If only a decent party had a chance in America... to claim that the Dems' federal politicians are better than the Republicans' or vice versa is shear wishful thinking.
Since 1929, Republicans and Democrats have each controlled the presidency for nearly 40 years. So which party has been better for American pocketbooks and capitalism as a whole? Well, here's an experiment: imagine that during these years you had to invest exclusively under either Democratic or Republican administrations. How would you have fared?
As of Friday, a $10,000 investment in the S.& P. stock market index* would have grown to $11,733 if invested under Republican presidents only, although that would be $51,211 if we exclude Herbert Hoover's presidency during the Great Depression. Invested under Democratic presidents only, $10,000 would have grown to ***$300,671*** at a compound rate of 8.9 percent over nearly 40 years.
Not to mention the fact that this current financial crisis is the result of 30 years of Republican economic policy. For 30 years, Republicans pushed for deregulation for the sake of deregulation, and tax cuts for the rich for the sake of giving the rich more money, and now we are reaping the whirlwind.
And those views are dead on arrival if they conflict with the views of the party/congressional leadership.
Pull your head out. Remember which candidate Joe Lieberman campaigned for in the general election? He still has his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee.
More troublesome for Mr. Dingell has been the long-term trend toward ideological polarization, making the Democratic Party less hospitable for members with socially conservative views, like his support for gun rights. When redistricting pitted him against the more liberal Representative Lynn Rivers in a 2002 primary, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California sent $10,000 to Ms. Rivers.
Too bad Dingell is 100% full of shit. Harry Reid is pro-life. Doesn't he hold some kind of Leadership post in the Senate? How about Jon Tester and Jim Webb and Howard Dean - all pro-gun Democrats. The first two were some of the most celebrated candidates of 2006, and Dean was chair of the frikkin Democratic National Committee.
As is usually the case, take the opposite of the wingnut line and you have reality.
There are many varied viewpoints in the Republican party, from the wacky (and IMO quite stupid) Creationists to the pro-abortion, pro-gay-marriage Giuliani conservatives to the corrupt idiots like Ted Stevens who I'm happy to see go.
But when push comes to shove, Republicans reliably march in lockstep. The only time they really stood up to Bush during his entire 8 years in office was over the Harriet Meyers nomination.
the latter two of which supported this pork-laden stimulus package in the Senate
There is no pork in this bill. None. Just because there was a Bridge to Nowhere does not mean that all infrastructure spending is "pork".
And unfortunately, Barack was pitched to us as a messenger from fairy land sent to save us all
Liar. The only people who have ever called Obama "the savior" or "the one" or "the messiah" are right wing Republicans.
He can't even instill his own purported values of transparency, freedom of information and clean government in his own party members despite his sweeping election.
As the other guy said: it's been three frikkin weeks, dude. And he indisputably better on this front than Bush.
I highly recommend the book The Case Against Barack Obama [amazon.com] by David Freddoso who is an investigative reporter for NRO.
Maybe - try being a pro-gun or pro-life democrat sometimes.
You mean like the pro-life Harry Reid? Doesn't he hold some kind of position in the Senate or something? Or the pro-gun Jon Tester and Jim Webb, two of the most celebrated candidates from 2006? What about them? How about Howard Dean - he's pro gun and ran some kind of National Committee or some such for the Democratic Party.
My favorite was all the whining I heard from the far-left when Bush was selling the TARP plan by telling us how society was going to collapse if we didn't pass it
Go see a nice doctor in North Korea about that anal obstruction you have. Once he's done removing your head from your ass, you can take a good look around and see what "far left" really looks like.
This was a REPUBLICAN plan, made by a REPUBLICAN Secretary of Treasury and a REPUBLICAN chair of the Fed, and heavily pushed by a REPUBLICAN president. That Republicans in the south decided to let Democrats and a lame duck president take the fall if TARP was a failure does nothing to change the fact that TARP was a REPUBLICAN idea.
