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I’ll start things out by noting just how badly Mr. Hope and Change got spanked last night…
I’ll say this, I’m going to hold my nose and vote for Mitt either way, but watched the debates last night expecting to have to use a pillow to cover my face as Obama tore him apart. About 1 hr in I just could not believe it, Romney was not only holding his own, he was actually putting the president on his heels. By the end of it, my mouth hung open, I simply could not believe that Romney had not only been able to hold his own.. If that was a boxing match, they would have called it in favor of Romney to stop Obama from getting punched anymore (not my analogy, but I read it this morning and liked it).
I don’t know how they prepped Romney, but, he came off well, was aggressive and well spoken and seemed to be ready for the questions where Obama spent more time thinking about his answers. Of all the things I expected last night, Romney wiping the floor with Obama was not one of them..
Like I said, Romney could have fallen off the stage drunk and I’d still vote for him; I vote with my wallet and President Obama has made it abundantly clear that he intends to tax people in my income bracket even more, something that, almost without regard to what else he supports, I simply cannot support. I can’t stand Romney’s social policy, but, frankly, Obama has failed here too; I don’t see us being any more “socially free” than we were when he took office.
Oh, and finally, on that topic (social freedom), I finished reading “A new Jim Crow” last week. This was a very interesting book; and, for those of you who are interested in racial issues, one I would consider worth reading. The synopsis is that the drug war has become the new way for America to create a permanent “underclass” (the position that used to be held by slaves) and, using the legal system, suppress an entire ethnic groups in this country. Very interesting read.
Comment by Overtaxed
Oh, and finally, on that topic (social freedom), I finished reading “A new Jim Crow” last week. This was a very interesting book; and, for those of you who are interested in racial issues, one I would consider worth reading. The synopsis is that the drug war has become the new way for America to create a permanent “underclass” (the position that used to be held by slaves) and, using the legal system, suppress an entire ethnic groups in this country. Very interesting read.
————————-
OT, is the author a black female?
If so, I think I know this book you refer to. My only issue with it is that when pushed, she backpedaled regarding whether the criminal justice system is a race war.
In other words, she spent the entire book showing proof that it is, but when asked if it is, she equivocated like an Obama.
Very annoying, but typical of an academic.
In addition there is a simpler explanation of the phenomenon she describes.
Men are valued for their utility; by other men, but especially by women. In the U.S, black males main utility was always their labor without compensation (slavery). Once that was removed, black males nolonger had any utility. All the “laws” used to jail them are just a formality. The real issue is the same as its always been: should a black male be able to have utility not in service of white supremacy (the state)
Its that simple.
White males have also been subject to the same dynamic, except they always had the option of exchanging utility for servicing the state indirecty by performing as a father or husband for a woman.
To sum up.
“male energy” not subject to a woman or the state is only a liability for both and is dealt with accordingly.
“Drug war..permanent under class”. In the eighties, due to my job, I attended a meeting with the head of the DEA for the six western states. After the meeting I asked in a private why they didn’t close down the trafficking since they knew the real suppliers were. I was totally unprepared for the answer: because we need a certain amount of money in the underground economy in the inter cities. They only chose to cut down those in the heroin drug trade getting too big or out of control. Shortly thereafter two big named sports heroes died (Len B and I don’t remember the other) and they put on a big dog and pony show with some arrests.
That is so unbelievable that it is believable.
so unbelievable that it is believable.
Especially in the 80s, with Reagan in charge. They were probably skimming the money and sending it to the Contras.
Len Bias died from cardiac arrest due to Cocaine….
If we legalized all drugs tomorrow, the prison industrial complex would lose a huge amount of its revenue overnight. Now, we seem to be unable to get to the fact that their “revenue” is directly caused by suffering of others.
Some things absolutely should result in jail/prison. But drugs aren’t one of them. Spring all those offenders tomorrow (and the related crimes that occur primarily because drugs are illegal) and we’d have a fraction of the population and a fraction of the need for more prisons/guards/wardens/etc.
Comment by Overtaxed
Some things absolutely should result in jail/prison. But drugs aren’t one of them.
————————-
Can we put the halfwayhouse next door to you?
You have no clue.
Some things absolutely should result in jail/prison. But drugs aren’t one of them.
————————-
Can we put the halfwayhouse next door to you? You have no clue.
That is a bit of a non sequitur. If drugs were not illegal there would not be druggies in halfway houses.
And if drugs were not illegal we could take drugs’ prison spending and spend it on real treatment centers. (Treatment for FREE)
(Yea, I know. The right-wing nutjobs think drug treatment or healthcare for “free” is communism but having the largest prison population in THE ENTIRE WORLD is freedom.) (Ya just can’t make this stuff up)
End the war on drugs. Let the offenders out of jail/prison. Let the addicts pay for their own drugs and treatment.
my 2 cents
But what if it was a theft, robbery, home invasion etc along with the possession charge that put them in prison to begin with? When I read of an arrest here it’s never for just one drug count.
But what if it was a theft, robbery, home invasion etc along with the possession charge that put them in prison to begin with? When I read of an arrest here it’s never for just one drug count.
Thieves, robbers and home invaders should do their time.
There are those who will not follow the law, and those who cannot. Drug addicts cannot.
Think it through.
Legalizing = No more drug testing.
That’s all I need. Wondering if the meth-head at the overhaul shop put the engine/component back together right.
Hanging his azz post-mortem doesn’t do me any good.
Think it through, If you are testing your employees due to a good reason then you should continue your testing even after legalization.
“There are those who will not follow the law, and those who cannot. Drug addicts cannot.”
By definition they cannot, because most of their drugs of choice are illegal. It’s kind of rhetorical argument.
And, the counterpoint to this is that there are plenty of drug addicts who do follow the law. Rush Limbaugh comes to mind as a pretty good example, but, there are plenty of addicts out there today who get their drugs legally and use them “responsibly” but who are, without a doubt, drug addicts. It takes about a week on Oxycontin to become an “addict”. Think about how many people there are, every day, who are addicts but follow the law. Thing is, if you’re poor, this option isn’t really open to you because you can’t afford a Dr to write you for your drug of choice. If you have the cash, you can get a Dr to write you for all the Oxy (heroin) and Dextroamphetamine (speed) that you can possibly stand.
And also legalization does not mean no more drug testing, just like you can’t be an alcoholic today and work in a respected job, if your performance suffers because of a drug addiction (which, for most people, it will) then you lose your job.
It would be great if you could get oxycontin legal OTC. Will that happen when the war on drugs ends?
And open up FEMA camps in the boonies, to house the drug addicts….do all you want but you ainta gonna leave…..
but having the largest prison population in THE ENTIRE WORLD is freedom.) (Ya just can’t make this stuff up)
+1 Rio…Exactly…
But what if it was a theft, robbery, home invasion etc along with the possession charge ??
No need for the “Felony” possession charge is the point…Charge them for the Robbery….
And open up FEMA camps in the boonies, to house the drug addicts….do all you want but you ainta gonna leave…..
Interesting concept. Make drugs cheap and legal, but only in special facilities in the middle of nowhere. No ride out unless you can pass a whiz quiz. Free rides back in at any time…
yet the mechanic at the overhaul shop can be drunk, that is legal and doesn’t help put an engine back together.
dont people get fired for incompetence?
I have seen sober people ef up too. cant avoid it.
prisons would still be full.
We need to jail more violent crime, muggings, break ins, rapes, financial crimes you name. Too many get a slap on the wrist. Let the drug users out, some will go back in due to braking the law but many won’t we can use the extra space for WS.
“There are those who will not follow the law, and those who cannot. Drug addicts cannot.”
I beg to differ.
I’ve personally known addicts who committed crimes against others, and other addicts who primarily self destructed, only indirectly harming others.
I vote with my wallet and President Obama has made it abundantly clear that he intends to tax people in my income bracket even more
It seems to me that it’s precisely your demographic that
is gonna take it on the chin if Romney does what he claims he plans to do. He’s gonna take away your itemized deductions or limit them.
Since the real rich don’t depend so much on “itemizing” as we working schlubs do I expect that they will come out WAY ahead if the cap gains tax is reduced.
Since he has a significant amount of income taxed at the highest or next to highest marginal tax rate, he might come out even or ahead. $70K to $200K will get clobbered.
Overtaxed personal situation might be different, but it seems to me that most people in that demographic itemize a boatload. If that’s limited to 17K (which a high earner could easily pay in state income tax alone in some states) then even with the 20% rate reduction might not offset it.
The one thing we need to remember is that the whole purpose of changing the tax code, while keeping it revenue neutral, is to shift the tax burden to someone else. And I don’t believe for a nanosecond that Romney wants to transfer it to the 1%.
The one thing we need to remember is that the whole purpose of changing the tax code, while keeping it revenue neutral, is to shift the tax burden to someone else.
The reason to change the tax code is to:
#1 Simplify it
#2 Flatten it
#3 Remove incentives to modify behavior that are counterproductive ( tax break to buy a house that you can’t afford)
#4 Remove incentives to modify behavior that have outlived their usefulness or never had any.
#5 Remove incentives to modify behavior in order to increase freedom.
#2 is the sticky one. There are probably a wide range of definitions for “flatten”. I’ve seen people here argue for flattening more toward an equal dollar amount rather than an equal percentage.
“I don’t know how they prepped Romney,…”
1. Raised as son of AMC CEO and Michigan governor.
2. Served as Bain Capital CEO and Massachussetts governor.
3. Ran for president in 2008 and again in 2012.
4. Debated rival Republican party candidates in early 2012.
“Overtaxed
2012-10-04 03:46:08
I’ll say this, I’m going to hold my nose and vote for Mitt either way,…”
Meh…
Mr. Hope and Change got spanked last night…
No way. It was a boring wash but I read earlier the media would favor Romney this debate for ratings that a “closer” contest would bring. I watched it and Romney looked frantic and Obama looked disinterested. Hell, half of us could out “debate” either of those clowns.
But when did CNN International become FOX news light? (For ratings?) LOL.
romney crushed superman last night.
Nawh, Bammy is slick. He was doing the “rope-a-dope” leting Romney “punch himself out”.
It all comes down to the last round.
nice…my analogy last night was to Rocky III - the first fight with Clubber Lang.
Apollo Creed picked up the phone and called Obama last night.
I imagine in round 2…we will see a much different president.
He was doing the “rope-a-dope”
This was blatantly obvious yet you’re one of the few who understands the method.
That’s what I thought too.
rope-a-dope worked against George Foreman because it took a lot of physical work and Foreman tired himself out.
The debates are not a physical contest and Rooney’s punching only served to build confidence and make progress with the indies.
Your analogy doesn’t wash.
obama’s been doing the rope a dope for a few years now…i like the strategy. it supports the argument that he was crappy his first term cause he had to get re-elected in order to really do what’s great for the american people.
the argument that he was crappy his first term cause he had to get re-elected in order to really do what’s great for the american people.
Now there is a winning argument.
I rope-a-dope Charlie too.
Comment by CharlieTango
2012-10-04 09:16:49
rope-a-dope worked against George Foreman because it took a lot of physical work and Foreman tired himself out.
The debates are not a physical contest and Rooney’s punching only served to build confidence and make progress with the indies.
Your analogy doesn’t wash.
——————-
CT, I get your point, but there is such a thing as a mental boxing match, and all the same dynamics apply. Your “thrown” to “landed” ratio is more important than either by itself because it indicates greater skill by demonstrating you can do what you want, when you want.
Its hard for me to describe but I do know its “prettier”.
The key will be their last debate.
I look at it this way. Romney is a smarter “do-er” than “say-er”; while Obama is a smarter “say-er” than “do-er”
*you got peanut butter in my chocolate?
*You got chocolate in my peanut butter?
We live in the age of YouTube and digital archiving. It was hard to watch wild-eyed Romney hyperventilating and lying through his teeth and not picture the inevitable Jon Stewart split screens and DNC attack ads. Obama wisely just kept his head down and let him cut his own throat.
Mitt’s contemptuous treatment of news icon Jim Lehrer won’t help him either.
wild-eyed Romney hyperventilating
I noticed that right off the bat too and earlier mentioned Romney’s “frantic” behavior. I don’t recall seeing that before in a presidential debate. I think Romney’s wife has seen that lately in her husband.
Ann Romney Worries About Her Husband’s Mental Health
http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/18943
During an interview with Nevada television station KTVN, Ann Romney, the wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, revealed that her biggest concern if her husband becomes president is his “mental well-being.”
In the interview, Ann was asked what her biggest worry was should Mitt Romney be elected to serve in the White House. She responded:
“I think my biggest concern obviously would just be for his mental well-being. I have all the confidence in the world in his ability, in his decisiveness, in his leadership skills, in his understanding of the economy. …So for me I think it would just be the emotional part of it.”
