The Obama Presidency

[dave is ok]

Good article on the growing gap between haves and have-nots.

http://www.slate.com/id/2266025/entry/2266026/

[Brisco Bold]

fuck that, i want the southern states. tired of all this snow.

I can't remember: Are you in Hamilton or Thunder Bay?

[Doc Holliday]

Yellow Knife.

[Drewbacca]

Fuck the republican party right now. They are blocking social progress. They are holding back don't ask don't tell and gay marriage.

So are the Dems. WHY? They are supposed to be funneling that agenda through.

2010: Return of fear, bigotry, and ignorance. I'm disappointed in my country today.

It never went away. Democrats played on it with 2008 (skillfully), too. Most (all) campaigns do have an under current of it.
I would blame a lot of the issues facing America on Bush. But there is a lot of Bush back blaming going on (some of it right) for Obama's reaction to it. People saying the bailouts worked and are all payed back don't seem to realize the federal government gave no oversight to exactly how much money went out (since it's all paper) and to whom it went. The bank money is only a piece of the puzzle.

America is so fucked right now. Ron Paul 2012 lol

[Melf]

I keep hearing about how bad Obama's health care program is. What was the Republican alternative? Was it better?

[Finch]

It was a thousand times better. It involved bringing this nation back to the Americans and telling them "We're not going to take it anymore!", greatest, wealthiest country on Earth, turn this ship around, socialism, Christian (and Jewish!) values, responsibility, the American people.

[Drewbacca]

Yes, how dare he go across the table and ask Republicans for some help crafting the health care bill. How DARE he ask other lawmakers to weigh in on such a monumental bill. And when Republicans baulked at what the bill was trying to accomplish, they planned, along with insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the biggest smear and fear-mongering campaign I have ever even read about. They spread out so many falsehoods Democrats in office felt threatened if they did nothing even though their claims held no water whatsoever.

Again, what became of the Republican party after Reagan is amazing. It became an avatar for big business and corporations. They fight for their rights even though they should have none. They're not real people they're just businesses. And the truly magnificent accomplishment they've achieved is the brainwashing of people who aren't even in the same league as those they're trying to help. It's ASTOUNDING to see people making less than $250k wanting to help the rich get richer. After all, it's in the 80s when the gap between rich and poor got exponentially bigger. And you guys keep bending over to take it up the ass and ask for more. I just honestly don't get it and this one thought has made me contemplate jumping out of my high-rise office window.

I agree with government fiscal tightening but social progress won't be made if we keep bombing other countries without focusing on our own society.

You're right, but the problem with this argument is its just further galvanizing the base to one colour over the other. You're letting Obama off the hook for expanding Afghanistan with the Iraqi drawback. You're still invading and doing all of that on Obama's watch - something that can't be blamed on Bush.

Obama's response to the oil crisis wasn't too bad when it came to blocking the hole itself, but calling a moratorium on oil drilling in the gulf EXCEPT for BP rigs was a bad call - monopolizing the gulf oil industry to one company (who was responsible for the biggest environmental disaster in history). His refusal to actually follow through with the order he signed in January 2009 to shut down GITMO goes to show you what the man, thus far (he has 2 years left to get it right, maybe 6) has been - grand standing. Is he all about reading the proper lines and saying the right things than actually taking real action?

Is him keeping the patriot act alive (so forcefully as to go to court for the issue), or signing orders to shut down the internet in case of a terrorist attack, using the power grid as an example. People are ignorant - why would the power grid be connected to the internet in the first place? There is NO REASON for that bill to pass, except for the fear in the campaign for it (Lieberman is a piece of shit).

If the healthcare bill was so swell he shouldn't have gotten Republicans to the table to fuck it up. He had control. Yoshi is right. The Republicans had control and pushed through their bullshit nonsense just like any party in that situation would. If the Democrats had a problem with Obama then the Democratic party is to blame. Once the bill is passed amendments can always be made to better accommodate Republican ideals (if Obama truly cares).

Cry wolf tactics are the bane of politics. But overwhelmingly Democratic in voice since the start of the Bush era. Maybe Libertarians these days (who are always usurped by the neo-cons anyway).

I keep hearing about how bad Obama's health care program is. What was the Republican alternative? Was it better?

Better is a subjective bullet point. If everything is the same between both systems EXCEPT now you're paying money for it then absolutely yes, it is. Because at least you USED to have the freedom to do what you pleased with your money. It has also come out the companies have no real reason to deny you coverage because the slap on the wrist is so insignificant. It's still cheaper to deny you service than not.

Basically if you're not going to fix the issue (Transparent Not-For-Profit organizations could easily do it - they are not working for money, but rather the people who they service) don't shackle the country with an increase in tax. A tax that apparently isn't solving anything (plus with the way your country spends all of its social security I wouldn't trust them to hold on to that money for the proper reasons, anyway).

[Anthony]

I really liked Dave is ok's skin in the game argument. Really it is the young who have to live with all of these things that are going into law more than anyone.

[Drewbacca]

I think Yoshi's issue is if the young care they would work their way quickly to owning a house or paying taxes (getting employment). This way they could vote AND would be contributing to the well being of their country.

[Frogacuda]

The Democrats had the Presidency and both houses of Congress, so none of this holds any water whatsoever.

See, unlike the Republicans, the Democrats are a political party and not a mafia, and they don't actually vote entirely one way based on partisan lines. This is not good enough to get anything done with a bunch of screaming babies intent on blocking everything independent of content or concience.

NOTHING got done for 2 years. Essentially, the republicans got us into a clusterfuck, and then successfully stopped the democrats from getting anything of substance done for 2 years and now they want another fucking turn. Fuck off.