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[B-Dubs]

I cant make threads so can someone else make a thread for this?

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/04/us-lawmaker-proposes-new-criteri-1.html

EDIT: nvm

 

[speculawyer]

If you'll argue for closing the borders again, I'm happy to explain why religion is good for America.

Religion is good for America. People are too stupid to behave themselves. They need Big Brother watching them 24/7. Yeah, that is sad but apparently true.

 

[tekumseh]

I don't know enough about Comey to really weigh in on this, but this whole habit of Obama nominating Republicans for positions as a show of "bipartisanship" is really growing tiresome. It's like the lame guy that keeps going after the cheerleader showing no interest in him because he thinks "There's a chance if I show her how much I love her."

I don't think this is one of those cases. Comey is pretty widely thought, by both parties, to be pretty apolitical in his leadership. Doesn't always mean he'll stay that way, but it's the accepted belief. His confirmation, I think, will be pretty filled with contempt from the Republicans, given his position on enhanced interrogation.

 

[Link]

I'm beginning to like him. This is making the news stories about his appointment:



source: http://durangoherald.com/article/20130529/NEWS03/130529424/Obama-preparing-to-name-Comey-to-FBI-

I don't think this is one of those cases. Comey is pretty widely thought, by both parties, to be pretty apolitical in his leadership. Doesn't always mean he'll stay that way, but it's the accepted belief. His confirmation, I think, will be pretty filled with contempt from the Republicans, given his position on enhanced interrogation.

This is good to know, and I'm glad it's not the case here, it's just frustrating when the Times mentions how Obama "made a strong statement about bipartisanship at a time when he faces renewed criticism from Republicans" because all it does is reinforce that their strategy of just going against anything he does is working.

 

[Aaron Strife]

It seems like Obama's been really forceful about wanting a Democratic House in his last two years. He mentions it at almost every fundraiser.

I think he knows immigration is going down, and it'll be in the House. We'll see, I'm not very optimistic.

 

[Aaron]

It seems like Obama's been really forceful about wanting a Democratic House in his last two years. He mentions it at almost every fundraiser.

I think he knows immigration is going down, and it'll be in the House. We'll see, I'm not very optimistic.

Maybe he should start a kickstarter. That's what most people do when they want something these days.

 

[Touchdown]

Maybe he should start a kickstarter. That's what most people do when they want something these days.

It doesn't always work :/ Look at Clarrisa explains it all. XD

 

[Oblivion]

Well in taxation and spending, Harding operated on a traditional mindset of cutting spending in conjunction with taxes and we all know how the Laffer curve worked out.

Off the top of my head, I think Mellon/Coolidge slashed the top rate to 26% and Reagan slashed it to 28%. Might be off by a couple of percentage points. Mellon wanted Congress to end the tax-exempt securities used by the rich to shield their wealth, and when Congress didn't do it he proposed cutting taxes to encourage the rich to invest within U.S. borders. Naturally, Coolidge signed the cuts.

Taxing (and spending, more or less) 18% of GDP instead of 5% of GDP doesn't count as a major difference?

A lot of that is military spending, but a lot of it is welfare state stuff. Reagan at his most conservative was defending much more redistribution than we had before the New Deal.

Cool, thanks.



In other news...

The world has always been a dangerous place but when the President of the United States can’t see his way to send US Marines to Benghazi when our consulate is under attack and our Ambassador has been murdered but he has no problem having Marines hold an umbrella for him, it’s getting more and more dangerous every day.

Where's the fainting couch when you need it? D:

 

[Wilsongt]

Cool, thanks.



In other news...



Where's the fainting couch when you need it? D:

Oh hay. UmbrellaGate.

 

[User 406]

If you'll argue for closing the borders again, I'm happy to explain why religion is good for America.

There's a possible hidden implication here that religion may not necessarily be good for other countries. If that's the case, what can we do to fix America and/or what are these other countries so I can move to one?

 

[Four_Chamber]

Cool, thanks.



In other news...



