High Drama In Washington

[Amskeptic]

Here we go again . . .

Sales of complex derivitives/bundled mortgage "securities"are up!
Bonuses at Goldman Sachs are up!
Agricultural subsidies are up!
Food stamps for poor children are down.

Look at the hysteria about an attempt to provide health care coverage at reasonable rates . . . Instead of proposing amendments or alternatives they threaten to shut down government or skip out on our creditors, or both.

The modern Republican Party . . . .
Colin

[Lanval]

No doubt the patricians squabbled over the tax revenues right up until the moment the Goths kicked open the doors and slaughtered the flower of Roman nobility. I hoped that the occupy movement would begin a larger groundswell, but even the minor easing was enough to turn many heads back to the distracting images dancing across the screen.

[Jivermo]

Clear and present danger: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio.

[Amskeptic]

Clear and present danger: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio.

Like Hitler, Mussolini, Joe McCarthy, and Huey Long, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are not half the danger as those who follow them, validate them, elect them . . .
. . . and that amazes me.
Colin

[Amskeptic]

Well, we are over the cliff here.
Many workers are now wondering how to pay their bills.
Congress, however, is still being paid.

Are there any opinions left here or are we all descending into a passive political coma, the "vigorous exchange of ideas so necessary to a vital functioning democracy" just a stupid line in a mouldy middle school text book?

[Amskeptic]

No doubt the patricians squabbled over the tax revenues right up until the moment the Goths kicked open the doors and slaughtered the flower of Roman nobility. I hoped that the occupy movement would begin a larger groundswell, but even the minor easing was enough to turn many heads back to the distracting images dancing across the screen.

. . . just like the minor easing of fuel prices has led to the re-emergence of pick-up trucks sales at the head of the list. We are idiots. We complain bitterly AND do nothing.
Colin

[Jivermo]

Let's see what the Kardashians are up to!

[BellePlaine]

Let's see what the Kardashians are up to!

Reminds me of...
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=10343&p=184706&hil ... an#p184706

For my part, I don’t care anymore about discussing politics online. The value of sharing my opinion is that perhaps I’ll either solidify my beliefs to my own self or perhaps amend my position if given a compelling reason. I’m looking for debates on philosophies, morality, right v. wrong in the grander scheme of things. The day to day bs of the dysfunctions our government I could give a flat fuck about; those are the symptoms not the disease.

I believe in happiness. And I believe that, generally speaking, a person must make their own happiness. I think that this is human nature. Can we start there?

[glasseye]

And I believe that, generally speaking, a person must make their own happiness...

Lennon and McCartney said it best.

"In the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make"

[TrollFromDownBelow]

I keep hearing the soundbite "Americans don't want Obamacare and Americans don't want to shut down the government." It's true that the U.S. is about evenly split on Obamacare as it exists today....what they fail to acknowledge is that those people who are against in it's current form want to change it / tweak it, not throw the whole thing in the trash! Since Obamacare was passed, we've had an election, and a Supreme Court ruling that says it's legit....give it a chance!

[Amskeptic]

I’m looking for debates on philosophies, morality, right v. wrong in the grander scheme of things. The day to day bs of the dysfunctions our government I could give a flat fuck about;

I keep hearing the soundbite "Americans don't want Obamacare and Americans don't want to shut down the government." It's true that the U.S. is about evenly split on Obamacare as it exists today....what they fail to acknowledge is that those people who are against in it's current form want to change it / tweak it, not throw the whole thing in the trash! Since Obamacare was passed, we've had an election, and a Supreme Court ruling that says it's legit....give it a chance!

This is EXACTLY what the bastards want to hear, Belle Plaine, " I am sick of the stupid politicians, I am tuning out." Yay!" they say, "let's write secret legislation just for us!"

This is the "greater issue", Belle Plaine, this is the Larger Picture, this is a grander scheme playing out in the Republic, and look at what we get for responses, "I hate the bs." The big picture is that we have never had a minority party try to nakedly thwart the law of the land, duly passed by vote, duly vetted for its Constitutionality, and never has a minority party is poised to hold hostage our international credit and standing.

I do not know if you and your family are nicely insured against medical surprises, but many are desperately waiting for these games to play out, with their very lives in the balance.

I do not know if your income is in any way tied to the functiuoning of the Federal Government, like many people here, but these games are screwing with their livelihoods.

So we have a Congress that has reached an insane level of myopia, that is thwarting the Will of the People, and we People are sick of the games they play? We allow them to. This is OUR problem, more richly and seriously than you seem willing to consider. You have no idea.

Troll, it is almost impossible to get a real reading of the number of Americans who have an informed opinion against the deployment of Obamacare, so immoral and despicable has been the misinformation campaign. Over 50% of those interviewed, did not know that they could keep their own insurance, BECAUSE the mis-informers are running with those businesses who cry "we can't afford to insure our workers if Obamacare passes" and you'd think the 2.3% tax on medical instruments is an economy crasher, but get this, the shut-down is going to cost easily as much. I cannot believe the indescriminate laziness of "journalists" who refuse to ask a follow-up question or two anymore.

This is OUR country to screw up, and we appear willing and able to do nothing to save it.
Cranklin

[drober23]

The ACA will put into effect changes that will be very difficult to un-do. Its opponents are desperate to keep those changes from occurring, and are quite obviously willing to employ every tool at their disposal to do so. At the same time, they are offering up "compromises" that fund popular government programs to try to defund the ACA in a piece-wise fashion. This much is very clear.

I believe that one faction of one house of one branch of government is holding the nation hostage in an attempt to overthrow the legislation of one bill, the results of an election, and the findings of the Supreme Court.

[TrollFromDownBelow]

Troll, it is almost impossible to get a real reading of the number of Americans who have an informed opinion against the deployment of Obamacare, so immoral and despicable has been the misinformation campaign. Over 50% of those interviewed, did not know that they could keep their own insurance, BECAUSE the mis-informers are running with those businesses who cry "we can't afford to insure our workers if Obamacare passes" and you'd think the 2.3% tax on medical instruments is an economy crasher, but get this, the shut-down is going to cost easily as much. I cannot believe the indescriminate laziness of "journalists" who refuse to ask a follow-up question or two anymore.
Cranklin

My point was the Democratic process has worked its course, and the bellicose few should not be allowed to hold the will of the American people hostage. Even with the mis-informers the majority of Americans still want some form of Obamacare - In fact, 2/3's of the American voters want Obamacare in some form. The only way you can say a majority of people "don't want" Obamacare is if you add the 29% who would like it tweaked to the 33% who feel it should be repealed....below are some stats from Forbe's magazine

"But a new survey of 1,976 registered voters finds that only 33 percent believe that the health law should be repealed, delayed, or defunded. 29 percent believe that “Congress should make changes to improve the law,” 26 percent believe that “Congress should let the law take effect” and see what happens, and 12 percent believe that the law should be expanded. The bottom line? Voters are skeptical that Obamacare will live up to Democrats’ hype. But they also believe that it should be given a chance to succeed."

I believe the journalists are doing their job, but you have Tea Party Extremists that are twisting the numbers to fit their world view.

[TrollFromDownBelow]

I believe that one faction of one house of one branch of government is holding the nation hostage in an attempt to overthrow the legislation of one bill, the results of an election, and the findings of the Supreme Court.

My sentiments exactly.

[Amskeptic]

I believe that one faction of one house of one branch of government is holding the nation hostage in an attempt to overthrow the legislation of one bill, the results of an election, and the findings of the Supreme Court.

My sentiments exactly.

Heck me too.
Colin