The Housing Bubble

if you are a business, you don’t let the auditors run the company.

Then there is this:

Had a kid on the show who smashed his face into the back bumper of a car at 35mph, while trying to do something stupid. $800K in medical bills to put his face back together.

So now we as society get to cover the cost of this kid being a jackass? Yay for us? There are those of us who actually try to save some money, not gamble everything on overpriced houses, not “car surf”, don’t have unprotected sex, don’t do IV drugs and snort coke off hookers asses, don’t smoke, and actually occassionally exercise. Screw us people right? Since we are responsible, we can afford a bit more for all the idiots out there. It’s for the children.

Ok, I was with you up until “snort coke off hookers asses.”

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.

Wait, so a system that is subject to abuse is fine, it’s the abusers who should just magically change? If you take away the money that is available for bailouts you take away the bailouts. Why is the fed allowed by law to magically “buy” worthless crap to the tune of 45 billion per month? I have some sand in my back yard, why don’t they buy that for a few million?

“Oh but it’s ok, they have the best interest of the economy in mind.”

This country is supposed to be about letting the individual decide/do what is best for them, not about privatizing gains and socializing losses. Step 1 to returning to that is neutering the Fed at *least* back to only setting interest rates, instead of buying this asset crap business. Step 2 is drastically moving tax dollars back to control at the state and local levels and neutering the federal welfare system. If we want welfare/SSI/disability, it should be at the state level…

Too logical for Rio’s Hilary/Pelosi/Reid mind to grasp Math guy.

So eloquent and profound…

‘They are very good at digging themselves into holes’

Man, everybody is so concerned for these Republicans and their popularity. One would think that if they were digging their own political grave, the other side would sit back and do nothing.

Napoleon said, when your opponent is making a mistake, don’t interrupt him.

Or could it be you are worried?

Ben, nobody is “doing” anything except talking. but Obama and Reid are the ones doing nothing and letting the grave digging go on. The only action Obama and Reid have taken is to — rumor has it — shut Biden out of the process. imo a good thing. Last time, Biden gave away the store.

It’s the democrats who are digging the graves if you are anything but a non-essential government employee. The government shutdown or 10% shutdown of the government is nothing but a sham and it doesn’t and won’t affect the masses. The elites and riches will be the ones taking the hit more so than the poors. Poors and Middleclass won’t feel a difference, the US government has stopped working for them long long ago.

‘nobody is “doing” anything’

“It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

Yeah, let’s put these people in charge of the health care system.

Yeah, let’s put these people in charge of the health care system.

We should never put Park Rangers in charge of health-care.

We can see what that did to France.

“Man, everybody is so concerned for these Republicans and their popularity. One would think that if they were digging their own political grave, the other side would sit back and do nothing.”

People seem to forget that the very reason the Tea Party members of the House got INTO the House in the first place was a response to Obama’s legislative actions (including Obamacare).

Said another way;

Obama lost the House in large part because of Obamacare…the Tea Partiers are at greater risk of losing their seats if they roll over on Obamacare, than if they continue to be obstructionist.

Ben and rental watch: How come these points are never addressed?

1) Unifying power/control in a single source ties you directly to the success/failure of that source.

2) Half the country is against centralizing control of our health/wealth.

All we seem to get is, 1) don’t worry it will be fine, and 2) nuh uh, everybody wants it.

‘ties you directly to the success/failure of that source’

Which is the aim, as I’ve said here before. That’s why I don’t play along with this compassion crap. This is about power. What really bothers me is, I shouldn’t have to buy something I don’t want. Other than that, it isn’t going to work. Or not well, anyway. I’ve experienced this stuff south of the border and it’s a disaster.

You forgot 3) Other countries do it that way, and everybody loves it

And mathguy, the other thing that irks me is that people frequently tout the government at being far more efficient in delivering healthcare (using percentage of overall $ going to healthcare as the metric). In other words, insurance companies make profit, so therefore they MUST be less efficient, since the government makes no profit.

However, this metric misses an important piece…without profit motive, there is no incentive to spend less money on healthcare…you can get to the same metric by dramatically overspending on healthcare…hook up someone with a body that is shutting down on a ventilator for a week on Medicare’s dime, and you get to increase the numerator and denominator in that calculation. Is that actually the right medical decision, or the easy, politically expedient, non-confrontational decision?

The other piece that people have ignored is that there is less and less competition in the world of health insurance. And it’s not getting any better…and Obamacare won’t help. Mega insurance companies get to negotiate sweetheart deals with healthcare providers because they have bulk. This is why the man on the street pays a HUGE amount more than Blue Cross for the same procedure.

If you want to add competition into the mix, you need to alter these arrangements (that are the result of near-monopoly situations). The only idea that I could come up with (that some people will scream and yell about) is to make it illegal to charge different amounts for the same procedure with different payors. So, if the man on the street is charged $1,000 for a test, that’s the same price every insurance company pays.

If this were to happen, there would instantly be more competition in the insurance markets, driving profits down.

hook up someone with a body that is shutting down on a ventilator for a week on Medicare’s dime, and you get to increase the numerator and denominator in that calculation. Is that actually the right medical decision, or the easy, politically expedient, non-confrontational decision?

So is that an argument in favor of the death panels that Sarah Palin was worried about?

If you look at the difference in healthcare cost in the US vs other countries, the main difference is in end of life care. “Death panels” (also known as doctors making decisions) are a major reason why other countries spend less on healthcare than the US.

According to a Kaiser website, 28% of all Medicare expenditures are spent in the last 6 months of someone’s life. In the year it was studied, that was $170 Billion.

$170 Billion out of $554 Billion.

http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2013/09/11/Study-Futile-end-of-life-care-costs-millions-not-warranted/UPI-79531378928697/

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/opinion/costs-of-medical-care-at-the-end-of-life.html?_r=0

http://graphics.eiu.com/upload/QOD_main_final_edition_Jul12_toprint.pdf

Look at page 14 of the Economist White Paper on end of life care…this ranks cost of end of life treatment. Notice those at the top (the cheapest)? Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden are all in the top 5 (there are some ties). The US is WAY down near the bottom at #31. Few countries spend more than us per patient at the end of life.

The unspoken truth is that if we went the way of any number of European Countries for healthcare, we would find that doctors would be making decisions for end-of-life treatments, and the spending for EOL would go down considerably. People would hail this as the success of single-payer, but it is really the success of allowing doctors to curtail treatment when it is actually time to say goodbye to the loved one.

