From the dailykos:
So, just to recap: In Far-Right Republican World…
Blowing up the U.S. economy is preferable to raising taxes a little bit on the richest Americans to help stabilize the U.S. economy.
Spending taxpayer money to help the poor and elderly is bad, but spending taxpayer money on subsidies for mega-profitable industries that don’t need them is good.
"All men are created equal" means all men. Except the gay ones.
"Our #1 priority is jobs jobs jobs" means "Our #1 priority is anything but jobs jobs jobs."
The fact that voter fraud is not a problem means voter fraud is a huge problem.
The fact that climate change and oil dependence are huge problems means climate change and oil dependence are not problems.
George Bush wasn't president for eight years---we went straight from America-destroyer Bill Clinton to America-destroyer Barack Obama.
If Republicans in the House and Senate vote to end Medicare in favor of health care by coupons, and it turns out to be a blunder of epic proportions, it never happened.
Rupert Murdoch is the de facto Minister of Information
Talk of secession is taken seriously.
Everything you need to know about science is in the Bible.
Suffering builds character, which is why we need more of it.
The prime directive is the destruction of one citizen---the guy in the White House---even if it comes at the expense of the other 311,747,129 citizens.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
Can we agree that we just never agree
In the course of a facebook "conversation" about Ds vs R's and their sources of information, I was recently surprised to hear the same conservative facebook friend I referred to in the post below as being upset at how all her D friends think exactly alike, based on what moveon and dailykos tell us to think and I was shocked. As proof of her conclusion, she said she receives constant emails from various D sources and they all say the same things.
I was shocked that she'd said that, partly because her evidence was so specious, but also because I wished she were right! It could never have been more true what Will Rogers said about not being a member of an organized political party, because he was a Democrat.
I wish we Ds were in as lock step as the Rs. I see that as a strength of theirs and a weakness of Ds. I actually envy them for that, tho it strikes me regularly that I rarely ever hear any original thoughts from my conservative friends that didn't first come form the Rush Limbaugh/Fox/Mitch McConnell crowd.
I have another facebook R friend who thinks I am only progressive in my thinking and to declare that I am a moderate is at best disengenuous and at worst, a lie. And it got me to thinking about all the beliefs that are usually attributed to Ds that you'll virtually never hear me defending or taking up the cause for:
Global Climate Change
Abortion
Gov't funding for NPR
Unions
Opposition to merit-based pay for teachers
The Federal Department of Education...or Commerce
Carte blanche gov't spending
Keeping Social Security and Medicare exactly the way they are now
I'm not saying I necessarily support or oppose any of those things, but I do know that you can't put me in lock step agreement with typical left-wing talking points on any of them. ANd I know there are more, so I'll add to that list as I think of them...just please don't tell moveon lest I get kicked out of our party.
I was shocked that she'd said that, partly because her evidence was so specious, but also because I wished she were right! It could never have been more true what Will Rogers said about not being a member of an organized political party, because he was a Democrat.
I wish we Ds were in as lock step as the Rs. I see that as a strength of theirs and a weakness of Ds. I actually envy them for that, tho it strikes me regularly that I rarely ever hear any original thoughts from my conservative friends that didn't first come form the Rush Limbaugh/Fox/Mitch McConnell crowd.
I have another facebook R friend who thinks I am only progressive in my thinking and to declare that I am a moderate is at best disengenuous and at worst, a lie. And it got me to thinking about all the beliefs that are usually attributed to Ds that you'll virtually never hear me defending or taking up the cause for:
Global Climate Change
Abortion
Gov't funding for NPR
Unions
Opposition to merit-based pay for teachers
The Federal Department of Education...or Commerce
Carte blanche gov't spending
Keeping Social Security and Medicare exactly the way they are now
I'm not saying I necessarily support or oppose any of those things, but I do know that you can't put me in lock step agreement with typical left-wing talking points on any of them. ANd I know there are more, so I'll add to that list as I think of them...just please don't tell moveon lest I get kicked out of our party.
Or maybe I'm just too damn dumb to understand
Recently a conservative facebook friend posted a link to her facebook page entitled: "The science is settled: US liberals really are the dumbest creatures on the planet".
And I have to admit, it kind of, well, smarted. As I tried to think why, I decided it was for two reasons.
1 - I had more respect for her than to post such a thing. It was more insulting to her than it was to liberals, and I didn't like thinking that way about her. I felt my respect diminish and it made me feel bad to feel that way. I really felt kind of down after I saw it and was too embarrassed for her to even reply to her post.
2 - More importantly, it provided me a look at how I post things on Facebook, making me wonder if I've ever stooped to such levels, and without remembering anything specific, I have to conclude that I probably have.
I think in general, the links I post to FB are meant to educate moderates to things they don't usually have access to through the conservative mainstream media, who generally post what the corporate world wants them to know. Also impacting the media? How incredibly inept Dems are at getting out a unified or even coherent, well-articulated message.
So, to my handful of loyal readers, of which the friend I referred to above is one, if I post anything as divisive or mean-spirited as that, please refer me back to this post and ask me as politely as possible, but not as impolitely as I deserve, to take it down, and to apologize.
