Usa Thread

[Steve]

Now reading Ron Paul's book, End the Fed, quite interesting and very informative!

 

I agree with what he says in that the US gov is addicted to the Fed printing press to get all the cash they want.

 

Now, like you cannot giver heroin to a heroin addict and expect the person to get of the drug.

The US gov must go thru some withdrawal pains in order to start operating with a balanced budget and get some standard (gold?) to maintain the value of its currency.

 

The main thing I like about Paul is that he can't be bought off by special interest. I was shocked at how fast it took Obama to be bought off. The right is bought off and most of the left.

 

People sometimes see the market go up and down when a certain president or program is adopted. We are under the impression that if the market goes up then that person is a good thing or that program is. Many times it means a bad thing for the general public. I actually expect the market to drop if Paul becomes President. Why? The gravy train is over. He can't be bought. They're gonna have to make money the old fashion way...earn it. Congress will still be bought off but Paul will expose them.

 

I think what we need is a line item veto for the president. I think its insane we don't have one. Why can't the president and congress vote on one issue and not a package deal of totally disparate things and issues? We know why. Its how they get to spend money without us knowing about it.

[Hugh_Hoy]

I think what we need is a line item veto for the president. I think its insane we don't have one. Why can't the president and congress vote on one issue and not a package deal of totally disparate things and issues? We know why. Its how they get to spend money without us knowing about it.

 

Steve, line item veto was passed into law in 1996 when Clinton was Prez. Litigation was brought against it and the U.S. Supreme Ct. ruled it unconstitutional in 1998.

 

HH

[Flashermac]

Obama Lies about the ‘Do-Nothing Congress’

 

 

‘This Congress, they are accustomed to doing nothing, and they’re comfortable with doing nothing, and they keep on doing nothing,†President Obama whined at a September 15 Democratic National Committee gathering in a private Washington residence.

 

Now that his “Blame Bush†hobby horse finally has retired to the glue factory, Obama resorts to pinning America’s woes on the “Do-Nothing Congress.†If only these parliamentarians would stop taking endless lunches, sipping cocktails at Capitol Hill happy hours, and napping at their desks, America might have some chance of returning to normal.

 

Obama speaks as if the entire Congress were in lock-step Republican opposition to his every initiative. Damn those pesky elephants!

 

Of course, Obama’s rhetoric cynically turns things upside down.

 

Congress consists of a do-something House of Representatives, run by Republicans, and a do-nothing Senate controlled by Obama’s very own Democrats. Obama evidently believes that if he can keep spouting clever lies and distortions, no one will call him on it. Well, it’s time to do so.

 

The 112th Congress has been characterized by a very active legislative pace in the Republican House, featuring the passage of many measures designed to revive America’s exhausted economy.

 

The Democratic Senate, meanwhile, is a much lazier place, where House Republicans’ measures go to die.

 

The figures bear this out, beyond debate.

 

Through September 15, the Republican House had been in session for 120 days. The Democratic Senate through the same date had been in session only 115 days.

 

In terms of recorded votes, the two bodies are as different as Times Square and the Everglades. Through September 15, the GOP House had voted 711 times. Meanwhile, across the same period, the Democratic Senate had only 137 recorded votes. So, the allegedly lethargic GOP legislators whose sloth dooms the nation actually are five times as energetic as their indolent counterparts in the Democratic Senate.

 

This distinction might discredit House Republicans if they wasted their time voting on National Apricot Yogurt Month and similar matters of national urgency. In fact, Republicans have approved serious legislation designed to get America moving.

 

“Our new majority has passed more than a dozen pro-growth measures designed to address the jobs crisis,†Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor wrote Obama on September 6. “Aside from repeal of the 1099-reporting requirement in the health care law, however, none of the jobs measures passed by the House to date have been taken up by the Democrat-controlled Senate.â€

 

These have included bills to reduce anti-business regulations, accelerate offshore oil production, and speed the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry Canadian oil to refineries in Texas. The pipeline alone would create 20,000 jobs.

 

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid seems to be in no rush to consider Obama’s American Jobs Act, even though Obama wants it enacted “right now!â€

 

“We’ve got to get rid of some issues first,†Reid said. For now, he is not sure “exactly what I’m going to do yet with the president’s jobs bill,†especially since some of Reid’s own Democrats, such as Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Jim Webb of Virginia, seem ho-hum about Obama’s $447 billion Stimulus Jr.

 

While House Republicans adopted a budget last April 15, the Democratic Senate has not approved a budget since April 29, 2009. This Democratic inaction seems to violate the U.S. Congressional Budget Act, which requires passage of an annual budget resolution. Indeed, the Senate rejected Obama’s budget in May by a vote of 0 to 97 — with every Democrat in the chamber voting nay.

 

Obama can disagree with every piece of paper passed by the GOP House. But when he slyly bashes Republicans by accusing “this Congress†of “doing nothing,†he simply is lying through his teeth. If Obama wants the entire Congress to get something done, he should tell Harry Reid to wake up and do his job.

 

------------------

 

 

New York commentator Deroy Murdock is a nationally syndicated columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.

