Morning Must Reads: Slog

Plan B.

Messages seeking some kind of peaceful end to U.N.-backed military action or a safe exit for members of Gaddafi’s entourage have been sent via intermediaries in Austria, Britain and France, said Roger Tamraz, a Middle Eastern businessman with long experience conducting deals with the Libyan regime.
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Tamraz said Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Muammar’s eldest son, and Abdullah Senoussi, the Libyan leader’s brother-in-law, were the most prominent Gaddafi entourage members involved in seeking ways to end the fighting.
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A U.S. national security official, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information, said that U.S. government agencies were aware that Saif al-Islam and Senoussi had been involved in making peace overtures.
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The U.S. official, and a European government official who is also following Libyan events closely, said that U.S. and European governments were treating the purported outreach with caution, but not dismissing it out of hand.

“Nato to control no-fly zone after France gives way to Turkey”.

Western allies and Turkey have secured a deal to put the entire military campaign against Muammar Gaddafi under Nato command by next week, UK and French sources have told the Guardian.
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The US, Britain, France and Turkey agreed to put the three-pronged offensive – a no-fly zone, an arms embargo, and air strikes – under a Nato command umbrella, in a climbdown by France that accommodates strong Turkish complaints about the scope and control of the campaign.
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The deal appeared to end days of infighting among western allies, but needed to be blessed by all 28 Nato member states. At the end of a four-day meeting of Nato ambassadors in Brussels, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general, said Nato had agreed to take command of the no-fly zone from the Americans. Disputes have raged at Nato HQ every day this week. Rasmussen contradicted leading western officials by announcing that Nato’s authority was limited to commanding the no-fly zone, but he signalled there was more negotiation to come.

I read this week that Florida was Haley Barbour country, which sort of messes up Mitt Romney’s powerpoint deck.

But the Florida wild card will be Gov Rick Scott. Rick might feel a corporate kinship with Haley, but could to play to his Tea Party base. I wouldn’t be surprised if Allen West decides to run for Senate and Scott backs him.

Anyway, the GOP controlled Florida Legislature, as AP’s Brendan Farrington has written, has scheduled the POTUS primaries on a date that guarantees conniption fits for the RNC and DNC. And a replay of the 2008 mess.

Lastly, the Primary for local races is scheduled in the middle of the Republican National Convention, which is convening in August.

Don’t you wish you lived here?

“False flag”.

During the intense public battle with public employee unions last month, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) received an intriguing email from an admirer claiming to be a deputy prosecutor from Indiana. The email suggested that Walker should fake an attack on himself, in order to create sympathy for his cause and damage the reputation of the unions.[...]
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The e-mail was signed by “Carlos F. Lam.” WCIJ did some digging and discovered that indeed, there is a Carlos F. Lam who is a GOP public official in Indiana. He is a deputy prosecutor in Johnson County, Indiana — which is the same area the e-mail was sent from, according to its IP information. Lam also has a history of anti-union comments online: he’s written that Indiana is “an unsustainable public worker gravy train bubble.” In another, he said “unions & companies that feed at the gov’t trough will fight tooth & nail against anything that un-feathers their nests.”

The next battle in Wisconsin.

Remember the Democrats in Wisconsin declaring that the vote on the budget repair bill was illegal? (For some reason, Jon Stewart thought this was hilarious.) Democrats are, so far, winning on that.
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Finding that there are too many issues that require clarification, a state appeals court on Thursday sent the state attorney general’s appeal of a decision barring implementation of Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill to the state Supreme Court.
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“Plainly, this case has broad statewide implications for the general public and those most directly affected by the challenged Act, in addition to those interested in the manner of its passage,” wrote a three-judge panel of the appeals court, consisting of judges Paul Lundsten, Brian Blanchard and Paul Higginbotham.
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The meaning of this: There is a Supreme Court election on April 5. Democrats are fighting hard to win it, because the current make-up of the court is roughly 4-3 conservative-liberal. This puts gas in the tank for both parties — the stakes are the same, but the prominence of the court has increased.

Of course this pales compared to a Republican pushing on-line anti-union comments. After all these are just poor middle class folks trying to eek out a living. Oh yeah and destroy the economy. Or is this off topic? (not Republican bashing) or word salad (you can’t find the words to defend) or too much of reality for you? And yet still not a mention by the MSM media of this.

These are not just thoughts, since thoughts have consequences. Far-out SEIU activists have attempted to mold the world in their image of “progress.” It’s not just that SEIU types like Lerner want to kill mean ol’ banks; a Texas businessman is suing the union after it threatened to “kill” his company if he didn’t accede to card check demands, and allegedly cost the company millions of dollars in lost business.

As a small business owner, there’s always more than enough to do with actually running the business, managing employees, purchasing and maintaining equipment and many other tasks that are common to every other hard working business. The personal benefits are many, foremost is the ability to provide for my family, provide jobs to those who work hard, and be in a position to be a benefit to my community and the economy.

It’s astonishing that there are individuals such as Mr. Lerner and others in the Big Labor and “community organizer” movement who find the business community and a robust economy as powers that must be ruined and brought down as the means to enact their warped view of government. We should automatically be suspicious of anyone who rejoices at economic downturns and wishes they would hurt more, as they obviously don’t have the well being of Americans at heart.

It’s a good reminder next time SEIU or one of its ilk pushes “social change” that seems to put more change in their pocket but be bad for the rest of society

BirtherinPa’s source:
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http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/03/will_seiu_tape_its_next_corpor.html

Also, notice that BirtherinPA is using his usual tactic:
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“But, they do it, too!!!”
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What BirtherinPA doesn’t get it that he’s either admitting the behavior is still wrong, even if both sides do it. or the behavior is acceptable, even if both sides do it.
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What is your point BirtherinPA? Are both sides good or bad?
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Or is only bad if a liberal does it?

Can I take my wish back?

Businesses since the eighties on have done everything in their power to depress labor costs, including fighting Unions and outsourcing manufacturing jobs to automating operations.
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Then they suddenly came up wondering why none of their potential customers had any money for their products.

It should only be a matter of time before the left now calls for a new oversight agency to be filled with more overpriced under-worked bureaucrats to over see another government agency that is corrupt. As we have seen with the financial crisis we now need another agency to oversee the most regulated industry on the planet. It never occurs that government picking winners and losers, trying to impact economic behavior all through the tax code is the reason for the problem.

Makes you wonder too if these folks were in that 0.06% of federal employees that didn’t get a raise based on performance– Odds are they did. Or fired?

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Fourteen people, including an Internal Revenue Service employee, have been charged with using the federal credit for first-time homebuyers to commit tax fraud, US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said today.
The defendants, most of them from Massachusetts, were charged in multiple indictments related to filing false tax returns linked to the federal credit that was launched in 2008 in an attempt to stimulate the flailing housing market. The credit, which was extended and expanded over time, offered first-time homebuyers up to $8,000 off their tax bill if they purchased a home before last September.
One of those charged is a long-time IRS agent, Michael Doyle, of New Hampshire. He allegedly falsely claimed that he bought a home in 2008 to qualify for the credit, but actually purchased the property in 2007, Ortiz’s office said. Doyle, 44, could not immediately be reached for comment, and an IRS official could not say whether Doyle still works for the federal agency.
Two other defendants, Junior Lopez of Southbridge, and Christopher Proe of Michigan, allegedly filed more than 50 fraudulent tax returns, receiving about $500,000 in refunds, prosecutors said. Proe and Lopez also could not immediately be reached for comment.

Anti-American religious group wants to destroy US mosques.

While the American Family Association claims that one of its founding objectives is to “defends the rights of conscience and religious liberty from infringement by government,” its chief spokesman Bryan Fischer continues to show his contempt for religious freedom. Fischer, the AFA’s Director of Issues Analysis, repeatedly demanded that the US deport all Muslims and prohibit and purge Muslims from the military, and also called for the banning and destruction of mosques. Fischer today attempted to reconcile his ardent opposition to Muslim religious liberty with the Constitution’s First Amendment by claiming that the Constitution actually doesn’t apply to or protect Muslims at all [...]
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Of course, the founding fathers certainly did construct the First Amendment to protect all people, including non-Christian groups like Muslims. George Washington’s letter to the Jewish community of Newport, Rhode Island clearly demonstrates that non-Christians were intended to be protected by the Constitution, and the Treaty of Tripoli crafted under Washington and ratified by John Adams makes clear that the “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,” [Muslims].

(side note: “GOP presidential hopefuls Tim Pawlenty and Mike Huckabee have appeared on [Fischer's] web show. Newt Gingrich channels large amounts of money through Fischer’s organization to suppress gay rights.”)

Intimidation.

Because Cronon dared write an op-ed piece in the New York Times pointing to Wisconsin’s long tradition of bi-partisan, “good government”-minded support of collective bargaining rights, and criticizing Gov. Scott Walker for his campaign against organized labor and collective bargaining, the Wisconsin Republican Party is launching a legal effort to look through his email archives to see if he has been involved in the recent protests in the state. The putative rationale is that Cronon’s messages were sent on the University of Wisconsin’s email system and therefore are covered by the state’s open-records law.
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Cronon gives a very, very detailed description of the case here, with an impassioned and, to me, convincing argument about why this should be seen as a flat-out effort at personal intimidation, in the tradition of Wisconsin’s own Sen. Joe McCarthy. I encourage you to read that, and Josh Marshall’s explanation of the case here. I hope to say more about this later.
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The reason this strikes me particularly hard at the moment: I am staying in a country where a lot of recent news concerns how far the government is going in electronic monitoring of email and other messages to prevent any group, notably including academics or students, from organizing in order to protest. I don’t like that any better in Madison than I do in Beijing.

“The impotence of the tea-party movement.“

THE tea-party movement galvanised conservative voters and helped Republicans take the House and weaken the Democratic majority in the Senate last Fall. Right? Well, maybe not. In the latest edition of The Boston Review, a pair of Harvard political scientists, Stephen Ansolabehere and James M. Snyder, cast doubt on the conventional wisdom about the tea-party movement.
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Digging into the data from the 2010 mid-term elections, Messrs Ansolabahere and Snyder find that the tea-party movement largely threw its weight behind conservative candidates in conservative districts who were likely to win anyway. “The penchant for endorsing candidates in Republican-leaning areas almost completely explains the Tea Party’s success rate,” they write. This applies to candidates for the House, at least. What about a tea-party bump for Senate hopefuls? Noting that the relative paucity of senatorial contests makes it hard to draw firm statistical lessons, Messrs Ansolabahere and Snyder nevertheless observe that “Tea Party endorsees ran three percentage points behind non-endorsed Republicans running in similar states.”

One wonders about a Department of Labor that is overly sensitive about “not in keeping with the department’s pro-business goals.”

