Prime Time Thread

Bueller…..Bueller…..

Where is everyone?Hey, veralynn!

hey skiba!I don’t know

did you see lexaburn’s post regarding paste eaters today? I laughed so hard I snorted my water.

AS is a fuckstick.

Im lurking, I was simply finishing this after workin on it for about 4 days off-on.http://tarackian.deviantart.com/art/Red-Sonja-Testpage-121582429Not a whole lot of news today.lol @ miss california big anti-gay-marriage proud christian girl with her barely legal topless photosI am very jealous of Biden and Obamas burger trip today. I’d like to have a burger and a beer with them.Bristol Palin joins a national committe on preventing teen pregnancy?? Too late for her. Some role model.Wouldnt you like to know what Krugman and Obama discussed over dinner?

I’d like to personally damn all of those Tea Party protestors who hang signs from their children who are too young to even comprehend politics and shove them in front of cameras.

Good thing you’re not a paste eater then veralynn. Ya might be in some trouble then.

My first blog post. Ever.I’m worried about the repubs.I’m worried they’re not going to change at all.Because of that, they’ll lose so big in ’10 that the Dems will have an unstoppable majority. And then, as we know, absolute power will corrupt, absolutely. And then the Repubs will get voted back in. And having not had to change at all, they’ll be the same as they have been for the last 8 years.That keeps me up at night. And makes me take Tums.

Rich from MKE,I love it!!!That is the exact same paranoia I suffer from.

Worse yet,What if the DEMs become the corporatist tools that the GOP have been for the last 150 years?Then I have to change my license plate, get a tattoo removed, rename one of my children, kill my dog and heaven forbid, change my Party Registration.Scary!

yep Alex…I just sniffed magic markers, probably just as badbtw, who hasn’t loved lexaburn the last few days, he has been kicking some troll butt!Rich–that is why we have to do everything we can to keep the dems working on our issues. you must stay engaged with what is going on. I finally have a congressman who is replying to my emails personally. well, probably not himself, but not the form emails I got from the other guy. with the exception of the one time the previous guy tried to teach me about the constitution.and welcome Rich.JM–very nice detail on your work. I very much admire your abilities to be creative like that. I mess up stick figures. And can I add, I would love hair like Sonja has….And Krugman and Obama had dinner? Yes, I would love to hear what was said.

I think you guys should hold off before you panic. That seems to me like a pretty unlikely scenario.If youre worried about dems becoming corporatist tools… well some already are. I dont think even more repub failure will increase or decrease that number.Abandon your defeatist line of thought. I can be a pretty cynical person, but I think you cross a line with that thought train into just being a worry wort.

OMG, Joe!! You’d have to can your license plate?!?!? That would be horrible!

Furthermore, we should only be so lucky as to get an unstoppable majority so everything that needs to passed to really move into this century can be passed.National HealthcareNational BroadbandGet off of oilNational education?Bring on the unstoppable majority if it means passing those things. Ill worry about the corruption if/when it happens.

Ash,Can we legislate a NASCAR rule for Senators?Let me explain:If a Senator is bought and paid for my Bank of America, they most wear a racing suit with that logo on their back.If a Senator is owned by many “sponsors” they must have many logos on their backs to include the crotch of their pants.The size of the logos must be in dimensions according to the political campaign donation. Every inch is worth $50,000This is something all Americans could visualize and keep tabs on The House of Lords.

I am not a NASCAR fan, so don’t get worried.

that is a great idea Joe

LOLThats not a bad idea GIJOE, but you’re gullable if you think even that wouldn’t be turned into another way to make more money somehow.I dont think corruption is something that can ever be completely destroyed, much like terrorism. You cant destroy an idea.If anything, I think it should just be reformed. Lobbyists are obviously part of the world and there will always be people with money. However, we could try to pass legislation that puts more strict limits on what is and is not acceptable for campaign contributions.It seems to me that a lot of current campaign finance laws are skirted or ignored entirely. We could start by enforcing those.

