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Steve

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Everything posted by Steve

  1. Chinese close to stealth plane capability http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808704576061674166905408.html?mod=yhoofront
  2. Not probably. We have. Many times.
  3. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110104/ap_on_re_us/us_dna_exoneration_texas 30 years in prison and was found innocent. Problem with a lot of DA offices is that its not about finding the truth its about conviction rates. The elected ones run on that. The system is screwed.
  4. Okay, this sounds draconian. The child has a right to be in the USA, the mother doesn't. She has a choice. She can take her child back to where ever or let the baby stay and be the ward of the state with visiting rights under some sort of family visa. If the child is broguht back the child is still a USA citizen and when of age can visit on its own or be brought to the border to be picked up by a family friend or relative. The child has a right to be with its parent, yes, but that child can be with its parent in another country.
  5. http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110103/us_yblog_thelookout/14-states-may-target-birthright-citizenship 14 states looking to repeal birth citizenship. I sympathize with the issue. Totally. However, emotions aside, its a slippery slope. These things always devolve to the lowest common denominator. The way to address the immigration issue ISN'T this way. I am as angry as anyone else but its just seems un-american and legally, unconstitutional. Someone will expand it to any offspring of an illegal. So, if ones grandparents were illegal then their grandchildren can be denied as well. Trust me, someone will suggest it (maybe on here...lol). There are plenty of european immigrants who weren't kosher. There are a number of soldiers who are either here illegally or parents of illegals who have/are serving in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Same with the Gulf War and did serve in Vietnam as well. Someone will want to make naturalized citizenship revokable next. This messing about with the 14th Amendment is not good business. I'd rather leave it out of the immigration debate.
  6. What I don't know is if the fraud is the norm or the exception. Just my guess and I'd have to say the exception based on what I saw. Most families on aid growing up didn't abuse it. The facts may bear out different. I don't know. We qualified for aid, that much I know. We struggled without it but perceverd. I can't say the next family in our situation should have done the same. Life would have been a whole lot easier had we had less pride.
  7. I used to buy food stamps for 50 cents on the dollar downtown LA and use it to buy a lot of meat to put in my freezer. Beef is expensive as you know. The new card limits that. I was buying the old paper stamps. Also, the welfare reform of the '90s from Clinton further limited how long you could be on welfare and made it tougher to get it. I totally agree that social welfare has a lot of holes and scammers even with all the changes. However, being a small L libertarian I am for limiting welfare in all its forms. Corporate welfare continues to dwarf the amount we spend on social welfare but because those same corporations, corporate farms, etc. have clout in Washington they still get their perks. I recall reading once years ago how Dole Foods got paid for importing fruit as if they needed help doing that. They and other food companies practically owned large parts of central america. The ExIm Bank and others gave low or no interest loans to companies that didn't need it. Corporate farms using farm subsidies that were set up for the family farmer and at the same time through their lobbyists trying to kill the small farmer off so they can get their land. The companies that could use it don't get it a lot of the time because the large companies get the money. There are many families who need social welfare. I grew up with many of them. Families where the father left, jailed or became an addict. The kids didn't ask to be there. Churches like the ones I went to as a kid acted as a kind of social net for a lot of families. (for some of you anti religion types...lol). On a side note, my fervent belief that the best way to cut social welfare is improve schools from K-12. Especially K-6. Doesn't matter how much you spend on HS, if the kids don't have the foundation early it means very little. Give a kid a good education early on that girl or boy won't risk messing up their chance to go to college by having a kid out of wedlock. The most careful girls I knew about who insisted on condoms or didn't have sex at all were the girls that were college bound. I guarantee you that you won't find many straight A teenage girls in the inner city getting pregnant. Early education in the inner city is appallingly bad. HS is not much better. I had to go to a school in the burbs to take calculus for example (didn't help I suck at math...lol).
  8. Its a huge problem but I think the biggest problem (and this problem is a byproduct of it) is that the special interests own the politicians and by extension the country. We won't pay down the debt because we will be taking money away from the projects, etc. of the groups that own the pols. Until the politicians act in the true best interest of the people, NOTHING will happen. Doesn't matter if its Republican or Democrat. Although they both have different ideas, if they were both their own party, doesn't matter who was in charge we'd not be as deeply in the big pile of poo as we are now. Not even close. Conservatives can say 'tax and spend' democrats and it may be true but it wouldn't be nearly as much if the people they were taxing and spending for weren't in the picture. Reverse for the conservatives. If they really would adhere to their principles of small government and anti nation building, etc. and basically being the small L Libertarian that they claim we wouldn't have that kind of debt. It all comes down to the people who own the pols I think.
