SamuraiBigEd

I keep hearing about oil running out yet record breaking fields are being discovered. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved =0CDQQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nextenergynews.com %2Fnews1%2Fnext-energy-news2.13s.html&ei=lihJT_jDEqGCsgL5p4jrCA&usg=AFQjC NGIXrqU9dVeytjN-MVLkeBhy6bg7w&sig2=vbMtpGFvlXhrJXxlOWdVFQ

From personal recollection, I would have to research to be sure, the Windfall profit tax basically was an attempt to unfairly tax someone who had the good business sense to invest wisely. How is it fair to take a higher percentage if you have the good fortune to come into a sum of money when you are already paying the highest rate because of the sum?

Living in San Antonio, Texas, one of the major hubs for illegal immigration I can say first hand it has not reduced one bit. I see it on a daily basis, and if you travel south of here you can actually see them walking through fields to get to S.A., all the way from the border!

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Bob Maxey

Perhaps many voted for him because they wanted a black president. If so (I suspect it is) then are those that voted for him also racist? You really cannot have it both ways.

when you vote for a person specifically because he or she is black, you have little right to tell people that did not want a black president they were wrong.

saptech

First, for those talking about GW Bush, he was given the presidency during his first term by the Supreme Court. Mass voter manipulation in his brother's (Gov.) state, Florida. Seems odd to me out of 50 states, it's his brother's state is where it's decided who will be president.

I remember during the campaigning, Bush and McCain said how great the economy was going, then when it seems Obama was going to win, the economy collaspe along with Bush big business bailout plan.

It seems once Obama got in office, the republicans in congress made it their sole purpose to make sure he fail and to make sure he doesn't get another chance at being president.

I remember 30 years ago, Big Business and the Right Wing decided to 'go for it', to see if they could actually destroy the middle class so that they could become richer themselves. And they've succeeded.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan fired every member of the air traffic controllers union (PATCO) who'd defied his order to return to work and declared their union illegal. They had been on strike for just two days.

Reagan had been backed by Wall Street and they, along with right-wing Christians, wanted to restructure America and turn back the tide that was intended to make life better for the average working person. The rich hated paying better wages and providing benefits. They hated paying taxes even more. And they despised unions. The right-wing Christians hated anything that sounded like socialism or holding out a helping hand to minorities or women.

Reagan promised to end all that. So when the air traffic controllers went on strike, he seized the moment. In getting rid of every single last one of them and outlawing their union, he sent a clear and strong message: The days of everyone having a comfortable middle class life were over. America, from now on, would be run this way:

* The super-rich will make more, much much more, and the rest of you will scramble for the crumbs that are left.
* Everyone must work! Mom, Dad, the teenagers in the house! Dad, you work a second job! Kids, here's your latch-key! Your parents might be home in time to put you to bed.
* 50 million of you must go without health insurance! And health insurance companies: you go ahead and decide who you want to help -- or not.
* Unions are evil! You will not belong to a union! You do not need an advocate! Shut up and get back to work! No, you can't leave now, we're not done. Your kids can make their own dinner.
* You want to go to college? No problem -- just sign here and be in hock to a bank for the next 20 years!
* What's "a raise"? Get back to work and shut up!

So here we are today, it seems Reagan and the republicans getting this into fruitation!

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Last edited by saptech; February 25th, 2012 at 01:21 PM.

SamuraiBigEd

I will comment on one thing here since I need to get back to my work, unions. I have many friends who are members of a union and they have all said in meetings they are TOLD who to vote for in political elections! Not only that, Texas is a right-to-work state but you are denied employment if you refuse to join the union which violates state law.

At one time unions were a good thing but no more. They are corrupt, greedy, totally self-serving and no longer represent the workers they were created to protect.

As far as the air traffic controllers union strike Reagan reacted properly, that is a mission-critical position that could cripple the entire U.S. if it had continued for much longer. There are certain times a strike is not the answer, that was one of them.

TxGoat

So you still live 8 miles from the border?

TxGoat

An increase in deportation doesn't necessarily mean that illegal immigration is going down. You still have the same amount (if not more) crossing because deportation is up. The GOP spin would be that Obama is soft on illegal immigration even though Bush had 8 years and didn't make any changes. I'm not defending Obama as being "uber-tough" on illegal immigration, but the hyperbole from the right is just insane.

I actually find it an amusing predicament for the GOP. On one hand you have a lot of illegal immigrants that present cheap labor for the small businesses that the GOP claims to defend, but on the other hand you have the homogeneous mouth breathers that comprise the lower echelon of the GOP's base that go after illegal immigration with almost the same fervor as Nazi Germany went after the Jews. Listening to someone go off in a whole "took er jerbs" rant and blaming illegals for all the ills of society reminds me of some of the Nazi hate speeches against the Jews. It will be interesting how this unfolds within the GOP.

