The Democrat Thread

[Soxbadger]

You could easily write a law that you need to be licensed to grow marijuana.

 

The problem would be that you would then still be paying people to enforce the law.

[Balta1701]

Corporate profits are at an all time high in this country. Wages are at an all time low.

[kapkomet]

Corporate profits are at an all time high in this country. Wages are at an all time low.

 

 

Go Barack!

[Balta1701]

Go Barack!

Don't you have complaining about how bad wealth redistribution is to get to?

[kapkomet]

It's your policy, not mine.

 

Keep taking money from the workers and sucking that government teat.

 

[Balta1701]

It's your policy, not mine.

 

Keep taking money from the workers and sucking that government teat.

Yes, keep taking money from workers. By dismantling unions and by backstopping the banks. And you know what else we need? Fewer teachers and policemen and firefighters.

 

Clearly the problem is that too many people are on the government teat. That's why corporate profits are falling so rapidly, because the government's taking from them too.

 

Oh wait. Forgot. Opposite. The corporate world is taking money from workers and sucking on that government teat.

[kapkomet]

You really think that's what's going on? Get a clue.

[Balta1701]

You really think that's what's going on? Get a clue.

Yeah. The implicit goverment subsidy to the banking industry right now is worth something like $75 billion a year.

[StrangeSox]

I don't think we had a separate thread for the STOCK act, so I'll just dump this here but it's corruption by both parties:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/law...ry.html?hpid=z1

 

In January 2008, President George W. Bush was scrambling to bolster the American economy. The subprime mortgage industry was collapsing, and the Dow Jones industrial average had lost more than 2,000 points in less than three months.

 

House Minority Leader John A. Boehner became the Bush administration’s point person on Capitol Hill to negotiate a $150 billion stimulus package.

 

In the days that followed, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. made frequent phone calls and visits to Boehner. Neither Paulson nor Boehner would publicly discuss the progress of their negotiations to shore up the nation’s financial portfolio.

 

On Jan. 23, Boehner (R-Ohio) met Paulson for breakfast. Boehner would later report the rearrangement of a portion of his own financial portfolio made on that same day. He sold between $50,000 and $100,000 from a more aggressive mutual fund and moved money into a safer investment.

 

The next day, the White House unveiled the stimulus package.

 

Boehner is one of 34 members of Congress who took steps to recast their financial portfolios during the financial crisis after phone calls or meetings with Paulson; his successor, Timothy F. Geithner; or Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, according to a Washington Post examination of appointment calendars and congressional disclosure forms.

 

The lawmakers, many of whom held leadership positions and committee chairmanships in the House and Senate, changed portions of their portfolios a total of 166 times within two business days of speaking or meeting with the administration officials. The party affiliation of the lawmakers was about evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, 19 to 15.

[Y2HH]

Yes, keep taking money from workers. By dismantling unions and by backstopping the banks. And you know what else we need? Fewer teachers and policemen and firefighters.

 

Clearly the problem is that too many people are on the government teat. That's why corporate profits are falling so rapidly, because the government's taking from them too.

 

Oh wait. Forgot. Opposite. The corporate world is taking money from workers and sucking on that government teat.

 

And the government is allowing it. The government you elected...and will probably try to re-elect.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Y2HH

[StrangeSox]

Oh, Louisiana

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/educati...lution.17918511

Edited June 26, 2012 by StrangeSox

[southsider2k5]

I don't think we had a separate thread for the STOCK act, so I'll just dump this here but it's corruption by both parties:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/law...ry.html?hpid=z1

 

I've said for quite a while now that the elected officials should be forced to maintain the same standards as financial firm employees when it comes to insider trading. It would solve all of those problems.

[GoSox05]

Oh, Louisiana

 

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/educati...lution.17918511

 

"One of these texts from Bob Jones University Press claims that dinosaurs were fire-breathing dragons. It has little to do with science as we currently understand. It's more like medieval scholasticism."

