Permalink Reply by Mark on September 27, 2011 at 7:51pm
Permalink Reply by RunLikeADog on September 28, 2011 at 7:25am
Permalink Reply by K on September 28, 2011 at 7:34am
Permalink Reply by RunLikeADog on September 28, 2011 at 7:43am Well... actually, poop scooping is a huge business. I know of two people that have left corporate jobs and started their own poop scooping business and are doing quite well. The problem Obama has is that he is trying to force jobs by throwing money at the issue. That's not the answer. He's swinging for the for the fence hoping to hit one out of the park when what he really needs to do is create an environment where small, entrepreneurial businesses and jobs can be created. Do that and everything else will fall into place.
Permalink Reply by RebLem on September 29, 2011 at 10:40am
Permalink Reply by RunLikeADog on September 29, 2011 at 10:46am
Permalink Reply by Ben Moffett on September 28, 2011 at 9:28am
Permalink Reply by RebLem on September 29, 2011 at 11:59am Well, Ben, I think you're a little too enthusiastic. I agree that Obama is the candidate to vote for, but I no longer hold anywhere near as much hope for him as I did in 2008. Now, let me say first that I think he did a lot of things right. I think on DADT, he did the right thing in insisting that Congress act. If he had simply decreed the end of DADT with a presidential directive, as many urged him to do, Congress would not have acted because there is too much of a downside for them. Just another reason for some people to vote against them. And then, the rule could have been changed via the same device by the next president. Obama had the wisdom and the stamina to brave the fury of his own supporters oin this issue and insist that Congress act so that the next president couldn't reverse it without Congressional action.
I also believe that Obama was right in doing health care. Here, he even had to oppose his then chief of staff, the current mayor of Chicago, who wanted to concentrate on jobs and let health care go until later. If he had done that, he never would have gotten the Affordable Care Act passed, and it was sorely needed. It is far from a perfect bill; in some ways it is a monstrosity, but we can amend it later. The important thing is to make the commitment, which the Democratic Party has now done.
And the stimulus bill and saving the American auto industry were good things, too. I bought some Ford stock in early 2009, and sold it for a huge (proportionally) profit 15 months later. I am not a big investor--my account at its height had $27,000 in it, but it was enough for me to make a 5% downpayment on a house and get out of the condo I had been living in. It really has changed my life, and it would have been impossible without the stimulus bill. Yes, I know, no aid went to Ford; it mostly went to GM, but withoiut GM in the business, many of the suppliers of both Ford and GM would have gone under, and it would probably not have been possible for Ford to do as well as they did. And things like this ripple through the economy. I cut back on fast food which supports minimum wage jobs so I could afford to channel more of my money to people who are well paid--contractors and their employees whom I needed to help me with making my condo salable and my new house more liveable. And I'm not even in the auto industry and never was. For people in the industry, the bailout was a Godsend. And the Republicans opposed it because they hate unions. They don't want an American auto industry. If we need tanks or other military vehicles, they want us to depend on Mercedes, or Toyota, or some Chinese company. One is entitled to ask what country they are really working for. Where are their real loyalties? They shoud call to mind the words of their patron saint, Ronald Reagan, the only American president to have the presidency of a labor union as part of his resume, who said, in 1987: "Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost."
But Obama promised us Wall Street reform, and not a single person has been sent to jail except Bernie Madoff. He promised a cap and trade system to stop the coal companies from turning West Virginia into a flat, barren plain, and there has been no action on that. The GOPers ought to go for that if for no other reason than to allow former SC governor Sanford to continue hiking the full length of the Appalachian Trail.
No member of Congress or Congressional staffer makes $400,000 per annum in government salary. The only person who does make tha much money as salary in a federal government job is the POTUS. The only other people who make more on the taxpayers dime are coaches at state universities.
Obama is not a Messiah. I, for one, never thought he was. I never said he would be a one term president, and never heard any non-GOPer say that. The problem is that we have become an Alzheimers Nation. People on FOX deny that there were ever any terrorist attacks on the US during the Cheney Administration, and have already forgotten that Obama killed Osama. And I drive around Albuquerque and see crazy people driving expensive cars with bumper stickers that say, "Don't blame me, I voted for the AMERICAN." I think the networks should all rerun a clip from Obama's announcement that OBL had been killed every time they show a film of the Twin Towers flaming or collapsing. Maybe then, people would be able to keep it in mind.
Permalink Reply by Lebowski on September 29, 2011 at 11:43am
Permalink Reply by hettie on September 29, 2011 at 1:56pm "union thugs"
less than 12% of the american workforce belongs to a union. given how much blame is heaved at "the unions," why are they such a tiny part of the workforce? can you explain how such a miniscule portion of american workers has such a disproportionate effect on the economy (facts are always important).
also, if you're going to make assertions like "Then they give them all the day off to get bused into other precincts to vote 2 or 3 times," you should provide a link or some evidence for your statement.
"Democrats created the housing bubble, it wasn't deregulation by republicans. It was forcing banks to take on sub prime loans based on "fairness". Of course they tried to make money doing it...that's what they do."
oh geez. um, do some reading. seriously.
you might begin with the financial crisis inquiry commission's report, whose conclusions can be summarized as "the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages; Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk; An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis; Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw; and systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels.“ here's a copy of the report.
you might also check here, here, & here for a general summation about the many complex causes that led to the housing bubble and related financial crisis. while such events are always being spun to support particular political agendas across the spectrum, there are underlying facts (i.e., what actually happened) that are an important part of understanding how our nation has come to where it is today and how we can shape where it will be in the future. we ignore them at our own peril.
also, sorry brendan! maybe some moderator could move this discussion to that group?
Permalink Reply by Brendan on September 29, 2011 at 2:08pm Afraid I don't have the power to move discussions around.
As it is more than a year away from the election season it's a good time to practice some political discussion hygiene before things get *really* ugly. That we all think and feel a great deal about this topic, it's a great time to rekindle the group. Everybody on this thread should try joining Talk Hard: Politics today!
Permalink Reply by Brendan on September 29, 2011 at 12:07pm Remember there is a group on DCF just for politics: Talk Hard.
Let's keep the forum on DCF about New Mexico's D.C.
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