Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

”Well, if he’s such a student of history, has he not understood that you know that’s the one thing you don’t do, is engage in a land war in Afghanistan?”

Well, it's true. You don't start a land war with Asia. In fact, you could even say that it's... INCONCEIVABLE!!!

 

[geezer]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Sure, ruin everything by being reasonable.

I'll generalize to gin up some hard feelings: I sympathize more with those who fear government overreach and tyranny (tea partiers) than with those who feel government isn't doing enough to help them. I wonder if this is based on my feeling that I have more to lose (liberty) than to gain ("free" cheese etc.), and if those who disagree feel the opposite way about the potential of government in their lives, and why. (I don't have any money so I could benefit greatly at others' expense if I played along)
To simplify:
COMMIES!!!

Have a great weekend! Take off your hat for Old Glory!

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

I wonder if this is based on my feeling that I have more to lose (liberty) than to gain ("free" cheese etc.)

I have no idea what you're talking about. I'd trade my right to vote for a block of velveeta in a heart beat.

 

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

I'll generalize to gin up some hard feelings: I sympathize more with those who fear government overreach and tyranny (tea partiers) than with those who feel government isn't doing enough to help them. I wonder if this is based on my feeling that I have more to lose (liberty) than to gain ("free" cheese etc.), and if those who disagree feel the opposite way about the potential of government in their lives, and why. (I don't have any money so I could benefit greatly at others' expense if I played along)
To simplify:
COMMIES!!!

Have a great weekend! Take off your hat for Old Glory!

I think the other side of the coin is more along the lines of fear that if we are too lassiez faire with corporations, they'll end up being just as bad as Big Brother Government.

Basically: replace Big Brother Government with Big Brother, Brought To You By Your Benevolent Economic Overlords At BPVerizonVirtuconWalmartBananaRepublicGoldmanSachsIMGHalliburton.

 

[Patman]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Hey look, Michael Steele said something stupid again
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/dust-up-over-steeles-view-of-afghan-war/

must be a day ending in "y"

 

[rufus]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Not that I've ever had faith in the repubs picking someone intelligent, but doesn't he realize how absolutely STUPID what he said was?

Simple answer to simple question:

No.

 

[jerphisch]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Hey look, Michael Steele said something stupid again
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/dust-up-over-steeles-view-of-afghan-war/

My favorite Steele moment was during an interview on NPR about healthcare where the interviewer complemented him by saying he was expressing a much more nuanced view of the issues than he expected and Steele thought he was being insulted, and proceeded to go on and on denying that he was nuanced despite the best efforts of the interviewer to explain it.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

My favorite Steele moment was during an interview on NPR about healthcare where the interviewer complemented him by saying he was expressing a much more nuanced view of the issues than he expected and Steele thought he was being insulted, and proceeded to go on and on denying that he was nuanced despite the best efforts of the interviewer to explain it.

Please tell me this is a joke. I'm in stitches laughing now. That brings me back to elementary school when someone calls you a homosapien and you vehemently deny it.

 

[ExileOnDaytonStreet]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

End women's suffrage!

 

[Bakunin]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

I think the other side of the coin is more along the lines of fear that if we are too lassiez faire with corporations, they'll end up being just as bad as Big Brother Government.

Basically: replace Big Brother Government with Big Brother, Brought To You By Your Benevolent Economic Overlords At BPVerizonVirtuconWalmartBananaRepublicGoldmanSachsIMGHalliburton.

The other side of the coin is sheer idiocy.

Tell me which corporation has the power to tax you and seize your assets if you don't pay what they demand.

Next, tell me which corporation has the power to institute a military draft and send thousands of people to fight in another country for no *'ing reason whatsoever other than the belief that said country poses some sort of threat.

Lastly, tell me which company has the power to print endless sums of money that punishes everyone who is smart enough to save anything and encourages reckless borrowing which endangers our long-term economic stability.

But go ahead, please continue fearing corporate america - those two oil spill disasters in the past 20 years or so certainly dwarf anything our government has done.

 

[rufus]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

My favorite Steele moment was during an interview on NPR about healthcare where the interviewer complemented him by saying he was expressing a much more nuanced view of the issues than he expected and Steele thought he was being insulted, and proceeded to go on and on denying that he was nuanced despite the best efforts of the interviewer to explain it.

Is that kinda like Boehner saying he doesn't think Obama's moratorium on deepwater drilling is a good idea, but instead thinks maybe we should take a step back and slow things down until we find out what exactly happened with BP's rig?

 

[Priceless]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

The other side of the coin is sheer idiocy.

Tell me which corporation has the power to tax you and seize your assets if you don't pay what they demand.

Thanks to credit reports, they can control your finances a lot more than any government bureaucracy. Miss one payment and Corporate America can raise your interest rates, deny you credit and impose tremendous fees. Good luck buying a house, car or much else with bad info on the credit report.