Ann’s lack of confidence her husband’s ability to handle the job as the President of the United States isn’t likely to instill confidence in voters.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hcd-O0g11pIfx-7Q20WeQTGG8D7A?docId=ad31e70a497b4e7a8ea653bbd72ac1f1
hyperventilating?
lol…hyperbole much?
damn…romeny must have did better than i had originally thought to get the libs here all fired up.
“you may want to move on to another topic”
Romney is a smarter “do-er” than “say-er”
That might be true…if we could just figure out for sure what it was that he was really planning to do.
“budgets reflect choices” - obama
i guess that is why we don’t have a budget.
Reagan got worked over in his first debat as prez too.
Romney has spent 8 yrs doing nothing but running for prez.
Obama is prez, busy….
both will continue to be puppets. but facts are, the Dems are good for the stock market.
paid to spin.
i don’t think either one of these clowns have a clue as to what really is going on with the economy…but from a pure debate perspective…romney did a much better job and “beat” obama.
to conclude otherwise is just more evidence of one’s struggle with their on cognitive dissonance.
I think Romney gets the housing inventory part, and even let it slip once. If we’re really, really lucky, he’ll get elected and let the inventory crash and clear that first 18 mo.
Then pray the econ come roaring back (probably only happen on a new wave of flipping).
I think Romney gets the housing inventory part
I’m sure that they both do, but as long as their bankster masters say jump, they will. And right now the banksters want to restrict the inventory.
The general consensus from the lib side of the internet: Romney probably won the debate, but he did it by re-repeating the same truth-distorted talking points and running roughshod over Jim Lehrer. He certainly crammed well enough.
Obama didn’t seem to have answers ready for Romney. Reasons: anything from shock that Romney told such baldface lies, to Obama was being too nice, to 11-dimensional chess and that Obama didn’t want to peak too soon. And remember that Obama actually has a day job.
Jim Lerher did very poorly, which is not surprising since left the News Hour a long time ago and has been out of the journalism game for a while.
Personally: I think Romney had three major weaknesses.
1. He was condescending of what the Office of President entails. He gave the impression that Presidentin’ would be a cakewalk compared to hiring tax acountants to hide his earnings by chopping companies and hoodwinking the Italian government. Do you think he’ll dare to have such ‘tude during the foreign policy debate?
2. For those who listened carefully, Romney confirmed his condescension toward the 47%: “I’ve consulted with businessess… excuse me I mean HOSPITALS.”; “The poor… I mean the low-income…” and the his major gaffe: “There’s a tax break for shipping jobs overseas?? Maybe I need a new accountant.” And he came right out said that he’s going to ax PBS.
3. He repeatedly said that private businesses are better than the federal government, and that the states can handle things better than the federal government can. That may be a dogwhistle toward the base. I also think that there’s some real chutzpah in telling the Feds to stay out of the state’s business, when it’s the Fed providing the money.
But only careful listeners would pick that up. Overall, did Romney gain any new votes? I would say probably, but those votes can be easily lost in the next two debates.
I don’t like either one and believe Romney has some major weaknesses that will be exploited in the coming debates. I think Obama has ONE major flaw that he has to fight in these debates.
Whether it is discussing domestic or foreign policy Obama will be hard-pressed on his record because he has faults, some of them major, in both. As an incumbent, that is a very tough hill to climb when you can’t even run on your own record.
I don’t give a crap if he’s “condesending.” More likely, he’s so rich that he’ll be prone to noblesse oblige and overcompensate the other way…that is, bring back Compassionate Conservatism.
that is, bring back Compassionate Conservatism
The one with the “kinder, gentle machine gun”?
Yeah that one
With OPC (Other People’s Children)?
Anyone who was on the fence with their personal litmus test being which candidate had a better grasp of the economy just fell off the fence to Romney’s side.
I don’t see them going back unless they decide that the economy wasn’t really their litmus test.
Anybody on the fence because they weren’t sure if Romney could really play in the big leagues just fell off the fence, too. But I question how many of those people there were.
Agreed.
My partner’s mom (big Obama supporter–and will still support Obama) did admit that Romney looked presidential.
It was a grudging admission, but an admission none-the-less.
admit that Romney looked presidential.
It was a grudging admission, but an admission none-the-less.
I don’t think so. I’ve thought Romney always “looked” presidential. Always. However IMO, last night he looked frantic. The only reason he might have looked better than Obama is because Obama looked bored out of his mind.
Romney looked to me like a man trying to get a point across.
Obama looked like he didn’t want to be there.
If this is how Obama “fights”, it is no wonder that Simpson Bowles has gone nowhere.
Here’s The Part Of The Presidential Debate That Shocked The Most Wall Streeters
Joe Weisenthal | Oct. 4, 2012, 4:23 AM
During a debate over regulation, Mitt Romney took a hard tack to the middle, extolling the values of good regulation, and saying that Dodd-Frank was a major “kiss” to New York banks.
In his Morning Money letter, POLITICO’s Ben White says it blew up his inbox.
“NEW YORK BANKS” – Here is the Romney line that blew up M.M.’s inbox like no other, in the section on whether he would get rid of Dodd-Frank (he said he would, and replace it with something else, though who knows what): “One is it designates a number of banks as too big to fail, and they’re effectively guaranteed by the federal government. This is the biggest kiss that’s been given to — to New York banks I’ve ever seen. This is an enormous boon for them. There’ve been 122 community and small banks have closed since Dodd- Frank.”
All that being said, the numerous Wall Streeters who support Romney will be over the moon at his excellent performance. He clearly won. And this should help Romney with home stretch with fundraising.
More generally, Romney’s victory is the lead item on many of today’s morning analyst notes, and investors who think a Romney victory would be market bullish are taking the debate as a big, positive sign.
And here’s the video.
…
i assume the reason neither candidate can simply say….”i would repeal dodd-frank and reinstitue glass-steagall” is because the genie has already been let out of the bottle?
They weren’t more upset about losing the 20% income tax rate cuts?
What Debate ??
I didn’t watch it either. I caught up on the last two episodes of Glee.
I caught up on the last two episodes of Glee ??
I was at the Oakland A’ win over Texas….
I’m not sure that fits in with the overall theme of the evening for the country - activities that are silly and vaguely frustrating.
LOL, Polly. I was working on a dress I am making for opening night at the opera…it did occur to me that the opera and dressmaking when it would be easier to buy something are both a bit silly, and sewing can be frustrating at times.
Please note that I consider the right to be silly is a distillation of a lot of our Constitutionally protected rights. Free speech can be silly. Petitioning the government for redress of grievances can be silly. Religious practices can be silly. And freedom of assembly? Very, very often silly. So in a way, I respect silly.
I’m not sure that fits in with the overall theme of the evening for the country - activities that are silly and vaguely frustrating ??
Which one….Watching re-runs of Glee or the Live Baseball Game ??
Well, I assumed that your smiley face meant that you were satisfied with the results of the baseball game so you shouldn’t have been frustrated. I was vaguely frustrated because the musical numbers were mostly blah. The story lines were also terrible, but I expect that from Glee so it isn’t frustrating.
Both activities are somewhat silly.
Both activities are somewhat silly ??
You mean grown men playing with balls and people paying to watch it ??
Watching grown men run around a field in tight pants trying to catch a ball that another guy in tight pants hit with a stick after it was thrown by another guy in tight pants standing on a little mound of dirt is definitely silly.
And the “president’s race” the Nationals have during games is even sillier. They let Teddy win for the first time last night. Evidently there were fans who have been petitioning for Teddy to win for months (possibly years).
Hmmm…terrible story lines, blah musical numbers…I could get the same experience much cheaper if I stayed home and watched episodes of Glee instead of going out to gawk at Chicago’s glitterati.
Watching grown men run around a field in tight pants trying to catch a ball ??
Yeah, you maybe right…All that junk showing and all…Maybe I will switch sports…I am going to start watching women playing with balls…I think I will try Beach Volleyball first from the endzone seats….
I’ll just watch the summary on Stewart and Colbert’s show.
I was at a networking mixer here in Tucson. Attendance was sparse, and I think that the debate was the reason.
OTOH, I picked up a couple of copywriting client leads. And, wish me luck, I think I have a phat copywriting/website redesign project coming in.
It’s possible that things may be starting to turn around for Slim. Maybe.
Sorry for not doing this earlier. Good luck, Slim!
I don’t have cable and TV reception is non existent where I live. But I wouldn’t have watched it. I never watch the debates.
I watched it on youtube….
The squad does not have cable TeeVee but we pay Comcrust $40/month for high speed interwebs = stream debate live on C-SPAN.
I so wish we could ditch the cable. Friggin’ sports channels.
This moving thing is a drag. And what is up with cable guys not showing up? What losers.
We will be sorely tempted to re-connect in 2014 for the World Cup.
“And what is up with cable guys not showing up? What losers.”
San Francisco: no union, no service.
My impressions:
Two very sharp guys. Lively debate. Romney won on style. He seemed hungrier and smoother. Both were even on substance. Lots of factoids from both, most of which were likely BS. Romney had a much better than expected impression, he showed he could hold his own at the presidential level. That’s really big.
The takeaway - the governing strategies of both were emphasized, and that’s a good thing for the viewer.
To me though, the net result of either being president would be the same. Same conventional wisdom powers both. With lots of little differences here and there, but icing on the cake. Net results would be the same. More debt, more financialization of the economy (i.e. relying more and more on virtual products - the Farmville-ization of the economy). No changes on illegal immigration, trade policy, industrial policy. Foreign policy… Romney can talk a big game on Iran but after 11 years of war, both stalemates, the US is going to push back hard on another war in the Middle East.
Romney can talk a big game on Iran but after 11 years of war, both stalemates, the US is going to push back hard on another war in the Middle East.
We will have a major civil war in this country before we have another major war in ME. There’s just no apetitite for wars. Rhetoric, that’s a whole different issue. However, we will continue targeted killings abroad and possibly within USA as planned.
“We will have a major civil war in this country before we have another major war in ME. There’s just no apetitite for wars. Rhetoric, that’s a whole different issue. However, we will continue targeted killings abroad and possibly within USA as planned.”
That’s when they’ll wheel-out The Pope to ’splain it.
“if elected president i will embrace simpson-bowles, repeal dodd-frank in favor of reenacting glass-steagall, and allow housing prices to fall in order to improve the competitiveness of the american worker.
i will break-up the TBTF banks and begin dismantling the FIRE sector and support goverment polices that promote a more localized production based economy.”
which one said that?
The one that was lying.
+1
Romney can talk a big game on Iran but after 11 years of war, both stalemates, the US is going to push back hard on another war in the Middle East.
For me the biggest issues are our Dept of War and Ben Bernanke. Solve those, and issues that relate to them, and you go a long way toward bringing back some balance to the country and our debt/deficits.
One wants to escalate wars, one seems loathe to ending the one remaining and the occupation of the region. And neither seem to want to address the evil within the Fed. Romney talks tough, but there’s no way he won’t also pander to Wall Street/Fed interests.
Two very sharp guys.
That was my first impression, too. They’re both too smart to really give the American public what they want. Kinda makes for a boring debate.
did anyone notice that obama supports reducing the corporate tax rate?
I did. He doesn’t really support reducing it but he doesn’t want to be accused of being responsible for a job killing, highest rate in the world so he says he supports it.
highest rate in the world so he says he supports it.
Highest marginal rate maybe but the USA has one of the lowest EFFECTIVE tax rates in the OECD. (the tax rates actually paid after MittRomneyesque type deductions)
(Debunking dogmatic mischaracterizations of reality is fun)
1. Just lowering corporate rates – I do not agree with.
2. Lowering corporate rates but go back to treating dividends as ordinary income to the recipient – I sort of agree with.
3. Keeping the corporate rates as they are but allow them a deduction for dividend payments while treating dividends as ordinary income to the recipient – I think would be the best option. It would increase the velocity of money thus benefiting the overall economy.
fun? you didn’t debunk anything. The spread between marginal and effective rates is the reason for simplifying. The spread is the result of countless tax breaks and it gives you rates that don’t make sense.
The effective rate is lower but Obama still won’t risk being honest and because the marginal rate is the highest or among the highest in the world he only has the courage to say it should be lowered and doesn’t have the courage to say what he believes and what he will do if re-elected.
fun? you didn’t debunk anything.
Yes and yes. Big fun.
Obama has also been supportive to small businesses.
President Obama, Aug. 2012:
“We’ve really focused on this since I came into office - 18 tax cuts for small business, easier funding from the SBA. Going forward, I want to keep taxes low for the 98 percent of small businesses that have $250,000 or less in income, make it easier for small business to access financing, and expand their opportunities to export. And we will be implementing the Jobs Act bill that I signed that will make it easier for startups to access crowd-funding and reduce their tax burden at the start-up stage.”
