Pops Racer

I wish more people in our country understood that there's more to Washington than the oval office. The fact is that everyone's getting so hung up on the popularity contest of Pres/VP that they're losing sight of the roles of the other branches (and the people's role too, btw) in the government.

No matter who gets elected, we should all be writing to our representatives and staying on their asses. In my opinion, you can't bitch about the government until after you've participated (voting, communicating with representatives, etc.) because you're part of it.

(Still voting for Ted Nugent)

Ahh, so refreshing. Wangooo zeeee Tangoooo! If I get to keep more of my money I promise I'll spend it, personally leading the economic recovery. I'm voting for me.

I don't wonder why. People migrate over the easiest path to a better place. If you could get to Europe as easily, cheaply, and quickly as you can get to the United States from Central America, I would put my money on people migrating to Europe not the USA. It's a matter of geography not whether or not the USA is the best and most free country on Earth because it's only one of them, it just happens to be across the river from Mexico.

Hmmm... I'm thinking it's about opportunity. Or the ease with which folks can get social benefits. South of the border is not the only direction folks want to come from. And your still here arn't you? And you have connections over seas. I've been to Europe

3 times in the last 30 yrs, interesting, informative, educational Beautiful people and country sides, and I loved London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and especially the area of Westphailia ( SP?) in Germany. Good beers, food, and soccer, which I love.

But after 10 days I always wanted to be home. In hi tax CT, USA.

Speaking of hi taxes, Obama said $250k ceiling for tax hike, then he said $200k, Biden came out with $150k, now Bill Richardson says $120k, and some Obama campaign rep says $250k-$200k. Whats it gonna be? See my Edmund Burke quote about nibbling away.

This guy is still a moving target, he's so slick I can't pin anything on him. I know nothing about him. Cool he was endorsed by Al-Quida, some Arab business man paid his tuition at Columbia. If all this BS was on McCains record the left would be setting the world on fire about it all.

Best line of the campaign by The Governator: "John McCain served more time for the US in a prison camp than Obama served in the US Senate." I paraphrase, but not much.

My economic plan: Cut taxes and reduce spending. real simple and it will work. Flat tax or consumption/ use tax. The Reagan tax cuts would have worked if the spending by Congress had been reduced. But they spent the recored surplus like drunken Cavalry soldiers. Its not just the Prez that matters.

Again still no comment on my plumber question. I've got a lot of them in this thread that no one spoke on. Oh well.

And if Obama plan does not work, how long before they blame it on past administration? When do I get to complain about Obama and his Congress? If stock market continues to stagnate, and small business doesnt grow, when do I get to cry FAIL?

Will you guys on the other side of the debate side with me? If he is succesfull and I start doing better and the country rebounds, I'll cheer him on. I like money, and thats how he'll be judged.

Europe has better cars, better highways, multiparty democracy, better beer, better food (well in many ways except bbq), real sugar in your soda, and Champion's League at a regular hour. Europe is better than the USA. Thanks my Belgian friend.

Yup, and Americans are leaving in droves to emigrate to Europe.

Folks are still beating down the borders to get into this country, cursing it all the way. Wonder why?

Still no comment on the invasion of privacy inflicted on this Joe the Plumber guy, and the loud silence of the ACLU on it? If it was an Arab Terrorist they would have surrounded him, in lawyers. Hypocrites. The removal of 3 newspapers from Obama campaign plane, supression of info on Obama shady associations, the condemnation of a Florida news anchor, for asking hard questions, begs to the question of how freedom of the press will be addressed by Dear Leader and his cohorts in Congress and Senate, not too mention his future judges. If this does not concern you, don't complain about the Patriot Act. And watch out if you disagree with the Party in power for the next 4-8 yrs. With no checks and balances, this society could turn eevn more rotten real fast. By the way, probably already mentioned, but he couldnt get a low level CIA job if they did a background check. But you want him to be President.

"The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts."

Edmund Burke

Burke Profile Link

Lol. The whole argument over taxes and tax breaks really makes me laugh. Am I right in saying that both candidates are basically promising less taxes but more spending for programs? And am I correct in saying that if we are dipping into a recession that means people will be making less and therefore less tax revenue for the government? Thats why I hate both of them because neither fiscally responsible in any way, shape, or form.

But I guess you cant promise potential voters that you wont give them as much as the other candidate...

Don't hate, it's bad for your heart.

And yes to your questions. I just talked to my small business owner buddy. He reminded me that if your SS taxes increase, he has to match that contribution. Now who's hiring after that burden?

I'm smelling Hoover trying to get out of the Great Depression. You gotta cut spending. If you raise taxes, real revenue declines.

