Terrible Editorials, Opinion Pieces and Letters to the Editor

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Emy: Apr 21, 2009

King Dopplepopolos posted:

That was the Investor's Business Daily. The WSJ is almost as bad, though.

Oh, you're right. I hate it when I misattribute quotes like that.

Has the WSJ had any bad articles of that caliber?

# ? Sep 3, 2012 02:58

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 06:09

Limbo: Oct 4, 2006

Another wonderful letter from the Cumberland Times-News. This guy does not have the best grasp on how hypothetical some things are. Oh and he's pretty much an idiot too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the Editor:
Cumberland Times-News

Extremist left-wingers like to talk about hypotheticals. The earth will melt, the poor starve, or blacks hung from trees.

So today I�d like to write about facts and choices and your birthright as an American.

FDR foisted Social Security onto a people frightened by the Great Depression. Today that program is bankrupt; all that it stands upon are notes obligating the taxpayers to pay for it.

But did anyone ask you if you wanted to participate? Were you given a choice? The Supreme Court, one ten-thousandth percent of the American Republic�s population said no, you don�t have a choice, some freedom and liberty huh?

Prior to that, in 1913 the states foolishly ratified the amendment that created the income tax. It was wholly immoral and once again, do you have a choice about that? The power to tax, the creation of a central bank, did you have a choice about those things?

Authoritarian leftists and their counterparts in the Republican Party like to say: no man is an island, what about the services you enjoy?

Well, because we have no choice, how can anyone answer that? I think that we�d have police, fire and the military because those things existed before income taxes and central banking.

Now we have Obamacare. Were you asked about that? Do you have a choice?

No civilization on earth has ever been in debt as we are now. No one knows what will happen. If you worry about your future and if you will have money or a job or a place to live, I wonder then how many times you wished you could opt out.

America used to be about those choices. Now you can read here the writings of small-minded, hate-filled people, the antithesis of freedom-loving people. Their common theme is that you should have no choice.

Why, if you make money, maybe you should have to have a gold dollar sign stitched onto your clothing. It�s time for choices again. The Martin O�Malleys, and Barack Obamas only have power while you choose to give it to them.

It is time to make choices and exercise your freedom again, time to deal with America�s real enemies and take back your birthright of freedom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

# ? Sep 3, 2012 05:54

Nintendo Kid: Aug 4, 2011; by Smythe

I always find it hilarious when people think there's no more social security money around.

# ? Sep 3, 2012 05:56

Bruce Leroy: Jun 10, 2010

Limbo posted:

Another wonderful letter from the Cumberland Times-News. This guy does not have the best grasp on how hypothetical some things are. Oh and he's pretty much an idiot too.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

To the Editor:
Cumberland Times-News

Extremist left-wingers like to talk about hypotheticals. The earth will melt, the poor starve, or blacks hung from trees.

So today I�d like to write about facts and choices and your birthright as an American.

FDR foisted Social Security onto a people frightened by the Great Depression. Today that program is bankrupt; all that it stands upon are notes obligating the taxpayers to pay for it.

But did anyone ask you if you wanted to participate? Were you given a choice? The Supreme Court, one ten-thousandth percent of the American Republic�s population said no, you don�t have a choice, some freedom and liberty huh?

Prior to that, in 1913 the states foolishly ratified the amendment that created the income tax. It was wholly immoral and once again, do you have a choice about that? The power to tax, the creation of a central bank, did you have a choice about those things?

Authoritarian leftists and their counterparts in the Republican Party like to say: no man is an island, what about the services you enjoy?

Well, because we have no choice, how can anyone answer that? I think that we�d have police, fire and the military because those things existed before income taxes and central banking.

Now we have Obamacare. Were you asked about that? Do you have a choice?

No civilization on earth has ever been in debt as we are now. No one knows what will happen. If you worry about your future and if you will have money or a job or a place to live, I wonder then how many times you wished you could opt out.

America used to be about those choices. Now you can read here the writings of small-minded, hate-filled people, the antithesis of freedom-loving people. Their common theme is that you should have no choice.

Why, if you make money, maybe you should have to have a gold dollar sign stitched onto your clothing. It�s time for choices again. The Martin O�Malleys, and Barack Obamas only have power while you choose to give it to them.

It is time to make choices and exercise your freedom again, time to deal with America�s real enemies and take back your birthright of freedom.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

What the gently caress is this poo poo about not having choices? Just because this guy personally didn't vote for Social Security, the 16th Amendment, the PPACA, etc. doesn't mean that American citizens didn't choose them. The 16th Amendment is an especially egregious example because of how the amendment ratification process actually works. This guy doesn't really seem to understand that the country doesn't work by revoting for or reenacting every law, constitutional amendment, etc. every single year. We'd never get anything done if everything the public already approved of had to be agreed to again every year in perpetuity.

We also don't live in a direct democracy where every bill and act of Congress is voted upon by the citizenry, but that doesn't mean the public didn't choose those laws and acts. They chose these things by virtue of electing and reelecting the people who enacted these things and the people who continually support them by not repealing them.

Honestly, was this guy homeschooled or did he drop out of high school before he had to take any civics classes or what? I think I've seen a similar, though not quite as stupid trope, from other libertarians that basically equate anything they don't like as basically some kind of government tyranny that somehow violated the will of the people even though the people actually loving voted for those things.

