Well, as for Iraq, its worth remembering that Cheney is closely tied to Haliburton. More importantly, Bush and most of the right wing either didn't care about or didn't prioritize the cost. There was the bad blood between Bush and Saddam Hussein, the aspirations to stabilize (using imperial measures) the middle east, and lets face it, making war empowers a president.
Its still amazing that people don't talk more about the lack of WMDs in Iraq. The concerted effort to make the case for going to war with Iraq followed by the revelation that it was just a fabrication is just mind blowing. The cost in blood (both US and Iraqi) is so staggering and yet people seem willing to forget about it. Its pretty obviously a crime and the administration that perpetrated it are pretty clearly war criminals.
Actually, I thought he turned in a good performance in Hancock. Nothing says drama like an alcoholic w/super powers.
Didn't care for 7 pounds though. Maybe just because the message was offensive to me. I don't remember being blown away by the acting though. He's definitely come a long way from I, Robot though (which to be fair isn't a bad movie and seems to fit in the spirit of Asimov just fine for my tastes, but again the acting was nothing incredible).
Well, there is this site: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/. Of course, that's more promises than lies, and a lot of the promises he's supposedly broken are things he tried to achieve but failed. Nor does it really do much to compare him to other presiedents.
I guess I would ask, what has he lied about? He certainly hasn't created a fraudulent war. He hasn't lied under oathe. He never worked for the CIA. No Iran-Contra or Watergate here. Again you're left saying he made campaign promises, many of which he tried to keep but exterior conditions did not permit it. And even these he's generally moving in the right direction on.
Frankly, I used to say Obama is one of the top 10 presidents we've ever had. Now, I've changed my tune. He's pretty obviously one of the 5 best presidents we've ever had. We're talking that level of historic leadership. Heading up a country under perpetual culture war, with a trashed economy, fighting two wars...this has been a clinic he's putting on how to lead.
But its popular to bash Obama. I'm not saying you're doing so, but the right wing hate machine has gained traction. That's why they do it. They know if they shout 1+1=3, people will cave and believe it, regardless of any objective truth.
Do you (have others painting a target on your back)? It seems like a lot of people have made some poor assumptions about how this is going to work. My take is, the economy will grow, taxes will go down for the lower and middle class, and more people will have health insurance.
I wondered how many comments would be made before someone invoked Obama. Obama, from all apearances, is the most honest president we've had in years. Yeah, there are going to be places where there won't be transparency, that's part of the job if you're doing it well.
Does Somalia have really awesome healthcare then? Because there are no restrictions there.
I understand the allure of Fiscal Conservatism. There's something seductive about simplicity. But sometimes the simplest solution is not the correct one.
I'll tell you what. I'm probably not going to change your mind today. But what I will do is make a gentlemans bet with you. In 5 years, if HCR passes, the country will have better quality of life and a stronger economy. Costs will have gone down, not up. Ridiculous, expensive, medically caused bankruptcies will become far more rare. Communicable diseases will lose a significant vector because the poor will have better access to healthcare.
If all this isn't true, in 5 years, I'll sit down and really think about becoming a Libertarian (some of my best friends are Libertarians now, including one who ran for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio). Will you consider moving Left if these predictions do come to pass?
Postal Service is amazing. They're having money problems right now, but then so is everyone.
Before the advent of Social Security, more than half of all seniors died in poverty, now almost none do.
Americans are pretty schizophrenic on the Medi's...all these people who are saying "Keep government out of my Medicare/Medicaid don't seem to have a solid understanding of how this all works."
Bottom line is, this is one of the places where the conventional wisdom is wrong. And I think part of the "conventional wisdom" is pretty much right wing propaganda. People with money who think they can put one over on the dumb american public. Unfortunately, they haven't been proven wrong yet.
The real answer is, HCR is good for quality of life, good for the economy, and hopefully this is just the first step.
On a personal note, my sister is uninsured and just started a job where she'll have insurance in a few months. IF HCR doesn't pass, everything that came before this is a pre-existing condition, which would be very bad for her.
