A Look At One Of The Polls

[beth]

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and a fact



Fret, they need to hire you as a consultant on climate change.

[Tempus Fugit]

How can your right-wing party be so similar to - and sometimes just as Dagenham as - our left-wing one, at least in terms of causing a problem and then blaming everyone else for it?

[beth]

We've wondered that, too.

Our own madcat (who sends the U.S. liberal links), says your left is more like our right and vice versa.

There is at least one movement afoot at the moment to try to re-invent the U.S. Republican party, but as a large number of their constituents are fundamentalist Christians, it will be an uphill battle.

I'm kind of a Centrist .. voted for Bush '43 in 2000, looked around, saw he was merely a figurehead and bad things were happening behind the little curtain, then, ran to lean on the other side of the fence.

The quest for power here is Orwellian.

[Tempus Fugit]

The quest for power here is Orwellian.

Yeah - the Florida fiasco kind of told us that!! And there's a nice little Chris Rock movie where he gets picked as a party candidate for Prez because they aren't ready and need to lose this one ready to win the next one - and he goes out campaigning but, being an ordinary guy, is on everyone's wavelength and wins. The professional politician he opposes is some entrenched, out-of-touch, inward-looking guy who ends every statement with, "And God bless America - and no-one else." An asshole, in other words. It's a comedy but it sort of rings true - for pan-European politics as well as the US.

www.imdb.com/title/tt0325537/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1a

[beth]

I've never seen it. Probably need to. Sounds like it is tuned into the kind of games they play.

Another interesting point is that many of the old guard have not yet figured out they can't out and out lie in the event an old piece of tape that shows them spouting just the opposite can turn up on YT or in a poli-blog somewhere to out them as liars after all.

Keep an eye on Ted Cruz in Texas. He's not a possible as far as I'm concerned, but with potential candidates past their prime, people like Joe Biden and Hillary on the front line for a Democratic nominee, who knows.

[Tempus Fugit]

I can't see Hilly doing well in the south, being a Democrat and a woman. Our Top Gear TV programme sent its presenters to buy three cars for under $1000 and then do some challenges - the usual goofing around - whilst driving from Miami to New Orleans. They were challenged to paint some "redneck-bothering slogans" on each other cars before entering Louisiana. So, with things like "Hilary for president" painted down the side it wasn't long before the boys were being chased by a pick-up load of, er the boys determined to kick some ass. Or shoot it. Or something. So, with Billy-Bob and, er, Billy-Bob in hot pursuit our lads quickly decided to pull over in a wood and wipe it all off. Such was the perceived threat (and waaaay off the risk assessment!) that, unusually, the crew helped - including the cameraman! This resulted in some interesting footage from a rolling camera left on its side on the verge, fortunately aimed in the right direction.

[fretslider]

Feb 21, 2013 21:49:21 GMT -5 Tempus Fugit said:

I can't see Hilly doing well in the south, being a Democrat and a woman. Our Top Gear TV programme sent its presenters to buy three cars for under $1000 and then do some challenges - the usual goofing around - whilst driving from Miami to New Orleans. They were challenged to paint some "redneck-bothering slogans" on each other cars before entering Louisiana. So, with things like "Hilary for president" painted down the side it wasn't long before the boys were being chased by a pick-up load of, er the boys determined to kick some ass. Or shoot it. Or something. So, with Billy-Bob and, er, Billy-Bob in hot pursuit our lads quickly decided to pull over in a wood and wipe it all off. Such was the perceived threat (and waaaay off the risk assessment!) that, unusually, the crew helped - including the cameraman! This resulted in some interesting footage from a rolling camera left on its side on the verge, fortunately aimed in the right direction.

Clarkson: The thinking man's bonehead.

[Dex]

You need to know more about the south U.S. before you make judgement calls.

The loonies in that part of the country are usually conservatives and social conservatives at that. Oklahoma has just passed a bill to allow and stand up for teaching creationism is schools, or so I hear. There's no excuse for that kind of stuff but southerners are not role models for the cast of Deliverance.

I think you're getting carried away.

From the other side, look out for their conservative candidates for congress.

[Tempus Fugit]

Or it could just be that a light entertainment programme made fun of a popular culture stereotype (although you couldn't really tell if their necks were red or not as they were all hidden by some spectacular mullets). Mind you, there were some rum sorts when I visited rural Tennessee a few years back.

[Jessiealan]

Tempus, I grew up in North Carolina and lived some time in Tennessee. There is more to be said for them than against them. Warm, friendly people, excellent Universities, beautiful country. One can find ignorance everywhere in the world. One drive through does not an expert make. Try it again and look for the positives, why don't you. The south east has a wonderful shore line. I'll bet you would enjoy the sand beaches. I have enjoyed England the 2 times I've been there, but then I was looking for the positives, not out to criticize.

[beth]

The sequester is getting ready to make things difficult for a lot of government agencies, which is the Republicans' dream agenda - and blaming it on the party in power. It will probably lighten up in April or May but in the meanwhile the big problem it will cause is a lot of paperwork that would have otherwise been unnecessary. Idiots! As if the general population is too stupid to see what's going on. These people still don't understand about the internet.