# ? Sep 3, 2012 10:19

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Emy posted:

I find it difficult to tell on the Wall Street "Stephen Hawking would have died under the NHS" Journal.

Wall Street "Laffer Curve" Journal.

# ? Sep 3, 2012 15:30

Presto: Nov 22, 2002; Keep calm and Harry on.

I think George Will is finally losing his mind. He just wrote a piece about how progressives are responsible for college football factories.

It seriously reads like a confused old man shouting random sentences on a street corner.

quote:

Society found football, which like war required the subordination of the individual, and which would relieve the supposed monotony of workers enmeshed in mass production.

College football became a national phenomenon because it supposedly served the values of progressivism, in two ways. It exemplified specialization, expertise and scientific management. And it would reconcile the public to the transformation of universities, especially public universities, into something progressivism desired but the public found alien. Replicating industrialism�s division of labor, universities introduced the fragmentation of the old curriculum of moral instruction into increasingly specialized and arcane disciplines. These included the recently founded social sciences � economics, sociology, political science � that were supposed to supply progressive governments with the expertise to manage the complexities of the modern economy and the simplicities of the uninstructed masses.

Football taught the progressive virtue of subordinating the individual to the collectivity. Inevitably, this led to the cult of one individual, the coach. Today, in almost every state, at least one public university football coach is paid more than the governor.

# ? Sep 9, 2012 04:34

RPZip: Feb 6, 2009; WORDS IN THE HEART
CANNOT BE TAKEN

Emy posted:

Oh, you're right. I hate it when I misattribute quotes like that.

Has the WSJ had any bad articles of that caliber?

I can't find the original article for free, so have a few quotes.

quote:

Who are these lucky duckies? They are the beneficiaries of tax policies that have expanded the personal exemption and standard deduction and targeted certain voter groups by introducing a welter of tax credits for things like child care and education. When these escape hatches are figured against income, the result is either a zero liability or a liability that represents a tiny percentage of income.

...

Say a person earns $12,000. After subtracting the personal exemption, the standard deduction and assuming no tax credits, then applying the 10% rate of the lowest bracket, the person ends up paying a little less than 4% of income in taxes. It ain't peanuts, but not enough to get his or her blood boiling with tax rage.

Those poor are so lucky not to have to pay tax*!

* Only applies to Federal Income Tax.

# ? Sep 9, 2012 04:41

Moktaro: Aug 3, 2007; I value call my nuts.

Presto posted:

I think George Will is finally losing his mind. He just wrote a piece about how progressives are responsible for college football factories.

It seriously reads like a confused old man shouting random sentences on a street corner.

George Will is a huge baseball fanboy, not surprised that he'd go off on a competing sport (Yes their actual seasons don't overlap that much, but these days NFLchat is eternal while baseball's fan base is eroding).

# ? Sep 9, 2012 05:20

I AM GRANDO: Aug 20, 2006

George Will posted:

Replicating industrialism�s division of labor, universities introduced the fragmentation of the old curriculum of moral instruction into increasingly specialized and arcane disciplines. These included the recently founded social sciences � economics, sociology, political science � that were supposed to supply progressive governments with the expertise to manage the complexities of the modern economy and the simplicities of the uninstructed masses.

This complaint comes from 100 years ago, when economics, sociology, and political science were actually new and industrialism happened in America. He's regressing into his great-grandfather right before our eyes.

# ? Sep 9, 2012 05:32

Bruce Leroy: Jun 10, 2010

RPZip posted:

I can't find the original article for free, so have a few quotes.

Those poor are so lucky not to have to pay tax*!

* Only applies to Federal Income Tax.

The best part is the last sentence. That person only cares about manipulating the poor and suffering into lowering the tax burden of the wealthy.

"All these exemptions and deductions for stupid poo poo like 'education' and 'child care' are preventing us from convincing people who make $12,000 that they should be outraged that a millionaire has to pay more they do!"

Presto posted:

I think George Will is finally losing his mind. He just wrote a piece about how progressives are responsible for college football factories.

It seriously reads like a confused old man shouting random sentences on a street corner.

Wow, I don't know what's worst, (A) the classic melodrama of goddamned sports fans (Ooh, football is like war and relates to the class struggle of the industrial revolution at the turn of the century you say? Tell me more. Maybe you could do it with more overwrought, hyperbolic analogies and cliched amateur philosophy and political science), (B) the historical revisionism (yep, none of the public wanted the aims of progressivism like social justice, workers' rights, immigrants' rights, women's rights, etc., it was all top-down from a bunch of ivory tower elitists. What's a Triangle Shirtwaist?), (C) the devaluation of something and its supporters simply because you don't enjoy it (I'm not a football fan, but I don't project other things I dislike onto its fans and the sport in general so that they buttress one another to support my raging hate-on against them) or (D) the dismissal of entire disciplines of study (Hmm, I wonder why the "old curriculum of moral instruction" went away when new disciplines like social sciences were developed? It's almost like we decided to focus more on empiricism and scientific study, which would necessitate specialization due to the complexity and ever increasing body of knowledge about the world around us, as it would be impossible for a person to be an expert in everything. Nah, must be a bunch of progressive douchebags and their hippy liberal "education." Let's get back to the way it used to be of educating the gentry to rule over the rabble.).