Herro!David Brooks can be pretty douchey at times, but his latest column in the Times is a pretty good analysis of drunk monkeyfest that is today’s Republican party. Rich, we have lotsa Dems that already are corporate shills. Just look at what happened to the mortgage relief bill in the senate last week. We should dump these culls in the primaries. The Repubes can flail around all they want as far as I’m concerned. I don’t ever want to see them anywhere close to having a say in my government again. I’d be thrilled to see a lot more of their senators and members of congress GONE.

rofl @ Olbermann immitating Michele Bachmanns voice while saying Orgy and Spent Wad.

I always crack up at Keith/s imitations, esp of women. Just makes me giggle!

JM, that *was* pretty awesome (KO bit).

hey, does anyone know if the majority of Indians are vegetarian or just a large amount?

heh dot or feather, fe?

the beauty queen is talking about how anyone who speaks ill of her is “intolerant”…WTF?I wish Melissa Harris-Lacewell should be on the teevee more often. I especially like her with Rachel.

It was completely hilarious. My neighbors could probably hear me laughing.

Vera – Yes isn’t that ironic. Preaching about intolerance after she comes out against same sex marriage. Just another example of projection.

they do projection very well…

dot, SOIG.

JM, Wurzelbacher does the same thing, over and over (and over) in that Christianity Today interview. Really, it’s hard to pick the one quote that illustrates cognitive dissonance the best.

Hey! Say goodbye to camel toe! Also, a normal sex life.

I was especially ammused when he said calling someone a queer isn’t as bad as calling a white guy a honky.What I would say to him is I bet he eats at Honky Bucket(cracker barrel) a lot.I’ll take the gays over white trash anyday.(yes, trash comes in all colors)

DAMN!!!Fucking dead body? Holy Shit!

fe -I think many native americans are vegetarians from necessity. Beef is high in fats and they don’t deal with fats as well as europeans. They are like japanese and asians in general on that score. Buffalo was very lean and contained easier to metabolize fats. They become vegetarians to keep their colesterol levels from going through the roof. African-Americans have similar problems although not as bad as native americans. We need more buffalo. It’s much healthier and tastes good.

White trash is usually worse than most other shades of trash, JM.

Hello fe! My theory regarding Asian continent Indians & vegetarianism is that the majority of Indians are Hindu and consider cows sacred. Any other animals may be due to a lack of space.

I meant Asian Indians, Silly, but thanks!

Git, she said dot Injuns. Not the natives.Either way I dunno but I couldn’t resist the urge to ask the question.

Ummm, GI? Who is dead? Should we be concerned?The Pregnant Minx

Cost is probably a big factor, fe. Animals cost more to raise and feed than vegetables. Plus, as Minx mentioned, certain animals are considered sacred in Indian culture.Woohoo to the Veggies!!!

I agree with Git, more buffalo please.I can only get it here frozen.

Whoa. Minx is pregnant??? And Joe did it??

I’ve never tried buffalo, what is it like?

Finally, some fuckin NEWS around here.

Indians eat lamb and goats.Lamb vindaloo is quite tasty. Meat is expensive and so they do with as little as possible. I love indian food. They are geniuses with spices.

i have seen an indian mother and children wash their floors with cow waste and water! on the inside (having a super sensitive gag reflex) i was like “holy motha ucking shit. i am never touching anything here again!”, but not to offend i claimed a belly ache and got the hell out of there before i threw up on their fresh holy’ed up doodie floor. i couldn’t get over that shit! literally!

Minx – It has a richer taste than beef. Texture wise its pretty similar to any other steak (depends how you cook it of course) and if ground its very similar to ground chuck or sirloin beef. Its also leaner but being leaner doesnt lead to it being dry or tough like it would beef.

rename one of my childrenyou named a child Proud Democrat??

Nobody eats meat like Merkins and Europeans.

Buffalo that is fed a similar diet as beef cattle tastes a lot like beef. However it is very lean. Ground buffalo burgers are like 98% fat free. Because they have so little fat, they can be dry if you cook them too much. Since I like fish and meats barely cooked, this is not a problem for me. I need to avoid fat. You should be able to get ground buffalo at you supermarket. It is more expesive than beef because so few ranches raise it. Horse and buffalo taste more like beef than do venison and moose. If you’ve ever had any of those, that would give you an idea. I’ve only had horse in France. I don’t think it’s legal here. They use it for dog and cat food instead.