Where's the fainting couch when you need it? D:

I forgot that this blowhard garnered about 23% of the vote to lose a nailbiter of an election 73% to 23% to Marcy Kaptur. These conservative heroes...so electable. Still pisses me off that this moron got national attention in 2008 as a pretend "moderate".

 

[Blatz]

That chart doesn't really explain any policy differentiation between the two. What are the major differences?

I think the biggest takeaway is the massive increase in Social Security Taxes in contrast with the decease of Corporate Income Taxes.

As far as what policies created these changes, it's probably a very long list.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

I'm still somewhat fiscally conservative but definitely less so lately. 2 reasons:
1) Japan - They've showed that you can run up debt and not have hyperinflation.
2) Learning about the farce known as Austrian Economics. If you reject empiricism then you are nothing but witchdoctors. VooDoo economics.

I'm seeing far too many people advocate Austrian Economics. Some flat out say they follow that school of thought, and others clearly subscribe to the thought but aren't familiar it has a name.

When I see someone go off on this big long rant, I honestly just have a blank stare on my face and don't know what to say.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

It seems like Obama's been really forceful about wanting a Democratic House in his last two years. He mentions it at almost every fundraiser.

I think he knows immigration is going down, and it'll be in the House. We'll see, I'm not very optimistic.

Is it possible? I feel like people have to be realizing that Obama has literally been stuck in the water and discouraged from trying anything meaningful.

Infrastructure spending is at a 25 year low in relation to GDP. It is clear that if it were up to Obama, this would not be the case.

And in a time where we have enormous challenges, problems, and need a large man staff to get work done, there are actually less federal workers under Obama than Bush. How's that for big government?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2013/01/24/the-growth-of-the-federal-government-1980-to-2012/

The Government Employee to population ratio is at its lowest in over 22 years. I find this frustrating.

 

[GaimeGuy]

Is it possible? I feel like people have to be realizing that Obama has literally been stuck in the water and discouraged from trying anything meaningful.

Infrastructure spending is at a 25 year low in relation to GDP. It is clear that if it were up to Obama, this would not be the case.

And in a time where we have enormous challenges, problems, and need a large man staff to get work done, there are actually less federal workers under Obama than Bush. How's that for big government?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2013/01/24/the-growth-of-the-federal-government-1980-to-2012/

The Government Employee to population ratio is at its lowest in over 22 years. I find this frustrating.

This chart makes me cry.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Conservative Icon Calls GOP’s Need To Court Hispanics A ‘Great Myth’

Phyllis Schlafly of the pro-family group Eagle Forum called the GOP's need to reach out to Hispanic voters a "great myth" during a conservative radio program Wednesday.

"The Hispanics who have come in like this will vote Democrat and there's not the slightest bit of evidence that they will vote Republican," Schlafly said on "Focus Today." "And the people the Republicans should reach out to are the white votes, the white voters who didn't vote in the last election and there are millions of them."

Schlafly told PolicyMic she believes that Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election because "his drop-off from white voters was tremendous" and the GOP doesn't "know how to relate to grassroots Americans."

"The propagandists are leading us down the wrong path," Schlafly said on the radio program. "There is not any evidence at all that these Hispanics coming in from Mexico will vote Republican."

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/conservative-icon-calls-gops-need-to-court-hispanics

She's right that the GOP leaves a whole bunch of white voters on the table, but that's more of an ideological and demographic problem than a voter turnout problem; the white vote is shrinking not because they're disinterested in politics, but because other demographics are growing while older whites die off. Romney did pretty damn well with white voters and it didn't matter.

In fact, republicans will almost certainly do worse amongst whites next time considering the democrat nominee will be white.

 

[speculawyer]

Is it possible? I feel like people have to be realizing that Obama has literally been stuck in the water and discouraged from trying anything meaningful.

Infrastructure spending is at a 25 year low in relation to GDP. It is clear that if it were up to Obama, this would not be the case.