An artist and a historian who worked together to create a 36-foot mural depicting Maine labor history are decrying the governor’s plan to remove the artwork from the lobby of the state Department of Labor in Augusta.
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The mural, which was painted by the artist Judy Taylor and went up in 2008, features eleven panels with scenes of work life and important moments in Maine’s labor history including: child labor, young women at textile mills, the introduction of the secret ballot for union votes, a failed 1937 strike to improve working conditions for women at shoe mills, and FDR Labor Secretary Frances Perkins, who had family roots in Maine. Taylor told Salon she is “very disappointed” with Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s plan to remove the mural.
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LePage, who has supported anti-union legislation, said this week the mural “sends a message that we’re one-sided, and I don’t want to send that message.” His office said “the message from state agencies needs to be balanced.”[...]
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LePage, for his part, has tried to justify his decision by citing complaints from “some business owners” — who he has declined to name — about being exposed to the mural in the lobby of the Department of Labor. His office has also cited an anonymous fax received by the governor’s office saying that the mural was reminiscent of “communist North Korea where they use these murals to brainwash the masses.”

(no news on plans to change the ‘Department of Labor’ to use some other word than ‘Labor’)

MoronMOm

Wrong on all accounts again. It is worth noting that 1) you immediately attack the source of the disclosure and 2) attack me.
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It is not a “they did it too” What it is is showing how pathetically stupid the left’s attacks have become. Denigrate any opponent of Team Donkey while remaining mum of efforts to destroy the economy for their own gains

Not much else for the left to do but defend the indefensible.
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Dirks: More high brow crap from you that borders on psychosis or just plain stupidity. Companies have increased shareholder returns and have not re-distributed that wealth to unions you find is an acceptable reason to try and destroy not a union, not a company, not an industry but an economy.

“It’s Up to the Right”

…the only way we’ll get any budget deal now — or, I’d say, any time in the next several years — will be if conservatives come up with an offer. And they won’t.
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The key point is that conservatives are insisting that no tax be raised on anyone — yet they have not been willing to embrace the only policies that could balance the budget given that insistence, namely very large cuts in defense, Medicare, and Social Security.
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Think of its this way: over the 2001-2007 business cycle, the United States ran persistent deficits; so revenue wasn’t enough to cover expenses even then. In the future, even if we manage to limit cost growth in Medicare, the aging of the population will raise costs by several percent of GDP. If no revenue can be added from any source, that means that there must be huge cuts in the big-ticket items.
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But what Republicans want is for Obama to propose those cuts– and therefore to take the political heat — while they give up nothing whatsoever.
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Not going to happen.

MoronMom:

Here is a video of it. Now between drinks you can denigrate this one too.

Drunk and stupid is not much of away to spend your morning.

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http://lonelyconservative.com/2011/03/former-seiu-official-reveals-plan-to-destroy-the-us-economy-with-goal-of-wealth-redistribution/

Dessert:

Teens across America, doing their partiotic duty.

(short ad then video)

Public school math as taught by the teacher’s union and learned by liberals.

The steep deficits that states now face mean that teacher layoffs this year are unavoidable. Parents understandably want the best teachers spared. Yet in 14 states it is illegal for schools to consider anything other than a teacher’s length of service when making layoff decisions.
It gets worse.

Of course these are poor hard working folks looking for an even break

“Many people don’t realize that teachers are not evenly distributed nationwide,” says Tim Daly of the New Teacher Project, which has released a new report on the nationwide impact on quality-blind layoffs. “Fourteen states have these rules but about 40% of all teachers work in those states, and they’re the states with the biggest budget deficits.” In addition to New York, the list includes California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and Wisconsin.
The only rational purpose of a tax paid school system is to produce more productive and better citizens. If it doesn’t accomplish that, there is no justification for making everyone pay for it. There is certainly no justification for taxing a person on a $44,000 income to pay salary and benefits including pensions to someone making $50,000 simply because the teacher is entitled to the money. (In California the top state income tax bracket starts at $44,000, and I think no tenured teacher makes less than $50,000. If those numbers don’t apply in your state, supply your own, but you get the idea). The most effective way to get better and more productive citizens is to allocate resources in a way that benefits those who can benefit the most: make sure the best and the brightest regardless of their race or social or economic status get the most education. If you have a little more time to spend with a student, put that time into make the bright ones learn more rather than trying to make the dummies just a little less uninformed. Of course that is now what we do: the whole system, and particularly No Child Left Behind, is geared in the opposite direction. You can ameliorate that a bit by assigning the best and the brightest teachers to the best and the brightest students, but you can’t if the unions are allowed to negotiate the work rules. You certainly can’t accomplish much when saddled with tenure and seniority rules.

The American school system is a bad parody of an optimum allocation of resources, and nearly everyone knows it, but we always talk as if it were not so. Of course we never discuss the basic premises of public education to begin with.
http://jerrypournelle.com/view/2011/Q1/view665.html#tenure

“The key point is that conservatives are insisting that no tax be raised on anyone — yet they have not been willing to embrace the only policies that could balance the budget given that insistence, namely very large cuts in defense, Medicare, and Social Security”
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In your ongoing mindless rant about the budget you never seem to mention that the Democrats have not done or offered anything either. And oh yeah, this budget was the constitutional duty the past Democratic Congress and is at least 6 months overdue.

Hey but why ruin a good rant with reality. Oh yeah reality is not a liberal concept.

Department of Helpers for Business?

And still no word from the MSM on Janie Gorelick, the Clinton Administration attorney who had a front row seat to the impending 9/11 tragedy and then defrauded (along with Clinton Budget Director Raines) Fannie Mae for millions is now being considered to head the FBI instead of being fitted for stainless wrist bracelets.

What is one more criminal in the Obama administration

Barack Obama really knows how to pick them. It’s not often that one person plays key roles in two — count ‘em, two — trillion-dollar disasters but Jamie Gorelick is one. She helped to bring us 9/11 and the collapse of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Ms. Gorelick is on the presidental short list to be the head of the FBI.

http://biggovernment.com/jdunetz/2011/03/24/jamie-gorelick-who-helped-to-bring-us-911-and-housing-collapse-is-on-short-list-to-lead-fbi/
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“Wrong on all accounts again. It is worth noting that 1) you immediately attack the source of the disclosure and 2) attack me.”
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1) I didn’t “attack the source”. I simply posted the link you omitted, without comment.
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2) I no more attacked you than you attacked the original commenter or myself. Speaking of which, you still have not commented on false flag operation, other than to copypaste a rambling article about the SEIU from American Thinker. I called you out for your usual ‘here’s someone from the left who did something similar’ approach. This is your standard form of debating, and while it may validly point out hypocrisy on the left, it doesn’t exactly bolster your right wing arguments by saying ‘the left does it, too’. The best you get with that approach is ‘a pox on both houses’. Which I might actually agree with.

She helped to bring us 9/11
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Nice of you to pin blame on a Democrat, Freep.

I don’t get Sullivan’s chart. How are people dying from coal and oil plants: Cancer? Air pollution? Using the resulting electricity? Magnetic fields from power lines?
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Considering there are far more oil/coal plants than “nucular” it should stand to reason that the death rate (however you measure it) will be far higher.

Islamist Group Is Rising Force in a New Egypt
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CAIRO — In post-revolutionary Egypt, where hope and confusion collide in the daily struggle to build a new nation, religion has emerged as a powerful political force, following an uprising that was based on secular ideals. The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group once banned by the state, is at the forefront, transformed into a tacit partner with the military government that many fear will thwart fundamental changes.
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It is also clear that the young, educated secular activists who initially propelled the nonideological revolution are no longer the driving political force — at least not at the moment.
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As the best organized and most extensive opposition movement in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood was expected to have an edge in the contest for influence. But what surprises many is its link to a military that vilified it.
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“There is evidence the Brotherhood struck some kind of a deal with the military early on,” said Elijah Zarwan, a senior analyst with the International Crisis Group. “It makes sense if you are the military — you want stability and people off the street. The Brotherhood is one address where you can go to get 100,000 people off the street.”

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Gee, our President and his Administration are doing such a great job managing all of these revolutions. We need to throw a party I think.
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In an ever growing and tax gobbling government, now we see more innovative means to collect more taxes. Driving tax?
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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) this week released a report that said taxing people based on how many miles they drive is a possible option for raising new revenues and that these taxes could be used to offset the costs of highway maintenance at a time when federal funds are short.
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The report discussed the proposal in great detail, including the development of technology that would allow total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to be tracked, reported and taxed, as well as the pros and cons of mandating the installation of this technology in all vehicles.
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The Insatiable Liberal Tax Monster

9/11

edit: “about appearing to be “not in keeping with the department’s pro-business goals.”

fiishing the strand….
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9/11…………blame Democrats
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Katrina…. blame Democrats
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war, earthquakes, tsunamis, nuclear meltdowns
……..blame Democrats
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Duke losing
………blame Democrats
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I think I’ve covered all your opinons, haven’t I?

Drug-Resistant ‘Super Bug’ Hits LA County Hospitals, Nursing Homes
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Wars and rumors of wars. Earthquakes. Famine. What was missing? Pestilence.
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Well we have all three now. Enjoy!!
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Matthew 24: “In the midst of this discussion about the temple’s destruction, Jesus makes a statement that has been widely misunderstood and misapplied. He says in verses 6-7, “And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.”.
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http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-matthew-24-6-7.htm

Department of Helpers for Business?

How ’bout ‘Department of Human Servitude’?

God be on your side, but are you on His?

Well we have all three now. Enjoy!!
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The sky is always falling in Rusty Little’s world.

The time has come for the president to announce what exactly the mission in Libya is for the United States, when it will be considered a “success,” when our troops will leave, and when we will stop firing hundreds of $1.5 million missiles.
http://www.sunstateactivist.org

Well, yours is more accurate. I was just trying for some perky truthiness.

“It is not a “they did it too” What it is is showing how pathetically stupid the left’s attacks have become. Denigrate any opponent of Team Donkey while remaining mum of efforts to destroy the economy for their own gains

Not much else for the left to do but defend the indefensible.”
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Freeinpa logic -
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he’s just pointing out that ‘liberals’ do it to, but not to admit that righties do it, or actually do anything or that he find it wrong or for that matter that it’s important. What’s important is that if you isolate the ‘liberal’ offense it shows not that he’s indefensible, but that liberals are indefensible, apart from whatever rightie act that might be indefensible.
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Explained easily as: Righties are VICTIMS of liberal indefensibility – they did it first like they always do and whatever righties do in turn is just righteous vengeance. I mean, enough is enough right? Right?
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Trust me Freeinpa – if I noticed any liberal who tried to destroy the livelyhood of businesses and workers alike i would have something to say about it. Just because you find some kind of pretzel logic to defend the indefensible, I don’t.