 

 

 

My link

[Flashermac]

p.s. this is Deroy Murdock, who dares to criticise Obama.

[cavanami]

The Hill: Perry To Drop Out, Ron Paul To Be Romney’s Rival

 

The implosion of Rick Perry’s presidential campaign has opened the door for Congressman Ron Paul to move up into second place and go head to head with Mitt Romney – that’s the prediction from The Hill, one of Washington’s most respected political newspapers...

 

http://www.infowars.com/the-hill-perry-to-drop-out-ron-paul-to-be-romneys-rival/

 

Ron Paul is Half a Step from First Place

 

A straw poll over the weekend shows that Rick Perry is losing it. The wheels are coming off his effort to take the GOP nomination and go up against Obama next year.

 

Once again, the establishment is unable to count — Ron Paul is a front-runner.

 

Perry threw his resources into the Florida straw poll last week after the battering he took during the most recent debate. The poll was won by Herman Cain, the former head of the chain Godfather’s Pizza, who has so far trailed most of the other candidates.

 

Following the debate, many so-called conservatives say they now support Mitt Romney. On Sunday, Romney beat Perry in a poll held in Michigan, the the former Massachusetts governor’s native state.

 

In an effort to regain the momentum, Perry’s camp has released a new video criticizing Romney’s support of national healthcare...

 

http://www.infowars.com/ron-paul-is-half-a-step-from-first-place/

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyx7Mkb5uDU&feature=player_embedded

[Flashermac]

Good to see Perry is throwing in the towel. I like to listen to Cain - he's an impressive figure. But I don't think he'd make that effective a president (he's a businessman). Romney and Paul on the ticket? Might work ... Paul can make the decisions, while Romney consults the Urim and Thumim for advice.

[Flashermac]

Americans Express Historic Negativity Toward U.S. Government

 

 

PRINCETON, NJ -- A record-high 81% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way the country is being governed, adding to negativity that has been building over the past 10 years.

 

Majorities of Democrats (65%) and Republicans (92%) are dissatisfied with the nation's governance. This perhaps reflects the shared political power arrangement in the nation's capital, with Democrats controlling the White House and U.S. Senate, and Republicans controlling the House of Representatives. Partisans on both sides can thus find fault with government without necessarily blaming their own party.

 

The findings are from Gallup's annual Governance survey, updated Sept. 8-11, 2011. The same poll shows record or near-record criticism of Congress, elected officials, government handling of domestic problems, the scope of government power, and government waste of tax dollars.

 

Key Findings:

 

- 82% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.

 

- 69% say they have little or no confidence in the legislative branch of government, an all-time high and up from 63% in 2010.

 

- 57% have little or no confidence in the federal government to solve domestic problems, exceeding the previous high of 53% recorded in 2010 and well exceeding the 43% who have little or no confidence in the government to solve international problems.

 

- 53% have little or no confidence in the men and women who seek or hold elected office.

 

Americans believe, on average, that the federal government wastes 51 cents of every tax dollar, similar to a year ago, but up significantly from 46 cents a decade ago and from an average 43 cents three decades ago.

 

- 49% of Americans believe the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. In 2003, less than a third (30%) believed this.

 

Congress' Ratings Have Plunged in Recent Years

 

Confidence in Congress hit a new low this month, with 31% of Americans saying they have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in the legislative branch, lower than the percentage confident in the executive (47%) or judicial (63%) branch. Confidence in the legislative branch is slightly higher among Republicans than among Democrats, 41% vs. 32%.

 

Apart from a brief rally in public approval of Congress after the 9/11 attacks, Congress' job approval rating has followed a similar path, declining sharply since about 2000. The 15% of Americans approving of Congress in the September poll is just two percentage points above the all-time low reached twice in the past year.

 

Public Officials Held in Low Esteem

 

Americans' confidence in the people who run for or serve in office is also at a new low; however, the decline has been more recent, dropping from 66% in 2008 to 49% in 2009 and 45% today. For most of the history of this trend, Americans had much more positive views of those seeking or holding public office, but that changed in 2009, and the balance of opinion has since remained more negative than positive.

 

Americans Particularly Critical of Domestic Policy

 

At 43%, fewer Americans today than at any time in the past four decades say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the federal government to handle domestic problems. That is significantly lower than the 58% average level of confidence Gallup has found on this since 1972, including a 77% reading shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Gallup did not ask the question between 1976 and 1997, however, and thus may have missed low points during the recessions that occurred in the early 1980s or at the time of the House banking scandal in the early '90s.

 

By contrast, faith in Washington to handle international problems (57%) is currently better than the 51% all-time low recorded in 2007, during the Iraq war, and not far off from the 65% average seen since 1972.

 

Along with Americans' record-low confidence in the federal government on domestic policy, Gallup finds record skepticism about government waste. As previously reported, Americans, on average, think the federal government in Washington wastes 51 cents of every tax dollar, the highest estimated proportion of waste Gallup has found on this measure in trends dating to 1979.

