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Mr. President's TelePrompter Blog

Started 3 years ago by HMC Rich
Latest reply from JoB

HMC Rich
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The POTUS Teleprompter has its own blog. Here is the blog: http://baracksteleprompter.blogspot.com/

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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I may be too tired to play...

i get this, but it's not making me laugh.

perhaps i will take a nap.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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Just got up from my post camarones a la diabla nap, and found this timely little tidbit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWoCTDD40Y4

Flatule`!

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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well, I'll tell ya, JoB...I'm not as tired as you are, and I didn't get the humor, the point, whatever. As a matter of fact, my first thought was...and your point is?

maybe it simply went over my head, maybe it's de rigeur these days to simply make fun of everything, and denigrate the first families all at the same time. I thought the comment about melting the frame down to make an African fertility god simply tasteless..it all gets tiresome.

Maybe the sense of humor will come back tomorrow :)

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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What about the fart joke video?

Posted 3 years ago #
trensuela
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Luigi,

The fart joke has been posted to my Facebook

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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Oh thank goodness - right on, T!

Posted 3 years ago #
Morgan
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Public speaking rules.

If you have a teleprompter you can appear really, really smart. And the sheep will buy it.

Posted 3 years ago #
Ken
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So.
Even a teleprompter could not make Bush sound like he was not brain damaged.

Also note Saint Ronnie used one as far back as the 1983 SOTU.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Reagan_delivers_State_of_the_Union_address_1983.jpg/800px-Reagan_delivers_State_of_the_Union_address_1983.jpg
I think Nixon was the last President not to use one on a televised speech and his constant looking down at note cards was annoying.

Any more lame Limbaugh theories to parrot?

Posted 3 years ago #
sunshine
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It is difficult to get used to a president who can read well.

Would people who complain about this really rather he spend more time rehearsing his speeches, so he doesn't have to rely on the prompter?

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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Hey, some conservative macaws might take offense. Nah. Want a peanut? Oh wrong President.

Imagine Mr. Bush meeting with the Irish Prime Minister and the script was wrong on the TelePrompter. The Irish PM would know that it is wrong and stop. Imagine Mr. Bush realizing something was up, then cracks a joke, then reads the next script which had been corrected but now with a different speaker is now the wrong script again. Imagine Mr. Bush reading the whole thing and thanking himself.

Would not the former President have been called an idiot?

Bush couldn't speak very well at times and butchered the English language quite effectively but he also answered three or four point questions rather well at times. He at least did not read someone elses script and thank himself. You cannot blame Bush for that one.

Mr. Obama seems to use the Prompter quite a bit. That's all. He is good at using one. Many people are not. He uses one enough so that some people find it humorous.

I don't expect any President to be perfect but the PR job in his presentation is very effective. Those White House speech writers are very good and he usually delivers excellent speeches. I believe they have him use the Prompter more the usual because he is good at using one and he won't go off script.

Sometimes when he goes off script he says certain items that might come off not so eloquently.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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Luigi. Sign me up for an I-Toot!!!

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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You're on my bulk order list!

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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Luigi, the TootTone will be a boon to civilization!

HMC Rich - I'm with Ken, the pointless right wing echo machine dumps are really a drag. There might really be a criticism of Obama that has merit, but the ability to use a Teleprompter isn't one of them. He likes his Blackberry, too. So what?

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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Drat, Charla was logged on to my computer again. #14 is from Bob.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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Hi Bob, this is light compared to some of the posts others have put up there in the past. I did it just so that people with opposing views could sharpen their claws a little. I wouldn't want you guys to get rusty? I found it amusing but I knew some wouldn't.

I haven't seen much Palin bashing lately and missed getting hammered. I miss you guys and gals.

My British in-laws are in LOVE with Mr. and Mrs Obama. Not many people can touch the Queen. She liked them.

I think I will go listen to Rush some more. See ya.

Posted 3 years ago #
Ken
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Obligatory Palin Bashing
and her loony buddies of the New Apostolic Reformation.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religiousright/1275/the_new_christianity%3A_what_the_mainstream_media_has_missed_/

Remember while all conservatives are not anti democracy theocrats, all anti democracy theocrats are conservative republicans.

Even more Palin and Haggerd bashing:
http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/religiousright/1273/fighting_demons%2C_raising_the_dead%2C_taking_over_the_world/

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
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HMC Rich said: "Hi Bob, this is light compared to some of the posts others have put up there in the past."

I don't think so, HMC Rich, the fact is the echo machine has pretty slim pickings to pounce upon with President Obama. The Teleprompter dreck is about as good as it gets for the righties now days.

Am I to understand from what you go on to say, above, that Sarah Palin and Barack Obama are to be considered equivalent in some way? I can think of no way that Obama does not surpass Ms. Palin. I believe that 65% of Americans would agree with me.