You can't really claim the OP offered a false choice when Fox News is pretty much the embodiment of mainstream Republican thinking.
Part of my problem with the right is, they tend to be pretty conformist. Sometimes this is a good thing. Its definitely an effective thing. They have very strong party discipline, and moderates are pressured and pushed out. Honestly, as an Ohioan, I'm sort of sad to see George Voivovich retiring, but he sounds out of synch with his party and there is blowback for that.
My point is, the right may be good at some things, but diversity of viewpoints isn't one of them. So, pointing to something on the right and saying its not representative of the right wing is hard to do. Any examples you can come up with are, like Voinovich, getting pushed out.
The question I have is, are those "unpopular views" things like "I believe broccoli is delicious" or are they things like "1+1=3". The reason they are "unpopular views" is important.
Anyone who questioned the article or its source got modded to -1. Anyone who joined the groupthink Obama bashing got modded to +5. Way to be craptastic slashdot. This used to be a site where there were smart people.
Flamebait? Really? And Xan gets modded as +5 Insightful???
Try reading those two posts again. Unless "Democrats are an oppressive regime" suddenly became accepted fact and not just a crazy, unsupportable assertion, the modding here failed utterly.
And I repeat, clearly Drudge and Breitbart are Fox News for the web. I can't wait for 5 years from now when people have caught on to this.
1) Sort of a fair point. What I'm saying is though, Breitbart and Drudge will run things from any source, with no confirmation and are slanted in their selection. But yeah, I respect AP, so I'll give that to you.
2) If its rebuilding it in a way I like. And yeah, I haven't read it all, but I've gotten some good synopses from sources I trust. If you're going to make an extraordinary claim like "The Dems are as oppressive as the last Republican administration," you're going to need a lot of evidence. We're talking about a party who's core value is conformity. And who presided over a mood of the time of pervasive bullying, anti-intellectualism, and fear mongering.
This whole "they're all the same line," got tired after Bush beat Gore in 2000. Because Bush and Gore were the same. Yeah right. What a load.
Transparency is great, but there are times when it is pragmatic to not be transparent. I don't trust the Republicans not to use this to oppress people. The Dems...well they have their vices, but I don't feel like I personally an being threatened by an oppressive regime.
Also, Breitbart is doesn't have much credibility after some of the nonsense that's gotten on there. Breitbart and Drudge are in bed together and are essentially the web's version of Fox News. Hopefully people will get around to realizing that sooner rather than later.
Agreed. Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout...Bethesda has created some amazing and beautiful worlds with brilliant writing. They pushed past the boundaries of what had been done before. Heck, I still play Morrowind.
The Libertarians? I mean...isolationism can be a moral high ground, unless you're say, ignoring a genocide. But domestically no way do you hold a candle to the Liberal Democrats. Even without bringing the anarcho-capitalists into it (paying for your own police and fire), the minarchist would abandon entitlements. Before the advent of social security more than half of all senior citizens died in poverty. Now almost none do.
And the hilarious thing is, so called fiscal conservatives would destroy the economy. Money that goes into entitlements goes back into the economy. Money which the wealthy exploit from others is simply accumulated and not put back into the economy (they horde more than they spend, when compared to middle and lower classes).
You know, she did have that one spherical part that was all snarly. If you built an AI, but gave it a piece that was intrinsically aggressive/vicious...well its hard to say how much free will the thing really was allowed. Its outside the scope of what we know.
And Ford. Oh wait, that one's doing well, so we can't mention them.
Unions aren't actually the root of all evil. People like to bash them, but they still do important things for the workers of the world.
Slashdot Mirror
The Democrats also always seem to be able to build a strong economy. There is a connection.
Also, isn't Venezuela the country that pays for low income New Yorkers to have gas heat in the winter? Just sayin'
Well, as for Iraq, its worth remembering that Cheney is closely tied to Haliburton. More importantly, Bush and most of the right wing either didn't care about or didn't prioritize the cost. There was the bad blood between Bush and Saddam Hussein, the aspirations to stabilize (using imperial measures) the middle east, and lets face it, making war empowers a president.