I was just trying for some perky truthiness.
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For the record, yours is better. I would consider adding a smiley face on the end, ‘tho…

Isn’t it easier to put them in jail if they broke the law or fire them if appropriate than opinionating about what liberals might or might not want, since by evidence of reading you for so long that you have not the foggiest what a liberal is, thinks or does? We’re not some kind of cartoon on Fox news uncomedy channel.
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You make things so complicated when you wet your pants over your need to hate liberals.

LEFTIST GROUP LA RAZA DEMANDS CONGRESS SIGN ‘PLEDGE FOR RESPECT’ FOR LATINOS
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“The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), a leftist Latino rights group, is launching a campaign to get members of Congress to sign a pledge opposing “irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric toward Latinos,“ reinforcing Hispanics as ”an integral part of the fabric of America, and vowing to denounce “politicians who dehumanize and scapegoat Latinos.”

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But who is La Raza anyways? What have they recently advocated for?
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Maybe you have read about the National Council of La Raza before, maybe you haven’t. Basically, it is a pressure group advocating not only special treatment, but also circumvention of existing immigration laws, for people of Hispanic descent. Abolition of the “false” U.S.-Mexico border is an increasingly popular theme among La Raza members. Likewise they advocate the abolition of the Border Patrol, which they call La Migra.
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Like many such groups that bill themselves as advocating “civil rights” for minorities, La Raza seems to have received an ample share of funding from establishment foundations. For example, between 1986 and 1992, the Ford Foundation gave $3,000,000 to La Raza, and has added more funding in recent years.
Representative Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas) has introduced a bill that would force the taxpayers to the group. The bill, named the Hope Fund Act of 2007 (H.R. 1999), would allot $5 million to La Raza in 2008, and $10 million each year thereafter.
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Because La Raza advocates legislation beneficial to illegal immigrants, H.R. 1999 would, in effect, compel U.S. taxpayers to subsidize a group that engages in lobbying against the interests of most Americans.
La Raza advocates the elimination of the U.S.-Mexico border, and actively supports legislation that would grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants currently residing within the United States.
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According to its website, La Raza also supports immigration bills that would:
* create a path to citizenship for the current illegal immigrant population;
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* create an earned adjustment program for illegal farm workers who would be eligible to apply for temporary immigration status;
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* create an earned adjustment program for illegal aliens (and their spouses and children) who meet specified requirements;
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* increase to 21 the eligibility age for derivative citizenship;
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* provide for derivative citizenship status for spouses and children of H-1D and H-2B visa workers.
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Watch and learn…
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First it is not based on quantity of plants, but per watt produced. And to get a better understanding here is the full report from which the chart is derived.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2011/03/deaths-per-twh-by-energy-source.html

DOH!! “I Didn’t Know About It”
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Obama says he didn’t inform Mexico of U.S. gun smuggling operation because he didn’t know about it
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Well, why not?
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“Under fire for an operation that allowed smuggling of U.S. weapons across the nation’s border with Mexico, President Obama said in an interview that neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder authorized the controversial “Operation Fast and Furious.”
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The Mexican government has complained that it didn’t know about the U.S. operation that allowed guns to illegally cross the southwestern border so they could track the weapons.
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Obama told Univision‘s Jorge Ramos that President Felipe Calderon wasn’t informed of the operation because he — the president of the United States — wasn’t informed either. When asked whether he knew of the weapon smuggling plan, Obama responded that it is “a pretty big government” with “a lot of moving parts.”
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The investigation into the program comes after it was connected to two weapons that were found at the scene of a border shootout that killed U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December. Likewise, a gun smuggled from the U.S. were used to kill Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Jamie Zapata, but it has not been determined if it was part of “Fast and Furious.”

Is The Ivory Coast Next On The Agenda For “Humanitarian Reasons?”
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GENEVA (Reuters) – Up to one million Ivorians have now fled fighting in the main city Abidjan alone, with others uprooted across the country, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday as violence escalated in a 4-month power struggle.
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Hours ahead of a U.N. Security Council debate, France announced it had submitted a draft U.N. resolution banning the use of heavy weapons in Abidjan. The United Nations has accused forces loyal to incumbent Laurent Gbagbo of such attacks, which his camp strenuously denies.
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“The massive displacement in Abidjan and elsewhere is being fuelled by fears of all-out war,” UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a news briefing in Geneva.
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“Available estimates are that between 700,000 and one million could now be displaced,” Fleming told reporters.

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Nah, I don’t think this is a major concern for George Soros.

How Fast Can You Say…. “Weiner Waiver Wormhole”
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New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner toasted the one-year anniversary of Obamacare this week — and accidentally spilled his champagne glass all over the disastrous, one-size-fits-all mandate. Ostensibly one of the federal health care law’s staunchest defenders, Weiner exposed its ultimate folly by pushing for a special cost-saving regulatory exemption for New York City.
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If it’s good for the city Weiner wants to be mayor of, why not for each and every individual American and American business that wants to be free of Obamacare’s shackles?
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Weiner joins a bevy of the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s” loudest cheerleaders — unions, foundations and left-leaning corporations — in clamoring for more waivers for favors. (The list of federal waiver recipients now tops 1,000, covering more than 2.6 million workers.) And he follows a gaggle of health care takeover-promoting Democrats maneuvering on Capitol Hill for get-out-of-Obamacare loopholes.

Showing why I felt it was long past time that NPR got rid of Juan Williams.

In his column on Fox.com,

Juan Williams rebuked the Washington Post for downplaying a poll measuring the views of blacks and Latinos on the recession. The poll, which the Post itself helped produce, showed those groups were more optimistic than whites about the U.S. economy despite being hit harder in the downturn. According to Williams, the Post’s poll coverage “did not make its front page” but instead was “buried” in the business section. This was typical, Williams said, of “big media’s inability to report on good news when it comes to life among people of color.”

He goes on with the unjust media stuff and how they hold back any good news about people of color.

There’s one little problem with Williams’ complaint: The Washington Post hardly buried its poll. In fact, as an error report at MediaBugs details, it ran an in-depth story about its findings on the front page of the Sunday, Feb. 20 print edition — replete with a large, sunny photo illustration and oversized headline. The Post also produced an extensive multimedia package around the story on its website.

There is a picture of that front page at the link.

http://mediabugs.org/blog/2011/03/24/juan-williams-fox-news/

A Man-Made Energy Crisis
.

Gas is well over $4 a gallon in most places in California — and soaring elsewhere as well. But are such high energy prices good or bad?
.
That should be a stupid question. Yet it is not, when the Obama administration has stopped new domestic offshore oil exploration in many American waters, curbed oil leases in the West, and keeps oil-rich areas of Alaska exempt from drilling. Last week, President Obama went to Brazil and declared of that country’s new offshore finds: “With the new oil finds off Brazil, President [Dilma] Rousseff has said that Brazil wants to be a major supplier of new stable sources of energy, and I’ve told her that the United States wants to be a major customer, which would be a win-win for both our countries.”

.
When does it make sense to have another country drill our own oil and sell it back to us? Stupid is as stupid does.

So pestilence is because humans have used to much antibiotics to treat every single minor wound that 20 years ago was taken care of by soap and water and moms kiss on the forehead?
.
It’s Friday but the lord wanted me to tell you to put a sock in it; the stomach flue you got was not because the anti-crist is walking the earth – it’s because you keep licking all the wrong things.

What doesn’t make sense is the fact that the above moratorium is not the reason. Real analysis shows that the oil is overpriced because of speculation, the same speculation that spiked the oil price in 2007 and then suddenly dropped like a stone when speculation hit a wall of analysis showing that it was in fact – speculation.
.
But I get it – anything to blame Obama for anything.

After initially claiming that his account was hacked, and that he would NEVER do such a thing, Lam has now resigned after admitting that he indeed sent the e-mail.
.
Gov. Walker’s (R-WI) staff says they never saw the email suggesting they stage a fake assassination of the governor to delegitimize his union opponents.
.
Their defense: Lam may have smoked but THEY didn’t “inhale”.
.
Another one of those “plausible deniability” instances. The e-mail can be proven to have been delivered to the target e-mail account. Everyone with ANY political vulnerability on this will just claim they deleted it without reading it (which, by this point, it undoubtedly has been).

“that the Democrats have not done or offered anything either”
.
See? BirtherinPA is branching out. Instead of ‘they do it, too!”, he’s going with “they didn’t do anything, too!”.
.
Progress?

Oh goodie. Rusty Rod is back with his edition of The Late Great Planet Earth clutched firmly in hand. Glad to see he never strays too far from his previous theories about Obama possibly being the anti-Christ.
.
Unless he’s now reached a point where he’s parodying himself. Which is some new level of madness for even Ol’ Rusty Rod.

“The best you get with that approach is ‘a pox on both houses’. Which I might actually agree with.”
.
How magnanimous of you. Equating a false attack with a plan to bring down the economy. You are a Moron.
.
“Trust me Freeinpa – if I noticed any liberal who tried to destroy the livelyhood of businesses and workers alike i would have something to say about it. Just because you find some kind of pretzel logic to …”
.
Well apparently that is a lie since you did nothing in 3 paragraphs but make an idiotic attempt of how YOU think my logic works. So in this instance you avoid defending the indefensible by just trashing the carrier of the message. Pathetic even for you but then its Friday and those single digit brain cells of your are no doubt exhausted.

According to its website, La Raza also supports immigration bills that would:
* create a path to citizenship for the current illegal immigrant population;
.
* create an earned adjustment program for illegal farm workers who would be eligible to apply for temporary immigration status;
.
* create an earned adjustment program for illegal aliens (and their spouses and children) who meet specified requirements;
.
* increase to 21 the eligibility age for derivative citizenship;
.
* provide for derivative citizenship status for spouses and children of H-1D and H-2B visa workers.

.
A pretty reasonable list, and a good starting point for a dialog.
.
Unless you’re Rusty Rod. Then, this is a manifesto for the violent overthrow of America so that La Raza can form a North American Union with a 25 lane super highway connecting it all.

Freak,
.
Learner no longer works for the SEIU.
.
Keep in mind that irresponsible banking is the cause of the financial meltdown.
.
Also, keep in mind that every single day there are Republicans talking about the destruction of labor unions and often actually working on the project.
.
So, here is a fair version of the story:
.
Learner gets sick of right wingers particularly in finance attacking labor and comes up with a wild idea he gives at a speech. He gets fired.
.
Why is this interesting? Learner represents Learner and nobody else while the governor of Wisconsin represents both Wisconsin and the Republican Party.
.
It is not joke that the Reichstag fire in 1933 was a false flag operation by the Nazis (the prevailing theory is that it was a false flag operation) four weeks after Hitler became Chancellor (in a coalition with conservative political parties, not with any liberals in the coalition) which was used to end civil liberties (arresting elected members of the communist and social democratic Parties – since Nazis hated Communists, social Democrats and liberals) and it is sick that an actual prosecutor would consider doing the same in the US to shut down unions.
.
Hitler shut down the unions right after he took power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire
.
All you can do is find a fired union member who had a strange idea.

