of the tax cut layers. I still think they were bad ideas for other reasons, as I do with Obama's, but I'm not an economist.

[*MB*]

The high end already pay the vast majority of the dollars. Just like you can't get blood from a stone, you can't offer a "tax cut" to those already paying nothing. Unless you want to just start stroking checks, Obama style. But then it's just a massive, government-sponsored charity; "charity" being the wrong word because it is essentially taken by force.

Out of curiosity, are you claiming the homebuyer credit?

Goddamn right I am. If Obama keeps this up, he may buy my vote yet

[*MB*]

I did. Hey, these are supposed to be random thoughts, right? I make no claims that they are my random thoughts.

Fair enough. I was just giving myself a pat on the back for recalling where I saw the phrase (and secretly trying to move you off of Easterbrook to better conservative defenders—they exist, it's just that in the Palin/teabagger backwash they kind of get drowned out).

I like Easterbrook because while he leans conservative in worldview, he's not a kneejerk defender of all things conservative. He has taken plenty of shots at Bush that made me think.

[Unsomnambulist]

Hey, take care of the rich people and it'll trickle down to the rest of us. Like God pissing on everyone when it rains.

[Arbitrator]

I guess even Fox can't spin this one...

Tea Party Survey

[michaelben]

that racism/conspiracy choice is up to 76% now.

you know that's because all the liberals are flooding / skewing the vote against the movement.

[michaelben]

I'll guess I'll save you the colossal "who gives a fuck?" especially given the massive bloated joke that the entire Democratic party has become in their one shot at "leadership."

Oh wait, I didn't save it.

You don't think a 40-something year old writing notes on her hand is funny?

i just heard it referred to as a hillbilly palm pilot. and that her notes were actually written by an assistant.

and i laughed.

[Arbitrator]

i just heard it referred to as a hillbilly palm pilot. and that her notes were actually written by an assistant.

and i laughed.

I saw the video of her speaking while looking at her hand. Absolutely priceless.