Displaying 121 To 150 Of 3,373 Comments The Debt Ceiling Crisis Thread I agree. I think he needs to be hammering the Mice That Roared more. Their unreasonability has to be seen as THE issue here, because it was that, and only that. A manufactured crisis that prevented real work from getting done. In a way, it makes sense. Don’t go dissing the folks you have to go back to work with and make deals with. Except these guys aren’t going to budge anyway, so why not call them out? The Tea Party folks don’t belong on the Hill, and they need to be rightly pilloried as troublemakers and phonies. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 2, 2011 @ 9:13 pm 4.) Chuck Norris worshippers » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 2, 2011 @ 8:04 pm Fair enough. But, if this is the case, what the article states, would it be so hard for Obama to tone DOWN the rhetoric, so that it matches his actions? Less than three weeks ago he was insisting that any fair deal needed to include “people like me, who have done well”. Well, people like him are STILL doing well, and hardly losing any sleep over this deal. If you’re not going to end the Bush tax cuts, close Gitmo, insist on tax cuts as part of a deal, etc., don’t TELL people that you are going to do that! Seriously, a LOT of Obama’s problems with the “purists” are largely self created. If you can’t accept that, then somehow that means that he is somehow different from the vast sea of humanity, because EVERYBODY’s problems, or at least their people issues, are largely self created. Tangoing takes two. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 2, 2011 @ 7:45 pm And the Splunge one too! https://planetpov.com/2011/08/01/the-deal-that-says-splunge/ » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 11:14 pm Excellent article, e-cat! Thanks for posting it. It is one of the more balanced and honest assessments I’ve seen in my, admittedly less than thorough, research into this. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 4:58 pm Hi Agrippa, You call it “damage control”, while choicelady (who I adore) says it’s the deal that establishes Obama as the greatest president since FDR. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 6:11 am In Japan, where I live, the national debt is a staggering 225% of GDP (thank God WE don’t have Tea Baggers). This puts Japan, ignobly, at NUMERO UNO in the world. Yay! We still do some things better than anyone! The U.S. 37th in the world, well below France, The Netherlands, even Germany. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 6:06 am Hi Em, Thanks for your thoughtful reply. Always nice to “chat” from thousands of miles away. Okay, so I see that insisting on increasing revenue would kill any agreement at this point (but feel as well that this will always be the case – I’m beginning to feel like waiting for the Bush tax cuts to expire is a bit like waiting for Godot), but that begs the question of why President Obama didn’t just use the 14th amendment? Why did he telegraph, well in advance, that he wasn’t actually considering doing that? Everybody here knows as well as I that this is a political, rather than an existential, crisis. It’s politics. Compared to Japan, the national debt of the U.S. is downright pip-squeaky. So why does POTUS have to agree to cuts without putting the thing that is REALLY hurting our economy (Reagonomics and all the sweetheart deals for the uber-rich) on the table? He could have just said, forget it, I’m going over your heads. Instead, we get the adult in the room, and the uber-rich get to keep all their perks until some fantastical future time when the Republicans will be more reasonable. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 6:02 am Let me put it another way. Does anyone here imagine that hedge fund managers and oil company CFOs are thinking to themselves right now, ? » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 5:39 am I know what you mean, Buddy. You can say it’s a good sign of a healthy compromise when both sides proclaim that they “won”, but can you say the same thing when they present the “win” in such starkly different terms. Boehner: “The White House bid to raise taxes has been shut down.” White House: “Stays true to the President’s commitment to shared sacrifice…. The President did not agree to any entitlement reforms outside of the context of a bipartisan committee process where tax reform will be on the table and the President will insist on shared sacrifice from the most well-off and those with the most indefensible tax breaks.” So in other words, according to Boehner, Obama was stopped from raising taxes (that most Americans support – on the very rich individuals AND corporations) I appreciate your other, larger point as well. That’s something I hadn’t considered. Thanks for your input. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 5:02 am I’m still trying to put it all together here. It DOES seem, to me, to be a pretty fair deal considering the opposition to anything REALLY fair (i.e. undoing Reagonomics) from the Republicans. On the other hand, it seems to be a case of just punting things further down the field. The scenarios about how Congress will be “forced” to act when the Bush tax cuts expire in ’13 seems to me to have elements of magical thinking in it. Anyway, here’s what a writer at Kos writes; “But the larger point is that the White House believes that Democrats can “force” the Republican side to accept revenue increases, by simply threatening the Bush tax cuts with expiration if it doesn’t happen. Well then, why didn’t that happen the first time? What argument or hostage will the Republicans not have next time that