Support NeoGAF

[speculawyer]

I would like to see more investment in the sciences.

I don't think the free market is ideal for all technological development because of the lengthy development pipeline. I favor the government making prudent investments now before market forces demand technology-driven solutions to our problems.

The department of Energy is the place where this has happened. And clearly the results have been mixed. Solyndra crash & burned . . . but the reason they crashed & burned is because the industry overall has created really really cheap solar panels. The biggest impediment to solar these days is the cost & hassle of getting permits and the labor to install them. Other than that, they are really a no-brainer on any home.

Fisker automotive was also another not-so-good decision, IMHO. But there were not many companies to choose from.

The Volt has been available for a year and did not meet the yearly sales target. Many are decrying it as a failure. I feel it is a great start for a long-term platform.


Energy is a critical technology these days. And we are stuck in a trap. Oil is getting more and more expensive but electric vehicles as a replacement are still very expensive and provide a solution that is not as good. Solar power has had great break-throughs . . . but natural gas prices have plummeted due to the shale gas revolution such that even though solar is much much better (and wind too), they both struggle.

 

[Oblivion]

The department of Energy is the place where this has happened. And clearly the results have been mixed. Solyndra crash & burned . . . but the reason they crashed & burned is because the industry overall has created really really cheap solar panels. The biggest impediment to solar these days is the cost & hassle of getting permits and the labor to install them. Other than that, they are really a no-brainer on any home.

Fisker automotive was also another not-so-good decision, IMHO. But there were not many companies to choose from.

The Volt has been available for a year and did not meet the yearly sales target. Many are decrying it as a failure. I feel it is a great start for a long-term platform.


Energy is a critical technology these days. And we are stuck in a trap. Oil is getting more and more expensive but electric vehicles as a replacement are still very expensive and provide a solution that is not as good. Solar power has had great break-throughs . . . but natural gas prices have plummeted due to the shale gas revolution such that even though solar is much much better (and wind too), they both struggle.

Yeah, the department of energy's pretty badass. Even moreso since I learned that's where they keep the nukular weapons (thought they were held by the Dept. of defense).

 

[Brinbe]

Not sure if old/already posted, but this 200-page McCain oppo doc on Romney from 2008 is pretty engrossing...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/78582788/McCain-2008-Oppo-File

Awkward Moments
Romney at youth basketball game and gym class with awkward sit-ups/warm-up routine. (Tape 67)
Romney begins to discuss “acute hair situation.” (Meant Acute Care Situation) (Tape 55)
Romney says the Harlem Globetrotters have trouble making touchdowns. (Tape 62)

Wanna see these.

 

[A27_StarWolf]

OldGAF, tell me, in a nut shell, what he was those ethics charges for?

 

[jamesinclair]

Are any right wing people (druge, fox news etc) protesting the big government JOB KILLING REGULATION that is SOPA, or are they ignoring it because if the liberals dislike it, it must be good?

 

[Synth_floyd]

Are any right wing people (druge, fox news etc) protesting the big government JOB KILLING REGULATION that is SOPA, or are they ignoring it because if the liberals dislike it, it must be good?

Every issue is either a right wing or left wing issue. Since librulz are for it, then it must be a left wing issue and they must oppose it.

 

[Ravidrath]

Late to this party, but holy shit... Newt Gingrich is fucking feculent.

His thinly-veiled racist dog whistling in the South Carolina debate is just inexcusable. And he got a standing ovation for it?

This country scares me sometimes.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

What excites me most about this election is the thought of seeing Obama rip whoever becomes the Republican nominee 2 (two) new assholes during the debates.

 

[Ravidrath]

What excites me most about this election is the thought of seeing Obama rip whoever becomes the Republican nominee 2 (two) new assholes during the debates.

If you don't actually pay attention to what he's saying, Newt sounds like he's winning, so that would be... interesting.

Obama would just nuke Frothy Mixture from orbit, though, and it would be glorious.

 

[Chumly]

God dam the interviews on the morning shows piss me off. This argument that republicans are trying to argue that they "compromise". They say we need to get down and work together and compromise but not compromise their values. Translation: Republicans will never compromise but Democrats should compromise on everything because they have no values.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/01/18/palin_almost_endorses_gingrich.html

Sarah Palin told Fox News that if she were a South Carolinian, "I would vote for Newt" in the state's primary.