 

Nearly Half Now Say Government Poses Immediate Threat

 

Americans' sense that the federal government poses an immediate threat to individuals' rights and freedoms is also at a new high, 49%, since Gallup began asking the question using this wording in 2003. This view is much more pronounced among Republicans (61%) and independents (57%) than among Democrats (28%), although when George W. Bush was president, Democrats and independents were more likely than Republicans to view government as a threat.

 

Bottom Line

 

Americans' various ratings of political leadership in Washington add up to a profoundly negative review of government -- something that would seem unhealthy for the country to endure for an extended period. Nevertheless, with another budget showdown looking inevitable and a contentious presidential election year getting underway, it appears the ratings reviewed here could get worse before they improve.

 

 

Galumph Poll

[Flashermac]

Patrons mistake ice cream shop mascot for KKK robes

 

 

 

 

 

Once and for all, people, it's an ice cream cone.

 

The owners of Ice Cream Family Corner and Sandwiches at the busy intersection of South Pine Avenue and Southwest 17th Street say their two-month-old business is getting creamed because passers-by have mistaken their white-hooded ice cream cone mascot for a KKK protester.

 

Co-owner Jose Cantres says rumors are swirling on Facebook about the exact nature of the little vanilla cone, and employees heard through word of mouth that potential customers have steered clear of the shop to avoid the character.

 

Liza Diaz, who manages the store for Cantres and co-owner Jesus Diaz, said an employee at the bank where she does business told her a co-worker was so frightened by the white dollop patrolling the street corner that she called her husband crying and refused to drive through the intersection.

 

“One (customer) told me, ‘I had to think twice before coming in here because I thought it was KKK,' “ Diaz said.

 

Interestingly, Diaz, who is from Puerto Rico, had never heard of the KKK before this controversy. She can't even quite get her tongue around the name, referring to the white supremacist group as the “Ku Ku Klan†without a hint of irony or sarcasm.

 

Close up, the costume looks nothing like the white-hooded Klan garb that evokes such strong emotions. Its fluffy white top, flecked with colored sprinkles, curls slightly at its peak, and it sits atop a brown waffle cone.

 

But the costume tends to sag around the wearer's shoulders, and the waffle cone is mostly obscured by the sign the mascot holds in front of him. So to a motorist who gets only a glance cruising past at 40 mph, it can — and apparently does — look like a menacing Klansman.

 

Although this corner location has been a graveyard for eateries over the years, mostly because getting into and out of the parking lot can be tricky, Liza Diaz believes the costume is to blame for the rocky road the shop finds itself on. The clientele, she said, melted away right after the mascot hit the street. Indeed, just before lunch Monday, there wasn't a soul in the store except for a handful of employees.

 

Through it all, the partners have managed to maintain their good humor. The little ice cream cone no longer beckons to passers-by, and the owners have expanded their offerings — which already include Boars Head sandwiches, flan and what they call “the best Cuban†sandwich in town — to include Spanish cuisine.

 

“We're a friendly environment, family-oriented,†Liza Diaz said. “We're not (racist). We're very friendly, very religious.â€

 

 

And these people vote!

[Steve]

Steve, line item veto was passed into law in 1996 when Clinton was Prez. Litigation was brought against it and the U.S. Supreme Ct. ruled it unconstitutional in 1998.

 

HH

 

Thanks HH, well it should be brought back. I don't see how its unconstitutional and I am wary of ANY one who would fight it. It won't be the first time (nor the last) that I disagree with a Supreme Court decision. I accept it because its the law but I disagree with it. Did some googling of it. Byrd, Monyhan amongst 6 Senators who opposed it. Happens to be the ones getting a lot of pork as well. There is a good reason why one of the big FBI offices is based in West Virginia.

 

The country needs it. If we're going to get out of the mess, we need a line item veto to cut pork. Bills should stand on their own merit instead of being added to something needed and accepted only because its attached to something significant. Its crazy if you really think about it.

[Steve]

p.s. this is Deroy Murdock, who dares to criticise Obama.

 

Actually Flash, I don't know this guys ideology but conservative blacks have long criticized black Dems or left of center blacks or black activists. In the past it was Jesse and Rev Al and occasionally Maxine Waters and members of Congress. Obama being President its no surprise.

Interesting thing is Rev Al was critical of Obama when he announced he was running. Its not in his best interest (nor Jesse's) to publicly attack him because they'd lose their constituents. Rev Al's and Jesse's beef is that he's not doing the 'blame the white man' thingy and not pushing for all kinds of programs specifically for blacks. Also, I think its Obama not providing a place for them at the table.

Fact is Obama isn't liked by the black establishment. The Congressional Black Caucus did the unprecedented thing of backing Hillary for the '08 election. The 11th commandment of the CBC is thou shall always support a fellow member. Obama was always on the outside. He got elected in Chicago going against a long time black pol. Very few blacks of note supported him early. Jesse Jackson Jr ironically enough. Henry Louis Gates as well. The blacks in Congress, mayors, etc. across the country were firmly for Hillary. He's kept them all out of his administration and they pretty much have no more access to him than they did Bush.

 

Obama is hated by the right and has a mutual dislike for black politicians on the left.