“Isn’t it easier to put them in jail if they broke the law or fire them if appropriate than opinionating”.

.
It would be but then we have yet to see it happen have we? Geithner (tax fraud) Rangel (tax fraud) just to start the list. Only in your little delusional world do you think it happens and then degrade the right because they call for the government to shrink which is the only way you can reduce this.,

.
“We’re not some kind of cartoon on Fox news uncomedy channel.”
.
You are right – You are just a joke no matter where you are.

“In an ever growing and tax gobbling government, now we see more innovative means to collect more taxes.”
.
You’re a paranoid, brainwashed, partisan loon.

Amid complaints about high taxes and calls for a smaller government, Americans paid their lowest level of taxes last year since Harry Truman’s presidency, a USA TODAY analysis of federal data found.
.
Some conservative political movements such as the “Tea Party” have criticized federal spending as being out of control. While spending is up, taxes have fallen to exceptionally low levels.
.
Federal, state and local income taxes consumed 9.2% of all personal income in 2009, the lowest rate since 1950, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reports. That rate is far below the historic average of 12% for the last half-century. The overall tax burden hit bottom in December at 8.8.% of income before rising slightly in the first three months of 2010.

We need to start taxing billionaires, big time.
.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2010-05-10-taxes_N.htm

No MOron MOm it is just you and grape nuts with a view the right is evil and gives idiotic reasons to condemn the right for the power hungry money grabbing liberals who should be jailed for malpractice.
.
Many you should branch out and have a coherent thought. But then if you sobered up we would have to take your shoelaces and belt away because you might thave to face the fact that the things you complain about the right (falsely) are actually things that the left does. You pathetic little world then melts down.
.
It isn’t “me too” but it’s always the right. Somehow you will manage to blame Bush for not having a budget this year. And you will believe too

Freak,
.
Follow this line of thought:
.
If all people working for the government during a Democratic administration are liberal then all people working during a Republican administration are conservative.
.

One of those charged is a long-time IRS agent, Michael Doyle, of New Hampshire. He allegedly falsely claimed that he bought a home in 2008 to qualify for the credit, but actually purchased the property in 2007..

.
So, Michael Doyle is an example of Republican corruption since he committed these crimes while Bush was the president.

Yes as expected BlowHard we get your idiot logic. Gorelick set up the wall between the intelligence agencies and the FBI so information could not be shared.

One of the most Irritating doublespeak terms: pro-business.
.
So-called pro-business policies is allowing corporations to do environmental harm destroying other businesses and private property with impunity.
.
The other pro-business concept is to destroy the earnings of consumers who will buy these products by destroying organized labor.
.
In business, one does wish to lower their own labor costs as much as possible, of course. However, they will wish to see the wages of all other employers of all kinds go up so that there will be people able buy their products.
.
Anti-environment is anti business.
.
Anti- Labor is anti business.
.
Even when a business wishes to get workers to work hard for free, they, also, wish everybody else be unionized and make a great income.

“So, Michael Doyle is an example of Republican corruption since he committed these crimes while Bush was the president.”
.
Well we have nearly the entire bat crap crazy left accounted for today. Only IQ5 is missing to give his delusional nonsense.
.
There is no mention in my post of people in a given administration as being liberal or conservative but then how could you stretch your imbecilic thought (thought is too strong a word) to connect a Republican. What the post pointed out try and follow I know you are a dropout, is the liberal bent to have agency after agency to guard against exactly what they agencies commit — fraud.
.
I mention Geithner and Rangel to Hippo’s post that it would be easy to ahve them jailed then complain. Obviously Hippo is as deluded as you.since they remain.

grape_crush@4,
.
Odd story, isn’t it? What was this guy thinking? It’s not like Gov Scott Walker was lacking death threats from lefty loons and union thugs. Death threats against Gov Walker were all the rage on Twitter a few weeks ago.
.

“The sky is always falling in Rusty Little’s world.”
.
Really Rusty’s world? I seem to be blocked on all the uplifting post from grape nuts little world

“…with a view the right is evil and gives idiotic reasons to condemn the right for the power hungry money grabbing liberals who should be jailed for malpractice.”.
.
In one sentence, Freak in Pa manages to both accuse liberals of demonizing conservatives, while, also, demonizing liberals.
.
This is a known as projecting:
.

Psychological projection or projection bias is a psychological defense mechanism where a person unconsciously denies his or her own attributes, thoughts, and emotions, which are then ascribed to the outside world, such as to other people. Thus, projection involves imagining or projecting the belief that others have those feelings.[1]

Projection reduces anxiety by allowing the expression of the unwanted unconscious impulses or desires without letting the conscious mind recognize them.

An example of this behavior might be blaming another for self failure. The mind may avoid the discomfort of consciously admitting personal faults by keeping those feelings unconscious, and by redirecting libidinal satisfaction by attaching, or “projecting,” those same faults onto another person or object.

.
.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection
.
If you weren’t such a drunken, hung over wreck first thing in the morning, you’d realize that you are not being called evil in this case, but, just mathematically impaired or stupid.

shepherdwong@18.1,
.
How about we start with Obama’s pals at GE?
.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html?_r=1&hp
.
GE which gave us Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow pays no taxes. In fact it get’s corporate welfare.

By the way, how is the “kinetic military action” going?

Nice that you mentioned that, paulejb.
.
I’m sure, of course, that you don’t mind if I point out that the Spokane Bomber was caught, and is most certainly a right winger.

I agree that our schools are faling at a fundamental level – they are “creating” all too many ill-informed citizens who deny basic science, basic economics and basic common sense – you, freep, rod, dear old textee and the putz you are citing here being (non) textbook examples.

.

According to this Pournelle person you cite, we should cut the less intelligent off at the knees and devote whatever resources are left after the Tea Party is done to the more “potentially productive”. There is actually no evidence to suggest that that the kids in the “talented tenth” are coming up short in education in any sort of way: inded, if applications to colleges are any indication, the number of high performing students is exploding (largely, it must be said, due to the growth of Asian tudents in the mix).

Really, the poor field of education is so bedeviled by people who haven’t a clue of what they are talking about. In terms of education, the problem is much more one of tiers – school systems in poorer communities, and poorer states are increasingly unable to deal with the socio-economic pathologies that have really begun to drag down America’s working class. It has almost nothing to do with the abiity to fire teachers (not that there isn’t a teacher here or there that ought not be removed, or at least limited to Phys Ed). But the right wing critique of schools is completely upside down – as any comparison of AMerican school systems to its higher performing European and Asian counterparts will reveal.

.

There any number of factors leading to New York’s (and California’s, and New Jersey’s, etc.) deficit situation, including unsustainable Medicaid formulas, an hugely overbuilt prison system and over-reliance on financial gimmickry, but the pay of teachers is no factor of all. Not that facts are of any concern to your crowd.

Freak,
.
This essay looks like it was written by a nine year old.
.

The only rational purpose of a tax paid school system is to produce more productive and better citizens. If it doesn’t accomplish that, there is no justification for making everyone pay for it.

.
So, a majority of Americans are totally illiterate and unable to do simple math?
.
Obviously this is where life in America was in 1789 and until the beginning of the past century when school attendance was not mandatory and parents home-schooled children or just didn’t teach them at all, if they themselves had anything to teach.
.
So, this is absurd.
.

There is certainly no justification for taxing a person on a $44,000 income to pay salary and benefits including pensions to someone making $50,000 simply because the teacher is entitled to the money.

.
Wait? What about the private,for profit sector of the economy? Does this pretzel logic get applied to them, too?
.

There is certainly no justification for billing a person on a $44,000 income to pay salary and benefits including pensions to someone making $250,000 simply because the attorney is entitled to the money.

.
Yes there is! The attorney learned more and, therefore, earns more.
.

There is certainly no justification for billing a person on a $44,000 income to pay salary and benefits including pensions to someone making $350,000 simply because the doctor is entitled to the money.

.
Yes there is! See above.
.

There is certainly no justification for billing a person on a $44,000 income to pay salary and benefits including pensions to someone making $250,000 simply because the attorney is entitled to the money.

.

There is certainly no justification for billing a person on a $44,000 income to pay salary and benefits including pensions to someone making $2,500,000 simply because the CEO is entitled to the money.

.
See above. (It’s the 25 million dollar salaries which has Economists alarmed since people will, gladly, be CEOs for as little as a million dollars per year.
.
So, if government should be like the private, for profit sector then teachers should get pay in this range.
.

The most effective way to get better and more productive citizens is to allocate resources in a way that benefits those who can benefit the most: make sure the best and the brightest regardless of their race or social or economic status get the most education.

.
So, what is this?
.
How would this apply to a conservative loved branch of government, the military?
.

The most effective way to get better and wars won is to allocate resources in a way that benefits those who can benefit the most: make sure easiest enemies to defeat, regardless of their race or social or economic status get the most all of the top special forces soldiers while the hardest battles to win get the ones who failed out of boot camp.

.
Nope.
.
How about the second favorite type of government agency of conservatives, law enforcement?
.

The most effective way to get better and more productive citizens is to allocate resources in a way that benefits those who can benefit the most: make sure the least crime ridden areas regardless of their race or social or economic status get the most qualified crime investigators.

.
Nope.
.
It is still useless drivel.
.
What mental patient did you link, to, Freak?
.
I never heard of this guy?
.
Is he one of your high school teachers in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s disease?

.
.

No, I’m here, freeinpa, but they have it handled.
.
But have you ever thought about why you label my commentary as “delusional”?
.
Maybe it has to do more with your inability to come to grips with it…

Patrick,
.
I am deeply sorry that I had insulted your walls.

Can’t have one running off the plantation

Removing ad hominem attacks from your post:
.

Well we have nearly the entire bat crap crazy left accounted for today. Only IQ5 is missing to give his delusional nonsense.
.
There is no mention in my post of people in a given administration as being liberal or conservative but then how could you stretch your imbecilic thought (thought is too strong a word) to connect a Republican. What the post pointed out try and follow I know you are a dropout, is the liberal bent to have agency after agency to guard against exactly what they agencies commit — fraud.
.
I mention Geithner and Rangel to Hippo’s post that it would be easy to ahve them jailed then complain. Obviously Hippo is as deluded as you.since they remain.

.
Let’s clean that up.
.

There is no mention in my post of people in a given administration as being liberal or conservative What the post pointed out the liberal bent to have agency after agency to guard against exactly what they agencies commit – fraud.

I mention Geithner and Rangel to Hippo’s post that it would be easy to ahve them jailed then complain.

.
Okay.
.
“What the post pointed out the liberal bent to have agency after agency to guard against exactly what they agencies commit – fraud.”.
.
Your article did not prove that the IRS as an agency committed fraud. You have located a few individuals who work for the IRS who committed fraud.
.
So, let’s correct that:
.