And in a time where we have enormous challenges, problems, and need a large man staff to get work done, there are actually less federal workers under Obama than Bush. How's that for big government?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2013/01/24/the-growth-of-the-federal-government-1980-to-2012/

The Government Employee to population ratio is at its lowest in over 22 years. I find this frustrating.

That can't possibly be true because conservatives keep telling me that Obama is the big government socialist. Who are you going to believe . . . conservative pundits or your lying eyes?

 

[CharlieDigital]

The Government Employee to population ratio is at its lowest in over 22 years. I find this frustrating.

This chart makes me cry.

That can't possibly be true because conservatives keep telling me that Obama is the big government socialist. Who are you going to believe . . . conservative pundits or your lying eyes?

Question: are active duty soldiers counted as government employees? If so, that would explain a lot.

 

[speculawyer]

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/conservative-icon-calls-gops-need-to-court-hispanics

She's right that the GOP leaves a whole bunch of white voters on the table, but that's more of an ideological and demographic problem than a voter turnout problem; the white vote is shrinking not because they're disinterested in politics, but because other demographics are growing while older whites die off. Romney did pretty damn well with white voters and it didn't matter.

In fact, republicans will almost certainly do worse amongst whites next time considering the democrat nominee will be white.

Phyllis Schlafly is a crazy old bat out of touch with modern reality. She's nearly 90. The fact that anyone would listen to a word she says is the real problem the Republicans have.

And there will always be a large swath of people that don't vote. Not much you can do about it. But trying to get more white people is a losing strategy with the changing demographics anyway. And what they think attracts 'white' voters just doesn't work anyway . . . it may attract a slight majority of white voters but only by abusing latent racism.

 

[AndyD]

Who are you going to believe . . . conservative pundits or your lying eyes?

That is a great quote... I love the lying eyes part. Made me laugh at my desk.

 

[RustyNails]

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/conservative-icon-calls-gops-need-to-court-hispanics

She's right that the GOP leaves a whole bunch of white voters on the table, but that's more of an ideological and demographic problem than a voter turnout problem; the white vote is shrinking not because they're disinterested in politics, but because other demographics are growing while older whites die off. Romney did pretty damn well with white voters and it didn't matter.

In fact, republicans will almost certainly do worse amongst whites next time considering the democrat nominee will be white.

But for how long? Does anyone think GOP can survive the 2024 election without hispanic support? We are right now in shifting tides so the hindsight is not visible.

 

[RoninChaos]

Afflicting info is reporting that Michelle Bachman isn't going to run for re-election.

VICTORY!

 

[PhoenixDark]

But for how long? Does anyone think GOP can survive the 2024 election without hispanic support? We are right now in shifting tides so the hindsight is not visible.

Demographics favor democrats, but that doesn't mean they'll reign supreme forever. The most recent period of one party dominance was essentially between 1968 and 1988; Carter won in 1976 but it was the definition of an outlier. That republican reign occurred due to demographic shifts and the democrat candidate bench being emptied abruptly (JFK, RFK).

Barring economic disaster or some huge terrorist attack, I could see democrats having a similar period of success. Eventually republicans will figure it out, especially as the party purges the neocons and fundamentalists.

 

[The Librarian]

Erick Erickson, you ass.

 

[rocketknight]

Erick Erickson, you ass.

More:

• Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asserted women earning more than their husbands was an indication of the dissolution of American society.
• Fox News political analyst Juan Williams agreed, describing it as a sign of the disintegration of marriage that would have negative consequences for generations to come.
• Fox News contributor Erick Erickson went one step further, saying nature itself commanded that women be subservient to men.
• Fox News contributor Doug Schoen concluded the freak out by claiming all these so-called breadwinner moms “could undermine our social order.”

Yeah, I don't even. I'm unemployed, so I guess I'm one of the "good" ones, but this is blatant misogyny.

 

[el retorno]

Erick Erickson, you ass.