I wonder if O doesn’t want to be a puppet anymore? Seems like no one wants the job? Sir Mittens? Perry? Cain? Bachman? Are you serious? This is the best and brightest?
At least if Romeny wins, the mortgage deduction will go away, medicare vouchers for the old folks, the crash will accelerate and a nice new war with Iran will help my defense stocks. Forget about the future and the kids, I’ll just have to be happy with cash, to buy more ammo.
Reagan did a great job with his tax cuts and increased military spending. he only tripled the deficit. Then Bush double that. Romney might got for the hat trick.
Flights to New Zealand are getting booked fast.
Regardless of what these clowns say during the debates, we know they will govern almost identically.
Government borrowing and spending will continue unabated; US troops will remain in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay; the Constitution will still be viewed as an inconvenient document to be ignored when necessary. They will speak different words written by different speechwriters, but their actions will be indistinguishable.
If there was ever a good year to vote third party, this is it.
Bravo.
Regardless of what these clowns say during the debates, we know they will govern almost identically.
Bingo.
Problems with presidential debates:
1) Voters may get the misleading impression that whoever “wins” the debate would automatically make the best president.
2) Voters may be further misled into believing that candidates would actually do the things they indicate they plan to do during the debates.
I finally figured out what Ryan meant by “race baiting” in his post yesterday.
Column: Conservatives’ shameless race-baiting
Amanda Marcotte
2:58PM EST October 4. 2012 - As elections draw close, a boost in partisan ugliness is to be expected. American democracy has a tradition of rowdiness. But anyone tuning in to Fox News Tuesday night saw something far worse than the usual campaign season mud-slinging.
Host Sean Hannity and his guest Tucker Carlson, who runs the right wing website the Daily Caller, descended into some of the nastiest race-baiting that’s aired since cable news came to be.
The excuse for the entire debacle was a 2007 video of Obama speaking to a group of mostly African-American clergy that Carlson tried to frame as “new”, even though it had been widely covered in 2008. It’s hard for the ordinary viewer to perceive what’s so objectionable about Obama’s speech. He, like the majority of Americans, denounced the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. He spoke of the problem of poverty and worried about what happens when young people grow up without hope of better futures. He acknowledges factual racial disparities in imprisonment and poverty rates. In many ways, it’s a typical Obama speech: passionate without being inflammatory, and grounded in his professorial interest in facts and policy.
Even if the speech was as shocking as Carlson and Hannity claimed, however, it would not have excused the gross display put on for Fox viewers Tuesday. The two men riled themselves up into such a snit of anger that Obama dare talk about persistent racial inequalities to a black audience that they drifted into some truly unforgivable territory. They obsessed at length about Obama’s accent, which apparently they deem too African-American-sounding.
And then, in case the race-baiting hadn’t appalled you enough, in the original piece for the Daily Caller, Carlson scolded black Americans for being proud of their community for surviving slavery. In response to Obama’s comment about how black Americans “won’t forget where we came from….300 years ago,” Carlson snottily retorted, “It’s a reference the audience understood.” One does wonder if Carlson’s belief that people should not celebrate their history of struggle extends to white Americans. If so, he has a lot of work to do, starting with chastising any celebrants of the Fourth of July for daring to remember the Revolution.
Will these kind of base, racialized attacks against Obama work? Not likely. Hannity and Carlson seem to be under the impression that the voters simply forgot that Obama is black, and that if they’re reminded some will change their votes to Romney.
…
Big Bird is screwed if Rmoney gets elected.
Will Big Bird be downsized?
By Dean Obeidallah, Special to CNN
updated 4:23 PM EDT, Thu October 4, 2012
Watch this video
Romney: I love Big Bird but…
(CNN) — What has Big Bird ever done to Mitt Romney?! Did a young Mitt try to meet Big Bird and Big Bird snubbed him? Did Big Bird in essence give Mitt “the bird’? Or was Romney just channeling his inner Oscar the Grouch?
For those who may have missed it, during last night’s presidential debate, Mitt Romney said that if elected president he would cut funding to PBS. He even mentioned Big Bird by name. (This is even more shocking because Mitt offered very few specifics on how he would cut the deficit other than slashing support for PBS.)
So what happens to Big Bird if Romney has his way? Will Big Bird be laid off? What jobs are out there for an 8-foot-2-inch yellow bird who sings slightly off-key? Will Big Bird become part of the 47% that Romney talked about who believe they are victims and are entitled to government funding?
And what about the other Muppets? What will come of them? How will they survive in this tough economic climate?
…
Its not about PBS programming its about Hogging of multiple radio and tv station frequencies that keep high schools colleges and COMMUNITY GROUPS from having their own radio or tv station….
READ what the FCC originally intended the 88-92 mhz educational band for….its NOT hogging it all up by a Government agency to produce Government approved shows…..You cant volunteer at these stations let alone get your own radio show put on…..Time for PBS to go and be replaced by putting the PUBLIC back in Public radio….
Poor Big Bird.
Wouldn’t it be better to have more money available to pay for drone strikes on terrorists, than to waste funding on your kids’ opportunity to watch Sesame Street?
We don’t need no education…
Vote for Pedro (not Obama or Romney)
The latest saga of a gringo’s brush with “godless Trotskyism::
So I’m house sitting alone 2 hours out of Rio in a rad ocean view pad in an otherwise lower income fishing town and being a light sleeper, I jam wadded up toilet paper in my ears but on one side, too small and too far. It hurts and I trying to get it out just pushes it in further.
So yesterday morning instead of going back to Rio and use my private insurance, I decide to go “slummin’” and I go to the local “Castro” public clinic. I get there late and the dude says come back tomorrow morning and “take a number” and I walk away but then realize this is Brazil and “rules” are just a suggestion and not really they way things work. Now being a good looking male
I realize that you don’t go to a man, you go to a women if you want to get things done in Brzl, and I saw a lady at the info booth who tells me that my problem is an “emergency” and I need to get on a bus and go 20 min. to the big public hospital. Awwww man….all I need is someone to pull TP out of my ear. But I go to the “godless” public hospital because my ear hurts.
The hospital is in a poorish part of the outskirts of Rio and it is huge but modern and clean. I thought I was in Indiana. I get in and it takes me 15 min. to explain my stupid problem and get checked in with my “green-card” number and I go to wait. I don’t know why but every doc and nurse was a female and an especially pretty one had a tattoo of ripe berries on her foot and she was wearing these nice pink strap sandals with 3″ heels on her tanned feet and her nail polish was a shade of purple hard to describe….but I digress.
Where was I? Oh yea, so anyway I get called in 20 min. later and they say that they have no ear doc there today and I need to go to the BIG hospital 20 min. away but I tell them that I don’t need an ear doc, I just need someone with a good pair of reading glasses and tweezers to pull the damn TP out of my gringo ear and they laugh and say OK, they will try and she does it. (After giving me a Stalinesque (but hot) lecture about using real ear-plugs instead of toilet paper). The cost of an emergency room visit (for a stupid problem)…..”Free”.
How much would this have cost in the USA? IDK. Am I glad I have private insurance in Brzl? Heck yes. But am I impressed with Brzl’s public healthcare? He!! yes.
“… I just need someone with a good pair of reading glasses and tweesers to pull the damn TP out of my gringo ear …”
And you needed to go to the emergency room for that? As suggested by your own words this is something anyone could have done but you decided to go to the ememgency room because - what? - it was free?
Would you have gone to the emergency room if it cost you some out-of-pocket money or would you have somehow found a cheaper solution, such as “someone with a good pair of reading glasses and tweesers”?
I think Rio lives alone. And when you live alone, you need help with problems like the one he was having.
I’m surprised he didn’t call the paramedics.
I’m surprised he didn’t call the paramedics.
Wow. Thanks! You know what? I just realized I don’t know the number to call for paramedics, police or any emergency down here. I don’t think it’s 911.
But you know what? I think most ambulances are “FREE” down here!
But you know what? I think most ambulances are “FREE” down here!
They are not free they are paid for by some-one else. There is a difference between redistribution and free.
But you know what? I think most ambulances are “FREE” down here!
There is a difference between redistribution and free.
Really smart guy? Really? You don’t think I know it’s not free? You don’t see my quotation marks around the word “free”? Of course it’s not free but it is no more “redistribution” than a Blue Cross insurance plan. Just better.
(Brazilian public health care services) They are not free they are paid for by some-one else.
What?? “Paid for by someone else”? Who is this “someone else”? Who’s paying for Brazilian public health-care? The Bolivians? The Swiss?
No. Brazilians are paying for Brazilian healthcare through taxes-progressive and regressive. Brazilian public health-care is being “paid for by someone else” in the same way that a Blue Cross patient’s heart surgery is being “paid for by someone else”.
Americans pay for American social programs through taxes but it is still redistribution.
Well we know for sure now that Rio does not get that part.
Americans pay for American social programs through taxes but it is still redistribution.
Well we know for sure now that Rio does not get that part.
Of course I get it. Don’t act so idiotic. Two points:
1. Brazilian public health-care is “redistribution” in much the same way that a Blue Cross patient’s heart surgery is redistribution”. Insurance distributes, spreads, “shares” risk. Spreading risk is redistribution of risk.
2. “Redistribution” is not a synonym for Marxism. Everyone in American politics supports some form of income and wealth redistribution. Redistribution is part of American tradition. The government giving away land purchased in the Louisiana Purchase and western homesteading was redistribution and we sing songs about it. Wars redistribute wealth and we sing songs about them. Medicare which is approved by 70-80% of Americans is redistribution and people will sing songs about it if they take it away.
Every country in the entire world engages in some form wealth redistribution.
“Redistribution”: it’s what’s for dinner!
Your wrong Rio,
I can refuse to buy blue cross, in fact I have. Their coverage is a rip off for me due to pre-existing condition.
If I refuse to buy Obamacare I go to jail. Even if I buy Obamacare ( pay the fine to the IRS ) I still won’t have health care!
When you are forced to pay or suffer consequences like fines or jail it isn’t the same at all.
Your wrong Rio,
No….Brazilian public health-care is “redistribution” in much the same way that a Blue Cross patient’s heart surgery is redistribution”. Spreading risk is redistribution of risk.
When you are forced to pay or suffer consequences like fines or jail it isn’t the same at all.
But you ARE forced to suffer consequences when you refuse to buy health-insurance and the consequence is many times your health. And even if you get coverage in an emergency room you are FORCING consequences on others who are footing your deadbeat bill. Where is the right’s “personal responsibility” talking-point on this issue?
(BlueCross) coverage is a rip off for me due to pre-existing condition.
Obamacare is gonna take care of some of that. You should vote for him.
Everyone in American politics supports some form of income and wealth redistribution. Redistribution is part of American tradition.
Thank you. I had a bootstrapping friend recently post about the “socialist, redistributionist” in office.
I asked him if he, as a homeowning parent, takes those deductions/credits every year. I asked him why he should get those when I, as a childless renter, don’t. I asked him why, assuming we make similar income, do I have to subsidize choices he made that I had no say in. I asked him why my wealth essentially gets redistributed to him.
I also stated that I do understand why we have decided those might be good things for society in general (though I oppose them), and that they have been woven into our fabric for so long that we no longer see them as the entitlements they’ve become…which his actions are proof of.
It took a few rounds, and for awhile he fought the notion that we’ve been socialists for decades, but he deleted his post and hasn’t said ‘boo’ about socialism or redistribution since.
Thank you sleepless. Same situation here, except we own the home outright.
Um, it wasn’t his choice to go to the ER if you read the post. But I guess details aren’t important.
And you needed to go to the emergency room for that?
Yea, but only after I tried to pull the TP out of my ear with a pair of rusty pliers.
I don’t live alone but I was alone house sitting outside of Rio. When you don’t know anyone and are a foreigner, are dizzy and in pain, you don’t go ask the neighbor to pull something our of your ear. Why would I where the healthcare is “free”? And remember, I went to the local “castro” clinic first. They sent me to the hospital. So why fight it?
They did something a small child could have / should have done while you abused the system.
Wrong. It was more serious than I let on because I’m a tough guy. The TP was jammed in so far in my ear that I was in serious pain, was dizzy and almost threw up in the bus. I also read some scary stuff on the internet about the problem.
When the first doc saw it she looked into my ear and declined to try to remove it and said I needed to go to a real ear doc but I (being the tough guy remember?) asked her to do it there and then. (and I asked her to give me a bullet to bit on)
The first medical “tweezers” the doc used did not work and she sent a nurse to fetch a different extraction device. After some trial the damn thing finally came out. She looked in my ear and said wax had been jammed in and then used an irrigation ball thing to clean out my ear. Then the hot lecture. No, a “child” could not have done it and probably not even a wife.