I'm glad that Obama is above such fear-mongering to pass his agenda. He would never use loaded words like "catastrophe", would he?
Because we are, dumbass. We have sky high debt and unemployment, and we can't count on the rest of the world to bail us out like Japan in the 90's.
The bigger problem is that they're a 3rd party and are therefore viewed as unelectable by mainstream America, and ignored.
Not at all - see Ross Perot. He was dominating in the polls until he went crazy. There was also Nader, but he picked the wrong Democrat and the worst time to make a 3rd party run. A medicated Perot for prez and a Nader who's had his nap for VP could have cleaned house in 1992 or 2004.
Sometimes. But it's really, really hard to see money for things like Planned Parenthood as "infrastructure". There was waaaaay too much of that kind of crap.
It would save poor people money on medical expenses. So, naturally, Republicans were totally opposed for the idea. Same thing for Head Start funding (would hire teachers) and school construction (construction jobs).
Nice try, but the Reps were absolutely screaming for the addition of real infrastructure like roads and fewer social programs.
Nice try. See the aforementioned parts on school construction funding being stripped out of the bill.
Good thing the Democrat candidate for president accepted the public funding for campaigning, while the greedy Republican candidate went back on his word and got money from outside sources (ie: corporations, etc.) Wait, what? It was the other way around?
Obama never promised to take public financing. Never. What he did do, was say he would be happy to work with the Republican nominee to take public financing - on the condition that an attempt would be made to reign in the 527's.
The Democrats have always been in the pocket of RIAA/MPAA/Hollywood types.
Republicans have always been in the pocket of big business. What are the RIAA/MPAA/Hollywood studios? Big business.
Republicans have scr*w*d up the country but on this issue, they have always been a better alternative.
Only if by "Republicans" you mean "Ron Paul". The "Sonny Bono" of "Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act" fame was a Republican. All the recent media friendly legislation has passed a Republican Congress with Republican sponsors and broad Republican support.
While the Republican hating masses were giving Congress a single digit approval rating, most of them didn't even realize it was the Democrats who were in charge of Congress.
For TWO out of the last EIGHT years. And of course Republicans held the White House and the Supreme Court the entire time. But don't let that stop you from pretending that our current problems were caused by the 2006 election.
DiFi is DINO on all but two issues: environmentalism and women's issues. Anything else, and she's your standard-issue big business, warmongering Republican.
he was correct about that, but there is no proof of macro-evolution... NONE.
Creationist urban legend. Every time a transitional fossil is found, obtuse creationists just divide by two and demand a new example of a transitional species.
This bill has fully bipartisan support in recognizing that is is not a stimulus bill put a pork and spend to give paybacks to all those people that Nancy and Barak own.
There is no pork and the monies that Republicans are bitching about so much make up about 2% of the total.
Trying to get the country out of a depression by adding debt is a losing policy designed to make people feel like the government is doing something useful.
How do you think we got out of the Great Depression? When unemployment is high and demand is very low, the only way to increase demand and employment is for the government to start spending money that creates jobs.
If I can recall, every time I've seen a story about slashdot before today, there were 100 comments saying "They need to just have a firm cap." Now everyone is complaining about the firm cap.
You're making shit up. Comments revolve around three things:
There is no such thing as a bandwidth hog, only people using what they pay for.
Rather than instituting caps, ISP's should stop being lazy & greedy, and either stop overselling their connections, or upgrade their hardware. Because...
People in Asia and Europe get far faster connections for far less money, and some are aiming for 1 Gbps connections to the home. And don't give us any bullshit like "but Amerika is ruuural!" That explains why you can't get a 50 Mbps full duplex connection in Bumfuck, Wyoming. It doesn't explain why you can't get 50 Mpbs in NYC or San Francisco.
What has changed with this story? Not a damned thing. ISP's are being lazy & greedy again (in this case Charter), and people are bitching about it. Not only are you speaking out of your ass, but in an impressive bit of synergy, you're an asshole speaking out of your ass.