That was why the GOP “death panel” fear tactic was so unbelievably frustrating to me…it reduced/eliminated the possibility of having an adult conversation about why massive resources should NOT be spent on EOL care, so they can be put to more beneficial, cost effective health matters (prenatal care, preventative medicine, vaccinations, etc.).

I haven’t seen a study done on it, but based on what I’ve read, I’m willing to wager that if you bring end of life care more in line with the rest of the world (ie. reform how Medicare deals with this issue primarily), you would find that our cost per patient would go down considerably, and our outcomes would not get much worse (and even better of these resources were shifted to some very basic health programs–vaccination programs and prenatal care for the uninsured).

And this would be independent of going to a “single-payer” system–in fact, it would be fixing the thing that we have that is closest to “single payer” right now (Medicare).

This may be the explanation but it may not be the reason.

The reason may be that the market became oversold and now it is time to cause it to become overbought.

The market also tends to bounce up and down during periods of volatility. In the present episode, the bounces up are a lot smaller and less frequent than the drops.

Spin the news properly and you’ll spin the actions of thousands - millions - of “investors”.

(”Investors”?)

Lol.

Yellen…….ZIRP until 2020……yes…..Obama keeping the middle class alive!

Wall Street Journal - Health Care CEOs Earn Top Pay:

“Sometimes it’s good to be a health-care CEO. Health-care company chief executives had the highest median pay of any industry captured by the recent Wall Street Journal CEO Compensation Study.

The median CEO pay in the industry was $10 million, according to the study, which was done in conjunction with consulting firm Hay Group. That beat out consumer goods at $8.9 million and telecom and oil and gas, both with median CEO pay of $8.6 million. The study looked at total direct compensation, which includes salary, bonuses and the value of long-term incentives, including stock and stock options at the time of the grant.”

“It’s destined to collapse overnight, just as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid did.”

I get the point here, but the US is not the same country that it was when those programs were implemented, not even close.

Besides, Jerry Brown has already ceded California to Mexico. Wonder how the folks in Silicon Valley are going to like it when their kids are kidnapped and mailed back to them in pieces?

They will live like the folks in Mexico and Central America (with any money) do:

In gated communities.
With barbed wire and broken glass on top on very tall walls
With private armed guards.
Send their kids to private schools.
Never venture out at night.

And they will wonder why it all changed.
And other places are not like their home state.

“And they will wonder why it all changed.
And other places are not like their home state.”

And they can all go look in the mirror, and ponder whether their cheap landscaping, cleaning and cooking was all worth it. They can wonder which of their servants betrayed them. They can ask themselves if they got a good return on their H1B employees. If the campaign contributions and media payoffs balanced the ransom they paid.

It’ll be a good time to be a plastic surgeon in Cali.

“It’s destined to collapse overnight, just as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid did.”

I get the point here, but the US is not the same country that it was when those programs were implemented, not even close.

The country was in the middle of the Great Depression when Social Security was implemented. The typical household had a much lower standard of living than today.

but hey…they will have free healtchare dammit!

the US is not the same country that it was when (SocSec/Medicare/Medicaid) were implemented

You’re right. Nowadays older people and some poor people can see a doctor and get a little money back every month so they can eat.

As far as not being able to afford it now, if every other industrialized country in the world can afford some form of health-care for all it’s people, than the USA can too.

It’s not like the USA is first to do this and this is all some big crazy concept that we are making up. We are last to do this. And that we are last is a disgrace upon America. And the Repubs fighting America even being last is even more disgraceful.

The country was in the middle of the Great Depression when Social Security was implemented. The typical household had a much lower standard of living than today.

Social Security was also “sold” to the American people as a 1% tax ON THE RICH.

Now it is a 15% tax on everyone.

Funny how that happened.

Social Security was also “sold” to the American people as a 1% tax ON THE RICH.

Now it is a 15% tax on everyone.

They will not rest until it’s 100% tax on everyone.

Social Security was also “sold” to the American people as a 1% tax ON THE RICH ??

Didn’t take much selling after the great Depression…Its a safety net pure & simple…Allows people to have a little dignity in old age…

Social Security was also “sold” to the American people as a 1% tax ON THE RICH.

You should look that up. It sounds highly unlikely. I’m pretty sure that nearly all workers had to pay the tax from the beginning. More specifically, workers had to pay the tax in order to receive the benefits.

Also, you forget that the tax is capped, so it actually works out to be quite tiny (less than 1% in some cases) for the super-rich.

The best one was when they introduced income tax withholding…they gave some benefit currently to voters and the law was not in effect for some time later.

Talk a generational transfer of wealth.

Hey…everyone will be exempt this year from any income tax only if they support a 90% marginal tax rate on children born 9 months from now.

“As far as not being able to afford it now, if every other industrialized country in the world can afford some form of health-care for all it’s people, than the USA can too. ”

the military would have to be gutted…not that i give a shit…but it would have to be gutted.

rest of the world who has been enjoying their free healthcare would have to step up.

it’s scarey to think what the bosnian conflict would have been like without the U.S…but should we really give a shit about that either?

“it’s scarey to think what the bosnian conflict would have been like without the U.S…but should we really give a shit about that either?”

+1 Not having the vast resources of the U.S. to experiment with endless diplomacy, the Europeans would quickly arrive at the genocidal solution if other countries failed to open their immigration doors and welfare spigots.

Yeah, I have awesome insurance but single payer will be better for the country on the whole. It’s ridiculous how hard some people I know work but they get stuck (in the past) with health “insurance” that has all kinds of carve-outs to protect the insurer from really paying if the person gets really sick.

The costs just get shifted to the public and for chronic illnesses it gets shifted to Medicare when people are old enough.

It isn’t enough that health care is 18% of U.S. GDP.

This is America, dammit! USA number one!

It should be at least 30% of GDP.

That’ll show those Euro-socialists who’s boss!

goon = Ted Cruz speechwriter

‘I have awesome insurance but single payer will be better for the country’

Here’s a thought; keep your awesome insurance and keep your hand off of my wallet.

How about we have a system that is about spreading risk (which is what insurance is) instead of gaming the system and shifting costs onto the public and onto Medicare/Medicaid?

Do whatever you want just don’t ask me to pay for it. I don’t have any spare change, dude. Just what I tell the bum at the supermarket.

‘I have awesome insurance but single payer will be better for the country’

“Here’s a thought; keep your awesome insurance and keep your hand off of my wallet.”

As soon as A observes something which seems to him wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine what C shall do for X, or, in better case, what A, B, and C shall do for X… What I want to do is to look up C. I want to show you what manner of man he is. I call him the Forgotten Man. perhaps the appellation is not strictly correct. he is the man who never is thought of…. I call him the forgotten man… He works, he votes, generally he prays—but he always pays…” - william graham sumner

Liberace doesn’t seem to mind people sticking their hands in his purse.