Rio, you will say anything to sell your leftist trash.
Wrong. I was totally impressed with Brazil’s “Brezhnevian” public health-care yesterday. It totally rocked. And it was “free”. And CharlieTango…..Dude, your just jealous about the hot Doctor with the ripe berry tattoo on her foot.
The cost of an emergency room visit (for a stupid problem)…..
Stupid problem? Maybe. Minor problem? No.
Listen to me - don’t put cotton buds in your ears 19 Nov 2003 telegraph uk
Next time you are tempted to poke inside your ear with a cotton bud, bear in mind that, each year, 7,000 people attend hospital with injuries caused by these innocuous-looking implements - more than are harmed by razor blades.
You are using the toilet paper on the wrong orifice. Close, but a clear miss.
You are using the toilet paper on the wrong orifice. Close, but a clear miss.
That’s kind of funny. But it would be funnier if I typed with my mouth.
Close, but a near miss.
There are all sorts of horrifying pain, but inner ear canal pain is in an “oh-Jesus-kill-me-now” class by itself. Glad you’re okay, Rio. Next time try http://www.earplugsonline.com/ Mighty Plugs. Don’t leave home without them.
Glad you’re okay, Rio. Next time try http://www.earplugsonline.com/ Mighty Plugs.
Thank you. I do have earplugs but I left home without them this time. Next time I’m in the USA I’ll buy/try some Mighty Plugs too. Thanks!
I also read some scary stuff on the internet about the problem.
I don’t mean to laugh at your situation Rio, but this part did make me laugh.
Also made me think about that guy in Haiti who was trapped in rubble and used his iphone to survive: http://gizmodo.com/5453248/iphone-apps-save-man-trapped-in-haiti
Better you live there than here.
no way [ Obama lost the debate ]
I impressed with Brzl’s public healthcare? He!! yes.
They did something a small child could have / should have done while you abused the system.
Rio, you will say anything to sell your leftist trash.
Aren’t you whatsoever concerned by the sudden (etch-a-sketch) shift to the middle?
Column: Who won the debate? Check the Ohio polls.
Don Campbell
…Romney was quick to respond both with specifics and generalities that suggested he was the model of moderation, concerned most with protecting a middle class that has been “crushed” by four years of an Obama administration.
Similarly, when questioned about their philosophy of governing, Romney talked about how diligently he had worked for bipartisanship with Democrats when he was governor of Massachusetts, while Obama made the argument that “occasionally you’ve got to say no.”
…
Aren’t you whatsoever concerned by the sudden (etch-a-sketch) shift to the middle?
Biden offered a gift and Romney crushed him with it. That I like.
I don’t see the big shift but since the indies are going to decide this it makes sense to speak to them.
Better you live there than here.
Exactly! Better I live here than there in this case. In the USA, a doctor’s office visit would have set me back $250, an emergency room visit $1,000. But here in BRZL, it was “free”!
Free dude!
And I have private health insurance. I could have taken 2 hours, gone back to Rio, got on the horn and made an appointment and seen a doctor the next day, all the while, in pain and dizzy. But why? Why do that when I can get “free” attention 20 min away? Why?
As I said…better there than here.
Your “care” wasn’t “free”. That you don’t understand that is a given.
Your “care” wasn’t “free”. That you don’t understand that is a given.
It WAS “free”. It just was not free. That you don’t understand that is why you use the name that you do.
hehe
in the usa, it is not free, and then it is not free again unless you are dirt poor.
We have free health care clinics in CA. You just need to qualify.
It sucks to be in the middle class.
If they were this confused/confounded about taking a piece of TP out of your ear, would you really want/trust them dealing with your apendix, liver, heart, etc. free or not? Sounds like a fine bunch of emergency doctors making those life saving decisions. Lucky you didn’t have a splinter!
If they were this confused/confounded about taking a piece of TP out of your ear, would you really want/trust them dealing with your apendix, liver, heart, etc. free or not? Sounds like a fine bunch of emergency doctors making those life saving decisions.
Waaaaa! Sour grapes…….because our USA system sucks badly and you know it. My friend just had a “free” 8 hour back operation and 3 weeks in a public hospital. They might have saved his life. The doctors here are great. And they spend WAY more time with their patients.
You right-wingers are so predictable. You try to pick apart any story that disturbs your little world. Why? Because down deep you aren’t really sure about your propaganda influenced convictions. And you know what? You shouldn’t be so sure about them.
Rio, it seems that no one criticizing you has ever punctured their ear drum, or known anyone who has.
And yeah, predictable.
Rio, it seems that no one criticizing you has ever punctured their ear drum, or known anyone who has.
Thank you Doctor.
(And MiddleCoaster IS a doctor.)
Rio,
So you say you know it wasn’t really free…How much did it cost you then? How much did it cost the “average taxpayer”? I’m not saying just your individual procedure… I’m asking, how much do *you* pay for it to be “free”. How much does the average taxpayer pay?
… I’m asking, how much do *you* pay for it to be “free”. How much does the average taxpayer pay?
Not enough IMO. BRZL public health-care is way underfunded. I’ve read Brazil spends 3-4% of its GDP on public health-care. (the USA spends about 8% of GDP on public health-care) (about 46% of all US healthcare spending)
Brazilian GDP is about 12K per year so 4% of that is about $480 per person in taxes to fund public healthcare. Contrast that with the USA’s spending about $3500 per year per person on public health care. (Medicare, Medicade etc)
So Brazil is spending 4% of GDP or $480 per person to provide health-care to 75% of its population of 190 million people. (25% of Brazilians have private health insurance) Brazilian public health-care has a lot of problems but IMO gives good results considering they spend so little money on it. Without it, 75% of Brazilians would not have any kind of health-care coverage.
“Rio, it seems that no one criticizing you has ever punctured their ear drum, or known anyone who has.”
I once drove from 5000 ft to sea level (in the space of an hour) while congested. I gained a serious appreciation for munchkins on airplanes who have trouble clearing their ears. I finally got low enough that I was able to pop my ears, but I considered re-ascending at one point to escape the pain.
“I once drove from 5000 ft to sea level (in the space of an hour) while congested.”
That would be easily done in LA, if not for the traffic…
Haha… we seem to have hit a nerve here.
Maybe they thought it was no big deal that a guy who spends much of his time with his head up his a$$ would have toilet paper in his ear.
Haha… we seem to have hit a nerve here.
I sure did hit a nerve. And EVERY negative nerve I hit was from a right-winger dogmatist. (And some who are wacked) It is amazing to me how many little worlds I’ve disrupted simply by describing a positive result of a public healthcare system - amazing the vitriol your doubts in your positions can inflame.
(One of my funnest posts in a long time)
Dear Rio you are fighting the game that has impossible to win… according Marxizm socialist ideas will work only in those economically highly sophisticated countries with highly educated mature people (like many Scandnavian countries today) for whom wealth distribution will be natural like it natural for Bill Gate or Mr. Buffet, people for whom value system is not BMW or vacation in Monaco, but real human friendship or caring about orphans… USA is more like third world country where big chunk of people are less educated than poor people in Cuba or other Latin American countries. Millions of people are enslaved (47%) by 1% of people… there is no way they will accept “REDISTRIBUTION”. They first have to have American dream: House and BMW next to it… and it is long way till Socialism
Dear Rio you are fighting the game that has impossible to win…
No. Heck no. LOL……It will be “won”. The framework has already been “won” with the people. But it has not been won yet against our corporate and .01% overlords….. but only because they control 99% of the lying message and a lot of people are dumber than dirt.
Americans Want to Live in a Much More Equal Country
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/americans-want-to-live-in-a-much-more-equal-country-they-just-dont-realize-it/260639/
“You try to pick apart any story that disturbs your little world. Why? Because down deep you aren’t really sure about your propaganda influenced convictions.”
No, …. we are just having our fun with you. It is pretty predictable how you will react. Rollicking good times! Hours of entertainment!
Rollicking good times! Hours of entertainment!
No. I don’t think you are entertained much by my experiences with “socialized” medicine. I think it scares the hell out of you. I think it really pi$$es you off because I cause many people doubts.
Yesterday, I saw this mid 20 year old with a messed up arm being admitted. He was with his wife and little girl. That little girl will never see her parents divorcing because her parents were fighting about the money that emergency room treatment will cost. Why? Because it was “free”!
Now thinking about that might make your shiver, be all jealous and be confused about your little political world…… but to me…… it gives me a “rollicking good time!”
Cheers!
I think my kids grew up with free healtcare. One of them at the age of three stuck a pea up her nose. The drama was intense.
BTW, in case of a reocurrance, TP is designed to fall apart quickly in water. A couple drops of water would have relieved you greatly.
Nest time you housesit, might consider being introduced to one of the owner’s friendly and trusted neighbors.
TP is designed to fall apart quickly in water. A couple drops of water would have relieved you greatly.
Thank you doctor. (just kidding, I know you’re not being a smart a$$) But I tried that and it did not work. In fact I did it with agua com gas. (sparkling water) because I’m one hip MoFo.
Paper does not fall apart when compacted.
(I) might consider being introduced to one of the owner’s friendly and trusted neighbors.
Maybe so in many situations. But you don’t fully understand the dynamics. My life now is not a dress rehearsal. There is nothing “safe” or normal compared to my past.
Let’s think; A wealthy homeowner in an otherwise poorer Brazilian town leaving for a month introduces me to their neighbors. People talk here, a lot. The house is now compromised and I’m a gringo. They think gringos have money. I would do nothing differently. I’m still standing. Thank you.
I don’t know why but every doc and nurse was a female and an especially pretty one had a tattoo of ripe berries on her foot and she was wearing these nice pink strap sandals with 3″ heels on her tanned feet and her nail polish was a shade of purple hard to describe….but I digress.
LOL!
That’s another advantage to Brazilian health care. Here in the US of A, if OSHA doesn’t bust you for wearing non-enclosed-toe footwear in the ER, JCAHO will.
F*ing commie! Should have gotten an infection and DIED like a rugged individualist.
And the teabagger studio audience would have roared with applause
Death by tp in the ear?
The tympanic membrane separating the inner ear from the brain is um, tissue thin. If it becomes infected, yeah, you could die from tp (or anything else) in the ear. And even if you don’t, the pain is enough to make you wish you would. Literally.
you could die from tp (or anything else) in the ear. And even if you don’t, the pain is enough to make you wish you would. Literally.
I’ll have to disagree, I just crammed some tp in my ear and it wasn’t painful at all.
I just crammed some tp in my ear and it wasn’t painful at all.
Because there isn’t much there to stop it? You could probably get a whole role of paper towels in there!
role=roll
Dang! I messed up good joke. But I have a good reason lol….
(I’m having to type really fast to keep up with the haters today)
Haters?
I’m totally LMAO at the thought of you sticking paper in your ear and using the story as some kind of evidence that socialized health care works. I really can’t stop laughing.
I don’t agree with your views its true but I sure don’t hate you or anybody here, not even RAL. I haven’t said anything hateful that I remember, please point it out if I did.
I don’t see anyone else being hateful either, you have to expect comments when you tell such a tale.
So help us haters out, point specifically to some hate please because I totally missed it.
Rio, I was going to say ‘then cram it in there farther”.
But being a nice person and all, I didn’t.
I don’t see anyone else being hateful either, you have to expect comments when you tell such a tale.
LOL, Sure. Sure. Listen, I’m not offended. I liked it because it’s all politics. All of it. All right wing posters who are rightly threatened by my truthful posts. The truth is powerful.
That only right-wing wing and mainly right-wing extremists spun such vitreol says a lot about your kind. There’s a term for it.
But hey, I’m having fun. The Brazilian public health-care system ROCKED yesterday. It was awesome dude! The USA needs something like it. Or at least a public option.
I’m totally LMAO at the thought of you sticking paper in your ear and using the story as some kind of evidence that socialized health care works.
Hey…..Thank you for reminding me of a very important part of my story. While I was waiting at the hospital, this Brazilian construction worker (judging by his garb) was pretty messed up and wheeled in for care.
I thought wow, if this were America, this American construction worker might not have health insurance and could be looking at a $30,000 medical bill after he was put back together. But this Brazilian worker will be put back together for “free”. He won’t spend the next 5 years dodging bill collectors and not being able to sleep at night. Lack of money worries might even help keep his marriage intact.
Now that amigo, is your fine example of “some kind of evidence that socialized health care works.”
Rio….I think you make a good case. The government socialized medicine should cover “ear plugs” for everyone to keep such a travesty from occurring again. It is obviously a serious health related issue.
Also, sort of related, they should tell all Brazilian children not to stick things in their ears or up there noses (an education related issue).
