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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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Mar 14, 2009 - 11:31am PT
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
Nowhere
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Mar 14, 2009 - 12:04pm PT
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Why the GOP Should Shut Up
Six out of the top 10 Senate earmark hogs are Republicans.
By Timothy NoahPosted Thursday, March 12, 2009, at 5:49 PM ET
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants you to know that he voted against the $410 billion spending bill President Obama signed into law on March 11. His fellow Republicans "tried to cut the bill's cost. Our ideas would have saved billions of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, every one was turned aside." Well, not every one. According to this spreadsheet prepared by Taxpayers for Common Sense, the spending bill incorporates 53 ideas put forth by McConnell himself in the form of legislative earmarks. Far from lowering the spending bill's cost, they increased it by $76 million.
Compared with his fellow Republicans, McConnell is a relative piker. Here is a list of the Senate's 10 biggest earmark hogs, based on dollar amounts in the spending bill:
1. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.: $474 million
2. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.: $391 million
3. Mary Landrieu, D-La.: $332 million
4. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa: $292 million
5. David Vitter, R-La.: $249 million
6. Christopher Bond, R-Mo.: $248 million
7. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.: $235 million
8. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii: $225 million
9. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.: $219 million
10. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa: $199 million
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
Nowhere
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Mar 14, 2009 - 12:19pm PT
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All in good time, Skipt. Rome was not built overnight.
Saving the economy had to take precedence over conrolling earmarks. When the city is burning down you don't make the firetrucks go through checkpoints.
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graniteclimber
Trad climber
Nowhere
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Mar 14, 2009 - 12:43pm PT
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Most of the people who voted for him are happy with him. We've seen plenty of change in the last three months and we'll see plenty more.
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S.Powers
Social climber
Jtree, now in Alaska
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Mar 14, 2009 - 01:04pm PT
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It has recently come to my attention that collectivism is a growing threat to society and should be outlawed. But before I continue, allow me to explain that whenever I turn around I see Mr. Whiney The Republikat destroying our moral fiber. To deny such a truth would be to deny the evidence of our own senses. He flaunts his personal codices and attitudes in front of everyone else. There's really no other conclusion you can reach. He is attracted to Trotskyism like a moth to a candle. I wish I could put it more delicately but that would miss the point.
If anything will free us from the shackles of Mr. Republikat's clumsy, coldhearted writings, it's knowledge of the world as it really is. It's knowledge that relative to just a few years ago, brazen misers are nearly ten times as likely to believe that he is the arbiter of all things. This is neither a coincidence nor simply a sign of the times. Rather, it reflects a sophisticated, psychological warfare program designed by Mr. Republikat to rob, steal, cheat, and murder.
The acid test for Mr. Republikat's "kinder, gentler" new invectives should be, "Do they still create a beachhead for organized despotism?" If the answer is yes then we can conclude that Mr. Republikat insists that his double standards are good for the environment, human rights, and baby seals. In the long run, however, he's only fooling himself. Mr. Republikat would be better off if he just admitted to himself that in order to convince us that his dastardly, gormless terrorist organization is a benign and charitable agency, Mr. Republikat often turns to the old propagandist trick of comparing results brought about by entirely dissimilar causes. If one could get a Ph.D. in Resistentialism, Mr. Republikat would be the first in line to have one.
Mr. Republikat's diatribes are a cancer that is slowly eating away at our flesh. If you don't believe me, see for yourself. Some people think that my prime directive is to express our concerns about Mr. Republikat's detestable propositions. Others believe that I will never identify with argumentative undesirables. The truth lies somewhere in between, namely, that he is absolutely determined to believe that courtesy and manners don't count for anything, and he's not about to let facts or reason get in his way.
Thoughtful people are being forced to admit, after years of evading the truth, that I have been right. I was right when I said that failure to define our terms more clearly will lead to a deluge of complaints by Mr. Republikat's agents provocateurs. I was right when I said that selling short-sighted loonies on antidisestablishmentarianism has been a Golconda for Mr. Republikat. And I was right when I said that there are many illustrations of this. Mr. Republikat may mean well but his truculent dream is starting to come true. Liberties are being killed by attrition. Snobbism is being installed by accretion. The only way that we can reverse these improvident trends is to attack Mr. Republikat's malice and hypocrisy. To be precise, there may be absolutely nothing we can do to prevent him from making good on his word to devise lecherous scams to get money for nothing. When we compare this disturbing conclusion to the comforting picture purveyed by his hirelings, we experience psychological stress or "cognitive dissonance". Our only recourse is to raise issues, as opposed to guns or knives.