I'm pretty young, so I haven't been reading George Will for most of his career, but is this what he's always been like or is this part of a steep decline? I mean, this is the intellectual heft of conservatism? What a loving overrated douche.

Jack Gladney posted:

This complaint comes from 100 years ago, when economics, sociology, and political science were actually new and industrialism happened in America. He's regressing into his great-grandfather right before our eyes.

He's just manufacturing imaginary connections between things he hates so that he has a thesis about why all these things he hates both exist and are popular. It's just like how other idiots imagine connections between Obama and other things they hate, e.g. gun control (Obama hasn't really even articulated a position on this topic, let alone done anything concrete about it, like push any legislation to Congress), high gas prices ("it's Obama's fault that my gas is expensive, not geopolitical events and speculation in commodities markets!"), etc.

# ? Sep 9, 2012 07:17

Boxman: Sep 27, 2004; Big fan of

RPZip posted:

I can't find the original article for free, so have a few quotes.

Those poor are so lucky not to have to pay tax*!

* Only applies to Federal Income Tax.

I had no idea the "lucky ducky" cartoons came from something, let alone something written un ironically. Holy god. :psyduck:

EDIT: oh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_duckies

# ? Sep 9, 2012 13:12

Presto: Nov 22, 2002; Keep calm and Harry on.

Bruce Leroy posted:

I'm pretty young, so I haven't been reading George Will for most of his career, but is this what he's always been like or is this part of a steep decline? I mean, this is the intellectual heft of conservatism? What a loving overrated douche.

He's always been more or less like that, but it was usually well-written. Filled to the brim with purple prose but well-written. I think the first sign of the downward slope was a couple years ago when he wrote an article that was essentially "those darn kids wearin' their pants too low".

# ? Sep 9, 2012 17:52

Private Speech: Mar 30, 2011; I HAVE EVEN MORE WORTHLESS BEANIE BABIES IN MY COLLECTION THAN I HAVE WORTHLESS POSTS IN THE BEANIE BABY THREAD YET I STILL HAVE THE TEMERITY TO CRITICIZE OTHERS' COLLECTIONS

IF YOU SEE ME TALKING ABOUT BEANIE BABIES, PLEASE TELL ME TO

EAT. SHIT.

I figured I could post some of our terrible political commentaries (about the US) from eastern ("central") Europe; the way things are we are doubly hosed. For the longest time the conservatives here were the voices of reason, like it or not, and now when they are waking up to their western origins there is really no one to support.

Our choices are either terribly populist (as in, literal free beer for our voters) socialist left or utterly corrupt and increasingly neoliberal center/right. It doesn't help that the main support base of the socialists are old people who yearn for the years of glorious stalinism.

This means that all of our better-than-daily-mail journals are riddled with neocon crap, but at least it provides some daily entertainment. Unfortunately a lot of people tend to really believe in that poo poo.

Anyway, some choice excerpts:

Here is one blaming student debt issues on the fact that federal subsidies and scholarships exist at all, with a heavy dose of FYGM:

Reflex posted:

It starts with a decent general description of the student debt issues, and then
...

The endless circle
The government even created an agency called Sallie Mae. It's similarity to the much maligned bankrupt mortgage-oriented agency Fannie Mae (and Freddie Mac) is not at all coincidental. It's the same idea with very similar results. As noted by ... Antony Davies ... and James R. Harrigan ... the prices between the years 1976 and 2010 ... of education ... grew over 1000 percent. Why? It works the same way as mortgages. The government started to push the loans regardless of economical backgrounds of those applying for them. ... everyone can thus afford such a loan, and everyone wants to go to college. ...

A different part of the editorial

Unfortunately the politicians contribute to the issues significantly out of their desire to do good. The American System, where the prestigious universities were private ones with high tuition, worked exceedingly well, no matter who says what. The amount of people who could afford a college education or were willing to work hard enough for it was limited. Among other things it then thus served as an automatic regulation for the amount of people with a college degree. Of course, the children from wealthy families have an advantage. However those Americans are well known for the years of hard labor they put in. _{I can't stop laughing at this} Those who were willing to sacrifice years of fun _{such as working at mcdonalds} and were able to afford it, _{well their families were, I guess} were in the end rewarded. ... But then the Government intervened and from the 70s onwards _{what about the free education for WWII vets?} subsidized the tuition more and more.

Of course it was a beautiful dream - let more people have access to college education and everyone will benefit. But then again that's about as beautiful as mortgages for lower-income families _{nevermind that they were far from the only ones defaulting}. I mean, shouldn't everyone have their own home? And we all know how that went.

Laffer curve means that you collect largest capital gains tax at near zero rate. Also taxes on the wealthy are definitely what destroyed the middle class. And the crisis was caused by taxes:

Pavel Kohout posted:

The French government is looking to reduce taxes. It seems the cuts will mainly benefit a small group of extremely wealthy. Why?

The reason is simple. The government found out that their "tax hell" is driving investors away. ... Finally after decades they seem to have encountered the effects of the tax rate being too high. (It is a mystery what they teach at Ecole Nationale d'Administration, supposedly prestigious school for future political elite "cadres" _{yes this is a pun on how the socialists are exactly like soviets}. Certainly not economics.) The (former prime minister) proclaimed that no one should pay more than 60% taxes. He thus discovered a new continent. It could be said an America _{nevermind that the US had a 90% tax rate bracket}.