“I’m so used to liberals telling conservatives that they’re anti-science. But liberals who defend this and say it is not a bad thing are very anti-science. When you look at biology — when you look at the natural world — the roles of a male and a female in society and in other animals, the male typically is the dominant role. The female, it’s not antithesis, or it’s not competing, it’s a complimentary role.”

This is factually untrue. In mammals maybe.

But I love when conservatives use "science" to justify their backwards views. Reminds me of the IQ spat a few weeks ago. "Its just science that Hispanics are stupid!"

Also I love how they hate Sharia and its anti-women stance but seek to implement similar polices in "secular law"

 

[Aaron Strife]

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.c...leases-mock-poll-from-republican-leaning-firm

It seems Ken Cuccinelli's campaign isn't too happy with the attention a survey from Public Policy Polling, a Democrat-leaning polling firm, has been receiving. And for good reason. The Wednesday poll had the Republican gubernatorial candidate trailing Democrat Terry McAuliffe by 5 points.

In response, the Virginia attorney general's camp touted a poll of their own: this one from the Republican-leaning firm, "Republican Republican Republican (RRR)." The mock poll showed Cuccinelli leading McAuliffe by a whopping 12 points, carrying an impressive margin of error of 0.00 percent.

It's so fucking pathetic how Republicans pile on PPP whenever they produce a poll that shows good news for the Democrat, considering they were the most accurate pollster in 2012.

If you're sick of being down in the polls then run better candidates.

 

[el retorno]

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.c...leases-mock-poll-from-republican-leaning-firm



It's so fucking pathetic how Republicans pile on PPP whenever they produce a poll that shows good news for the Democrat, considering they were the most accurate pollster in 2012.

If you're sick of being down in the polls then run better candidates.

I'm offended they couldn't come up with something clever for what RRR stood for.

 

[Tamanon]

More:

• Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asserted women earning more than their husbands was an indication of the dissolution of American society.
• Fox News political analyst Juan Williams agreed, describing it as a sign of the disintegration of marriage that would have negative consequences for generations to come.
• Fox News contributor Erick Erickson went one step further, saying nature itself commanded that women be subservient to men.
• Fox News contributor Doug Schoen concluded the freak out by claiming all these so-called breadwinner moms “could undermine our social order.”

Yeah, I don't even. I'm unemployed, so I guess I'm one of the "good" ones, but this is blatant misogyny.

Man, add this with Immigration going down in flames soon in the House, and I think the Dems might have their 2014 campaign set. Then it's just about mobilizing.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Ah Juan Williams, the paragon of liberalism!

I follow Erickson on twitter and he often RTs some of the liberal hate he gets for comments like this. The only thing worth saying is "this is why you lose elections." A homemaker mother is truly a great thing - as is a homemaker father - but not every family can afford to do that. The core of this conservative argument is that women who work are selfish, and put themselves ahead of their husband/family. So more women working is a moral issue to conservatives, whereas everyone else sees it as economics.

If you want to blame someone, blame businesses and corporations for cutting wages and worker benefits over the last 40 years. But naturally you'll never hear a conservative argue that.

Good luck winning elections while shitting on working women.

 

[Blatz]

That can't possibly be true because conservatives keep telling me that Obama is the big government socialist. Who are you going to believe . . . conservative pundits or your lying eyes?

Careful. If I understand that graph correctly, it only refers to Infrastructure spending. I still find it shocking though.

Edit: Ignore this if you refering to the article as a whole and not just this graph

 

[Blatz]

Is it possible? I feel like people have to be realizing that Obama has literally been stuck in the water and discouraged from trying anything meaningful.

Infrastructure spending is at a 25 year low in relation to GDP. It is clear that if it were up to Obama, this would not be the case.

And in a time where we have enormous challenges, problems, and need a large man staff to get work done, there are actually less federal workers under Obama than Bush. How's that for big government?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2013/01/24/the-growth-of-the-federal-government-1980-to-2012/

The Government Employee to population ratio is at its lowest in over 22 years. I find this frustrating.

Good atricle. But in his conclusion WTF?