However, the New York Times notes Palin "hedged her praise somewhat by suggesting she was going with Mr. Gingrich to prolong the Republican contest -- in other words, to head off the inevitability of Mitt Romney's coronation should he win handily in South Carolina. She said that a longer race meant more debates and more vetting of candidates, something that did not occur as it should have, in her view, with President Obama."

Said Palin: "I want to see this thing continue because iron sharpens iron, steel sharpens steel."

Lol the reasoning is just glorious

 

[Byakuya769]

God dam the interviews on the morning shows piss me off. This argument that republicans are trying to argue that they "compromise". They say we need to get down and work together and compromise but not compromise their values. Translation: Republicans will never compromise but Democrats should compromise on everything because they have no values.

Kosmo told me that they tried, but Obama said something to the effect of, "Fuck off. I got elected to do everything I want to!" Goodwill was forever lost after that revealing comment.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

Kosmo told me that they tried, but Obama said something to the effect of, "Fuck off. I got elected to do everything I want to!" Goodwill was forever lost after that revealing comment.

I remember that. I think it was when they invited him over for a cup of tea at the GOP House issue conference. He didn't like their honest statements and questions and just started lashing out at those honest, good men.

 

[Mortrialus]

God dam the interviews on the morning shows piss me off. This argument that republicans are trying to argue that they "compromise". They say we need to get down and work together and compromise but not compromise their values. Translation: Republicans will never compromise but Democrats should compromise on everything because they have no values.

What interviews are you referring to?

 

[Mardak]

He believes in wide variety of crazy conspiracy theories. He is certainly not an idiot but he lacks critical thinking skills.

What conspiracy theories are you suggesting he believes?

Many engineers like Ron Paul's positions because they're logical. All of his positions can be reasoned from the idea of liberty, so if one can mentally process the individual steps, one ends up at the same logical response that Ron Paul gives.

 

[Mortrialus]

What conspiracy theories are you suggesting he believes?

Many engineers like Ron Paul's positions because they're logical. All of his positions can be reasoned from the idea of liberty, so if one can mentally process the individual steps, one ends up at the same logical response that Ron Paul gives.

He believes that there is a global conspiracy to create a One-World-Government, or at least a North American Union and are trying to introduce a new North American currency called the Amero.

 

[gcubed]

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/01/18/palin_almost_endorses_gingrich.html



Lol the reasoning is just glorious

gotta bust it out

 

[Mardak]

He believes that there is a global conspiracy to create a One-World-Government, or at least a North American Union

Are those things he said about NATO, WTO, UN, NAFTA, TTC, etc. not true at all? Was Ron Paul talking conspiracy theory when he suggested that the Federal Reserve was secretly giving preferential treatment/loans to its close corporate bank buddies?

At least from the videos, it seems like he was pointing out various facts and making a logical conclusion of the trending behaviors.

 

[gcubed]

Are those things he said about NATO, WTO, UN, NAFTA, TTC, etc. not true at all? Was Ron Paul talking conspiracy theory when he suggested that the Federal Reserve was secretly giving preferential treatment/loans to its close corporate bank buddies?

At least from the videos, it seems like he was pointing out various facts and making a logical conclusion of the trending behaviors.

this conversation is hilarious if not timely because of the David Brooks opinion piece.

Ron Paul’s supporters are so grateful. The world was once confusing, but then they read “End the Fed” and the scales fell from their eyes. Paul himself is fascinating because as some smart person observed (I’ve forgotten who), he thinks serially, not causally. The income tax happened and the Patriot Act happened and the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, bailed out the banks and job growth stinks. Paul doesn’t bother with logical links. He just strings events together and assumes causation.

 

[empty vessel]

What conspiracy theories are you suggesting he believes?

Many engineers like Ron Paul's positions because they're logical. All of his positions can be reasoned from the idea of liberty, so if one can mentally process the individual steps, one ends up at the same logical response that Ron Paul gives.

Engineers may make decent logicians, but they are terrible philosophers. What is this "idea of liberty" from which all of Ron Paul's positions purportedly may be deduced?

Libertarians tend to fetishize "liberty" without ever really giving it a moment's thought. In a society, every man's liberty is another man's non-liberty. If I am at liberty to eat a particular apple, you do not have that liberty. If I am at liberty to cross an intersection, you lack that liberty. Allocating which individuals get and lose liberty in particular circumstances is what government does.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

OldGAF, tell me, in a nut shell, what he was those ethics charges for?

