Any Catholic who votes for this GOP is a blasphemer.
Posted by God Of War at April 21, 2006 12:46 PMLooks like Shooter needs his Haliburton pacemaker turned up or maybe another pig heart transplant is in the offing.
Posted by red_neck_repub at April 21, 2006 12:54 PMWhere are the campaign clips of the chimp offering to "jawbone" the Saudis for lower oil prices?
Posted by TIKI AL at April 21, 2006 01:12 PMWooHoo! Ding Dong the dick is...oh. Just sleeping. Crap.
Posted by iamcoyote at April 21, 2006 01:23 PMWhere are the campaign clips of the chimp offering to "jawbone" the Saudis for lower oil prices?
If you go down, way down, into the sub sub basement under the White House, past the room marked "Dirty Tricks - Keep Out", past the room where they keep all the old drapes from the Oval Office there is a long bank of file cabinets. Very dusty.
Allllllll the way at the end, way up on top you'll find a file cabinet labelled "Memory Hole".
They're in there.
Posted by snark at April 21, 2006 01:38 PMSo if things are so terrible, and you are so worried about oil prices, why are stock markets around the world (including the US) surging? The best performing sector on the US stock market today was "home furnishings" up 7.9%". Explain that. Maybe people can't afford to travel, so they are going out and buying new sofas and beds?
Posted by Stats at April 21, 2006 01:39 PMMaybe people can't afford to travel, so they are going out and buying new sofas and beds?
On credit. Visa, Master Card, home equity loans....
Posted by ann at April 21, 2006 01:46 PMStats, if you really think that the stock market is a good indicator of how well an economy is performing, or how well things are going for Main Street America, then I have learned all I need to know about your level of knowledge in this area.
Posted by Steve Soto at April 21, 2006 01:48 PMSteve-
Maybe you ought to read the Wall Street Jouirnal instead of this website, and Kos etc. Corporate profits are at record highs. The reason the Fed has been raising interest rates is because they think the economy has been too strong. My investment portfolio went up about 75 grand in two days earlier this week. Don't you think I am more likely to go out and buy a new car this weekend? Stock markets reflect the state of the economy, and consumer spending goes up when the stock market is doing well.
Steve-
Maybe you ought to read the Wall Street Journal instead of this website, and Kos etc. Corporate profits are at record highs. The reason the Fed has been raising interest rates is because they think the economy has been too strong. My investment portfolio went up about 75 grand in two days earlier this week. Don't you think I am more likely to go out and buy a new car this weekend? Stock markets reflect the state of the economy, and consumer spending goes up when the stock market is doing well.
Oil hit $75 a barrel today. Where is that “jawboning” Mr. President?
If you were a big oil kind of guy and the price had exploded thru the roof where would you be?
Like Shrub and the the rest of the oilies you wouyld be checking your online accounts every 30 seconds, taking happy calls from your investors and generally doing a break dance with the electric slide and rhumba thrown in for good measure.
Thanks Stats, as I said, your level of knowledge, (or lack of it) is apparent for all to see now.
Posted by Steve Soto at April 21, 2006 02:30 PMMy investment portfolio went up about 75 grand in two days earlier this week. Don't you think I am more likely to go out and buy a new car this weekend? Stock markets reflect the state of the economy, and consumer spending goes up when the stock market is doing well.
The majority of Americans don't have stock portfolios outside of any retirement plan, so while the investor class might see the stock market going up as a sign of good things, the rest of the country is still figuring how to put food on the table and pay for their infant's medication.
Posted by ann at April 21, 2006 02:34 PMyeah, the stock market surged in 1929 too.
Posted by Lucky at April 21, 2006 02:48 PMGood Christ, is von Rumsfeld AFRAID to wake Deadeye Dick? At a meeting of state? Sheesh, what a pal. With friends like that.....
Of course, the poor generals were afraid to wake Adolf late in the war, too, what with the terrifying, insane rantings and explosive rages over the endless bad news and all.
Stats, definitely go buy that new car this weekend---as expensive as you can find!! That's what investing is all about. And buy one for the little lady as well--in pink! And don't forget the girlfriend(s), you sly, uber-rich dog! I hear someone just found a diamond the size of a hen's egg! Bet Brittney would love that!
Isn't it great to know what really matters in life? Bragging about your increasing wealth on the internet!