"Although we may have a temporary reprieve from overall government growth, on the road to a larger government lies many perils. Although the size of government has declined slightly in the past four years, the debt has exploded and higher taxes are likely on the horizon. It is during periods of government expansion that freedoms are commonly surrendered. "

I thought the debt was dropping slowly. Or am I mixing it up with the deficit?

 

[Aaron Strife]

Ah Juan Williams, the paragon of liberalism!

I follow Erickson on twitter and he often RTs some of the liberal hate he gets for comments like this. The only thing worth saying is "this is why you lose elections." A homemaker mother is truly a great thing - as is a homemaker father - but not every family can afford to do that. The core of this conservative argument is that women who work are selfish, and put themselves ahead of their husband/family. So more women working is a moral issue to conservatives, whereas everyone else sees it as economics.

If you want to blame someone, blame businesses and corporations for cutting wages and worker benefits over the last 40 years. But naturally you'll never hear a conservative argue that.

Good luck winning elections while shitting on working women.

If they lose the women vote again in 2014 (which they will) they'll just blame women's suffrage for their current problems.

Oh wait they've already done that

 

[RoninChaos]

More:

• Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asserted women earning more than their husbands was an indication of the dissolution of American society.
• Fox News political analyst Juan Williams agreed, describing it as a sign of the disintegration of marriage that would have negative consequences for generations to come.
• Fox News contributor Erick Erickson went one step further, saying nature itself commanded that women be subservient to men.
• Fox News contributor Doug Schoen concluded the freak out by claiming all these so-called breadwinner moms “could undermine our social order.”

Yeah, I don't even. I'm unemployed, so I guess I'm one of the "good" ones, but this is blatant misogyny.

Wtf.

 

[Hitokage]

This is factually untrue. In mammals maybe.

Men are lucky human women don't eat their partners after sex.

Also I love how they hate Sharia and its anti-women stance but seek to implement similar polices in "secular law"

No, they want a Christian Sharia instead of the Islam version.

 

[B-Dubs]

Erick Erickson, you ass.

None of what he said shocks me. We all knew they were thinking it, not that that doesn't make it horrible.

 

[Oblivion]

At work I had to sort through a bunch of movies, one of which was some stupid tribute to Ayn Rand. It was pretty hilarious, for all the wrong reasons, of course.

"In 2007 the government approved four THOUSAND new regulations! And now they're thinking of adding thirty eight hundred MORE! We need to tell the government WE'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

Gotta love how libertarians expect average people to think THEY'RE the ones suffering from these. And as you would expect, words like "freedom", and "individualism" are used every 30 seconds without any elaboration.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

I thought the debt was dropping slowly. Or am I mixing it up with the deficit?

The year by year deficit (What the Government collects in taxes vs. how much it spends) is shrinking and I believe is looking to hit a 5 year low.

The 2009 FY budget was signed into law by Bush and had massive deficits.

The actual national debt is still growing.

 

[shadowsdarknes]

At work I had to sort through a bunch of movies, one of which was some stupid tribute to Ayn Rand. It was pretty hilarious, for all the wrong reasons, of course.

"In 2007 the government approved four THOUSAND new regulations! And now they're thinking of adding thirty eight hundred MORE! We need to tell the government WE'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

Gotta love how libertarians expect average people to think THEY'RE the ones suffering from these. And as you would expect, words like "freedom", and "individualism" are used every 30 seconds without any elaboration.

The words "Freedom" and "Individual Liberties" are tossed around by libertarians all the time. It's a great scapegoat or shield from actually discussing the issues.

Sadly freedoms do not exist in a vacuum and have real world effects on other people.

I've heard people say things along the line of, "For every new regulation and law passed by the government, that's one less freedom we have".

I just sort of shake my head.

More:

• Fox Business host Lou Dobbs asserted women earning more than their husbands was an indication of the dissolution of American society.
• Fox News political analyst Juan Williams agreed, describing it as a sign of the disintegration of marriage that would have negative consequences for generations to come.
• Fox News contributor Erick Erickson went one step further, saying nature itself commanded that women be subservient to men.
• Fox News contributor Doug Schoen concluded the freak out by claiming all these so-called breadwinner moms “could undermine our social order.”

