2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

[5mn_Major]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

You just fell into the Bear Trapp. This defecit fell because of a one-time additional revenue stream that was perpetrated by concerns over Taxmageddon. Go to the economics thread to see the entire explanation; I am not re-posting it here.

I don't see it as a trap at all. The vast majority (80% or so) of taxes paid are income and payroll taxes. As the average taxpayer has a basic salary, basic bills and a 401k...as a percent of GDP, there's not all this fancy income shifting that can be done in the average middle class family. This point is reinforced by the fact that this is an unmistakable and major multi year trend. I have no interest in debating any of this...but I'd defintely take the bet that this trend will have a major reversal back up to near 10% again.

If Obama brings us back from the brink and brings the deficit down to the levels discussed, not one 'scandal' will be remembered Jan 1, 2017.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

I don't see it as a trap at all. The vast majority of taxes paid are income and payroll taxes. As the average taxpayer has a basic salary, basic bills and a 401k...as a percent of GDP, there's not all this fancy income shifting that can be done in the average middle class family. This point is reinforced by the fact that this is an unmistakable and major multi year trend. I have no interest in debating any of this...but I'd defintely take the bet that this trend will have a major reversal back up to near 10% again.

If Obama brings us back from the brink and brings the deficit down to the levels discussed, not one 'scandal' will be remembered Jan 1, 2017.

The only problem with what you say is that the CBO admitted, according to CNBC's article in the last paragraph at http://www.cnbc.com/id/100736620 , that additional revenues came in because of many people cashing in gains to avoid higher rates as a result of Taxmageddon. Therefore, you cannot expect that same stream of revenue to come in in future years. Granted, you can expect a similar sell-off at the end of this year because of the 3.8% rate increase due to PPACA, but you cannot expect it in future years. Payroll taxes are a wash because that was already factored in previously.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

Tea Party groups mired in red tape as liberal groups easily got tax-exempt status
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...-a-pass-tea-party-groups-put-on-hold/2159983/

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

More Sequestration Impacts

BOISE, Idaho -- The government's automatic budget cuts, known as sequestration, are taking down up to 150 of the nation's stream gauges -- devices that provide life-saving flood warnings and help scientists track drought conditions. The first round of nationwide closures started this month.

These streamside outbuildings shelter data-gathering equipment so it can be fed to satellites. They track temperature, stream flows and pollution levels. Stream gauges aren't getting the same sequester-cut attention as airport control towers.

Scientists use stream gauges to determine how much water will be available for the hundreds of hydroelectric dams. The data helps drive decisions about when farmers should draw water from rivers to water their crops. The recreation industry uses stream-gauge information to decide when to fish and when to go rafting.

Many of the stream gauges in the West are more than 100 years old; they're known by the USGS as sentinel gauges. Even if the stream gauges being shut down are brought back online, the sequester cuts will results in gaps in data that had been continuously collected for decades.

One of the gauges that has been shut down in Idaho is on Lapwai Creek. It's one of the important streams for thousands of federally protected salmon in north Idaho. That gauge is located about 3/4 of a mile from where the Nez Perce Tribe just recently introduced 500,000 hatchery-raised salmon. Data from the stream gauge there helped the tribe determine when stream levels were sufficient to accommodate these juvenile fish.

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[FlagDUDE08]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

Oh what do you know, ANOTHER scandal on partisan favoritism. This one involving the eco-terrorists and information fees. http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/05/14/and-then-there-were-five-obama-scandals/

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

Florida mayoral candidate Anna L. Pierre: Jesus endorsed me

North Miami mayoral candidate Anna L. Pierre claims to have scored one of the best political endorsements of all time. The son of God allegedly supports her campaign.

Campaign posters for Pierre, which can be found on her Facebook page, boast that she was endorsed by Jesus Christ.

“It’s a spiritual endorsement. Why? Because everything I do, I always get God involved,” Pierre explained to WPLG 10.

Pierre told the Miami Herald that Jesus came to her in a dream and told her he was on her side. She provided some additional details to WPLG 10, explaining she received three signs that Jesus endorsed her. But the three signs are a secret.

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[Rover]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

So, ummm, I noticed our just learned to walk upright friends have yet to address any Benghazi accusations now that they've been proven false. Fortunately, I'm not so willing to let it go! So, lets call people out and see if their mouths were writing checks that they can't cash. Opie, Flag, Patman. Lets here from you. If there's a coverup afoot Sherlock, why does Dan Issa want Pickering and Mullen, the two authors of the original investigative report, want these to to testify IN PRIVATE, instead of a public hearing?!?! I mean, people have the right to know, right? Or is this just a dog and pony show with no substance that neo-conartists are already backing away from?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/15/thomas-pickering-mike-mullen-_n_3276741.html

 

[bigblue_dl]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

So, ummm, I noticed our just learned to walk upright friends have yet to address any Benghazi accusations now that they've been proven false. Fortunately, I'm not so willing to let it go! So, lets call people out and see if their mouths were writing checks that they can't cash. Opie, Flag, Patman. Lets here from you. If there's a coverup afoot Sherlock, why does Dan Issa want Pickering and Mullen, the two authors of the original investigative report, want these to to testify IN PRIVATE, instead of a public hearing?!?! I mean, people have the right to know, right? Or is this just a dog and pony show with no substance that neo-conartists are already backing away from?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/15/thomas-pickering-mike-mullen-_n_3276741.html

I don't see how anyone would feel the need to actually answer your questions. You're not worth the time.