You should take a cue from your in-laws.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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HMC Rich...here's a little something that may lead to Palin bashing - lol

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/03/Gov-Palins-sister-in-law-arrested/UPI-92021238805027/

remember the show "All In The Family"? :)

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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Heh, heh. Has Political Correctness taken away your funny bone? This President is always blaming America for everything. He is an apologist with a strong liberal agenda which I do not agree with. Although he is Public Relations firm dream and is charismatic.

Let me say this. I think he and his wife are terrific role models and are excellent inhabitants of the White House. Politically I disagree.

Slim pickings? HEY, what about those tea parties? Pork barrel spending? No earmarks? No lobbyists? Omnibus spending bill? Stimulus bill? Super Duper Budget coming up? Raising Taxes on the smokers to pay for SCHIP? Closing Gitmo without an exit strategy for the terrorists? I could go on.

Uh oh, Obama's numbers are dropping among independents. You seem to have transposed the numbers in the polls. 56% compared to your 65%, http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history

The glow is starting to fade. He has about two to four more years left in blaming Bush (some deservedly so), but that will go away. He has to move fast now because this assault will be stopped in a few years. Once the Conservatives get rid of the RINOs, there will be hell to pay.

Is there need for comparison between Palin or Obama? The degree of vitriol and disdain supplied in past posts toward Mrs. Palin was very evident.

Maybe there is a comparison. She worked in a government agency, Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, that had corrupt (Republican) officials, she quit and then went after those corrupt officials. They were caught. She worked with Democrats to go after corrupt politicians in that state and that commission. Crossing party lines... Hmmmm (she actually did that). Later she beat out the status quo and incumbent Republican Governor on a clean government platform. Reform with proven results.

Obama beat out Hillary in the Primary (she was sort of the expected "incumbent"). Other than nominating people who can't seem to pay their taxes, I suppose a Chicago politician is as clean as snow. Nice Rezco deal for that home. Making fun of Special Olympians or that small-town Americans "cling" to guns and religion and xenophobia out of bitterness over lost jobs" statement just doesn't play too well, does it. I guess he should have had his teleprompter those days.

Palin did the unthinkable. Horror of horrors to the left... she cut Government spending. Also she spends 80% less than the former Governor and the "Per Diem issue", plus she is not taking a pay raise. She has given the citizens of Alaska more revenue from the oil companies. Now that Mr. Obama is in charge the deficit that every lib was screaming about (deservedly so too!) before he was elected has or will balloon to almost 1.5 to 1.7 Trillion!! (This was wrong under Bush but not under Obama!)

She caught hell from the leftist media about the Troopergate former brother in law Wooten. Wooten must be victim ...he tazered Palin's 10 year old nephew, threatened to kill his father-in-law, drank on the job and she was accused of "abuse by inaction" because as the report says, "it just might precipitate some retaliatory conduct on his part". She fired his ass even though she was afraid for her family.

I think Mrs. Palin is not as polished as Mr. Obama but apparently both just might have aggressive agendas. I think he and her have completely opposite views on most issues. I think both will and have made mistakes. I think she will be hated by the left no matter what and the left will adore Mr. Obama even when it is clear at certain times that he is over his head. The Right is firmly against Obama, but if some good things happen, some will give him credit. I saw plenty of snide remarks concerning her. I guess a little friendly ribbing just isn't accepted from the other side.

How does he surpass her? At least he wasn't being interviewed in front of a Turkey saying hello to the afterlife. Come on, that was humorous, but sad for the turkey.

Oh well. That is why we have elections. He may be a two term Prez. If he is, the Prompter has job security.

Oh. The in-laws do like him but they vote for the party of Thatcher. Cheerio.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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The right is petrified that what Prez Obama is doing will work. No one really knows if it will or not, but...let's say it does? Where are you then? The Repubs are conveniently erasing from their minds anything that happened in the previous administration. Things didn't start at zero on Jan. 20...things were already there on Jan. 20...It was like those houses on Delridge...destroyed and left to someone else to clean it up.

Sense of humor? If I didn't constantly laugh these days, the tears wouldn't stop, I think. I'm trying my damnest to keep it all in perspective.

The Repubs came out on April 01 (an auspicious day) with their own budget...tell me how it's different from the last 8 years, first, and then second tell me how it's better that what the Obama plan put forth.

I don't really see Gov. Palin as a viable alternative anywhere. I find the woman scary at best. Can I give a concrete example why? NO...just a gut reaction. Same as people on the right feel about Obama, I suppose. Obama in over his head? Anyone would be in over his/her head. ANYONE. It's simply too much to fathom for my little brain, getting this economy moving again. Mr. McCain said that he simply didn't have a brain for economics...how would he be faring now? "Bomb, bomb Iran"...how would he be faring at G-20? Sarah Palin did OK for Alaska, I suppose. And now people are running out an idea to put forth Ted Stevens for Gov. in 2010? he'll be 80 frikkin' 7 years old then...and it's not exactly a vote of confidence for Gov. Palin, now, is it? Does everyone up there love her? I bet not.