This could get bad. Employment did not improve until 20 years after Hoover/ Roosevelt tax policies. And that was with a manufacturing boom due to WWII.

All taxes, fees, and increases in any operating costs get passed onto the consumer. Plain fact. Money stays in your pocket, and business struggles. Bad,bad,bad.

I do try to glean some numbers at least it gives me something to follow up on and check. They usually contain convenient omissions and distortions. You know you can make numbers say what you need them to. I'm trying to de-cypher tax plans now. I've found some stuff Obama hasnt mentioned, like 12.5% increase in SS tax and 2% increase in Medicare tax. Plus the math aint right either, spending vs revenue. And the thresholds keep changing. And no doubt the 43% that pay no taxes will get $500 "rebate" for an individual. Sounds like more vote buying.

Tito The Builder for Prez!!

Are CEO's and execs gonna get bonuses with our money? WTF!

quoting someone's entire rant to highlight one sentence...priceless.

Flying in for his first post to make dumb commentary off topic...doosh.

Its pretty sad that this is the only way America has to end up with a president. Bullshit from both sides, silly accusations, irrelevant things being brought up left and right...both campaigns are not shy to send downright lies into the airwaves. Intelligence and qualification are irrelevant, just come up with populist BS and you'll be all right. You'd think there would be some basic rules to something this important but instead but it's just the world's longest shouting match.

And whoever manages to look the least bad in all this becomes president, yay. Ludicrous. Its idiocy not democracy.

Thats why if you really care, you need to dig behind media face. It's real hard to do tho, even with internet access. So many folks go for the look, the pretty words, all that superficial crap. Thats why going on associations, patterns of behavior, history, and basic ideas goes a long way. John Stossel of ABC has and editorial today talking about how some people should just not vote. They polled college students at a voter reg concert held by HeadCount.org. Non partisan group, he sites. questions like:" How many senators are there?" Answers? 12, 16, 64, and one respondent said 50 per state. Roe vs. Wade? Answers? "Roe vs Wayne?", "segregation, maybe?", "Where we declared bankruptcy?" But whats the cutoff, how much should you know? Maybe all that folks respond to is a handout or what can you do for me. Sad.

Now, I bet JCviggen from Belgium knows how many senators we have. You gotta pay attention.

Tidbit for today: Obama campaign has booted Washington Times, NY Post, and Dallas Morning News from campaign plane.

All 3 have endorsed McCain.

HAHAHAH! Only one vote for McCain? Good stuff.

If you have done nothing wrong, but are interested in seeking "global opinions" on truth and something major goes down "I don’t know..maybe another Weather Underground movement" then you may be targeted and harrassed based on association because of the Patriot Act. In all honesty it doesn’t matter anyway..they will get you one way or another..

True enough. They already track your purchase patterns, TV viewing, and internet searches. All for" marketing". Govt monitoring can't be much different or far behind. Tho those types of resources must require tons of cash and man power. Plus there must be tons of info on those kinds of associations that are deemed irrelevant, but just because I never hear about it doesnt mean those folks don't get their doors kicked in in the middle of the night. The Big Brother theory keeps me thinking, not scared yet, but not naive about it either.

Well, this is a complex question. There are two parts.

1- Theologically

2- The laws of men through government

Theologically speaking anyone who is in need, and lacking something they should have to sustain their life would be a candidate for help. You would treat them they way you treat yourself. By helping, you would not look to your own advantage or reward. You would not look to them for thanks, your reward would come after life.

Leviticus 25:35 " 'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. 36 Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you. 37 You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit.

In our times and with our government, the trick to answering that correctly would be getting many points of view and experience. The law would have to be written in a way that has checks and balances. No one would should be burden of the state. We should not become indebted to helping our needy, nor should we profit. I stress that by keeping these people in some form, stable, and on a basic level functional within our society, we are able to continue with our business.

Remember, it is our civility that allows us to be successful. As we grow our nation in wealth and technology, we cannot let our civil service become unimportant. Allow me to explain this in another way. A tree can be named by the fruit it gives. The quality of fruit is determined by the richness of soil, abundance of light, availability of water and strength of its branches. If the soil was barren, the fruit would be bad.

You existence and ability to sustain yourself depends on a large number of factors. Without them all, our life as we know it, would not be possible.

A large portion of the people (companies) who lobby, influence and support our politicians were able to convince them that it was in our (the people of the United States) best interest to bail them out. Regardless if that was the true answer or not, their influence is stronger than our democracy. It is no different than asking a favor from the mafia, then having them knocking at your door later to return it. Our two party system is majorly flawed and true constitutionalist will agree. Candidates are brought into power by wealthy investors, foreign and domestic. These investors expect that their agendas be carried out through the office of the presidency and houses of congress. They paid for it, and if they NEED something, by their definition , they will get it.