Its still amazing that people don't talk more about the lack of WMDs in Iraq. The concerted effort to make the case for going to war with Iraq followed by the revelation that it was just a fabrication is just mind blowing. The cost in blood (both US and Iraqi) is so staggering and yet people seem willing to forget about it. Its pretty obviously a crime and the administration that perpetrated it are pretty clearly war criminals.
The Kursk, which famously sunk in 2000:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f6/Kursk_wreck.jpg
Actually, I thought he turned in a good performance in Hancock. Nothing says drama like an alcoholic w/super powers.
Didn't care for 7 pounds though. Maybe just because the message was offensive to me. I don't remember being blown away by the acting though. He's definitely come a long way from I, Robot though (which to be fair isn't a bad movie and seems to fit in the spirit of Asimov just fine for my tastes, but again the acting was nothing incredible).
America seems like its turning into a nationwide re-enactment of 'The Wave'. Scary stuff.
Read Deepak Chopra's latest 12 volume series, 'Is Santa really Satan? How the Norty Pole is corrupting your personal fields'
It took me forever to figure out the commonality here: Grammar that's redundant to the acronyms preceding it.
Probably to make these stupid gates work faster. Its like I have to wait forever for two moons to be in the right phase.
Well, there is this site: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/. Of course, that's more promises than lies, and a lot of the promises he's supposedly broken are things he tried to achieve but failed. Nor does it really do much to compare him to other presiedents.
I guess I would ask, what has he lied about? He certainly hasn't created a fraudulent war. He hasn't lied under oathe. He never worked for the CIA. No Iran-Contra or Watergate here. Again you're left saying he made campaign promises, many of which he tried to keep but exterior conditions did not permit it. And even these he's generally moving in the right direction on.
Frankly, I used to say Obama is one of the top 10 presidents we've ever had. Now, I've changed my tune. He's pretty obviously one of the 5 best presidents we've ever had. We're talking that level of historic leadership. Heading up a country under perpetual culture war, with a trashed economy, fighting two wars...this has been a clinic he's putting on how to lead.
But its popular to bash Obama. I'm not saying you're doing so, but the right wing hate machine has gained traction. That's why they do it. They know if they shout 1+1=3, people will cave and believe it, regardless of any objective truth.
Do you (have others painting a target on your back)? It seems like a lot of people have made some poor assumptions about how this is going to work. My take is, the economy will grow, taxes will go down for the lower and middle class, and more people will have health insurance.
I wondered how many comments would be made before someone invoked Obama. Obama, from all apearances, is the most honest president we've had in years. Yeah, there are going to be places where there won't be transparency, that's part of the job if you're doing it well.
When will it come out once you factor in that it will inevitably be late?
Does Somalia have really awesome healthcare then? Because there are no restrictions there.
I understand the allure of Fiscal Conservatism. There's something seductive about simplicity. But sometimes the simplest solution is not the correct one.
I'll tell you what. I'm probably not going to change your mind today. But what I will do is make a gentlemans bet with you. In 5 years, if HCR passes, the country will have better quality of life and a stronger economy. Costs will have gone down, not up. Ridiculous, expensive, medically caused bankruptcies will become far more rare. Communicable diseases will lose a significant vector because the poor will have better access to healthcare.
If all this isn't true, in 5 years, I'll sit down and really think about becoming a Libertarian (some of my best friends are Libertarians now, including one who ran for Lieutenant Governor of Ohio). Will you consider moving Left if these predictions do come to pass?
Postal Service is amazing. They're having money problems right now, but then so is everyone.
Before the advent of Social Security, more than half of all seniors died in poverty, now almost none do.
Americans are pretty schizophrenic on the Medi's...all these people who are saying "Keep government out of my Medicare/Medicaid don't seem to have a solid understanding of how this all works."
Bottom line is, this is one of the places where the conventional wisdom is wrong. And I think part of the "conventional wisdom" is pretty much right wing propaganda. People with money who think they can put one over on the dumb american public. Unfortunately, they haven't been proven wrong yet.