So in summary, you believe that some black people voted for him because he's black right? You'll get no argument out of me. In fact, I'll go one further, I've heard that some black people DIDN'T vote for him because he wasn't a descendant of an AMERICAN black slave.

Wouldn't it then stand to reason that if some black people give him special consideration because of his skin color, that some white people would give him LESS consideration because of his skin color? Don't tell me that you think only black people can be racist. I see it, I have no problem discussing it, and I have no problem analyzing it. The Presidency SHOULD transcend race, gender, religion. We're finding out that it doesn't, which is a sorry state for our country.


What's funny is how some of the current crop of GOPers want us to shift more towards a Communist China because $0.10 a day for employees is more in line with their greed.



Religions are constantly telling its followers how to vote as well. Unions want a candidate that won't strip away their right to unionize so I don't see why conveying to your union brother/sister which candidate has your best financial interests in mind is a bad thing.

I live in Texas as well and you're always given an option to join the union. If someone is being coerced into joining a union then they have every right to report it. That being said, if a person doesn't want to join a union then they shouldn't benefit from the wages or benefits that the union has fought for and the union also should not have to represent that person if they ever have any issues with management.

You can argue that having control towers manned was "mission critical" and I'm sure the British would argue that the Tea tax was "mission critical" as well. From my vague recollection of my history lessons, the British were trying to pay off wartime expenses. Let me guess, you disagreed with the Boston Tea Party as well and thought the sitting king of England enacting the Intolerable Acts was justified?

Dark Jedi

Guess you forgot that when Obama took office that the Democrats ruled the house and senate for what 2 years of his current term. So how could the Republicans make him look bad. What he did he did it on his own to look bad with no help from the Republicans. Heck you can blame the Democrats for the reason why they loss that power.

SamuraiBigEd

Actually deportation is up since illegal immigration is up, so is Obama really being tougher or does it just boil down to percentages?

I will admit to having stood on the backs of the immigrant labor at an early point in my career. It has been such an ingrained part of life here that it was only frowned on publicly, behind closed doors many of the biggest opponents hired illegals on a daily basis.

I have since changed my stance, being a victim of the quality of work you can expect from many of the workers which cost me over $1000.00 to save a few hundred in labor costs. I have also come to a moral stance on it as well, but to liken it to Nazi Germany is more than just a bit extreme. I have heard nothing that would even come close to that, the analogy just doesn't fit.

I don't for a second believe Governor Brewer's actions had anything to do with the fact that he is black, I think they have to do with the fact he is doing a lousy job and people are sick of politicians who can't or won't do their job to serve the American people. If a president is not doing their job I would not hesitate for a second to get in their face and give them a severe dress down on the job they are doing. The office does deserve respect, but the president is our SERVANT, not our boss and is to be held accountable for his actions. As I said before, the Fast and Furious scandal resulted in the death of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona which Obama's administration refuses to cooperate in the congressional investigation of going so far as to flat out refuse to turn over subpoenaed documents or answer questions in hearings. If I was Brewer I may have very well b!^%h-slapped him, or Bush, or Clinton had they been responsible.

Being an employer myself whats wrong with that?

Suggestions and being flat out told you ARE going to vote for somebody is totally different.

Try getting a job at Toyota without joining the union, not going to happen. The same for many of the service companies at the airports. I applied for a lift company job at the San Antonio airport and was told I had to join the union to get the job. When I brought up "right to work" I was told where the door is. When I contacted the State Attorney Generals office I was basically ignored. Big business has carte blanche to do as they please, and the bigger you are the more the cheek is turned.

Most of the union members I know do nothing but complain about the union, how much the dues are, how they keep increasing them and how much less they do for them.

Again the analogy doesn't fit. You are comparing a tax to a vital service that can actually cost lives if not done properly

saptech

It refers to the few that was already in congress, such as Bohner, McConnell and the few others. Once the republicans took over congress they voted against everything Obama brought to them.

If republicans really cared so much about government spending, then why did congress get a pay raise in this economy?

saptech

What would have happened had we all just stopped flying, period, back in 1981. What if all the unions had said to Reagan, "Give those controllers their jobs back or we're shutting the country down."? You know what would have happened. The corporate elite and Reagan would have buckled. But the I guess the heads of the unions didn't want to do that, they just accepted it.

That's when more and more planes started falling out of the sky also, more planes crashing. It seems they haven't fully recovered since as far as flying safety goes.

SamuraiBigEd

The Democrats voted for it too, in fact it couldn't have passed without them.

Perhaps you should read this 20. The Air Traffic Controllers' Strike. Not only was the public in opposition to the strike it was AGAINST THE LAW for them to strike.

