Politics

Politics

  • Obama

    Votes: 4 1.1%

  • Romney

    Votes: 172 48.9%

  • Other

    Votes: 46 13.1%

  • a:3:{i:1637;a:5:{s:12:"polloptionid";i:1637;s:6:"nodeid";s:7:"2882145";s:5:"title";s:5:"Obama";s:5:"

    Votes: 130 36.9%
  • Total voters
    352
M

MartyIrish

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Whiskeyjack said:
Friedersdorf is one of the best libertarian pundits writing today. Just like Ross Douthat-- writing for The New York Times-- is among the best conservative writers. You do yourself a great disservice writing off entire periodicals based on the perceived bias of its editorial board.
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I was kidding.

I usually try and seek out objective pieces no matter who they write for.
 
phgreek

phgreek

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Polish Leppy 22 said:
Debatable.
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As of late I've kinda backed off compensation, and really focused on the things they do which neither you or I could do to generate wealth w/o getting sued or thrown in the clink. Congress seems to project an image of fiduciary duty to the country and state they hail from, but in reality its own rules stand in stark contrast with having a fiduciary relationship with anyone but themselves, namely because they have nearly ZERO COI restrictions...I do not believe the rules which shield congress people (individuals) from normal codes of conduct need be.

I say pay them, but no special rules which allow congress to digress into nothing more than a criminal enterprise...
 
Whiskeyjack

Whiskeyjack

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phgreek said:
I say pay them, but no special rules which allow congress to digress into nothing more than a criminal enterprise...
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Stricter transparency and COI rules might be worth pursuing. Then again, these are some of the most powerful people in the world. Trusting them to write and enforce such laws against themselves is probably not going to work. Better to simply devolve as much power away from them as possible.
 
phgreek

phgreek

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Whiskeyjack said:
Stricter transparency and COI rules might be worth pursuing. Then again, these are some of the most powerful people in the world. Trusting them to write and enforce such laws against themselves is probably not going to work. Better to simply devolve as much power away from them as possible.
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oh...that part about enforcement...not sure the practical answer there...

Edit: I have ideas, but probably not practical, and if I enumerated any of them, a riot might break out here...
 
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IrishJayhawk

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There's pretty much nothing but good news in this jobs report.

The growth streak continued with the economy adding 257,000 jobs in January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, up from December’s estimated increase of 252,000 jobs but down from a revised December estimate of 329,000. Taken together, the job growth for November through January was faster than for any three-month period since September-November 1997.
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More jobs, numbers revised up, wages up, participation up. Quite a run.

Banner jobs year gets even bigger - Timothy Noah - POLITICO
 
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MartyIrish

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IrishJayhawk said:
There's pretty much nothing but good news in this jobs report.



More jobs, numbers revised up, wages up, participation up. Quite a run.

Banner jobs year gets even bigger - Timothy Noah - POLITICO
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Good. So invest in our future passing the Keystone (creating more jobs)


By the way...the energy sector in Houston alone has cut about 40k jobs...wait til next months

And as a financial professional, we're still due a "correction" in the market. No if, ands, or buts...it's coming. For the democrats hope that it holds off until after the next election.
 
RDU Irish

RDU Irish

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Participation rate sucks. It is as much a factor of people choosing not to work as it is less than spectacular job market. 1/8th of people age 55-65 on SSDI is a scary stat. 250% - 300% increase in SSDI collection per capita versus 30 years ago is equally embarrassing.
 
Polish Leppy 22

Polish Leppy 22

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pkt77242 said:
So is the government forcing ADP to lie as well?

ADP National Employment Report | January 2015
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Nope, just conveniently left out an important factor detailed in the article above. Since you didn't care to read it, here ya go:

He said in his blog that the Labor Department, which just touted a 5.6 percent unemployment rate — the lowest since June 2008 — is omitting Americans who quit their job searches after four weeks. But that’s wrong, he said.

Americans out of work for four weeks are “as unemployed as one can possibly be,” and there are up to 30 million who now fit that category — who aren’t counted in the Labor surveys, he said, Fox News reported.

He also said the “severely underemployed,” or those who work part-time but want full-time, aren’t counted by the Labor Department, either.



Read more: Jim Clifton, Gallup CEO, on job numbers: It's all a 'big lie' by the White House - Washington Times
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
 
pkt77242

pkt77242

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RDU Irish said:
Participation rate sucks. It is as much a factor of people choosing not to work as it is less than spectacular job market. 1/8th of people age 55-65 on SSDI is a scary stat. 250% - 300% increase in SSDI collection per capita versus 30 years ago is equally embarrassing.
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I don't know if I agree with the word embarrassing, but it is something that should have tighter restrictions on it and a better process for vetting it. Though to be fair part of the problem is doctors who sign off on the disability.
 
RDU Irish

RDU Irish

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pkt77242 said:
I don't know if I agree with the word embarrassing, but it is something that should have tighter restrictions on it and a better process for vetting it. Though to be fair part of the problem is doctors who sign off on the disability.
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Yeah, people who collect disability and can work should be ashamed of themselves. Seriously, "my back hurts doc!" followed shortly thereafter with "I'm glad I have all this extra spare time now that I don't have to work so I can put that new retaining wall in the back yard."