It is notable that the French government is paying attention mainly to the small elite of a couple tens of the most wealthy ... the highly mobile small group. ...

On the other hand the middle and lower upper class is far more vulnerable. An ordinary employee or a small business owner with an above-average income and a mortgage makes for an ideal government hostage. He can't flee easily across the borders; he has much to lose and an emigration would be very painful. ... Some socialist governments have thus long ago realized that it pays off for them to groom the few of the most wealthy and to utterly destroy the upper middle class and entrepreneurs. ...

Sorry that I didn't post the whole thing but the goddamn things are well over a page, hard to translate and condense, and on top of that I have an exam resit to deal with. And we still have free college education, but god knows for how long, considering guys like these are in charge (the second one is an "economic advisor" to the government).

edit: I changed the italics to subscripts, it's far easier to read this way.

Private Speech fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Sep 10, 2012

# ? Sep 10, 2012 02:56

Political Whores: Feb 13, 2012

Goddamn I hate Chicago school economics. All I ask is just one example where lowering the corporate tax-rate increased the government take or the standard of living, anywhere. Just one example of the actual "tax hell" effect they claim exists. It would still be anecdotal, but right now the one major example they have under Reagan had the exact opposite effect. That's not science, that's a goddamn cult belief.

And they managed to sell this idea to the rest of the planet.

# ? Sep 10, 2012 06:19

Pope Guilty: Nov 6, 2006; The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

George Will used to be okay- contemptible, but okay- until the 2003 Iraq invasion, whereupon he started just spewing Republican talking points like every other pundit on Wingnut Welfare. He's been slacking massively ever since.

# ? Sep 10, 2012 09:38

Kieselguhr Kid: May 16, 2010; WHY USE ONE WORD WHEN SIX FUCKING PARAGRAPHS WILL DO?

(If this post doesn't passive-aggressively lash out at one of the women in Auspol please send the police to do a welfare check.)

Does he seriously always write like that? Jesus Christ.

# ? Sep 10, 2012 10:29

Frog Act: Feb 10, 2012

This was pretty terrible. It's not even really full of points that can be rebutted, it's just awful nonsense. The worst part is this was the editorial sidebar of my local newspaper, not just a letter from some syphilitic old republican out in surrey, or something.

quote:

Once again the Rage Boys of the Arab world are letting the planet know just how much they resent having their feelings hurt. But they have no monopoly on histrionics. Before the Democratic National Convention fades too far in the rearview mirror, it's worth looking back to note that even by the debased standards of modern political discourse, this year's event was remarkably mean-spirited and hateful.

So many Democratic officials compared Republicans, either by name or in general, to Nazis (or in one instance, to Hitler's mistress, Eva Braun) that the Romney campaign asked the Obama campaign to intercede and elevate the tone a little. Good luck: One Puerto Rican delegate said of Mitt Romney, "If I see him, I would like to kill him."

But then, the air was full of violent imagery. Rep. John Lewis suggested that a Republican victory in November would bring back the days when civil rights workers were beaten and left "lying in a pool of blood." Sandra Fluke said Romney would "allow pregnant women to die preventable deaths in emergency rooms." A Jewish Democrat from Palm Beach said Christians "are not our friends" and "want us . . . to be slaughtered."

North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue said Republicans would bring back "the days of coat hangers in the bathtub, and you'll see women die." One delegate said asking for ID at a polling place is "like raping somebody." Bill Clinton boasted that he never learned to hate Republicans. He could have found plenty of tutors in Charlotte.

The hatefest extended well beyond the convention hall. Rep. Barney Frank called gay Republicans "Uncle Toms." Teamsters president James Hoffa said Tea Party members are "basically the modern-day John Birch Society." On and on it went � nearly all of it ignored by the establishment media, which was in full cheerleading mode and will be until Election Day.

In "1984," residents of Oceania must participate in a "two-minute hate," a hysterical outburst of fear and loathing directed at enemies of The Party. But the daily ritual lasted only 120 seconds � not three whole days. Orwell, it seems, was an optimist.

# ? Sep 14, 2012 15:58

CrushedB: Jun 2, 2008

http://savannahnow.com/column/2012-09-21/swindle-must-see-movie-voters-2016-obamas-america#.UFyz-q5P_To

quote:

My wife, Angie, and I saw �2016: Obama�s America� recently while in the Denver area. I hope that every citizen will take the time and be open-minded enough to see it, too.

The movie producer is Gerald Molen, the producer of the Academy Award-winning �Schindler�s List.� The author and co-director is Dinesh D�Souza � an intellectual, a distinguished author and journalist, and a conservative. An honest man in every respect.

OH BOY

quote:

President Obama is the antithesis of the America I have known � the America for which I have willingly accepted personal sacrifice, extreme challenges and hardships. I lost many friends doing the same thing.

Obama�s re-election obviously would mean a majority of the voters in this country have chosen to give away the freedom and opportunity for which countless thousands have sacrificed and paid the ultimate price. If he is re-elected, the blood of our demise as a vibrant, exceptional and generous nation will be on our hands, and the ghosts of those who sacrificed so much for us will be stirred.

Those who allow this by their own lethargy and those who vote for Obama will have chosen to steer our country toward darkness, unlike anything anyone living today has ever experienced.

