Gridlock is fine if our financial outlook, for the county as a whole, is average or above average. Now, as you may know, I think it is not only bad, but horrific.
Mari and I had this discussion awhile back and I remember us being in agreement, although me pointing out that he agreed with me may actually hurt my point! Lol. I believe he thinks our legacy costs and long term picture are ruinous. Anyway, that's what I think. So, the answer to such a terrible mess isn't gridlock, as gridlock can not fix any problem. Now, I can hear you and GaG screaming at your screens! "Jack! Gumint can't fix anything, it will only fk it up worse!" Lol I can't say either of you are wrong but I know the entitlement state is going to come down crashing on our heads. No one has ever convinced me it won't eventually. Whether it's 10years or 20, I think it is in that timeframe. I think the only way to deal with it is to have the R party hold all of government. I think they are our only shot. No way in the world the Dems ever even try to solve this problem. The politics won't allow them. Bush, like we discussed, is going to get demagogued to death re: Medicare/caid. Problem is. R's talk a great game and don't do shit about it. Fk, they make it worse! Which leads you and GaG to say "See, Jack, we need gridlock. Lol Honestly though, I think we are fked. The job market is the new normal, automation will kill jobs in the next few decades, and our massive debt will swallow us like Quint from Jaws. LOEven if we put aside the ghastly nature of all this, as well as the potential legal issues they might face...
Who the fk is handling their security??? Can ANYBODY just walk in the door and get this access?
Is it the same people who don't think voters need a photo ID?
Just saying...
...CNN has "The Lead with Jake Tapper," a national news hour. Fox has "Your World with Neil Cavuto," a business and finance news show. Today, the lead story on CNN was about the Republican effort to determine their candidate for the 2016 election. The lead story on Fox's BUSINESS hour (which coincides with the close of business on Wall Street) was about demonstrations in 28 cities against abortions and Planned Parenthood. CNN covered the story at the bottom of the hour.
Nice to see how consistent you are - whenever Fox plays the music, you start dancing. You couldn't wait to start a thread about it, could you?
CNN had something interesting too. Jake Tapper interviewed Dr. Ben Carson in studio. At the end of the interview, Tapper offered his condolences to Carson on the death of his mother. One problem - she wasn't dead. Carson's family had gathered to say goodbye to her on her deathbed but in Carson's words words "she sprang back." Tapper said he didn't get the memo.
And if its a HUGE story only on right wing media...why is Planned Parenthood doing this:
Demonstrations against abortions ? Any demonstrations against killing people in mass shootings. I mean people who are already born and living.
...the first half hour interviewing Rick Perry live in studio, asking him hard-hitting questions while sucking his cock.
Their first story after Perry was how the news media was "terrified" of reporting the Planned Parenthood story. Eric Bolling Ball Brain said he watched the ISIS beheading videos and the Planned Parenthood videos were much more gruesome.
..... I expect a VERY restrictive anti-abortion bill to be tabled again by the House, even though a previously highly restrictive anti abortion bill had to pulled because so many House GOP women threatened a mass rebellion. Keep it up fellas and you'll end up driving all the Independent single/married women to Hillary...lol
-- Modified on 7/28/2015 7:15:51 PM
...These states all have Republican governors (except W. Va.). Three states have had these laws blocked, but twelve are still in effect.
These laws are flouting Roe v. Wade which allows abortions up to 24 weeks. Republicans want these laws to go to the Supreme court in order to try to overturn Roe v. Wade. These are the Republicans' priorities - stop all abortions to save thousands of innocent fetuses and fight wars all over the world to kill millions of innocent people.
-- Modified on 7/28/2015 4:05:32 PM
...that the Planned Parenthood story was the number one story in the world.
Fox played a sound bite from Geoff Garin of Hart Research, a pollster hired by Planned Parenthood's political arm. He said: "This is not a topic that people are following with rapt attention, and to the extent people are, they tend to be Republicans who are sort of inside the Fox News bubble."
How's the air inside the bubble, Jack?
