Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

I'm a little late to the game, but, regarding the government contractors, you can't simply cut them. I'd say there's about an 85% chance the federal roads you drove on today were designed or constructed by a contractor. That the bridge you drove over today was designed by a contractor. The government buildings you may have visited or drove by today? Yeah, contractors probably had a huge role in that as well. I work for a company that is considered a contractor but we're actually a consulting engineering firm. We've done work with universities all over the place (state contracts but my point stands).

The Army Corps of Engineers does a lot of work but contractors are an integral part of the government. Else, the government would have to hire on an engineering staff full-time. God only knows how much that would cost.

 

[Tundra]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

Truly?
If we can't agree on the no-brainer of fixing SS, it really is hopeless.

yep. same with inflation.

I would think wage inflation would be better for us than commodity/energy/food inflation with weaker dollar. At least with wage inflation our GDP growth should go up.

The Standard & Poor's GSCI agricultural commodities index is up 25 percent for the year and 16 percent in the last quarter alone. Among the big gainers: cotton (90 percent for the year), coffee (45 percent) and Kansas wheat (31 percent). Sugar's price has zoomed 26 percent in the fourth quarter, while corn, which is used to make so many other products, is up 20 percent for the year.

“I suspect that when the Chairman thinks about reflation he has a difficult time seeing any other asset besides real estate,” said Jim Iuorio of TJM Institutional Services. “Somehow the Fed thinks that if its not ‘wage driven’ inflation that it is somehow unimportant. It’s not unimportant to people who see everything they own (homes) going down in value and everything they need (food and energy) going up in price.”

Next week, the government is expected to say its official measure of inflation, the Consumer Price Index, increased at a 0.3 percent annual rate, according to economists’ consensus estimate. Core CPI, excluding food and energy, is expected to climb just 0.1 percent.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

I'm a little late to the game, but, regarding the government contractors, you can't simply cut them. I'd say there's about an 85% chance the federal roads you drove on today were designed or constructed by a contractor. That the bridge you drove over today was designed by a contractor. The government buildings you may have visited or drove by today? Yeah, contractors probably had a huge role in that as well. I work for a company that is considered a contractor but we're actually a consulting engineering firm. We've done work with universities all over the place (state contracts but my point stands).

The Army Corps of Engineers does a lot of work but contractors are an integral part of the government. Else, the government would have to hire on an engineering staff full-time. God only knows how much that would cost.

How do you think toll roads first came into being? Here's a hint: They weren't originally owned and operated by the government at any level.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

How do you think toll roads first came into being? Here's a hint: They weren't originally owned and operated by the government at any level.

Heck, I wasn't even talking about toll roads but that's true as well.

FWIW, I'm not saying we need to keep all of them, because I'm pretty confident we don't. We just need to trim the fat. It's just a matter of making it a bidding process and INTELLIGENTLY selecting the correct contractor for the project even if they aren't the cheapest.

 

[Tundra]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

(In economic terms, savings and investment are the same thing,

Yeah. capital. pool of money for business borrowing/startup. And the main ingredient is leverage 10-50X by the banks of this capital.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

Not from the Onion.

 

[Bob Gray]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

Truly?
If we can't agree on the no-brainer of fixing SS, it really is hopeless.

It's hopeless.

 

[WeWantMore]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

Not from the Onion.

I am outraged!!!

Wait, what did he do wrong?

 

[Kepler]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

I am outraged!!!

Wait, what did he do wrong?

It's not wrong, it's wondefully apt that Bush's "memories" of his term in office are not just ghost-written (that's normal) but an aide's bad copy-paste from quotes on Google. It's... well, it says it all. The man never fails to live up to the moment.

That we survived at all is a sign that America really is a divinely blessed nation.

"There is a special providence for drunkards, fools, and the United States of America." --José Correia da Serra

 

[WeWantMore]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

It's not wrong, it's wondefully apt that Bush's "memories" of his term in office are not just ghost-written (that's normal) but an aide's bad copy-paste from quotes on Google. It's... well, it says it all. The man never fails to live up to the moment.

Sure, I suppose I can agree with that- if that actually happened. Perhaps it did, but the Huffington Post (talk about pot and kettle right?) story lacked a bit of context in my opinion. For example, in the Karzai story referenced, to me it's only a big deal if he claims to have been there. If he's trying to illustrate a point, what in the world is the harm in retelling the story, so long as he doesn't claim it as his own?

Another example cited as "plagiarism" is the anecdote about an NSC meeting that was supposedly lifted from Bob Woodward. As proof, they cite...
Bush

At a National Security Council meeting the next morning, I said, 'just want to make sure that all of us did agree to this plan, right?

and Woodward

At the next day’s meeting, Bush said, 'I just want to make sure that all of us did agree to this plan, right?