He works, he votes, generally he prays—but he always pays…”

I am one out of 3 right now but I am working hard on the paying part. Nirvana is around the corner.

So Ben, are you going to “keep your hands out of my pocket[book]” when it comes time to SS and Medicare? You realize those are PAYGO programs, right? And that they vastly favor those who are older now, who will receive much more than they paid in, right?

Also, if someone is uninsured or has flimsy insurance (like most of what was being sold on the individual market) and has an accident or needs experimental therapies, you would tell them to just not get the care, right? Because otherwise, they will be subsidized by people with my health plan (it’s great insurance, but I never use it) and by the public/taxpayer.

The problem is that insurance is for risk spreading, NOT for enriching special interests or for shifting costs onto the taxpayers. When bad health plans don’t pay, the costs are shifted onto PAYERS. When they’re in accidents or need therapies not covered, they are not left to die, they get the care and we pay.

We’re going to get single payer because our system of job-based insurance has been a joke and because the transfers and subsidies are a blackhole. Profits are privatized, losses are socialized. That has to end.

‘when it comes time to SS and Medicare’

I say ditch all the ponzi schemes.

‘We’re going to get single payer because…’

Even the Democrats didn’t support this. Bring it on, the government will just collapse all the faster.

And when they’re lying in the smoldering sh*tpile where they belong, watch these price fixing schemes collapse.

And the best part about it?

The cash I’m forced to throw at these price fixing schemes stays in my wallet.

Obamacare does include an expansion of Medicaid, so it’s a step in the direction of single payer.

” I don’t have any spare change, dude.”

Is anyone besides me (and I presume Ben) concerned that the banks aren’t paying Ben enough?

If I understand correctly, Ben takes care of foreclosed houses, and thanks to his ministrations banks might get 40-50 cents on the dollar instead of 10 - 20 cents. (my guesstimations).

Ben is smart and appears to be a hard worker. What is wrong with the system that he doesn’t have “spare change”.

I appreciate your concern localandlord. I have started 2 businesses in the past 5 years, and that has taken a lot of time and money. This fund is just now starting to pay back some, and the property preservation industry is tough. The mortgage field service companies will be more than glad to work you into the poor house if you let them. So it took a while to figure out how to make that pay.

I’m not complaining. I wouldn’t like to go back to working for someone else and this is part of the trade-off. I just semi-retired my 18 YO 4 wheel drive, and bought a 12 YO hybrid, cash. I look forward to having more spending cash, if fortune shines on me and my endeavors. But now, I don’t have a lot of room in my budget for new line items. I do without enough as it is. And I’d bet I’m not the only one in this country in this boat.

Your compliment is noted, but it will not help you get into Onwentsia.

Wait, aren’t you gonna buy it for me?

$500,000,000,000 a year to government contractors.

It’s the land of milk and honey up here in Galt Gulch

Better question:

Why would a Democrat president yield to a Republican extortion gambit that was planned months ago?

If everybody who isn’t an illiterate idiot knows something, it’s not much of a secret.

Op/Ed 10/01/2013 @ 7:21AM 52,936 views
The Secret Republican Obamacare Shutdown Plan. Have You Heard About It?

Have you heard about the Republican Party’s targeted, proactive and nationwide PR campaign to win the debate over Obamacare and government funding?

That’s right. Anticipating months ago a possible showdown between the GOP-led U.S. House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled U.S. Senate and White House over the issue of funding the government and funding Obamacare, Republicans did what any responsible large entity does: They secretly and strategically laid out a carefully crafted public relations campaign formed by an internal scenario-planning working group.
…

“…would a Democrat president yield to a Republican extortion gambit that was planned months ago…”

They are terrorists for sure! Secrets, plans, extortion!

RNC = looser party

Poll: GOP gets the blame in shutdown

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2013, photo Rick Hohensee of Washington holds a “Fire Congress” sign near the House steps on Capitol Hill in Washington. A new poll says Americans are holding Republicans primarily responsible for the partial government shutdown. The Associated Press-GfK survey finds plenty of disdain to go around as people size up the federal impasse. Most now disapprove of the way President Barack Obama is handling his job. And Congress’ approval rating is a perilous 5 percent. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
Associated Press
CALVIN WOODWARD and JENNIFER AGIESTA 4 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are holding Republicans primarily responsible for the partial government shutdown as public esteem sinks for all players in the impasse, President Barack Obama among them, according to a new poll. It’s a struggle with no heroes.
…

No, they can’t. The payment system isn’t set up that way. They payments go out automatically once they are submitted to treasury. The agencies could decide not to submit for a payment, but if they did, they would be violating the law. For example, Social Security could decide to cut all payments to $1000 a month or less. But that would be a violation of the SS law which provides a formula to determine the size of the payments. Also, it might take a while to do the programming to change the amount of all those payments. If you wanted something more complicated (not payments to anyone who had at least $24,000 of other income last year) it would take even longer.

And even if they did decide to break the law to not submit for legally required payments, it would take time to figure out how much each agency would have to cut. And Congress might get a little peeved since they are the ones who are supposed to make those decisions.

The budget of a country isn’t like your household budget.

Poll: GOP gets the blame in shutdown

I googled Republican Party.

A Plan to Save the Republican Party
Foreign Policy (blog) - ‎14 minutes ago‎
The United States no longer has a two-party political system. As the events of the past few weeks have shown, the Republican Party has split into at least two groups that are no longer just factions. Though it may be hard to believe, this division has ..

Shutdown shines spotlight on rift in Republican Party
Washington Post - ‎19 hours ago‎
One week into the first federal government shutdown since 1996, the Republican Party remains hostage to an unrealistic strategy aimed at an unattainable goal - defunding the nation’s health-care law - that had no obvious path to success.

Republicans fighting back against the tea party
Washington Post (blog) - ‎Oct 8, 2013‎
The Post’s must-read report today by Philip Rucker captures both the frustration and determination of main-street Republicans who are, to be blunt, horrified by the tea party’s tone, irresponsibility and extremism: “Nearly three years after a band of …

Republican Party: Get Rid of the Wackos
Guardian Express-Oct 6, 2013
House of Representatives It’s Sunday, the day of public bashing of both parties in the media. This morning’s hysteria appears to center on two ..

