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i do not care who is elected . as long as it is a republican . congress can only do so much when they have a pres who is hell bent on taking us down . why else are they a do nothing congress. once the kenyan is gone maybe , just maybe they can straighten out some of this. i am neither a democrate nor a republcan , i am an american . do your job or we'll fire your ass should be written in the halls of justice.
I wish the american public could / would recite the above. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by shine
I think we all know it but know one( in power) will do it
it is you that has the power. if you dont like your congress vote them out. it is congress who screws us. the president is just a figure head told what to do by those who got him elected. as ross once said " put a bounty on alligator shoes in the halls of congress ". how could anyone think a newb senator with 0 experience could run a country .
Some of the earlier commentary represents my biggest concern in the upcoming election. The Pres. is going to get his "base" to vote for him no matter what. If someone voted for him just because he's a Dem, they aren't going to change...........they'd vote for a floor mop if there was a D behind the name on the bollot. Some Reps are like that too. Some voted for him because they wanted to show (even with a private ballot) they weren't "racist". Others thought that the free goodie line would be more available to them. And more, the list of reasons why people vote the way they do is long. But which way it goes in the total tally is often a matter of how many or which of those show up. Sometimes called "voter entusiasm". In '08, the Reps were a bit thin on enthusiasm for McCain, had it not been for the added enthusiasm for Palin (no matter whether you share in that or not) it could have been a bigger thumpin'. And here we are again, wondering if there will be an enthusiasm gap for Romney.
This time around the Pres. is looking like he's going to have to gin up some enthusiasm. Our dishonest media doesn't talk about it much, but you can bet that the folks who do polling for the Pres have found lots of enthusiasm gap. Those who wanted more free goodies may have gotten some extra, but not as much as they wanted. Those that thought he was really going to close Gitmo.............oooopppps. Again, it's a long list of empty promises from a guy who doesn't really care about governing, just about living in the glow of admiration and enjoying the perks. He really is a classic narcissist.
It's very clear that his tactic will be to always hoist up a distraction..............in the sales game we called it "Hey, look at this shiny thing over here...........!!!" A common ploy when the facts of the situation don't suit your needs, distract those you're trying to influence with something that will set them up for your benefit. So he'll trot out his LOOOONNNGGGG list of "enemies". The evil oil companies, the greedy banks, the mean insurance companies, the rascally Republicans, Fox news, the Supreme Court, blah blah blah..................anything but his record. And if he needs to address his own record what can be spun as good he takes credit for, even though it happened in spite of his efforts (taking credit for increased petroleum resource production as an example), or blaming it on someone else if it's bad ("my predicessor", the do nothing Congress, the rich, blah blah). Seems like the "great uniter" of '08 divides the country an awful lot doesn't it?
Yesterday's dog and pony being an example of what we'll continue to see/hear. Envy is a powerful tool for the dishonest politician. Those evil rich aren't paying their share, that's why the country is in financial trouble. Yeah right. So, let's create the "Buffett Rule". One of the nice things (for some) in deception is it can be shaped into a catchy little phrase to be used over and over again.............never having to be explained, never having to be proven as effective. With the help of an effective propaganda machine the focus of hate can be trotted out every time a weakness is nearing exposure. So "the rich" supposedly not paying their fair share becomes a touchstone. Never mind that IF the so called "Buffett Rule" were imposed, and the wealthy paid the additional tax as computed, we wouldn't see the difference. But communicating why is problematic. It requires thought and analysis, along with the understanding of how/why an economy really works, and a familiarity of history since this sort of taxing has been done a number of times before. If we had an honest media there would have been stories in wide circulation evaluating just what the real impact of "the Buffett Rule" would likely be. First is: how little money it really would raise. The temptation is to start throwing out numbers. Problem is, most folks can't follow that, and anymore, a million, billion, trillion just don't have much impact on folks. The easy idea the Pres sells is; The evil rich will pay, you won't. Bull. Here's an easy to digest summation. If the additional tax collected the amount the Pres claims (which sounds to the average guy like a big number, and it is)it would cover just ONE DAY of the deficit spending this government does. Just ONE DAY. That's how out of control spending has become.....................yet how low is the concern in the general public? So this "significant" tax increase only covers one day, where does the additonal money for the other 364 days come from? The question doesn't get asked, the Pres gets away with the distraction as if he's proposing something serious. Ah, the value of having a bogeyman established (the rich in this example), and a compliant, dishonest media propaganda machine.