Other big American cities with high crime rates saw the same reduction in crime, at the same time period as NYC did, without a massive increase in police presence and harassing jaywalkers. And it happened without multiplying the law enforcement budget or the number of people accidentally shot to death. That old quote is appropriate again: it's the economy, stupid.
Oh, and the black market created by the War on Drugs trumps the Broken Window theory. Every. Time.
in the 1990s and 2000s, new york city is liveable again.
Yes, but the problem is that dropping crime rates had little to do with the massive increase in police presence, and everything to do with an improving economy. As evidenced by other large American cities that had similar drops in the crime rate without a Rudy 911uliani for a mayor.
You cannot reject IP, copyright etc and then complain if someone (yes, including the police) picks up one of your hair from the ground and gets your DNA (yes, even without your knowledge).
You can't complain about the CIA randomly picking you up and torturing you for a couple months with no probable suspicioun, or else you support terrorism.
IP and DNA aren't remotely comparable no matter how many 'shrooms you are on. They aren't on the same planet, much less the same page.
My concern isn't the needle (I donate blood frequently), but that this DNA is going in a database that the police "faithfully promise" will "be whipped if the suspect isn't charged".
Given the liberties that cops have taken with gathering and storing evidence, like using infra red cameras to look for pot growers (struck down by Supreme Court), or using helicopters to fly over your property without a warrant (ok'ed by the Supreme Court), I really really don't want them to start collecting DNA as a matter of course.
Slashdot Mirror
Um, they are :
Not to mention the fact that this current financial crisis is the result of 30 years of Republican economic policy. For 30 years, Republicans pushed for deregulation for the sake of deregulation, and tax cuts for the rich for the sake of giving the rich more money, and now we are reaping the whirlwind.
Pull your head out. Remember which candidate Joe Lieberman campaigned for in the general election? He still has his chairmanship of the Homeland Security Committee.
Too bad Dingell is 100% full of shit. Harry Reid is pro-life. Doesn't he hold some kind of Leadership post in the Senate? How about Jon Tester and Jim Webb and Howard Dean - all pro-gun Democrats. The first two were some of the most celebrated candidates of 2006, and Dean was chair of the frikkin Democratic National Committee.
As is usually the case, take the opposite of the wingnut line and you have reality.
But when push comes to shove, Republicans reliably march in lockstep. The only time they really stood up to Bush during his entire 8 years in office was over the Harriet Meyers nomination.
There is no pork in this bill. None. Just because there was a Bridge to Nowhere does not mean that all infrastructure spending is "pork".
Liar. The only people who have ever called Obama "the savior" or "the one" or "the messiah" are right wing Republicans.
As the other guy said: it's been three frikkin weeks, dude. And he indisputably better on this front than Bush.
Why would you recommend a highly debunked piece of shit from a hack writer for a right wing rag, exactly?
You mean like the pro-life Harry Reid? Doesn't he hold some kind of position in the Senate or something? Or the pro-gun Jon Tester and Jim Webb, two of the most celebrated candidates from 2006? What about them? How about Howard Dean - he's pro gun and ran some kind of National Committee or some such for the Democratic Party.
Because we are, dumbass. We have sky high debt and unemployment, and we can't count on the rest of the world to bail us out like Japan in the 90's.
Not at all - see Ross Perot. He was dominating in the polls until he went crazy. There was also Nader, but he picked the wrong Democrat and the worst time to make a 3rd party run. A medicated Perot for prez and a Nader who's had his nap for VP could have cleaned house in 1992 or 2004.
On what planet would Libertarians improve accountability for corporations?
It would save poor people money on medical expenses. So, naturally, Republicans were totally opposed for the idea. Same thing for Head Start funding (would hire teachers) and school construction (construction jobs).
Nice try. See the aforementioned parts on school construction funding being stripped out of the bill.
Obama never promised to take public financing. Never. What he did do, was say he would be happy to work with the Republican nominee to take public financing - on the condition that an attempt would be made to reign in the 527's.