  9. http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24404&zoom_highlight=incumbent This guy says I've got it wrong and China is not a super power and their future isn't as bright as I think it will be. Some very cogent points. However, my take....He is in the minority view. I would even contend 'minority' is kind and he's almost a 'sole' voice against the overwhelmingly vast amount of experts in government, think tanks, etc. that have already factored in what he points out. America surpassed England with the biggest GDP at the turn of the last century but it took WW2 to show everyone. America had a sizeable underclass as well. There were still many poor immigrants living in squalor in America's cities as well as very poor people in the rural areas still using out-houses and a large segment with no electricity. The writer talks of impendng economic problems but that is the norm for rising powers. America went through near economic collapse a few times prior to the Great Depression (1816, 1825, 1837, 1857, 1873, 1893 and 1907). A few of those were similar to the one we faced a couple year ago and had a 1930s depression like potential. One in particular was saved by JP Morgan and a group of wall street bankers that brought the country on the brink of total financial collapse. ALL great nations were to some extent built on slave and/or cheap labor. Roman Empire, British Empire and yes, America. Not saying its right, its totally wrong but it is a fact and China is no different. Their large underclass in some respects follows the same model and gives them a cheap labor force. Their government will change. Another fact is that great powers always have a civil war or some great divide to determine its future. Again, the Romans, British and America had civil wars during their rise as well. All the experts back when we were on the rise pegged us to be a major power. The British knew it. Hitler knew it and that's why he wanted us out of the war. The Japanese wanted a quick war because they knew a prolonged war with our resources would work against them. Many don't know but China owns a significant portion of Africa's resources. Its called ChinAfrica by experts. China has replaced America as the biggest trading partners for South Korea, Brazil, India and Japan. A few of whom the article cites as those fearing China. With economic dominance comes great political influence. Who do you think those sides will choose if push comes to shove and a choice has to be made on some UN vote or some world issue? You go with who pays the bills and its the very same reason why a lot of countries have sided with us. It was in their economic best interest even thought they were opposed. The U.S. is terminally ill. In 10 or 20 years its China that will be better placed globally than America. Also with the amount of trade between the two countries the old adage of 'when America sneezes (economically) the world catches a cold' will apply to China. Its America that will suffer more than China if/when China has an economic downturn. They buy a shed-load of America's debt and its America that will suffer when trade declines.
  10. The sky is falling, the sky is falling. Okay, its a small Alabama town that has stopped paying its pensoion. It can't happen to a big city, right? http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Alabama-Towns-Failed-Pension-nytimes-93215960.html?x=0 ...“Prichard is the future,†said Michael Aguirre, the former San Diego city attorney, who has called for San Diego to declare bankruptcy and restructure its own outsize pension obligations. “We’re all on the same conveyor belt. Prichard is just a little further down the road.†Many cities and states are struggling to keep their pension plans adequately funded, with varying success. New York City plans to put $8.3 billion into its pension fund next year, twice what it paid five years ago. Maryland is considering a proposal to raise the retirement age to 62 for all public workers with fewer than five years of service. Illinois keeps borrowing money to invest in its pension funds, gambling that the funds’ investments will earn enough to pay back the debt with interest. New Jersey simply decided not to pay the $3.1 billion that was due its pension plan this year. Colorado, Minnesota and South Dakota have all taken the unusual step of reducing the benefits they pay their current retirees by cutting cost-of-living increases; retirees in all three states are suing. No state or city wants to wind up like Prichard...
  11. http://finance.yahoo.com/taxes/article/111642/retiree-pays-back-california-with-interest-for-jobless-aid A South Carolina retiree has sent the cash-strapped state of California a $10,000 check as a token of appreciation for the unemployment benefits he received while living there nearly five decades ago.