[men an tol]

My people are from West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. They have lived in these areas for generations (the early 1700s) and are of the real mountain people (not the television foolishness). The people of these areas have attitudes which are family oriented, often religious oriented, and focused on American foundations although not so much for the national government.

Since World War II they have become more cosmopolitan (at least a little) as they are more easily acceptable of attitudes of 'other' areas in the country. In most respects I have found that they are similar to people of other areas such as Northern Wisconsin and Michigan, the Finger Lakes area of New York, Idaho, I'm sure there are many other such cultural groups. The term red-neck is simply a term applied to those (basically men) who work out of doors under the sun and their neck becomes leathery.

Of course there is the unique trait of those from the South where many still have a distrust of those from the North. Of course that shouldn't be a surprise as it seems that many in the urban North view the people of the South through the lens of myth rather than reality.

**************

The sequester was proposed by President Obama's and his people. It appears that their goal was to push those opposed into accepting revenue increases with no spending cuts. Those in the power positions of Congress (both parties) seem to have folded to accepted these goals. However, increasing members of Congress are resisting. Thankfully.

The spending must be cut. It isn't just that the near 17 trillion of national debt is bad, it is the uncounted future liabilities which are likely closer to 40 trillion. No nation can stand up to such liabilities. If China does have its prospective crash of their housing bubble, it is most likely that they will sell our debt on the open market at discounts, just to get cash. With such an event our ability to borrow will collapse, our credit position will worsen, and we will likely begin printing lots of currency simply to monetize our debt.

It is only that there is enough members of Congress to begin forcing this charade to an end but it may be too late. Keep in mind that circa 1920 and 1928 the national budget was about 8 or 9 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and today (depending on how it is counted) it is 30 to 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. The existing projected increases in entitlements will increase the budget far beyond those percentages. We are nearing complete economic collapse.

[beth]

Check further, Men an tol. Part of that is Boehner's rhetoric. there's solid documentation Obama DID and currently IS supporting spending cuts including cuts in entitlement programs. David Gregory called him (JB) on it on Meet the Press. Gregory isn't a favorite of mine but in this case he was dead on right. The Republicans are being their usual devious selves ... parsing, twisting and turning the truth to try to rewrite the real facts.

www.businessinsider.com/sequester-cuts-sequestration-boehner-david-gregory-meet-the-press-2013-3

[men an tol]

Beth, let me suggest this, as long as we (the voters) continue to fall into making this a contest between Republicans and Democrats in sort of a 'he said' no, 'he said' we lose. The national government has grown and grown and grown beyond all reasonable limits. And yes, members of both parties have contributed to this situation.

As individuals we each have our personal perspective on what direction is best and we can argue that until the country simply melts. The immediate answer is really quite straight forward, 'if it isn't a delegated power in the Constitution then it can't be funded.'

Either the constitution is the highest law of the land or it isn't. If the Constitution is followed then the national budget will drop to 10% or less of the Gross Domestic Product. In such a situation taxes will drop and regulations can be cut far back and business will return to the United States producing untold numbers of jobs.

Continuing along the path we have been traveling will see an economic collapse of proportions beyond anything that has ever happened before. Our government continuing to borrow money to fund its desires simply does not work unless we can reduce that debt and it is obvious we cannot reduce it. We have already had our national credit rating reduced and it is likely that rating will continue to reduce. In part that will be determined by our inability to produce realistic national budgets and the continued funding our increasing debt by greater and greater borrowing. This will also be pressured by our debtors calling in our debts or selling them on the open market at discounts. This latter is a real possibility as the economic problems of China force them to call in our debt to them. With that we will have to issue additional monies in the money supply to monetize our national debt. With that the US Dollar will drop in value relative to all other stabilized currencies and cost of living in the US will rise dramatically.

In other words, we cannot continue to (as they say) kick-the-can-down-the-road as to our national debt and continued inability to produce a national budget.

Again, if we (the voters) continue to voluntarily place this problem in a Republican Democratic contest, we lose, our country will lose, and most certainly our grandchildren will lose. The only thing that one can be certain of is that those politicians are using us.

[beth]

I think the bottom line is whether or not to continue with the tax breaks for the wealthy and, no matter if we gloss it to ignore that, it's still the main issue. The Democrats have tried to offer a very liberal (excuse the expression) alternative but the opposition filibustered until it couldn't get open consideration.

Very well to suggest it isn't being used for political gain but we both (must, surely) realize that is the main reason for the delay. All this will be tied up ... probably by May. Should have never gotten this far. Go back to the initial post on this thread and look at the poll numbers. American's keep up better than they used to. When the documentation is online to be read and considered, it isn't so easy for political mischief makers to romp and stomp.

Ideally, this and many other fiscal problems should not be used for cheap brownie points, but the fact is, they still try. Look closely and don't let your conservative leanings (libertarians often have those) blind you to the behind the scenes hocus pocus.