According to Marvin Harris, anthropologist, India’s sacred cattle are actually a rational cultural adaptation. The Hindu religion just eventually found a way to rationalize what was an overall economically sound taboo.Harris Theory of Sacred CowsAlso see: “India’s Sacred Cow,” by Marvin Harris

Jane– I mentioned to our GItheScholar last night that I was proud of him for going to school & gaining his commission. Instead of simply saying “Thank You”, GI said that I was now pregnant. With twins.Quite a feat considering that I don’t have Mother Nature’s monthy present anymore– that’s some powerful baby mojo!

Minx, I hear he’s quite the Sperm Font. Or something like that.

just don’t let him name the kid….

Joe needs to stop making twins. Jane, remind me not to let him within 5 feet of me. I’m still fertile and he scares me.

Lexaburn is my hero. He nailed it with paste eater.Glenn Beck looks exactly like a paste eating douchebag.Plouffe is also my hero. I would kill to be able to say to Rove “Taking advice on bipartisanship from you is like seeking interview advice from Sarah Palin.”

it’s pretty much the same reasoning as Jews & pork, Fe. Animals & people competing for the same resources, the choice is to either make the animal sacred or taboo.

So how many Cesca Ladies did I impregnate?Jesus Christ there goes the rest of the paycheck.Name: “Beauregard the Third”

Didn’t I read a story sometime last year of some 65 year old women giving birth?They can do wonders these days. Tragedys too. See: Octomom.

LOL @ceuI have images of a child telling her teacher my name isn’t Proud, it’s Proud Democrat ma’am.

Joe, take your Golden Sperm waaaaaay over there. Several of us may be fertile here.

Her name is “Madison”.

Jane,Southern Bitch kicks me in the Jimmy ever night to lower the birth rate. We tried a hot tub but that really didn’t work like the damn Japanese said it would.Don’t worry ladies, my apartment isn’t like a CSI crime scene. There isn’t semen on everything. Except the laptop.*cleans keypad*

GI-of-the-PowerSperm– three, if I’ve counted correctly.On which thread did Lexaburn come up with the paste eater line?

She kick you in the Facebook?

Nothing wrong with Madison. Nice name.

I’ve come up with names– How about Keith & Rachel? That is, if I have one of each gender.*checks lines on First Response Test, Again.*

Ummm….Jane? If it’s golden, it’s probably not sperm….

Minx -I think it was Crusades or Fox Nation. Lexaburn was on a roll on all of the threads today.

BTW, GItheJOE, Who is dead?!? How many freaking times do I have to ask?!!?

Why is there all this pregnancy!?!?!? STOP THE MADNESS!!!!*hiding in a corner armed with condoms*

Minx,There was a dead body at Abu Grahiab.

Your kidding, right.I read the thread, and the Redneck made Lex look like fool.All the Tool could say was something about watching FOX NEWS. Oh, and something about Elmer Dudd, that’s hardly original.

A dead body at Abu Grahaib? I guess I must have missed the shocker part of it.

Whoa! Someone went a little too far with the “advanced interrogation techniques” methinks. The dead person is a prisoner or a guard?

huffpo is reporting that 1 in 3 homes are worth less than their mortgages. As a non-homeowner/disaffected youth, I’m not sure what that means. Does it mean that the homes will eventually be foreclosed on? I guess I just want to know why it’s a big deal. Is it just another sign of how shitty the economy is?

Fe – It means that the amount they owe on the mortgages they signed for is more than the amount that their home is currently valued at.Its similar to if you buy a new car and the moment you drive it off the lot its value goes down a thousand dollars accept you still have to pay the full amount you signed for.Forecloser only happens if you missed your loan payment many times in a row.Its a big deal because it has become a trend in this country for people to borrow huge loans with the equity of their homes to buy new cars or a new boat or go on some lavish vacation that they cant really afford.Basically people dont have as much to use as collateral on loans. Im not sure how else to explain it more simpler.

