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Post by Jangles on Feb 10, 2009 19:02:27 GMT -8
I have been selling some CDs on Ebay for very low prices and none of the buyers have been in the US. Tommorow I have to ship CDs to Taiwan, Spain, and Germany. I know if I would have sold these same CDs 1-2 years ago people in the US would have bought them for probably double....
Anyways, it looks like you Democrats and your Obamamessiah got what you wanted. I look forward to the downfall of America - it's been nice living here.
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Post by Joseph Bat on Feb 10, 2009 19:08:15 GMT -8
Anyways, it looks like you Democrats and your Obamamessiah got what you wanted. I look forward to the downfall of America You should be thanking Republicans. Anyway, anyone who expected a miracle cure right as Obama took office are f*cking idiots. Joe
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Post by christopher on Feb 10, 2009 20:12:10 GMT -8
Should we be blaming ourselves for this? We all got greedy, speculative, and extravagant. People wanted homes they couldn't afford, lenders wanted to make available with these crazy sub-prime loans....Everyone was spending more than they were making. I don't think we can reasonable make our current economic troubles entirely partisan.
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Post by Jockolantern on Feb 11, 2009 2:14:23 GMT -8
You should be thanking Republicans. Oh, shut up. I am sick and tired of your tired partisan nonsense, Joe. Not only are both parties to blame for this mess, but so are the irresponsible people who spent far beyond their own means; the most obvious example being taking out a mortgage which is above and beyond what one's own budgets can possibly manage reasonably. The way the man was lifted to a place of almost god-like capabilities during the campaign, I'm not so sure some people didn't expect a miracle cure. One woman who was briefly interviewed at the DNC said she was so glad Obama would be president so she wouldn't have to pay for her gas or mortgage anymore. An idiot? Yes. But, she obviously believed that somehow one man would deliver her from certain fiscal responsibilities, once and for all.
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Post by Jockolantern on Feb 11, 2009 2:15:38 GMT -8
It was Bush who started this ball rolling. While I believe that Obama will get it rolling faster, I don't doubt for half a second that McCain wouldn't have kept it rolling just the same. Screwed all three ways.
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Post by muckle dabuckle on Feb 11, 2009 15:41:43 GMT -8
Everyone needs to look at the text of this bill. It is all BS. Just look at all the pork in it. I think there is $600 million going to pay for more digital converter box coupons. I also believe I read in the bill that there will be a 12% increase in money spent on nutrition education for Puerto Ricans. And pretty much the rest of the bill is $100s of millions spent on increasing the federal government (literally) with new buildings, etc. So D.C. will be the new Rome. Like one senator said it is 93% spending and 7% stimulus.
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cheno
Conductor
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Post by cheno on Feb 11, 2009 15:46:54 GMT -8
What's wrong with increasing nutrition education?
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Post by Brendan Anderson on Feb 11, 2009 16:37:28 GMT -8
Everyone needs to look at the text of this bill. It is all BS. Just look at all the pork in it. Like one senator said it is 93% spending and 7% stimulus. Watching the development of this bill has been like watching a massive train crash in very very slow motion. Lately I've been reading Thomas Paine's Common Sense which was one of the pieces of writing that helped form the foundations of the U.S. Government in the late 1700's. What's most appalling as I read it is how perverted our government structure has become compared to how it was started. Somewhere along the line, Americans quit attending the "School of Hard Knocks" which bred intelligence and ingenuity and have instead decided everything should be easy and handed to them by the government. The result is the disaster we've been witnessing. Spending a trillion dollars is not going to help. Just an FYI. -Brendan
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Post by Hook on Feb 11, 2009 18:56:53 GMT -8
I have been selling some CDs on Ebay for very low prices and none of the buyers have been in the US. Tommorow I have to ship CDs to Taiwan, Spain, and Germany. I know if I would have sold these same CDs 1-2 years ago people in the US would have bought them for probably double.... That reminds me to PM Clark. ;D Right, the "downfall" of America. How about the transformation of America and, therefore, the world? And who's fault is it? Pfft... everyone's. I think Obama (regardless of whether he will or will not do a good job) nailed it as he mentioned one "missed opportunity", which I'd say is one of the reasons why Wall Street "got drunk": Bush and his unbelievably patronizing administration with its "F*** everyone, we know what we're doing, just go out and shop and shut the hell up. Be quiet. Stay put." attitude. Don't you think that creates a false sense of security, specially after such a traumatic event such as 9/11? Doesn't that, in turn, cause everyone to turn a blind eye to some of the very real issues facing America? That really bad or ill-advised people, people with power, would use this climate and take advantage of it? "None could have predicted such a major crisis". Uh, yes they did. I saw the dire predictions with my own eyes 6 years ago. No one listened because they were too busy discussing gay marriage. Bah. One upside to the whole thing is that, at least some, Americans are waking up to the fact that some things about them aren't that special in the world. I'm staying at a hotel right now, and last night I was talking to this guy, a pharmacist in his 60s or so, who came all the way from Virginia to down here to have some dental work done. He shared some of his experiences with me, he lost 40 grand in government bonds (I'm assuming this has to do with 401ks, no?) and how pissed he is by the entire structure of government for lying, deceiving, and taking their money away. Mostly, he was thinking about the poor grandmothers who are now crying because they have no idea how to pay for their health care bills. He also mentioned he was a Vietnam vet, with a tone of disillusionment, not to wow me or anything, and then mentioned (as if by hazily connecting ideas; it was 4 a.m. and we were both barely awake) how much of the world's problems the U.S. has tried taking care for, only to be bitten back in the ass by the hand they fed. He mentioned the hypocrisy of world leaders (in this case, we were talking about Muslim nations and how America practically gave them the knowledge and infrastructure to manage their oil and how, in