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So, madbeats, you say you weren't attacking Thom? Let's take a look at your exact words: "Which one are you, Thom, a fraud, or anti-freedom."
Yeah, you're right, that was just a perfectly nice, friendly, down-home question, the kind of question that friends ask each other all the time.
I agree that you believe in freedom, because you obviously feel free to make silly accusations based in your fantasies. By the way, do you still beat your dog? I'm just asking this perfectly nice, friendly, down-home question because I want to know. I think you probably do, but I would like you to verify it for me if you wouldn't mind answering this question like a friend. And please, try to be civil when you tell me whether you still beat your dog, because I just can't stand it when someone takes offense at my perfectly innocent, friendly remarks and questions.
I hope you don't feel that I'm attacking you. Do you still beat your dog? I like you and I'm sure if we sat down for a beer we'd agree on everything. Do you still beat your dog? I am not giving you contradictory messages here, and I am certainly not making claims about my attitude that aren't true, because I think of you like my best friend. I'm just asking if you still beat your dog, it's a perfectly innocent question, so I hope you won't attack me for asking it. Do you still beat your dog? I am glad to see your acknowledgment that some things are as simple as a yes or a no, so tell me yes or no: do you still beat your dog? I'm sure you agree that it's just an honest, reasonable question. I just want to know if you still beat your dog. I'm only asking because I, too, believe in freedom to life, liberty, and property. And also I believe in my right to ask if you still beat your dog. Well? Do you?
The people in charge - - - those who own Obama, the Republican party and most of congress --- like things the way they are or worse. They love unemployment (cheaper more compliant labor), illegal immigration (cheap more compliant labor), war (big profit), bail-outs to the rich, stock market volatility (they control), housing bust (buy it up cheap), depression (they own the money), etc, etc.
As long as both political party's machinery is controlled by the rich it won't matter who wins --- - they are all on the same side.
There is plenty of stuff for everyone to have a high standard of living - - - just not enought money in circulation -- - it is all stored up by the rich. Taxes on the middle class take even more money out of circulation and so do cuts in Government programs. Should have (a) high tax on saving to force more money into circulation along with (b) tax cuts to middle class and (c) increased Govt spending on infrastructure ala FDR. The so-called "national debt" is a fool's myth absent the gold standard.
Tell you what, madbeats: I will answer your question about whether Thom is a fraud or openly anti freedom, if you answer this question for me: do you still beat your dog?
Thom has been quite open in his frequent criticisms of Obama. I guess you're too busy criticizing Thom to listen to his radio show or read his books. But that's perfectly understandable, who has time to make sure their criticisms of other people are true, when they are too busy beating their dog?
I knew Thom over forty years ago and even then he was kind-hearted, incredibly intelligent, insightful, and well-informed, and unlike a certain person I could mention (madbeats)- who I am pretty sure still beats his dog- Thom has consistently made a lifestyle out of helping others. If you could just stop beating your dog for long enough to actually look into Thom's history, you'd find that he ran a shelter home for abused children. So, when's the last time you ran a shelter home for abused children? Oh right, sorry, I forgot you have been too busy beating your dog to do anything to help abused children.
So, how do you like being on the receiving end of flagrantly baseless accusations? By the way, do you still beat your dog? I'm just asking a perfectly fair question, I want to know if you still beat your dog. And don't give me any of that "I don't have a dog" stuff, because I think we all know you have a dog and you beat it.
Freedom is scary to Thom? Dude, if you would just stop beating your dog for long enough to do a tenth of the brave things Thom has done, you still wouldn't have the moral right to accuse him of anything. If you are any reflection of what Ron Paul would be like as president, I'm glad he's not going to get the nomination.
By the way, you still haven't answered my question: do you still beat your dog?
Pulladigm, what you're talking about is trickle-up economics, where when the poor and middle class are helped out, the money still trickles up to the rich people, but on the way there, it helps the poor people and the middle class. Great idea! It'd be cool if we could take back the bailout money and do exactly that with it.