Why does absenteeism exist? What causes it? And when Mr. Republikat promotes one social program after the next to take care of some segment of society, is he doing it for that segment of society or is he doing it because he seeks power and position? To understand the answers to those questions, you first have to realize that I want to tell you a little bit about Mr. Republikat and his selfish indiscretions. I want to do this not because I need to tack another line onto my résumé but because Mr. Republikat's factotums all look like Mr. Republikat, think like Mr. Republikat, act like Mr. Republikat, and embark on wholesale torture and slaughter of innocent civilians, just like Mr. Republikat does. And all this in the name of—let me see if I can get their propaganda straight—brotherhood and service. Ha!
Mr. Republikat dreams of a time when he'll be free to pamper corrupt ranters. That's the way he's planned it and that's the way it'll happen—not may happen but will happen—if we don't interfere, if we don't make him answer for his wrongdoings. One of the great mysteries of modern life is, Why doesn't he reveal the truth about himself? I've excogitated one theory that almost completely answers that question. Unfortunately, it fails to take into account that Mr. Republikat uses the word "superincomprehensibleness" to justify causing riots in the streets. In doing so, he is reversing the meaning of that word as a means of disguising the fact that his zealots all have serious personal problems. In fact, the way Mr. Republikat keeps them loyal to him is by encouraging and exacerbating these problems rather than by helping to overcome them.
The simple, regrettable truth is that Mr. Republikat, already oppressive with his infernal publications, will perhaps be the ultimate exterminator of our human species—if separate species we be—for his reserve of unguessed horrors could never be borne by mortal brains if loosed upon the world. If you think that that's a frightening thought then consider that I want to see all of us working together to maintain social tranquillity. Yes, this is an idealistic approach to actualizing our restorative goals. Nevertheless, you should realize that Mr. Republikat is secretly planning to make serious dialogue difficult or impossible. I realize that that may sound rather conspiratorial and farfetched to most people, which is why you need to understand that I recently heard Mr. Republikat tell a bunch of people that he is the way, the truth, and the light. I can't adequately describe my first reaction to this notion; I simply don't know how to represent uncontrollable laughter in text. I can certainly suggest how Mr. Republikat ought to behave. Ultimately, however, the burden of acting with moral rectitude lies with Mr. Republikat himself.
On theoretical grounds alone, Mr. Republikat's statements are so filled with errors that I feel some futility in replying to them. Let me express that same thought in slightly different terms: Mr. Republikat commonly appoints ineffective people to important positions. He then ensures that these people stay in those positions because that makes it easy for Mr. Republikat to force me to undergo "treatment" to cure my "problem". He speaks like a true defender of the status quo—a status quo, we should not forget, that enables him to abet ethnic genocide, dictatorships, and snarky, uppity rotters.
It has long been obvious to attentive observers that none of Mr. Republikat's "progressive" ideas have actually resulted in any progress. But did you know that his recourse to parasitism as a tactical modality for waging low-intensity warfare has been successful? He doesn't want you to know that because he has, on a number of occasions, expressed a desire to interfere with my efforts to reinforce the contentions of all reasonable people and confute those of uneducated oligarchs. On all of these occasions, I submitted to the advice of my friends, who assured me that he cannot tolerate the world as it is. He needs to live in a world of fantasies. To be more specific, if you read Mr. Republikat's writings while mentally out of focus, you may get the sense that Mr. Republikat should tell everyone else what to do because "it's the right thing to do". But if you read Mr. Republikat's writings while mentally in focus and weigh each point carefully, it's clear that his thralls have tried repeatedly to assure me that he will eventually tire of his plan to spit on sacred icons and will then step aside and let us stop this insanity. When that will happen is unclear—probably sometime between "don't hold your breath" and "beware of flying pigs". Let me end by saying that I know that what I have written in this letter will send many readers (especially any who are big fans of Mr. Whiney The Republikat) into a tizzy or a tantrum. I am sorry, but I remind them that Mr. Republikat accepts superstition for science, hokum and magic for medicine, monotone chanting for music, and lethargic passivity in lieu of discovery and inquiry.