 

 

 

 

[StrangeSox]

Former-felon vote suppression in Iowa:

 

http://www.wset.com/story/18866561/apnewsb...9FKYHMQ.twitter

 

Henry Straight, who wants to serve on the town council in the tiny western Iowa community of Arthur, is among those whose paperwork wasn't complete. Straight can't vote or hold office because as a teenager in Wisconsin in the 1980s, he was convicted of stealing a pop machine and fleeing while on bond.

 

Straight spent a year on the effort and hired a lawyer for $500 to help. Yet he was notified by the governor's office last month that he hadn't submitted a full credit report, only a summary, or documentation showing he had paid off decades-old court costs. They make the process just about impossible," said Straight, 40, a truck driver. "I hired a lawyer to navigate it for me and I still got rejected. Isn't that amazing?"

 

Iowa's process also includes a 31-question application that asks for information such as the address of the judge who handled the conviction. Felons also must supply a criminal history report, which takes weeks and costs $15. Then the review can take up to six months.

[StrangeSox]

YOUR POST-RACIAL AMERICA: CIVIL RIGHTS HERO’S GRANDSON SUING FOR CONSTANTLY BEING CALLED ‘N-WORD’ AT WORK

 

Not really partisan-political, but man is the Plantiff's Response to the summary judgement motion nauseating.

 

edit: it also serves as a depressingly great example of what's meant by "wage-slavery" and the exploitation many workers face, like being constantly treated like s*** or being pressured to perjure yourself because, hey, you need a job to pay the rent.

Edited June 26, 2012 by StrangeSox

[Balta1701]

Pair of studies come out on Texas's healthcare tort reform plan, which capped malpractice payments. First one finds that it failed to produce any noticeable decrease in healthcare costs, and in fact Texas's health care costs rose slightly faster than average for the rest of the country after it was passed. Second one suggests that Texas did not see an increase in number of doctors practicing medicine when you account for basic changes like retirements, and in fact the state did slightly worse than the rest of the country at attracting doctors after the malpractice caps were put into effect.

[StrangeSox]

Some high(low)lights of the Texas GOP's announced platform:

 

11. Gestational Contracts – We believe rental of a woman’s womb makes child bearing a mere commodity to the highest bidder and petition the Legislature to rescind House Bill 724 of the 78th Legislature. We support the adoption of human embryos and the banning of human embryo trafficking.

 

10. Protection from Extreme Environmentalists – We strongly oppose all efforts of the extreme environmental groups that stymie legitimate business interests. We strongly oppose those efforts that attempt to use the environmental causes to purposefully disrupt and stop those interests within the oil and gas industry. We strongly support the immediate repeal of the Endangered Species Act. We strongly oppose the listing of the dune sage brush lizard either as a threatened or an endangered species. We believe the Environmental Protection Agency should be abolished.

 

9. Rights Versus Products — We oppose calling welfare and other income and product redistribution schemes “rights” or “entitlements”. We know that fundamental human rights are inherent to individuals and are granted by God and are protected by the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution. They are not products of others labor. Unalienable rights, such as life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, property rights, free speech, religious freedom, self-defense, etc. do not impose on others rights whereas income and product redistribution invariably do so.

 

8. Homosexuality ― We affirm that the practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit. Homosexual behavior is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognized by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans. Homosexuality must not be presented as an acceptable “alternative” lifestyle, in public policy, nor should “family” be redefined to include homosexual “couples.” We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. Additionally, we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction or belief in traditional values.

 

7. UN Treaty on the Rights of the Child ― We unequivocally oppose the United States Senate’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 

6. Health Care and Nutritional Supplements ― We deplore any efforts to mandate that vitamins and other natural supplements be on a prescription–only basis, and we oppose any efforts to remove vitamins and other nutritional supplements from public sale. We support the rights of all adults to their choice of nutritional products, and alternative health care choices.

 

5. American Identity Patriotism and Loyalty – We believe the current teaching of a multicultural curriculum is divisive. We favor strengthening our common American identity and loyalty instead of political correctness that nurtures alienation among racial and ethnic groups. Students should pledge allegiance to the American and Texas flags daily to instill patriotism.