It is time to grow up and vote for the founding principles of our country and to vote with intelligence, not emotion. �Obama�s America� will not be able to do the great things of the past that made us exceptional � the greatest force in history for freedom, economic growth, innovation and generosity. Obama�s vision of America is based on economic and social policies and philosophy that never have worked, but have been tried repeatedly in modern history and failed.

His re-election would be a disaster for us all, especially for our children and grandchildren. His re-election would be an insult, a crime and a tragedy to all of us � and those consequences, and the mentality behind them, have been in the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention, where lies and absurdities prevailed. I hope you took the time to watch.

I think of our granddaughters, triplets, now almost 3 years old. I consider a vote for Obama an extremely abusive act toward those little girls, one that I will not take lightly. We Americans have always passed along a country that is better, more prosperous, more noble and more generous; economically and militarily stronger; a country more moral and rational; and a country more willing to lead and sacrifice for freedom, and the freedom others deserve, than we inherited.

Voting for Obama is a vote to abandon our history, our heritage, our character, our obligations and our future. I am reminded of our Founding Fathers, of the sacrifices of so many which made my America possible, and how such a vote would do great harm to those adorable little granddaughters and my country. My tolerance for Obama supporters will cease.

quote:

I recently received some thoughts from a dear and courageous old friend from our difficult days in Hanoi, who, like me, was watching the Democratic National Convention. I agree with him totally and wanted to share his heartfelt thoughts:

�If those folks really do represent half or more of the electorate, then this certainly is not the America I grew up in � as a poor kid, with an opportunity to better myself, through my own intelligence and hard work. It is a socialist/communist country that will rapidly kill the goose that lays the golden eggs, to soon thereafter become perhaps the largest poverty-stricken, Third World country on the planet!

�If that is my future, then I resent it and I�m offended by it (for all the good that will do ...). Anyone who is eligible to vote and doesn�t do so in November will absolutely deserve the government their inaction secures for us all! For my part, however, having lived in a communist prison for nearly six-and-one-half years, I will resist, in every way possible, with all means at my disposal, until my dying breath!�

To that, I say amen, and God bless you!

...

If you watched the convention speakers, you have seen them denigrating the country I love; the religion I grew up with; the hard work, the traditions and history I treasure; the independence and freedom that have been America; and the honor of those who sacrificed so much for us.

This is a destructive crowd that is seemingly � and maybe emotionally and immaturely � hell-bent on destroying the country I love. I have had it.

Please see the movie �2016.� Share this with friends, family and loved ones. Those among you who disagree with me, take a chance on enlightenment and see the movie. If you have not read Ayn Rand�s �Atlas Shrugged,� you should. Written in 1957, she describes an America where the �takers� (those expecting the producers and government to give them everything, to share the profits of their endeavors) demand more and more and the bureaucrats and politicians comply � and America descends into darkness.

I heard interviews with Democratic delegates Wednesday night of the DNC saying profit should be outlawed. You will be amazed at how accurately �Atlas Shrugged� reflects where we are heading tomorrow if Obama is re-elected. We must defeat Obama, and, I say again, my tolerance for his supporters has ceased to exist, as likely will a few friendships. But, that is OK.

"If you elect Obama, the thousand years of darkness will descend upon my innocent granddaughters, and my tolerance and peace with Obama's PURE EVIL SUPPORTERS will end... just sayin'"

# ? Sep 21, 2012 19:42

musclecoder: Oct 23, 2006; I'm all about meeting girls. I'm all about meeting guys.

More WTF-worthy is his bio at the bottom where he's literally spent his entire career working for the government in one form or another:

quote:

Orson Swindle III is a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and a member of the board of directors of Citizens Against Government Waste. He served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Reagan administration, as Georgia state director of the Farmers Home Administration and as a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission from December 1997 to June 2005. He lives in Alexandria, Va.

But I guess he worked for Reagan so that was the good government.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 19:59

Nenonen: Oct 22, 2009; Mulla on aina kolkyt donaa taskussa

quote:

darkness unlike anything anyone living today has ever experienced

BRING IT ON :black101:

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:09

Boxman: Sep 27, 2004; Big fan of

So, "banning profit" would entail what? Because I could actually see a bill suggesting that 100% of gross income be paid out in some fashion. It probably wouldn't be a net great idea, but it would solve the "corporations literally sitting on more money in history" problem that we have now.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:40

Bruce Leroy: Jun 10, 2010

There should be some kind of law where you can only call something "communist" if you can actually define what communism is.

# ? Sep 22, 2012 06:04

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

Bruce Leroy posted:

There should be some kind of law where you can only call something "communist" if you can actually define what communism is.

If we applied that to every -ism, conservatives would never be allowed to speak.

# ? Sep 22, 2012 06:25

KomradeX: Oct 29, 2011

There's a problem with that?

# ? Sep 22, 2012 06:28

Saint Sputnik: Apr 1, 2007; Tyrannosaurs in P-51 Volkswagens!

Letter from my local Indiana paper.

quote:

I am wondering if this country is bereft of its senses? For more than 30 years Islam has been at war with the USA. The killing of hundreds of our marines in Lebanon should have confirmed that. Killing Jews, Americans and Christians has been their goal. They state it often enough.

Anyone who has been in the Middle East knows that Islam is far more than a religion; it seems to be a cult that glorifies death.