Can business take the Republican Party back from the Tea Party?
Washington Post (blog) - ‎Oct 7, 2013‎
So a big question for the last couple of years has been: At what point could the extremism from this faction of the Republican party cause blowback from the rest of the party? And will the latest confidence-rattling showdown by the source of a new wave …

AP-GfK Poll: Republicans get most blame for shutdown, tea party is potent and …
Washington Post - ‎5 hours ago‎
WASHINGTON - Americans are holding Republicans primarily responsible for the partial government shutdown as public esteem sinks for all players in the impasse, President Barack Obama among them, according to a new poll.

The Republican Party’s Civil War: A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand
Forbes - ‎Oct 7, 2013‎
Open warfare has broken out inside the GOP between Tea Party Insurgents and the Republican Party Regulars. It revolves around tactics, more than policy.

Jindal Urges Other GOP Governors To Take The Republican Party’s Message …
Reason (blog) - ‎20 hours ago‎
Bobby Jindal said Tuesday it’s time for Republican governors to take back the party’s messaging from Washington, saying the states are where the real action is.
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Supreme Court To Hear The Republican Party’s Bid To Inject Even More Money …
ThinkProgress
Oct 7, 2013
Though the bulk of the federal government remains shutdown, the Supreme Court will convene Monday for the opening of its next term - a term that features major campaign finance, abortion, race, religion and environmental cases and which could …
Washington Post (blog)

Wisconsin professor tells students Tea Party, Republicans at fault for slimdown
Fox News 12 hours ago
Written by perry chiaramonte
A Wisconsin college professor warned her students they wouldn’t be able to get all of their homework done because of the partial government shutdown, and put a partisan spin on the bad news.

Republican disapproval grows in budget battle, Post-ABC poll finds
Washington Post (blog) - ‎22 hours ago‎
The poll finds Democrats and Republicans have become convinced that the opposite party is in the wrong on budget negotiations, but are far less united in support of their own leaders.

Slimdown battle emphasizes cracks in the Republican party
Fox News - ‎Oct 6, 2013‎
Slimdown battle emphasizes cracks in the Republican party. Advertisement. Details. Description. Reps. Nunes, Gohmert debate clean CR.

Obama cousin, a Tea Party Republican, to challenge Kansas US Senator
Reuters - ‎15 hours ago‎
KANSAS CITY, Kansas (Reuters) - Martin Wolf, a Tea Party activist and distant cousin of President Barack Obama, will challenge three-term Kansas U.S.

The decline and fall of the Republican party
Washington Times - ‎Oct 3, 2013‎
WASHINGTON. October 3, 2013 - One of the most open secrets in Washington is that the House Republican Leadership and House Speaker John Boehner did not want the fight they are currently in over Obamacare.
Raw Story

Ted Cruz: Anti-Obamacare Filibuster Didn’t ‘Remotely’ Harm Republican Party
International Business Times - ‎Oct 6, 2013‎
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (C) departs after speaking to reporters about his opposition after the Senate passed a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, sending the issue back to the House of Representatives, at the U.S.
Guardian Express

John Bohner and the Republican Party’s Shutdown Doesn’t Mean Anything
Guardian Express
5 hours agoThe government shut down does not really mean anything. We are simply witnessing the death of old fear and old patterns, releasing us into a higher state of awareness and consciousness.
WTSP 10 News

The Fractionalization of the Republican Party
Huffington Post (blog) - ‎Oct 7, 2013‎
The Republican Party is fractionalizing before our eyes. Conservative Republicans, led by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, are calling moderate conservatives not true Republicans, or “RINO’s” (Republicans In Name Only).
Keystone Politics

Everybody Knows the Shutdown is the Republican Party’s Fault
Keystone Politics - ‎Oct 8, 2013‎
You know, if were president I’d very seriously consider charging the reactionaries, who are moving more and more towards being anarchists, with treason

Rio, what if you googled for for the Dems? I bet you’d get similar finger pointing. Especially if you google for “Democrat Party.”

From Polly:

“No, they can’t. ”

BS!
Obama has shown that no rules really apply; law means nothing (I submit providing waivers to ACA provisions, delaying employer mandate by a year). This administration has done many things that in the past was considered in the “No, they can’t” category.
You continually fall back on bureacracy being fixed and firm; you must be a lawyer. Payments CAN be prioritized if the administration desires or at least stays out of the way.

It isn’t just that they “can’t” because it is illegal. They can’t because the computers aren’t set up that way. It is done automatically. There aren’t a bunch of little old guys with green eye shades writing in ledgers. If you don’t program a computer to do something, it can’t do it. Can’t. Not won’t. Can’t.

And also default means nothing.

That’s the newest meme being pushed by the Koch Brother backed, ultra-right-wing, AM radio propaganda machine.

Why are they pushing that now? Because they are scared that Obama is winning the PR war. (He is) The threat of default gives Obama leverage and they want to reduce his leverage.

Thus the above meme coming out now more and more.

‘the newest meme being pushed by the Koch Brother backed, ultra-right-wing…’

The old fall back position when you are losing. No one here has an original idea or thinks for themselves. You all get “talking points” from a secret radio station.

The old fall back position when you are losing.

But Obama is winning. And “default won’t be bad” is the new AM radio/GOP propaganda meme. It’s just recently all over the news. Don’t blame the messenger.

News: Many in GOP Offer Theory: Default Wouldn’t Be That Bad New York Times ‎- 2 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Senator Richard Burr, Republican of North Carolina, a reliable friend of … But a lot of Republicans simply do not believe it.

Debt limit breach no big deal, some GOP lawmakers say USA TODAY‎ - by Gregory Korte‎ - 1 day ago

Analysis: What default? Republicans downplay impact of U.S. debt …
news.yahoo.com/analysis-default-republicans-downplay-impact-u-debt-li…‎
1 day ago - “We are not going to default on the public debt. … … however, the prospect of the world’s lone superpower juggling its bills doesn’t seem so bad.

As Obama Holds the Line; Republicans Claim Default Wouldn’t Be …
news.firedoglake.com/…/as-obama-holds-line-republicans-claim-default-wo…
1 hour ago - The Republicans are not only sticking to their initial demands for … Obama Holds the Line; Republicans Claim Default Wouldn’t Be That Bad”.

The Default Deniers Are Back - Allie Jones - The Atlantic Wire
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/10/default-deniers-are…/70256/‎
2 days ago - But some Republican lawmakers think default wouldn’t be so bad. … Yoho told The Washington Post his plans on Friday: “I’m not going to raise …

Debt Ceiling: Senate Republicans Flirt With Default - Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/debt-ceiling-default_n_4060536.ht...‎
by Michael McAuliff - in 197 Google+ circles
2 days ago - There’s no reason for the U.S. to default on its debt at all.” … The idea did not seem to be getting support from Republicans. ….. it was clear to every reporter inside the Beltway that Grassley was intentionally acting in bad faith.