Well more simple : People dont have as much fuel for the excessive life styles.

thanks, Ash. tres helpful.bleh. biology hmwk. minx, let’s run away together so I don’t have to do homework anymore.

fe– You’ve got it, sweetie! Your mom is welcome, of course, she could probably use a break as well. How about Bali? Or New Zealand?

fe -It also means that they may not be able to afford to sell the house. If the principle they owe on the mortgage is valued at more than the amount they would get to sell the house, they would have to pay money to sell the house. This means they are stuck there until the principle they owe is less than the sale price.This is bad. Very bad. It indicates that we had an completely incompetent bunch of fucktards running the government for the last eight years.

singapore, minx. I mean, we’d have to stay out of trouble or risk being disappeared, but we could do that.silly: ah, that makes sense. thanks.

Its a big deal because it has become a trend in this country for people to borrow huge loans with the equity of their homes to buy new cars or a new boat or go on some lavish vacation that they cant really afford.a by-product of tax reform Used to be that interest on things like car and personal loans and credit card debt was tax deductible. Congress eliminated all but mortgage interest & the mortgage companies saw an opportunity to up their profits by marketing home equity loans to pay for other things – like paying off credit cards. Problem was that people paid their debt but didn’t cut up their cards and started charging things again. So they then had huge credit debt AND home equity loans to pay….It only recently that some of the interest on student loans was again deductible from federal income tax.

Especially the last 2.5 yrs.But, to be honest, it’s been that way for the last 70 yrs.

Businesses, on the other hand, get to deduct all of their interest, all of their expenses, and pretty much anything else they think they can get away with deducting as long as they can call it a ‘business expense’.Individual taxpayers get ripped off in a large way. Listen to the screams we hear when they are told they can no longer deduct their overseas expenses without declaring their overseas profits.

I was able to deduct all of my interest expenses from all sources up until it changed when Reagan gave us a so-called ‘tax cut’. That was in 83 or 84. So claiming that this has not changed for 70 years is just blatantly false. BTW, his tax cut made my total tax burden increase. Idiot republicans only look at federal tax. My state and local taxes went up, a lot up. They went up by much more than my federal tax went down.

new guy on Daily Show. kinda cute in a portly way, can’t tell if he’s funny yet.

fe,A young mind is a terrible thing to waste.The true story lies somewhere in between the failed “Nanny State” policies of the past, consumer indulgence, and financial/corporate greed.For anyone to imply that the problems stemming from the mortgage crisis were a “Last 8 Years” thing, only proves thier ignorance/bias on the issue.Do your homework, find the answers, and don’t take a bunch of smucks words for it.

I believe I will take whomever’s word I like, senor “I do not respect anyone on this website enough to have an appropriate screenname.”Seriously, at least ‘Rock and Troll’ came up with a funny name. Sorta.

fe– please facebook me with your color/stone selection for your prom necklace. Yes, I really want to make one for you. It’s not a trip to Singapore, but it will have to do.Good Night All– as usual, I’m available for deep snuggles & shallow conversation if you don’t steal the blankets…

fe– please facebook me with your color/stone selection for your prom necklace. Yes, I really want to make one for you. It’s not a trip to Singapore, but it will have to do.Good Night All– as usual, I’m available for deep snuggles & shallow conversation if you don’t steal the blankets…

what’s a smuck?Oh! Were you calling us schmucks? Nice.

Screwed -You are, in fact, screwed. Let’s review history, shall we?Out of the last 30 years, the republicans controlled the White House for 22 years out of the 30. The only years the economy worked well were the 8 years of Clinton but the economy slowed down when the Republicans gained a majority in both houses in 94 and began to undo what had been done to stimulate the economy. By 2000 the economy stalled and the market crashed. The Congress was controled by Republicans for the first 6 years of the Bush Presidency.The Republicans have ZERO CREDIBILITY on any issue facing the United States Today.Republican Policies have been proven to not work as advertised. They are based on fallacies and wet dreams. The Republican Party is a collection of Con Men dedicated to transferring all of the nation’s wealth to the top 1%.Anyone that can read history can see that this is true.

the failed “Nanny State” policies of the pastwhich “nanny state” policies failed? Social Security? Medicare? Unemployment insurance? Perhaps you mean the huge failure of the Civilian Conservation Corps or the Tennessee Valley Authority? The Public Work Authority, maybe?Or were you referring to things like Pell Grants and Stafford Loans, which have helped millions of people go to college & therefore improve the quality of life for all of us? Food stamps, which have helped feed the hungry during tough economic times?Exactly WHICH are the policies that have failed??