Rio….I think you make a good case.
Thank you. I know I make good cases. I might not be great but I AM good. That’s why you and yours and ONLY you and your ilk get SOOOOOO freaked out about the truths I point out.
Yesterday I saw a 60 year old in a wheelchair throw up on a granite floor. 5 min. later it was mopped up and that lady then received “free” health-care that would have cost her 2 months pay in the USA.
That is another GREAT case for socialized medicine. Your ignorance and prejudice notwithstanding.
Funny, my brother did the same thing and went to the ER at Kaiser.
An ear doctor once told me not to put anything smaller than my finger in my ear.
And what did they do at the ER at Kaiser? Did they do some major surgery or did they just use tweezers?
And what did they do at the ER at Kaiser? Did they do some major surgery or did they just use tweezers?
Dude, give it a rest. Let’s just say a lot of people know that I have more grit than many. You obviously have an ax to grind. Why? IDK.
Maybe you’re mad at me today because you’re working in a cube and I’m sitting on a balcony looking at the ocean south of Rio. It’s 80 degrees, sunny with a light breeze. There’s cable TV here, my ear feels much better and I have a cold beer in the fridge.
(And yesterday I got “free” tweezer action)
And toenail love!
You’re actually not supposed to put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear…
Rio just didn’t want to hear any more evil .
Not even q-tips?
especially not qtips. You’ll see now on the box that they say they’re for “many uses” but not for cleaning out ears.
When you use it to get wax out, all you normally do is get a little out and push the rest of the wax deeper into the ear. next thing you know you’ve got impacted wax against the eardrum. I’ve also seen a few people rupture their eardrum by pushing too far in the canal.
Unless you’re having hearing issues or pain–leave the wax alone.
If you have to deal with wax a simple ear syringe is kwik and easy.
i am 42 years old and have had to get my ears cleared of wax twice.
i can deal with that.
i’ve always been scared to put shit in my ear.
I’d be willing to bet that most medical professionals would advise you to avoid putting shit in your ears. I, however, am completely unencumbered by the conventions of a polite society or common sense and I would like to see it done. In fact, if you can find a turd small enough to fit, I’ll give you one dollar to jam it into your ear.
I can’t stop laughing
I can’t stop laughing
That WAS funny!
But what’s even more amusing is that….darn…. I must be really good.
To get this kind of reaction from so many mindless, right-wing dogmatists, I know my posts are a serious threat to their narrow way of thinking. If I were not a threat, I’d just be ignored. Thank you all for not ignoring me.
I put my tongue deep into my girlfriend’s ear, makes her go crazy!! And she is a Latina!
LOL
no, thats what bobby pins are for.
Bobby pins?
Seriously, man. Time to get serious. Try a cork screw remover. The rotating action of a cork screw remover scrapes the ear canal quite effectively.
BTW, I really like your posts .. well, most of them anyway.
You do realize that the “we need an ear specialist” run around was probably because you are gringo and look wealthier than their average patient. If you had looked like the rest of the people in the waiting room, they would have used the tweezers on you without pretending to need a specialist.
You also probably could have gone to a salon that does eyebrows and gotten it taken care of with a wink and a tip.
OK, given the horrendous descriptions above, I am withdrawing this comment. You *might* have been able to get help at a local salon before you shoved the TP as far up in your ear as it eventually ended up, but not by the end of the process.
I have to concede my run ins with the Brazilian medical system were all very positive. The doctors seemed very well trained and more importantly attentive and motivated. Venezuela was surprisingly good as well.
Bash the socialist all you like - I’m no socialist but I think the socialist do a decent job in medicine. At least I’d say it’s up for debate and you can argue the pros and cons.
I can’t say the same unfortunately for many of the doctors we have now in my town from India (and many of the imported nurses). I don’t mean all of them but I would say a majority of them are a medical hazard. Others are really excellent. However, the bad ones leach the system like a meal ticket, they have no idea what they are doing and most of all they really couldn’t give a crap. Some of the stuff I’ve seen go on is just shocking.
It doesn’t surprise me too much. One of my degrees at Berkeley was a pre-med track (molecular & cell biology with emphasis in biochemistry and genetics) and the pre-med students were always the worst students in the class. They had no interest in learning, they complained about the work load, the cheated all the time and came off as greedy pricks. The students pursuing the degree from the science and engineering side were fascinating people with a real love of knowledge and interest in self development. It was quite a contrast.
Your opinions may vary but I don’t think the U.S. health system is in great shape anymore. And a lot of doctors I’m friends with agree with me.
One of my degrees at Berkeley was a pre-med track (molecular & cell biology with emphasis in biochemistry and genetics) and the pre-med students were always the worst students in the class. They had no interest in learning, they complained about the work load, the cheated all the time and came off as greedy pricks.
When I was at the University of Michigan, those kids were called pre-meddies. And that wasn’t said with respect. If anything, we couched it in plenty of derision.
“pre-meddies”
Are they better or worse than pre-MBAs?
Heheh. Very whimsical thread.
I don’t know why but every doc and nurse was a female and an especially pretty one had a tattoo of ripe berries on her foot and she was wearing these nice pink strap sandals with 3″ heels on her tanned feet and her nail polish was a shade of purple hard to describe….but I digress.
When my late mother was in the hospital I couldn’t help but notice that most of the nurses were either obese or old battleaxes (sometimes both).
I noticed the same thing when my mother was in a post-surgical rehab center earlier this year.
OTOH, the facility was beautiful. And spotless.
Double thumbs-up to the Bryn Mawr Rehab from Slim.
I think I might just move there for the women!! What would 10 acres with good water cost? in a town of about 100,000 people, driest part of Brazil.
What would 10 acres with good water cost? in a town of about 100,000 people, driest part of Brazil.
I honestly don’t know. I would guess about as much as that would cost in the USA. But it might be less. The best parts of Rio, (right now) are as expensive as SF and NYC. But I don’t know much about what you describe.
avocado, tudo bem?
I’ve sometimes have had the same thought. There is rich, fertile farmland in Brazil at a fraction of the cost of the U.S. It is a relatively stable country. But keep in mind imported products there are very expensive. Live within the Brazilian Economy and you can do well. This is a country that we should all keep an eye on.
No Recovery® until 2018, IMF warns:
http://m.guardiannews.com/ms/p/gnm/us/syvPP4KEFNU9_ev4Q2pP53Q/view.m?id=15&gid=business/2012/oct/03/imf-global-economy-warning&cat=top-stories
Olivier Blanchard appears to be very happy.
Why does this story matter one iota, so long as the stock market keeps going up?
P.S. Stocks aren’t the only thing going up post-QE3 announcement my wife just indicated gasoline is up by over 10% from a couple of weeks ago at area gas stations…
A decade? The stock market has already fully recovered. And, we have housing prices increasing. The cost of food and energy has never been higher, and iPhones are selling like hotcakes. We’re there!
Where do you live? I’m betting it’s Cali. Around here gas is DOWN about five cents from a couple of weeks ago.
Is Your Child Mentally Ill?
“Yes”, according to Big Pharma Funded doctors:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/10/03/is-your-child-mentally-ill/
What is interesting in the new trend in Pharma Medicine is to prescribe meds early ,in other words ,give the pill before they even develope the disease or you determine that it was a short term growing pains thing . This is Big Pharmas idea of preventative medicine ,and it makes money to . Very bizarre that young people are being put on so many drugs ,and we wonder why kids are walking around acting like strange characters . The other one is to treat shopping disorder by drugs . Oh boy they came up with a new disorder to prescribe drugs for .
These kinds of things are the things that have corrupted the medical profession and no doubt has raise the cost of medicine . What we need is rationing on big Pharmas racket ,that doesn’t have the motto of “do no harm “.
First thing to do, stop any/all drug advertising (for prescription drugs) in anything but medical journals.
Next thing, no more “drug reps”. No more boondoggles for Dr’s for writing 1000 scripts for drug XYZ.
Money has totally corrupted this process, Dr’s don’t need salesmen to tell them what a drug does, they need to read medical journals and keep up on their field for new treatments (just like I have to do in my field).
And advertising prescription drugs is insane, the entire concept makes my head hurt when I think about the money that they flush down the toilet (thereby making the drugs unaffordable for people who need them) with ads and reps…. Ugh.
But this is just the invisible hand of the free market at work! We all know it will police itself and self regulate. There’s nothing to worry about!
The Pharma drug ads remind me of the loan ads that were so wide spread during the housing boom .In fact ,those drug ads are so numerous that one would think that the
Pharma industry is the biggest advertiser on TV today ,and that includes over the counter drugs . When they just start talking about the side effects you would think that it would turn off the buying public ,but apparently it doesn’t .
TV commercials correctly depict the society.
1. Eat junk food
2. Drink more cola
3. Drink awful amount of beer
4. Borrow money
5. Pharma
You will need a heavy does of Pharma if you do 1-4.
Companies advertise prescription drugs on TV because it works. No matter that 3/4 of the ad is taken up with listing the potentially life-threatening side effects! People dutifully go to their doctors and ask about the drug, which the doctor then prescribes to stop being pestered about it or to keep the patient from seeking the drug from another doctor.
Oh, and being a drug rep is a good job. The only job better in a drug company is being in Marketing. Everyone knows they have the biggest budget and the best parties!
and end all the ED ads.. geez it really breaks a romantic mood when you dont need them……
I think that its funny they advertise them during sporting events, especially during the ultra macho NFL games.
We just returned from a car trip to Southern Ontario , Canada’s Breadbasket.The first time we went there in 12 years. The Rural areas up there are simply De-populating ,Due to the soaring price of farmland (12K per acre & up). Due also to the high Canadian taxes on buildings of any kind , and the strict laws they have in place against splitting land parcels , the bigger AG farmers just raze the farmsteads , and keep on adding to their empires. The family type farmer whose family may have farmed for generations there, are cashing in and retiring to the USA, especially Florida ,where everything is cheaper .
Getting across the border by car started simply but ended up more complicated , as I somehow messed up an answer to one of the pointed , but polite questions the Canadian Booth-agent put to me. (maybe it was that the Canadian accent was hard for us to follow).
We had been warned not to mess with the Detroit-Windsor crossing as ”Something was not right there”. So we crossed at Port Huron ,also to avoid the 40 mile wasteland that used to be called Detroit City.
Inside the main questioning rooms ,We saw armed Canadian immigration officers , something I never remember seeing before . We made it through ,and enjoyed our visit up there.
Inside the main questioning rooms ,We saw armed Canadian immigration officers , something I never remember seeing before . We made it through ,and enjoyed our visit up there.
On a 2009 visit to my Aunt Jean in northern VT, we took a drive into Quebec. We were greeted at the border by an armed Canadian immigration officer. He also had a bulletproof vest.
I thought that the prairie provinces were Canada’s “bread basket”
Tehran Currency Traders Shut Shops as Police Patrol Streets
By Ladane Nasseri and Yeganeh Salehi - Oct 4, 2012 4:41 AM PT
Most foreign currency shops and outlets in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar were shuttered today while hundreds of Iranian riot police patrolled in the downtown area a day after protests over the tumbling national currency.
Police units were visible around Ferdowsi and Manouchehri streets, near one of the main areas for currency traders in the capital as well as roads surrounding the Grand Bazaar further south. The minority of exchange houses that did open failed to display prices or carry out transactions.
The rial fell to a record low of 35,000 to the dollar on Oct. 1, an 18 percent drop, on the unofficial market. The currency has plummeted since November when it traded at 13,200 to the greenback.
Iran’s economy is suffering after the U.S. and the European Union tightened trade and financial sanctions in the past year. The restrictions, aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program, have limited the country’s ability to sell oil, its biggest export, and other goods in return for currencies such as dollars and euros.
The U.K., France and Germany are pressing the EU to agree to new measures to bring Iran’s economy to its knees and bar its nuclear ambitions, according to several European diplomats.
…
European Central Bank Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged
By JACK EWING and MELISSA EDDY
Published: October 4, 2012
The European Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low Thursday, as policy makers and markets focused on other ways of reviving the euro zone economy.
Mario Draghi, chief of the European Central Bank, discussed the bank’s bond-buying program on Thursday.
After a period of intense activity to calm the euro zone crisis, the E.C.B. had not been expected to announce major new policy actions Thursday following a meeting of its governing council in meeting in Brdo pri Kranju, near the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.
Instead, the focus has been on elected leaders, and particularly whether Spain will meet conditions for the E.C.B. to start buying its bonds as a way of restarting bank lending in the country.
Last month, Mario Draghi, the president of the E.C.B., set out the terms for the central bank to begin buying euro zone government bonds. One of the conditions was that countries must request help from the euro zone bailout fund. Until Spain takes that step, the E.C.B. is not likely to take action.