Republicans Downplay ‘Default,‘ Dismiss Debt Deadline …
http://www.nationaljournal.com/…/republicans-downplay-default-dis...‎
by Tim Alberta - in 21 Google+ circles
3 days ago - You may not get the full experience here on National Journal. … Republicans Downplay ‘Default,’ Dismiss Debt Deadline Republicans … “The government shutdown is bad enough, but failure to raise the debt ceiling would be …

‘the new AM radio/GOP propaganda meme’

I haven’t listened to any radio for several days. Hmmm, are you saying they broadcast this straight into our heads? No one can think for themselves except you and people who think like you, right? Say it out loud, and you’ll realize how ridiculous it is.

F- the federal government. Those spying, murdering bastards. I don’t care if they have to pick up their own towels.

‘The most damage is to the morale of the [NSA] workforce,” Alexander said of the shutdown. The general extolled the expertise and dedication of NSA employees and said it is unfair to ask people living paycheck to paycheck to forgo their salary indefinitely. “We’re making it hard for them to stay with the government, and that’s wrong. That’s absolutely wrong,” Alexander said.

And, he cautioned, future NSA recruits may be taking note. “How do you get good people to come into government when you treat them like that?” Alexander asked.

Despite the dire mood in Washington, Alexander managed some levity. When questions shifted from the shutdown to NSA leaker Edward Snowden, the general quipped, “Shutdown Snowden? I’m with you on that one.”

“We’re making it hard for them to stay with the government, and that’s wrong. That’s absolutely wrong,” Alexander said.
Plenty US intelligence agents have switched sides, even though they never missed a US paycheck. They just augmented their income by accepting checks from foreign powers. It is more than likely than retired agents/traitors have died of old age after collecting US pensions for their “service.”

No one can think for themselves except you and people who think like you, right?

That is a straw man. And when a person is spouting the newest meme, he may or may not be able to think for him/herself. But neither of those possibilities negate the fact that he or her is spouting the meme. I convey talking points too when they are true and factual but I certainly think for myself and many on the right do too.

I simply pointed out that what the person was saying was the newest meme being pushed by the GOP propaganda machine.

I also explained why the GOP propaganda machine was pushing this newest “Default won’t be so bad” talking point.

are you saying (AM radio propaganda) broadcast this straight into our heads?

Not yours but yea, for many on this blog it seems.

“spouting the meme…”

Consider the possibility that what you are hearing is full of obvious simple truth. I have been asking here for days why all the Democratists are screaming the word “default” and I didn’t hear this on TV or radio. There is no TV or radio.

Consider the possibility that what you are hearing is full of obvious simple truth.

I have considered it. Really. And I do think it is full of something. But not the “obvious simple truth”.

Playing with default in a world the you describe as over leveraged? Where we can currently borrow at the lowest interest rates in the world? When we own the world’s reserve currency that we alone can “print”?? And risking default for political reasons only?

You gotta be kidding me. This is one of dumbest political moves we’d ever, ever see.

You clearly do not understand the difference between not borrowing more and not paying what is already borrowed. They are different.

Believing they are the same is debt mania thinking.

The Koch brothers scared? Doubtful. They are plotting to make tons of money off of this manufactured crisis no matter what happens. In fact there are opinions out there in medialand that a default is exactly what they want. Then they swoop in and buy up bonds, companies & commodities at the ensuing fire sale.

If its so dumb, why dont the dems just cave, and regroup on Obamacare in 2014 when all these teabillies get thrown out for causing such a ruckus?

Just to let you know, my comment was 100 % my own thinking. I don’t listen to daytime AM radio, mostly just Adam Carolla’s podcast, and that just during commute time. I was also in a cabin in the woods for the last 4 days with no tv or radio or newspaper. I just got up and read this blog and posted. No Koch brothers help needed. Maybe I should send them an application. Apparently they are paying millions for the same kind of thoughts I come up with on the commode.

Responding now because I don’t post from work.

The other possibility then is that the person who thinks everyone else is brainwashed is just projecting.

Now too worried about the panda. She is being cared for better than the Fed employees.

No that that sums it up. Great post!

Reducing social contract payments is not a default

Wrong. It is a default on the contracts that Americans voted for, paid for, support, need and want. It is a default until legislation changes the terms of the contract.

Firing a million “not needed” FedGov workers is not a default.

That is subjective therefor it is a subjective default. Who’s going to judge who’s not needed, you or me?

Ending Federal aid to states and countries is not a default.

Total hogwash. It is absolutely a default on The USA being The United States of America.

We already fought the Civil War amigo. “States Rights” rebels got their head handed to them on a Blue plate special.

‘ It is absolutely a default on The USA being The United States of America.’

Because a fraudster like you makes another incredulous claim?

Get help. Quickly.

a fraudster like you makes another incredulous claim?

Incredulous claim? That the USA is literally The United States of America? Do you even know what “United” means? How can USA fit the definition of “united” if there is no Federal money flowing to the states? How would we be a country? You defy logic on so many points it borders on the insane.

Dude, what country do you think you are from?

“How would we be a country?”

How could we even consider ourselves people?

Look at the fraudster duck and weave.. lolz!

Look at the fraudster duck and weave.. with the actual meanings of words and stuff.

….. pulled directly from your a$$.

“That would be a way to avoid default without raising the debt ceiling, but no one in Congress is proposing that.”

Assuming Polly is correct about the 17th not being a hard and fast drop dead date for default, which seems reasonable, then there might be a month or so. That means the Dems and Repubs have plenty of time to come up with a plan to cut spending and raise taxes to eliminate the deficit.

They should probably start no later than the end of the week.

That means the Dems and Repubs have plenty of time to come up with a plan to cut spending and raise taxes to eliminate the deficit.

That’s not going to happen. One party refuses to raise taxes by even a penny. The other party will agree to only small spending cuts.

But this is an issue that journalists on Capitol Hill should definitely keep in mind. They should all look up the total amount of spending cuts and/or tax increases that would be required. Any time a member of Congress suggests that the debt ceiling not be increased, they should immediately be told the amount of the gap that would have to be closed and asked how they think that that should be done.

“That means the Dems and Repubs have plenty of time to come up with a plan to cut spending and raise taxes to eliminate the deficit.”

I’ve never seen a lick of evidence that anyone in Congress is even willing to talk about the real scope of the deficit. The food fight over the ACA is a meaningless food fight compared to war on multiple continents plus entitlement commitments.