Americans talk about being tolerant of Islam while the ACLU, federal judges and the Supreme Court constantly have Christianity under attack � even criminalizing it.

Instead of presidents that we have now, we had Roosevelt who perceived the Japanese a threat, and instead of calling them alleged threats or �suspects� as we do now, he rounded them up and threw them into concentration camps.

When Russia moved missiles into Cuba, President Kennedy ringed Russia with 400 planes with thousands of atomic bombs aboard and gave Russia an ultimatum � fire one missile at anyone and you�re history.

When Libya began attacking and killing Americans President Reagan sent some bombers to Libya and sent a number to boot hill. That took care of that.

Now our government �monitors situations closely� or �closely observes these things� or is �keeping an eye on things,� but no action. I came back to a great country from the war in Europe. It hasn�t been pleasant watching it become a nation of fools.

Hillary Clinton presenting Egypt with $1 billion while they are attacking our Embassy and burning our flags to me should infuriate every American. Intentions seem to be buying Russian submarines with it to attack Israel or ourselves. After Israel got tired of the Gaza terrorists bringing missiles into their country they destroyed a large part of Gaza; Hillary promptly gave them $300 million of taxpayers money to rebuild.

The 9/11 attackers were here in the mosques and are here now awaiting further orders. Since President Obama disinvited Billy Graham�s son to the White House and instead celebrated Ramadan there, tells me he is too closely affiliated with the Muslims to do anything. New York Muslim groups have openly threatened groups in this country, but no action have ever been taken against them.

200 million Muslims surround Israel which has a population of 6 million. They have attacked Israel and vowed her annihilation five times, but were badly beaten each time.

The Bible clearly states that he who watches over Israel neither slumbers or sleeps and this time Israel will be there permanently after more than 2,000 years absence. The Muslims should question Muhammad�s power to defeat Israel.

# ? Sep 22, 2012 07:57

Orange Devil: Oct 1, 2010; Wullie's reign cannae smother the flames o' equality!

colonelslime posted:

And they managed to sell this idea to the rest of the planet.

They sold it to the wealthy and the powerful the world over, who then paid people to repeat that bullshit over and over in the media and the schools, all for their own benefit.

Easiest. Sell. Ever.

# ? Sep 23, 2012 00:24

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

A little girl went
to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.

She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three
times, even.. The total had to be exactly perfect... No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she
slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with
the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for
the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.
Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat
with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a
quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of
voice.. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he
said without waiting for a reply to his question.

'Well, I want to talk
to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's
really, really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.'

'I beg your pardon?'
said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad
growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how
much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl.
I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little.

'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get
the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.'

The pharmacist's brother was
a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a
miracle does your brother need?'

' I don't know,' Tess replied with her
eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an
operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money..'

'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago .

'One dollar
and eleven cents,' Tess answered barely audible.

'And it's all the money
I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a
coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a
miracle for little brothers.'

He took her money in one hand and with
the other hand he grasped her mitten and said 'Take me to where you live. I want
to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need.'

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it
wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were
happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

'That surgery,' her Mom whispered. 'was a real miracle. I wonder how
much it would have cost?'

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a
miracle cost....one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.

A
miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.

_________

well this is not only creepy but horrific as all gently caress

# ? Sep 23, 2012 01:06

B-Rock452: Jan 6, 2005

Even in fantasy stories for conservatives, healthcare completely bankrupts you...

B-Rock452 fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Sep 23, 2012

# ? Sep 23, 2012 01:25

VideoTapir: Oct 18, 2005; He'll tire eventually.

What a coincidence, that is one one-hundred-thousanth of the cost of a miracle. Come back with 99,999 more handfuls of coins just like that and maybe your brother gets his miracle.

# ? Sep 23, 2012 02:01

Senju Kannon: Apr 9, 2011; by Nyc_Tattoo

Why is the pharmacist also a neurosurgeon? Well I guess if he keeps giving away operations he's gotta do SOMETHING to make money.

# ? Sep 23, 2012 02:54

Bruce Leroy: Jun 10, 2010

Aliquid posted:

A little girl went
to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.

She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three
times, even.. The total had to be exactly perfect... No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she
slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with
the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for
the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment.
Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat
with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a
quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of
voice.. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he
said without waiting for a reply to his question.

'Well, I want to talk
to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's
really, really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.'

'I beg your pardon?'
said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad
growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how
much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl.
I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little.

'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get
the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.'

The pharmacist's brother was
a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a
miracle does your brother need?'

' I don't know,' Tess replied with her
eyes welling up. I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an
operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money..'

'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago .

'One dollar
and eleven cents,' Tess answered barely audible.

'And it's all the money
I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a
coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a
miracle for little brothers.'

He took her money in one hand and with
the other hand he grasped her mitten and said 'Take me to where you live. I want
to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need.'

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon,
specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it
wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were
happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

'That surgery,' her Mom whispered. 'was a real miracle. I wonder how
much it would have cost?'

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a
miracle cost....one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we will need.

A
miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.

_________

well this is not only creepy but horrific as all gently caress

I'm not sure I understand this.

Did the girl's father say it would take a miracle to cure her brother or a miracle to afford the procedure that would cure him?

These are two very different things and it seems like the former is true of the first half of the story and then it switches to the latter for the second half.