Not until 8 PM EST tonight, haha.

Short short version, he funneled money for nakedly partisan political purposes through tax-exempt (lol) donations and charities--often for inner city children--and most notoriously through a college course he was teaching which was just a platform to push his ideology and organize conservatives, and/or promote ideas for which he received a nice fat check for.

While he was never convicted of the charges directly, he was fined $300,000 for misleading the ethics committee in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/govt/leadership/stories/012297.htm

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

Engineers may make decent logicians, but they are terrible philosophers. What is this "idea of liberty" from which all of Ron Paul's positions purportedly may be deduced?

I work in an engineering consulting firm and can confirm this 100%. Engineers also tend to be intelligent people without much ability to empathize, so when they see a poor person they think "Well they should just go to college like I did and get a nice job!" without even attempting to understand that person's conditions.

I should note that my firm does engineering / construction, so it has a lot more blue collar feel than you might think.

 

[daedalius]

So I feel like Newt Gingrich has a better chance against Obama than Mitt Romney. Maybe not by a whole lot, but Gingrich vs Obama in a debate? The man would rip him apart.

Apparently you really want me to use the mindblown gif again, because you're literally blowing my mind with this one.

I'm sure that dripping condescension that newt always gets when he is agitated(actually it might be all the time) will go over real well with a non-prescreened audience. The media(lol) would have a field day with newt if he actually got the nomination; it is a joke that they haven't already trotted out all of his skeletons.

Between thinking all black people are poor, live off of foodstamps (from their food stamp president), don't understand hard work, and that Spanish is the language of the ghetto... I mean, you really think he would win a debate against anyone that isn't another old white man appealing to other white people that want this country to go back to the 1950s?

 

[Plinko]

CNBC ran a fact check of the GOP debate. Here's some highlights (bolded emphasis mine):

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46024674/

GINGRICH on Chile's system of private retirement accounts: "First of all, it's totally voluntary. If you want to stay in the current system, stay in it. If you are younger and you want to go and take a personal savings account, which would be a Social Security savings account, you can take it."

THE FACTS: There is nothing voluntary about Chile's system. It requires that all workers contribute 10 percent of their salaries to private pension plans, plus other fees for insurance, instead of a government program like Social Security.

Workers had a choice when Chile created the private pensions in 1981 but after that phase-in, all new employees have been required to contribute 10 percent of their first $33,360 in annual wages, choosing among five funds whose investments range from safe bonds to riskier stocks.

The Chile model was also a favorite of Herman Cain when he was in the Republican race. He, too, mischaracterized the system as optional.

The one we all knew was fake:

ROMNEY: "Three years into office, he doesn't have a jobs plan."

FACT CHECK: Like them or not, Obama has proposed several plans intended to spur the economy and create jobs. The most well-known was his stimulus plan, introduced in February 2009, which included about $800 billion in tax cuts and spending.

At the end of 2010, Obama struck a deal with GOP congressional leaders on a package intended to stimulate hiring and growth. The deal cut the Social Security payroll tax, which provided about an extra $1,000 a year to an average family. It also extended an unemployment benefits program that provided up to 99 weeks of aid.

And in September, Obama introduced his most recent jobs plan, rolling it out in a speech to the full Congress in which he urged Congress to "pass it right away." It included $450 billion in tax cuts and new spending, including greater cuts to payroll taxes and tax breaks for companies that hire those who've been out of work for six months or more. Almost none of it has been passed into law.

I specifically remember Obama having a televised event detailing that last jobs plan and the GOP bashing it soon after. Romney is crazy.

GINGRICH: "More people have been put on food stamps by Barack Obama than any president in American history."

THE FACTS: It's gotten easier to qualify for food stamps in the past decade but that is because of measures taken before Obama became president.

It's true that the number of people on food stamps is now at a record level. That's due mainly to the ailing economy, which Republicans blame on Obama, as well as rising food costs.

The worst downturn since the Great Depression wiped out 8.7 million jobs, pushed the unemployment rate to a peak of 10 percent in October 2009 and increased poverty.

More than 46.2 million people were on food stamps in October 2011, down slightly from a record 46.3 million in September. That's up from fewer than 31 million people three years earlier.

Eligibility rules were relaxed in 2002 and 2008 during the Bush administration. Obama's stimulus package, passed in February 2009, relaxed the program's work requirements through September 2010.

