Does Obama deserve a kicking?

[king feeb]

Nighty, night. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Jeez, Hepcat. I probably won't be around much tomorrow. And it looks like I'm booked up for a few days. But I have a good opening on Wednesday afternoon. Does that work for you?

[yomptepi]

[Snarfyguy]

taxing and spending is what we elect politicians to do.

Speak for yourself. I only ask to be left alone.

What about when your house is on fire?

[Hepcat]

Sure it played a part. However the most significant cause was mortgage lenders learning how to play the system for their own financial benefit.

You therefore admit that government "played a part". Well the part that it played is that it kicked the whole thing off at the whistle. The government got the ball rolling so to speak. Which is why I blame the government.

[Hepcat]

To give just one microcosmic example, the partial privatization of mass transit in my state of Colorado has been a failure: because of the reliance on the bottom line and private capital, the routes that have been privatized are less efficient, prone to service reductions, inexperienced and underpaid drivers and other problems.

Why are you giving only one side of the story? Was the mass transit system not privatized in order to save the taxpayer money? Why don't you tell us how much money was saved as well? Could we not better assess the trade off if we werre given the whole picture?

In fact I'd venture to say the opposite, since citizens can always vote an incompetent or corrupt government out of office.

Great stuff so long as you agree with the majority of the electorate. But my fundamental freedoms are not a proper subject for majority vote. Ever hear of the tyranny of the majority? It's what forced Socrates to drink hemlock. It's what also gave rise to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. Those were instances of democracy in action when state power is absolute and unfettered by any constitutional limitations.

I would venture to say that there is far more greed and corruption in private industry than in government....

But did you not just say that "Private ownership is only accountable to their profit margin"? So then how can private industry be said to be corrupt when it's motivated strictly to maximize profits? That's how private industry is supposed to act. it's Adam Smith's invisible hand in action. That's what puts goods in stores.

[Hepcat]

You called for a list of nations with the lowest government spending in relation to GDP, and there it is.

Guess what? I wasn't the one on the snipe hunt for a non-existent libertarian state in the first place. That was one of your buddies.

I suggest, then, that you re-read the thread. Try to do it without moving your lips this time.

But I wouldn't want to make you look bad. That wouldn't be nice.

One line of type is "interminable"?

I don't number patience among my virtues. I'll get to work on it soon, I promise, sometime after I finish rearranging my sock drawer.

....accurately pulling your entire quote...

And then dismissing the last third of it because it doesn't fit your preconceived notion of what I should be saying.

Jeez, Hepcat. I probably won't be around much tomorrow. And it looks like I'm booked up for a few days. But I have a good opening on Wednesday afternoon. Does that work for you?

Well in this case I suppose I can try to be patient. I know these Socialist International meetings are important to you.

[The Write Profile]

I'm not sure what to make of the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally held at the weekend- not least because I feel, if anything, the pair have found it harder to be as acute in their criticism as they were, say, between 2003 to 2007, and in recent times, the material has been, if not rote, then lacking a certain sense of its own absurdity (although it's still fantastic when it wants to be). But it clearly has been a lightning rod for something, just by the mere fact 200,000 people attended. Some of the signs at the rally were priceless.









Again, quite what this rally actually represented was beyond me though, except perhaps a three-hour excuse for yuks. Fair enough.

[Sneelock]

I'm thinking this might lead to a Bolshevik Revolution only with hybrids and more khaki.

[zoomboogity]

Again, quite what this rally actually represented was beyond me though, except perhaps a three-hour excuse for yuks. Fair enough.

Yeah, but... Father Guido Sarducci?!? What is this, 1975? That would be like having a rally in 1975 and bringing out Joe E. Brown or something. Sheesh! Really cutting-edge stuff, guys.

Did anyone notice how white the crowd was? Just like the Tea Party rallies, eh? So maybe it's not a matter of political leaning, it's more like one of those Things White People Love - in this case, going to (music concerts that get billed as) political rallies. Obama and Biden were in Cleveland on Sunday, and they only drew about 8,000 in a place that holds 13,000, but they forget to book the music and "comedy" acts. Just think, if Father Guido were there... maybe The Unknown Comic... actually, The Great Metrano would have been pretty excellent! Oh well, 2012 is right around the corner...

[zoomboogity]

Heck, why wait? Here he is, The Great Metrano!

[Hepcat]

taxing and spending is what we elect politicians to do.

Speak for yourself. I only ask to be left alone. It's actually entirely unfair from the standpoint of us libertarians. If we get our way, we're perfectly willing to leave other people to their own devices. When others get their way, however, they're determined to shackle us with chains financed out of our own pockets. It's a bitch to be sure.

What functions do you think government should carry out?

The army, police and the courts. The problem is of course that the government has been doing so much more for the last 150 years or so that there are no easy ways to roll it back anymore.



I often have to content myself with just stemming the growth of the monster. Please, let's repeal some of the old laws before we pass any new ones.

[Sneelock]

good luck with that Don Quixote! we see very different monsters you and I. it's one of the few bright spots of my election day that you don't have a vote down here.

[Oenyaw]

OMG!!!! That Obama has not in his first 2 years completely cured all of the problems made by 8 years of the Bush administration. "Take the country back" is the war cry of the scooter riding tea-baggers. If the blacks and hispanics walked the streets carying guns saying they were going to take the country back, we'd be under martial law. The "failed stimulus" was Bush's idea. Obama has done 70% of what he said he would do in the first half of his term. The problem is that cracker America awoke in January 2009 with a black president, and they cannot handle it. They cannot handle the mathmatical fact that whites will not be the majority forever.

[Nolamike]

OMG!!!! That Obama has not in his first 2 years completely cured all of the problems made by 8 years of the Bush administration. "Take the country back" is the war cry of the scooter riding tea-baggers. If the blacks and hispanics walked the streets carying guns saying they were going to take the country back, we'd be under martial law. The "failed stimulus" was Bush's idea. Obama has done 70% of what he said he would do in the first half of his term. The problem is that cracker America awoke in January 2009 with a black president, and they cannot handle it. They cannot handle the mathmatical fact that whites will not be the majority forever.

Thank you!

[Brian Wilson]

Who is "cracker America"?

[Sneelock]

I prefer "peckerwood"

[Snarfyguy]

I prefer "peckerwood"

That's Mr. Peckerwood to you!

[Dr Markus]

Out of the job now for over a year, well? Deserve a kicking for anything at all, or nope he's all good?

[Davey the Fat Boy]

All Presidents deserve a kicking for one thing or another. But Obama was the best President in our lifetime.

History will be kind.