New Orleans Sinking Faster Than Thought

[Danny Hogan]

the good people of crapville, AK still feel safer if NYC, LA and other important cities are not getting attacked.

[FLALAX]

More democratic in fighting...this time in California

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/4 ... 6248c.html

[StrykerFSU]

people voting against thier best interest

You wanna talk about voting against your own interests? How about DC re-electing Marion Barry after he went to jail for smoking crack with a prostitute? Or now New Orleans bringing Nagin back?

Sometimes I feel sorry for Democrats. The party of JFK has been hijacked by Howard Dean and Michael Moore leaving people without any clear leadership or goals outside of "Bush is evil". Running on a platform of hate for the opposition does not win election because most voters want hope, not constant talk of what's wrong with America.

[Brent Burns]

More democratic in fighting...this time in California

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/4 ... 6248c.html

You wrote "California" and the link above is about Democrats infighting in New York. That link is the same you already posted in another post in this thread.

[Nick]

Small Government- yes, under him we have lost some rights which I am not happy about, but notice that there is less government.

This is just ridiculous. The government is exponentially larger now than it ever has been.

I find it beyond belief that people in the Midwest and South cite [security] as one of their main reasons for voting for Bush and for why they still support him.

Especially when those regions have disproportionately more men and women in the military.

[Sonny]

Are people so naive that they don't realize that he went to Yale and Harvard, is loaded up the wazoo, provides insane tax cuts for the richest people in the country, and when the cameras are off he hangs out with the some of the richest people in the world? Yeah, what a man of the people. They need to stop buying that cowboy BS and wake the hell up.

Lets take these one by one.... There is so much class envy in this final paragraph, I couldn't resist.

"Loaded up the wazoo"

Is that any different then virtually all higher government officials? Have you looked at the US Senate or the House or Cabinet Officials lately?

"provides insane tax cuts for the richest people in the country"

That should be provides tax cuts to those people that actually pay taxes. The upper half of Americans pay over 96% of all federal income taxes. What is fair about that factoid?

"when the cameras are off he hangs out with the some of the richest people in the world" -

Presidents do that sort of thing. It's part of the political process and it's the same case regardless of which party's president is residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

[Brent Burns]

when the cameras are off he hangs out with the some of the richest people in the world" -

Presidents do that sort of thing. It's part of the political process and it's the same case regardless of which party's president is residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

I agree with that view because days before the photo ops came into being, the politicians, kings, emperors, empresses, queens, et al. would hang around those with money bags. It is not only our President, but also the folks in the Congress are also doing that. Someone brought up a news article mentioning that Sen. Hillary Clinton is working with Rupert Murdoch. To me, I call that a human nature/tendency for anyone needing or wanting to hang out with money bags or with so much power.
It is just old hat.

[laxfan25]

That should be provides tax cuts to those people that actually pay taxes. The upper half of Americans pay over 96% of all federal income taxes. What is fair about that factoid?

What is fair is that the tax system should be based on the income distribution and the ability to pay. For the past 30+ years, the gap between rich and poor has continued to expand. For 1996, the top 40% took in over 70% of the income in the country, and if you expand it to the top 60%, it's over 85% of the income. What these numbers hide though is just how well the very-well off have done.
If you look at national income quintiles from 1980 to 1990;
poorest 20% declined 5.2%
Next 20% - up 0.2%
Next 20% - up 2.7%
Next 20% - up 8.7%
Top 20% - up 32.5%
Now if you slice it even further;
the top 5% - up 50.6%
the top 1% - up 87.1%
So if you feel like your're not really getting ahead while the economy seems to be humming along - where do you fit on the scale?
Another factoid - the top 1% of Americans owns between 40 - 50% of the total wealth in the US, more than the bottom 95% combined. So if we do away with the hated "death tax" on all inheritance, who stands to benefit?
It's not you and I getting a little piece of Grandma's house. Even if they kick in inheritance tax on estates of $5M or more, we all stand to benefit.
So while it seems like we're getting screwed when the top half is paying 96% of taxes - it's the middle and upper middle class that is paying a disproportionate share, and Bush's tax cuts and proposals are heavily weighted towards that top 5% and top 1%, which is his power base.
So while it's easy to call this all unfair class warfare - there is a very real basis for the feeling that the rich are getting richer - and it's by the buckets-full. What's fair about that?

[TexOle]

With all this ranting you would think someone might think to write their Congressman and state their opinion. A lot of these people are up for reelection, and I am sure they would love to hear what you think.

[sohotrightnow]

You took my quote completely out of context. Very Hannity-esque if you ask me. If you look at the statement I was addressing, you will see that I said that I find people in these areas to be naive because they view him as a good ole boy, which is not true. The man was born into money and everything was handed to him on a golden plate, so why can't people in these areas have a modicum of perspective and see that??? Just because he wears a frickin cowboy hat and he has trouble grasping the English language does not make him a common man!

I'll give the Republicans one thing...they have convinced more than 1/2 the country that they are the poor ones, and that the Democrats are the uppity elite. That is pretty ingenious if you ask me.

[Sonny]

What is fair is that the tax system should be based on the income distribution and the ability to pay.

Spoken like a true liberal. Classic.

It's an income tax. Not a wealth tax.

[StrykerFSU]

Why does it have to be that folks are naive for liking the President? Or that by supporting Bush you are showing that you are ignorant or don't understand world events? We all have our own life experiences and expectations that color our decision making and how we see the world. Whatever reasons anyone has for disliking the President and Republicans are theirs alone and those that don't share them are no less entitled to their own opinions.

[TexOle]

I can remember Kerry going turkey hunting just before the election, and someone quickly pointed out that he was trying show outdoors enthusiast that he was one of them. He was for allowing guns. The sad part was that it was pretty close to the truth. None of the actions showed how he would vote on a measure, but it did attempt to make a political statement. Hunting in Orvis clothes shows elite status like nothing else. You think about what Americans needs, and you might get a glimpse of why Bush is liked by many Americans. They want their guns. They want many of the things that they feel Bush can best provide for them.

Also I think we should look at the last few years of presidential elections.

1992: Bush (inc), Clinton, and Perot
Perot takes some votes from Bush which might have cost him the election. If Perot is not involved then Bush might have been reelected which would have changed the political landscape greatly today.

1996: Clinton (inc), Dole, and Perot
The Republican party is rolling, but again Perot takes some votes. I am not sure if Dole has a chance in the election, but Perot continues to make noise on the political landscape.

2000: Bush and Gore
This election was close. The Democrats can't figure out how to use Clinton to their advantage, and the Republicans use Clinton to secure support from the Christian Right. While there were other candidates that did not help Gore, we are beginning to see the downfall of the DFL.

2004: Bush, Kerry, etc...
The whole premise of the campaign was Anyone but Bush, and the lack of a unified candidate and many other factors already discussed led to Bush's victory.

The DFL will continue to finish DFL if they don't figure out how to put up a unified front against the GOP. It would be interesting to see who might run for each party in a few years.

I will also point out that some of my closest friends and mentors are extremely anti GOP. They know my opinions, and while some of them may not like these opinions we do agree to disagree. One of my friends who I always have these disagreements with has started to understand how much trouble the DFL is in until they really unify.

[Chris Larson]

The DFL ...

It's only DFL in Minnesota as far as I know (Oh my God, you might be becoming one of us Eric). The rest of the country says Democrat

[TexOle]

Yah sure ubetcha! Uff Da! I think you might be right Coach Larson, don't ya know! I am becoming a Minn-e-so-tan!

Ok, I am done now.