I strongly suggest president Obama take full advantage of his time with the very medium that has played a major role in ripping apart our country. Shock everyone by speaking the plain truth regarding the state of our democracy. Inform the whole world that democracy in the United States has been dismantled and sold off piece by piece to the highest bidder. It no longer exists in any form usable or useful to the vast majority of its citizens. Mention how a bunch of short- sighted hypocrites have been placed in power by a few equally short-sighted rich guys and this has grid-locked all manner of economic recovery, a recovery made necessary by REPUBLICAN POLICIES like illegal wars, tax cuts for the rich, and socialized bankster bailouts.
Admit that he's powerless until people get their heads out of fox new's a***s and get out and vote for progressive officials who truly want to represent their best interests, those like Vermont's Senator Sanders. Tell the American public if they do this we can free the Supreme court of the right wing radicals and restore DEMOCRACY as our founders intended. Do this with the fire of Teddy Roosevelt in his heart.
Then give the FDR new deal speech!
I signed the petition, everyone needs to....50,000!... Great show today, with the social contract stuff!
Good job James Hoffa!
Obama needs to do what Robert Kennedy told JFK before the second debate with Nixon...... "kick em in the BALLS" is that simple enough to understand....Stop trying to negotiate... KICK EM!! with STEEL TOED WORK BOOTS that are made in America!!
he is a caveman by his own choice. He continued to give a the Republicans the stones and mortar for his cave and continues to help them in its construction. I would definitely say he is a caveman he has caved so many times that it's no longer a question of will he cave merely how fast.
I have come to the conclusion that he is what in the past would have been a moderate Republican. I will not be watching his speech nor will I be watching any sports event. When the elections, I will vote for Obama though I will be holding my nose. The choice is quite simple either him or the extreme reactionary Republicans.
What a disappointment he has been. He had the opportunity to be calm a new Roosevelt and instead we got a Woodrow Wilson if not a downright Neville Chamberlain
Yes Yes Yes! I totally agree with you.
With due respect, you forget that the Republicans have used the Filibuster in historical numbers...it doesn' t matter what the Democrats or Obama does, for the Republicans to continually the filibuster in the Senate, has brought this country to a screeching halt - There have recently been 10 jobs Bills that were voted down and 40 others brought about by the Black Caucus which got voted down or blocked..you have to understand, the Republicans want to keep unemployment high and the economy at a crawl...the Republicans feel that these numbers will get people to vote them in. Even thought the Democrats have a majority in the Senate, once the Republicans use the Filibuster, the Democrats need 60 votes - they can get atleast 57....if you want to see things change, we need 60 Democratic Senators - as far as the House, don't worry, the Democrats will take it back in 2012 - the debt ceiling debacle was enough to turn off every American in this country.
What are Bush Cheney and ultra greedy corp loving GOP baggers like Cantor Boehner McConell ? And Demint who vowed to Break Obama like he was a slave ? Fox the mouthpiece of the GOP Beck Hannity Bachman Cheney Rove Palen Rush + 800 con radio talk shows have demonized Obama from day one . They Vowed to make him fail Thats just part of why Obama has my vote Obama got Bin laden Bush failed . Saved mil jobs @ GM /Chrysler .Bush tanked jobs . Obama made more stem cells available for research. Bush failed to do so Obama passed START . less nukes. Obama Gave a mid class tax cut .More Pell grants Bush ' gave 'us a crash TARP 2 long failed wars based on lies, war profits Cheney made cozy deals with Big OIL/ BP
Grassroots movement should have dumped- or US should have impeached Bush and Cheny when they lied - used fear to get us to attack Iraq. Killing maiming 1000's making more enemies than ever Wasting trillions Obama is a saint compared to Bush Cheney Rummy Rice
' NO good Liberals' ? Said like a true GOP Bagger Obama hater . Long GOP record 1981 : Reaganomics deregulation of ruling classes, no regs no safe guards - Reagans 1986 total amnesty with open borders for low slave wages. Reagan sold guns to Iran then lied for months ..he tripled the debt.. 2000 -2008 Bush Cheney lied us into Iraq war using fear tactics ' Smoking gun Mushrom cloud ' .Halliburton Blackwater weapons -plane makers made billions in war profits. Bush gave huge unfunded corp cuts- corp loopholes, tried to privatize SS. He failed. Bush even gave cuts to Co's that sent jobs overseas, Bush tried to give control of US ports to Dubai !! He failed . Bush waged 2 long failed wars , wasting lives and trillions. Bush spent Clintons surplus and then some . Bush Cheney Goldman FEd Led US to global crash TARP scam / joke on taxpayers / 700 billion Wall ST CORP Welfare - Bushs guy Paulson took care of his Goldman pals - Insurance CO AIG got billions only because they owed Goldman billions Dems / Obama did none of that . Obama got Bin laden Bush failed at that too Bush cheney failures all dumped on Obama 2 yrs 7 months ago. Bush Cheney just walked away unscathed .. NO apology NADA
When a powerful grassroots movement challenges the corporate Dems, they'll change. The corporate elites, who couldn't care less what country they live in, will rule until then. One thing is sure; in a few years, if things don't change, America will have a struggling middle class (mostly older) and a huge underclass with no job security, low pay, and no pensions. Resentment about public sector pensions and ss, medicare, and maybe the wars, will drive politics for some time.