Rich, you use terms like adore. No,I don't adore the people running my gov't. I adore my parents, my child, my furgrandbabies. I think that Pres. and Mrs. Obama are terrific people, that they are intelligent, and have much to offer our country and our world. It's moving to see how much Michelle Obama gets choked up speaking with low income children in England, some immigrants, to know that she can and has inspired these female children to be the best that they can be, to really have an impact on them and their futures. And then I hear from an acquaintance who merely says about her, "Oh, make me gag!"..this from a woman who says that her family exists for the glory of God, everything is for the Glory of God...and see's nothing of the potential that this woman offers the world. Why? you got me there. But similar thinking people will dig to find anything wrong to attack this woman with...she touched the queen? Oh, my, how dare that uppity woman...the world will end now. Queen didn't mind, why should they? Because, in my book, they don't want to admit that there may be something to her, and to this First Couple of ours.

This is long and verbose....bouncing from here to there and back. But...you can read between the lines, I think...you understand what I'm saying.

And it's early in the AM...maybe I need more sun to get my thinking in order - lol...

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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Obama's popularity is dropping among independents because he is not being radical enough cleaning house in DC... or in housecleaning at the justice department .. or...

not because of any yearnings for republican leadership...

rather.. the democrats are still pursuing what is seen as a republican business agenda and the independents think change means CHANGE... Government policies that don't favor big business.

the irony is that republicans should hope that Obama does well if they wish to protect 2 party rule and get their hands back on the White House again any time soon.

The people are awakening.. and if the great public beast stirs this time, it won't be supporting either a democrat or a republican.

those with assets may be making hard financial decisions about whether or not to spring for a latte.. but the true silent majority is concerned about food and housing and medical care and... and that makes them very restless.

when the profit taking by those who created the subprime mess after we the people bailed them out becomes evident.. and i think that news is going to get out even without newspapers to investigate and spread the news... i think they are going to be just a little angry and ready to replace the lot of them...

with something really new... that is if we don't see riots and marshall law first.

i think we may not because there is a really politically savvy group of young independents who learned the political value of organization from the Obama campaign.

He delivers on more of their agenda ... or he.. and the democrats are out... and they won't be replaced with republicans.

Those of you who keep thinking that a democratic failure will lead to a republican victory really ought to watch free speech tv... Amy Goodman "Democracy Now" and Laura Flanders "Blue Grit" often interview these new political voices... and those who watch them.

As for our friend Sarah... aside from the peyton place domestic issues... she is about to have her hands full at home in Alaska..

Ted Stevens for governor:)

of course he will be ducking a bit of family goo himself... :->

while Alaskans find pork barrel politics endearing when it benefits them.. they aren't so indulgent of those who feed off the state trough...

poor ted may wish the internet was made of all those tubes so he could smash them...

watch for the tall bearded hero in lumberjack boots with a blue ox as a running mate emerging from Alaska... Sarah will be yesterday's news.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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Hi JanS. I loved your response. I want people who think like you to be in office. Thank You.

I responded before I read JoB's. Thanks again. Enjoy your Sunday and the upcoming week.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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JoB, Holder's people did a good job getting the truth out about Stevens case and getting all of the charges dropped. The guilty verdict obviously affected the outcome of his election. Timing is everything, and it has had an effect on votes in the US Senate.

I hear the complaints from some that Obama is still too plugged into the beltway politics. I don't know if there are enough "radicals" for him to actually go further to make it worth his time.

We know he isn't going right.

We also know there will be a change in the GOP. How much? That remains to be seen.

I see many signs on the news that Capitalism is dead. Nope, you can't stop the market but it can be hindered for a time, but eventually it will recover. The question is, who can make it stronger and more viable.

We know that ethics and rules need to be followed by the players. Does government help or hinder? I say both. I tire of corruption in government and the free market. But we know countries run completely by government do not work. We know countries with too little government does not work either. Somewhere in the middle lies the answer.

What this has to do with a TelePrompter, I don't know but it has been nice hearing your thoughts. Maybe the TelePrompters will be the ones rioting in the streets ;)

Posted 3 years ago #
Trick
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HMC Rich: "She has given the citizens of Alaska more revenue from the oil companies."

I believe Democrats call that re-distribution of wealth? Republicans call it Socialism.

*shakes head*

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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Teleprompters? Who really, really cares if what he says is on note cards or a teleprompter? I know I don't! It's one of those "Let's find anything wrong with the Obama's that we can and run with it" things. People will nitpick to death because they can't answer the bigger questions themselves...just my humble opinion once again :)

Posted 3 years ago #
Smitty
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I think it has more to do with his "fabulous oratory" skills that the Left and their friends in the media fawn over.

If Bush had taken 12 tele-prompters with him to the G20 like Obama did it would have ben ridiculed.