Next, tell me which corporation has the power to institute a military draft and send thousands of people to fight in another country for no *'ing reason whatsoever other than the belief that said country poses some sort of threat.

There is no draft. The government can institute one, but we're in the midst of two wars (plus the ambiguous "War on Terror") and we haven't yet. As for sending people to fight in another country for no *'ing reason, do you think corporations don't already do this? Ever hear of Blackwater?

Lastly, tell me which company has the power to print endless sums of money that punishes everyone who is smart enough to save anything and encourages reckless borrowing which endangers our long-term economic stability.

And corporations hate it when consumers spend money they don't have.

But go ahead, please continue fearing corporate america - those two oil spill disasters in the past 20 years or so certainly dwarf anything our government has done.

If the oil spills were the only disasters Corporate America were responsible for in the last 20 years, you'd have a point.

 

[Handyman]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Shhhh...Bakukin doesn't want you to crack his protective shell

What company prints its own money...has he heard of credit cards? (let alone Wall Street where pretty much everything is a mirage)

 

[Patman]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Thanks to credit reports, they can control your finances a lot more than any government bureaucracy. Miss one payment and Corporate America can raise your interest rates, deny you credit and impose tremendous fees. Good luck buying a house, car or much else with bad info on the credit report.

Then don't sign the contract. Sounds simple enough. We have the right not to enter into contracts with corporations... though it would be a miserable existence... we don't have the right to not interact with our government if the government so chooses.

Spending money isn't a right unto itself... the money to buy a house is borrowed. The credit card is money that is borrowed for which you will pay in excess later. If you don't want to play the devil's game you don't have to do so. Stop playing the attractive nuisance principle.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Then don't sign the contract. Sounds simple enough. We have the right not to enter into contracts with corporations... though it would be a miserable existence... we don't have the right to not interact with our government if the government so chooses.

If you want to live in a shack in the woods, you can probably avoid interacting with the government, too. I doubt the Unabomber filed tax returns

 

[Red Cloud]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Spending money isn't a right unto itself... the money to buy a house is borrowed. The credit card is money that is borrowed for which you will pay in excess later. If you don't want to play the devil's game you don't have to do so.

Are you some kind of nut, trying to claim that corporate America doesn't own you without your consent and that the government isn't 100% benevolent?

 

[Bakunin]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Thanks to credit reports, they can control your finances a lot more than any government bureaucracy.

Pay your bills on time and don't carry a high balance relative to your credit limit. You can check your credit report for free annually to make sure nothing fishy is going on.

Miss one payment and Corporate America can raise your interest rates, deny you credit and impose tremendous fees. Good luck buying a house, car or much else with bad info on the credit report.

Spare us the hyperbole. One late payment isn't going to kill your chances at a mortgage, car loan, or anything else. Yes, it'll lower your credit score slightly and incur a late fee - I wouldn't call it a "tremendous" fee, though - it's probably on par with a bank overdraft fee.

There is no draft.

Duh. Congress can implement one at any time, though.

Ever hear of Blackwater?

Working for a security company is not the same as being drafted by the US government to take up arms. Don't pretend that it is.

And corporations hate it when consumers spend money they don't have.

The companies that extend the credit hate it when they can't collect on their debts - or were you asleep the last couple years?

If the oil spills were the only disasters Corporate America were responsible for in the last 20 years, you'd have a point.

They are the two most notable and costly ones. Government stupidity has cost us far more than corporate stupidity, and it isn't even close - or are you not paying attention to the cost of servicing the national debt?

 

[Bakunin]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

What company prints its own money...has he heard of credit cards?

Now you're just being obtuse.

Credit cards are nothing more than the ability to secure short-term debt. They have nothing to do with printing money, which is a process controlled by the Federal Reserve - and one that unfortunately has major consequences for the economy and all of us (unless you don't consider the dot-com bubble and real estate bubble that followed to be consequential to ridiculously loose monetary policy).

 

[geezer]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Here's a question; if we're wondering which has the greater potential to act as a tyrant, government or companies (public/private/incorporated /parternerships/sole props.), which institution is more directly and immediately "of, for, and by the people"?
You could argue that the village dog catcher is more immediately accountable to his/her shareholders than a multi-national "Big Something", but in general I think the answer is pretty clear.

 

[Priceless]

Re: Obama XII: The shine is off the glass slipper

Here's a question; if we're wondering which has the greater potential to act as a tyrant, government or companies (public/private/incorporated /parternerships/sole props.), which institution is more directly and immediately "of, for, and by the people"?
You could argue that the village dog catcher is more immediately accountable to his/her shareholders than a multi-national "Big Something", but in general I think the answer is pretty clear.

I can vote for my leaders in the government. Hell, I can even run for office.

I can't vote for the CEO of Acme Inc or any of its policies.