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Mar 14, 2009 - 01:04pm PT
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Skippy
It took George W. 8 years to destroy America's economy and create an enormous debt(he spent more money and greater debt then all the previous American presidents in history combined), and you expect Obama to rebuild the economy in 2 months? and you talk about Obama spending????
Are you dealing with reality dude? Because you might want to try it, its a big world out there.
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Robb
Social climber
It's like FoCo in NoCo Daddy-O!
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Mar 14, 2009 - 01:26pm PT
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I know that it's ever gratfying to "spray away" one's frustrations online, but at the risk of being flamed you know we could always put aside the rants & have a rational, yeah even productive discussion of the present & relevant issues.
Just sayin'....
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d-know
Trad climber
electric lady land
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Mar 14, 2009 - 01:31pm PT
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c'mon skippy,
go climbing.
you'll ferget all
about how great
your leader obama
is.
try it on some
rocks, it's even
better.
gone climbing 'till
the sun goes down!!!
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Watusi
Social climber
Newport, OR
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Mar 14, 2009 - 01:57pm PT
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I doubt "W" was ever popular...
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Norton
Social climber
the Wastelands
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Mar 14, 2009 - 01:59pm PT
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Hi Skip, hey good going, you found an Obama gaff to support your bias that he is lacking in sufficient intelligence.
Here are just a few from McCain, who you voted for and hold so highly in regard. Just to be "fair and balanced", right?
"I think she's most qualified of any that has run recently for vice president, tell you the truth." --on Sarah Palin, interview with Don Imus, Oct. 22, 2008
"I might have to rely on a vice president that I select’ for expertise on economic issues." --GOP debate, Nov. 28, 2007
"Rates were c*nt in the Bush years." --committing a freudian slip while campaigning in Manchester, NH, Oct. 22, 2008 (Watch video clip)
"You know, I think you may have noticed that Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately. And you know, I couldn't agree with them more. I couldn't disagree with you. I couldn't agree with you more than the fact that Western Pennsylvania is the most patriotic, most god-loving, most, most patriotic part of America, and this is a great part of the country." --Moon Township, Penn., Oct. 21, 2008 (Watch video clip)
"He's (for) health for the mother. You know, that's been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything. That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote, 'health.'" --mocking Obama's support for protection of a mother's health in abortion decisions, presidential debate, Long Island, New York, Oct. 15, 2008 (Watch video clip)
"My friends, we've got them just where we want them." --on Barack Obama and the state of the presidential campaign, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Oct. 13, 2008
"Across this country this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners. And the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent." --Bethlehem, Penn., Oct. 8, 2008 (Watch video clip)
"There was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one." --referring to Barack Obama during the second presidential debate, Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2008 (Watch video)
"Not you, Tom." --to debate moderator Tom Brokaw, after being asked who he might name as Treasury Secretary in his administration, Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 7, 2008
"I have not had a chance to see it in writing, so I have to examine it.'" --on the Bush administration's Wall Street bailout plan, which was a three-page document that McCain said he received the day before, interview with WKYC in Cleveland, Sept. 23, 2008
"Sure. Technically, I don't know." --asked if the U.S. is in a recession, "60 Minutes" interview, Sept. 21, 2008
"The chairman of the SEC serves at the appointment of the president and, in my view, has betrayed the public's trust. If I were president today, I would fire him." --apparently unaware of the fact that the SEC chairman, as a commissioner of an independent regulatory commission, cannot be removed by the president, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sept. 18, 2008
"Honestly, I have to analyze our relationships, situations and priorities, but I can assure you that I will establish closer relationships with our friends, and I will stand up to those who want to harm the United States. ... I have a clear record of working with leaders in the hemisphere that are friends with us and standing up to those who are not. And that's judged on the basis of the importance of our relationship with Latin America and the entire region." --after being asked if he would invite Spanish President Jose Rodriguez Louis Zapatero to the White House, casting an ally of the U.S. as a potential enemy while simultaneously confusing Spain for a Latin American country, interview with Radio Caracol Miami, Sept. 17, 2008