The E.C.B. promise last month to intervene in bond markets, as well as Mr. Draghi’s vow to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro, has calmed tensions considerably. But market interest rates for Spanish bonds have been creeping higher in recent weeks as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy delays asking for relief, a move which would require him to accept restrictions on how he manages the economy.
On Thursday, the Spanish Treasury successfully auctioned €4 billion of debt, the maximum amount that it had aimed to sell, amid strong demand and paying lower interest rates than when it last sold such bonds.
Analysts cautioned, however, into reading too much into the positive result.
Nicholas Spiro, managing director of Spiro Sovereign Strategy, a research concern, wrote Thursday in a note that investors were “taking an overly optimistic view” of the eventual effectiveness of the E.C.B. bond-buying program.
“Spain’s debt market is currently in a state of limbo,” he wrote. “It is being propped up by an E.C.B.-backed bond-buying scheme that has yet to be put into practice.”
…
Obama debate camp is near vacant houses in Nevada
The Oval
David Jackson
1:15PM EST October 2. 2012 - President Obama’s debate camp is at a nice desert resort, but the area surrounding it is somewhat less than tony.
Vacant houses, closed golf courses and shuttered storefronts dot the landscape in and around Henderson, Nev., a Las Vegas suburb that symbolizes the struggling economy that is dogging Obama’s re-election bid.
Nevada’s unemployment rate: 12%, highest in the nation.
As Kathleen Hennessey of The Los Angeles Times put it, “the Obama campaign has set up its ‘debate camp’ in something of a metaphor for the nation’s economic woes — and the president’s challenges.”
…
As Kathleen Hennessey of The Los Angeles Times put it, “the Obama campaign has set up its ‘debate camp’ in something of a metaphor for the nation’s economic woes — and the president’s challenges.”
Just goes to show you that basing your economy on real estate speculation is not a good thing.
Ya think?
Fed May Drive More Investors Into Commercial Real Estate
Published: Friday, 21 Sep 2012 | 11:45 AM ET
By: Diana Olick
CNBC Real Estate Reporter
The Federal Reserve’s decision to buy more mortgage-backed securities from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could impact more than just the housing market.
So-called QE3 (quantitative easing) could drive more investors to commercial real estate, in the great hunt for yield. (Read More: Fed Pulls Trigger, to Buy Mortgages in Effort to Lower Rates.)
“If history is a guide, we could expect additional near-term price gains for riskier assets, at least for a few more months,” said John O’Callahan of CoStar Group, a commercial real estate information company.
O’Callahan notes that during QE2, in 2010, when the Fed bought long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, “prices of equities and high-yield bonds, including riskier CMBS (commercial mortgage backed securities), gained a respectable 12 percent to 25 percent.”
Analysts at Fitch ratings wrote that QE3 could also have a positive influence on real estate investment trusts (REITs).
“If the plan maintains or causes a decline in long-term U.S. Treasury rates, we would expect a drop in all-in borrowing costs for REITs. Lower long-term rates could also entice investors to allocate to REITs.”
…
“all your vacant house are belong to us”
You have no chance to survive make your time.
Romney was a perfect example of form over substance last night . If you do any kind of checking Romney was doing the BS two step ,better know as tell them what they want to hear,or how to lie without really trying .4 years of trickle down economics isn’t going to work ,but it sounded good .
So how’s that trickle-down government thing working, Wiz?
How much checking have you done on Obama? Talk about form over substance….gee, Hope and Change has so much substance to it. So does “Forward”.
Since Obama came into office there have been over 500,000 job losses in the public sector. Most at the state level but there have been cuts in many Fed. programs with the exception of anything related to defense or homeland security. If you work for any of the following agencies you should be looking for another job ASAP;
SEC, EPA, FDA, HUD, Dept. of Edu., IRS, FAA, DOT, OSHA, NOAA.
There should be new openings in the defense industry, coal miners, home builders and Wall St..
Ben Bernanke will be fired on Jan. 20 so should I short Treasuries now?
Most of those agencies are probably expecting a wave of retirements over the next few years. They won’t be firing, but hiring will be way down and there simply won’t be enough people to do the work. What work has to get done will simply be defined down, since there won’t be any money to do the computer systems work that might allow fewer peple to do the same amount of work.
that might allow fewer peple to do the same amount of work ??
Well, through my lifetime of experience dealing with our local municipal workers my take is they don’t do a days work…Not even close, to someone in the private sector…Not even close…
So, through attrition, they are reducing the workforce…That leaves the same amount of work, with less people, who do not put in a full days work, at least as far as I am concerned…I have many examples, but I will just leave it there…
Well, through my lifetime of experience dealing with our local municipal workers my take is they don’t do a days work
YMMV. In our little burg they seem to be quite responsive. Our water meter started making the weird high pitched clicking sound that resonated through our plumbing. I called the water department and they came out the next day and quickly replaced it. And these guys aren’t union and don’t even get a pension.
I have a relative who’s worked his entire career in a public water/sewer utility. You should hear him gripe about the majority of people in his office- come to work mid-morning, take long lunches, leave early, play games on their computer. I asked what percentage does he think really earns their paycheck. He says maybe 20%.
Amazingly, he’s the biggest redistributionist lefty I know! And the irony is completely lost on him.
We have had a fake economy for a long time ,while the 1%
were gutting the job base and banks were creating fake lending schemes to stimulate themselves and give the illusion that you can have a economy based on selling real estate to each other or creating bubbles . Obama inherited the aftermath of the biggest financial crime lending spree in history ,and you wonder why
the job market crashed along with the fake real estate market leaving this Country in ruin ,while they bailed out the Culprits .
It just boils down to this . Do you believe that the majority of the population that needs to be employed will float all boats ,or do you believe that the Military /Industrial complex/Wall Street Casino is going to restore America to a functioning economic entity when the evidence shows that this set up just transferred wealth to the upper brackets and big monopoly corporations .
What we need is more dedicated workers who take their job seriously.
Like this guy:
http://thegrio.com/2012/10/02/man-in-court-for-cocaine-possession-brings-cocaine-to-court/
“Obama inherited the aftermath of the biggest financial crime lending spree in history…”
An inheritance nurtured.
Blue and he has no guts to even impose a simple idea….
End high frequency trading by making all bids and asks good for 1 second 1 lousy second, and to impose a 1/10 cent per share tax on all transactions
I’m afraid with Dodd Frank either the current employees at the SEC are going to be working overtime, or they’ll need to hire more…
And Bernanke can’t be fired. His term runs through January 2014.
Common Retard . So,you really fell for that “trickle down government “,line from Romney . With the serious problems in this Country I don’t need to be BS’s by a shill for big business like Romney . I guess you really bought that damage control
attempt from Romney to express his concern for the middle class working stiff and his promise to create 12 million jobs . ( what did he say ,something about opening trade with Latin America ).Romney voted for the Bail Out for Banks ,so who is he trying to kid when he acts like he will be a Wall Street reformer .
Don’t get me wrong ,Obama made a lot of mistakes ,but he inherited the set up for it . Somehow the OBAMACARE wasn’t crafted in a way that really solves the Medical care crisis to the degree it needs to be addressed . Did you really buy Romney
stating in essence that the free market system will solve the medical costs issue ,when its a price fixing insurance monopoly
and doesn’t even operate on free market principals . Oh, and the Private Insurance Companies don’t ration ,only government does if you believe Romney .
Romney doesn’t want to reduce the Military budget . I’m sick of us spending this kind of money to be in WORLD WAR THREE stance . The Military /Industrial complex is alive and kicking .
But ,none of the Politicians are really anything but puppets for
the big money lobby groups these days . How is Romney going to make the 1% give high paying jobs to the USA by reducing their taxes . This isn’t going to stop them from oursourcing and outmanufacturing ,and their actions have proven what they do .
Romneys own life shows you what he is ,and he no doubt supports the system that allowed him to make 200 million and only pay 12 % .
He is really obnoxious for stealing Michael Moore line about the big KISS that Congress gave to the banks ,when Romney voted for the Bail Outs .
It’s all a bunch of BS
Romney voted for the Bail Out for Banks
Romney did NOT for the bank bailouts. He may have supported it. Obama not only voted for the bank bailouts, he also encouraged his collegues to vote for it.
How many of these banksters wound up in the pen under Obama’s watch?
ZERO can we all count ZERO
Bush had 1300 Clinton over 1000 ohbewanna ZERO
Do you have a link for that?
Financial Fraud Conviction Scorecard:
Bush: 1300+, Clinton: 1000+, Obama: 0.0 (+/-)
Meanwhile, not a word of complaint from a single Democrat in Congress, which is especially infuriating given the broad bi-partisan agreement among voters that criminal bankers need to do time.
http://dailybail.com/home/convicted-bush-1300-clinton-1000-obama-00.html
President Romney.
Has a nice ring to it, no?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQn-vulThcY
How is that “trickle down” working??
record profits on wall st…. no trickle.
President Willard Romney, actually.
“Romney was a perfect example of form over substance last night.”
That was a fine trashing doled out by Romney last night. I bet Michelle tore Barack a new one last night back at the hotel room…did you see the look on her face after the debate? Priceless.
Anyway, the problem with Obama is the fact that he knows he can not articulate his true progressive/marxist vision to the country, that would be political suicide. Obama would have been just as fired up as Romney had he been given the all clear to speak his true Progressive/Marxist beliefs with passion. You can only get by on the Hope and Change subterfuge once.
Romney on the other hand could speak from the heart, what he said HE truly believes. The words and confidence behind them flowed like a hot knife through butter.
The next debates will be just as brutal…The current iteration of the Democrat party has to lie, they have no choice, and Romney can just plow through his talking points and highlight the lies one by one.
problem with Obama is the fact that he knows he can not articulate his true progressive/marxist vision to the country, that would be political suicide.
You can’t articulate it either, because that would make you sound moronic.
Romney on the other hand could speak from the heart,
Heart? The guy who was “priest” in a church that until 1978 practiced institutional racism? And taught blacks were “cursed”? Are you joking? Some heart.
The current iteration of the Democrat party has to lie,
As opposed to the Repubs who all the fact checking organizations deem more much more liars than the Dems?? Read the transcript of Ryans convention speech. The Repubs spent 1/3 of their convention based on a misrepresentation. (A lie) “We built that”. Good Grief. You are supporting the biggest political liars of our lifetime.
Romney can just plow through his talking points and highlight
thehis own lies one by one.There it is.
I am not supporting Romney, I was analyzing the debate. My superior IQ has you flummoxed.
2 articles from the WSJ:
Fakebook Hits 1 Billion Users
“Facebook has reached 1 billion monthly active users, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced today.
I am committed to working every day to make Facebook better for you, and hopefully together one day we will be able to connect the rest of the world too.”
Web Profiles Haunt Students
“About a quarter of admissions officers at the nation’s top 500 colleges have used websites such as Facebook and Google to vet applicants, according to an annual Kaplan Test Prep survey. Of those, more than one third say they have found something that has hurt a student’s chance of admission, up from 12% last year.”
They must have ramped up in creating fake users …
One of my children has at least four Facebook accounts. As I find them I lock them; after a couple of weeks he will set up another account and the game starts again.
How do you lock someone else’s account?
You can change the password on Facebook to one they don’t know. To do this you need the email account they use, which again you need to change the password too, so they can’t recover the Facebook password. Hope that makes sense; I also hope I haven’t missed a flaw in the process I use and he’s still using his original account ;(
OK. So how do you get/have control of their email account? I suspect soon they will figure out how to manage this whole thing completely independently of you and that will be the end of this.
Man up and take away his computer/phone.
Let him have an account, but make sure you’re a “friend” or monitor the account - it’s amazing what you might find out about stuff - just stay silent about it all unless it’s really serious.
Carl he tends to autosave his passwords on the PC. So passwords are not usually an issue.
Romney was doing the BS two step ??
Clinton said it best…..A guy that pays 14% tax, on 20-mil of income, who has a 100-mil IRA and god only knows how much cash in the Cayman Islands, disparages 47% of the population for not paying taxes and being moochers…And you actually want to make this guy President…wow
Clinton said it best
Now if we could just get Obama to say it.
Clinton said it best
Now if we could just get Obama to say it.
Paying only 14% tax, Bain’s job destruction, Possible tax cheat, Offshore accounts, 47% etc. Obama did not mention them but from what I’m seeing down here is that a bunch of media people are really harping on this fact.
They are talking about it a lot which very much brings these issues up and keeps them in front of the public. I wonder if these issues are being talked about MORE now in the media because Obama did not bring them up.
Didn’t Clinton preside over that which he mocks?
You mean the repeal of Glass-Steagall?