I just can't stand Gingrich and how the right eats up what he has to say like it's the truth.

Every time I read these I can't help but feel that Obama is going to absolutely destroy his opponent in the debates.

 

[gcubed]

if you get upset by people lying, following politics is going to shorten your life span

 

[Sirpopopop]

He believes that there is a global conspiracy to create a One-World-Government, or at least a North American Union and are trying to introduce a new North American currency called the Amero.

That's a very logical conclusion to draw.

If you were an engineer you would understand this.

As such paragons of logic, it's also why the Salem Hypothesis exists.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

That's a very logical conclusion to draw.

If you were an engineer you would understand this.

Not sure if serious

 

[Angry Fork]

Probably was posted already but I just saw it today. What do people think about this and how do you justify voting Obama (or voting at all since republicans are even worse) with this kind of baggage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adbU...xt=C373d161UDOEgsToPDskIbAM6Kn-hAB6fJ9DyQ9uaW

 

[Lucky Forward]

An animation of the 2012 Republican campaign as a horse race.

 

[jmdajr]

An animation of the 2012 Republican campaign as a horse race.

I was amused. Thank You.

 

[Rocket Scientist]

An animation of the 2012 Republican campaign as a horse race.

Marvelous.

Edit: Disappointed that I'm not seeing more blackout avatars in the PoliGAF thread. Would have been the thread I'd expect the most amount of blackout avatars.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

Edit: Disappointed that I'm not seeing more blackout avatars in the PoliGAF thread. Would have been the thread I'd expect the most amount of blackout avatars.

Because it's nonsense and a waste of time?

Large, influential websites blacking out and people calling their representatives en masse actually means something. Having a black avatar on a website for video games is irrelevant.

 

[airmangataosenai]

Marvelous.

Edit: Disappointed that I'm not seeing more blackout avatars in the PoliGAF thread. Would have been the thread I'd expect the most amount of blackout avatars.

It's like that cartoon avatar thing for Facebook last year. It's just vanity on the part of the people who participate, nothing more. It's actually even less meaningful then that as the only people who will see the blackout are other Gaffers.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

“I’m going to vote NO on #PIPA and #SOPA. The Internet is too important to our economy,” Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) tweeted on Tuesday afternoon, on the eve of a massive blackout planned by many popular U.S. websites opposed to the bills.

Meanwhile, Reps. Ben Quayle (R-AZ) and Lee Terry (R-NE), two co-sponsors of SOPA, are both quietly removing their names from the official list of co-sponsors, POLITICO reported on Wednesday morning.

Also Marco Rubio has removed his support for PIPA

###

 

[SolKane]

CNBC ran a fact check of the GOP debate. Here's some highlights (bolded emphasis mine):

http://www.cnbc.com/id/46024674/

The one we all knew was fake:

I specifically remember Obama having a televised event detailing that last jobs plan and the GOP bashing it soon after. Romney is crazy.


I just can't stand Gingrich and how the right eats up what he has to say like it's the truth.

Every time I read these I can't help but feel that Obama is going to absolutely destroy his opponent in the debates.

If these "debates" had any air of legitimacy, there would be fact-checkers working simultaneously to issue follow-ups to the BS those guys spew on stage.

 

[A27_StarWolf]

Every issue is either a right wing or left wing issue. Since librulz are for it, then it must be a left wing issue and they must oppose it.

because its just fox news not saying anything about it. ALL the cable news organizations are owned by people and organizations that want SOPA.

 

[RustyNails]

Edit: Disappointed that I'm not seeing more blackout avatars in the PoliGAF thread. Would have been the thread I'd expect the most amount of blackout avatars.

It's preaching to the choir.

 

[ToxicAdam]

Edit: Disappointed that I'm not seeing more blackout avatars in the PoliGAF thread. Would have been the thread I'd expect the most amount of blackout avatars.

Maybe because we pay attention to politics, so we know a meaningless gesture when we see one.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Probably was posted already but I just saw it today. What do people think about this and how do you justify voting Obama (or voting at all since republicans are even worse) with this kind of baggage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adbU...xt=C373d161UDOEgsToPDskIbAM6Kn-hAB6fJ9DyQ9uaW

This is a collection of generalized campaign platitudes with Uygur countering with little more than "but he didn't". When a candidate says something like "there will be time to put these people to the fire" of course that's just fiery (ahem) rhetoric.