The latter explanation is also troubling because this person is not at all troubled or angered that it would take a completely unrealistic series of coincidences for a child to get life saving brain surgery, rather than a robust universal healthcare system.

# ? Sep 23, 2012 07:47

Iceberg-Slim: Oct 7, 2003; no re okay

Also the majority of childhood brain cancers are infratentorial tumors that often lead to significant motor and intellectual defects when resected. Did this lovely gentleman pay for rehab and followup visits?

# ? Sep 23, 2012 20:25

a foolish pianist: May 6, 2007; (bi)cyclic mutation

I assumed, from the references to Chicago, that the email was about Obama taking care of a kid with cancer via Obamacare. Otherwise, it's just a story about a really unlikely coincidence.

# ? Sep 23, 2012 21:04

Bruce Leroy: Jun 10, 2010

a foolish pianist posted:

I assumed, from the references to Chicago, that the email was about Obama taking care of a kid with cancer via Obamacare. Otherwise, it's just a story about a really unlikely coincidence.

But the story clearly says the man from Chicago is Dr. Carlton Armstrong, not Barack Obama. Honestly, it would be better if it was Obama, though it would still be pretty stupid because it would basically be implying that Obama is going to bing medical miracles to every sick American, when the PPACA is pretty tepid as it is.

# ? Sep 24, 2012 01:14

Mr Interweb: Aug 25, 2004

I got one:

quote:

This lack of humility produces headlines and sound bites like this one on Sunday from The Atlantic: �Tax Cuts Don�t Lead to Economic Growth, a New 65-Year Study Finds.� The piece itself, by business editor Derek Thompson, isn�t terrible, and one has to assume that, like most writers, he probably isn�t responsible for his headlines. But the headlines dominate political discourse, which is by its democratic nature shallow.

In fact, correlating tax-rate changes to growth rates is very close to being meaningless. That�s because the relevant comparison isn�t between observed growth rates under various tax regimes but between observed growth rates and the growth rates that we would have observed under different tax regimes. That more meaningful comparison has the academically and journalistically undesirable quality of being unknowable. Social scientists frequently measure the wrong factor because it is measurable, when the right factor is not.

Further, the effects of tax changes probably are not immediate in the vast majority of cases. If our theory is that changes in the tax code change incentives for consumers, workers, investors, and firms, then you have a great number of factors that are going to have effects that become manifest over very different time intervals. If you eliminate the sales tax on computers for one month, then you might expect a spike in month-over-month sales for one month, and that is fairly easy to estimate. If you change capital-gains-tax rates, research-and-development credits, capital-investment-write-off rules, etc., then you have a whole different range of temporal variables, since developing a better artificial hip and building a factory to produce that improved artificial hip are very different enterprises, requiring different time commitments. In an economy as complex as ours, such factors probably are not predictable even in principle.

Which is why even very smart people, such as Atlantic writers, produce maddening paragraphs, such as this one from Mr. Thompson: �Well into the 1950s, the top marginal tax rate was above 90%. Today it�s 35%. But both real GDP and real per capita GDP were growing more than twice as fast in the 1950s as in the 2000s. At the same time, the average tax rate paid by the top tenth of a percent fell from about 50% to 25% in the last 60 years, while their share of income increased from 4.2% in 1945 to 12.3% before the recession.�

All of that is trivially true. The tax code in 2012 is different from the tax code in 1955. Lots of other things are different, too: Japan emerged from the postwar rubble to become a major economic power and then went into gentle decline during the subsequent years, the ruins of Europe were rebuilt, a European monetary union was created and then began coming unglued, Germany was reunited, the Soviet Union was disunited, China began to liberalize its economy, a globalized information economy emerged with India and South Korea winning significant places in it, the Internet became a critical economic reality, the population of the planet more than doubled, worldwide markets were integrated, standardized containerization revolutionized shipping, smallpox was eradicated, life expectancies grew in many parts of the world, U.S. birth rates declined . . . and so on. Telling us that tax rates were X in the 1950s and Y in 2012, while growth was A in the 1950s and B today, tells us something approximating nothing.

It certainly doesn�t tell us �Tax Cuts Don�t Lead to Economic Growth.� Try turning it around: What might the sentence �Tax cuts lead to economic growth� even mean? Maybe: �Tax cuts, independent of all other variables, consistently and predictably lead to economic growth�? I very much doubt that anybody who is not a political speechwriter or talking head would argue such a thing. How about : �In some well-defined circumstances, tax reductions may contribute to higher levels of economic growth than probably would have been observed had higher rates prevailed�? Here we have the opposite problem: Does anybody not believe that? Between the data and the headline falls the Shadow.

http://www.nationalreview.com/exchequer/327805/economic-policy-debate-not-rational-ritual

More at the link.

The author seems to be implying (specifically with that "trivially true" part) that you can't replicate the growth in early decades with those same tax rates because the world is a much different place, yet seems to be insistent that his idiot low taxes all the time policies would always be okay.

# ? Sep 24, 2012 06:12

Zwabu: Aug 7, 2006

Washington Post - Marc Thiessen takes his best shot at selling the 1998 "redistribution" recording of Obama as an equivalency with the infamous Romney "47%" fundraiser. Even leads off with the Obama tape and everything!:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...9258_story.html

# ? Sep 24, 2012 20:17

Malmesbury Monster: Nov 5, 2011

I work at a small town newspaper, and the closer we get to the election, the more crazy loving letters in old lady chicken-scratch start pouring in. Here's a nice sample from today's batch:

quote:

Will It Be Your Way?