And I have to admit, it kind of, well, smarted. As I tried to think why, I decided it was for two reasons.
1 - I had more respect for her than to post such a thing. It was more insulting to her than it was to liberals, and I didn't like thinking that way about her. I felt my respect diminish and it made me feel bad to feel that way. I really felt kind of down after I saw it and was too embarrassed for her to even reply to her post.
2 - More importantly, it provided me a look at how I post things on Facebook, making me wonder if I've ever stooped to such levels, and without remembering anything specific, I have to conclude that I probably have.
I think in general, the links I post to FB are meant to educate moderates to things they don't usually have access to through the conservative mainstream media, who generally post what the corporate world wants them to know. Also impacting the media? How incredibly inept Dems are at getting out a unified or even coherent, well-articulated message.
So, to my handful of loyal readers, of which the friend I referred to above is one, if I post anything as divisive or mean-spirited as that, please refer me back to this post and ask me as politely as possible, but not as impolitely as I deserve, to take it down, and to apologize.
For once Bill Kristol has it right
Contrary To GOP Claims, U.S. Has Second Lowest Corporate Taxes In The Developed World
During negotiations regarding raising the nation’s debt limit, congressional Republicans have defended tax loopholes for corporations, claiming that America has a high corporate tax rate that is stifling economic growth and job creation. But the Center for Tax Justice (CTJ) has crunched the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Office of Management and Budget, and the Census Bureau, and finds that “the U.S. is already one of the least taxed countries for corporations in the developed world.”
As a share of GDP, the U.S. had the second lowest tax rate, behind only Iceland. This statistic flips on its head the often-repeated Republican charge that America has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world (which is only true on paper). In 2009, U.S. corporate taxes had fallen to only 1.3 percent of GDP, from 4 percent in 1965.
Conservatives love to point out that other OECD countries have lowered their corporate tax rates in recent years, but they conveniently ignore that “these countries have also closed corporate tax loopholes while the U.S. has expanded them.” As CAP Director for Tax and Budget Policy Michael Linden has noted, the U.S. is actually a very low-tax country across the board.
Recently, conservative commentator Bill Kristol chastised his own party for pretending that lowering the corporate tax rate is a cure-all for America’s economic woes. On Fox News Sunday, he interrupted a panelist who again tried to assert the U.S. is suffering from a high corporate tax rate: “Republicans are making a mistake if they focus on big businesses and corporate tax rates. Corporations have a ton of cash. The corporate tax rate is not killing big business in America.”
The GOP presidential candidates have almost uniformly introduced proposals to radically lower the U.S. corporate tax rate. For instance, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) wants to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and eliminate all taxes on capital gains, dividends, interest income and inheritance. CTJ put the issue succinctly in a tweet this morning: “Dear US Corporations: You pay 2nd LOWEST tax rate in industrial world, so quit whining or move to Iceland.”
During negotiations regarding raising the nation’s debt limit, congressional Republicans have defended tax loopholes for corporations, claiming that America has a high corporate tax rate that is stifling economic growth and job creation. But the Center for Tax Justice (CTJ) has crunched the most recent data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Office of Management and Budget, and the Census Bureau, and finds that “the U.S. is already one of the least taxed countries for corporations in the developed world.”
As a share of GDP, the U.S. had the second lowest tax rate, behind only Iceland. This statistic flips on its head the often-repeated Republican charge that America has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world (which is only true on paper). In 2009, U.S. corporate taxes had fallen to only 1.3 percent of GDP, from 4 percent in 1965.
Conservatives love to point out that other OECD countries have lowered their corporate tax rates in recent years, but they conveniently ignore that “these countries have also closed corporate tax loopholes while the U.S. has expanded them.” As CAP Director for Tax and Budget Policy Michael Linden has noted, the U.S. is actually a very low-tax country across the board.
Recently, conservative commentator Bill Kristol chastised his own party for pretending that lowering the corporate tax rate is a cure-all for America’s economic woes. On Fox News Sunday, he interrupted a panelist who again tried to assert the U.S. is suffering from a high corporate tax rate: “Republicans are making a mistake if they focus on big businesses and corporate tax rates. Corporations have a ton of cash. The corporate tax rate is not killing big business in America.”
The GOP presidential candidates have almost uniformly introduced proposals to radically lower the U.S. corporate tax rate. For instance, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN) wants to reduce the corporate tax rate to 15 percent and eliminate all taxes on capital gains, dividends, interest income and inheritance. CTJ put the issue succinctly in a tweet this morning: “Dear US Corporations: You pay 2nd LOWEST tax rate in industrial world, so quit whining or move to Iceland.”
That's some crazy shit, man
Things I spend way to much time thinking of: What makes the feces of a bat any crazier than anyone else's? And just how crazy can it be anyway?
Werthmore prediction
Some year, before Jason Werth's enormous contract comes to an end, the Nationals will finish ahead of the Phillies in the standings. I'm predicting 2014.
Friday, July 1, 2011
I still say we should ban mirrors anyway
If your thoughts mirror mine, are they the exact same, or the exact opposite?
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