Trust me - I wish that he would have done so sometimes!

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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Good thing Obama could say Nuclear instead of Bush! Maybe instead of "butchering" the language, the term should be changed to "bushering".

I have a feeling Mr. Obama might even find some humor in this. I believe he would rather have people chatting about a teleprompter instead of some of the issues.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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Obama is the most black president in U.S. history, and folks need to give him a chance.

I'm for restarting the numbering and making him the 1st president. 43 to 1 is still a huge lead.

Posted 3 years ago #
JanS
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Now, just you waitaminnit....if this Obama guy can't fix the economy, the wars in the middle east, the infrastructure problems, chew gum, and read a teleprompter in his first 100 days in office, then...what good is he? heads should roll..give the job to the old guy who came in second...yeah..that's the ticket....

HMCRich...you have something there with "bushering"...how do we get that in Webster's?

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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It's a ginormous task. I don't know.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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"The old guy that came in second"? You mean uber-patriot John McCain who comes from a long line of distinguished high-ranking military men, the same guy that spent 5 years in a hole in the ground courtesy of the enemy back in 'Nam?

I'll go on record saying I didn't vote for McCain, but he definitely deserves more respect than being called "the old guy"!

As far as Obama is concerned, I'm going to LMAO when he ends up turning this bad situation into a better one. He's got an uphill battle - just like McCain would have - but he's not messing around and he's digging in to get stuff done for the long haul. Besides, what choice does he really have?

At the very least we're able to witness change in a civil manner unlike many parts of the world, thanks in large part to "old guys" like John McCain who put his butt on the line to ensure we have the freedom to discuss such things while standing in front of the class clad only in our tighty-whities.

USA! USA! USA! USA! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

<post ready for trimming>

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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Luigilinguini..

"I'll go on record saying I didn't vote for McCain, but he definitely deserves more respect than being called "the old guy"!"

and i'll go on record as saying that Obama deserves more respect than being called the "black" guy.

i know.. your fascination with this teleprompter thing is because you're jealous that Obama can read ;->

No child left behind didn't come soon enough for poor george..

seriously though...

"Holder's people did a good job getting the truth out about Stevens case and getting all of the charges dropped. The guilty verdict obviously affected the outcome of his election. Timing is everything, and it has had an effect on votes in the US Senate."

they did a lousy job.

The "truth" is that the Bush admin prosecutors office played dirty pool when prosecuting Ted Stevens... and Holder is dismissing the charges to make the point that those antics will no longer be tolerated during Holder's watch...

not that Ted Stevens was innocent of the charges.

The judge in the case... who is a personal friend of Holder's and who made comments about the prosecutorial misconduct... allowed the trial to continue in the interests of a just verdict in spite of that conduct.

that means he thought the verdict was headed in the right direction given all the evidence, including that not available to the defense at the time or that not presented at trial...

all hail Ted Steven's lucky break...

but not his innocence.

he doesn't deserve the white wash he is getting or a do-over for the senate vote...

no.. sarah is stuck with him:)))))

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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LOL! You're getting angry. Doesn't it feel good?

--- trim post here ---

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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luigi luigi luigi linguini...

LOL... why would i get angry over Ted Stevens, his son who is facing his own corruption charges or Sarah???

Trust me, you haven't seen angry yet:) you weren't posting during the primaries.. i got really angry once then\ ;->

Ted doesn't matter enough to me to get angry.

Now Norm Coleman, he irritates me enough to get angry.. but not today. Did you notice is was a gorgeous day today?

I think all of this us and them stuff gets old...

this is a recession that hasn't yet been labeled a depression and we are all in it together...

the sooner we all figure that out... the sooner we are likely to find solutions that work for ordinary people.. not just for speculators.

Posted 3 years ago #
Anonymous
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Wasn't Ted Stevens the news anchor on the Mary Tyler Moore show? He also was the narrator for Superfriends in the 1970's. Later, he did a show about a cartoonist who drew the "Cosmic Cow" comic.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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is he not a ted?

if anything could illustrate how little he registers on my personal radar i suppose getting his name wrong should do it. i don't even care enought to go check ;-)

now coleman, his first name is norm and he and i have been penpals for years:)

Posted 3 years ago #
charlabob
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anchor = ted baxter. i specialize in remembering the names of political buffoons of any stripe. :-)

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
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and i try to forget them. that's become easier with age ;->

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
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HMC Rich

"Sixty-six percent of Americans approve of the job President Obama is now doing, and that is a new high for his presidency," said Sarah Dutton, who directs surveys for CBS News. "Twenty-four percent disapprove."

This from two days ago. Rassmussen is an interesting, Republican favoring organization, proving that liars can figure. As long as the people who voted for Obama approve of him 85-90%, his numbers will stay about in the 65% range.