Now, to me, there's two choices here. Either they tell the story in the same way because OH MY GOSH BUSH IS A PLAGIARIST or because the story, you know, actually happened in that way.

 

[walrus]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

Now, to me, there's two choices here. Either they tell the story in the same way because OH MY GOSH BUSH IS A PLAGIARIST or because the story, you know, actually happened in that way.

He probably got thru kindergarten by having others do his fingerpainting

 

[Patman]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

It's not wrong, it's wondefully apt that Bush's "memories" of his term in office are not just ghost-written (that's normal) but an aide's bad copy-paste from quotes on Google. It's... well, it says it all. The man never fails to live up to the moment.

That we survived at all is a sign that America really is a divinely blessed nation.

"There is a special providence for drunkards, fools, and the United States of America." --José Correia da Serra

I guess Joe Biden will have to resign then... yes?

 

[pirate]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

I have to agree with the context point made below...are none of us allowed to quote anyone unless we were there? No more " I have but one life...", "I have a dream...", "Ich bin ein...", "Ro ma, ro ma ma...". None of that because we weren't there when it was originally said?

Now, if Bush's book says "I was standing there, thinking of how many colors there are in a box of Fruit Loops and this guy with a funny accent says to me, ' .....' ", then he has committed a literary crime. If he is relaying a quote to demonstrate a point or make an example of how the political climate was impacted at the time, then why can't he?

Gonna shorten Mass, that's for sure...I'm pretty sure most of that stuff was said or written by somebody else, a long time ago...but only those who were there can quote it.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

He probably got thru kindergarten by having others do his fingerpainting

He could go back to work in the coal mines. His dad's job is available.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

It's not wrong, it's wondefully apt that Bush's "memories" of his term in office are not just ghost-written (that's normal) but an aide's bad copy-paste from quotes on Google. It's... well, it says it all. The man never fails to live up to the moment.

That we survived at all is a sign that America really is a divinely blessed nation.

"There is a special providence for drunkards, fools, and the United States of America." --José Correia da Serra

Because, as we all know, the Huffington Post and the little Greek lady who was married to a rich gay guy and "didn't know" it, is customarily up to its lips in plagiarism. So they should know. As far as insulting America is concerned, I'd prefer the insulting be done by a Democrat, that's what they're for isn't it?

 

[blockski]

How do you think toll roads first came into being? Here's a hint: They weren't originally owned and operated by the government at any level.

Yes, and the overall road network of toll roads was horrible because they only built profitable routes.

 

[sagard]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

Yes, and the overall road network of toll roads was horrible because they only built profitable routes.

That would lead to less sprawl and much less car utilization though right?

 

[blockski]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

That would lead to less sprawl and much less car utilization though right?

Yes, it would have.

But let's also remember that we subsidized the railroads, the airlines, the local transit systems, etc. The point is - we've subsidized all sorts of transportation because the largest societal benefits (a fully established network, not just a network of the most profitable routes) accrue with public sector support.

The government does many things because they are things that only a government can do. The idea that we should run government like a business is nice (and there are certainly areas to improve efficiency), but the fundamental mandate for government is very different from that of business. The two roles are complimentary, not oppositional.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

As far as insulting America is concerned

Criticizing a Republican is "insulting America," eh?

Conservatives shouldn't wrap that flag so tight around their necks. It has been known to cut off circulation to their brains.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: Obama XVII: Do You Take Your Tea Party with One Sugar or Two?

Criticizing a Republican is "insulting America," eh?

Conservatives shouldn't wrap that flag so tight around their necks. It has been known to cut off circulation to their brains.

Didn't your heroine, the lady who was "unaware" that her husband was as gay as a birthday tablecloth, have her own, personal plagiarism problem with a book she "wrote?" Or is there another woman with an indecipherable accent named Huffington publishing her own personal lefty masturbatory fantasies? Any reliable media reporting on this "scandal?" No? I thought not.

Typically "clever" of you to change the subject to "criticizing a republican," and not the zero credibility of Arianna "I swear I didn't know he was gay, but was pretty certain he was incredibly rich" Huffington. Won't work. Your standards for Bush bashing are nonexistant. Anybody, anywhere can say anything critical about Bush and it's gospel to you. It doesn't matter much, except your perpetual snarkiness becomes a bit of a bore, especially when not tethered in the slightest to truth or accuracy. And when you engage in your typical intellectual blowhardism, quoting Prince Henry the Navigator's comments. 'Course he's contemptuous of America too, which makes him your favorite 18th (or was it 19th) century Portuguese "intellectual."

As victims of your posts can attest, in your mind "patriotism" is the ultimate sin. You snark about it every chance you get. I know, believe me, I know. In Kepler world, saying something, anything positive about America is "political," to be ridiculed and rejected--even if (or perhaps because) it's said on the 4th of July.