There is no mention in my post of people in a given administration as being liberal or conservative What the post pointed out the liberal bent to have agency after agency to guard against exactly what individuals commit – fraud.

.
Now that makes sense.
.
Yes, liberals hate it when people commit fraud.

The public school finance crisis is waking up moderates from their Tea Party-induced slumber.
.
http://www.dallasobserver.com/2011-03-17/news/the-public-school-finance-crisis-is-waking-up-moderates-from-their-tea-party-induced-slumber/
.
The GOP just doesn’t care about you

53_3@4.13,
.
Don’t mind at all, 53. I understand the need for some to cling to their superstitions.
.
Of course it’s a bit of a stretch to compare one lone idiot with an organized campaign of terror by a union group.

“Gorelick set up the wall between the intelligence agencies and the FBI so information could not be shared..
.

On July 11, 1941, Donovan was named Coordinator of Information (COI). America’s foreign intelligence organizations at the time were fragmented and isolated from each other. The Army, Navy, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Department of State, and other interests each ran their own intelligence operations, the results of which they were reluctant to share with the other departments. Donovan was the nominal director of this unwieldy system, but was plagued over the course of the next year with jurisdictional battles. Few of the leaders in the intelligence community were willing to part with any of the power that the current ad hoc system granted them. The FBI, for example, under the control of Donovan’s rival J. Edgar Hoover, insisted on retaining its autonomy in South America.

.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Joseph_Donovan#OSS
.
The lines between CIA and FBI were being debated back and forth since the CIA’s predecessor, The OSS.
.
Nice try, Freak.

wow. Just…wow.
.
I don’t know about anyone else, but the sky is clear here, with puffy white clouds, birds are tweeting, and it’s even a little warm.
.
Wait!. Wait a sec.
.
I see it! I giant hand in the sky.
.
Jesus. It’s huge. Hmmm.
.
It’s moving just about directly east from here. Looks like it’s getting ready to flick something…

I seem to be blocked on all the uplifting post from grape nuts little world
.
How ’bout mentions of TARP fund paybacks? Revival of the US auto industry? Don’t you consider the first ‘Plan B’ post to be good news?
.
And…you missed all those desserts?
.
No wonder you’re such a cranky ‘ol troll.

Does that 43% Hispanic increase include illegals?

Yes, the first thing I thought when I read that article in the Times this morning, was It’s Obama’s fault that GE also does the Double Irish. If you don’t know what the Double Irish means, there were Swampland comments around March 17th.
.

Over the last decade, G.E. has spent tens of millions of dollars to push for changes in tax law, from more generous depreciation schedules on jet engines to “green energy” credits for its wind turbines. But the most lucrative of these measures allows G.E. to operate a vast leasing and lending business abroad with profits that face little foreign taxes and no American taxes as long as the money remains overseas.
.
Company officials say that these measures are necessary for G.E. to compete against global rivals and that they are acting as responsible citizens. “G.E. is committed to acting with integrity in relation to our tax obligations,” said Anne Eisele, a spokeswoman. “We are committed to complying with tax rules and paying all legally obliged taxes. At the same time, we have a responsibility to our shareholders to legally minimize our costs.”
.
The assortment of tax breaks G.E. has won in Washington has provided a significant short-term gain for the company’s executives and shareholders. While the financial crisis led G.E. to post a loss in the United States in 2009, regulatory filings show that in the last five years, G.E. has accumulated $26 billion in American profits, and received a net tax benefit from the I.R.S. of $4.1 billion.

.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/business/economy/25tax.html?_r=1&hp

Hippoath FTW!!!!!!

patricksartor@6.6.
.
“Yes, liberals hate it when people commit fraud.”
.
Than you will be delighted to learn that Texas is well on the way to passing a voter ID law. Voters will actually have to prove that they are eligible to vote with a photo ID.

^ …

“Gee, our President and his Administration are doing such a great job managing all of these revolutions. We need to throw a party I think.”
.
Please give examples of managing revolutions.
.
Did France do a good job of managing the American Revolution?
.
Did the Kaiser’s Germany do a good job of managing the Russian Revolution?
.
Our hopes all go towards a secular democracy.
.
Those believing that there will soon be a secular democracy in Egypt have not yet been proven right or wrong.
.
Any actual suggestions for the administration?

Ivy_B@18.3,
.
Do you suppose that you or I could get away with that, Ivy?

Analysis: State faces hundreds of thousands of job cuts
271,746 in 2012 and 335,244 in 2013 in private, government sectors
.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7490488.html
.
The GOP just doesn’t care about you

Since the children born here would be US citizens, this is a fair question.
.
It also raises questions that might accrue to certain administrations* over that same period of time with regard to the exploitation of immigrants for the purpose of driving down wages in the US.
.
*note plural

Oh I don’t know, but 7 members of my family are legal. I am proud of everyone of them.

Interesting insight, 53_3.
.
Allthings, my family is legal too! It’s great!

“Since the children born here would be US citizens, this is a fair question.”
.
I do not think so. If they are born here it makes no difference where there parents are from. They are citizens and can not be accused of being foreign born and have every legal right including to be President.
.
I can remember when the GOP was talking about changing the Constitution so that a Foreign born Governor could run for President, AKA The Terminator.

My Bad that should be 7 Hispanic members of my family………

allthings…@31,
.
The last section of that article takes the wind out of your sails, allthings. The job loss figures are contested as fanciful.
.
The GOP does care about you.

allthings…@30.2,
.
Only seven are legal, allthings?

Well, if I were a large enough corporation, it seems I could get away with quite a lot. Especially now since my “speech” is equal to that of a person.

Many years ago (sigh), back when nuclear plants were malfunctioning in Pennsylvania, I was an intern at the Depratment of Energy. One of my favorite statistics in the studies we were doing was “Man-deaths per 10,000 Kilowatts generated” (or MDp10k for short). Simply put, it attempted to measure “how many people do you probably kill gnerating a given amount of electricity?” At the time, it was judged that nuclear energy had a “Man death” factor of roughly .2, while oil was around .4 (mostly at accidents at refineries) and natural gas a .6 (explosions and so forth. Coal, with its miners’ deaths, respiratory deiseases and probably cancer iassues, has a “MDp1ok” of somewhere between 2.1 and 4. This was before we fully appreciated the “externallities” of oil, gas and coal usage, i.e. thatfact that they destroy the ozone layer and cause the planet to heat up.

.

When you get into the details, you discover that nuclear power – to paraphrase Winston Churchill – is the worst source of power except for everything else. It has to be done thoughtfully, to be sure. One can ill afford a mistake, especially with the spent fuel rods. But what nuclear power doesn’t do is heat up the planet, and also what it doesn’t do is run out. Ironically, any serious effort to save the planet from overheating must make considerable use of nuclear power (along with the development of solar, wind and hydro, to be sure), to do otherwise is to simply run of time and fossuil fuels, with disastrous results.

“It would be but then we have yet to see it happen have we? Geithner (tax fraud) Rangel (tax fraud) just to start the list. Only in your little delusional world do you think it happens and then degrade the right because they call for the government to shrink which is the only way you can reduce this.,””
.
And I’ve written here and elsewhere that I don’t want Geithner and Rangel in our political system either. Again – you continue to live in that fantasy world about what you think a ‘liberal’ is. So this is about your victimhood? We degrade ‘you’ by showing you rightie wrongdoings where you then pretzel yourself by saying liberals do it too but you don’t mean to say that this means that you also acknowledge any right wrongdoing?
.
This is like the discussion about money in our systems. You attack money for Democrats but doesn’t find anything wrong with money for GOP. Funny that. I find it corrosive no matter who gets it. I know you don’t believe that, that would kind of penetrate the fantasy you build around your hatred (for justification I suppose) but it really doesn’t matter what you believe about me now does it? Only what I know about myself.
.
Again – if someone commit a crime – put them in prison, or otherwise fire them. I don’t believe in amoral or criminal behavior regardless of which tribe they belong too. I don’t know about you, but you don’t seem to find anything that warrant something similar for righties, other than we’re ‘persecuting’ ‘you’.
.
“”We’re not some kind of cartoon on Fox news uncomedy channel.”
.
You are right – You are just a joke no matter where you are.”
That was…lame. That didn’t even measure as a 1 on the scale of comebacks. It was more the wet sound of you throwing in the towel. I wouldn’t even call it a nice try.

24

One Leader In The World Is Taking Action:
.
What has Obama done? NOTHING

.
newfreedomblog
March 10, 2011
at 11:15 am
.
From the article this liberal was quoting from:
.

In a major diplomatic victory for the Libyan opposition, France has become the first country to formally recognise Libya’s rebel leadership, pledging to exchange ambassadors between Paris and the Libyan opposition stronghold of Benghazi.

.
http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/03/10/morning-must-reads-stage/
.
Maybe instead of George Soros the President was listening to you.
.
Out of one butt cheek you say you wanted us in Libya.
.
Out of the other butt cheel you say you want us to stay out of Libya.
.
Before the president did so, I agreed with you the first time.
.
I even called you “liberal”.

WelI guess you think you are being cute, when in fact you know nothing about me. I said Hispanic members, I am not Hispanic.

“Well apparently that is a lie since you did nothing in 3 paragraphs but make an idiotic attempt of how YOU think my logic works. So in this instance you avoid defending the indefensible by just trashing the carrier of the message. Pathetic even for you but then its Friday and those single digit brain cells of your are no doubt exhausted.”
.
I see – you pretzel yourself into a corner trying to both attack liberals for something they did similar to righties but at the same time not meaning that this means that righties are bad. And that is the same as me saying that I would do something if there was a liberal who wanted to destroy businesses and workers? Are you for real? In what special universe is this considered logic?
.
Bud – how about me saying I WOULD is defending the INDEFENSIBLE? But kudos on the lame 1 braincell referense. Nothing says ‘I got a winner’ as first slapping yourself in the face with idjut logic speak and then pretending you just had a ‘lights on’ in regards to mental juggling. Anyways – nice pretzel.

allthings…@30.7,
.
Temper, temper. It was a joke, allthings. You need to lighten up.

Well I guess you didn’t read to the end then.
.
F. Scott McCown of the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which focuses on low- and moderate-income Texans, took issue with the Legislative Budget Board suggesting the jobs impact could be attributed to the recession.

“In fact, the damage would come, not from the recession, but from how we dealt with the recession in the budget,” McCown said. “If Texas made a better budget choice, we would get better economic outcomes.”

He cited spending the entire rainy-day fund and adding new revenue through such means as “eliminating outmoded or wasteful tax exemptions, expanding tax bases and raising certain tax rates … to foster economic growth by supporting investments in education and continuation of state services.”

pfikac@express-news.net

.
The GOP just doesn’t care about you.