Posted by euzoius at April 21, 2006 03:18 PMStats, you make valid points. But I'm wary of the election year market cycle and seasonal market cycles here, so I've abandoned my high-beta stocks and raised some cash levels. Not because folks like Ann and Steve are right, but because the market has come a long way and folks are getting pretty bullish about the economy. Nothing wrong with rebuilding the wall of worry, IMHO.
I notice folks like Ann and Steve like to make assumptions about how "other people" are doing. Ann said she doesn't have a car, but seems to be an expert on fuel prices and how fuel prices are affecting "everyone else but her." She made the same claim above about how "everyone else" must be using their credit cards in the home furnishing sector you mentioned.
I've noticed that the liberals often do this. "I'm doing okay, but 'everyone else' isn't." I think the Democrats have been pretty successful at conveying this message to the public. I think it's one of the reasons Bush's ratings are down. It's been a very successful disinformation campaign by the DNC.
Posted by muckdog at April 21, 2006 03:18 PMOil hit $75 a barrel today.
you say that like it's a bad thing.
Posted by prince bandar, friend of the U.S.A. at April 21, 2006 03:35 PMgood one bandar, a-heh-heh.
Posted by dubya at April 21, 2006 03:35 PMMuck,
The statistics don't bear you out. People have actually lost purchasing power the last two years. Of course, the conservatives think that you can live on borrowed money forever. After all, from their experience, anytime things got bad Mommy and Daddy came through with the money so Jr. didn't have to. Can't blame you for living in that fantasy world. It's a lot more fun than living in the real world!
Interest rates are going up to keep foreign investors buying T bills. More to the point, the average American is doing so good we have a negitive savings rate.
Posted by herbal tee at April 21, 2006 03:43 PMmuck, you make assumptions every time you post one of your anectdotal shopping excursions as "proof" that people are doing well. You have no idea how these people are financing their lifestyles, but you want to claim it as evidence of a strong economy. Step outside the gated community, listen or read something else besides Fox News. Take a look at household debt levels and the stats on home equity, that's what I did. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if personal savings is non-existant, home equity non-existant and personal debt at an all-time high, that people aren't paying off their credit cards every month.
As for gas prices, watch the news, read the papers, talk to people who don't live in your neighborhood (although I know that's scary for you.) That bubble of yours must be titanium if you haven't noticed people getting very nervous and angry about gas prices.
Posted by ann at April 21, 2006 03:49 PMStank: Despite posting twice, you still spelled The Wall Street Urinal incorrectly.
If you made 75 grand in 2 days, you are one of the Bush chosen ones, and need not worry about our mundane discussions. We feel honored to have someone of your affluence and social significance visit us, now please take Mink Mucklucks to the club, and shoot a few rounds of golf at 10 grand a hole.
Posted by TIKI AL at April 21, 2006 03:55 PMWow, so essentially muck's counterargument (if that is what he calls it) against ann's comment is that she knows nothing about gas prices and/or the economy because she talks about historically high gas prices but yet doesn't own a car.
puppyboy, you've really outdone yourself with that ahem counter argument. Please don't tell me that just because an oncologist hasn't had cancer, s/he can't comment on cancer...please. You're really showing some bona fide Kool aid drinking around these parts lately and I have avoided commenting to you, but that last comment was just plain dumb and I can't believe you even said it.
I know ann is more than capable of responding herself,(and I see she has while hitting preview) but your comment was just really lame...but unfortunately that is fairly routine for you.
Posted by emal at April 21, 2006 04:16 PM"Stats, if you really think that the stock market is a good indicator of how well an economy is performing, or how well things are going for Main Street America, then I have learned all I need to know about your level of knowledge in this area."
Hey Steve, exactly what would you consider a good indicator of the economy?
The unemployment rate? It's under %5, lower than at anytime during the Clinton years. And don't give me any BS about them being jobs at McDonald. That's just a liberal talking point that bears no resemblence to fact.
The GDP? Growing steadily the last 2 years.
Yoyu see, everything is doing better than at anytime the last 10 years and yet you continue to deny that the economy is doing well. You very much remind me of the old Charlie Brown comic strips where he wants to continue playing baseball when it is pouring down rain all around him.
You obviously don't know what you are talking about.
Posted by David at April 21, 2006 04:22 PM"I've noticed that the liberals often do this. "I'm doing okay, but 'everyone else' isn't." I think the Democrats have been pretty successful at conveying this message to the public. I think it's one of the reasons Bush's ratings are down. It's been a very successful disinformation campaign by the DNC."
