What Barry's doin for 'Merica

[Dave@PSE&G]

IL,
Why would you mock Bloomberg for asking questions about that much of the taxpayers cash? Don't you want to know where the cash is going?

As for the morphing of the US to a European/Canadien style economic structure, I think it's safe to say that it is likely a foregone conclusion. There is no way we as a nation are going to get out from under this amount of debt playing the game as we have been. We don't make enough shit to sell, and we consume too damn much. Translation: we spend more than we make. I don't know anyone from Europe. Is it any good there? Clive? Anyone?

[IronLine]

Where in the world are you getting the idea that I was mocking Bloomberg? If anything I was mocking FBN for doing the exact same thing was Bloomberg only later! Simmer down man!

[Dave@PSE&G]

Where in the world are you getting the idea that I was mocking Bloomberg? If anything I was mocking FBN for doing the exact same thing was Bloomberg only later! Simmer down man!

Sorry, my mistake. And just so you know, when I typed that question, there was no hostility at all. In fact, it was probably the calmest I've ever been while posting on this board. And that ain't easy to do...

[IronLine]

I have, and every one that I've talked to love it

But damnit Swamp, you still won't answer the question I've thrown at you I don't know how many times! What the hell do we do with the failures? I'm not scared of that word, its an honest truth. There ARE those out there who fail at life, what the hell do we do with them?

And don't get me started on dumbing down the educational system. I've watched it happen in WA for I don't know how long. Kids are required to take the WASL test (Washington Assessment of Student Learning or something) as a requirement for graduation, and when a shitload of kids failed it, they just lowered the standards.

[Dave@PSE&G]

Obama plans “soak the rich” class-warfare economics



Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it. And those who repeat failed policies of the past are doomed to failure themselves, and the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. We can apply all of these proverbs to what the Washington Post reports as the next phase of Deadbeatonomics, in which Obama will try the old populist “soak the rich” policies in order to close a deficit that he himself exploded in the past two weeks.

C'mon Swamp, we knew who was going to pay for all this. There was all the chatter about future generations, but the wealthy are going to take a hit.

I'm not wealthy by any means, but sometimes I feel like the rich get screwed. Things sometimes can be a bit unfair for wealthy people. What I mean is, wealthy people pay a substantial amount of money to the IRS. Yet at the first mention of a tax cut, liberal Americans tend to shout that they don't deserve a tax cut, the poor should get the cut. Essentially, while the percentage of their income that they pay in taxes may be lowered by tax cuts and personal deductions, they still pay a substantial amount to the IRS in actual dollars. Far more than the lower middle class, or the lower class pay. And rightfully so. However, I don't see the fairness in a tax, er... I mean, a stimulus bill that provides a scenario in which some people qualify for a tax refund whrn they didn't even pay federal taxes. And now, as you mentioned, the rich are going to get hammered to pay for this lunacy. I'm sorry, but they're getting f***ed.

I am not proposing that the rich should be excused from paying taxes, but c'mon. Fair is fair. They shouldn't be punished for being successful. Anyone who hates another because of what they have is a shallow person. That is just sour grapes. The poor stand with their hand out, and the rich should just hand it over? Puhleeze!

I'm repeating myself here, but I think it's time to throw out the old tax code and implement a flat tax across the board. No more games, pay your cut and move along. Next!

[Dave@PSE&G]

"Fair is Fair"? Punished for Being Successful!! Come on my man. You KNOW that's how liberals think! Except for the Hollywood Rich though.

Hold your water there pal. I didn't put that right when I said "fair is fair". I just meant that while they shouldn't be exempt from paying, they shouldn't get bent over either.

I'm hurt that you think I drank the kool-aid.

[CHICAGO HAND.]

Byrd: Obama in power grab
By: John Bresnahan
February 25, 2009 10:34 AM EST

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

While it's rare for Byrd to criticize a president in his own party, Byrd is a stern constitutional scholar who has always stood up for the legislative branch in its role in checking the power of the White House. Byrd no longer holds the powerful Appropriations chairmanship, so his criticism does not carry as much weight these days. Byrd repeatedly clashed with the Bush administration over executive power, and it appears that he's not limiting his criticism to Republican administrations.

Byrd also wants Obama to limit claims of executive privilege while also ensuring that the White House czars don’t have authority over Cabinet officers confirmed by the Senate.

“As presidential assistants and advisers, these White House staffers are not accountable for their actions to the Congress, to cabinet officials, and to virtually anyone but the president,” Byrd wrote. “They rarely testify before congressional committees, and often shield the information and decision-making process behind the assertion of executive privilege. In too many instances, White House staff have been allowed to inhibit openness and transparency, and reduce accountability.”

The West Virginia Democrat on Wednesday asked Obama to “consider the following: that assertions of executive privilege will be made only by the president, or with the president’s specific approval; that senior White House personnel will be limited from exercising authority over any person, any program, and any funding within the statutory responsibility of a Senate-confirmed department or agency head; that the president will be responsible for resolving any disagreement between a Senate-confirmed agency or department head and White House staff; and that the lines of authority and responsibility in the administration will be transparent and open to the American public.”

Obama faces a decision as early as next week on whether to support a claim of executive privilege made by former President Bush in refusing to allow Karl Rove, the former deputy White House chief of staff, to be deposed by the House Judiciary Committee on the White House’s role in the 2006 firing of nine U.S. attorneys.

Bush claimed “absolute immunity” for top advisers in resisting such subpoenas, but Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, filed a lawsuit over the issue. The case is on appeal, and the Obama administration is scheduled to file a motion next week laying out its stance on the issue.

© 2009 Capitol News Company, LLC

[Dave@PSE&G]

I don't know... for what was supposed to be a "transparent government", it's getting harder to see through.

[Dave@PSE&G]

This guy makes a good point...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/...ama/index.html

[huskietoolz82]

Well its been roughly a month or so and you guys are still freaking out on every little bit of information you find on the internet... Ya still have yet to realize that most of the crap on the net is far from the truth...... Looks like you guys will be complaining for the next 4 years, and i cant wait to read all your posts =)