US government shutdown?

[Minnie]

I hate CNN because Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Minnie

I hate CNN because Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett.

I dig Erin Burnett.

[Minnie]

I think she's very pretty. But she was a total ding dong when that stuff happened in Boston and now she irritates me. Maybe I''ll watch her doing one of her other shows and see if she is less irritating.

Wolf Blitzer can die in a hole.

[karl262]

Originally Posted by Caged Great

Well, the deficit has dropped by nearly 1 trillion a year (1.5 in 2009 to 650 billion now). It's not fixed, but there are things that could help knock that down further. Ending Afghanistan would knock 100 billion a year off alone, let alone reducing the military a bit because of the lack of having any current conflicts to fight. Amusingly, Obamacare itself will reduce the deficit by about 200 billion over the next ten year, both from savings and some small tax increases on the the top 1%.

With contracting overseas commitments, what are you talking about? Does it have to do with the fact that they aren't bombing everyone in the middle east?

The spying is the biggest concern of mine on that list and it is a very worrying sign that needs to be addressed.

The deficit spending being reduced by almost 2/3 is a good sign, but they are so past the point of manageable debt that they have become addicted to borrowing. Everyone just accepts that this year the government will be in more debt than the last, and more still next year. It cannot continue much longer without some nasty side effects. I am not against borrowing and debt, in fact it can be a good thing and necessary thing to keep economies moving, but it has to be managed properly. If they default in a few days their interest rates will jump and now the cost of running government will become even more expensive when they do eventually pass a budget. I wonder if they will drop to a single A rating or lower?

For contracting overseas commitments, in a nutshell, yes not bombing everyone in the middle east and actually being talked out of it in the case of Syria. They have also contracted overseas military presence in places like Germany and Japan, as their vast military is just stretched too thin following over a decade of expensive wars.

I hope the tea party republicans who are causing this mess know how dangerous it is to play political brinkmanship with something as important as the debt ceiling. Unless this is what these nut jobs want, then Flying Spaghetti Monster help us.

[DFO]

Here is an article discussing the GOP plan an the absurd amount of money being used to fight the ACA/president.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us...=politics&_r=0

Too bad the GOP couldn't put that time and energy into something useful. The thing that gets me in this and other articles - this is about the GOP vs the president, not the GOP legitimately standing up for the people.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by DFO

Here is an article discussing the GOP plan an the absurd amount of money being used to fight the ACA/president.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us...=politics&_r=0

Too bad the GOP couldn't put that time and energy into something useful. The thing that gets me in this and other articles - this is about the GOP vs the president, not the GOP legitimately standing up for the people.

Wow, rich people really really hate poor people in America. Amazing how they think they know whats best for everyone, and how much money they are willing to spend to keep poor people in their place.

It's too bad the Koch brothers couldn't be poor and uninsured for a few years.

[Matty81]

I don't think they hate poor people, I just don't think they care about anybody but themselves.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I don't think they hate poor people, I just don't think they care about anybody but themselves.

If you wahnt to make it in this dawg eat dawg world thats just how ya have tuh be!

Now, I'mm sit on my porch and sip my mint julip.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Matty81

I don't think they hate poor people, I just don't think they care about anybody but themselves.

Actually, I suspect there's a frighteningly large percentage of rich Americans who really do hate* poor people.

The narrative they subscribe to is that anyone in the United States can be rich if they just work hard enough. Poor people, therefore, must be a lazy welfare bums who don't understand the value of a hard day's work and just want to leech off government handouts. It doesn't matter that this is an overly-simplistic world view that doesn't account for the myriad of socio-economic conditions that lead to the cycle of poverty and America having worse upward class mobility than most other Western democracies; this mindset is nonetheless believed by a shockingly large number of wealthy Americans.

*Or at least blame them for being poor

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by DFO

Here is an article discussing the GOP plan an the absurd amount of money being used to fight the ACA/president.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/us...=politics&_r=0

Too bad the GOP couldn't put that time and energy into something useful. The thing that gets me in this and other articles - this is about the GOP vs the president, not the GOP legitimately standing up for the people.

It used to be the Democrats and Republicans changed their narratives on current events to fit their worldview and objectives. The GOP is now changing the narrative to make Obama look bad. That's a huge difference. They're even changing what they stand for to further themselves from Obama

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Actually, I suspect there's a frighteningly large percentage of rich Americans who really do hate* poor people.