Yup, that was on Clinton’s watch…
And I’m sure the media people of which Rio speaks will also remind us of that fact.
Hope and Change
http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-03/california-gas-stations-begin-to-shut-on-record-high-spot-prices.html
“Gasoline station owners in the Los Angeles area including Costco are beginning to shut pumps because of supply shortages that have driven wholesale prices to record highs.
Spot, or wholesale, gasoline in Los Angeles has surged 70 cents this week to a premium of $1.15 a gallon versus gasoline futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, data compiled by Bloomberg show.”
How much was gasoline when Obama assumed control of the Presidency? $1.85?
What is it now? $3.60+ and going higher.
What is it now? $3.60+ and going higher ??
You can say the same for Laundry detergent which makes your bias obvious…
$3.60 I wish. $4.20 here.
I use gasbuddy.com - tells you the cheapest gas prices in your area.
When Bush was prez and gas was $4.18, every one said the prez has no control over gas prices. But…. now…. this time is different?
“But…. now…. this time is different?”
Well of course, because Obama is in office, and everything that goes wrong is his fault (according to the Republican spin doctors, at least…).
What were the job losses that month Lip when gas was $1.85? What do you think the price of gas will be if your GDP is shrinking at a 6% rate. I don’t disagree that gasoline costs more but it’s exactly what I would expect in a world where the marginal cost is set on the world market. Do you know why Nat. Gas is only $3.50 mcf in the US and over $8 in Europe? Here is a clue, it takes billions of dollars to build the ports and ships to move Nat. Gas from N. America to overseas markets. Fact is the US exports a big percentage of our refined oil and every barrel that goes out means less here at home and it’s why you won’t see $1.85 again unless the world has a repeat of 2008. Did Romney say he was going stop exporting our oil and driving up our costs?
Gas under Bush hit about $4.00 in around 2008. Just saying….as I did not vote for Obama.
I suggest looking at the 5 year chart for comparison. During the financial panic, gas went down. In August of 2008, gas prices were higher than they are now.
http://gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx
If only we would trade with Iraq and Venezuela!! Gas would drop!! and we all need those 9 mpg Yukons to pick up our 24 packs of Pepsi with!
Gas is about $4.40 around my neck of the woods. Yet, monster-sized MomVs still seem as popular as ever. It would kill me to pay $100 each time I filled up.
Would just like to know where the Congressional hearings are being held, you know, the ones where they bring in the oil execs.
I would also like to know which news network has all the man at the pump stories like we saw in 2008.
Good, Lane. I am tired of this “gas prices doubling under Obama” comment.
No president has much control over gas prices. Obama doesn’t. Bush didn’t.
However, presidential policy can and does have considerable effect on job growth. In this area, Obama is an abject failure.
I think Bush/Obama can share the blame for appointing Bernanke and pushing so much green up the FedGov’s posterior, the banks, Europe and the FBs. Gas is higher, food is higher and so is laundry detergent. Don’t be so sick of the comments, ask for something different.
“No president has much control over gas prices. Obama doesn’t. Bush didn’t.”
No Republican has much control over a retarded lack of economic perception.
What is it now? $3.60+ and going higher.
I just paid $4.49 yesterday in San Jose, for regular 87.
$4.79 at the Chevron in Pismo Beach, CA today.
How much was gasoline when Obama assumed control of the Presidency? $1.85?
Yea but when Obama assumed control I had high cholesterol and was a little pudgy. Now I’m lean ‘n mean and my cholesterol is normal.
$4.18 under Bush at peak.
Yep. Bernanke’s QE program is working great, and it’s all Obama’s fault…
Oil prices are down worldwide from a few months ago
So where’s the spec action now?
Go long carbon. The higher the CO2 output the better. Bonus points for extra SO2 emissions. High prices are good for everybody because a rising tide lifts all boats.
So where’s the spec action now?”
Silver ? But I just sold PAAS probably too soon
Refineries here in California change over to winter gas starting Sept 15. When they do the changeover, they pull all their storage down to a minimum and do refinery maintenance. This is what causes the shortages.
Thank you for posting!! Specific industry info is always welcome on HBB.
Four More Years
http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2012/10/04/americas-emptiest-cities/
America’s emptiest cities (by rental vacancy rates):
Orlando
Dayton
Detroit
Las Vegas
Houston
Houston?
Never would have guessed it.
Inconceivable!
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/04/showbiz/movies/princess-bride-reunion/index.html?hpt=hp_c2
Interesting post goon…Thanks…
Hope and Change
Turkey authorizes military action in Syria after mortar attacks that killed civilians:
http://m.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/turkey-again-shells-syria-to-retaliate-for-mortar-attack-that-killed-civilians/2012/10/04/ff256bcc-0e0b-11e2-a310-2363842b7057_story.html?wpisrc=al_national
Four More Years
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2212803/Walkers-slammed-putting-just-SEVEN-crisps-multi-pack-bag-packets.html
Something funny.
http://ll-media.tmz.com/2012/10/04/1004-hilary-clinton-christina-aguilera-getty-3.jpg
CAPTION: William Jefferson would adore these puppies.
For Grice the collapse of a currency means a collapse in people’s trust in the economic system and its key agents.
“At its most fundamental level, economic activity is no more than an exchange between strangers. It depends, therefore, on a degree of trust between strangers. Since money is the agent of exchange, it is the agent of trust,” he said in a research report this week.
And while it has been Iran’s nuclear program and the subsequent UN sanctions that have seen trust eroded in the Iranian regime, in the world’s biggest economies, the risk to social cohesion is the explosion of credit and money printing, according to Grice.
“History is replete with Great Disorders in which social cohesion has been undermined by currency debasements. The multi-decade credit inflation can now be seen to have had similarly corrosive effects. Yet central banks continue down the same route. The writing is on the wall. Further debasement of money will cause further debasement of society. I fear a great disorder,” Grice wrote in a note outlining why he is so worried about central bank policy and its cheerleaders.
Likening the printing of money to a stealth tax that erodes people’s spending power without anyone being able to place the blame for their loss of purchasing power, Grice said people need to blame someone.
“No one knows upon whom the burden falls. People notice only that they can’t afford the things they used to be able to afford, or they can’t afford the things which everyone else can afford.”
“They know that something is wrong, but they just don’t know what, why, or who is to blame. So inevitably they look for someone to blame”
Grice believes that the cost of currency debasement falls on those who do not benefit from the debasement when it occurs and believes people are finally waking up to this fact.
“Central banks provided cheap money to banks, the cheap money artificially inflated asset prices, artificially inflated asset prices made anyone connected to those assets rich as we became a nation of speculators, those riches were achieved at everyone else’s expense, and everyone else has now realized what has happened and is understandable enraged,” said Grice who believes we are now locked in a blame game.
Al Gore explains the debate result
I heard algore explain the Romney had been in Denver preparing but that Obama only arrived in Denver at 2:00PM!!!!!!!!!
Its the altitude!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor Obama, I live at 8,000′ and everyone up here knows to shove tp in our ears to compensate.
Altitude sickness?
Al Gore should know that it’s the attitude that defines the altitude.
everyone up here knows to shove tp in our ears to compensate.
Use your elbow!
I was wondering if there was something going on in O’s day job that we don’t know about yet.
maybe O has seen the writing on the wall, and wants the heck out of Dodge?
Even if he loses he can Run again in 2016… maybe next time with Hillary?
+1. I wonder about that too. That’s why I mentioned that Romney was too condescending about job of President. Why sure, it was easy for Romney to look good — even the MSM noticed that he had very few public events in favor of debate prep. The libtard side of the web says that Romney used debate prep as an excuse to not go out and meet the Great Unwashed that he wants to govern.
Ditto, why.
Those dark rings under his eyes, the listless, almost distracted answers. Either Michelle was seriously annoyed about their anni on debate night, or there’s a national security mess about to unravel big time, (my guess), or the man just got a rotten diagnosis.
Something was JNQR about that “debate”.
“Gore explains…”
That is an oxymoron no matter what follows.
yeah, you are so much more educated and successful than Gore. sour grapes
I am actually more educated than he, and not jealous of his career. He excelled at stuff that I couldn’t do and failed at things I do well. We have different yardsticks on “success”.
What is a Fusion Center and is there any connection to Romney?
You may not know much about fusion centers but they they know everything about you!
And I’ll bet they’re bored to tears with us.
Well, lets liven things up a bit with some keywords:
Allah Ackbar! Nuclear Weapons! Anthrax! Uranium! Megadeaths!
Russ, Russ, Russ. You forgot the money word:
Terrorism!
Brilliant Russ. I’ll bet you’re a hoot in the airport security line!
I’m always that guy running naked down the concourse, yelling ‘WOOOWOOOOWOOOOO!’
A Fusion Center is a place where they add hay to the haystack.
That can be very dangerous. Adding hay to hay can lead to
Experienced agricultural producers in the southern Great Plains know that low wind speeds, high humidity, moist hay, and hot temperatures can be a recipe for disaster.
Under such a set of circumstances, tightly stacked hay bales have been known to combust. Without proper preventive measures, hay barns or any other structures close to the blazing bales potentially might be lost.
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=14589
and we wouldn’t want
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOErZuzZpS8
This is a non-partisan video produced by an accountant, Hal Mason, retired after 27 years with IBM. He looks at the budget, its revenues and expenses, and very simply illustrates the problem. We get all the media talking heads blathering and shouting for hours and never get clarity. Here is a simple attempt to clarify.
Click below to view the video.
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/EW5IdwltaAc?rel=0
Good video thanks! I liked it. It’s simple enough for most people to follow. The point is we are looking at a solvency issue in the U.S. and we need a plan that focuses first and foremost on solvency.
So what’s the solution?
So what’s the solution?
Some combination of reduced spending and increased taxation?
We figured out last time that if we expire the Bush tax cuts on “the rich” then we get close the budget gap by 8%. If we expire it only everyone making over the median income we get to 15%. If we expire it on everyone including “the poor” we get to 20%.
If we try to tax the rich to solve the issue the top two brackets need to be 75% and 45% + obamacare tax + state. That would put the top marginal rate at around 90% in some states.
If you see the tax the rich solution at 90% as just silly like me than you’ve got to look at some very deeeeep budget cuts. But as the video points out you can close down government and the military and fire everyone and you still can’t balance the budget. If you think 90% taxes will fix everything I’d say watch what happens to France. It won’t be pretty.
It seems to me we have to get very real here. Everything must *go* on the federal level. The medicare / medicaid prescription drugs deal needs to be shutdown yesterday - it is a huge leak. The military needs to come home now. Military bases need to be mothballed in the most cost effective way without tossing out decades of progress. The government needs to get out of the states business and only focus on international and interstate affairs. Everything else is gong to have to be funded by the states. We are looking at serious cuts everywhere. I think we have to stop thinking about what is fair and start thinking how we are actually going to survive. It’s is really very serious.
Anyone in denial just needs to look at Greece. The only other alternative is hyper-inflation.
That being said I’m all for increasing GDP from the small business side and shutting down wall street and pushing for cheap high fire power online eduction. We need to re-train ourselves and we need to push the younger generation to start small businesses. In the final analysis - it really is about the ability of the next generation to be productive. And right now we’ve been encouraging them to become comatose in their parents’ basements. That is not helping them. They have more than enough latent potential to fund this country. But they aren’t going to develop it on welfare and toxic student loans. There is no technical reason we couldn’t be offering a completely free STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) program to every U.S. citizen with grades and a degree in a completely free and open source fashion.
Personally I wouldn’t mind a federal “freedom” tax. You pay the government say $20 million and you are thereafter free of all federal taxation (but not state and not the “death” tax). I’m picking $20 million out of the air. Maybe it just needs to be $10 million, I don’t know. I think I lot of young people would compete for the honor of achieving that. I think it could really push a lot of big thinking style innovation and create a lot of employment. And even slaves should be able to buy their own freedom and be proud of it. Are you a free man?
It seems to me we have to get very real here. Everything must *go* on the federal level.
So far, you are much “realer” than most. But I add, single payer health-care would save a lot of money, and defaulting on debts our younger peeps never signed on for is an option that no one seems to mention. (Question to anybody) Why?
Seriously, why not default? Default is the risk bond buyers knowingly take in “free-markets”. S$it……I’ve lost money from defaults. It’s part of capitalism. I say default and let the dumb a$$es learn long and hard what the f$%k capitalism is all about.
Why not?
RioAmericanInBrasil: “So far, you are much “realer” than most. But I add, single payer health-care would save a lot of money”
Thank you!
I really want to say “Thank you!” for saying it.
I believe “housing wizard” (or whatever is handle is) brought out the same “charade.”
Let’s face it Obamacare was written by and paid for by big pharma (and I know them well) and the insurance industry (brought to you by FIRE). We are getting ripped off in a nutshell.