they did have previously, in order to secure an extension of the tax cuts for wealthy Americans the first time around? It again presumes that the Republicans can’t find a hostage that the Democrats aren’t willing to let them shoot. Yes, Obama can simply veto any attempts to extend the Bush tax cuts: but do we think the Republicans won’t have a ready answer for that? What happens if the “Super Congress” comes back with tax reforms that severely impact the poor, but not the rich? What happens if the “Super Congress” merely votes to make the Bush tax cuts permanent, or lard things up with even more tax pork for the wealthy? Forget both of those: let’s suppose the most likely outcome, which is that Democrats on the committee stand firm on not allowing either of those things, and let’s suppose Republicans stand firm on requiring them, leading to committee stalemate and “triggering” the enforced cuts: are we saying that at that point, Republicans will stop taking hostages in order to regain those tax cuts, and the Democrats will be in the advantageous position? Why?” And the full article Would someone, not call this a “rant” from a “purist” and just lay out for me, point by point, why I should be happier about the deal than this guy? And as happy as so many here seem to be? » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 3:59 am Agree, AD. I also am delighted and surprised by what a fair deal was worked out in spite of all opposition to getting anything decent done by the Norquists, baggers, and basically any Repub who only wanted top make the president look bad. An extraordinarily good job of politicking, and I’m glad to be wrong. » Posted By whatsthatsound On August 1, 2011 @ 1:46 am Nah, not that either. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 31, 2011 @ 4:35 pm No, but only because I never thought “someone else” was a wildcat. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 31, 2011 @ 4:14 pm Very, very well stated, Em! I agree with every word! Never has a political party shown its true colors more flagrantly and blatantly than this Republican party that wants to turn our country into a fiefdom. They are traitors. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 30, 2011 @ 5:37 pm Take care, Cher! In Japan we say, “O daiji ni!” Hope you feel better soon. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 30, 2011 @ 5:34 pm this should work. It’s on his website now. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 30, 2011 @ 7:56 am Hi Em, If you just google the article’s title, “Why Americans Are So Angry”, the top page (or second from top) takes you to the article in full. But when one tries to link it, as I did, you get the page you got. It’s worth reading so please go the google route if interested. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 30, 2011 @ 7:54 am Bernie Sanders, “Why Americans are So Angry” (WTS addendum: and if they aren’t, they should be) » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 29, 2011 @ 8:12 pm The amazing thing is that Bachmann actually thinks her stance on ths is going to help her get elected president! All over the world, country’s leaders and people are aghast and disgusted at this circus macabre. Can you imagine how apoplectic they’ll be when she starts using this as a campaign booster? The dollar will be worth about the value of a sock with two holes in it. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 29, 2011 @ 6:55 pm The mice that roared. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 29, 2011 @ 6:36 pm Boehner Bones It » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 28, 2011 @ 11:21 pm Boehner Comes Up Short, Can’t Satisfy” » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 28, 2011 @ 11:06 pm How’s this for a slogan: Raise the Ceiling or We’ll Raise the Roof! » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 27, 2011 @ 4:29 am jkk, the average female frog produces 99 trillion offspring in a frog lifetime. And it’s for a good cause. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 25, 2011 @ 5:16 pm This has the added benefit that the kids might come up with an even better plan! » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 25, 2011 @ 5:11 pm crazier, you mean. 🙂 » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 25, 2011 @ 4:38 pm Patsy, thank you for introducing me to Jenna Rose. It goes without saying that I will never forgive you. » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 25, 2011 @ 4:34 pm why stop at hats? It’s summer! » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 25, 2011 @ 4:32 pm Sadly, that is the state we are in now, Kes. Oligarchy (I encourage all to read the article Cher posted on the latest DP about it). http://www.drumsnwhistles.com/2011/07/21/4215/ » Posted By whatsthatsound On July 25, 2011 @ 4:19 pmComments Posted By whatsthatsound
My head is seriously spinning here. It’s all so darn Rashomonian!
Here’s the link.
http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/economics/list-of-national-debt-by-country/
“Damn! The jig is just about UP! I’d better enjoy these good times while they last, because two years or so from now, I’m gonna get REAMED!”
while according to Obama, he’ll hold the Republican’s feet to the fire, NEXT time, in a way he didn’t do, THIS time. Or am I wrong?
http://dailykos.com/
A skillful politician, not a species I hold in the highest regard.
http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=23d554d6-dd0c-41a5-8b80-a95eb72be82a
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904888304576474071349760158.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
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