John McCain lost his run for President the day he selected Sarah Palin for VP. It was the most serious decision he would make as a candidate and he blew it with petulance to select a joke candidate. I say good on you GOP, keep putting forth Palin, Jindal, Steele, Limbaugh.

A generation of Democratic Presidents will be good for the USA.

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
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Luigi,

McCain has made a political career out of being a lousy pilot. If he hadn't been the son of a top admiral, he would never have made it to Vietnam as a pilot. His specialty was crashing airplanes.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/McCain_prone_to_mishaps_as_Navy_pil_10062008.html

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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Catlbob, you had to generalize and basically call us non Democrats .... fibbers. Didn't your guy win the election? I thought your party wanted higher standards? If the Republicans are so weak, why are you constantly attacking them?

Remember 8 to 9 years ago? Nationally your party was in shambles. I remember hearing stories about people in deep depression. At least you re-grouped, took your medicine and triumphed. Right now the GOP is regrouping. How long, who knows?

About McCain. "This examination of his record revealed a pilot who early in his career was cocky, occasionally cavalier and prone to testing limits," the paper concluded. From the LA Times link you provided.

OMG, a fighter pilot cocky, cavalier and prone to testing the limits? When are we going to sign up for TOP GUN? Cue Kenny Loggins soundtrack.

McCain would have lost no matter who he picked. Palin brought him more votes. He had no chance of winning after 8 years of Bush policies, Republicans spending too much, and then the recession. I find it ironic to hear liberals scream Bush spent too much and now Obama is outspending him 3 to 1. Politically, Bush beat McCain in two elections.

Regardless, McCain did spend too much time at the Hanoi Hilton. I think most of his cockiness as the son of a top Navy Admiral was beaten out of him by his Vietnam captors. I think a little respect is due to him.

Beating Hillary was the bigger battle for Obama. Now that was entertaining. We were in Russia watching the battles on Duetsches Welle, BBC, CNN and Fox News,

Ratings: Obama's ratings are anywhere from 66% to 55% from the majority of the national polls sampled. Mostly averaging around 61%. In the next few days it will go up higher because of the Pirates getting killed and the Captain saved near Somalia. These levels are Very good and a little better than W 8 years ago and way better than Clinton.

People like Obama. I like the man and his teleprompter, but not all of his policies. Over time the numbers will falter. It is only natural. Plus the Main Stream Media LOVE the guy, so negative stories will not be as present to the casual news watcher or reader as the ones about the other guys. Pssst .... you know...those awful miscreants ... the Republicans.

Now, I ask you and even I would not think it possible, but what if one of those guys or gals beats your guy in three to four years? To alter a quote," Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a generation of Conservative Presidents?" Oh the Horror!!! Then again, I never thought Hillary would lose the nomination. You never know.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

HMCRich...

re: John McCain's record as a pilot..

"OMG, a fighter pilot cocky, cavalier and prone to testing the limits? "

testing your limits might explain dumping one plane or perhaps even a couple if you were engaged in exercises designed to test the limits of a new airplane...

but even the cockiest of pilots learn their limits without crashing too many airplanes or they lose their wings..

unless of course your dad is really connected.. like John's was... then you keep getting another chance.

Would John McCain have learned his limits if he hadn't been shot down? we will never know. His time in the Hanoi Hilton does earn him some respect for surviving captivity, but it doesn't change his record as a flier.

As for the assessment that he would have lost anyway if not for wonderful Sarah.. there are many who think he lost because of his poor choice of wonderful sarah.

She was just too much for some who would have voted for a known over an unknown.. if not for the outside possibility that ticking time bomb Sarah would sit in the Oval Office... oh.. and then there was that color thing that Sarah helped Obama surmount:)

And still they came far too close.

Bush spent too much on everything expect public infrastructure, economic stimulation, public safety, etc...

That's why Obama is forced to spend so much on those things now.

But all that aside.. i have to ask.. ????

if conservative policies were so great, how did we end up in the financial sewer?

For 6 out of the last 8 years, during the time period that many of the financial practices that just brought our financial industry down were established... they had total unrestricted power. They had control of congress for 12 years previous to that... and held veto power during the last 2.

And they are currently funding a fight they say they will take all the way to the supreme court to deny Al Franken his seat in Minnesota.. just so they can stall giving up the last of that numerical advantage in Congress...

A kid would have come of age, made juvenile mistakes, become a legal driver and be on his way to college or to Iraq in the same time period.

I suspect they had long enough to get it right... and they didn't.

So tell me again why we want them back in power? The numnuts from the democratic party are doing a fine job of protecting business interests for them... while doling out just enough to the people to keep the great masses from rebelling.

Hasn't it occurred to yet that the Republican party chose Sarah to guarantee that they weren't in the hot seat when the proverbial sh.t hit the fan?

What they didn't count on was the unrestricted avarice of their partners in the financial establishment when they realized they might lose the full backing of the political administration and scrambled to get as much as they could as quickly as they could ...

greed sunk the republican ship.