I'm not going to sit here and say Obama has not underwhelmed or come up short in any conceivable capacity, but I will say that there is a shitload of circumstance between 2007 and 2012, and I don't think a video of his broadest red meat campaign statements really says much about anything.

 

[Invisible_Insane]

Edit: Disappointed that I'm not seeing more blackout avatars in the PoliGAF thread. Would have been the thread I'd expect the most amount of blackout avatars.

Maybe because we pay attention to politics, we know a meaningless gesture when we see one.

Yep.

I'll be tragically amused if it turns out you haven't contacted your representative/senators.

 

[AlteredBeast]

LOL. Blacking out avatars. You guys were the people I laughed in high school.

Send out a chain mail, at least then you guys will get soccer moms involved.

 

[RustyNails]

WH likely to announce opposition to the keystone pipeline, TODAY

Washington (CNN) - The Obama administration will likely announce its opposition to the controversial Keystone pipeline project as early as today, according to a Democratic source briefed on the matter.

Though House Speaker John Boehner's office has not yet been informed of the White House decision, the Speaker said today, "This is not good for our country. The president wants to put this off until it's convenient for him to make a decision. That means after the next election. The fact is the American people are asking the question right now, "Where are the jobs?"

The proposed Keystone pipeline has been caught up in the Washington political discourse since Republicans inserted a clause in the payroll tax cut negotiations last fall trying to force a decision on the project within a limited time frame. The White House had tried to push the decision until 2013 after the coming presidential election.

boehner am cry

 

[The Librarian]

Probably was posted already but I just saw it today. What do people think about this and how do you justify voting Obama (or voting at all since republicans are even worse) with this kind of baggage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adbU...xt=C373d161UDOEgsToPDskIbAM6Kn-hAB6fJ9DyQ9uaW

I like your drive-by anti-Obama posts.

Also Marco Rubio has removed his support for PIPA

###

To add to this:

Representative Brad Miller has come out against SOPA as written. David Price, my representative, has come out against it today also. Now, see, THAT is why I didn't change my voter registration from my home in Wake County to Wilmington: so I could vote for David "Motherfucking" Price.

I expect as the day goes on, more representatives and senators will come out against it, or at least within the rest of this week.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Probably was posted already but I just saw it today. What do people think about this and how do you justify voting Obama (or voting at all since republicans are even worse) with this kind of baggage?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adbU...xt=C373d161UDOEgsToPDskIbAM6Kn-hAB6fJ9DyQ9uaW

So... you advise to just not vote at all?

 

[speculawyer]

What conspiracy theories are you suggesting he believes?

Many engineers like Ron Paul's positions because they're logical. All of his positions can be reasoned from the idea of liberty, so if one can mentally process the individual steps, one ends up at the same logical response that Ron Paul gives.

I'd rather not shit up this thread with the various Ron Paul conspiracy theories, that is best left in the Ron Paul thread.

 

[ToxicAdam]

WH likely to announce opposition to the keystone pipeline, TODAY

boehner am cry

Just came here to post this.

It's really silly when you think about it. This oil is still going to get used in America, it's just going to cost more to ship it here.

Just another example of politicians failing to seize on these opportunities and create new revenue streams and instead trying to impede the inevitable (like on-line gambling).

 

[Snaku]

Edit: Disappointed that I'm not seeing more blackout avatars in the PoliGAF thread. Would have been the thread I'd expect the most amount of blackout avatars.

Censored avatars: the most useless gesture of protest yet conceived by mankind.

.

 

[speculawyer]

WH likely to announce opposition to the keystone pipeline, TODAY

boehner am cry

Well, if that happens then I was dead wrong about them about that and owe ToxicAdam an apology. But then again, perhaps they are just getting better at using it as a bargaining chip.

 

[Bulbo Urethral Baggins]

Just came here to post this.

It's really silly when you think about it. This oil is still going to get used in America, it's just going to cost more to ship it here.

Just another example of politicians failing to seize on these opportunities and create new revenue streams and instead trying to impede the inevitable (like on-line gambling).

Plus, Obama seems to be going against his own job's council report. Shameful.
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/204621-obamas-jobs-council-calls-for-expanded-drilling

 

[gcubed]

Well, if that happens then I was dead wrong about them about that and owe ToxicAdam an apology. But then again, perhaps they are just getting better at using it as a bargaining chip.

well, he can attach its approval to the longer payroll tax extension. If thats how it works out it's almost as if Obama is learning.