 

4. We support the principles regarding the public economy as stated in the Republican Party Platform of 1932 to wit:

Resolution Regarding the Public Economy

Whereas, constructive plans for financial stabilization cannot be completely organized until our national, State and municipal governments not only balance their budgets but curtail their current expenses as well to a level which can be steadily and economically maintained for some years to come.

We urge prompt and drastic reduction of public expenditure and resistance to every appropriation not demonstrably necessary to the performance of government, national or local.

The Republican Party established and will continue to uphold the gold standard and will oppose any measure which will undermine the government’s credit or impair the integrity of our national currency. Relief by currency inflation is unsound in principle and dishonest in results. The dollar is impregnable in the marts of the world today and must remain so. An ailing body cannot be cured by quack remedies. This is no time to experiment upon the body politic or financial.

Source: Republican Party Platform of 1932

June 14, 1932

 

3. United Nations Agenda 21 -The Republican Party of Texas should expose all United Nations Agenda 21 treaty policies and its supporting organizations, agreements and contracts. We oppose implementation of the UN Agenda 21 Program which was adopted at the Earth Summit Conference in 1992 purporting to promote a comprehensive program of sustainable development projects, nationally, regionally and locally. We oppose the influence, promotion and implementation of nongovernmental organizations, metropolitan and/or regional planning organizations, Councils of Government, and International Council for Local Environmental initiatives and the use of American (Texas) citizen’s taxes to promote these programs.

 

2. Israel – We believe that the United States and Israel share a special long-standing relationship based on shared values, a mutual commitment to a republican form of government, and a strategic alliance that benefits both nations. Our foreign policy with Israel should reflect the special nature of this relationship through continued military and economic assistance and recognition that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths. We believe that the US Embassy should be located in Jerusalem. In our diplomatic dealings with Israel, we encourage the continuation of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, but oppose pressuring Israel to make concessions it believes would jeopardize its security, including the trading of land for the recognition of its right to exist. We call on the U.S. to cease strong arming Israel through prior agreements with the understanding of delivering Palestinians on the West Bank. We support the continuation of non-recognition of terrorist nations and organizations. Our policy is based on God’s biblical promise to bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel and we further invite other nations and organizations to enjoy the benefits of that promise.

 

And No. 1:

 

Voter [sic] Rights Act – We urge that the Voter Rights Act of 1965 codified and updated in 1973 be repealed and not reauthorized.

 

I missed the best one!

 

Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.

 

Yep, they want to stop teaching critical thinking. Because it undermines parental authority and fixed beliefs.

Edited June 27, 2012 by StrangeSox

[Soxfest]

All Dems walking out right now on Holder vote should be voted out. Let's act like 3 year olds.

[Rex Kickass]

All Dems walking out right now on Holder vote should be voted out. Let's act like 3 year olds.

 

You could make the argument that blocking a vote on Flood Insurance until someone gets his vote on when life begins is acting like a three year old.

 

Walking out of a chamber to protest a vote is called protesting, not being childish.

[Y2HH]

You could make the argument that blocking a vote on Flood Insurance until someone gets his vote on when life begins is acting like a three year old.

 

Walking out of a chamber to protest a vote is called protesting, not being childish.

 

Right...because voting "No", isn't enough of a protest.

 

Give me a break.

[Soxfest]

You could make the argument that blocking a vote on Flood Insurance until someone gets his vote on when life begins is acting like a three year old.

 

Walking out of a chamber to protest a vote is called protesting, not being childish.

Repubs did not walk out under Obama once.

[StrangeSox]

This tactic won't actually prevent anything from happening, right? It's not like the WI or IN state walkouts.

[Soxfest]

This tactic won't actually prevent anything from happening, right? It's not like the WI or IN state walkouts.

No not at all.............instead of voting NO they took there ball and went outside to cry. Do your job you were elected to do and vote no and move on.

Edited June 28, 2012 by Soxfest

[StrangeSox]

FWIW a Republican did refuse to attend the SOTU this year:

 

http://blogs.denverpost.com/thespot/2012/0...he-union/55244/

[StrangeSox]

No not at all.............instead of voting NO they took there ball and went outside to cry. Do your job you were elected to do and vote no and move on.

 

I'm not sure what the intended point was, but they've essentially done the same thing one way or another.