I could go on with more such examples, and may over time, but you get the point.
To my ultimate concern. The low enthusiasm for Romney. A President along with a compliant Congress is a dangerous thing. A President hemmed in by a non-cooperative Congress, much less dangerous. That's the way the Founders intended...............with the Supreme Court as another layer of "protection" for citizens rights. It doesn't always work that way (Presidents like W. who were too reluctant to pick up the veto pen as an example), but it helps. If the lack of enthusiasm for Romney persists, it's a real danger that, so called down ticket races for seats in Congress will tilt to the Dems as well, which could put us back to a single party control of the Presidency as well as both houses of Congress. If you thought Obamacare was an abomination, hold on! As for those who think a President Romney would be little different than a President Obama second term, don't forget, if he were hemmed in by a more conservative Congress, any leftist proclivities he may have will be held in check, and if he really is a chameleon he won't buck the Congressional flow. Hey, I can dream can't I?
Thanks, Dave and Mike, for "calming the waters" in a respectful and gentlemanly manner.
I have very much enjoyed this thread.
Loss of either of you gentlemen because of a difference of opinions would lessen the atmosphere of friendly comradery (if that's a word) that exists among the folks who contribute to this site.
We have lost, or nearly lost, several good folks because of discussions that got a little heated. In some cases the loss of one was welcomed but I'd think that most of the time such a departure was not.
Thanks for patching things up.
Jim
my best friend is a straight ticket guy. i'd like to beat him and drag him around the pasture a few times but it would do no good.
but we are in trouble. if getting wound up a little gets things fired up we can take it . if your thin skinned you really need to avoid anything political. there is no time left to debate change. it is time for it to happen. i honestly dont think we can survive another round of this administration or it's policies . bottom line is we have to quit spending. every time they talk about a new tax or cut they turn right around and dump it into some other program. especially green technological or some freebee program for the poor.
and the only party i'm loyal to is the one with free beer. :3dSMILE:
the #1 problem in this country is people dont vote . period. to me if you dont vote dont bitch.
Roger, there is a quote by someone much more eloquent than I that goes something like "those that ignore the past are doomed to repeat it", I guess I cannot forget how I / We were treated.Quote:
Originally Posted by rspears
My perspective is that no matter how many times I vote, nothing changes! To me that is the problem. And it's why most young people get frustrated & give up. When you feel that you cannot effect a change, it becomes pointless. What's the definition of insanity? It would fit in nicely here. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by shine
All - Mike and I had a PM discussion and cleared the air.
Roger, thanks as well.
I'm still taking a vacation from here as well as any other sites I occasion though will be checking in occasionally, even if I don't post. There are just too many things going on, including my political commitments to my locality.
Here is a thought that might keep you awake at night the next president will be replacing 1 and maybe 2 conservative judges supreme court and if he can somehow get control of the house and keep the senate that is the end of checks and balances he can make himself president for life and the 2nd amendment is the only way to stop him another civil war ....ted
A few pages back we were talking about commodity traders, more often called "speculators". These guys, of course are demon seeds of the earth, a tool for politicians and media mouths to pillory endlessly as greedy, price fixers, only causing prices to rise for their own greedy benefit.
So now I need some help from those who were arguing with me about their role in the marketplace. How come these guys are "letting" the price of natural gas fall? Wouldn't their excessive greed mean they only drive prices up? Somehow this just doesn't fit the narrative we're often presented with and I need to know why?
supply and demand. mild winter plus the production has increased a lot with the shale gas.
I agree, Bob! Those Evil Speculator's who are buying futures need to buy huge quantities at higher prices to drive the market up!!
OH!! What's that about supply & demand?? C'mon, that's an antiquated theory that no longer applies, right??
Let's see, supply and demand come to mind. Since winter is practically over, the demand for natural gas is falling off and I don't believe that we import that much, same as coal. Now oil (gasoline) is a year round commodity and what better time to raise prices since the summer vacation scene is right around the corner.
They said on the news the other day that they were runing out of storage space for natural gas. Thus the price drop