I personally do not wish to be Governed. It is our lack of faith that makes us in need of it.

I agree. An excerpt from Anarchism 101 with Noam Chomsky,

Power, unless justified, is inherently illegitimate. The burden of proof is on those in authority to demonstrate why their elevated position is justified. If this burden can't be met, the authority in question should be dismantled. Authority for its own sake is inherently unjustified. An example of a legitimate authority is that exerted by an adult to prevent a young child from wandering into traffic.

How much can we trust human nature? We all know if given half a chance many of us will do dastardly things to advance our positions. Thats why a pure communism will never work. Many will just sit on their butts and drain the system without putting in. Maybe our culture is so far gone from things like honor, honesty, and humility that we can't get it back. Enter Theology, stage right.

It's all the Free Masons fault. And all the frat boys.

Very well stated, by the way

OH NOES, LOOK WHAT I DID!!!!!

You are a funny bastard...Really!! :lol:

MoveOn.org, typical tho.

I would call him a carrier lobbyist and puppet for corporate finance. Like most politicians.

Wow, your down with the propaganda jargon. Way too literate for me. :D

Meh ... 3rd quarter 2008 profit was $14.8 Billion. I know one employee who paid around $50,000 in taxes last year

WOOOOOWWWW!

Thats an ass load of money! He was supporting a family of 4 somewhere.

ZING!!!

Actually usawakeup.org is a neo-con run organization. They are writers funded by Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and other personalities. They use avenues like this to support their radical views that are too edgy for their radio programs. They will mention these sites and these sites will support them. It's part of their propaganda rumor mill.

Do your own homework though, I may be for basic rights, but I am not for free rides.

MoveOn. Org. Real intellectuals. DailyKos? Hate group.

People For The American Way. Not really for the American way.

I would not call Hannity or Rush NeoCons. I'd call them True Conservatives. They've been banging on the Administration about spending, cultural issues, and other RINO policies. Chuck Hagle is not a NeoCon, is he?

Your use of the term RADICAL is purely subjective. Most of these beliefs used to be mainstream in America. God, complete families, hard work, a hand up not a hand out, entrepreneurship (wow I spelled that correctly the first time!), civility. manners and respect. Not so much by anyone anymore. I wish it was 1955 again, without the racial suppression. 2 cars, 2 chickens, plenty of work, and a few morals.

I already told you how to fix that. Tell your kids to buy their own damn cars

They actually did! It's the cost of insurance they can't swing. They both have part time jobs, so they pay for their own gas.

By the way, $2.35 a gallon today in CT.

Feeding those two monsters is whats really killing me!

I cried 16 times during his infomercial. For some reason I want a SHAMWOW!

"I don't know, it sells itself!"

I like that guy, cool delivery, carnival style. Better than the OxyClean guy.

Obama had like 4 times the money as McCain to spend. RE drinking buddies. Stop drinking and start up something at nigh to make postal money. Make graphite Volvo parts, website... anything. Even 200-300 extra dollars a month is better than nothing.

I don't drink much, quite the liteweight.

But point well taken. I've actually started a foray into service of home electronics systems. A little cottage industry that will bring that kind of cash in. Program the clock on an old ladies VCR, hook up your equipment after you've moved, install a CATV or phone jack in your house. Like $50 a visit. Not a lot but I'll get calls because I'm cheaper and more qualified than ATT or Comcast. Just a little flash cash to cover the gas for the cars and propane for the heat.

I got a bunch of Volvo parts in the basement, need some?

Or maybe a small mary jane farm in the shed? I'd make money, I won't smoke my profits!

Just Kidding FBI guys using the Patriot Act!!

No, I said it was a bad idea. Read it again. I say, that it is NEVER a good idea. Your grasp on simple economics must be hurting as well. The only reason America survives is because it has an economy based on consumption. The middle class are the number one consumers. Without their disposable income the whole thing falls apart. Look what happens when they don’t spend on gas, or at Christmas. Wake up. Albeit, there also has to be good incentives, i.e. profits, for the companies to do business here and create jobs. It’s a balance, but don’t think the fat cats staying rich is the only answer. It’s called supply in demand not demand in supply. New flash, most of the jobs in America are not created by people who will be effected by most tax laws. They’re either stock holders or foreign investors. Income tax laws will not affect them in the same ways that you understand. They also have ways of shielding their income from high taxes.

The republicans are trying to scare any Joe that "thinks" he's rich into protecting his income. The fact is no person on this forum is rich enough to be affected in any substantial way by tax laws. Only a small percentage will change. The people, companies and foreign investors lobbing congress are the ones that will be effected. New flash, they have already picked sides and are funding this whole shebang.