This was not a public or private company but actual federal employees who were already earning well above the national average at the time. They wanted a $10,000.00 raise across the board along with a 4 day work week, so a LOT more pay for less work. Yeah, not going to fly (pun intended).

Last edited by SamuraiBigEd; February 26th, 2012 at 02:08 PM. Reason: cleaning up my own mess

saptech

Poor Schedule Management Responsible for Fatigued Air Traffic Controllers - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com

I guess. Maybe they were on to something with working 4 days.

That includes Dems, but why didn't republicans stop it from passing like most of the other bills or whatever they're called?

Just my thoughts.

SamuraiBigEd

Poor management will still wear you out at 4 days. Working set shifts with no overtime is the solution there.

You want to hear something scary, I good friend is a locomotive engineer and will get in at 4 or 5 in the morning then be called back out for 6 or 7 that evening, sometimes sooner, on a regular basis even though they are supposed to have a minimum of I believe 24 hours between trips.

How would you like 2-3 days on, 12-14 hours off? No wonder there are so many accidents.

The one passed shortly after Obama got in office the republicans did not have enough votes to stop it, not that they would. The sad fact is neither party gives a damn about anything but themselves and their cronies, they could care less about the American people.

saptech

Agreed. Exactly, neither party gives a damn about anything but themselves and their cronies.

Yes, I believe alot of people want to see President Obama fail and alot has to do with the color of his skin. He's not the status quo even though he's half white!

Bob Maxey

I think that is fair to a point. Regardless of the technical issues: when are you black, brown, white or half black and white. Most people consider him to be black. All you need to do is read the reports, web sites and the generally overwhelming sentiment that basically said, "finally, we have a black president."

He was put into office because he was black. Either that or because the other guy was white. Race was very much a part of his election. That is not a racist comment, it is simply a fact.

You can't vote for a white person these days because you will be called a racist. Yet there is nothing wrong voting for Obama because he is black. Somewhat of a double standard.

So forget that he might not be "black." He is black as most people will tell you.

ElasticNinja

Record breaking? There's been shale oil and gas finds, however these carry there own risks. In particular methane releases which would come at the worst possible time of likely highest greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere (methane is way more heat trapping then CO2, but goes after 10-15 years). Also enviornmental risks.

Most of the cheap oil has been got, and existing wells are coming to an end. It may as well run out if you are paying $200 a barrel.

Also, about $10-15 of the price of the barrel is due to speculation, not that anything can be done about that.

Anyway, waaaay off topic.

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saptech

When the millions of blacks or any other minority vote for two white candidates for presidency, what are they called then? Maybe Obama won because the blacks who voted for him felt he was the better of two evils (McCain), as I assume they thought McCain would be following in Bush foot steps and being a Republican.

Besides, it may take another 200 years before another Black get the chance!

Last edited by saptech; February 26th, 2012 at 03:47 PM.

SamuraiBigEd

Off topic maybe, but in direct response to a comment made.

If you really feel all the cheap oil has been got and existing wells are coming to an end you should really take a look at what is going on here in Texas. One of the biggest booms ever, much of it from wells long thought dead thanks to new drilling and extraction technologies and some that have been around for a long time as well.

There have also been new oil fields found that register in the billions of barrels. It is still a finite resource but it will be years before it runs out.

Dark Jedi

You really don't know how the president is voted in do you? Give you a hint popular vote dont elects him.

saptech

I did write a different comment but i'm taking it back. You win! All I can say is the USA is falling and she can't get up!

Last edited by saptech; February 26th, 2012 at 05:24 PM.

TxGoat

The politicians mostly care about the lobbyists, and the rich entities that fund their campaign. And, if you have a lot of money to spend on a candidate then there's a good chance that you're wanting him/her to legislate policy that will enable you to make that money back, and then some. The number one problem in our political system is that money has found its way in.

Even though both sides have failed the American public, the fact that the GOP is hoping that Obama fails speaks volumes about their true motive. It would be nice to have EVERY politician in the federal government explain to us what they think is wrong, explain to us why they think it's wrong, and how they would recommend fixing the problem. I'm betting the answers would surprise us.


That's the sad part. We've had the status quo in office for so long and the wealth gap between the richest and the poorest has grown the largest it ever has, why are so many people that aren't part of the status quo so down with him and even worse, why do they believe that they're in the predicament they're in because of him? I'm not going to say he's doing a bang up job, but I also don't think he's 100% to blame for the issues we face. IIRC, S&P downgraded us because they said that our congress couldn't agree to act, not because the debt was as high as it was. And which members of congress decided to hijack our credit rating, oh that's right the tea baggers......