The problem faced by the republicans is their reliance on the ignorance of the electorate. They are used to telling any old cock and bull story and getting away with it. They think that they are the only literate people around. Basically, they want us all stupid so they can con us. We aren’t all dumb enough to watch Fox.BZZZZZZZZZZZT Game over.

KS has lost his mind: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/05/kiefer-sutherland-headbut_n_196881.html

fe,And while I’m a smuck, I’ll also have you know that while your Congrssional leadership (Frank, Reed, Polosi, and others) knew full well of a pending Mortgage meldown, they did absolutely nothing to prevent it.They basically shit on the Middle Class, the poor, and the rest of the American people, much like many others did, regardless of a party affliation.

ceu -What year did our interest deduction go away? I remember deducting car loan and credit card interest.We still get taxed on all interest we earn, we just can’t deduct interest we pay. Republicans have sneaky ways of ‘cutting’ taxes.Thanks for dealing with Nanny State. That’s a Lush Rimjob talking point used by extreme self-servatives. These are the folks that only care about what happens to them. Torturing other people is OK provided it’s not them. They always call themselves Christians and yet they are exactly like vicious Nazis.

Git,Are you fucking serious. The economy was in a recession when Clinton took office(otherwise he would of never been elected), and after the Rebublicans gained control of the Congress in 94, the ecomomy rebounded. The mild Recession of the late 90′s was cylical in nature, and had much to do with the “Dot com” bubble popping.And, it’s really aggravating when someone assumes that every person that comes on this site, is a fuckin Bush supporter.

Go Kiefer.I would not have reacted much differently. Don’t think I’d use a head-butt.Brook Sheilds is 43? She still looks hot. I’m getting old.

and, screwed, it’s really aggravating when trolls come on this site assuming all of us are fuckin congressional democrats supporters.

When you use current wrong wing talking points like ‘Nanny State’ it isn’t really an assumption. It appears to be a concept supported by your own statements. I’m sorry I mistook you for a BushCo supporter. I suggest you stop using Lush’s latest propaganda points to avoid confusion.

There are some very bad government programs that do deserve to be flushed: No child left behind has been an educational disaster, creating a system where you teach for the test. Ask any teacher.Tons of ridiculous high tech military toys need to go away.OSHA needs some repair. It has gone from being a workers safety watchdog to being a nitpicky, expensive burden that doesn’t keep workers safe. Oh, and that Department of Redundancies Department.However, there are lots of good programs that just need overhauling and proper funding.Saying that we just need to gut government is just anarchistic bullshit. If they want to live in a place with no government interference they should try Somalia.

fe,I would hope not.Most, including many that are still sitting, need to be in prison for thier Blatant Destruction of the American economy.This is what happens when greedy, unethical interests, and self-serving, elected government offcials mix together.

I want to see Pelosi impeached for breaking her oath of office. She had no legal basis for “taking impeachment off of the table.” She failed to do her duty by ignoring Kucinich’s having read Articles of Impeachment against both Cheney and Bush. Impeachment proceedings should have taken place. About the only member of congress that doesn’t belong in jail is Kucinich. All of the others are oath breakers.

anyone else thinking screwed is just PPP trying a new name?

I’d argue to Ted Kennedy, Silly.

Here, here. With you 100% there Git.

screwed -We agree on some things. I agree that congress is at fault for ignoring the economic collapse. It’s not like no one saw it coming. I noticed Krugman screaming about it in 2005, I don’t know when he started the warnings, I came in while it was in progess. The Europeans were shooting warning flares in 2005 if not earlier.

