The Democrat Thread

[kapkomet]

The truth is, if I have to pay slightly higher taxes in order to enjoy the benefits and services of a government that generally acts in a responsible manner and is committed to providing a basic safety net for its constituents in need, I am completely willing to do so.

 

Lower taxes is not everything to me. A government that is responsive to its people is.

 

 

Oh, only slightly? Man, that sucks. In order for utopia the proper redistribution of wealth, you better hand over more then slightly. One of these days, you're going to be "rich".

[HuskyCaucasian]

Glenn Beck doesnt know that government owned land is owned by... the American people!

 

7 Things Glenn Beck Doesn’t Know About US Public Lands Policy

 

The Glenn Beck ripping aside, it's actually an interesting article.

[BigSqwert]

Rushing to clarify her latest clusterf***ery by pretending to know what words mean, Sarah “I Shoot Congresspeople From My Helicopter” Palin reminded us today that she’s so much more wonky and clever than any of us retarded mainlanders with our book learnins and whatnots:

But [Palin]

s

aid that media report

s

mi

s

characterized the con

s

ervative me

s

s

age a

s

inciting violence.

 

“

‘

Ta

k

e up your arm

s

’

mean

s

voting,

”

Palin

s

aid.

 

Hahaha! Voting, you idiots! “Take up your arms” means voting. DOI! So in order to prevent further mischaracterizationing by us Gump-like a feeble Communist asshats who tend to see crosshairs as something Lee Harvey Oswald used to put a Magic Bullet in JFK’s brain box, I’ve provided a list of future Palinisms that don’t at all mean the violent, gun-loving awfulness we all think they do.

 

“Lock and load” - To secure a ballot box prior to its stuffing with ballots.

 

“Pump Full of Lead” – The proper use of a Number Two Pencil on your ballot.

 

“Bust A Cap In His Ass” – Voting NO on any Cap and Trade ballot initiative.

 

“Packing Heat” – Properly storing space heaters after chilly Alaskan November elections.

 

“Full Metal Jacket” – Voter fraud perpetrated by ACORN wherein the bogus voter registers as “Stanley Kubrick.”

 

“Hollow Point” – Voting against any sort of healthcare reform, as these votes do so much physical damage to one’s body.

 

"Fire In The Hole!" – Patriotically voting immediately after a large Tex-Mex dinner.

 

“To Fire A Bullet At The President Because He’s A Terrifying Kenyan, Boo Whitey!” – The precise application of the electoral college system to unseat an incumbent president through the entirely legal process of voting.

 

Link

Edited March 27, 2010 by BigSqwert

[HuskyCaucasian]

LMAO! That is awesome!

[bmags]

Oh, only slightly? Man, that sucks. In order for utopia the proper redistribution of wealth, you better hand over more then slightly. One of these days, you're going to be "rich".

 

TOTALLY.

[whitesoxfan101]

Obama announces 15 recess appointments, scolds GOP

 

This will lead to another hissy fit i'm sure.

[BigSqwert]

Obama announces 15 recess appointments, scolds GOP

 

This will lead to another hissy fit i'm sure.

It's only bad when Obama does it. There's been a lot of complaining from the right already even though they had no problem with the last President doing the same thing.

[Balta1701]

It's only bad when Obama does it. There's been a lot of complaining from the right already even though they had no problem with the last President doing the same thing.

Both Bush and Clinton appointed around 270 people via recess appointment in 8 years. That's 15 for Obama in 1.2 years. He's way behind the pace. Frankly...he needs to do more, especially in the Treasury Department.

[Balta1701]

This is pretty fascinating. Years ago, after Republicans filibustered a Carter nominee to the NLRB, the two parties made a deal: the board would have three appointees from the president's party and two from the other party. So after he took office Obama nominated two Democrats and one Republican to fill the NLRB's three vacant seats and got support from a couple of Republicans on the HELP committee for the entire slate. But when it got to the Senate floor John McCain put a hold on Becker, and his nomination — along with the others — died.

 

Fast forward to today and Obama finally decides to fill the board using recess appointments. But what does he do? He only appoints the two Democrats. This is not what you do if you're trying to make nice. It's what you do if you're playing hardball and you want to send a pointed message to the GOP caucus. You won't act on my nominees? Fine. I'll appoint my guys and then leave it up to you to round up 50 votes in the Senate for yours. Have fun.