  12. The people do the voting and so ultimately the fault lies with all of us. We've stopped being a Republic years ago. At least in practice. You would all poop your collective pants to know just how much of the bills that go up for vote in Congress is written by the various lobbyist groups. There are many instances of Congressmen not even knowing the particulars of bills they are supposedly to have authored or push. I recall reading an article about certain congressmen having to go out in the hall to ask a lobbyist what cogent points he is to make on the Financial Services act in the '90s. Usually the aides meet with the groups and do all the leg work and heavy lifting. Its NOT about Liberalism v. Conservatism. Those are facades. Its as much a fairly tale now as some of you make religion out to be. Most of what is pushed as conservative or liberal are nothing but the agenda of some group. Congress is not even a body of equals. Doesn't matter how honest, fair and idealistic a person you just put in congress is. Makes not one difference or iota. Why? He will never see the light of day. The senior leadership will park his or her's butt on the Indian Affairs subcommittee for water rights or some such lower level committee (apologies to native americans...but you know what I mean). The ones with the power, whether it be Reid, Pelosi, doesn't matter the party, are the ones that are completely paid off. Yeah, every once in a while they will push their politics of what they came into this game for but the real important stuff is controlled by the powers hiding in the shadows. The ones whose fingers hold the strings to the puppet politcian. Have a Merry Christmas! :content:
  13. My mom's maiden name is Scottish. An uncle on my mom's side said we were owned by a Scottish sugar plantation owner in the early 1800s. Interesting stuff. My great grandmother on my mother's side was very light skinned from what I hear. Died at 106 y.o. in 1972 so born in 1866 if my math is right (and if often isn't). ...some hanky panky went on 'methinks'....hehehe.
  14. I've always heard good things about Costa Rica. Many of the islands in the Carribean are pretty good as well. The smaller islands have almost no crime, beautiful beaches, fairly low cost of living (Dominica...NOT to be confused with the Dominican Republic, Turks and Cacois, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua, Guadeloupe, etc.
  15. On another note, Don't Ask, Don't Tell doesn't get repealed. It had the numbers. Not Obama's fault but I have to say one thing about him. He has governed as a centrist despite what the right paints him as. His cabinet, etc. says centrist and sometimes even right of center. The left thinks he's one of them and he needs them. He should have done something about Don't Ask, Don't Tell from an executive level. Gays are a big ally. They have money and they will be active politically. He should also change the patdown, TSA thingy that's going on. It would make him seem in tune and sympathizing with the average american and traveler. He doesn't have to go through pat downs and it would seem a good way to curry favor with the masses. The only base he has left are blacks and I'm not sure what else.
  16. Not one of, the ONLY reason. The Civil War and World War I were the reasons for the income tax. The symbol of our country, the Statue of Liberty was financed (the base was, the statue was a gift) from private donations. We've been fed a crock of sh*t and it really should be no surprise that the country fell for it. Its no surprise why the founders only allowed landed male gentry to vote originally. They were the most educated, didn't need or want government money and had a vested interest in the country. Now, I'm not saying they were right if we are a true republic all adults should be able to vote, but the old Wall Street adage that 'the masses are asses' is true. Democracy or a Republic are the best forms of government we can come up with for the time being. However, it has inherent problems and I am now of the mind that there is presently NO form of government that can stand the test of time. Its a lot better than communism, monarchy and the rest. However, I don't think there is any form of government that can last (or more specificaly be effective) for any considerable length of time because of one thing and one thing only: the human condition. We are flawed. We will eventually revert to the lowest common denominator. You can never have a perfect or even near perfect government because our species is badly flawed.
  17. It was said that the Nixon political strategy was to be far right in the primaries. This was to not only win but to solidify your base. Then go centrist in the general election, this would take away the idependent and middle from your oponent and then govern to the left of center. His presidency was exactly that. He built up himself as a staunch conservative and anti communist in his career but as presidency he did a lot left of center and even far left of center things that were way ahead of his time. Only a staunch anti communist could go to red China. There are a bunch of legislation that was considered far left back then. For example, endangered species act was considered a hippie legislation. A pro business politiican would never sign legislation that made it law to have access for the physically impaired. Which Nixon signed. There are a few others as well that were far left for his time. Including taking us off the gold standard. Clinton did the same. He governed as a centrist or right of center. Only a person seen as liberal and pro minority could pull off the changes to social welfare. He had personal flaws and usually that is enough to kill a politician but not him and there was nothing the Republicans could do to stop him. The economy was raging forward and no one cared about his personal life. At the time people didn't want impeachment and the voting reflected that.