Slight exaggeration? Maybe but not by much.
 
pkt77242

pkt77242

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Polish Leppy 22 said:
Nope, just conveniently left out an important factor detailed in the article above. Since you didn't care to read it, here ya go:

He said in his blog that the Labor Department, which just touted a 5.6 percent unemployment rate — the lowest since June 2008 — is omitting Americans who quit their job searches after four weeks. But that’s wrong, he said.

Americans out of work for four weeks are “as unemployed as one can possibly be,” and there are up to 30 million who now fit that category — who aren’t counted in the Labor surveys, he said, Fox News reported.

He also said the “severely underemployed,” or those who work part-time but want full-time, aren’t counted by the Labor Department, either.



Read more: Jim Clifton, Gallup CEO, on job numbers: It's all a 'big lie' by the White House - Washington Times
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
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Um, that has gone on forever, why just blame this WH for it? It happened during the Bush years as well (especially in the early 2000's before the housing boom). The truth is that neither the WH (no matter who is President) or Congress (no matter who controls it) wants the real numbers known (well whoever is in the minority might want it known). To blame the WH for this is crazy.
 
phgreek

phgreek

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Its better than it was...marginally, however...

wait never mind...keep telling tens of millions of unemployed, and underemployed people how great they are doing...great strategy! That never turns people on ya! In fact I think that should be Hillary's Slogan..."Yes You Are" doing as well as you were....Bwahahaha!
 
Polish Leppy 22

Polish Leppy 22

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pkt77242 said:
Um, that has gone on forever, why just blame this WH for it? It happened during the Bush years as well (especially in the early 2000's before the housing boom). The truth is that neither the WH (no matter who is President) or Congress (no matter who controls it) wants the real numbers known (well whoever is in the minority might want it known). To blame the WH for this is crazy.
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lol I think the CEO of Gallup carries a little more weight than you do here
 
pkt77242

pkt77242

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Polish Leppy 22 said:
lol I think the CEO of Gallup carries a little more weight than you do here
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If you don't think that this has been going on since the dawn of the unemployment numbers then I have some beautiful ocean front property here in AZ to sell you.
 
Polish Leppy 22

Polish Leppy 22

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pkt77242 said:
If you don't think that this has been going on since the dawn of the unemployment numbers then I have some beautiful ocean front property here in AZ to sell you.
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Then own it. That'd be like the White House announcing they captured Saddam and leaving out how many Americans died in the process.

BTW how do you survive living in a red state like AZ? Beautiful weather, Republican governor who wants to enforce immigration law, decent economy, relatively low cost of living (Scottsdale excluded)...must be brutal haha
 
dshans

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I don't often comment in these highly charged threads, but when I do make a friend or two and a slew of enemies ...

The layoff of oil related jobs has nothing to do with Keystone. The source of the crude don't mean shit! It's "The Market, dammit! Prices are "depressed" and production slows. Hey, with a little luck the natural reduction might result in a squeeze that ups the cost to consumers and give the industry another "fix" of (once again) exorbitant higher prices and profit. Don't be surprised if this doesn't "self-correct" in short order.

Flood Houston with Canadian oil shale sludge and employment won't rise significantly until the market "rebounds" and it makes economic sense to refine it. In the meantime it gets shipped elsewhere in a relatively raw state.

Enough on the oil tirade. All the talk of "why don't they just get a job" is simply jaw flapping if there aren't (nearly) enough jobs available. It may have changed since the early 80's when I took two extension economics classes, the ideal to ensure "equilibrium" between management and labor was deemed to be a 3% unemployment rate. Full employment is a no-no. Full employment is the bane of mangement – it gives far too much "power" to negotiate wages and benefits to the "working class."

The unemployed should be hailed as heroes. They keep America safe through depressed wages.

As to things like Food Stamps, EBT and the like, do you even know in which government department they are? Agriculture. It helps keep the farmers farming at some level of profit and the unemployed (for whatever reason) at some level of life. Do you really think Kimberly-Clark gives a shit where the money to purchase their products is derived?

In the words of Ted Nugent (and no; I don't know who really wrote the lyrics) "Take a Trip Outside Your Mind."

You're tired, I'm sure. Time for a bit o' wine and a nap for me ...
 
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IrishJayhawk

IrishJayhawk

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Polish Leppy 22 said:
Then own it. That'd be like the White House announcing they captured Saddam and leaving out how many Americans died in the process.
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Or not counting the price tag for the wars he started in the actual budget in order to hide deficits...

Thanks for letting me know what the spin would be for one of the best economic quarters in the past few decades!
 
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irishog77

irishog77

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IrishJayhawk said:
Or not counting the price tag for the wars he started in the actual budget in order to hide deficits...

Thanks for letting me know what the spin would be for one of the best economic quarters in the past few decades!
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Yep. Or the the actual price tag for Obamacare.
 
GoIrish41

GoIrish41

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Polish Leppy 22 said:
Maher on Obama Prayer Speech: The Problem Is He Doesn't Say That Islam Is Living In The 16th Century Now | Video | RealClearPolitics

Bill Maher starting to make a little more sense week by week. That speech a few days ago by the pres was embarrassing and insulting.
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So Maher is a liberal hippy with no credibility until he says something you agree with and now he is wise and thoughtful? He takes great pleasure in reminding everyone how destructive religion is -- even if it cast millions of people as backward and barbaric.
 
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