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

I don't see how anyone would feel the need to actually answer your questions. You're not worth the time.

That's how I often feel about OP, Flaggy and the other usual suspects, but I sometimes humor them. Of course, the lack of willingness to answer these questions has absolutely nothing to do with the revelation that the conspiracy they've been plugging incessantly is actually a Jenga tower that just fell over.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

I don't see how anyone would feel the need to actually answer your questions. You're not worth the time.

Seriously. And to think, I actually took the time to answer one of his boasts over in the economics thread, and then goes all ape by using things that are only on the tip of his nose.

 

[Priceless]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

Goldberg and O’Reilly agree: Obama could cure cancer and Republicans would still hate him

Appearing on Tuesday night’s episode of “The O’Reilly Factor,” author and sports journalist Bernie Goldberg agreed with host Bill O’Reilly on a critique of some Republican opinion-makers in the media, saying he felt like President Barack Obama could cure cancer and they would still hate him.

As Obama’s bad week rolls on, O’Reilly has emerged as something of a magnanimous voice at the conservative network, landing on the administration’s side with regards to spying on The Associated Press and urging right-wing radio shows to back off “unsubstantiated charges” or risk drawing attention away from what he believes to be the real scandals, like Benghazi. On the AP spying, Goldberg and O’Reilly diverged: “I think that is a scandal,” Goldberg said. “The point is that there are people on the left who will not acknowledge that Benghazi is a big story, and there are people on the right who, if Barack Obama came up with a cure for cancer, wouldn’t give him credit for it. And, by the way, I mean that literally.”

Unfortunately for Goldberg, the mainstream media has largely not treated the Republican narrative on Benghazi as credible, and on Tuesday CNN debunked the only major “scoop” in the investigation so far regarding the item that Republicans are crying scandal over: the administration’s talking points about the attack. An email written by former Deputy National Security Adviser for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes was cited by ABC News last Friday as proof the administration’s talking points were changed to protect the president’s political interests. However, CNN reported Tuesday that the email was mischaracterized, and Rhodes’ communication indicated nothing of the sort.

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[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

Benghazi isn't a scandal either. O'Reilly isn't any better than the rest of them.

 

[unofan]

Benghazi isn't a scandal either. O'Reilly isn't any better than the rest of them.

The ap scandel is the biggest one. Benghazi is a witchhunt. The irs thing is a scandel, but not one that will implicate Obama.

 

[Shirtless Guy]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

The ap scandel is the biggest one. Benghazi is a witchhunt. The irs thing is a scandel, but not one that will implicate Obama.

This certainly seems about right. Doesn't mean people shouldn't be digging into benghazi (granted its probably been thoroughly examed already), just means it doesn't need to be constantly beaten. It will be interesting to see if the IRS thing ever gets back to the WH in any form...

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

Article II Section 4 of the Constitution allows for the impeachment of civil officers of the United States, which I would suspect includes Cabinet members. Perhaps Congress should be going down that road? Is this considered treason, bribery, or high crimes/misdemeanors?

 

[ScoobyDoo]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

The ap scandel is the biggest one. Benghazi is a witchhunt. The irs thing is a scandel, but not one that will implicate Obama.

AP isn't a scandal. Last year the GOP was screaming at the administration to investigate the leaks. Leaks that were considered HUGE national security risks. Well, here's the investigation.

 

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

The ap scandel is the biggest one. Benghazi is a witchhunt. The irs thing is a scandel, but not one that will implicate Obama.

Woah, a post I actually agree with. Vast improvement over Priceless' posting of trivial diversions, and FlagDUDE's conspiracy theories.

 

[Priceless]

Woah, a post I actually agree with. Vast improvement over Priceless' posting of trivial diversions, and FlagDUDE's conspiracy theories.

Trivial diversions??? These are vital to the safety and security of the United States of America! If you can't agree that the USA is the greatest country in the history of the world then you're just a godless Communist!!! Good day to you!

 

[unofan]

AP isn't a scandal. Last year the GOP was screaming at the administration to investigate the leaks. Leaks that were considered HUGE national security risks. Well, here's the investigation.

Of the three at issue, it's the most realistic shot of being the biggest one. Targeting journalists is never going to end well, no matter the motive or the legitimacy.

The irs scandal is going to end up as a case of overzealous staffers, potentially with some mid level management approval.

Benghazi will remain the witch hunt that it's been for the last 5 months.

 

[FlagDUDE08]

Re: 2nd Term - Part 3 - Echo Chambers, Chorales, and Wingnuts, Oh My!

Of the three at issue, it's the most realistic shot of being the biggest one. Targeting journalists is never going to end well, no matter the motive or the legitimacy.

The irs scandal is going to end up as a case of overzealous staffers, potentially with some mid level management approval.

Benghazi will remain the witch hunt that it's been for the last 5 months.

There are actually five at issue, now with an EPA scandal involving fees for obtaining information, and the fifth one I can't remember what it is but I believe it was posted a page or two ago. The EPA scandal is going to shape the direction the IRS scandal goes because there is another case of discrimination based upon political beliefs, and any effects of coincidence need to be weighed.