Besides, nothing much happens from the top down. FDR acted in part because he was afraid of a revolution. We need to think about a peaceful revolt.
I would ask the president to explain basic economics, both monetary and fiscal policy, and explain why the last stimulus was not sufficient. One reason was that his own party's congress diverted far too much of the money intended to be used for jobs creating expenditures. Then explain why Keynes is correct, that under circumstances that we face today, direct investment by the government is more efficient at job creation than tax cuts that will produce far less effective stimulation. Then explain how the political process makes it very difficult to carry out the essential element of the keynes prescription, which is to pay back the money borrowed to stimulate during recessions, when the economy is growing sufficiently.
To do that, we'll need campaign finance reform. to get that we need a rational supreme court. to get that, we need to elect democrats.
Only liberals would wish for their more Bush than Bush Obama to be more like FDR and Truman.
I'm not wanting your Obamanable One to emulate FDR — to manufacture a "Pearl Harbor" to get near everyone to quickly volunteer for a full-spectrum global war between fascists... as FDR did to eliminate any possibility for socialism to be successful.
I'm not wanting your Obamanable One to be like Truman — to provide a public demonstration of just how very vicious liberals get when they have power, by carpet firebombing cities full of defenseless civilians, in say Iran, before then dropping a couple of too big to fail neutron bombs, in order to conduct an empirical study of the adverse effects those monstrous weapons might have upon the bodies of a massive number of expendable humans... like Truman did.
The "progressives" are the liberals who vote for Democrats so they can keep protesting against what they keep voting for.
There are no good Democrats. The faith-based politics of "progressives" is dependent upon their believing a corporate-state manufactured mythology. It's what keeps them collaborating with the corporate-state (now a non-sovereign wholly owned subsidiary of the global Market-State).
http://www.chenangogreens.org
Corporate profits are at record levels, large corporations have done a great job of deleveraging the past few years, and their cash positions have never been better. In addition, technology is helping to make the corporations do more with less people. They (Corporations) have no incentive to make unemployment go from 9% to 5% unless there is a direct benefit to their shareholders and as we all know corporate influence is king in Washington. It is far easier to look for new markets and workers abroad then worry about Americans out of work. Obama's plan is too small to work and won't pass congress anyway. We are in the new normal, get used to it.
Unemployed people don't need income tax credits, they need jobs!
What should Obama do? Just quit already!
I thought my friends were over the top when, during the primaries, they said "you'll see. Obama is a Manchurian candidate." I'm not rolling my eyes at them anymore. As far as I can see, Obama is doing just what he wants to, at best playing good cop, bad cop, when he already knew that he was on bad cop's side.
The standard of living in the US in the 30's? You mean folks on working farms? One car at most? No clothes dryers? No dish washers? Shoes that were made in the USA, and were repaired rather than thrown out when the soles wore down? Manufacturing in the US?As long as you aren't talking shanty towns, I think the Earth would be ecstatic. And that would be good for all of us.
Dear Friend .. Please be advised that for many years now the democratic party has been long since gone ...Now its not very hard to figure out just where they ran off to is it ? because I would bet the farm they are most likely having lunch with the Repuks somewhere and they most likely did it when they finally realized they just couldn't win .. all anyone with an honest view of the world need do is just look what they did to all the others who ever dared ralley the people , how old are you and how far back would you care to go .. just look at what they did when they believed there might be a threat to there plan .. well they killed him his wife and her sister and he wasn't even in public service yet .. JFKjr . and anyone who thinks otherwise doesn't have an honest veiw of what this world is truly about .. GREED POWER & CONTROL ....