-- Modified on 7/28/2015 3:39:41 PM
CBS Evening news lead in: Tom Brady's deflate-gate followed by an American Dentists shooting of a beloved Lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe.
NBC lead in: Joyce Mitchell sentenced to 7 years for aiding NY inmates escape followed by Tom Brady's deflate-gate.
Still watching and nothing yet on CBS/NBC news, while the Fox News news anchors are ALL having spontaneous PPorgasms....lol
-- Modified on 7/28/2015 7:12:56 PM
that are sacrosanct to the liberals. This is one of them. Social Security, Medicare, SNAP, are examples of others. Changing, eliminating, or even modest improvements are NOT on the table, now or ever. They will only discuss expansion, not reduction. Next time you are at a cocktail party in LA, SFO, NY or Seattle, engage 5 or 6 Progressive women, and try to have a balanced give and take conversation on PP. Report back and tell me how that goes.
To me the issue is the $500M+ federally funding, not the core issue of women's reproductive rights. In the scheme of things, it's not really a lot of money. But at the same time, a little process reengineering, move from a decentralized to a more centralized structure. That way you should be better able to control messaging, access & security. Next, price the product more competitively, add PP offices adjacent to every university in the country, and voila, they PP be a cash generating machine with no need for taxpayers money. Wouldn't that "generally" make everyone happy...You'd Think! Maybe put contraceptives over the counter, that might diffuse the debate a little.
And since 99.5% (the .5% is Laffy) of P&R are guys, would we really have an all encompassing debate? Plus I do have a little distaste for videos with really bad ominous music in the background.
Let this one go.
Who the fk is handling their security??? Can ANYBODY just walk in the door and get this access?
Is it the same people who don't think voters need a photo ID?
Just saying...
Though I suspect the reason for Liberal resistance against changes in that and the other programs you mentioned are based on the Gun Rights fear and mantra regarding 'the slippery slope.' Fear that promised moderate changes would turn into eliminating them all together. And, regarding PP, I can imagine resistance to change can have to do with the 'Non-profit mentality.' It can be very difficult for administrators from non-profit backgrounds to change their way of thinking to accommodate for profit thinking and implementation. They're use to working from a 'deprivation model,' and usually for reasons that are quite understandable. 
When the parties are as entrenched as they are, just like with gun rights, and the other parties stated goal is to chip away, one small victory at a time until there are no more Guns/abortions, etc. I do see why "common sense" changes are so hard fought.
See Matt, I can be "reasonable" at times too. lol Too bad your buddies like Hadji, Daffy and fatgirl, have no idea how to concede a thing to the "enemy" and in all fairness, I guess I have to include righties like Nuguy, gunny, and user1994
...That are going broke, can never be fixed? Is that what you are saying? Since they love these programs, shouldn't they be leading the charge to save them, financially, from an existential threat to them? I really am not following you here Croix.
Then you say the 500m is not a lot of money, comparatively. Agreed to a point, but isn't that the program with big government. The argument can be made that virtually everything is not that much money so why bother, right?
Having multiple convos with you re:this topic in general leads me to believe you don't think the debt is an issue or you think it is a problem not fixable. I am not sure which.
You have struck me as a conservative, economically speaking, but maybe you are more center/left? Not familiar with all your posts so I am sure you will set me straight.
On the PP issue, if you think they can make a killing, and a I agree with you, why not defund them? We are a country swimming in massive debt so I don't get how you can poo poo any amount of savings, especially since they can make money by making the changes to their business plan that you suggest.
Since they are federally funded, and acting in a callous and possibly illegal manner, do you oppose investigating them? If so, why?
I would vote for just about anyone else other than Bernie "Karl Marx" Sanders. He is a direct threat to me. People vote for their self interest. Anyone who tells you otherwise is full of shit. The other candidates on the left and right will try and nibble around the edges. I can live with that to a degree. You've read GaG talk about gridlock. There is value to gridlock. Not much gets done, but when you look at the legislation being passed, it makes sense. The days of compromise and back room deals are over. People are more partisan than ever. Just look at this board. Hence, another reason for my self-interest. Am I sympathetic to the plight of others, yes, but to a point.