A single payer system where the government directly hires health care works (at least for the poorest cohort) is the best outcome.
Drugs price should be negotiated based on the best rate available to the third world and not higher.
I am totally with you on this!
And let’s go to the issue of default…
See my proposal to print “green backs.” That would be the best outcome in my opinion.
But in your face default? The Chinese would be on the California Coast with their new aircraft carriers within five years. Doubt me? See “French Navel vessels on the shore of New York” after Nixon took us off the gold standard in 1971 and they wanted their gold now! The Chinese want their gold!
Green backs is a much more civil way to resolve the debt issue. ***We should have never gone on a debt based money system to begin with*** The constitution forbids it! And for good reason.
I’d also like to vet “Darrell’s” ideas on this. I need to have some time to study his ideas. I think he has raised some ideas that are at least intellectually stimulating. We do have a “leak” in our trade account. But I also know that that the leak for now is causing global growth (they need our credit). That’s a positive. Long run - I’d like to look at this. I told him this is not viable visa vie trade groups but that is not a solid argument for not looking at his ideas.
I also think we need to fundamentally change the way we think about money and debt. Fractional reserve banking does not work. Debt based money does not work. Credit for consumption does not work. I would personally tear up the whole thing and go to a “green back” currency controlled by a Fed like entity with only one mandate - to keep the value of the currency outstanding constant forever. If you are unfamiliar with the green back currency look it up - it’s a fiat currency issued during the American Civil War. It is pure fiat and is not borrowed into existence. So there would be no treasury market. All past federal debt would be paid off in green backs at a gradual rate. Credit creation for personal consumption would effectively need to be shutdown. We’d have to create a pay as you go system.
Actually, it seems to be lower taxes on the rich and more spending on seniors now, and tax increases and deprivation in old age for poorer younger generations later.
Or has “Old Romney” returned?
“Some combination of reduced spending and increased taxation?”
Yup and yup. Start with the MID and the Pentagon.
Make ALL people work for their bennies……we need bodies in so many areas and to have 1/3 or more of the population idle and most getting something to live on… we have to admit this plan is over….
we need a plan that focuses first and foremost on solvency ??
Oh my goodness that would be Heresy….I mesan, you need to have your priorities straight like;
Closing down Planned Parenthood…Now there is a national crisis that should be job #1….
LOL
more unplanned pregnancies! build more jails!!
condoms are expensive to give out!! >
“condoms are expensive to give out!! >”
They are at Georgetown, just ask Sandra Fluke.
“Without insurance coverage, contraception can cost a woman over $3,000 during law school.”
They must glow in the dark or be battery operated or something.
This is good, Salinas. Thanks for posting.
“Here is a simple attempt to clarify.”
The master at arms must padlock the steerage folks in the holds so that the top hats may board the lifeboats, unhurried, like gentlemen.
So long as the stock market is rallying, why worry about US factor orders?
“New orders for civilian aircraft, which include cancellations, sank 101.8 per cent after rising 51.1 per cent the previous month.”
Isn’t there an ironclad mathematical law that limits sinkage percentages to 100%?
ft dot com
Last updated: October 4, 2012 3:47 pm
US factory orders drop 5.2%
By Anjli Raval in New York
US factory orders suffered the worst decline for more than three years in August.
The labour market, meanwhile, continued to show lacklustre momentum, with new claims for unemployment insurance and planned job cuts both rising, according to the latest September data.
Companies cut their orders from US factories by 5.2 per cent in August, the biggest decline since January 2009, the US commerce department said on Thursday. The figures mirrored data last week showing a sharp drop in demand for long-lasting goods largely because of a fall-off in volatile demand for aeroplanes.
The latest numbers were slightly better than the 6 per cent decline forecast by analysts. August’s fall followed a downwardly revised 2.6 per cent increase in July.
Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.7 per cent in August after rising by the same margin the previous month, hinting at a less rapid loss of momentum in manufacturing activity.
Slowing growth in China, a recession in Europe and uncertainties surrounding the US “fiscal cliff” – tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled for the end of the year – have held many employers back from spending and hiring, continuing to hamper President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.
Economists fear a further decline in the manufacturing sector, which is regarded as the mainstay of the US recovery and accounts for about 12 per cent of the economy.
New orders for civilian aircraft, which include cancellations, sank 101.8 per cent after rising 51.1 per cent the previous month. Defence aircraft orders fell 8.1 per cent after declining 11.4 per cent in July.
…
Obama sounded good today, good thing the teleprompter doesn’t hit back.
Posted: 4:07 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012
Housing issues not addressed in presidential debate
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Housing was barely mentioned during this week’s presidential debate, leading one top economist to declare the housing crisis “apparently over” and leaving a hole in the discussion for such hard hit states as Florida.
The words “foreclosure,” “underwater” and “loan modification” — all dinner-table terms in Palm Beach County households — were never uttered by President Obama or challenger Mitt Romney in the only debate to focus exclusively on domestic policy.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/s/business/ - 97k
WASHINGTON (AP) — Free birth control led to dramatically lower rates of abortions and teen births, a large study concluded Thursday, offering strong evidence for how a bitterly contested Obama administration policy could benefit women’s health.
The project tracked more than 9,000 women in St. Louis, many of them poor or uninsured. They were given their choice of a range of contraceptive methods at no cost — from birth control pills to goof-proof options like the IUD or a matchstick-sized implant.
When price wasn’t an issue, women flocked to the most effective contraceptives — the implanted options, which typically cost hundreds of dollars up-front to insert. These women experienced far fewer unintended pregnancies as a result, reported Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis in a study published Thursday.
The effect on teen pregnancy was striking: There were 6.3 births per 1,000 teenagers in the study. Compare that to a national rate of 34 births per 1,000 teens in 2010.
There also were substantially lower rates of abortion, when compared with women in the metro area and nationally: 4.4 to 7.5 abortions per 1,000 women in the study, compared with 13.4 to 17 abortions per 1,000 women overall in the St. Louis region, Peipert calculated. That’s lower than the national rate, too, which is almost 20 abortions per 1,000 women.
Now anyone expect to see politicians line up behind this. Nope, it saves a ton of money, prevents abortion, and likely improves the lives of the kids that are born thus decreasing crime and hospital visits ect. But it won’t happen.
Here is an interview with Charles Murry about his book “Coming Apart”. I was one of those people who thought he was a racist because I heard other people call him one. But upon further review, he never suggested mistreating anyone.
As a matter of fact, its great that he limited “Coming Apart” to the study of white people because that way racism as a cause of problems is removed and you get to see the naked mechanics; which are the same ones that affect black people (but are titled under the heading “Racism”)
Im not sure if he explains the paradox of the smartest people running the country into the ground?
Maybe I missed it, but it always bothered me.
If congress and the bankers and the corporate CEOs… are composed of the smartest people, then how did we end up in this ditch?
Me and my friends could have got us here for much less money.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LVskhzJR6NU
That was a good video, Spook.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49292706
Bullish commentary from Larry Fink…
My ‘hood is turning bi-polar. New construction mcmansions alongside all kinds of people going bust / having their water shut off / selling everything… a lot of moving trucks again.
How’s everybody doing? Where’s CarrieAnn? Any long-time posters buy recently?
My colleague at work sold an ocean view home for $500K less than the initial list price as of two years ago. Not sure how much equity was left (if any) after price reductions…
“Tampa Bay lost more construction jobs in the past year than any other metro area nationwide except Atlanta, a sharp local reminder that the building business remains an economic laggard despite an improving housing market.”
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/article1254817.ece
Carlson scolded black Americans for being proud of their community for surviving slavery.
Well F#$K Tucker Carlson and the slave-groomed horse he rode in on. That guy is a disgrace to our American ideals.
I’m a white American who is proud to grow up much of my life in KANSAS. And Kansas stood up and was the first state to really be counted in blood to have fought against slavery. See: “Bleeding Kansas”, the “Missouri Compromise”, “Kansas: Free State” and “The Kansas/Nebraska Act”. Kansas now is a bit f*&*^d up. But in the past, Kansas stood tall when no other state had.
Carry on my wayward son,
There’ll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don’t you cry no more
Testing…
Did this guy miss the memo on the etch-a-sketch?
Oct. 4, 2012, 10:35 a.m. EDT
Gold run on Romney win defies logic
By Nigam Arora
Gold is running on the Romney debate win as the momentum (momo) crowd is getting excited and aggressively buying. The momo crowd favors Romney. The logic be damned. It is indisputable, in my opinion, that a Romney win is bad for gold and silver.
Why is that? Romney has clearly expressed that he will fire Bernanke; of course, he cannot literally fire Bernanke, he simply means that he will not reappoint Bernanke as the Fed Chairman.
The premise behind the momo crowd buying gold and silver is Quantitative Easing (QE) engineered by Bernanke. If Romney wins, QE will be short-lived. If the momo crowd were to use logic, they would realize that a Romney debate win is a negative data point for gold and should be selling gold and silver. However, the gold momo crowd has never acted based on logic, and it is not a surprise that they are aggressively buying gold, especially ETFs and SLV.
This column is not about politics in general, but only about how politics affects investments, specifically gold and silver.
Etch-a-sketch is in high gear…Note to future Republican candidates: Watch out for the guy holding up the iPhone next time you address an exclusive audience of the Republican base behind closed doors.
Walt Cronkite /
CBS News/ October 4, 2012, 11:02 PM
Romney: “47 percent” remarks “completely wrong”
Republican presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at a rally in Fishersville, Va., Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012. / AP Photo/Steve Helber
Mitt Romney, trying to distance himself from perhaps his most damaging campaign moment, said Thursday that his infamous “47 percent” remarks were “completely wrong.”
“Clearly in a campaign with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you are going to say something that doesn’t come out right. In this case I said something that’s just completely wrong,” Romney told Sean Hannity on Fox News. “And I absolutely believe, however, that my life has shown that I care about 100 percent. And that has been demonstrated throughout my life. And this whole campaign is about the 100 percent. When I become president it will be about helping the 100 percent.”
A leaked videotape last month revealed Romney telling wealthy donors at a Boca Raton, Fla. fundraiser that 47 percent of the country, President Obama’s supporters, don’t pay income taxes; consider themselves victims; feel entitled to government handouts, and will never be persuaded to take personal responsibility for their lives.
…
Pinocchio for president!
Last Updated: 12:48 AM, October 5, 2012
Posted: October 05, 2012
Team Obama, scrambling to regain solid footing after Wednesday’s debate debacle, has switched attack targets.
Mitt Romney the extremist is out.
Mitt Romney the liar is in.
Chief campaign strategist David Axelrod complimented Romney’s “vigorous performance” — but added that it was “one that was devoid of honesty.”
Really. Axelrod talking “honesty.”
Indeed, he said, “the question is . . . whether or not a candidate that is so fundamentally rooted in hiding the facts and truth” can be trusted with the presidency.
But while that description applies to one of the candidates, it’s not Mitt Romney.
In fact, Obama & Co. need to think very hard before going down this road.
That’s because, very frankly, honesty is not an Obama administration hallmark.
…
Here comes the Chinese housing bubble collapse. Luckily the U.S. has QE3 to buffer its economy.
Oct. 5, 2012, 1:47 a.m. EDT
Hong Kong holiday sales suffer from China housing
By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Mainland Chinese tourists are spending less than usual in Hong Kong during this year’s key Golden Week holidays, in what some analysts view as the diminished wealth effect from China’s softening housing market.
Anecdotal evidence indicated this year’s eight-day holiday is turning into a disappointment for Hong Kong retailers, who say they’ve noticed a drop in spending by mainland tourists on big-ticket items, from luxury watches to high-end fashion.
Overall visitor numbers from the Chinese mainland are also down this year, with arrivals off 6% on the first official day of the holiday period Sunday, according to figures cited by the South China Morning Post.
The decline marked the first drop in mainland Chinese tourism since the financial crisis in 2009.
UBS analyst Carl Berrisford warned last year of visitors-flows from the mainland had peaked and their Hong Kong spending would likely plateau.
With political and cultural differences dividing Hong Kong and mainland China, multimedia artist Samson Young highlights the physical frontier through his latest project ‘Liquid Borders.’
“It’s a reflection of the slowing economy,” Berrisford told MarketWatch. “A lot of wealth creation in the last few years has been on the back of the property market.”
Berrisford said he advised clients against retail themes last year because of “deteriorating conditions” and highlighted concerns that growth in spending would fall to single digits from double-digit levels previously.
The slowdown in overall spending by Chinese mainlanders was already evident in the fourth quarter last year, according to Berrisford, who said that even China’s affluent are being more careful with their outlays.
“High-end shoppers are beginning to become price-sensitive,” he said.
…