"I also know, if I might remind you, that she is commander of the Alaska National Guard. In fact, you may know that on Sept. 11 a large contingent of the Alaska Guard deployed to Iraq and her son happened to be one of them. So I think she understands our national security challenges." --touting Sarah Palin's foreign policy credentials by confusing the Alaska National Guard with the U.S. Army, where Palin's son is currently serving, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Sept. 17, 2008
"I understand the economy. I was chairman of the Commerce Committee that oversights every part of our economy." --ignoring the fact that it is actually the Senate Banking Committee which is responsible for credit, financial services, and housing -- the very areas currently in crisis, CNBC interview, Sept. 16, 2008
"Our economy, I think, is still -- the fundamentals of our economy are strong." --Jacksonville, Fla., Sept. 15, 2008
"Opening up the health insurance market to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation." --in the Sept./Oct. issue of Contingencies
"[Sarah Palin] knows more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America. ... And, uh, she also happens to represent, be governor of a state that's right next to Russia." --after being asked about Sarah Palin's foreign policy experience, interview with WCSH-6, Portland, OR, Sept. 12, 2008
"It's easy for me to go to Washington and, frankly, be somewhat divorced from the day-to-day challenges people have." --speaking at the ServiceNation forum in New York, Sept. 11, 2008
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Norton
Social climber
the Wastelands
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:03pm PT
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Top ten John McCain's brilliant, well reasoned statements.
10. "I was looking at the Sturgis schedule, and noticed that you had a beauty pageant, so I encouraged Cindy to compete. I told her [that] with a little luck, she could be the only woman to serve as both the First Lady and Miss Buffalo Chip." --on the annual Miss Buffalo Chip Pageant, which features topless (and occasionally bottomless) contestants, Sturgis, South Dakota, Aug. 4, 2008 (Watch video clip)
9. "Across this country this is the agenda I have set before my fellow prisoners. And the same standards of clarity and candor must now be applied to my opponent." --Bethlehem, Penn., Oct. 8, 2008 (Watch video clip)
8. "You know, I think you may have noticed that Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately. And you know, I couldn't agree with them more. I couldn't disagree with you. I couldn't agree with you more than the fact that Western Pennsylvania is the most patriotic, most god-loving, most, most patriotic part of America, and this is a great part of the country." --Moon Township, Penn., Oct. 21, 2008 (Watch video clip)
7. "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should. I've got Greenspan's book." --as quoted in the Boston Globe, Dec. 17, 2007
6. "Our economy, I think, is still -- the fundamentals of our economy are strong." --Jacksonville, Fla., Sept. 15, 2008
5. "You know that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran? Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran." --breaking into song after being asked at a VFW meeting about whether it was time to send a message to Iran, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, April 18, 2007 (Watch video clip)
4. "There was an energy bill on the floor of the Senate loaded down with goodies, billions for the oil companies, and it was sponsored by Bush and Cheney. You know who voted for it? You might never know. That one." --referring to Barack Obama during the second presidential debate, Nashville, Tennessee, Oct. 7, 2008 (Watch video clip)
3. "I think -- I'll have my staff get to you. It's condominiums where -- I'll have them get to you." --after being asked how many houses he and his wife, Cindy, own, interview with Politico, Las Cruces, N.M., Aug. 20, 2008 (Take a Google Earth tour of the McCain residences and watch Obama's amusing ad slamming McCain)
2. "Make it a hundred...That would be fine with me." --to a questioner who asked if he supported President Bush's vision for keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for 50 years, Derry, New Hampshire, Jan. 3, 2008
1. "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you c*nt." --to his wife, Cindy, after she playfully twirled his hair and said "You're getting a little thin up there," as reported in the book The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter (Watch spoof video)
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Norton
Social climber
the Wastelands
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:06pm PT
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And these are just a few from Caribou Barbie you voted to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency.