Yeah, I don't even. I'm unemployed, so I guess I'm one of the "good" ones, but this is blatant misogyny.

I read this today was pretty outraged. Yes, very blatant.

I'm not sure what he's trying to say. That there is a correlation between successful women (particularly those who make more than their spouse) and dysfunctional families? Should women not have careers and pursue success?

I'm in a relationship where my SO will be making 100k starting salary when she is out of school. I don't plan to make that money right away if ever.
I don't find it emasculating.

 

[GhaleonEB]

Men are lucky human women don't eat their partners after sex.

Dammit, I read that and was scrolling down to make a mantis joke.

 

[Futurevoid]

Erick Erickson, you ass.

I don't usually post in this thread but my god. The stupidity on display in that video is both frightening and well...mind blowing.

I myself work and am paid well but as a man who's wife makes more money than I do - I can say without equivocation that my marriage is the best it has been in 16 years and my two daughters are doing just fine.

To equate female success with an inability to have a "complimentary" relationship as partners is fucking asinine.

 

[Hobbestetrician]

Men are lucky human women ever have sex with them.

Fixed.

 

[el retorno]

Men are lucky human women don't eat their partners after sex.

No, they want a Christian Sharia instead of the Islam version.

They couch it in the terms of secularism and "tradition"

The words "Freedom" and "Individual Liberties" are tossed around by libertarians all the time. It's a great scapegoat or shield from actually discussing the issues.

Sadly freedoms do not exist in a vacuum and have real world effects on other people.

I've heard people say things along the line of, "For every new regulation and law passed by the government, that's one less freedom we have".

I just sort of shake my head.

They focus on negative liberty, never on positive liberty actually I don't think they acknowledge its existence. Liberty to the GOP is only the absence of barriers (to rich white men being able to do whatever they want to) never the ability for one to be able to control his own life.

 

[el retorno]

on the EE hate bandwagon, from red state email:

 

[rocketknight]

Is that an actual thing, or an Onion joke? I don't know whether to start a neon green plastic doohickey business and direct mail Republican voters or invest in a tin foil company. I feel like I'm leaving money on the table either way.

 

[el retorno]

Is that an actual thing, or an Onion joke? I need to get into the neon green plastic business, ASAP.

got it from twitter.

Also, dat conservative outreach

HNIC= Head Nigga in Charge

 

[speculawyer]

The year by year deficit (What the Government collects in taxes vs. how much it spends) is shrinking and I believe is looking to hit a 5 year low.

The 2009 FY budget was signed into law by Bush and had massive deficits.

The actual national debt is still growing.

That is a fact that GOPers and conservatives just won't admit to because it is so inconvenient. They want all the Trillion dollar budgets to be assigned to Obama because he held office in 2009. Look at most GOP/conservative articles about deficits and they always assign that one to Obama. But the $1.3 Trillion deficit was from Bush. And with this year's performance, the deficit will be close to half that amount. Of course much of that is due to the sequester so it is deficit cutting that was partially against Obama's will.


http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...obama-inherited-deficits-bush-administration/

 

[Arrowgigantic]

got it from twitter.

Also, dat conservative outreach

HNIC= Head Nigga in Charge

They've already deleted it and replaced it with "boss".

 

[Dr. Pangloss]

Is that an actual thing, or an Onion joke? I don't know whether to start a neon green plastic doohickey business and direct mail Republican voters or invest in a tin foil company. I feel like I'm leaving money on the table either way.

got it from twitter.

The green thing I think is the actual part that makes the gun work. It could be a reference to the guy that was making them with a 3D printer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DconsfGsXyA

 

[Oblivion]

Gotta say, the most surprising thing about that RRR poll is that Kucinelli only won by 12 points.

Also, new Lucky Ducky!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/30/1212376/-Lucky-Ducky-in-Gimme-Shelter