“…your bitchy wife is telling you that if you shut off the housekeeper she WILL stop…”

putting out.

I’m starting to get your point.

You are welcome. More specifically, it would raise rates on very short term borrowing a lot (on a percentage basis, might still look like a low rate compared to a person wanting to borrow on a credit card). Impact on interest rates on other terms (medium and long term) would be harder to predict.

Most importantly, October 17th isn’t magic. That is the day that Jack Lew thinks there would only be the ability to pay out $30 billion. Some days the government pays out as much as $60 billion so that is the day they predict to be likely for some default, but they made that prediction a while ago. I’ve read credible people who are digging down deeper on the payment and income streams and think that there wouldn’t be an actual bill that can’t be paid on the day it is scheduled until October 23rd, 25th or even the 30th. Not sure what assumptions the various people are using so I can’t evaluate how accurate they are.

Oh, and that “universal default” thing you faced was probably written down in the agreements you had with your credit card companies. You know, those absurdly long things you get once a year or so in 4 point type on ultra thin paper. I’m sure your didn’t read it. I don’t read them either. Senator Warren has said that she has tried to read them and realizes that it is basically impossible for a person who didn’t draft it to understand it.

it is basically impossible for a person who didn’t draft it to understand it.
Papers like that are easy to understand. They all mean “Heads I win, Tails you lose.”

Oh I’m sure the universal default was in a cc contract. But I remember reading that cc’s are no longer allowed to put it in the contract.

I’ve read credible people who are digging down deeper on the payment and income streams and think that there wouldn’t be an actual bill that can’t be paid on the day it is scheduled until October 23rd, 25th or even the 30th.

Wouldn’t it also be true that if they stopped all payments except for debt-service, then they could presumably service just the debt payments for a LONG time?

Sure, they’d be in default on many payment contracts, but since no one can sue the government anyway, that seems like a pretty safe thing to do.

The debt markets shouldn’t be all that roiled if the debt will still be serviced.

“…it would raise rates on very short term borrowing a lot (on a percentage basis, might still look like a low rate compared to a person wanting to borrow on a credit card)…”

Short-Term Interest Rates Are Blowing Out Again This Morning As Debt Ceiling Tensions Get Worse
Matthew Boesler Oct. 8, 2013, 8:58 AM

Treasury bill yield curve.

Yields on the front end of the Treasury bill curve are blowing out this morning as markets price in higher odds that the disagreement in Congress over raising the debt ceiling will not be resolved in a timely manner.

“The Treasury bill market is clearly indicating concern about upcoming debt ceiling deadlines,” said Goldman Sachs economist Alec Phillips in a note last week, when the curve was significantly lower. “In our view this is the direct result of the increasing acrimony in Washington. Starting with the bill maturing on October 17―the day the Treasury Department has suggested it would exhaust its borrowing authority―bill rates are elevated, suggesting lower investor appetite for holding these securities. The distortion in the bill curve is most apparent in the security maturing on October 31, just after Treasury is likely to have depleted its cash balance. This unusual ‘humped’ pattern is similar to that seen in late July 2011 during the last debt ceiling standoff.”

The chart below shows the spike in T-bill yields.
…

Oct. 8, 2013, 3:19 p.m. EDT
The market is starting to panic
By Anthony Mirhaydari

For weeks, investors and traders have been remarkably complacent. In the lead up and immediate aftermath of the first government shutdown in 17 years, the sellers were held at bay by the idea at compromise deal would surely happen. Anytime now.

But that’s changing Tuesday as short-term Treasury bill yields surge to levels not seen since 2008 — in the midst of the financial crisis — as investors worry about upcoming interest and principal payments that might not be made on time. The CBOE Volatility Index has returned to the highs seen in December and June. The S&P 500 has lost its 50-day moving average — a level that held stocks aloft all last week. And money is flowing into safe-haven assets like precious metals.

In fact, the situation has become so unsettled that banks can now borrow short-term funds at a lower cost than the U.S. government can: The 1-month LIBOR is at 0.17% while the one-month Treasury bill is trading at 0.26%.

It’s easy to see why the panic was slow in coming.
…

Short-Term Interest Rates Are Blowing Out Again This Morning As Debt Ceiling Tensions Get Worse

Thus raising the debt/deficit Repubs act like they want to reduce.

No, that’s just red meat for the slack-jawed mouth-breathers.

2ban’s criticisms of Bathhouse Barry the Chicago Jesus are valid, but he continually fails to provide any viable strategy for the GOP (or another party) to win elections on a platform of taking free sh*t away from the Free Sh*t Army.

Permanent Democrat Supermajority is demographic destiny.

provide any viable strategy for the GOP (or another party) to win elections on a platform of taking free sh*t away from the Free Sh*t Army ??

Exactly….I mean, we need to keep the priorities straight that are the most crucial for opportunity for all in America like;

Shock & Awe

Overturn Roe V. Wade

Defense of Marriage Act

So go ahead and secede already, and don’t let the door smack your ass on the way out

“In its nihilism, the Tea Party is closer in spirit to the nullifiers of the 1830s, who were willing to put the union at risk to defeat a national law.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-08/tea-party-tactics-lead-straight-back-to-secession.html

“In its nihilism, the Tea Party is closer in spirit to the nullifiers of the 1830s, who were willing to put the union at risk to defeat a national law.”

Actually tea party are like the slaves of the yesteryear. They are a minority and trying to flee away from the Banker controlled gobmint slaveholder.

“flee away from the Banker controlled gobmint slaveholder”

Flee away from the bankers who pay for their elections?

Oh wait…

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-30/tea-party-congressmen-accept-cash-from-bailed-out-bankers.html

Flee away from the bankers who pay for their elections?

Why not? Bankers enabled by the gobmint you love so much are the only people with money.

Take banksters money, buy some rope with that money and hang the banksters along with gobmint. What’s not to like about tea party?

Tell me again who’s panicking more with the shutodown? Banksters in NYC or the redneck in Apalachia? The government does work for the people, just tear the $hit down.

The government does NOT work for the people, just tear the $hit down.

What’s not to like about tea party?

They are damaging the American economy as we speak.

They are damaging America’s credibility throughout the big world out there beyond America’s shores.

Many of them are intolerant.

They speak of violence against their own countrymen.

They forget they lost the Civil War.

Many of the oldsters want to deny others what they already have.

They are the watercarriers of the bankers they say they don’t like.

etc. etc.

Some are cool. Most are not imo.

just tear the $hit down.

I’m looking for that section in The Constitution.

my aploigies…just assumed it died after it slashed its own throat.