Well sorry, it’s just that I consider a Government sponsered program that allows anyone, regardless of credit status, or proof of income, to buy a house, a “Nanny State” Program.In this case, all it did was help drive up the price of housing, or create a bubble, that eventually popped. IT ALSO BROUGHT OUT THE GREED IN MANY LOAN INSTITUTIONS.

I’d love to give Ted a pass as well fe.I hold Nancy as principal culprit since she failed to act on Kucinich’s move. The ball was in her court and she ignored it. She’s not allowed to do that.I don’t think screwed is PPP. He could very well be an ‘independent’ like PPP. He’s convinced me he’s not just another wrong wing troll as I first thought because we’ve had so many lately.

Screwed you are so pathetic. When are you trolls going to start being original. “Nanny state” hah”a young mind is an awful thing to waste, do your homework”You can fuckoff with that noise.ANY mind is an awful thing to waste, and clearly yours is being wasted. Assuming Fe isnt thinking independently based on age while also assuming you can change minds with a whisper makes you look like a predatory arrogant bastard.

o/t: my biology homework is scaring the hell out of me.

Silly git, others,Thanks, but I have to go for now.But, my last thought is this: It’s not that I consider all things helpful to be bad, it’s just that sometimes, even well intended things have very bad consequenses. Especially, when the oversight is lost on selfishness.

The last 30 years have been the biggest transfer of middle class wealth in history.These people labeled “The Greatest Generation” not only survived the Great Depression and fought in the Second Great War but they also managed to salvage a modest amount of wealth. This is where the story gets fun. The Greatest Generation are all in retirement, mostly invested in the stock market, and LOST 60% of their life’s savings. They also lost 50% of their home value. The “fun” part is that their “value” of their homes and investments aren’t lost, it just got REDISTRIBUTED back the few and the wealthy, you know the people who had all the wealth before the communist FDR regulated their exploitative asses.Basically, Rich people had all the money prior to 1930 then the middle class got some of it, while the rich still made money, but during the last 30 years the rich got all their grandpappy’s money back.Oh…an 80 year old that lost 60% of their retirement CAN NOT MAKE THAT UP and could die in poverty. GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Ashby, your a fuckin loser. You must of just now pulled your head out of your ass, because the damn conversation has been going on for more than a hour.Go back to hacking somewhere else.

screwed -You are aware of the fact that the people that have done a forensic study of the foreclosure crisis have determined that the government program you refer to played little to no part of the foreclosure meltdown?The diagnosis was that the biggest cause of the crisis was the banks themselves giving loans willy-nilly to everyone. The government program did not require them to give loans to people not qualified to receive them. They gave loans to everyone, mostly to people not part of any government program, with total disregard of their own stated standards.The problem was determined to be a complete lack of regulation. Something demanded by republicans and libertarians who insist on ignoring history and conveniently forgetting why regulations were imposed in the first place.Our current disaster was brought about by the Gramm-fuckwit-otherfuckwit Act being passed in 1999. It only took 9 years to demonstrate why banking regulations were passed in the 30s.Phil Gramm is a criminal that belongs in prison.Republicans deregulated Savings and Loans in the 80s and some sleazy bastards ran off with the money and collapsed the S&L industry leaving the taxpayers holding the bag. Then Gramm pulls the same stunt with the banking industry.I’m getting tired of watching crooked republicans robbing us.

Screwed -Unintended consequences are a bitch. Another thing we agree on.Please come back and visit again.

Git you scare me with the parallel thought process.GET OUT OF MY MIND!Screwed, please take the extra second to type your fuckinG “G”s.I know that on RED STATE and other KLAN sites they think you are UPPITY if you type or even pronounce your G’s.

Screwed – I was away from my computer, and Ill comment on anything you say whenever I damn well please.Nothing ticks me off more than some asshole assuming younger people are incapable of thinking for themself. It’ll be quite a bitch when all of us younger people whom you think are so uninformed are paying your fucking bills because of this idealogical anti “nanny state” shit you spew. Go die in a fire.