Dark Jedi

Its not a matter of who wins. It is how it is. The electoral college has voted the president in to office since it was established. I think its not right and isn't needed. It goes against the very meaning of the declaration of a government for the people by the people. Just look at Dewey vs Truman. Dewey got the popular vote and Truman got the electoral college vote. There is even a picture of Truman holding up a newspaper that said Dewey defeats truman. Proof of the people don't elect the president

breadnatty08

I'll just throw one more comment out. In DC (actually about 5 blocks from our apartment) it costs roughly $40 to get a fake SS card. Our restaurant is run by a vast majority of Latino cooks. A lot of them are illegal. When we hire, we test their SS number for verification. If it fails (ie. fake), we cannot legally fire them. All we can do is tell them they need to verify it themselves. If they don't there's still nothing we can do.
The system is broke folks. While I'd love to hire legal cooks, they simply aren't looking for the jobs. These guys are great and work hard (and yes, we pay them above what most restaurants in the city do).

Dark Jedi

Really? I remember every president since I was a teenager people blame every president for the situation of the country and for their own situation. So how can you say Obama is getting blamed for stuff because of the color of his skin when all president's has and president's after him will be blamed for the same thing that Obama has. That's what the president is for so the people can have a face to blame how the government is being ran and for their misfortunes. After all the president is the top office. To say people blames Obama solely based on the color of his skin? Then it works both ways as I have seen many African Americans do the same thing with white presidents so can't have it one way as its a two way road. But no one will call an African American racist as that would he racist in its self. When Obama took office I said like with all new presidents. I will give him a chance and gave him almost a year so he could settle down and get to work. I seen him promise so much and do the opposite. He won't cut spending and just wants to spend like we have a surplus of cash. He acts like raising the national debt limit fixes everything. This is why he is failing because he don't know what he is doing and not the color of his skin. Sure you have racist people on both sides but you can't say every white person thinks he does a poor job because he is black.

As far as the country credit rating goes. Your credit raiting falls when you can't repay a debt. So that's why our country credit rating has fallen as all that cash we borrowed we can't pay it back when it came do. Not because congress can't agree on stuff. If you had debt like the country does. Do you think you would have a great credit rating or would your credit stink? I think our credit rating should of fell long ago. I would think this would of been a wake up call to our government to take actions and fix our money problems but they still spend like nothing is wrong. Don't care if its Republican or Democrats they are all the same in the end when It comes to money. They spend spend spend. Why should they care its not their money they are spending lol.

TxGoat

I could only make out a portion of your post since it sounded a little garbled. I'd ask if you could correct it, but I see you're on a posting probation.

What I did make out, I highlighted in bold.


Can you site (when probation is lifted maybe) where he's spending insanely? Sure he could bring the troops back to the U.S. where there probably won't be a job for them to go to, he could try to do away with the Bush "error" tax cuts which would bring revenues back in line, but the GOP blocked that. Where should he make cuts? Social programs? Maybe cut off aid to all the people that have become unemployed? Maybe cut funding to schools? Sure, why not go ahead and widen the gap between the richest and the poorest Americans even further?

Lets run this through ANY and I mean ANY ecosystem on the planet. You have the creatures sitting at the top of the food chain; Lions/Sharks/Humans, the next level of the food chain; Gazelles/large fish/Farm Animals, then you have the bottom feeders (my model will be simplified as it's to the point) vultures/shrimp/viruses. While it would be nice if EVERYONE was a top feeder or a 1%-er, all it does is diminishes the middle class (Gazelle/large fish/Farm animals) because with the addition of more top feeders, the food supply becomes limited. With a top-heavy food chain the ecosystem cannot survive. The same goes for our economy. If we don't have a thriving middle class then who will buy all the goods and services needed to turn the wheels of industry? When our economy is at its best, it has a certain balance to it (like all ecosystems). If you upset that balance (or vote in a bumpkin that had no business going to Yale) then you get the results we are experiencing now. Our country lacks balance. Sure the whole "Greed is good" line plays well in some movie about a ruthless Wall Street executive, but the reality is that balance is needed, despite the GOP insisting that "Balance = covert liberal speak for socialism".



Your quote about the U.S. credit rating, I think S&P was pretty poignant about why they downgraded us. If it wasn't to you, I'll let Bloomberg's quote speak for itself.

SamuraiBigEd

FIFY

What about voting in someone with less political experience than a high school class president?

saptech

Then who and how does the electoral votes get decided? Why are We The People casting votes at all? My understanding is if the majority of votes win the party, (Dems/Repubs), for that state, then the winner get that states electoral vote.

TxGoat

Sounds like you're asking if a candidate with less exposure to corruption would be fine, in which case I don't think you're referring to GWB.....

SamuraiBigEd

I was referring to Obama's almost complete lack of political experience. And he definitely doesn't have a lack of exposure to corruption.

TxGoat

If he had the political experience then you'd probably say that he was a "career politician". I've seen what career politicians are capable of (see Newt) thus I don't think that's a good thing. Granted, Obama's lack of experience had him believe that he could work with the GOP.