Dead on!!!!!
You see, if just one person is suffering then everything is going to hell in a hand basket.
And Ann, we are the ones in the real world. You are the one that needs to get out of YOUR gated community.
Posted by David at April 21, 2006 04:25 PMYou see, if just one person is giving or receiving oral sex then everything is going to hell in a hand basket.
Posted by at April 21, 2006 06:08 PMOh crap, another night of putting up with you doltish trolls.
Posted by Judith at April 21, 2006 06:15 PMHey Judith-
"Oh God, another night with doltish liberals." Have you seen the recent poll results that showed that Republicans are on average much happier than Democrats? No wonder. With Dems, the glass is never half full, not even half empty. It is always empty. Poor Dems! Destined forever to keep rolling the rock of Sisyphus up the mountain, trying to achieve "equality of outcomes" by raising taxes on hardworking successful people (like me, I add modestly).
Personally I am very sick of so called "financial experts" using statistics to tell us just how good the economy is. There are way too many variables and stats can be manipulated to prove points. I can find just as many to disprove all of the swill that you spread across my monitor on any given day.
What's wrong with the GDP?!?! It is a number that was invented to try to prove just how well an economy is doing. Problem: it takes real people out of the equation. It does not consider long-term financial consequences of current actions. It's all about the short-term, what's in it for me attitude of our wealthy gopper trolls.
What Party has the greatest economic record? Surprise, surprise: it's the Democratic Party. Why? The Democratic Party has the long-term interests of our Nation as the goal. The Democratic Party wants to leave our Country in better shape for the next generation.
"It is clear from the above that the U.S. economy is generally better during Democratic party control than it is during Republican party control. Some possible reasons why this is the case are:
When Republicans get power they tend to emphazise helping the rich rather than the middle class or the poor. They cut taxes for the rich, provide subsidies for the rich and increase spending for military purposes. As much as they might like to, they cannot lower greatly the governmental expenditures for helping the middle class and the poor, because they then would not be able to stay in power in a pseudo-democracy such as the U.S. Thus, deficits increase, which leaves less funds for investment in the economy and the economy suffers. Also, the obvious lack of interest in the welfare of the workers who produce the goods lowers the morale and causes productivity increase to slow down. When the economy gets bad enough the Democrats get voted into power.
When Democrats get power they tend to increase taxes for the rich and cut military spending, which allows deficits to decrease, and perhaps even surpluses to occur, and therefore leaves more money to invest in the economy and the economy grows. They emphasize the welfare of the workers who produce the goods and the productivity increases faster.
After the economy is rolling along well, more citizens tend to think they are going to be wealthy and they want the tax cuts for the rich that the Republicans always promise. So Republicans get elected again and the cycle begins with Republican power again."
Sound familiar?
If you want to count GDP; how much of the GDP is a result of government spending? How much of my money is King George spending on his wars?
People are strapped today. People are afraid. Most people who I know and who I meet are one major illness away, or one lay-off away, from complete financial ruin.
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class get squeezed towards poverty every single day. This is voodoo-piss-all-over-economics. Trickle down does not work.
Capital that theoretically is supposed to be invested into "creating jobs" is not invested into creating jobs; it is invested in the stock markets (wonder why there is so much $ in the markets! Not cause things are going oh so fucking well - because corporations are screwing workers out of pensions and investing the capital) and it is given to CEOs in exorbitant and ridiculous "retirement" packages.
Do you really think mr jowls, gas mogul needs a retirement package that can feed starving African children for the next twenty years?
I am really happy for anyone who has "doubled their portfolio" - truly. Good for you.
However, I am extremely unhappy that the majority of Americans cannot purchase medicine, heat their homes, provide a good education for their children and are working so many jobs that they have no time to spend with their families. I am unhappy that this administration choses profits over the future of our planet and the future of our children. I am unhappy that every single fucking day - in America, the supposed "Superpower" - that children go to bed hungry.
Posted by Anjha at April 21, 2006 06:55 PMRepublicans can take advantage of the poor, enrich themselves in the process, and remain happy, having no sense of any wrongdoing. They think the less fortunate are stupid and deserve it.
Watch them squirm when the pitchforks come out ala Argentina. Prolonged gas prices could be the last straw.