“Of course it’s a bit of a stretch to compare one lone idiot with an organized campaign of terror by a union group.”
.
Anytime and anyday now the organized campaign of terror will start. Right after socialism destroyed whatever was left of America after run amock finance industry flattened it.
.
But anyways. I hope that police is investigation any threat, done to anyone and if they’re guilty, sends them to prison.
.
Done.

What temper? Disdain perhaps, but not temper.

Ivy_B@18.5,
.
Charlie Rangel and Tim Geithner are not corporations. Do you believe that you or I would skate on tax evasion as they did?

newfreedom…@23,
.
Leave the Ivory Coast to the French. It’s on to Syria for the Obama gang. Or maybe not.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D, NY) thinks that New York City might be a candidate for a waiver from the health care law passed by Congress last year.

Weiner is believed to be a possible mayoral candidate in 2013, and he believes that the city’s health care could be sufficient on its own to accomplish what Obama Care set out to do without having to participate in it. As one of the more liberal Democrats on the Hill and an advocate of the law and someone who pushed very hard for a public option, it might seem to be counterintuitive that Weiner would even suggest that the city could seek to opt out of the law, but it is precisely because of his belief in Obama Care (Weiner does not believe in allowing the opposition to co-opt language hence Obama Care) that he is bringing up the possiblity.

Weiner believes that this is a real option for the city and while he cannot push it through himself, he believes that as

We in New York already have hospitals, we already employ doctors and we employ nurses. We have a lot of uninsured people. … [Setting up] the exchanges is the one piece of the puzzle that would be difficult for us to do. I’m just looking internally to whether the city can save money and have more control over its own destiny.

Weiner thinks that the flexibility of the law will become more apparent as people become familiar with it and come to understand how it can better serve communities. So far, that does not seem to be happening, but he remains optimistic.

.
https://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-new-york/weiner-thinks-waiver-from-healthcare-might-work-for-nyc
.
.
Weiner believes in using New York City Hospitals, paid for by the City of New York could be used as a replacement of the public option and even the individual mandate.
.
My God, the humanity!
.

Rusty, you have Weiner envy.
.
Your wife says that your “sleeping white giant” as you write about is only three inches. So, it’s no wonder you have Weiner envy.

General Electric, the nation’s largest corporation, had a very good year in 2010.

The company reported worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, and said $5.1 billion of the total came from its operations in the United States.

Its American tax bill? None. In fact, G.E. claimed a tax benefit of $3.2 billion.
.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), when asked about GE’s zero percent tax rate today on CNBC, replied that the real problem is the U.S. corporate tax rate is too high:

We have to be concerned about what the business environment is in the U.S. here. We can’t afford to have the highest tax rate in the world…Those are individual companies. I think overall, we really can’t be looking at a corporate tax rate much higher than 25 percent because that’s the world average. So we’re sitting up there at 35 percent, that’s just the wrong signal.
.
http://www.dailykos.com/
.
The GOP just doesn’t care about you

“Than [sic] you will be delighted to learn that Texas is well on the way to passing a voter ID law. Voters will actually have to prove that they are eligible to vote with a photo ID.”
.
Does, Republican controlled Texas have an existing voter fraud problem?
.
The Right Wing bent to have agency after agency to guard against exactly what individuals almost never commit commit – voter fraud – is a waste of tax money and can be used to keep the poor, including many blacks and Latinos from voting.

There is absolutely nothing in all of post 18 that mentions Geitner or Rangel. I responded only to your link of the article on GE not paying any corporate taxes and the way you implied it was Obama’s fault. I’m not following you into some down some off topic lane. Shouldn’t have responded in the first place.

“Charlie Rangel and Tim Geithner are not corporations. Do you believe that you or I would skate on tax evasion as they did?”
.
Stop lying, @sshole.
.
They paid their back taxes and penalties just like anyone else would have been required to do.

“Charlie Rangel and Tim Geithner are not corporations. Do you believe that you or I would skate on tax evasion as they did?”
.
No, but if you were a politically connected person of either party, you might.
.
At least the law says that these people must pay taxes. If they had GE’s power, there would be the Geithner/Rangle,/Boehner/Ried/Canter exemption written into the tax code.

allthings…@31.2,
.
Cute, but no cigar, allthings. You seem to have overlooked this…
.
“We have a trillion-dollar economy in Texas. There’s 9.5 million people employed in Texas. I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination the budget that we pass is going to cost many – it may result in hundreds of job losses, but I would really doubt if it would be in the thousands,” he said. “Most economic analysts would say that if you raise taxes to increase government spending, you’ll cost jobs.”
.
Travis Tullos, regional economist with Austin-based consulting firm TXP, described the LBB’s prediction as a “worst-case scenario, generally speaking.”
.
“If you were to increase taxes sufficient to cover that deficit – whatever that ends up being -that would be more deleterious to the economy than going ahead with a more conservative budget,” Tullos said.
.
Democrats don’t care about the truth.

See 18+ You may not realize that it’s Obama’s fault.

That’s okay.
.
A new paint job to clean away their tears should take care of it.

allthings…@30.9,
.
“Methinks thou doth protest too much.”

allthings…@32,
.
GE, led by Jeffrey Immelt, with it’s subsidiary of NBC have acted as Barack Hussein Obama’s Ministry of Propaganda since 2007.
.
Why should we be surprised at their tax holiday?
.
Democrats don’t care about the truth.

“It may result in hundreds of job losses, but I would really doubt if it would be in the thousands,” he said.”
.
The truth? Four Thousand Teachers laid off in the DISD alone. Whole community college districts eliminated. Thousands laid off in Ft worth, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Plano, Irving, Lewisville, Lake Dallas, On and on we are talking some 100,000 teachers alone across the state.
.
You just don’t know $hit and it shows,
.
The GOP just doesn’t care about you or your children

hippooath@4.16,
.
The organized campaign is ongoing, with death threats, arm twisting, threats of boycotts, intimidation, and the undermining of democratic processes.
.
Your blanket condemnation of threat makers is commendable but it seems a bit perfunctory.

I have to look no further than 32.2 to see the ignorance on this board.

Ivy_B@18.7,
.
Read the comments again, Ivy. I suggested that you nor I could get away with GE’s reasons for not paying taxes. You replied that you could if you were a corporation. I pointed out that Rangel and Geithner were not corporations but they did get a pass on tax evasion. It all followed a logical sequence.

“Methinks…”
.
Judging from your posts, that is a questionable statement.

Well, Paulie, since the Iraq War paid for itself using Iraqi oil and we had such large budget surpluses as the world stands behind us from finding all of those Weapons of Mass Destruction, it’s going great.
.
Paulie, while we’re on this topic, please explain what I asked about yesterday:
.
Follow the script. It says very clearly on page 84, section 9 paragraph four in the third sentence of the Wingnut’s handbok:
.
“When a war begins, all wingnuts must immediately get together holding American flags shouting “U S A! U S A!” to make sure that if the enemy attacks the US they will know from the sound of your shouting that they are in the right place and wave signs saying Support Our Troops”.
.
(Personally, if I suspected that the enemy was going to attack, I would want to shout “Canada! Cana Da! This is Can a da! Please don’t shoot us!)
.
I hope you’re not changing the script because, I am not going to read your side of the script from 2005.
.
Are your marching orders from the Koch brothers to do an about face and take the role of anti-war protesters?
.
I mean, you’ve re-written World War II to say that Hitler was a liberal (with no explanation as to why he used liberals and social democrats as kindling to heat up the ovens at the death camps before the Jews were sent there) are you going to, now, re-write history to say that the anti-war movement was conservative and that hippies were Republican?
.
I understand and support limited actions in Libya so long as we are acting with the majority of Libyans, have international support and have a very, very limited troop commitment, but I am not going to take over the wingnut role of painting my face red white and blue and shouting “U S A! U S A!” (if you thought New York was not a part of the the United States, you, really got bad homeschooling – so why shout it out?)
.
Please do explain this about face.

patricksartor@6.9,
.
“Does Republican controlled Texas have an existing voter fraud problem?”
.
How else would a Democrat get elected in Texas?

Paulie,

GE has been getting big tax breaks for decades.
.
Yes, it is pitiful that neither party has addressed this problem yet, but, when the topic of balancing budgets come up, when a reporter or constituent puts it in your face, why resist it?

shepherdwong@18.8,
.
Really? They were treated just like any other tax evader would be? What was the penalty that Geithner and Rangel paid?
.
Democrats don’t care about the truth.

patricksartor@18.9,
.
Don’t forget Sen Claire McCaskill [D-MO]. Another Democrat who believes that paying taxes is only for the serfs.
.
Democrats don’t care about the truth.

“How else would a Democrat get elected in Texas?”
.
Well, there’s a city called Austin, among a few others which would just as soon fit in as the sixth borough of New York without anybody noticing.

A crack in the GOP?
.
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst says spending on public education can be maintained and even increased in the next two-year budget.

Dewhurst also vowed Friday that the state Senate, over which he presides, would not agree to cut Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes. The Republican lieutenant governor’s vision is a far cry from the cringe-inducing cuts headed for a vote in the House next week.

“We can still fund education, the Foundation School Program … at the same appropriated level we’re funding right this second, actually higher,” Dewhurst said at a legislative conference.

Dewhurst said staggering cuts can be avoided by selling state land, reducing certain expenses and raising other “non-tax” revenue.
.
One Republican worried about your vote?

How Tax Cheats Are Using Your Money to Fund Republicans
When it comes to tax cheats, the government has been vocal about catching the little guys but hasn’t focused on the big-time frauds, like Swift Boat financier Sam Wyly, who happens to be a top-tier Republican contributor.

.
http://www.alternet.org/story/50645/
.
Republicans do not care about the truth nor anybody besides the uber rich.

patricksartor@27.1,
.
So how is the “kinetic military action” going in Libya? And when is it on to Syria to protect the lives of civilians there?
.
Oh, and what do we do when Gaddafi’s opponents start slaughtering civilians?
.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/04/world/la-fg-libya-mercenaries-20110305

patricksartor@30.11,
.
So, Pat, what is your experience with thinking? Did someone tell you about it?

The organized campaign is ongoing, with death threats, arm twisting, threats of boycotts, intimidation, and the undermining of democratic processes.

.
You mean when the Tea Party went after Democratic congressmen for supporting HCR?

allthings…@31.4,
.
You are flush with emotion, but a little short on facts, allthings.
.
1. 100,000 is not 200,000-300.000.
.
2. The education establishment/teacher’s union complex always threaten teacher lay offs if one penny is cut from their bloated budgets.
.
3. The results obtained by public education do not justify the money that is thrown at it.
.
4. Taxpayers are being bled dry by a conspiracy between teacher’s unions and politicians they place in office.
.
Anything else you would like to know, allthings?

patricksartor@32.4,
.
Perhaps we should just stop the farce of corporate taxes. Corporations that actually do pay into the treasury are just transferring money that they added to the cost of they’re products.
.
It is the individual taxpayer who gets stuck with the bill always.

