WT... ???

SNL Transcripts (Saturday Night Live);)

A department of Common Sense:

(listen if you can)

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ft=1&f=2100359

I expect Dennis Kucinich will introduce his bill for a Department of Peace and Nonviolence again this session.

Oh, and it will fail, as it should.

On this we agree.

BTW, a Dept of Peace was first proposed right after WWW II by a senator, Jennings Randolph, for whom I worked in the 80s before he retired.

It failed then too, but his legislation did create the US Institute of Peace

And every 18-21 yr old should thank the late Sen Randolph for the right to vote. He was the driving force behind the 26th amendment for 20 years until it was finally enacted in the early 70s.

What is wrong with wanting a dept. of peace and nonviolence? Don't we have too much violence and coercion in our society?

And I LIKE Dennis Kucinich.

yea! more layers of governmental stupid shit!

Just hire that guy thats doing nothing for $90,000 or whatever.

Good idea. :D

Not really a fail, but ...

Republican Gregg withdraws from commerce post consideration

yea, after he apparently put his name out there for the job. whatever. Obama is making a serious effort at bipartisanship, and republicans keep slapping him in the face. I believe he will keep trying though. Hopefully at some point he will get some reciprocation.

That kind of melodramatic characterization doesn't really support the whole "bipartisan" effort, you know? It must be a little awkward to discover you're part of the problem...

oooh, daaaaaayuuuuuumm.;)

Oh? Isn't it funny how some of those republicans who didn't vote for the bill are now taking credit for a lot of the stuff IN the bill? How can they possibly whine about it being bad and then take credit for it at the same time?

And some of the governors who were against it sure aren't turning the money down. IF they think the bill is bad, and wrong, isn't it hypocritical to take the money?

Face it, they are trying to regain power because they lost their collective asses in the past two elections. John McCain has been going on TV proselytizing about how to fix the economy, when he didn't even know the economy was failing back in September, right before the complete collapse of the economy. yea, we should listen to THAT guy. :rolleyes:

They forced some things into the bill not a lot (you are exaggerating A LOT) and for those they can take credit. That's about it. The D's could have taken every thing out - everything and probably still bought the three votes the got. None of them, not one congressman or senator, read the whole damn thing anyway. The D's voted on party lines just like the R's. See it for what it is.

Nope - they gotta take what they can get when they can get it. There are a lot of people depending upon them.

That's a little hypocritical.

Sure. Some Democrats are douchebags too. Just be aware that you're as bad as Merc when it comes to sweeping generalizations along party lines.

Oh, yea, we're twins separated at birth.:rolleyes:

Okay, I'm a bit lefty, and even I know this crop of congressional dems are both insane and ignorant, far beyond even the hubris and jabbering stupidity of the congressional dems in the late 80s. That's not bashing on a party, it's just stating a fact.

The issue I have a problem with is that, and this is not clear, the bill may have put into place items into the states budgets that will force not only current spending from the stimulus bill, but also future spending as well. There was a lot of discussion about it again this morning on tv. I'm not sure how this is possible, but I didn't like what I was "half hearing" as I got ready for work. Anyone else heard or have any info on this?

Im not sure what this means, but it sounds like one of those talking points.

The "state stabilization funds" component of the bill are to supplement the growing need for funding for programs administered by the states - $$$ for unemployment insurance or food stamps as a result of 3 million people loosng their jobs in the last 18 months. Or $$$ in education or public safety funds so states/cities/counties dont have to lay-off teachers or cops.

Many of the infrastructure and jobs projects, would seem to support, at least to some degree, the Reagan concept of "new federalism".....send the money to states, with few strings attached beyond broad program objectives, and let the states determine the best means of allocating those funds.

There are programs in the bill that would likely require long term funding in order to meet long term objectives. The intent of the stimulus bill has the duel purpose of creating jobs and providing "start up" for these longer term objectives - funding the development of "green" programs is an example.

But there is nothing to suggest that funding for those programs wont go through the normal appropriations process in the future, when the situation is less of an "emergency" to prevent the economy from continuing to decline.

There is definately nothing to say that the funds will go through such a process.

Poking around a bit on the issue of "putting items into state budgets that will force not only current spending..but also future spending.."

It looks to me like a few Republican governors with presidential ambitions - Palin, Pawlenty, Jindal - suggesting the bill contains unfunded state mandates...but offer no specificity on such mandates.

Maybe an unspecified staffer in an unspecified agency told them that if they got the money they might use it to create an unfunded state mandate.

Oh believe me, I can't stand most politicians. I just think republicans are worse.

yea but are you as bad as me. :lol2:

Naw. They're just stupid in a (very) slightly different way.

Redux - I'm not sure of the "talking points. It was not politicians on the interview. They were talking about it and I asked for that reason. IF - If the administration is going to force the states into doing that, then that is wrong - if not then they are.

I'll give you an example of those "talking points" about forcing states to do something.

The stimulus bill includes $$$ to increase the amount and length of time a person can collect unemployment insurance, in light of the fact that there are more people losing their jobs every day (500,000+ in January alone, over 2 million in the last year) and experiencing unemployment for long periods of time.

The limits on the amount of unemployment insurance and the length of time a person can collect are established by state law, not federal. In order for these federal funds to reach those in need, a state may have to change its law.