But hey.. i bet the republican party rebounds quickly since it will have such willing partners in the financial and news establishment laying the blame on those who got caught holding the very stinky bag...

heck, i bet good republicans are headed to a tea party tomorrow... FOX news has dropped all pretense of impartiality... promoting politics above all else... and is actively promoting dissent...

I thought conservatives were big on personal responsibility... but maybe that's only for democrats and poor people.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
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JoB, I have some answers to your questions or statements. I just can't post them at the moment.
A little bit later.

Meanwhile I think I will have some Tea with some of my fellow Americans.

Posted 3 years ago #
HMC Rich
Member Profile

Whoa, I wish I was more succinct. This is too long.

You said..."I thought conservatives were big on personal responsibility... but maybe that's only for democrats and poor people".

Chuckle. How long have you been wanting to write that? Nice little class warfare statement. (Chuckle) I would rather deal with individuals than groups but we must. I can help individuals, it is harder for me to help groups.

Republicans and Conservatives have a lot of drinks at the same bar, along with some libertarians and democrats. There are some fundamental differences between a Conservative in the Republican party and a moderate to progressive Republican. Same with the groups within the Democratic party.

As a Conservative first, and a Republican second, I and many of us are disappointed, and some are very angry, at what transpired under the Bush administration. We are miffed that the people we helped elect to Congress and the White House sold out. We are irritated concerning spending, government growth and to a degree some loss of Liberty and personal freedom. We naturally disagree with certain tenets of liberal dogma :) and remain adamant about that. When we see Specter and Snow, we want to gag. McCain brought us that gag factor at times but we recognize that he does and did want to help people. Sometimes everyone should work together but at times it doesn't make sense.

We also know that the term fiscal responsibility is a term usually, but not always, foreign to the left.

You said Greed sunk the Republican ship. You are partially correct. The last 8 years of Republican leadership was not what Conservatives wanted and especially the liberal arm of politics in our great country. GOP people do need to take some of the blame along with the Democrats who killed helpful legislation in committee. I hate harping on Mr. Barney Frank but he and Schumer are just as guilty.

What we are seeing now with all of this spending under Obama, Reid, and Pelosi is why Conservatives are angry about the mismanagement of some portions of the Federal Government the last 8 years. If Republicans had acted like Conservatives, it is possible portions of the recession may not have hit so hard. Wasteful earmarks would not have been passed. Your favorite, THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE, would not have been added to the pork barrel.

This irresponsibility allowed the Democrats to sweep in and take over. Which was a natural conclusion. I am not blind.

We expected people to be honest and fair but many are not. We could say that liberal ideas have eroded morality over the years, but we also know that Greed is not owned by one party. It can cover all groups and individuals.

Too many RINOs let the left dictate the rules of the playing field even though the Republicans were in power. (The irony with my statement is that YOU MIGHT FEEL THE SAME WAY BUT IN REVERSE) What an oxymoron by a bunch of morons. There are still a bunch of idiots in the Republican party. TIME FOR THEM TO BE REPLACED BY FISCAL CONSERVATIVES.

More government programs were started during the Bush years. Very few were cut. There were cutbacks in some agencies but Homeland Security, the War on Terror and other programs vastly outweighed those cuts.

People, like Democrats, had every right to complain about spending, the deficit, and other issues during the Bush presidency. Republicans also know that the Right will spend far less than the Left. FACT.

You keep asking why we would want to go back to what we had the last eight years. Well, we don't. We want LIMITED government with proper oversight. We want businesses and the people we elect to act ethically. We want our business leaders and employees to be ethical. We helped vote in many of the culprits but so did you. In fact we want the Federal Government to downsize. We prefer State and Local Government over Federal. We want business and friendly tax policies for everyone. We want less government programs overall, but if there are programs, we want them to help the most needy and empower people to achieve.

We do not want a suffocating Federal Government. We believe the founders had it right. Jefferson and others that helped in the founding of our country warned against government being too big.

Now the Department of Homeland Security says that I might be an extremist according to the FEDERAL government. Who are they? The KGB? That is insulting and actually anti-american. 203 veterans out of 230,000 that served in Iraq? More scary than Islam Fascist Terrorists? give me a break. With reports like that coming out, tryanny creeps ever closer. I wonder if Napolitano will send in the tanks too.

So, although I supported some of the actions that took place during the last eight years, most of the people in power in Washington did NOT do what I want as a citizen.

But I will take some of the blame for supporting some of the Bush administrations policies. None of the other Congressmen and Senators that I voted for were elected. Time for a change there too I think.

As far as Minnesota is concerned. We both want the truth. This is the parties fighting it out. We will see what happens however how dirty it gets. This is why we get tired of partisan politics.