As McCain had no interest in doing that, and was even breaking the campaign finance laws that bear his name .
Republicans have always been in the pocket of big business. What are the RIAA/MPAA/Hollywood studios? Big business.
Only if by "Republicans" you mean "Ron Paul". The "Sonny Bono" of "Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act" fame was a Republican. All the recent media friendly legislation has passed a Republican Congress with Republican sponsors and broad Republican support.
Take the 1996 Telecom Act, for example. The vote was 91 to 5.
Sure, Democrats have their heads buried far too deep in Hollywoods ass - but it's time to stop pretending that the Republicans are any better.
For TWO out of the last EIGHT years. And of course Republicans held the White House and the Supreme Court the entire time. But don't let that stop you from pretending that our current problems were caused by the 2006 election.
DiFi is DINO on all but two issues: environmentalism and women's issues. Anything else, and she's your standard-issue big business, warmongering Republican.
Ditch the bitch.
he was correct about that, but there is no proof of macro-evolution... NONE.
Creationist urban legend. Every time a transitional fossil is found, obtuse creationists just divide by two and demand a new example of a transitional species.
Translation: you're too lazy to back up your argument with sources, and therefore expect your debate opponent to prove your points for you.
This bill has fully bipartisan support in recognizing that is is not a stimulus bill put a pork and spend to give paybacks to all those people that Nancy and Barak own.
There is no pork and the monies that Republicans are bitching about so much make up about 2% of the total.
Trying to get the country out of a depression by adding debt is a losing policy designed to make people feel like the government is doing something useful.
How do you think we got out of the Great Depression? When unemployment is high and demand is very low, the only way to increase demand and employment is for the government to start spending money that creates jobs.
Except that ALL of those things ARE STIMULUS.
Legalization is legalization. What "hypocrisy" are you talking about, exactly.
Since when was marijuana a performance enhancing drug?
Which liberals would those be, exactly.
If I can recall, every time I've seen a story about slashdot before today, there were 100 comments saying "They need to just have a firm cap." Now everyone is complaining about the firm cap.
You're making shit up. Comments revolve around three things:
What has changed with this story? Not a damned thing. ISP's are being lazy & greedy again (in this case Charter), and people are bitching about it. Not only are you speaking out of your ass, but in an impressive bit of synergy, you're an asshole speaking out of your ass.
Stop pretending that all information is equal. What would concern you more:
Your comparison of DNA to copying music, movies or software is equally laughable.
Other big American cities with high crime rates saw the same reduction in crime, at the same time period as NYC did, without a massive increase in police presence and harassing jaywalkers. And it happened without multiplying the law enforcement budget or the number of people accidentally shot to death. That old quote is appropriate again: it's the economy, stupid.
Oh, and the black market created by the War on Drugs trumps the Broken Window theory. Every. Time.
in the 1990s and 2000s, new york city is liveable again.
Yes, but the problem is that dropping crime rates had little to do with the massive increase in police presence, and everything to do with an improving economy. As evidenced by other large American cities that had similar drops in the crime rate without a Rudy 911uliani for a mayor.
You cannot reject IP, copyright etc and then complain if someone (yes, including the police) picks up one of your hair from the ground and gets your DNA (yes, even without your knowledge).
You can't complain about the CIA randomly picking you up and torturing you for a couple months with no probable suspicioun, or else you support terrorism.
IP and DNA aren't remotely comparable no matter how many 'shrooms you are on. They aren't on the same planet, much less the same page.
My concern isn't the needle (I donate blood frequently), but that this DNA is going in a database that the police "faithfully promise" will "be whipped if the suspect isn't charged".
Given the liberties that cops have taken with gathering and storing evidence, like using infra red cameras to look for pot growers (struck down by Supreme Court), or using helicopters to fly over your property without a warrant (ok'ed by the Supreme Court), I really really don't want them to start collecting DNA as a matter of course.