Re PP....I was being a bit flippant and serious at the same time. I could actually turn it into a very profitable venture. Think about it. PP located next to every college. Captive audience of young females doing things that need the products and services of PP. Sure, their insurance company could provide it, or even the college health services department, which is included in the tuition. But PP provides almost 24/7 service, lower cost, and the most valuable benefit....SECRECY. You could expand it to males as well. I know that's never going to happen, but fun to think about.
In business and government you have to pick your battles. Is PP a battle worth pursuing? It's a charged social issue. Look at the responses from the Left. Veins are popping out of their head. You might be able to attack the fringes, and make moderate conservatives compliant, i.e. move contraceptives to over the counter. Then at least I don't have to listen to the next Sandra Fluke, attending a Catholic college no less, demand somebody else pay for her contraceptives. Put it next to the Robitussin. Both Republicans and Democrats disagree with me. On this issue, I can piss off a group of liberal and conservative women at the same time.
Oh yeah...means testing, as it relates to Wealth, not Income, the former is cumulative, the latter is yearly. That issue has a direct impact to me.
Then you say the 500m is not a lot of money, comparatively. Agreed to a point, but isn't that the program with big government. The argument can be made that virtually everything is not that much money so why bother, right?
Having multiple convos with you re:this topic in general leads me to believe you don't think the debt is an issue or you think it is a problem not fixable. I am not sure which.
You have struck me as a conservative, economically speaking, but maybe you are more center/left? Not familiar with all your posts so I am sure you will set me straight.
On the PP issue, if you think they can make a killing, and a I agree with you, why not defund them? We are a country swimming in massive debt so I don't get how you can poo poo any amount of savings, especially since they can make money by making the changes to their business plan that you suggest.
Since they are federally funded, and acting in a callous and possibly illegal manner, do you oppose investigating them? If so, why?
Gridlock is fine if our financial outlook, for the county as a whole, is average or above average. Now, as you may know, I think it is not only bad, but horrific.
Mari and I had this discussion awhile back and I remember us being in agreement, although me pointing out that he agreed with me may actually hurt my point! Lol.
I believe he thinks our legacy costs and long term picture are ruinous. Anyway, that's what I think. So, the answer to such a terrible mess isn't gridlock, as gridlock can not fix any problem. Now, I can hear you and GaG screaming at your screens!
"Jack! Gumint can't fix anything, it will only fk it up worse!" Lol
I can't say either of you are wrong but I know the entitlement state is going to come down crashing on our heads. No one has ever convinced me it won't eventually. Whether it's 10years or 20, I think it is in that timeframe.
I think the only way to deal with it is to have the R party hold all of government. I think they are our only shot. No way in the world the Dems ever even try to solve this problem. The politics won't allow them. Bush, like we discussed, is going to get demagogued to death re: Medicare/caid.
Problem is. R's talk a great game and don't do shit about it. Fk, they make it worse! Which leads you and GaG to say "See, Jack, we need gridlock. Lol
Honestly though, I think we are fked. The job market is the new normal, automation will kill jobs in the next few decades, and our massive debt will swallow us like Quint from Jaws. LO
It was one of the few positive and forward looking things he tried to do, fixing Social Security, and look what happened. He was both laughed and shouted down by both parties, including right here on this board. I think I was one of only a couple of posters who agreed that SOMETHING had to be done. Now here we are a decade down the road and the edge of the cliff is getting closer and closer, and the Repubs are still obsessing over women's vagina rights instead of getting our fiscal house in order.
My fear in allowing the GOP to run things again is that they will take it as a mandate to fix things that don't need fixing, things like Gay marriage and women's reproductive rights. I have ZERO faith in Government fixing any of these entitlement programs until we become the next Greece. Like ST C, I am self centered, and I care about what happens to ME and then I think of what's good for the country, especially if what's coming is going to come no matter how I vote. and what's good for me is to feather my own nest, get far enough ahead of the game to be much more diverse than I currently am, and be prepared for the upcoming financial apocalypse.