From your article:
.

Kadafi has long used mercenaries, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa, to help enforce his rule.

As the country has descended into violence in recent weeks, witnesses in the capital,Tripoli, and other cities have reported mercenaries suppressing protests and indiscriminately shooting at civilians.

But Libya also is home to thousands of immigrant laborers as well as black Libyans. In their zeal, human rights officials and witnesses say, rebel fighters in some cases have arbitrarily killed some mercenaries and in others cases failed to distinguish between them and non-combatants.

.
War is hell.
.
But this is not Rwanda Part II.
.
When Kadafi surrenders Libya will need humanitarian aid and assistance with law enforcement.
.
The no fly zone is shortening the life of Kadafi’s regime and, therefore, reducing the overall number of killings of both Libyan-Arabians and people of Sub-Saharan origin in the long run.
.
The POTUS is not shooting black people.

allthings@33,
.
And how many times can you sell state lands? What about next year?
.
Raising other “non-tax” revenue. Now that’s funny. What is “non-tax” revenue? Is the state going to get a share of a Nigerian Prince’s fortune for just a small upfront advance?

3. The results obtained by public education do not justify the money that is thrown at it.
.
4. Taxpayers are being bled dry by a conspiracy between teacher’s unions and politicians they place in office.

.
For #3, please send a link to an economist (CATO institute and other Koch brother lackies don’t count)
.
For #4, How could this “Conspiracy” happen if unionized teachers are the root of all evil? Texas has no teachers unions.
.
It is a Right to Fire Work state.
.
If non union teachers are just as good at creating conspiracies as unionized teachers, why not fire all teachers?

Flushed with emotions, and you are flushed with ignorance.
.
100,000 is considerable more than hundreds, and doesn’t include other State employees an the ripple effect of all those jobs lost.
.
As far as the rest of your opinions go, they are not facts.
.

“Corporations that actually do pay into the treasury are just transferring money that they added to the cost of they’re products.”
.
And Government spending through the hands of both government employees, including teachers was well as recipients of entitlements just hand the money right back to the corporations for goods and services produced.
.
So, it all goes right back to the corporations anyway.

The GOP call non-tax revenues, fees.
How about next year? He is saying two years.
How many times can you sell state lands, once how much land does the state own?
.
At least he feels the heat. In TX at that.
.

On topic:
.
Paulie, why is it okay for corporations which are political cronies of either (or in the case of GE both) party okay?
.
It means that GE’s rivals are forced to charge more and given a competitive advantage meaning that the government is “picking winners and losers”, as you would say.
.
Why is that okay with you?

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/03/have-you-no-sense-of-decency-the-wm-cronon-story/73010/
.
I swear Huey Long lives in the hearts of Republican governors.
.
‘Have You No Sense of Decency?’ The Wm. Cronon Story

That story just illlustrated the small mindedness of the lastest crop of governors and their distain for working people.
Can you imagine how many citizens walked by that mural and took pride in its depictions?
Well, each day proves how ignorant the new crop is and insures their chances for reelection keep diminishing.

So funny. It is good to know there is a new generation of freepers and newrusties.

allthings@33.2,
.
A tax by any other name is still a tax.
.
And once all state land is sold, what then? Reclaim the land by eminent domain and sell it again?
.
Better to bite the bullet now and lay off the gimmicks to fool people into believing that spending need not be cut.

patricksartor@32.7,
.
Corporations are open to shakedowns from politicians, so they pay protection money to both parties.
.
Eliminate corporate taxes and reduce regulations and corporations would no longer need to pay protection money to the Pols.

”The organized campaign is ongoing, with death threats, arm twisting, threats of boycotts, intimidation, and the undermining of democratic processes.”
.
Same kind of behavior is found on the right side as well. Which I assume you don’t approve of. You will find it hard to prove that one side is any less ‘organized’ in doing things that you and I find deplorable. While you cry about the meanie liberals I assume and hope that someone is putting a stop to it. It doesn’t belong in a civilized society.
.
“Your blanket condemnation of threat makers is commendable but it seems a bit perfunctory.”
.
I really don’t care what you think. We’ve had this discussion before and what I feel about threats against other people held true then as it does now. Maybe you find it a little routine because I actually stand by what I believe as suppose to the very fluid moral standpoints you and other ideologues have. Where up is down and down is up dependent on the day or whatever BS you read somewhere.
.
I’m not as tribally invested as you are. I don’t believe certain mythical things about conservatives they way you seem to think about ‘liberals’. If anything – perfunctory might explain perfectly well the kind of by the number stuff you post here – never very far from the script regardless if you’re proven wrong or not. The next day you simply repeat the same garbage all over again as if the facts that slapped you around the day before never happened.

For Joe Klein:
Remembering today, the 100 year anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and why collective bargaining rights are needed for all workers.
.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-mind-set-that-survived-the-triangle-shirtwaist-fire/2011/03/22/ABh20rEB_story.html?wpisrc=nl_politics
.

The seamstresses were just getting off work that Saturday, some of them singing a new popular song, “Every Little Movement (Has a Meaning of Its Own),” when they heard shouts from the eighth floor just below.
.
When it was over, 146 people had either died by fire or jumped to their deaths. Most were young women, almost entirely Jewish or Italian immigrants, many still in their teens, one just 14.

.

.
If you watch the above video, it gives you the history of the Triangle fire and the continuation of the violence to workers and the death of America’s middle class. The video is difficult to watch but vivedly tells the truth.
.
And contrary to conservative insistence that unions are not needed in this more enlightened, corporate age, the evil still continues today. The evil continues not only because of conservatives but because of the Village media (Friedman, et al) and corporate Democrats.
.

As the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire approaches, the Institute for Global Labor and Human Rights urged the United States to pass legislation to prevent multi-national corporations from violating internationally recognized worker rights standards, such as no child or forced labor, decent working conditions, freedom of association and the right to organize a union.

“30.10allthings…@30.9,
.
“Methinks thou doth protest too much.”"
.
Jesus called and want your pretend clever back. You seem to abuse the pretend clever gland to much and it might make you go blind. Just saying – just remember to lube up first before you act like an @ss. BTW – simple question – was it a joke or meant to p!ss allthings off? Especially since you make such a point out of wondering about his temper.
.
Mind you I had a much more clever thing to say but since I don’t know what allthings find offensive I didn’t; I have no need to push anyones buttons unless they deserve it or if I know they’re in on it.
.
But you’re clever enough to know that.
.
Unless you’re just here to mess with ‘libruls’.

patricksartor@27.3,
.
War is hell, especially if you are a black in an Arab country. Arabs have been killing and enslaving blacks for centuries. Libya is no different.
.
Blacks in Libya have nothing for which they should thank the POTUS.

For the crazy reactionary right wing file:
.
http://www.adn.com/2011/03/23/1772266/senate-panel-questions-judicial.html
.

JUNEAU — Gov. Sean Parnell’s appointee for the panel that nominates state judges testified Wednesday that he would like to see Alaskans prosecuted for having sex outside of marriage.
.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/bryan_fischer_muslims_have_no_first_amendment_righ.php?ref=fpb
.
Bryan Fischer: Muslims Have No First Amendment Rights

“1. 100,000 is not 200,000-300.000.”
.
Pauleb,
.
You’re a (self-labeled) clever guy.
.
With 100k less to pay taxes, buy things, increasing the burdon on state and federal for unemployment you think the 100k will end there?
.
You do know that the effect usually means more cuts, more money to save, business going out of work locally because of less customers etc.
.
I know you don’t think much of teachers (by what you write) but their money is real too. And it supports not only local communities but state and federal as well. It’s not like the money they get in salary comes from your pocket and goes no where after teachers pay their tax, bills and buy stuff. It’s not made out of fairy dust.

More:
It has been a fruitful couple of days.
.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/03/stossel_no_group_has_had_more_govt_help_than_ameri_1.php?ref=fpb
.
Stossel: No Group Has Had More Gov’t Help Than American Indians (VIDEO)
.
http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/23/buried-provision-food-stamps/
.
Buried Provision in House GOP Bill Would Cut Off Food Stamps for Entire Families If One Member Strikes
.
(How to keep people from striking)

“Eliminate corporate taxes and reduce regulations and corporations would no longer need to pay protection money to the Pols.”
.
Wow. That makes no…sense whatsoever.
.
You want a corporation to use the infrastructure we put in place for free without paying for it – wait a minute you want you and I to pay for it? Let me explain this in simple terms – a business hires say 200 people. There’s 10000 people living in the area. You want the 10000 pay the infrastructure for a business so they can pretend that their only responsibility is to pay for 200 people?
.
Meanwhile that company profits on using our road network, our communication using our land, our stop lights and everything else we put in place so they can maximize efficiency?
.
Reduce regulations? So more companies can crash our economy even more and do destroy our country and then leave you and I to foot the bill?
.
As I wrote above – Jesus want your pretend clever back.

Finally my favorite quote of the week:
.
Brian Schweitzer: Montana GOP Bills Make State Party Look ‘Bat-Crap Crazy’
.

“We’re talking about seceding from the union, or getting people who are getting a divorce to go through six more weeks of counseling before they can get a divorce, creating an 11-person Montana commission that can effectively veto any federal law. These are all bills that have been proposed in the Montana Legislature,” he said.
.
“Those are just silly bills,” Schweitzer continued. “And I would ask the Montana Legislature, just kind of park that stuff. Let’s get back to work making sure we’re doing the things that matter. That’s good leadership. Hunting with a silencer? Hunting with a spear? That’s silly leadership.”
.
Montana Republicans have also proposed legislation designed to create an armed paramilitary militia force and to codify global warming denial in the state, as well as a birther bill.

.
By the way, Schwietzer is a very popular Democratic governor in a red state. Walker and other newbie Republican governors would kill for his numbers.
.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/24/brian-schweitzer-montana-gop-bills_n_840072.html

“Blacks in Libya have nothing for which they should thank the POTUS.”
.
The huge majority who are not mistaken for mercenaries will.

