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EFLeducator
Joined: 16 Dec 2011 Posts: 595 Location: NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:14 am Post subject: |
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Dear EFLeducator,
Thank GOD - saved form a socialist agenda of better health care for more people, rising employment, the cessation of misbegotten wars, etc.
Hallelujah!!!!!!
"By my accounting, and conservatively speaking (small �c� conservative), there are more than 100 achievements of varying importance ranging from the rescue of the economy from the brink of another Great Depression to the rescue of the American auto industry to the largest middle class tax cut in American history to the repeal of Don�t Ask Don�t Tell. At the very least, and not insignificantly, President Obama�s ideas and political savvy paved the way for African-Americans to finally reach the highest political office in the world. The last segregated office is now multi-racial. This can�t be understated or ignored. Furthermore, the president just wrapped his third year in office and, much to the chagrin of the far-right, he has at least another year in which to tackle more items on the to-do list."
http://bobcesca.com/blog-archives/2012/01/progressives-and-evaluating-the-president.html
Andrew Sullivan: How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics
"The right calls him a socialist, the left says he sucks up to Wall Street, and independents think he's a wimp. Andrew Sullivan on how the president may just end up outsmarting them all."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/01/15/andrew-sullivan-how-obama-s-long-game-will-outsmart-his-critics.html
Regards,
John |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Posts: 11534 Location: On a Short Leash
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010 Posts: 1186 Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2012 12:57 am Post subject: |
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Yeah, let's further the divide between the haves and the have nots and let a rich white man who has no idea what it means to work for a living get into office so he can tax the hell out of the middle class, destroy the remaining shreds of what little safety net there is for the poor and pass tax breaks for his rich cronies. That's the ticket.
And I wonder how many people who use socialism as if it were a dirty word realize that the Scandinavian countries, who are considered by pretty much everyone, to have the highest standard of living, are all, to a varying degree, socialist. But that doesn't seem to bother anyone. Or if those people even understand what socialism is, or just believe everything they hear on Fox news. |
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EFLeducator
Joined: 16 Dec 2011 Posts: 595 Location: NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
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posh
Joined: 22 Oct 2010 Posts: 430
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:30 am Post subject: |
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Well, the US elected Bozo Bush, so Plastic Mitt wouldn't be much of a surprise.
The problem is the huge swing that goes from far right, frankly weird presidents to level-headed people like Obama who actually has the brain to make progress and shows compassion for his fellow countrymen, no matter which social group. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:43 pm Post subject: |
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OH NO - socialism is pulling ahead:
"Economic Gains, Questions on Romney Boost Obama's Prospects for November
Mitt Romney has solidified his position for the Republican nomination but lost ground in the main event, with improved economic indicators and questions about Romney's wealth and taxes lifting Barack Obama to a head-to-head advantage for the first time this cycle.
Fifty percent of Americans in this new ABC News/Washington Post poll approve of Obama's job performance, the most since spring. Fifty percent say he deserves re-election, better than Bill Clinton at the start of his re-election year and as good as George W. Bush a month before he won a second term. And Obama now leads Romney among registered voters by a slight 51-45 percent, the first time either has cracked 50 percent in a series of matchups since spring.
Two chief factors are at play. One is the economy's gradual but unmistakable improvement, marked by the newly reported January unemployment rate of 8.3 percent, the lowest since a month after Obama took office. The president's approval rating on handling the economy, while just 44 percent, is its best in 13 months.
The other: questions focused on Romney's wealth, his low tax burden and, relatedly, his ability to connect with average Americans. Notably, 52 percent in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates, say the more they hear about Romney the less they like him - double the number who like him more.
Based on his roughly 14 percent tax rate on 2010 income of about $22 million, the public by a broad 66-30 percent says Romney is not paying his fair share of taxes; even nearly half of Republicans say so, as do half of very conservative Americans. The public by 53-36 percent, a 17-point margin, thinks Obama better understands the economic problems people are having. Obama leads Romney by 55-37 percent in trust to better protect the interests of the middle class, and remarkably, by 10 points, 52-42 percent, in trust to handle taxes.
While the situation may be unusual given Romney's particular wealth- and tax-related vulnerabilities, competitiveness on taxes can be a telling indicator. Mike Dukakis, Al Gore and John Kerry trailed on taxes in 1988, 2000 and 2004, and lost. Clinton and Obama led on taxes in 1992 and 2008, and won. (The record's not perfect; Clinton trailed on taxes in 1996, and won anyway.)
SCRIPT - Each election follows its own script, and there's time aplenty for 2012's to play out. Romney may be in a weakened position given the internecine GOP primaries, Obama in a better one given improved economic data and his well-received State of the Union address. Among Americans who've heard or read about his address, 57 percent approve. Far fewer, 36 percent, approve of what they've been hearing from the Republican candidates overall.
But it's true too that Romney's fortune - if elected he'd be one of the wealthiest presidents in history - is a delicate issue given the public's long-running economic discontent. Sixty-eight percent think the tax code favors the wealthy in this country; 56 percent feel that way strongly. Seventy-two percent favor raising taxes on millionaires; 59 percent say so strongly. Both include majorities of Republicans.