time, these nations use the threat of cutting the oil supply to meet their own selfish needs (he talked mostly about "those people", but I'll give him some leeway on that one because of his age and experiences; I translate his ideas into "those world leaders who care nothing for their people"). What's worse is he's right. We didn't have much time to talk, but I don't think I had the mental energy or the capacity to say (expletives not deleted) how "Ok, you guys gave them the money, they fucked up. They want to control you with oil. You tell them to go fuck themselves and you use up your own reserves. It now creates instability in the region and war. It becomes a political issue back home where a bunch of tree huggers will rally against drilling, which causes environmentalists, the real sciency guys, to be seen in a bad light, which will delay much needed advances in our knowledge of how much we're damaging our chances to keep living in the world as it is and as it will become; oil will still be seen as the answer, and alternative energy proponents will be cut off from funding. The escalating tensions in the Middle-East won't be tolerated by the West and action is inevitable. If the government screws up again is irrelevant, some sectors of America will see the government as imperialist and others will prefer the isolationist approach. This causes social upheaval and tension. Radio and TV hosts get the spotlight and communicate their version of the facts. This damages public perception and who and why they vote for. Israel will bomb someone and religious groups..." and so on and so on. It's a complicated world. Through this man's eyes I saw disenchantment. He did mention one thing, Jangles. He hopes with "this new president of ours" (his words), things will be better. But he said it with doubt. Not all who voted for Obama, or even those who merely hope he'll change things, see him as a messiah. I like you, but you're in that college/rebellious/cynic phase and that's coloring your perceptions of what you see. These folk are tired and desperate. They do their jobs, take care of their families, and try to keep their lives on the balance, depositing trust in their government all the while, only to be stripped away from it without a moment's notice. Word to the wise: Never trust your government. Those who founded your government knew how easy it is to corrupt, and they gave the real power to you, the people. Always ask questions, hopefully the right questions (not the "How did we get in this mess" kind but the "How do we stop ourselves from getting into more"), probe your leaders for answers, and tell them to fuck themselves if you must, and take matters into your own hands. Real change always comes from the right set of circumstances, willpower, and sheer luck (it's almost always some kind of isolated event that was allowed to happen because no one else was looking). Right now, you just watch, the future of energy is in the hands of the same guy (and those like him) who coded DNA. I'm almost positive of this. What will happen then, with those whose life depend on the sticky, smelly, black goo? I don't even want to know.
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Post by Carlton the Barbarian on Feb 11, 2009 20:27:06 GMT -8
Anyways, it looks like you Democrats and your Obamamessiah got what you wanted. I look forward to the downfall of America - it's been nice living here. The fall has already begun. The question is, "Can a fall be stopped by propping something up underneath it (like a huge spending bill) and so forth?" It is all BS. Just look at all the pork in it. I think there is $600 million going to pay for more digital converter box coupons ... a 12% increase in money spent on nutrition education for Puerto Ricans ... $100s of millions spent on increasing the federal government (literally) with new buildings, etc. ... Like one senator said it is 93% spending and 7% stimulus. Which parts (of the 7%) correspond to "stimulus"? I'd love to know the answer. What's wrong with increasing nutrition education? Education, particularly nutritional education, doesn't stimulate the ecomony. Oh, ummm, did "health" education ever generate income for the government or save the government money... Cheno, think about it. It's wrong. Somewhere along the line, Americans quit attending the "School of Hard Knocks" which bred intelligence and ingenuity and have instead decided everything should be easy and handed to them by the government. The result is the disaster we've been witnessing. Spending a trillion dollars is not going to help. Just an FYI. Spending might not work, but I'd love to get another stimulus (ie. must spend) check. ;D Heck, Nate, you would be watching JW in California... Bush and his unbelievably patronizing administration with its "F*** everyone, we know what we're doing, just go out and shop and shut the hell up. Be quiet. Stay put." attitude. So, the final analysis is that we can shop our way out of a recession, we can't spend our way to job creation? Geez, what is the government for in times like this... Cupid. His arrow has just hit me. I've clicked on the "Obama Grant Funding Stimulus Kit" banner. "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the one's we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." -CG NP: Vaughan Williams: Symphony #1, "A Sea Symphony" PS: Shit, don't eat the peanuts.
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cheno
Conductor
Posts: 1,012
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Post by cheno on Feb 11, 2009 20:59:13 GMT -8
Education, particularly nutritional education, doesn't stimulate the ecomony. Oh, ummm, did "health" education ever generate income for the government or save the government money... Cheno, think about it. It's wrong. A healthier population, which in turn will work more and contribute more to the economy, while helping ease the problems with the health care system is wrong?
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Post by TJ on Feb 12, 2009 15:28:05 GMT -8
How much does PUERTO RICO contribute to the country?
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Post by Hook on Feb 13, 2009 9:33:56 GMT -8
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7874408.stmIf I measured economic recessions by my sexual encounter standards, the world would have collapsed a long time ago. How much does PUERTO RICO contribute to the country? Ricky Martin's album sales created a lot of jobs. Menudo needs some menudo, too. (Ok, just take your time and behold that superb joke. Menudo is the boy band Ricky Martin belonged to, but "menudo" also means money/change in Spanish).
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Post by christopher on Feb 13, 2009 13:40:53 GMT -8
I thought it was just a really gross mexican dish...
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Post by muckle dabuckle on Jun 10, 2009 13:49:35 GMT -8
So how is everyone fairing in this recession? Any new habits? Life changes?
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