2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

[Bob Gray]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I'm sympathetic, but there are definitely areas where this doesn't work. "Don't like slavery, don't buy one." Political life is not just a set of negative liberties, nor is the political structure merely an economic enabler.

Even though we see a lot of things differently, I agree with you on this. It gets messy when people don't agree about the areas it doesn't work, how/why it doesn't work, and what the fix is, if there is one.

[MUnRPI]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Ever the optimist!

Do you even know what the bargain was? "Taxing the rich more" was hardly the proposal.

just talking about the tax code in general in relation to fiscal responsibility.

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Whole election will be gay marriage now. Obama will lost to Romney on that issue. All the states that have it on the ballot will shoot it down. Minnesota has it on the ballot.

Ever the optimist!

The tax code is archaic and the solution is not as simple as "taxing the rich more" because Obama's definition of rich is horse****. Families who make $250,000 a year should not be paying 2.5 times the income tax of hedge fund managers.

Do you even know what the bargain was? "Taxing the rich more" was hardly the proposal.

[MUnRPI]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

The GOP lost any credance at being fiscally conservative when Eric Cantor and the Tea Party derp-brigade scuttled the grand bargain that would have given them 98% of what they wanted. "No new taxes" is as fiscally irresponsible as any spending right now.

The tax code is archaic and the solution is not as simple as "taxing the rich more" because Obama's definition of rich is horse****. Families who make $250,000 a year should not be paying 2.5 times the income tax of hedge fund managers.

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

Whole election will be gay marriage now. Obama will lost to Romney on that issue. All the states that have it on the ballot will shoot it down. Minnesota has it on the ballot.

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I believe primarily in what's best for me, or helps put me in a situation to do the best I can do for myself from a financial standpoint, so the balance of my politics will always lean towards economic issues and spending/taxation. My social views are pretty straightforward. Don't like abortion? Don't have one. Don't like gays/gay marriage? Don't hook up with another dude. Not keen on religion? Don't join one. Think guns are evil? Don't buy one. Etc.

I'm sympathetic, but there are definitely areas where this doesn't work. "Don't like slavery, don't buy one." Political life is not just a set of negative liberties, nor is the political structure merely an economic enabler.

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

qft

That was well stated. Nothing to argue with there.

[Kepler]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

right now, it doesn't matter, because the more fiscally conservative party is also the socially liberal one.

The gop lost any credance at being fiscally conservative when eric cantor and the tea party derp-brigade scuttled the grand bargain that would have given them 98% of what they wanted. "no new taxes" is as fiscally irresponsible as any spending right now.

qft

[leswp1]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

In the big picture, homosexual marriage is not an issue. As Slick Willie said - "It's the economy, stupid."

BHO is a party theoretician that suddenly got the premiership. He has no idea on how to run a government as he never had experience in running or being in charge of anything. Mitt may be the champion of the Waffle House, but he ran the SLC Olympics and somehow got elected governor of Massachusetts.And remember, homosexuals and polygamists can always contract into an arrangement and the courts can't touch it. So what's the big deal?

Well worded. He became Governor but, simply put, he sucked at it. He did a great job cutting things but did nothing to address the problems those monies had been addressing. Basically he looked great if you wanted a 'better' balance sheet but the long term effects were significantly more costly than if things were left alone. Our schools, infrastructure and health care all were a mess and we had to throw money at them to fix the cost of ignoring the original problem.

Microcosm of what we are doing on a national level. Cut everything because spending is bad but do not look at the long term effects Sort of like cutting off your foot because it hurts after you stubbed your toe and then realizing you can't walk. No one has the balls to go through with addressing anything because it might mean investing the $ to fix stuff. We are, however, supposed to pull the solution out of our collective a55 when we suddenly realize we are in a mess. Look at what austerity measures have reaped in Europe. Audiovisual aides number 1 through... (Greece, Spain, UK, Ireland, France and I think Italy off the top of my head)
,

I wonder how much of this is due to parents vs. education. I was lucky enough to attend one of the better districts in our state and yet would swear I knew less at the same age as my kids know now globally. As my wife is from Thailand and I worked/travelled globally before they were born we've grilled the boys on foreign affairs since they were born and perhaps that's the rub. A local education is necessary, but sans involved parents unless the kid wants to learn there's only so much that can be taught. A kid can learn anywhere if he/she wants to and/or the parents give a rip - private or public.

I think a lot of has to do with parents. We have multiple generations now who were brought up watching the sanitized version of nightly news where Britanny Spears lack of underclothing is a story and starving folks in Darfur, the economic crisis, the various wars are not. I lived overseas when I was younger. I figured out when I was 10 just how ignorant, insular and isolated the avg person in this country is about international news when I knew more than most of the adults.

[Old Pio]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

But 'you' never watch FOX.

They all suck, all the time.

[Slap Shot]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

In between reports on the problems of gay prison inmates and Mumia Abu Jamal, NPR can be a good source of information. Certainly superior to your local TV "news." Mindless, boring, uninformative and stupid. But other than that, a good place to find out wht's going on.

But 'you' never watch FOX.

[Slap Shot]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

This. My kid has friends who can barely name a few European countries never mind be aware of the financial strife. Lil les is more knowledgeable than most of the adults in our neighborhood. Blame NPR- that socialist radio station that has international news on to polute his mind.

I wonder how much of this is due to parents vs. education. I was lucky enough to attend one of the better districts in our state and yet would swear I knew less at the same age as my kids know now globally. As my wife is from Thailand and I worked/travelled globally before they were born we've grilled the boys on foreign affairs since they were born and perhaps that's the rub. A local education is necessary, but sans involved parents unless the kid wants to learn there's only so much that can be taught. A kid can learn anywhere if he/she wants to and/or the parents give a rip - private or public.

[Handyman]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

And remember, homosexuals and polygamists can always contract into an arrangement and the courts can't touch it. So what's the big deal?

Why should they have to form a corporation to get the same rights the average slob in North Carolina has?

By that ridiculously stupid standard states should be allowed to stop interracial marriages for the same reason. I mean if Tremaine and Mindy can just for a corporation and get the same rights why should Virginia or South Carolina be forced to allow them to marry? Or hey, lets say Florida feels Blacks or Cubans shouldn't vote, they could just take that right away and it would be ok because said people could just form a corporation and, since they are people, donate as much money as they want and have their voices heard even if they cant vote.

Face facts, its bigotry whether you like it or not. It is also a violation of civil rights and goes against the shooting down of "Separate But Equal" because the bible says its icky.

[unofan]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

this is a question for anyone that considers themselves fiscally conservative / socially liberal.

Which do you value more as a voter, economic or social issues?

Right now, it doesn't matter, because the more fiscally conservative party is also the socially liberal one.

The GOP lost any credance at being fiscally conservative when Eric Cantor and the Tea Party derp-brigade scuttled the grand bargain that would have given them 98% of what they wanted. "No new taxes" is as fiscally irresponsible as any spending right now.

[MUnRPI]

Re: 2012 Elections - Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death....

I believe primarily in what's best for me, or helps put me in a situation to do the best I can do for myself from a financial standpoint, so the balance of my politics will always lean towards economic issues and spending/taxation. My social views are pretty straightforward. Don't like abortion? Don't have one. Don't like gays/gay marriage? Don't hook up with another dude. Not keen on religion? Don't join one. Think guns are evil? Don't buy one. Etc.

Not true; Romney just hasn't decided his position on equal rights yet.

well you know what they say: "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation." Good thing I have till fall to decide between these highly captivating candidates