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The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

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If you read between the headlines today (and I'm assuming it'll increase in the week(s) to come) you'll notice a directive has been handed down through the media to smear the NRA with claims that they are lying about having "real" members who are individual people, claims that they support murder and mayhem and want to promote more of it, claims that they are "for-profit" (owned by gun manufacturers), and a lot of other ideas we see all the time here from our left wing friends being pushed in a more orchestrated and strident way.
Don't get sucked in. It's part of the game.

I've also been hearing more of this idea that if we keep handing off more and more of our individual autonomy to the federal government in the form of the ATF or some other 3-letter combo, they can act as a "big brother" and keep us all safe collectively, so we won't have to worry our heads about self-defense or about keeping individual freedoms anymore because they can just tell us what to do. Don't get sucked in. These are agents of tyranny.
The NRA cares as much about its members as the NHL does about its fans. At least I felt guilty buying tickets on Wed.
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

If you read between the headlines today (and I'm assuming it'll increase in the week(s) to come) you'll notice a directive has been handed down through the media to smear the NRA with claims that they are lying about having "real" members who are individual people, claims that they support murder and mayhem and want to promote more of it, claims that they are "for-profit" (owned by gun manufacturers), and a lot of other ideas we see all the time here from our left wing friends being pushed in a more orchestrated and strident way.
Don't get sucked in. It's part of the game.

I've also been hearing more of this idea that if we keep handing off more and more of our individual autonomy to the federal government in the form of the ATF or some other 3-letter combo, they can act as a "big brother" and keep us all safe collectively, so we won't have to worry our heads about self-defense or about keeping individual freedoms anymore because they can just tell us what to do. Don't get sucked in. These are agents of tyranny.

Cant say i agree with all of that, or any of it in the first paragraph ...but, there is a recurring theme of demonizing anyone or thing within hand grenade distance of a problem and suggesting that the only way to keep citizens safe from it happening again is if the government does it while adding more departments, laws and supervision. To do otherwise would be a vote for school shootings, mortgage foreclosures, poorly educated students, drug wars and the like. I find myself having more issue with the how they solve things...I've given up that any solution other than the government being the 'be all, end all' will ever exist. So, does the government 'right size' and focus on this new economy or do they just get bigger and fatter and more expensive every year? The gravitational pull of the government as an entity outside of any particular party in control may already be such that it can't be reigned in, can't be reduced and can't be directed by the coven of chumps we call the 3 branches. Happy Friday
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

If you read between the headlines today (and I'm assuming it'll increase in the week(s) to come) you'll notice a directive has been handed down through the media to smear the NRA with claims that they are lying about having "real" members who are individual people, claims that they support murder and mayhem and want to promote more of it, claims that they are "for-profit" (owned by gun manufacturers), and a lot of other ideas we see all the time here from our left wing friends being pushed in a more orchestrated and strident way.
Don't get sucked in. It's part of the game.

I've also been hearing more of this idea that if we keep handing off more and more of our individual autonomy to the federal government in the form of the ATF or some other 3-letter combo, they can act as a "big brother" and keep us all safe collectively, so we won't have to worry our heads about self-defense or about keeping individual freedoms anymore because they can just tell us what to do. Don't get sucked in. These are agents of tyranny.
You are 100% correct.
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

interesting development, House Republicans finally start to think tactically:

House Republican leaders Friday proposed a three-month extension of the federal debt limit....The GOP bill, which is expected to go before the House next week, includes a requirement that the House and Senate pass formal budgets by mid-April, but it does not include specific spending cuts.

...

Linked to the proposal would be a requirement that the House and Senate pass a budget blueprint for the next fiscal year—or else members of Congress wouldn't be paid..."Members of Congress will not be paid by the American people for failing to do their job," said Mr. Cantor. "No budget, no pay."

Harry Reid hasn't allowed the Senate to vote on anything substantive for three years, because Democrat Senators would then actually have to go on record one way or the other (for example, the House passed a bill in August 2012 that extended all tax rates for a year; yet somehow no one reported that the Senate did not vote on it. Then the House got rolled when suddenly there was a last-minute fiscal cliff "crisis" even though they had done their part four months earlier...the Senate could have passed a different version and sent the two bills to reconciliation and we'd have avoided all the brinksmanship and drama entirely....but then Senators would have gone on the record with their vote, and Reid has no control over his members.)