You’re right by saying the government shouldn’t be into all these institutions, they should be private. Society is not ready to do what it has to do though. There are a ton of things we should do for ourselves instead of the government doing them. We should pick our brothers up and feed them and make them well. Not judge their life and see if we deem them appropriate for help. The only criteria is to make sure you treat others well. If we did that there would be no need for any institutions.

That won’t happen for a long, long time.

Who decides who needs real help, and who is stiffing the system and defrauding us? Thats a huge deal. Just creating the organization that makes those decisions is quite the undertaking. And defining the needy, not the lazy. Who decides?

Wait a second, their is no criteria now but we still hand out cash when folks ask for it, regardless of need. Big industry, Big farm, Big banking all get a "hand up". Means more govt, be careful what you wish for.

2nd quarter of 2008 they paid $32.6 Billion in taxes and had a profit of $11.6 Billion.

They employed around 81,000 people in 2007.

Erik, you are goood.

That actually sound like a reasonable number. I'm not sure they are making outrageous profit relative to research and exploration expenditures. Would also like to see how much that 81,000 employees paid in taxes. Or how much EM paid to lobbyists.

Seems like EM is paying their fair share, 2-1 tax to profit. If that was the ratio for an individual....youd be screaming, no?

1. Read, study and interpret the Quran. That should be easy, it's taken devout Muslims over 700 yrs to do that, it should be easy for us. (tongue firmly implanted in cheek)

2. Build McDonalds and Walmarts every where.

You forgot to mention how the brothers in your example will also perform an Honor Killing and whack said sister.

Or how the Arab Christian community is treated. Like burned and bombed churches in Lebanon, and thousands of Christians routed from their homes. These religious rivals used to live in harmony before Munich Olympics. The problem is cultural, religious and economic. Very complicated.

So your saying its ok to have the Patriot Act enforced? 9/11 in your opinion was formulated by those detained in Guantanamo? Or at least having Guantanamo around assisted in preventing another 9/11?

Read.

I think it has potential to be a violation of privacy issue, but nothing has surfaced to my knowledge about abuse. Info gleaned from Gitmo most assuredly helped prevent more attacks. And if they were members of Al Quida (sp?), then yes guilt by association.

I'm not a fan of big brother, another "1984" reference, but what are you afraid of if you've done nothing wrong? Got some illicit phone conversations you want to tell us about? .

1. Radical Islamic fundamentalism.

2. Western ethnocentrism.

Both good

1. A withdrawl from Iraq.

2. The head of GW Bush on a plate. Both bad and mean spirited.

A gradual withdrawl that is supplanted with infrastructure redevelopment and an internationally coordinated peace keeping force.

Very Good.

What do you all think of Obama buying a couple networks and 30 minutes of prime time tonight?

He had like 400 million to spend, and things have tightened up. I'm really surprised by how close it is based on the formula for money= elected.

Going after the undecideds and soft Dems. Might as well, spend it or lose it , no?

Your hanging out with the wrong people. This explains a lot also. You need better role models

I'm not hanging around with anybody right now, except my drinking buddies!

Got any suggestions? Seriously!

I want you as my role model!

What are you feelings on the current administration? They seem to just bypass any checks and balances, invoke "executive privledge", refuse to testifiy when under investigation, declare the Vice President to be outside the executive and legislative branches, etc.

I basically have not been happy about the last 12 years. Some of the Bush stuff has been legitimate, but Congress could have stepped up at any time to stop him. Lets get one thing straight, none of the folks I voted for are in office, except Joe Lieberman.

I don't want to get into the Iraq thing too much, but on 9/12 everyone knew and expected a Muslim country to get smacked.

Now as far as financial issues, Dems are just as guilty of oversight failure. I'll say it again, govt is too big and is a hard machine to change. Unless you pay up, big.

I disliked any circumnavigation of the Constitution. By anybody.

The Bush admin let me down with excessive spending, and playing loose with the laws. Only the Supreme Court appointees made me happy. And tax cuts. Which got ruined by excessive spending. I disliked the Patriot Act, but I understood it's purpose, and have yet to hear of anyone whose rights were trampled by it. I already have made references to Orwells book, 1984.

I'm prior military, and understand the Geneva Convention. Guantonamo is ok by me. And what it takes to prevent another 9/11. Those detainees are not uniformed enemy combatants representing a sovereign nation. You are considered a spy without uniform and unit ID, and most international law does not apply to your situation. When US Special Forces go on a mission with a sterile uniform, they can, will and have been treated the same way. And US denies their existence officially.

Bush Admin grade? D-. But no burning buildings either.