Choosing Palin so that the Republicans lose? What is in your coffee? You can't be serious?! If you would remember, both Bush and McCain warned about this upcoming and now current storm. Oh yeah, and as I mentioned it before, those bills or actions were shot down by the leftists in Congress.

Here is where we differ. Most Conservatives would have let those entities fail so that the market would reset. NO BAILOUTS. We would have let the natural consequences take place as hard as they would have been. I am guessing you are for the massive spending which was started by Bush/Paulsen, and then Obama/Geithner added rocket fuel to the fire. We will see the big government "fix". Remember, Mr. Frank and Mr. Dodd among many others kept saying how well we were doing.

Do not give me your conspiracy BS. You are way too intelligent. I am very surprised. Stick to the evil Republicans line. That works much better in Seattle .

FOX News is covering an anti intrusive government grass roots movement. They are taking advantage of a mass demonstration by people of all backgrounds and affiliations. They did not start the movement, although Beck has certainly added fuel to the fire. No wonder FOX gets higher ratings. They just might be covering what the "folks" want to see.

Did you see the CNN reporter get into an argument with one of the tea party participants? Lets say it was quite interesting and not "Fair and Balanced". Check out the coverage afterwards. Interesting.

I have no illusions that FOX News is right leaning. No argument there. But they are more honest about their coverage than some of the other cable and television entities. The Liberal media is portraying that the people coming out to the tea party as being led by FOX News. Not true.

I don't see denigration from FOX News when Million Man marches happen or other protests. Why are the other media entities attacking them? Weird, wouldn't you say? But no, they have to get crude and make tea references. Whatever.

I'm tired. Goodnight

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

HMCRich...

"As far as Minnesota is concerned. We both want the truth. This is the parties fighting it out. We will see what happens however how dirty it gets. This is why we get tired of partisan politics."

Truth? the election board weighed in... almost exclusively republicans by the way.. no partisan verdict there... the courts looked at it and weighed in... and both agree.. when you count every ballot in the state... Franken won.

that is the issue in a contested election, who has the most votes... so.. what truth are we waiting for?

I am sorry, but his morning i am having a difficult time taking your argument seriously and i know you meant to be serious.

we agree on a lot of what you said.. but there are huge disconnects...

the first is the lovable Sarah..

"Your favorite, THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE, would not have been added to the pork barrel. "

I am left wondering how you reconcile that statement with the Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, who took the government pork-barrel money and then jumped on the bandwagon against the bridge? Did i miss the part where she sent it back? I don't think so.

The larger disconnect is that you are against much of what your party has done and yet are participating in the republican resurgence efforts like Beck's program and the tea party that are funded by those backing those fiscally irresponsible republicans instead of working to reform the party.

Fiscally responsible republicans? Who are they? They haven't been in power since i have been an adult... Bush Jr may have been excessive.. but he was right on track with his republican predecessors when it came to expanding our national deficit...

What i see is that the rhetoric of the republican party is mainly a storyline that is fed to those who vote to maintain power.

unfortunately, the democrats have the same problem.. but at least cap the avarice of big business so that the common man has some opportunity.

Yesterday i heard that the University of Washington was not accepting any more incoming freshmen... and tuition is going up 30%... you might want to ask yourself now how you are going to fund your child's education.. because education and the opportunity it affords is becoming once again the prerogative of the advantaged... are you that advantaged?

you can thank the shenanigans of the republicans who chose not only de-regulations but an absence of governmental oversight and prosecution for fraudulent business practices for the current budget crunch that has put an end to the dreams of too many. Instead, we are funding community colleges and technical colleges who turn out highly skilled but not necessarily highly paid workers.

This is the free market you talk about in action.

As for letting the banking system fail... have you really thought that one through?

yesterday the owner of the second largest mall system in the US filed for bankruptcy protection only because they couldn't find a lender to refinance loans that had become due. Yes, their revenue is down but their malls are not closing.. they have a positive income stream but they can't get a loans to replace those that came due...

that is the reality of the current banking crisis which would only be much worse if the larger banks had failed...

in fact.. some .. like Chase are floating now on the assets they acquired when other banks.. like WaMu failed. Have you wondered how a bank that was posting losses funded those acquisitions?

I suspect directly or indirectly, we can thank Uncle Sam.

This free market idea is kind of like the idea of Communism... great concept but it fails in execution because neither system functions freely. Our free market has always depended upon government subsidies and trade restrictions... with political advantage having more to do with success than business practices...

it seems there are a lot of great ideas.. like that of a fiscally conservative republican party.. that seem to be so much better in theory than in practice...

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
Member Profile

HMC Rich said: "The last 8 years of Republican leadership was not what Conservatives wanted and especially the liberal arm of politics in our great country. GOP people do need to take some of the blame along with the Democrats who killed helpful legislation in committee. I hate harping on Mr. Barney Frank but he and Schumer are just as guilty."