I wonder if the greedy rat bastards that have pillaged the middle class have finally over reached. Since I’ve been out of the US since before Obama’s inauguration I don’t really have a good idea just how pissed everyday people are. Are they pissed enough to dump their sellout representatives? This includes the Democrats. You can always dump them in the primary.are they pissed enough to start burning and breaking shit?Americans need to seize the stuff that was taken from them. Storm the banks. Burn Wall Street!

Don’t be too hard on Screwed.He is not a troll, just a differing viewpoint and actually I am not at all certain there is a lot of differences.I know he is not as socialist as I, but he is no fan of bush and considers all of congress complicit in the economy meltdown. So we have common ground.

“assuming younger people are incapable of thinking for themself”Yes, some of us youngins can think fur ourselves but some of us are still attached our mama’s titty.”Go die in a fire”Is that the 3rd or 7th level of Dante’s Inferno? I always get my 11th century mythology wrong.

GI -You handled the xfer of wealth excellentlyemsique -I wish I could say yes, but alas, most of the populous are still ignorant sheeple that think that FNC is a news channel. The number of people that know is on the increase. The recent shit has people looking around more than usual.

Git – Sorry but anyone who immediately targets someone younger, specificly designates them as having a “young mind,” and says not to take the advice of “smucks” (schmucks?) does not get my respect in the slightest.It only takes someone slightly in touch with reality to not be a fan of Bush, so I dont see that as any big credit.

Emsique – As Git pointed out, the number of people paying attention is rising. But for the most part all it takes is a new low price on bigscreen TVs to make people happy again.

thanks for the defense, JM.

J M -You don’t have to apologize to me. No to apologize for.screwed was abrasive to everyone at first. I nuked him a bit myself initially. He became reasonable so I did too.I would have done exactly what you did.I consider overuse of “Nanny State” to be a mindless wrong wing talking point technique.A nanny state would be the U.K. where they have CCTV cameras everywhere and you can be issued an ASBO (AntiSocial Behavior Order) for pissing in an alley.

Unemployed and retired people have a lot of time on their hands. If the jobless rated keeps increasing, we may see a more active opposition to the status quo. I saw a recent poll that said that half of all working Americans are afraid they could lose their jobs in the next year. Obviously there are some bosses out there voicing their concerns, which has a trickle down effect.I know the teabaggers came across as a bunch of racist, uninformed morons, but they do reflect dissatisfaction with the way things are, and even share some common complaints with the rest of us, like we are getting screwed by the banks and Wall Street.

I think condescending is a much better word choice.What exactly is Antisocial about pissing in an alley? I would think you would have to be pretty damned outgoing to go piss in an alley.

emsique -Frustration, dissatisfaction, and anxiety over job security are definitely on the upswing. Consumer confidence in the economy actually went up a bit in April. Most Americans approve of Obama’s actions and think he is doing the right things. It looks like we have averted the D word, but I still have my fingers crossed because we are not out of hte woods yet. Jobs are still scarce as hen’s teeth.

Emisque – The problem with the Teabaggers is that even if some of their complaints are ligitimate, they are entirely drowned out by rest of it.Protesting broad disatisfaction in general really isnt effective. Because they dont have a specific target, it all just gets lost in this pool of crazyness. If you look at the signs from their protests you basically see a little bit of every single subject there is. That delutes the message into an easy target for mockery.Hell even if they did pick one specific target it would probably be something totally empty such as protesting a tax increase after thier taxes just got cut. Front is Back and Up is Down.

Theres actually going to be a very large influx of jobs and money where I live very soon. Government money.They are adding 11,000 service members to Fort Knox, which will also include their families so I’d guess around 30-40,000 people. An influx of that many people to an area with a population of only around 50 to 70k is a pretty big deal. It will require new roads, stores, restarunts, schools… the whole deal.

The ASBO law seems to be a catch all for when you piss off a cop and you haven’t done anything he can charge you with for real, so he charges you with antisocial behavior. This is often given to teens for yelling at the elderly, or knocking dust bins (trash cans) over, or telling the constable to go roger himself, or doing any number of things that bored teens have been known to do.ASBO was a well intentioned law that has lots of unintended consequences. It may serve a useful purpose, but I am glad we don’t have it here. Most of the ASBO cases I’ve read about seemed pretty petty and trivial to have an entire legal process to fuck with over. I think you have to see a counselor once a week or something.