Posted by TIKI AL at April 21, 2006 07:25 PM"The rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class get squeezed towards poverty every single day. This is voodoo-piss-all-over-economics. Trickle down does not work."
Actually it does/is and always has. The fact that you simply do not understand Capitalism doesn't make your point correct.
Why is it that liberals always want to take money from the rich (who by the way are hard working people except for LIBERAL rich people like John Kerry. Not all of us have had the fortune of marrying rich heirs - twice). Why wouldn't you want to give them the skill to make it on their own?
Of course the obvious answer is that if you did that, then they wouldn't need liberal politician anymore.
Answer me this: how is taxing the rich more going to help someone who is struggling to pay their bills each month? How????? You guys who advocate this, speak up now since you have all the answers!!!
Posted by David at April 21, 2006 08:06 PMListen, dumb ass, if it weren't for the evil Liberals, you would not have the
FDIC or the
SEC - both of which protect your ever important money.
Put that in your...
Posted by Anjha at April 21, 2006 08:32 PMSteve-
Maybe you ought to read the Wall Street Journal instead of this website, and Kos etc. Corporate profits are at record highs. The reason the Fed has been raising interest rates is because they think the economy has been too strong. My investment portfolio went up about 75 grand in two days earlier this week. Don't you think I am more likely to go out and buy a new car this weekend? Stock markets reflect the state of the economy, and consumer spending goes up when the stock market is doing well.
Posted by Stats at April 21, 2006 02:13 PM
*****
Maybe I'll kick your ass and take your money...like back in the day.
Actually, I won't. People who brag about money on websites are without fail lying wannabes. So you're not worth the time.
You're full of shit...kind of like the space between your ears.
Posted by God Of War at April 21, 2006 09:32 PMDavid the Fuck thinks that Paris Hilton and her jet-setting trust fund kid friends are "hard working."
It's hard work for David to come up with his Adam Smith-offending bullshit, and it's too bad he wastes his time in pursuit of such unproductive and misguided hard work when he could be working hard scrubbing my toilet, an occupation more germane to his displayed intellect or lack thereof.
Posted by God Of War at April 21, 2006 09:38 PMHey Judith-
"Oh God, another night with doltish liberals." Have you seen the recent poll results that showed that Republicans are on average much happier than Democrats?
Stats, blind followers are always happier than those who think critically. In otherwords, stupid people are always happier.
Posted by Judith at April 22, 2006 05:31 AMOh, and those who are concerned about this Country and feel a responsibility for those less fortunate, or who do not have tunnel vision, or can see how one action affects the whole, certainly carry more of a burden than those who NEVER stray from their Stepford lives and gated communities.
Posted by Judith at April 22, 2006 05:49 AMYou see, if just one person is suffering then everything is going to hell in a hand basket.
I always forget...one of the major necessities to be a Republican is a complete lack of empathy. David and muck have exhibited that fact quite nicely every time they voice their disdain for anyone who isn't exactly like them.
Posted by ann at April 22, 2006 08:59 AMAnn, you can take the above statement to the bank.
Their kind are the most selfish and intolerant people on this earth. That's why they are happy. They have theirs, so what's the problem?
Here's the different between us and the GOP. I can't stand that a child goes to bed hungry every night anywhere in this world. It hurts my heart to think that happens. Others have no problem with that fact. To them it's their fault, or their parents, or they are meant to die because it is, afterall, survivial of the fittess. I'd be happy too if that was all people meant to me. I cannot describe my distain for people like that. These are the same kind of people who killed 6 million because they were told they were not human.
Posted by Judith at April 22, 2006 11:39 AMMake that 12 million.
Posted by Judith at April 22, 2006 11:40 AMOK, Judith. I guess you won't be happy anytime soon. I suggest that you face reality. Survival of the fittest is the basic state of nature. You can increase taxes all you want, and create more big government programs, but it is not really going to affect the outcome. Unlike you and your fellow travellers, I do not waste any time worrying about the irrationality of life. I pay my $250k plus tax billv each year and figure I have done my share. By the way, how much do you chip in to the government coffers each year? (I suspect you file on Form 1040EZ. Pious hand-wringing doesn't count for much in my book.)_
Posted by Stats at April 22, 2006 05:11 PMStanks, you just made our point, thanks.
Posted by TIKI AL at April 22, 2006 05:23 PM