“my aploigies…just assumed it died after it slashed its own throat.”

And we’re in good Socialist hands. Just don’t get caught taking pictures of the King’s bison or recreating on the ruling elite’s land.

‘Sir, you are recreating,’ and her tone became very aggressive,”

“And the GOP is not “dead”. Maybe they’re just dying. Or maybe they are being reborn. But they are in a type of civil war with themselves and America right now.”

They would look modern if they’d dump their Jesus theme, drop the abortion thing, and maybe take a second look at the environment. I’m sure Madison avenue can cook up something that might attract more of the three digit IQ crowd.

And we’re in good Socialist hands. Just don’t get caught taking pictures of the King’s bison

“Socialist” and “King’s bison”? Really?

What country has ever been truly Socialist that had an all-powerful King who owned all the land?

I think many are confused here.

Park Ranger: “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can.”

Guy Benson | Oct 04, 2013

The feds closed access to the parking lots this week, even though the lots are jointly owned with the Mount Vernon ladies. The rangers are from the government, and they’re only here to help. “It’s a cheap way to deal with the situation,” an angry Park Service ranger in Washington says of the harassment. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting.”

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2013/10/04/park-ranger-weve-been-told-to-make-life-as-difficult-for-people-as-we-can-n1717297 - 75k -

‘Gestapo’ tactics meet senior citizens at Yellowstone

John Macone
Newburyport Daily News The Daily News of Newburyport
Tue Oct 08, 2013, 10:13 AM EDT

NEWBURYPORT — Pat Vaillancourt went on a trip last week that was intended to showcase some of America’s greatest treasures.

Instead, the Salisbury resident said she and others on her tour bus witnessed an ugly spectacle that made her embarrassed, angry and heartbroken for her country.

Vaillancourt was one of thousands of people who found themselves in a national park as the federal government shutdown went into effect on Oct. 1. For many hours her tour group, which included senior citizen visitors from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United States, were locked in a Yellowstone National Park hotel under armed guard.

The tourists were treated harshly by armed park employees, she said, so much so that some of the foreign tourists with limited English skills thought they were under arrest.

When finally allowed to leave, the bus was not allowed to halt at all along the 2.5-hour trip out of the park, not even to stop at private bathrooms that were open along the route.

“We’ve become a country of fear, guns and control,” said Vaillancourt, who grew up in Lawrence. “It was like they brought out the armed forces. Nobody was saying, ‘we’re sorry,’ it was all like — ” as she clenched her fist and banged it against her forearm.

The bus stopped along a road when a large herd of bison passed nearby, and seniors filed out to take photos. Almost immediately, an armed ranger came by and ordered them to get back in, saying they couldn’t “recreate.” The tour guide, who had paid a $300 fee the day before to bring the group into the park, argued that the seniors weren’t “recreating,” just taking photos.

“She responded and said, ‘Sir, you are recreating,’ and her tone became very aggressive,” Vaillancourt said.

The seniors quickly filed back onboard and the bus went to the Old Faithful Inn, the park’s premier lodge located adjacent to the park’s most famous site, Old Faithful geyser. That was as close as they could get to the famous site — barricades were erected around Old Faithful, and the seniors were locked inside the hotel, where armed rangers stayed at the door.

“They looked like Hulk Hogans, armed. They told us you can’t go outside,” she said. “Some of the Asians who were on the tour said, ‘Oh my God, are we under arrest?’ They felt like they were criminals.”

By Oct. 3 the park, which sees an average of 4,500 visitors a day, was nearly empty. The remaining hotel visitors were required to leave.

As the bus made its 2.5-hour journey out of Yellowstone, the tour guide made arrangements to stop at a full-service bathroom at an in-park dude ranch he had done business with in the past. Though the bus had its own small bathroom, Vaillancourt said seniors were looking for a more comfortable place to stop. But no stop was made — Vaillancourt said the dude ranch had been warned that its license to operate would be revoked if it allowed the bus to stop. So the bus continued on to Livingston, Mont., a gateway city to the park.

http://www.newburyportnews.com/local/x1442580373/Gestapo-tactics-meet-senior-citizens-at-Yellowstone - 114k -

phony scandals wrote:

And we’re in good Socialist hands. Just don’t get caught taking pictures of the King’s bison or recreating on the ruling elite’s land.

RioAmericanInBrasil wrote:

“Socialist” and “King’s bison”? Really?

What country has ever been truly Socialist that had an all-powerful King who owned all the land?

I think many are confused here.”

Prussia, the birthplace of the modern socialist state. If you are going to advocate socialism you should at least learn the history of socialism. You are doing your own cause damage. If you don’t know what you are talking about it would be best to remain silent.

What’s not to like about tea party?

RioAmericanInBrasil wrote:

“They (The Tea Party) forget they lost the Civil War.”

The Republicans lost the Civil War??? What?

You sir are full of jive and nothing more. Pick up a book and learn some history.

“…modern socialism…”

NAZI = Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterparte = National Socialist German Worker’s Party

CCCR = Сою́з Сове́тских Социалисти́ческих Респу́блик
= USSR = Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Are you starting to recognize a pattern here?

Ideas cannot be killed, only ignored or repressed.

They can also be moderated or changed by opposing ideas expressed with reason and logic.

Debt is slavery.

A lot of it is. But our current health-care system makes millions of Americans debt slaves too.

No it doesn’t. It may be a lot of awful things but the healthcare system does not turn people into debt slaves.

the healthcare system does not turn people into debt slaves.

That defies reality.

“Medical debt is an especially notable phenomenon in the United States - the US being the world’s only developed country not to offer universal health care. In less developed nations those on low income in need of treatment will often avail themselves of what ever help they can from either the state or NGOs without going into debt, but in the US medical debt has been found by a 2009 study to be the primary cause of personal bankruptcy.[2]

A 2007 survey had found about 70 million Americans either have difficulty paying for medical treatment or have medical debt.[3] Studies have found people are most likely to accumulate large medical debts when they do not have health insurance to cover the costs of necessary medications, treatments, or procedures – in 2009 about 50 million Americans had no health coverage.[2] However, about 60% of those found to have medical debt were insured.[3] Health insurance plans rarely cover any and all health-related expenses; for insured people, the gap between insurance coverage and the affordability of health care manifests as medical debt. As with any type of debt, medical debt can lead to an array of personal and financial problems - including having to go without food and heat plus a reluctance to seek further medical treatment.[3] [4] Aggressive debt collecting has been highlighted as an aggravating factor.[5] A study has found about 63% of adults with medical debt avoided further medical treatment, compared with only 19% of adults who had no such debt.[6]

According to a study conducted in 2012 by Demos that among indebted households 62% cited out-of-pocket medical expenses as a contribution to their debt.[7]” wiki

“including having to go without food and heat…”

Maybe in your country, but that’s not how things work here. Not over a medical bill. The precious house may go by the board. Too ridiculous to be taken seriously.

looked hard and fast to me…but you’re the expert.

jury will decide.