Whenever Obana gives a speech, he seems detached, no matter what he is talking about and sounds insincere most of the time. It is like he is reading a weather report. I hear his speech on the radio every Sat. morning and it sounds insincere. There is no emphasis, fire, passion, in his words.
Probably he can't say what he wants to say because the President is just a pawn for the world's elite.
Dear Friend .. I'm gonna try hard really NOT to scream ! Do you know what the term FEAR means to these terrorism Mongers. It means False Evidence Appearing Real .. Anyone with half there gray matter in the On mode knows full well that if you can play the fear card you can put the American public in a Save us frenzy and then it's easy to keep the fear alive with Faux terror alerts the FBI works hard to push out of every News channel . Every grown person I know was expecting to see the Military budget get chopped down to nearly zip after the Iron curtain fell and the "Tear down those walls " speech That Reagan used ... but instead of all that cash going back into public areas and programs where it was cut from and removed from long ago to pay for all the Mega Budgets in ALL our many overlapping Law enforcement agencys and our Hyper blotted intelligence agencys whose black budgets rival that of most countrys military budgets they instead kept up there hard worldwide freedom & Democracy building work then one day some genius came up with our very next Boogie man to fear and they have been peddeling it hard since, from the false flag op of 9/11 that by the by had about as much to do with Osama bin laden and his 19 reindeer as it did Santa Claus only our "Infamous Investigative News people" failed miserably to ask even the most obvious questions and our misinformation puppets in the media did the rest ...Dear Friends this may come as a shock to your system but Buildings just DO NOT DROP into there basements in 56 minutes from fire PERIOD ...And not to mention the Fact that Larry Silversteins buildings all collapsed reguardless of the fact that Ole # 7 wasn't even hit with anything while buildings so much closer took so much more damage and did nothing but get repaired .. so between Larry telling the world with his arrogant mouth to PULL IT .. maybe you should all do what uncle larry says and " PULL IT" YOUR SKULLS OUT OF YOUR REARS ... They will continue to plunder we the people until we bitch slap hard and TAKE IT BACK and say NO MORE .. now its time to put there familys out on some corner with a tin cup in hand. and stop the bullshit. What say you THOM ? can I get an amen...
nothing is going to fix anything, sadly enough. Its been long enough for both rebums and demonuts to show the general pulic that they give sh!t. instead w ehear nothing but Obama this, Obama that, Obama nuts this, Obama nuts that. II AM SICK OF IT ALL! THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT MAKE THE POLICY. AND IF WE CAN'T GET CONGRESS TO GET IT TOGETHER THEN THEY SHOULD ALL BE FIRED!!! GEEEZUSE THEY CAN HIRE A BUNCH OF PEOPLE LIKE ME FOR A FRACTION OF THE COST AND WE'LL GET MORE DONE IN A DAY THEN THEY HAVE IN 3 FREEKIN YEARS!!!! SH!T FIRE AND SAVE MATCHES FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD IF I WAS THAT MUCH OF AN UNDER PERFORMER IN MY PATHETIC PRIVATE SECTOR JOB WITHOUT ANY UNION PROTECTION I WOULD HAVE BEEN Sh!T CANNED AFTER 90 DAYS!!!ARE YOU ALL AS ANGRY AS ME? DO I HEAR HE!! YEAH!!!BOOYA!!!!!MAKE SOME NOISE GIRLS AND BOYZ!!!!!!!
Obama is a closet republicon out to destroy any last remains of the democratic party. Why else has he caved at even the slightest rebuke by the cons? Why else do we have a health care bill that does too little and can't stand up in court? What else did he allow the bush tax cuts for the wealth to continue?
he drank their kool-aid and is one of them.
Yes, once again Obama is playing small-ball when he should be swingin' for downtown.
I don't know how many others there are out there who have had this thought, but I'm at about the point that I'm ready to see him lose and let the Republicans have there way. Perhaps that's the only way the American people will wake up to what's going on. And at this point I'm thinking the sonner, the better...instead of this death-by-a-thousand-cuts we're going through now.