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands � yes we are a republic.
Do you want to keep God in America?
Do you want to keep your guns?
Do you want a newborn baby�s first cry to be heard by a welcoming world?
Do you want those wedding bells to be ringing for a he and a she?
Check out Ecclesiastes 10:2, as the Bible instructs, how to vote. Different translations word it differently � all plainly clear.
Check it out, don�t put it off. Nov. 6 is just around the corner.
I�m glad that my mother-in-law didn�t believe in abortion � he�s a veteran.
I�m glad my mother didn�t believe in abortion � I love life.
Ecc. 10:2.
Nov. 6, 2012.
Will It Be Your Way?

Ecclesiastes 10:2, by the way, reads "A wise man's heart inclines him toward the right, but a fool's heart toward the left." I'm pretty sure she got this little pearl of wisdom in an email forward.

quote:

During this election everyone has an opinion so I would like to share mine. We hear from Obama talk about Romney�s record and what he�s done.

It�s the old point the finger at someone else to turn the attention off you tactic.

Well, the people of the U.S.A. are paying attention to the facts. Facts that under Obama�s leadership, Americans are still without jobs, businesses have closed, our space program closed down, Medicare and Social Security in danger of being defunct, his stance on power and how it will affect the people of WV!

His leadership has brought us a debt with China and what underlying secret deals he has with Russia. Good that thing that microphone was on. Talk about secrets!

His election and his life have been secrets. Do we know for sure he is a US citizen? We need a leader who stands for America and what Americans value! That leader needs to be Mr. Romney.

Stand up for your country, your family and your lives as a U.S. citizen and vote for Mr. Romney. We need to help Mr. Romney!

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain. That goes for the White House also so we will not labor in vain.

God has blessed our country and its peoples, but with removal of God from so much we treasure in our lives, how long do you think God�s blessings will continue. Mr. Romney will be a strong leader to take our country in a better direction.

Stand up for God and country and vote for Mr. Romney. It�s time for a change. God bless America.

(name and address redacted)

sorry I'm not very good at writing

At least she knows it, I guess.

# ? Sep 26, 2012 00:06

Bruce Leroy: Jun 10, 2010

Malmesbury Monster posted:

I work at a small town newspaper, and the closer we get to the election, the more crazy loving letters in old lady chicken-scratch start pouring in. Here's a nice sample from today's batch:

Ecclesiastes 10:2, by the way, reads "A wise man's heart inclines him toward the right, but a fool's heart toward the left." I'm pretty sure she got this little pearl of wisdom in an email forward.

I love how people just so blatantly project their biases and beliefs onto the Bible and other holy books. $5 says this person has absolutely no idea where the right-left political ideology assignment comes from. "See, the authors of the Bible knew that in 18th and 19th century France the revolutionaries/pro-republic members of parliament would sit to the parliamentary president's left and the anti-revolutionaries/monarchists would sit to his right!" It poo poo like this which makes me temporarily vacillate away from being an agnostic and towards being a smug atheist.

Malmesbury Monster posted:

At least she knows it, I guess.

I actually feel bad for this person because they obviously have some kind of dementia or maybe some weird combo of anterograde and retrograde amnesia that causes her to think that all these things suddenly happened when/after Obama became president and weren't at least partially in existence before he was even elected. Seriously, does this woman really think that China owned $0 of US debt, that no businesses had closed, that no jobs were lost, that the manned space program wasn't scheduled to end, or that Social Security and Medicare had no problems before January 2009? It's like these retards have absolutely no clue who the gently caress George W. Bush is/was.

# ? Sep 26, 2012 05:10

Pththya-lyi: Nov 8, 2009; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2020

Bruce Leroy posted:

I love how people just so blatantly project their biases and beliefs onto the Bible and other holy books. $5 says this person has absolutely no idea where the right-left political ideology assignment comes from. "See, the authors of the Bible knew that in 18th and 19th century France the revolutionaries/pro-republic members of parliament would sit to the parliamentary president's left and the anti-revolutionaries/monarchists would sit to his right!" It poo poo like this which makes me temporarily vacillate away from being an agnostic and towards being a smug atheist.

Well, presumably God knew that, since he's omniscient and all. :angel:

# ? Sep 26, 2012 05:23

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# ? Apr 28, 2024 06:09

Malmesbury Monster: Nov 5, 2011

Bruce Leroy posted:

I actually feel bad for this person because they obviously have some kind of dementia or maybe some weird combo of anterograde and retrograde amnesia that causes her to think that all these things suddenly happened when/after Obama became president and weren't at least partially in existence before he was even elected. Seriously, does this woman really think that China owned $0 of US debt, that no businesses had closed, that no jobs were lost, that the manned space program wasn't scheduled to end, or that Social Security and Medicare had no problems before January 2009? It's like these retards have absolutely no clue who the gently caress George W. Bush is/was.

This town is really ancient, so it could very well be dementia setting in. On the other hand, I'm continually amazed at how good conservatives are at forgetting that George W. Bush existed or exonerating him when his memory is unfortunately evoked.

And of course we can't discount the fact that W. is white. This is, unfortunately, West Virginia after all.

# ? Sep 26, 2012 07:51

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