Hardball.

[Balta1701]

Dear XXXX,

 

I wanted to let you know that I just finished reading Sean Hannity's new book, Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama's Radical Agenda. As they so often do, Sean's words left me energized for November and even more committed to making the gains necessary to bring the Obama agenda to a halt.

 

In the book, Sean does more than just tell us why we need to defeat the Obama Agenda. He also gives us a blueprint for getting it done. I cannot recommend it enough -- and I'm confident that, like me, you will be ready for the upcoming elections with a renewed commitment.

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael Steele

Chairman, Republican National Committee

That's an email that went out this morning to the RNC's donors.

 

The RNC is raising money for Sean Hannity.

 

That is all.

[StrangeSox]

They've come out and plainly stated that they will not work with Democrats. Their strategy is to oppose everything the Democrats do until November when they hope to make big gains. It seems like the Democrats are finally starting to realize this.

[JorgeFabregas]

For some reason I always think that cornstarch is a suitable equivalent for arrowroot, and sometimes it is. But when making something as tricky as vegan caramel sauce -- I should have just dragged my ass to Whole Foods and sucked it up. But instead I thought, as I have thought at least several times before in my pie-making past, 'No no, cornstarch is like practically the same thing. No need to make an extra trip when you can be lazy!'. Disaster, always. The sauce ended up not gelling properly, and was a soupy mess. I still put some in the pie, however, and it tasted fine. I was afraid it might soak the pie crust, but it didn't. Next time if I can succeed in making it a little gooier, it will be an amazing sauce...I just need to play around with recipes and find a good balance.

Combine 1/4 C. soy milk and 2 T. cornstarch;

Whoops. Why leave the corn starch in the recipe, then? There's a health food store basically across the street so I will use the real thing if I try this.

 

Sqwert, do you have the Veganomicon http://www.theppk.com/nomicon.html? Recommended.

[BigSqwert]

Sqwert, do you have the Veganomicon http://www.theppk.com/nomicon.html? Recommended.

 

Yeah. Big fan of Isa's even though her cookbooks are littered with errors. That book is still in heavy rotation.

 

Been meaning to pick up the vegan yum yum cook book. I love her blog/website. I've yet to find a dud from there.

[lostfan]

It's only bad when Obama does it. There's been a lot of complaining from the right already even though they had no problem with the last President doing the same thing.

Honestly this is one of those things where you really can say "both parties are equally hypocritical" and it's not just some bulls*** false equivalency, which I ordinarily hate doing because it's usually a lame copout. Republicans had a hissy fit and acted like it was the end of democracy when Clinton made recess appointments, then when Bush took office there was a totally seamless reversal and the Democrats yelled about how Bush was abusing his power. This is something that can be easily tuned out and isn't worth talking about.

[Balta1701]

This is something that can be easily tuned out and isn't worth talking about.

The real answer to this whole issue is that there's no reason why there should be so many people deep within executive committees and departments who need Senate Approval. Cabinet secretaries, sure. People 3 levels underneath the undersecretary of the Treasury, um, no. Hell, that was even one of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission report that Congress ignored.

[lostfan]

The real answer to this whole issue is that there's no reason why there should be so many people deep within executive committees and departments who need Senate Approval. Cabinet secretaries, sure. People 3 levels underneath the undersecretary of the Treasury, um, no. Hell, that was even one of the recommendations of the 9/11 commission report that Congress ignored.

True story. And senators that play political games with confirmation should be punched in the face 8 times for every one nominee.

[Balta1701]

True story. And senators that play political games with confirmation should be punched in the face 8 times for every one nominee.

Senators are going to play political games no matter what. If they've got power over something they don't care about, they're going to leverage that power to try to influence something they do care about. That's what's going to happen in any system of direct elections.

[lostfan]

Senators are going to play political games no matter what. If they've got power over something they don't care about, they're going to leverage that power to try to influence something they do care about. That's what's going to happen in any system of direct elections.

But they still need to be punched in the face.

[bmags]

Whoops. Why leave the corn starch in the recipe, then? There's a health food store basically across the street so I will use the real thing if I try this.

 

Yeah, out of context from her blog it doesn't make sense, right? But she basically is documenting all the stuff she is baking. Since she used corn starch, that's what she wrote for the recipe. It's more of a conversation right now than a recipe book.