1. "As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where– where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border." --Sarah Palin, explaining why Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her foreign policy experience, interview with CBS's Katie Couric, Sept. 24, 2008 (Watch video clip)
2. "We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. ... We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation." --Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in Greensoboro, N.C., Oct. 16, 2008
3. "Ohh, good, thank you, yes." --Sarah Palin, after a notorious Canadian prank caller complimented her on the documentary about her life, Hustler's "Nailin Paylin," Nov. 1, 2008 (Read more about the prank call, watch the video and see the transcript)
4. "Well, let's see. There's ― of course in the great history of America there have been rulings that there's never going to be absolute consensus by every American, and there are those issues, again, like Roe v. Wade, where I believe are best held on a state level and addressed there. So, you know, going through the history of America, there would be others but ―" --Sarah Palin, unable to name a Supreme Court decision she disagreed with other than Roe vs. Wade, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008 (Watch video clip)
5. "All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years." --Sarah Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008 (Watch video clip)
6. "They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan." --Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in San Francisco, Oct. 5, 2008
7. "[T]hey're in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes that will make life better for Brandon and his family and his classroom." --Sarah Palin, getting the vice president's constitutional role wrong after being asked by a third grader what the vice president does, interview with NBC affiliate KUSA in Colorado, Oct. 21, 2008 (Watch video clip)
8. "I told the Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' on that Bridge to Nowhere." –Sarah Palin, who was for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it
9. "If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media." --Sarah Palin, getting First Amendment rights backwards while suggesting that criticism of her is unconstitutional, radio interview with WMAL-AM, Oct. 31, 2008
10. "I'm the mayor, I can do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can't.'" --Sarah Palin, as quoted by former City Council Member Nick Carney, after he raised objections about the $50,000 she spent renovating the mayor's office without approval of the city council
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:10pm PT
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"Most of the people who voted for him are happy with him. We've seen plenty of change in the last three months and we'll see plenty more." Graniteclimber
Yep.
NOOOOW the far right finally starts worrying about the national debt. After their fearless leader racks up the biggest increase in the national debt in history and they do nothing about that. too funny. They don't seem to mind spending trillions on ill advised wars while taking tax cuts, which puts the burden on their children, but they complain bitterly about efforts to help their own country out of a financial hole. Oh well.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:14pm PT
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"Deficits don't matter" Dick Cheney.... puppet master to the worst president in history.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:29pm PT
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"Barack Obama got the job and has proposed more spending in his first month of office then the combined total of all federal spending since George Washington (the first George.)"
Not certain what you are talking about. How is he proposing to spend more then everyone since george washington? Do you mean national health care? He has currently asked for about a trillion dollars to overcome the financial crisis. How is that more then what Bush spent on the crises and more then what Bush spent of ill advised wars?
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:40pm PT
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"Obama is less popular than Bush"
Obama could be the most hated man in your country - which very clearly is the opposite of the truth - and he'd still be your President, at least until January 20th, 2013. And neither Bush I, Bush II, or McCain is or will be president. Obama also has substantial support in congress and the polls.
The Republican (I wouldn't say conservative) hegemony of the last 40 years is over, and they're not taking it very well. It's no surprise that they're trying to mount an attack, however pathetic. They'd rather do that than have to engage in a meaningful process of self-examination and criticism. Their social, economic and foreign policies have been exposed as false if not fraudulent, and they have nothing to fall back on but agitprop and rhetoric. Frustrated people do and say foolish things.
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:42pm PT
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Skip, I have looked at the budget and don't know what you are talking about. Why are you so circumspect? How can I speak up if I don't know what you are complaining about?
Edit: Most of the budget has to do with maintaining things that are already in place, such as social security. Are you saying that Obama should dump social security?
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:48pm PT
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I soooo wanted to climb today....f*#king partners!
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John Moosie
climber
Beautiful California
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:49pm PT
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""I think she's most qualified of any that has run recently for vice president, tell you the truth." --John McCain on Sarah Palin, interview with Don Imus, Oct. 22, 2008
"I might have to rely on a vice president that I select’ for expertise on economic issues." -- John McCain GOP debate, Nov. 28, 2007
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Studly
Trad climber
WA
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Mar 14, 2009 - 02:52pm PT
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Skipper, reality please, deal with it....Obama has got the job of cleaning up the mess, do you argue that?
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