The real answer is, HCR is good for quality of life, good for the economy, and hopefully this is just the first step.
On a personal note, my sister is uninsured and just started a job where she'll have insurance in a few months. IF HCR doesn't pass, everything that came before this is a pre-existing condition, which would be very bad for her.
You can't really claim the OP offered a false choice when Fox News is pretty much the embodiment of mainstream Republican thinking. Part of my problem with the right is, they tend to be pretty conformist. Sometimes this is a good thing. Its definitely an effective thing. They have very strong party discipline, and moderates are pressured and pushed out. Honestly, as an Ohioan, I'm sort of sad to see George Voivovich retiring, but he sounds out of synch with his party and there is blowback for that. My point is, the right may be good at some things, but diversity of viewpoints isn't one of them. So, pointing to something on the right and saying its not representative of the right wing is hard to do. Any examples you can come up with are, like Voinovich, getting pushed out.
The question I have is, are those "unpopular views" things like "I believe broccoli is delicious" or are they things like "1+1=3". The reason they are "unpopular views" is important.
Anyone who questioned the article or its source got modded to -1. Anyone who joined the groupthink Obama bashing got modded to +5. Way to be craptastic slashdot. This used to be a site where there were smart people.
Flamebait? Really? And Xan gets modded as +5 Insightful??? Try reading those two posts again. Unless "Democrats are an oppressive regime" suddenly became accepted fact and not just a crazy, unsupportable assertion, the modding here failed utterly. And I repeat, clearly Drudge and Breitbart are Fox News for the web. I can't wait for 5 years from now when people have caught on to this.
1) Sort of a fair point. What I'm saying is though, Breitbart and Drudge will run things from any source, with no confirmation and are slanted in their selection. But yeah, I respect AP, so I'll give that to you. 2) If its rebuilding it in a way I like. And yeah, I haven't read it all, but I've gotten some good synopses from sources I trust. If you're going to make an extraordinary claim like "The Dems are as oppressive as the last Republican administration," you're going to need a lot of evidence. We're talking about a party who's core value is conformity. And who presided over a mood of the time of pervasive bullying, anti-intellectualism, and fear mongering. This whole "they're all the same line," got tired after Bush beat Gore in 2000. Because Bush and Gore were the same. Yeah right. What a load.
Transparency is great, but there are times when it is pragmatic to not be transparent. I don't trust the Republicans not to use this to oppress people. The Dems...well they have their vices, but I don't feel like I personally an being threatened by an oppressive regime. Also, Breitbart is doesn't have much credibility after some of the nonsense that's gotten on there. Breitbart and Drudge are in bed together and are essentially the web's version of Fox News. Hopefully people will get around to realizing that sooner rather than later.
Agreed. Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout...Bethesda has created some amazing and beautiful worlds with brilliant writing. They pushed past the boundaries of what had been done before. Heck, I still play Morrowind.
The Libertarians? I mean...isolationism can be a moral high ground, unless you're say, ignoring a genocide. But domestically no way do you hold a candle to the Liberal Democrats. Even without bringing the anarcho-capitalists into it (paying for your own police and fire), the minarchist would abandon entitlements. Before the advent of social security more than half of all senior citizens died in poverty. Now almost none do. And the hilarious thing is, so called fiscal conservatives would destroy the economy. Money that goes into entitlements goes back into the economy. Money which the wealthy exploit from others is simply accumulated and not put back into the economy (they horde more than they spend, when compared to middle and lower classes).
You know, she did have that one spherical part that was all snarly. If you built an AI, but gave it a piece that was intrinsically aggressive/vicious...well its hard to say how much free will the thing really was allowed. Its outside the scope of what we know.
And Ford. Oh wait, that one's doing well, so we can't mention them. Unions aren't actually the root of all evil. People like to bash them, but they still do important things for the workers of the world.
Likeable story/Mythos/Character but Vin Diesel is such a ham he kills it for me. Maybe they could do a Batman/James Bond thing and recast the lead?