The administration is not forcing the state to change its law. But as a practical matter, a state may need legislative action to comply with its own law.

Legally, the federal "government" may hand out mandates to the states, provided those mandates come already funded.

PA has the length of benefits limit set by state law. Numerous times, when unemployment reached a set threshold, weeks were added as a "Federal Extension of benefits", I presume with Federal money. When the rate falls below the threshold the extra weeks stop, I don't think any changes of the law or action by the state legislature is needed.

This was the crux of the discussion. IIRC, It was initially funded by the stimulus package , but it wasn't clear who was funding what in the future.

You're right and I think that is at the heart of the "talking points"

Sarah Palin:
Ignorance or intentional misinformation?

WIth most governors, I would write it off as simply a political response that plays loosely with the facts.

With Palin, it might be ignorance.

It sounds like she is opposed to a temporary expansion of unemployment benefits to residents of Alaska who may have reached the limit by making a case that she would be "stuck with paying for them" in the future.

But she'll take the money for Alaska in the bill.

I don't think so Merc. I admit when dems are corrupt and stupid and wrong. You rarely criticize republicans.

pffft. Sarah Palin. Have you heard she owes a whole bunch of back taxes? :lol2:

Yea, that is the rumor, however there is no rumor to the fact that a number of Obama appointees and choices for high level cabinet positions owe. :D

And yet several Republican governors are still putting out talking points misrepresenting the expansion of unemployment insurance in the stimulus bills.

Yea, and then a black Demoncratic Congressman stated on national news that it was a decision driven by racism.

Clyburn's comments were ignorant and counter-productive.

But the fact remains that citizens in some states who are facing economic hardship may not be assisted through the stimulus bill as a result of political misrepresentations of the bill by several Republican governors rather than anything factual.

No doubt. But he made them and his comments reflect the attitude of many, that he is a victim and victimhood is good, because it makes excuses for so many failings.

Actually those misrepresentations have been made by the Demoncrats. Pelosi and Reid have making promises they cannot keep and know will provide less than what everyone who said this was the answer to our nations ills then they can deliver. It is water under the bridge at this point. Now it is time to see if they can deliver. The people are watching. It will be a death knell IMHO if they screw it up.

You really aren't thinking that adds to your credibility, are you?

It's the joke that's still just as funny as it was on day one!

:lol:

Yeah, it's right up there with "Lieberals", "Clintoon", "Shrub", and "Obamanation".

Plays on words (from either "side") are friggin' TIRED the moment they are thought of. By the time they're actually POSTED, they're insufferably boring.

However, the type of person who uses them usually does so out of an OCD-esque NEED to, as if God might punish them if they forget to hate the target of their screeds in even so small a fashion.

Nope...in fact, the misrepresentations are made by a few Republican governors.

Bobby Jindal (a Repub candidate for pres in 2010?) is the latest.....turning down more than $90 million in federal unemployment insurance benefits for residents of Louisiana with the false claim that it would result in a tax increase for state businesses.

Makes Jindal sound like a partisan "demon" to me.

No rumor at all. Fact:

http://www.examiner.com/x-2968-Alask...em-rules-State

Eh, so be it, but I do not believe that Obama has nominated her for any job that delt with our taxes. Now who might have that job? Hmmmmmmmmm....

Come clean Merc. You called for the ouster of every D that Obama appointed who failed to pay their taxes, why not her?

Merc just likes to bash democrats. Like republicans are somehow better. NOT.

I don't like Republickins much either. I don't like any of them. I do enjoy watching the Dems fall apart as they try to cover the double standards they have bitch at the Repubs for so many years. I am going to make sure no one gets a pass in the next 4 years. ;)

Extremists don't learn reasons why. Extremists wait to be told how to think by extremist propagandists (Limbaugh, Hannity, etc) Then speil that out as if knowledge.

Fundamental to being a centrist is a need to first learn facts. This gives extremists an advantage. To maintain their loyal cadre of extremist followers, Limbaugh, et al must tell extremists quickly and first how to think.

It is what my father did. Propaganda. If they are told how to think first, then they will only believe that; aggressively deny any later realized and accurate fact – ie Saddam’s WMDs. They are extremists who cannot bother to first learn facts.

Extremists Republicans being different from patriotic Republicans. A patriot will periodically dispute the (Zieg Heil) party line - to work for America rather than for the wacko extremist party leaders.

How to discover some latest political agenda from an extremist right wing? See UG’s posts.

Merc, I have known you for years. I adore you to pieces, but you really do have a double standard when judging democrats against republicans. If you like republicans better, just be honest. Don't claim you judge them equally, because you don't.

Nope, just turning things around and calling the Demoncrats on the same things I have been hearing for the last 8 years.

The fact that you use words like "demonrats" just proves my point.

I also use Repbulickins, so what is your point? I am an equal opportunity offender. :D

I certainly haven't noticed it. If you do, then I apologize. Wanna come over and I'll make it up to ya?

Well, that's different. Somehow.

Another tainted member of the Obama team rises to the surface.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...s_rained_.html

And another tainted member as well as a tax dodger from the Obama team. Where the heck is finding all these tax cheats?

Trade nominee Ron Kirk agrees to pay back taxes

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

Too late! NEXT! I'm fuckin sick to death of all the politicians who don't pay their taxes, yet expect us to do so. Fuck that.