Life, though, is hardly more comfortable for Romney's top opponent, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He trails Obama by 54-43 percent among registered voters. And while Obama's majority support against Romney is new, the president has held a majority against Gingrich in four out of five ABC/Post matchups since spring.
Moreover, while Americans by 52-24 percent like Romney less, rather than more, as they learn more about him, they say the same about Gingrich even more broadly, by 60-19 percent."
Sweet sufferin' succotash - it may be time to move to a truly capitalist country, such as China.
Regards,
John |
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fladude
Joined: 02 Feb 2009 Posts: 432
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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Bush was a terrible President, but so is Obama. If Romney wins he will be a bad president too. Look at Obama, he claims to be a liberal, but other than some bloated health care garbage, which the country can't afford, he hasn't done anything which strikes me as "liberal." He supports the Patriot Act, assassinates American citizens and still has secret military trials for people charged with terrorism (if they even get a trial, which most don't). And he is cracking down more on state marijuana codes than Bush ever did. He came out in public against SOPA, but then used executive orders to enact ACTA (which is essentially the same thing, although now we don't have the legislative process).
Obama is just another COP president, who has slightly different special interests in mind than Bush did. Overall though I believe the two are very similar. The so called "socialism" of Obama is a scam, just like Bush's capitalism was a scam. They both only care about using government money to feed their own backers/ supporters to maintain the American Oligarchy.
I would have voted for Ron Paul, but he will never get the nomination. When forced to chose between a Republican like Bush/Romney or a Democrat like Obama, I chose not to vote. Its just not worth my time because they are all big government/ anti-freedom losers intent on turning the US into a police state. |
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DebMer
Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Posts: 232 Location: Southern California
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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You don't hear it, but you're receiving a standing ovation, including screams of, "Huzzah! Huzzah!" from me. I wish more people saw this clearly.
And I will add to your post my comment copied from another site:
If Obama is re-elected, I'll have the opportunity to get extra use out of the shirt I'm planning to buy. http://www.rationalapparel.com/2012/01/nobel-peace-prize-world-tour/
And if a Republican is elected, I'm sure he'll fit nicely into the Bush-Obama political dynasty as detailed here: http://www.humblelibertarian.com/2011/08/bush-20-100-ways-barack-obama-is-just.html
fladude wrote: |
Bush was a terrible President, but so is Obama. If Romney wins he will be a bad president too. Look at Obama, he claims to be a liberal, but other than some bloated health care garbage, which the country can't afford, he hasn't done anything which strikes me as "liberal." He supports the Patriot Act, assassinates American citizens and still has secret military trials for people charged with terrorism (if they even get a trial, which most don't). And he is cracking down more on state marijuana codes than Bush ever did. He came out in public against SOPA, but then used executive orders to enact ACTA (which is essentially the same thing, although now we don't have the legislative process).
Obama is just another COP president, who has slightly different special interests in mind than Bush did. Overall though I believe the two are very similar. The so called "socialism" of Obama is a scam, just like Bush's capitalism was a scam. They both only care about using government money to feed their own backers/ supporters to maintain the American Oligarchy.
I would have voted for Ron Paul, but he will never get the nomination. When forced to chose between a Republican like Bush/Romney or a Democrat like Obama, I chose not to vote. Its just not worth my time because they are all big government/ anti-freedom losers intent on turning the US into a police state. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 8:35 pm Post subject: |
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The late, great George Carlin agrees with you:
"I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, 'If you don't vote, you have no right to complain,' but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created."
But I still vote, anyway; I'm just not as smart as George was.
Regards,
John |
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DebMer
Joined: 02 Jan 2012 Posts: 232 Location: Southern California
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Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:29 pm Post subject: |
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I usually vote - based on the 1% possibility that the results aren't 100% fixed beforehand.
johnslat wrote: |
The late, great George Carlin agrees with you:
"I have solved this political dilemma in a very direct way: I don't vote. On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, 'If you don't vote, you have no right to complain,' but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created."
But I still vote, anyway; I'm just not as smart as George was.
Regards,
John |
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artemisia
Joined: 04 Nov 2008 Posts: 875 Location: the world
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:55 am Post subject: |
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It�s very hard to change the overall �big�, corrupt political picture no matter what country it is. It�s so often the �small� meat and potatoes stuff that matters the most in people�s day to day lives. The slashing of this funding, the introduction of that (tax) benefit � that�s what often hurts or helps.
I try and look at the smaller policies but the rest is generally all much of a muchness. In that sense, it doesn�t seem to matter at all who you vote for. |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010 Posts: 1186 Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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Fladude, I agree with everything you said. I am so disappointed in Obama, I really had high hopes that there might be some important changes, but it same old, same old. Ron Paul is BY FAR the most intelligent of the bunch. And I find it ironic that so many Americans want a president who will "preserve our freedoms" while at the same time clamoring for more and more restrictive laws all in the name of "freedom". And the candidate who really DOES want to do so is dismissed by many - without having any idea AT ALL of what he stands for - as a nut job. |
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EFLeducator
Joined: 16 Dec 2011 Posts: 595 Location: NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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I love Ron Paul and would vote for him in a second. But the repukes and the demoncrats are BOTH in the pockets of their masters...big corporations and lobbyists. So many think the demoncrats are for the poor and working class while the repukes are for the rivh only...croc!
They BOTH serve their masters well and it's not we the people. |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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