  18. Also, another Nixon factoid was that tax evasion was originally part of the impeachment articles against him. Republican congressmen successfully (and rightfully so) argued that his tax evasion was not an act he did from an abuse of Presidential power but an act he committed as Nixon the individual tax payer not the president. Impeachment is meant to be acts the President did by abusing the power of his office. The examples named bribe and treason give evidence to that. Therefore, it was wrong to attempt to impeach Clinton of lying under oath in a civil matter when he lied under oath. In that deposition he was Clinton the individual and he was not acting on behalf of his office. Same with the reasons why the Congress didn't honor New Jersey's arrest warrant for VP Burr when he shot and killed the sitting Treasury Sect'y Hamilton in a duel in NJ. congress said Burr was acting on his own behalf and on his personal honor and was not representing the office of the VP when he had the duel. It was a civil criminal matter not a matter for the office. Those two precedents should have exonerated Clinton from impeachment. The Clinton impeachment is not only unconstitutional in fact and spirit it also sets a dangerous precedence. If a sitting VP or President commits any illegal wrongdoing while in office he can be impeached. Lets say he slaps his wife and is found to be guilty of spousal abuse. Its impeachable. If he has an outstanding traffic ticket that reaches warrant stage, that's now technically impeachable.
  19. This is the thread for all things USA, right? Okay. Here's my contribution. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101203/ap_on_re_us/us_california_legislative_vehicles California lawmakers enjoy a perk that seems like a luxurious amenity in a state that has been slashing billions of dollars from its budget: taxpayer-provided cars. The state purchases cars for lawmakers to drive around their districts and the capital under a decades-old program, spending more than $5 million for the latest suite of vehicles that includes a $55,000 Cadillac sedan and a $52,000 Lexus hybrid.
  20. I liked Avatar which is basically 'Dancing With Wolves' on an alien planet. They already had sequels planned before the movie was released. Sherlock Holmes was okay possibly good but I am prejudiced as I remember the traditional Sherlock Holmes in terms of mentality (Basil Rathbone movies).
  21. 'The Road' or my title for it 'Just Kill Me Now' Adapted from a book by the same name a few years ago, its about a father and his young son in a post apocolyptic world. Something cataclysmic happened. Its unexplained. Earthquakes, wild fires, etc. still happening during the movie, left a dark smokey film in the sky that made it impossible for plants to grow and since plants don't grow animals die off. What's left is a barren wasteland, people are scavanging for any kind of food from what is left of humanity. Some revert to cannibalism. Some form roving bands to steal from others, some commit suicide (my choice), the remainder wander aimlessly. Well made movie but its the most depressing thing I've seen since the Tottenham 'Perfect Game' dvd when they beat us in the CC semi. Its a possible political message on the environment though. It could be what will happen if you're the type to believe in global warming, etc. although to be fair, the movie doesn't suggest that. It doesn't explain how they got to the point where they are. If you see it, make sure you aren't depressed as I was when I walked into the theater. You'll leave worse.
  22. Saw it as well. Spoiler warning but having lived in LA, one tends to summarize movies the way writers pitch a movie to a studio head. Its essentially 'Dancing With Wolves' on anther planet in the future. I liked it though. A few gaps in reasonsing but thats par for the course with Hollywood.
  23. Just finished watching it as well. With regards to the unanswered questions of 'what happens now' at the ending it made me wonder. What IF we had to start all over again. Would we make the same mistakes? What would we do differently as a world? In the movie, there would be no more territorial conflict between Israeli and Arab any more or Indian and Pakistani, in fact most of the territorial issues are 'resolved'. Would they still fight or argue? Apologies if this derails into a political thread. I was just wondering. Special effects were top notch though. Agree on Woody Harrelson. He plays a great conspiracy nut. I would think there are easier ways to survive the ending of the world though. Space shuttles and build a massive station that can hold far, far more people perhaps? I would assume that the better submarines would come in rather useful and offer a fairly good rate of survivability.
  24. Thanks for your post jay. Also, thanks for sharing. I've had the 'wait scare' as well. Was dating a cute little number in LA last winter and had a bad cold a couple days after sex (unprotected) and I got scared. Very scared. Not the first time. And I was mad at myself for putting myself in that position. Everytime I get the flu I get scared. I recall writing Junglesoup about one scare and he was kind enough to reassure me. Anyway, its good to be reminded sometimes.
  25. Wow! Interesting news. I got tested again recently. Negative but I was worried because I had a bad cold for a week and JS said it was one of the signs. I re-read his post and my cold wasn't as bad as the ones that are symptomatic. Still, I was worried and it reminded me to be very vigilant. I took one of those saliva swab thingies that gives you a result in 20 minutes. I'm hopeful they'll find a cure. Much has been done already with the cocktail thingy that has kept many alive way longer than when it first appeared.
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