The narrative they subscribe to is that anyone in the United States can be rich if they just work hard enough. Poor people, therefore, must be a lazy welfare bums who don't understand the value of a hard day's work and just want to leech off government handouts. It doesn't matter that this is an overly-simplistic world view that doesn't account for the myriad of socio-economic conditions that lead to the cycle of poverty and America having worse upward class mobility than most other Western democracies; this mindset is nonetheless believed by a shockingly large number of wealthy Americans.

*Or at least blame them for being poor

I agree and it's dangerous in the long-term to build a society with too challenging an upward class mobility system.

The more the Americans refuse to accept that their country needs a correction (like instituting things like the ACA) to reduce the differences in classes instead of continuing to expand the gulf, the more I think there'll be an eventual, forceful, violent correction by the suppressed. See: French Revolution for a comparative.

[Flash Walken]

One day, the poor will have nothing to eat but the Rich.

[Hemi-Cuda]

So if I understand this correctly, there are enough Republicans that would vote for a clean spending bill to have it pass, but speaker Boehner refuses to call a vote, essentially meaning he's the sole person responsible for keeping this shutdown going. How can a single person have this much power, especially one that voters don't elect directly? One guy is basically holding the government hostage until he gets his way, which is childish and extremely dangerous

Why couldn't the rules be changed to let the minority leader call a vote? That would seem to be the easiest way to avoid crap like this

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

I agree and it's dangerous in the long-term to build a society with too challenging an upward class mobility system.

The more the Americans refuse to accept that their country needs a correction (like instituting things like the ACA) to reduce the differences in classes instead of continuing to expand the gulf, the more I think there'll be an eventual, forceful, violent correction by the suppressed. See: French Revolution for a comparative.

What may prevent this is that large swaths of lower income americans vote against self intrest in the name of freedom. As long as people vote for an ideolgy that can supress any kind of uprising. Religion and hate has long been used to control the masses. Where it would likely begin though is in an inner city with some kind of race trigger. The scary part of the US is how much fear and hate is created by the media and political parties

[Locke]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Actually, I suspect there's a frighteningly large percentage of rich Americans who really do hate* poor people.

The narrative they subscribe to is that anyone in the United States can be rich if they just work hard enough. Poor people, therefore, must be a lazy welfare bums who don't understand the value of a hard day's work and just want to leech off government handouts. It doesn't matter that this is an overly-simplistic world view that doesn't account for the myriad of socio-economic conditions that lead to the cycle of poverty and America having worse upward class mobility than most other Western democracies; this mindset is nonetheless believed by a shockingly large number of wealthy Americans.

*Or at least blame them for being poor

I agree. Unfortunately, it stems directly from 'The American Dream.'

Its the fallout, and its become a nightmare.

On my own personal rant; I believe its a genuine problem that people are far too often looking to the past to present them benchmarks that they dont alter to accommodate for fluctuating factors. People may think this is all well and good because those lazy ne'erdowells got what was coming to them, but they dont incorporate the factors that created that situation.

I had a buddy the other day tell me that hes proud that hes earning $45K a year because it took his dad 15 years with the company to earn that much. What? When his dad earned it was probably 30+ years ago and it bought his childhood home for 5 figures! Things change.

When you want historical benchmarks, you should be sure that they're in context. I shudder to think that people that think this way are our rich and powerful policy-makers.

[Minnie]

I think Boehner's snorted too much Dorito dust from rolling around in the bag and it's eaten his brain out. Good hell, that man is orange.

[Red Ice Player]

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10...sonally/196304

Ah....Fox News...lol

Fox & Friends bimbo lifted a story from a parody site and reported Obama funding a Muslim museum out of his own pocket.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10...sonally/196304

Ah....Fox News...lol

Fox & Friends bimbo lifted a story from a parody site and reported Obama funding a Muslim museum out of his own pocket.

I don't know if even fox news is that dumb. They are just happy to repeat it as the truth, knowing it's bull.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Red Ice Player

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2013/10...sonally/196304

Ah....Fox News...lol

Fox & Friends bimbo lifted a story from a parody site and reported Obama funding a Muslim museum out of his own pocket.

Fox News is to news as WWE is to sports.

They should call it Fox News Entertainment.

[Red Ice Player]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I don't know if even fox news is that dumb. They are just happy to repeat it as the truth, knowing it's bull.

Oh...they are that dumb. But the more stupid they get, the more they suit their demographic, who will be repeating this story as fact forever.