By passing a short-term extension to the debt ceiling, they are trying to force Harry Reid to hold votes in the Senate again. Somehow, even though the Democrats hold the White House AND the Senate, the Republicans are getting labeled as the "obstructionists" by a compliant lapdog press, which continues to ignore the lack of Senate action on just about anything. It's about time they woke up and found a way to force Reid to start holding actual votes again.

The timing is interesting too, because, as the full article points out, automatic spending cuts are scheduled to take effect on March 1 if no budget is passed before then. If the House passes a budget and the Senate does not, then all the responsibility for the automatic spending cuts then shifts entirely over to Harry Reid.

I'm surprised that they actually had the sense to figure this out. How about that?
 
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interesting development, House Republicans finally start to think tactically:



Harry Reid hasn't allowed the Senate to vote on anything substantive for three years, because Democrat Senators would then actually have to go on record one way or the other (for example, the House passed a bill in August 2012 that extended all tax rates for a year; yet somehow no one reported that the Senate did not vote on it. Then the House got rolled when suddenly there was a last-minute fiscal cliff "crisis" even though they had done their part four months earlier...the Senate could have passed a different version and sent the two bills to reconciliation and we'd have avoided all the brinksmanship and drama entirely....but then Senators would have gone on the record with their vote, and Reid has no control over his members.)

By passing a short-term extension to the debt ceiling, they are trying to force Harry Reid to hold votes in the Senate again. Somehow, even though the Democrats hold the White House AND the Senate, the Republicans are getting labeled as the "obstructionists" by a compliant lapdog press, which continues to ignore the lack of Senate action on just about anything. It's about time they woke up and found a way to force Reid to start holding actual votes again.

The timing is interesting too, because, as the full article points out, automatic spending cuts are scheduled to take effect on March 1 if no budget is passed before then. If the House passes a budget and the Senate does not, then all the responsibility for the automatic spending cuts then shifts entirely over to Harry Reid.

I'm surprised that they actually had the sense to figure this out. How about that?

Methinks you've been giving Karl Rove BJ's. What a crock of $h !t. Try this take on for size:

GOP took a position (no debt ceiling hike) that they couldn't actually enforce. All they were hoping to do was bluff Obama into entitlement cuts, and when he called them on it they folded like a house of cards. In the meantime nothing has changed except for a three month extension (which I already predicted in a prior thread out here). GOP refuses to specify what entitlement cuts they're looking for, and Obama isn't going to do it for them. That leaves them already at record unpopularity advocating for cuts that will ream their base voters (old people), or cause a default which will ream their donor base (wealthy people and corporations). Or, option C, give in to Obama yet again and get primaried next election.

The sequester will hit defense spending, not entitlements which are protected by the law. If you want 1T in defense cuts to go through, hey that works for me!

So, be prepared to choke down another "deal" that you won't like the taste of. :D
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

interesting development, House Republicans finally start to think tactically:
That article is incorrect. This bill is a straight forward three month extension because they can't issue new debt then retract it if a budget isn't passed. It's the long term extension they want to tie to the budget bill.

In other words, "we're giving in this time, but we're not giving in next time."
 
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Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

That article is incorrect. This bill is a straight forward three month extension because they can't issue new debt then retract it if a budget isn't passed. It's the long term extension they want to tie to the budget bill.

In other words, "we're giving in this time, but we're not giving in next time."
they need to grow a set for that to happen.
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

"Keeping guns away from dangerous people has nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment. It's an issue of political courage" - Mike the logical Bloomberg
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

"Keeping guns away from dangerous people has nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment. It's an issue of political courage" - Mike the logical Bloomberg

And people wonder why I want those eight counties (Westchester, Kings, Queens, Bronx, New York, Richmond, Nassau, Suffolk) to secede from NY and become a 51st state...
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

That article is incorrect. This bill is a straight forward three month extension because they can't issue new debt then retract it if a budget isn't passed. It's the long term extension they want to tie to the budget bill.

In other words, "we're giving in this time, but we're not giving in next time."

Um, the article does say that they are planning to submit a three-month extension of the debt ceiling next week, right? which would be through mid-April, no? which is exactly what the article says, in three months the extension expires and at that time a budget must be passed in order for there to be another extension. It didn't quite phrase it in those terms but it is how it reads to me...