I need to get one of those internet TeeVee widgets you posted about here, but that would require replacing my 15+ year old TeeVee set.

You can get a good flat screen TV in a normal size for 300 bucks, I think? You don’t need smart TV with chromecast. I was surprised at how well chromecast works, I was expecting it to be a gimmick that has glaring or annoying issues. The only thing you “lose” by doing this is sports.

If you are single/only have 1 TV, I would go with playstation over chromecast, since PS3 has wifi, browser, built-in netflix/hulu/crackle links & a great bluray player.

Not that its meaningful to you Lib but Alex Wagner brings the hotness.-……

She’s just another progressive liberal Ivy-grad of half/half parentage, that’s like a dime a dozen in DC. If you’re a fratty white bro you can bag women like that in any bar in Addams Morgan and they’ll be a bunch younger than Alex. Like shooting fish in a barrel.

The coolest thing about her is that she used to write about music and culture for Fader. Kind of separates her from the other shitlib shrews.

They’re fun to look at Lib but that’s all.

It’s called “eye candy” for a reason.

This one was nostalgic too. Always thought it was a Pete Townsend solo album single:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APgC6XYcmSY

if 2ban attempts to pervert the lyrical genius of the who to advance some political agenda, he’s gonna smacked down.

and if he was still in high school when that album came out, he would have been listening to disco, not to the who.

Those are embedded legacy carry-overs. Cultural differences aside, Wall Street leaves no serf behind.

The South also dominates when it comes to measures like highest povery rate, highest HS drop out rates, highest illegitimacy rates, highest SSDI rates, highest EBT rates, and lowest income/wages.

They are by largely democrats. Also 100’s of years of absolute democratic control can’t be fixed in a couple of decades. Smart yourself a little bit before regurgitating a mindless talking point.

Are you kidding? Of the 250 highest EBT (food stamp) using counties, over 200 of them went for Romney. These are very white, very GOP friendly areas. I posted the link on here about 2 weeks ago.

The South is poor and has always been poor relative to the northeast. It’s cultural. Much less emphasis on education, starting at the local level. It’s getting worse because immigration from the northeast to the south is adverse selection for the south - they receive Boomers and washouts while the NE gets the college grads. Good luck with that.

“Among the 254 counties where food stamp recipients doubled between 2007 and 2011, Republican Mitt Romney won 213 of them in last year’s presidential election, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data compiled by Bloomberg. Kentucky’s Owsley County, which backed Romney with 81 percent of its vote, has the largest proportion of food stamp recipients among those that he carried. ”

^^That is a direct quote from here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-14/food-stamp-cut-backed-by-republicans-with-voters-on-rolls.html

Same old canard debunked many times on this blog. Kentucky’s Owsley County has a population of 4772 residents per that article: “More than half of the Owsley County’s population — 52 percent — received food stamps in 2011, the most recent yearly number available. The county, which in 2012 was 97.6 percent non-Hispanic white and had 4,722 residents, “. This does nothing to touch the millions and millions of free cheesers in counties the Savior won.

This stat is meaningless drivel. Look up the law of small numbers.

The counties with the top number of food stamp recipients are the counties with the most people. Here are the top 20:

LA, CA –Obama, population: 9.9 million
Cook County, Ill – Obama, population: 5.2 million
Harris, TX – Obama, population: 4.2 million
Maricopa, AZ – Romney, population: 3.9 million
San Diego, CA – Obama, population: 3.1 million
Orange County, CA – Romney, population: 3.1 million
Miami-Dade, FLA – Obama, population: 2.5 million
King County, NY – Obama, population: 2.5 million
Dallas, TX – Obama, population: 2.4 million
Queens County, NY – Obama, population: 2.2 million

These amount to 39 million people. 80% of those top 10 counties went for Obama. 2 counties with 7 million for Romney. 8 Counties with 32 million for Obama.

Here is the next 10:

Riverside, CA, Population: 2.2 million- Romney
San Bernardino, CA , Population: 2.1 million - Obama
Clark County, NV, Population: 1.9 million - Obama
King County, Wash, Population: 1.9 million- Obama
Tarrant County, TX, Population: 1.8 million- Romney
Santa Clara, CA, Population: 1.8 million - Obama
Wayne County, Mich, Population: 1.8 million - Obama
Broward County, Fla, Population: 1.8 million -Obama
Bexar County, TX, Population: 1.7 million - Obama
NY County, NY, Population: 1.6 million -Obama

18.6 million total. 4 million for Romney, 14.6 million for Obama

The article you guys keep quoting uses a county with 4722 people total in it as an example of a place that went for Romney.

The agents and NFLPA should have taken this up on their own years ago.

-For starters, the NFLPA should have been funding brain injury research for football players at all levels, including working with the people making/designing helmets. Better yet, fund their own research institute, and buy/start a helmet manufacturer.

- Get the NFL/Team doctors out of the “play/no-play” decision making progress.

- As things stand, you could make the case that living the high life, then dying at 55 of a untreated/uncurable brain injury is better that the alternative that a lot of J6Ps are facing, living on the streets and eating cat food, then freezing to death under a bridge.

If the union and agents didn’t care, the owners sure weren’t.

To me, the solution is to let the whole corrupt, “Socialism for the Rich” business of Professional (both college and pro, as if there’s a difference) die a quick death. But that’s just me.

I can’t watch football anymore. It’s all concussions and contracts, not to mention wall-to-wall embedded ads.

fixr,

Ask the girls. Either way they answer you’d be wise not to consider such a thing.

Having clear instructions for a Do Not Resuscitate is a good idea. Doctors and nurses are trained to do something. If that means applying the paddles when it’s clear you’ll only have a few more days left, make sure they know not to apply the paddles.

You’re using quotation marks but putting words inside them that I didn’t write. That’s a good one. I didn’t write that no one here brings up Somalia. I wrote that no one brings it up in response to a suggestion to make a small cut to a program. This was in response to banana’s question “Can we slightly cut ANYTHING… US turning into Somalia…? ”

What is the problem? It’s hard to imaging that your reading comprehenstion is that bad. I think that you have a problem distinguishing the world as it exists from the world as you would like it to be.