Git – That sounds like miles of redtape and nonsense for their judicial system to deal with instead of going after real criminals.It would be a sad day if our country ever becomes as watched over by Big Brother as Britain is. Fortunately I have very extended family in Austria if it ever comes to that.

Yeah, That’s why the U.K. *is* a Nanny State. It’s not the meaning that wrong wingers think of though.I’m glad to hear of the job creation in your area. That will be a huge boost to the local economy.Tampa Bay is getting an infusion but I don’t know the time frame. It was announced that Tampa Bay will be the proving ground for the new standard digital health records. There are many large hospitals plus a major medical school and the largest VA Hospital in the Country. Every hospital will be converting their digital health records to the standard format. This will create a significant number of tech jobs. Once the system is tried out, debugged, and made workable, it will become the required digital health records system everywhere. I suspect that they will convert a region at a time, although the only plan right now is to do the Tampa Bay area as a proof of concept.

You guys have given me lots of new material for my latest blog entry, US vs. China nanny statisms. In many ways, you are way free to do just about anything you want here, smoke anywhere, pile the family on the motorcycle, do heavy construction in flip flops, litter, pollute, use fireworks. You just can’t criticize the government.

My home state, Oregon has the dubious honor of having the second highest unemployment rate in the country behind Michigan. Nice scenery and great pot though. Too many retired people and service jobs. Retirement income drops, service jobs drop.

I have to sleep now. I look forward to your nxt blog post emsique. Have a great afternoon.

@Git – interest deduction disappeared sometime in the 80′s. I think it was part of Gramm-Hollings-Rudman.Reading assignment for today: Read The Far Right’s First 100 Days: Getting More Extreme by the Day from Alternet. Excellent piece on the far right-wing mindset…

fe,”screwed” wasn’t me. And by the way, the history displayed here last night was pathetic, on both sides. Maybe if you all used some actual statistics, instead of relying Bill O’Reilly and Keith Olbermann for your facts, you might come off sounding like you know what you’re talking about.For example, the only eight years of the last thirty where the economy worked well was the Clinton era?The IRS website would help me refute that statement about a thousand times before we even got out of the first of Reagan’s terms. Clinton was decent, but he was really only continuing Reagan’s economic policies.

the only eight years of the last thirty where the economy worked well was the Clinton era? The IRS website would help me refute that statement about a thousand times before we even got out of the first of Reagan’s terms.And yet, you didn’t use the help of the IRS website. Why make the assertion, then?Guess whether the economy worked well depends on if you had a job or not. During Reagan’s first term unemployment was fairly high – hitting 10.8% by Nov 1982 (it was at 7.5% when he took office). If you DID have a job, taxes most likely went up with Gramm-Hollings-Rudman (mine did, at least). The lowest unemployment rate under Reagan was 5.3% in Dec, 1988…but then we had Bush the First, under whom the rate had gone to 7.3% by the time he was defeated for reelection.Clinton – the rate went steadily down, holding steady at 3.9% for Sept – Dec, 2000.Another marker is the size of the national debt – which grew astronomically under Reagan & was getting paid down under Clinton….Certainly, by those 2 standards, the economy was much better under Clinton than under St. Ron.Enough statistics for ya??

Ceu, not nearly enough. Take another look.Reagan inherited a Jimmy Carter fiasco. Sort of like Obama inheriting a W fiasco. Clinton had to deal with neither.And again, you give credit to Clinton for paying down the deficit, which is fine. But do you realize that you also have to give that same credit to the Republican Congress?See, ceu, it’s all a matter of perspective. Reagan worked with a Democratic Congress. Give them as much blame as you give Reagan.For me, it’s easier to see things the way they actually were, because I’m not stuck defending an ideology the way you are. That’s not me being arrogant. That’s just me being honest.Besides, what need did I have of looking at those stats on that site? I’ve already seen them; I know what they say.