That may be worded a bit obliquely but it sounds like you and the article are saying the same thing in different words, you know...:)
 
Um, the article does say that they are planning to submit a three-month extension of the debt ceiling next week, right? which would be through mid-April, no? which is exactly what the article says, in three months the extension expires and at that time a budget must be passed in order for there to be another extension. It didn't quite phrase it in those terms but it is how it reads to me...

That may be worded a bit obliquely but it sounds like you and the article are saying the same thing in different words, you know...:)

So they kick the can down the road three months and then do the same thing they do now. I don't think they've thought this plan thru to the end.
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

So they kick the can down the road three months and then do the same thing they do now. I don't think they've thought this plan thru to the end.

ah, but what comes between now and three months from now, eh?

The House passes a bill to alleviate the automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect on March 1 and sends it to the Senate. If the Senate doesn't vote on it on time then the spending cuts take effect automatically.

It's not a win for the Republicans by no means; for them at this time a tie would be a welcome respite. Keep putting it into the Senate for votes. That's enough for them for now. Let the Demagogs start arguing amongst themselves in the press for a change while the Republicans sit by and catch their breath. They'd welcome that right now I suspect.

In a droll sort of way, it's role reversal for the fiscal cliff. If the Republicans didn't do something then all taxes would go up. Now, if the Democrats don't due something, all spending will go down.

That kicks in March 1. The debt ceiling is extended into April. If there is no budget between March 1 and the end of the debt ceiling, then what, eh?

Supposedly there is a Chinese curse that goes "may you live in interesting times."
 
ah, but what comes between now and three months from now, eh?

The House passes a bill to alleviate the automatic spending cuts scheduled to take effect on March 1 and sends it to the Senate. If the Senate doesn't vote on it on time then the spending cuts take effect automatically.

It's not a win for the Republicans by no means; for them at this time a tie would be a welcome respite. Keep putting it into the Senate for votes. That's enough for them for now. Let the Demagogs start arguing amongst themselves in the press for a change while the Republicans sit by and catch their breath. They'd welcome that right now I suspect.

In a droll sort of way, it's role reversal for the fiscal cliff. If the Republicans didn't do something then all taxes would go up. Now, if the Democrats don't due something, all spending will go down.

That kicks in March 1. The debt ceiling is extended into April. If there is no budget between March 1 and the end of the debt ceiling, then what, eh?

Supposedly there is a Chinese curse that goes "may you live in interesting times."

Still not seeing how that is any different. The flaw in the plan is the gop house would need to pass a budget explicitly saying what cuts they want. They'll probably derp out again and pass Ryan's budget (or some variation thereof), which is already a non-starter. The Senate won't get blamed in that case.
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

Still not seeing how that is any different. The flaw in the plan is the gop house would need to pass a budget explicitly saying what cuts they want. They'll probably derp out again and pass Ryan's budget (or dome variation thereof), which is already a non-starter. The Senate won't get blamed in that case.

the nice thing here is that we really don't need to "debate" we can merely wait and see! :) Neither party distinguishes itself here at all. To have the Demagogs actually go on record would be a refreshing change, they've been hiding behind "present" too long. We'll know come May how it was played out in the interim.
 
Re: The 2nd Term - Round 1 - Diving for Dollars

For those who like to sift through information from a variety of different places, there is a fascinating interview with former NYC police chief William Bratton in today's Wall St Journal.

For those unfamiliar with the name, he was Chief of Police under Giuliani when they used tactics that at the time were seen as radical which became very successful in reducing crime and consequently were replicated in other places. The interview is wide-ranging and practical and professional, very much non-partisan and clear-headed.

As you might expect, he supports a better licensing process with improved background checks.

One item that he says certainly needs to be addressed is one typically overlooked in left-wing hand-wringing (those last two portmanteau words are mine not his):

But the gun reform that truly gets Mr. Bratton fired up is one you don't hear much about these days. It is what he calls "certainty of punishment," or stricter gun-crime sentences.

"People are out on the streets who should be in jail. Jail is appropriate for anyone who uses a gun in the commission of an act of violence. Some cities have a deplorable lack of attention to this issue," he says, citing Philadelphia.

In Chicago, where the murder rate rose 16% last year, "to try to put someone in jail for gun-related activity you really have to go the extra mile," he says. "If there's one crime for which there has to be a certainty of punishment, it is gun violence." He ticks off other places where help is needed: "Oakland, Chicago, D.C., Baltimore—all have gangs whose members have no capacity for caring about life and respect for life. Someone like that? Put 'em in jail. Get 'em off the streets. Keep people safe."
 
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