OOPS
.
See 26.2!

hippooath,
.
I was going to say something like that.
.
For Paulie, think this over:
.
Mexico City has more people than New York – significantly more.
.
Yet, Manhattan and, to a lesser extent, Queens, Brooklyn and even Bronx and Staten Island commercial real estate is worth many fold of what it is in Mexico City.
.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
.
New York City has several things that third world countries don’t, apparently.
.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
.
What are they?
.
In importance:
.
The rule of law. 30,0000 police officers, many courts handling both criminal and civil cases as well.
.
Roads and bridges making it possible for eight million people to live, often in great comfort, in 400 square miles along with three and half million more in the daytime.
.
The second largest ( by about two miles out of thousands of miles – with only the London Tube longer) subway system, which coordinates with buses and trains.
.
Public education which, even in the worst school dramatically exceeds Mexican public schools and at it’s best magnet schools greatly exceeds most private schools.
.
A, usually, highly efficient department of sanitation.
.
A highly, highly regulated network of 13,000 taxis as well as 40,000 car/limos to facilitate private transportation.
.
Consistently safe air quality.
.
A means for the poor to gain food and shelter if they are physically or mentally disabled.
.
A means for the unemployed to sustain themselves.
.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
.
What do all of these things have in common?
.
They are all provided by government and include regulations – like the health department making sure we are not poisoned by our dinner.
.
So, what entities should pay for these privileges?
.
Businesses.
.
As far as your shakedown theory, please explain why all businesses except for the politically connected have to pay taxes?
.
How about bribery?
.
That would be more accurate since everybody else manages to make profits without contributing big bucks to campaigns. It’s just greed that gets a very, very small number of very, very large businesses these big breaks.
.
Corporate profits are a function of the efficient usage of both private capital and resources and government infrastructure.
.
You can’t make anywhere near as much money with exactly the same business in Mexico City as can in NYC.

patricksartor@26.2,
.
Will you bet there lives on it, Pat?

patricksartor@26.2,
.
Will you bet their lives on it, Pat?

Thank you, Apr.
.
I know exactly where that building is now in a sub-neighborhood known as Alphabet City.
.
It is now very upscale.
.
That happened when my grandparents were young children all within a few miles of that ( but a mile is a long distance in NYC since people usually walk everywhere).
.
Conservatives seem to have this bizarre concept that human nature changes. So, remove the banking laws of 1933 and, since bankers were evil then but saints now, that wouldn’t cause a financial meltdown like the one in 1929, would it?
.
It did.
.
Give manufacturing businesses the chance to exploit workers abroad the way they had years ago should be fine since today’s business people have halos and their predecessors were demons, it should not result in child labor and a foreign version of the Triangle fire.
.
It did.
.
Ironically, the other ideology other than the far right of today who believe that human nature changes at the will of government were the communists who believed that personal gain would disappear as a motive if the government put in more laws. The far right believes that greed and abuse of workers will disappear, ironically, if the government removed regulations to make such abuses possible.
.
Human nature does not change.
.
That was an amazing video.
.
Thank you.

First, LOL about the Alaskan judge.
.
Second, from Apr’s article:
.

Islam has no fundamental First Amendment claims, for the simple reason that it was not written to protect the religion of Islam. Islam is entitled only to the religious liberty we extend to it out of courtesy. While there certainly ought to be a presumption of religious liberty for non-Christian religious traditions in America, the Founders were not writing a suicide pact when they wrote the First Amendment.

.
Interesting choice of words.
.

This Court has gone far toward accepting the doctrine that civil liberty means the removal of all restraints from these crowds and that all local attempts to maintain order are impairments of the liberty of the citizen. The choice is not between order and liberty. It is between liberty with order and anarchy without either. There is danger that, if the Court does not temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom, it will convert the constitutional Bill of Rights into a suicide pact.

.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminiello_v._Chicago#Jackson.27s_dissent
.
Those were Justice Robert H. Jackson’s words in Terminiello v. Chicago.
.
Terminiello was a right winger making bigoted speach. Jackson favored what would today be nicknamed “political correctness” in federal law limiting free speech.
.
If Jackson had his way, it would not be Muslims, but, Bryan Fischer who would not be protected by the first amendment.

$31,799 Median household income for American Indians and Alaska Natives, based on a 1998/2000 average. This is higher than for African Americans ($28,679), not statistically different from Hispanics ($31,703) and lower than for non Hispanic Whites ($45,514), and Asians and Pacific Islanders ($52,553).

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http://www.nativevillage.org/Messages%20from%20the%20People/Population%20statistics.htm
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Stossel is loosing it.

Apr,
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I guess your latest strategy is to keep out of the flame wars by posting after the wingnuts pass out, but, thanks for posting.
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You add a great deal to this blog.

Selling state land is a stupid idea. It’s not a revenue problem; it’s a spending problem.
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Let’s sell off the park system to the highest bidder so that we can pay for more welfare.

You think I do not know that? Give me some credit it is the GOP who says it is not a TAX. What the hell is wrong with you?
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This whole frigging thing is blowing up in their face. God are you arguing just to argue. I didn’t know you were a teenager.
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There should be some ID checked on the blogs. Go away.

Melltdown let me say this one time. You guys have had one election cycle and now you are done. You offer nothing, you have nothing, you are a shell of human being.
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The GOP got in bed with a bunch of a unreasonable hateful individuals, and now it will pay.
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You think the weak minded are the only people with a will? You are over your head.

Seconded!

hippooath@30.13.
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I read your post a couple of times but could not detect a coherent thought in it. Something about Jesus, pretend clever, and going blind. There was also something about lube in there but it didn’t seem to make any sense.
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Perhaps you could give it another try after you have taken a lie down.

patricksartor@31.6,
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3. The state of education of some of the posters here proves the failure of the public education system.
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4. The TSTA will be startled to hear that their are no teacher’s unions in Texas.
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http://www.tsta.org
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Non-union teachers are not the problem, Pat.

allthings@31.7,
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You have not posted one link showing that there have been thousands of layoffs. You posted a link showing an article where the LBB predicted layoffs in the hundreds of thousands, but the same article also gave opposing viewpoints. You merely cherry picked the results that you desired to make a point.

hippooath@31.8,
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And the taxpayers who are bled dry by governments which engage in exorbitant spending, don’t they too recycle their hard earned money back into the economy?
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Do only public sector employee salaries benefit the economy? There are more private sector workers than there are public employees..
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Why is it blasphemous to ask public employees to make the same sacrifices that private sector wage earners do?

patricksartor@32.10,
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So many words, and so much space to say so little.
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What was the point there, other than obfuscation, Pat?

“I read your post a couple of times but could not detect a coherent thought in it. Something about Jesus, pretend clever, and going blind. There was also something about lube in there but it didn’t seem to make any sense.
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Perhaps you could give it another try after you have taken a lie down.”
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That’s the best you could come up with? What a let down.

“And the taxpayers who are bled dry by governments which engage in exorbitant spending, don’t they too recycle their hard earned money back into the economy?”
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Spare me the drama. Bleed dry. You’re more likely to be bleed dry by your mortgage company.
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“Do only public sector employee salaries benefit the economy? There are more private sector workers than there are public employees..”
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That means nothing. There are more stars in the universe than there are private sector workers. Yours is a red herring.
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“Why is it blasphemous to ask public employees to make the same sacrifices that private sector wage earners do?”
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But they are – but that doesn’t really answer what you got wrong now does it? So what will the result of those 100k that lose their jobs? More lost jobs? You know why teachers are losing their jobs? Because the finance market crashed which lead to companies going under, people losing their jobs and the state unable to balance the budget and now the result is teachers and public employees losing their jobs and that leads to more lost jobs etc.
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Yours is the usual pretzel logic maneuvers of trying to change the question to something else – the real answer is that GOP only have one thing on their minds. Tax cuts. And to cycle back to you and your silly notion of companies not paying their taxes – what do you think the result will be?
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A banana republic where we as a country can’t afford to educate our people, can’t afford to pay for infrastructure and soon we’re like Russia – a country in constant disrepair. The loss of 100k means the loss of even more. It’s like instead of you fighting to make sure the people who lost their jobs get one so we can afford to keep our society moving forward, you fight so the public servants have it as sh!tty as the rest of the private market. Instead of working to pull all of us up you seem to argue that we should all be in the hole. What a strange and backwards argument; do you like to pay unemployment to even more people?

patrick: I have always been an insomniac. Now that I am retired and kinda old, I have very eccentric sleep habits. By the time I get up in the late morning, you guys are off and running, particularly the east coasters.
I don’t want to repeat a link, so I scan most of the posts. Of course, I can count on our right wing friends not bringing much to the conversation.
Glad you watched the video on the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. HBO had a documentary on the event they played this week. It is hard to understand, I know, but I was in tears when it was over.
I also am in tears when I think of workers that are being exploited all over the world by the greed of corporations.

rwbbinla, thank you for comment. Hope everyone has a pleasant weekend.

That is because the budget has not been written yet. That is why we FACE those thousands of layoffs. The GOP on the other hand promise us that this is the way to go. As far as links are concerned you can Google it all you want.

Paulie,
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We have two options:
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1) Do nothing and Kadafi kills both Arabian Libyans and African Libyans
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or
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2) Some rebels kill a few African Libyans who are not mercenaries.
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I am advocating choice 2.
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Please explain why you would support Choice #1 as a means to keep fewer people from being murdered.

“What was the point there, other than obfuscation, Pat?”
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Apparently large numbers of words confuse you.
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Nice and short:
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Investors should get dividends for their investments, so, governments should get taxes paid to them from corporations for public investments.
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If the larger number of words don’t hurt your head, let me go a little further:
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If the Second avenue Subway in Manhattan will have a stop in front of your store, those people getting off of this new subway will shop in your store rather than elsewhere.
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The government pays for the subway being built.
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The store owner collects a profit.
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The government charges taxes and, gets it’s fair cut of the profits for it’s investment.
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I could go on to explain how workers who know how to read and write, streets where murder is incredibly rare and almost always ends in conviction and how not having your employees vomit half the day from food poisoning all benefit business due to government investment, but, apparently this would be too complicated for you.

I am a night owl myself, but force myself into a 7:00 to 5:30 work schedule.
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When you’re self employed you get to work any sixty hours per week you want, so long as they fit the business schedule (as in no real freedom unless you want to miss out on an income)
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My ideal schedule is 9 to 5 – tele-commuting to the West Coast from NYC, that is (which would be noon to eight NYC time). But ideal and what exists are never exactly the same thing.

“I read your post a couple of times but could not detect a coherent”

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You will never be able to understand crazy people. The only thing you risk is becoming crazy like them yourself trying to figure out what the heck it is they are trying to say.

hippooath@30.15,
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My apologies. I never learned to read or speak incoherency.

hippooath@31.12,
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1. If I were to be bled dry by my mortgage company it would be because of my own poor choices, not because the politicians chose to use my money to pay off political debts to their supporters in public sector unions.
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2. As much as you disparage private sector workers, they pay the bills. Your heroes in the public sector merely collect the benefit of the sweat of their brows.
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3. Public employees reaped the benefit of Obama’s $862 billion political slush fund which was laughably labeled “stimulus.” That cash allowed them to be immune to the recession for 3 years, but now the cash has run out, there won’t be any more, and it’s time to pay the piper.
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4. Tax cuts have worked every time they were tried. JFK, Reagan and Bush II proved that. You can not strangle the private sector with high taxes and expect growth and job creation.