[BigSqwert]

Seven arrested in FBI raids linked to Christian militia group

 

Sources have said the FBI was in the second day of raids around the southeastern Michigan city of Adrian that are connected to a militia group, known as the Hutaree, an Adrian-based group whose members describe themselves as Christian soldiers preparing for the arrival and battle with the anti-Christ.

 

...the FBI targeted the Hutaree after its members made threats of violence against Islamic organizations.

 

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100328/ME...p#ixzz0jWtLFrlQ

 

[BigSqwert]

Awesome!

 

Obama Puts Pesticide Pusher in Charge of Agricultural Trade Relations

 

WASHINGTON- Sidestepping a stalled Senate confirmation vote, yesterday President Obama recess-appointed Islam Siddiqui to be chief agricultural negotiator in the office of the U.S. trade representative. Dr. Siddiqui's nomination was held up in the Senate and was opposed by the Center for Biological Diversity and more than 80 other environmental, small-farm, and consumer groups. More than 90,000 concerned citizens contacted the White House and Senate to oppose the nomination. Siddiqui is a former pesticide lobbyist and is currently vice president of science and regulatory affairs at CropLife America, a biotech and pesticide trade group that lobbies to weaken environmental laws.

 

"Dr. Siddiqui's confirmation is a step backward," said Tierra Curry, a scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. "His appointment ensures the perpetuation of pesticide- and fossil-fuel-intensive policies, which undermine global food security and imperil public health and wildlife."

 

Full Artcle

[HuskyCaucasian]

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100328/ME...p#ixzz0jWtLFrlQ

Damn Muslim president suppressing the Christians!

[HuskyCaucasian]

I believe this is the proper use of the word irony:

'Anti-Government' Conservatives May Be Ignoring Census Forms As Protest... Low Response Rate May Cost Republicans Congressional Seats

 

In Texas, some of the counties with the lowest census return rates are among the state's most Republican, including Briscoe County in the Panhandle, 8 percent; King County, near Lubbock, 5 percent; Culberson County, near El Paso, 11 percent; and Newton County, in deep East Texas, 18 percent. Most other counties near the bottom of the list are heavily Hispanic counties along the Texas-Mexico border.

 

There is a reason for the enthusiasm gap on the census: A number of prominent conservative and libertarian Republicans have been blasting the census for months.

 

Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., began the barrage last year when she asserted — incorrectly — that the information reported by Americans could be used for nefarious governmental ends, such as imprisonment in internment camps.

 

Earlier this month, Texas Rep. Ron Paul voted against a congressional resolution asking Americans to participate in the census.

 

“The invasive nature of the current census raises serious questions about how and why government will use the collected information,” the Lake Jackson Republican recently said. “It also demonstrates how the federal bureaucracy consistently encourages citizens to think of themselves in terms of groups, rather than as individual Americans. ”

 

Houston-area GOP lawmakers say anti-census feelings run deep among their constituents.

 

“People are concerned about the apparent intrusive nature of the census,” said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble. “People are very concerned that the government is going too far.”

 

Still, Poe said, he tells his concerned constituents that they should answer the census because “it's the law.”

 

What's more, he added, “it's very important for people to fill out the census because of reapportionment and redistricting — and Texas stands to gain four (House) seats.”

 

But Texas can only get those seats, and the congressional clout that comes with it, if Texans stand up to be counted. Any conservative revolt would only reduce the representation in conservative areas of the state, such as rural Texas and the outer rings of suburbs surrounding its largest cities.

[StrangeSox]

My census form was "who are you and where do you live" and nothing more.

[HuskyCaucasian]

This doesnt help the "family values" marketing:

RNC Spent Nearly $2,000 At Club With Topless Dancers

The Republican National Committee spent thousands of dollars at hotels and clubs in February, the Daily Caller reports.

 

According to FEC reports, the RNC spent $1,946.25 at Voyeur West Hollywood, which the Caller describes as "a bondage-themed nightclub featuring topless women dancers imitating lesbian sex." Voyeur is an exclusive, expensive club frequented by celebrities and, for example, hosted Heidi Klum's Halloween party last year.

 

During the same trip, the RNC spent $9,099 stop at the Beverly Hills Hotel and $6,596 at the Four Seasons.

 

The RNC also spent upwards of $17,000 on chartered flights in February and more than $12,000 on limousines.

 

A spokesman for chairman Michael Steele did not immediately respond to a request for comment.