I really need you to present some examples of "helpful" legislation that Barney Frank killed between January 2001 and December 2006. If you are saying that the Democrats aided and abetted the deregulation of the financial and other industries, well that is certainly true. Politics is the art of the possible, and accepting that a bill is as good as you can get is part of those possibilities. This straying from the democratic-socialist bent that many Democrats like me want the party to follow when it comes to trusting corporations, requiring instead rules that they must follow; is what thirty years of giving in to "conservative" ideas has gotten us. But in the the six years of the Bush II administration that Republicans controlled Congress, Democrats couldn't get a hearing room or the lights turned on, much less kill anything. Most of the time weren't allowed to make amendments, sometimes they weren't told where the meetings were.

"If Republicans had acted like Conservatives, it is possible portions of the recession may not have hit so hard."

If they had acted like the Clinton administration things wouldn't have gotten so bad. Even though the Clintonistas were complicit in the laxity that led to the current financial woes, they were, at least, able to reign in some of the worst excesses, if only because they HAD to listen to we the liberal wing of the party.

Keep things straight, HMC Rich, very little that happened in the federal government between 2001-2008 were what I wanted, and I knew a Repulican administration would not make me happy in 2000. If I had known then what I know now, I would have worked harder to get Gore elected, for the Bush years were far worse that I imagined they would be. Including the current recession that started in 2007.

Who did you vote for in 2000?

Posted 3 years ago #
c@lbob
Member Profile

JoB said:

"it seems there are a lot of great ideas.. like that of a fiscally conservative republican party.. that seem to be so much better in theory than in practice..."

Watching the Tea Bag protest, I was reminded of the ignorance of some people, like Huck Finn's father:

"The law takes a man worth six thousand dollars and up'ards, and jams him into an old trap of a cabin like this, and lets him go round in clothes that ain't fitten for a hog. They call that govment! A man can't get his rights in a govment like this. Sometimes I've a mighty notion to just leave the country for good and all. Yes, and I TOLD 'em so; I told old Thatcher so to his face. Lots of 'em heard me, and can tell what I said. Says I, for two cents I'd leave the blamed country and never come a-near it agin. Them's the very words. I says look at my hat--if you call it a hat--but the lid raises up and the rest of it goes down till it's below my chin, and then it ain't rightly a hat at all, but more like my head was shoved up through a jint o' stove-pipe. Look at it, says I --such a hat for me to wear--one of the wealthiest men in this town if I could git my rights."
From The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

The Republican party has been very good at steering the rage such ignorace causes and pointing them toward exactly the wrong solution for it.

The theory is the pretty window dressing they spout to us, but the game that gets them elected is the hatred they gin up among the yokels.

Posted 3 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

HMCRich..

i guess the biggest problem i have is with republicans who didn't much like what was going on while the republicans held power but kept voting for them anyway...

and who won't let a democratic administration who inherited all of the problems those republicans created finish even the first 100 days before they start working to replace them with republicans...

who they admit didn't do the job they wanted done.

isn't that a classic definition of winning at any cost...

As for FOX telling the truth.. their attorneys were adamant about the fact that FOX news was under no obligation to tell the truth.. even in news programs... and they won their case.

I admit they are saying what you want to hear.. but that doesn't make it the truth...

Posted 3 years ago #
alki_2008
Member Profile

University of Washington...tuition is going up 30%
The tuition increase, which was proposed by Gregoire, ended up as a 28% increase over 2 years. I believe Gregoire said that UW is such a bargain, compared to the rest of the country, so she needed to raise tuition.
The annual income limit to get a tax "credit" (not deduction, but credit) was increased to $160k a couple months ago. But don't worry, the 'rich' will still pay full price...since they still won't qualify for financial aid and most won't qualify for the tax credits.

second largest mall system in the US filed for bankruptcy protection only because they couldn't find a lender to refinance loans that had become due.
The Chicago company became the second-largest in the nation via rampant M&A activity in the 90's, the company was poorly managed, and they've been in trouble for years...they even threatened to file bankruptcy 6 months ago. Less than 10% of their $27 billion debt actually "came due".
The company grew by buying up shopping centers, and financed those purchases by mortgaging their existing properties...betting they could refi later at better rates when their properties increased in value. They were "speculators" and risked their future on the speculation that property values would continue increasing. Now that their property isn't worth what they speculated, then no 'responsible' lender is going to refinance them. Do you suggest that lenders extend them credit? Isn't that the same risky behavior that got us here in the first place? They played the game, and they lost just like the speculators in the real estate industry.

Chase are floating now on the assets they acquired when other banks.. like WaMu failed. Have you wondered how a bank that was posting losses funded those acquisitions?
What is this statement based on? WaMu was a bargain for JPMC, which had been interested in it for years...the government just made it a super-bargain. By the way...have you heard that JPMC is willing and able to repay their TARP money? Interestingly, the government makes it extremely difficult for banks to repay TARP.

Posted 3 years ago #

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