http://front.moveon.org/the-no-1-reason-were-drowning-in-red-ink/?rc=fb.fan
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 11, 2011, 07:04:04 AM
http://front.moveon.org/the-no-1-reason-were-drowning-in-red-ink/?rc=fb.fan
Ugh RM. Seriously, moveon.org? And another "the rich aren't being taxed enough" piece to boot.
Yes. Face it. There are other opinions.
No matter how much you want everybody to agree with you that all (R) stuff is good and all (D) stuff is bad, the facts don't lie.
President Bush ran this country into debt like no other president before him. Obama hasn't done any better, but you and gaspar want to blame Obama for everything.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 11, 2011, 08:24:32 PM
Yes. Face it. There are other opinions.
No matter how much you want everybody to agree with you that all (R) stuff is good and all (D) stuff is bad, the facts don't lie.
President Bush ran this country into debt like no other president before him. Obama hasn't done any better, but you and gaspar want to blame Obama for everything.
What was it I said during our conversation Michael; "If you get served a turd sandwich, and have to eat it, your breath is gonna stink"? I'm sorry that's so graphic, but someone said that to me regarding the current situation.
How President Bush could take the tasty Club Sandwich of a surplus that Clinton left him and turn in into a '$hitburger' as alot of you TNF (R) posters are so fond of saying, is beyond me.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 11, 2011, 08:24:32 PM
Yes. Face it. There are other opinions.
No matter how much you want everybody to agree with you that all (R) stuff is good and all (D) stuff is bad, the facts don't lie.
President Bush ran this country into debt like no other president before him. Obama hasn't done any better, but you and gaspar want to blame Obama for everything.
I cannot believe you are running your mouth after your Weinergate fiasco. As for blaming Obama, I sure as sh!t have been more congratulatory to him for his efforts than you
ever were with Bush. Same for your brethren. Have I been tough on Obama, absolutely. You and your ilk vs. Bush, far far worse. Heck, you are still arguing after nearly 2.5 years into an Obama presidency that everything wrong in this country is "all Bush's fault" crap in here.
No one said that everything is the fault of Bush.
But some things are partially his fault.
Take that, you and your ilk.
Everyone already knows this is the direction the Obama campaign has to head.
It's all that is left (sort fit the pun).
There is not a single issue left that shows a record of success, so we of course turn to class warfare.
Good luck with that. I still think people would rather have jobs.
It is funny to see how bitter you guys are that Obama is President.
Get over it. You can trash him everyday and he is still President. I bet your heads will explode when he wins re-election.
Quote from: Gaspar on June 12, 2011, 07:02:41 AM
There is not a single issue left that shows a record of success, so we of course turn to class warfare.
Are you off your meds? Where is the Gaspar I vehmenently disagree with but usually is at least connected with reality. It's like I go on vacation and you go nutty.
LOL!
Give me an idea of the platform you expect President Obama to run on (this should be rich).
You're more than welcome to check his website.
Quote from: nathanm on June 12, 2011, 09:25:55 AM
You're more than welcome to check his website.
But I thought most Republicans thought that the internet (which, btw, Al Gore invented LOL) was a series of tubes?
;D
Quote from: nathanm on June 12, 2011, 09:25:55 AM
You're more than welcome to check his website.
Great idea! Just did. No platform, just a call for donation, and MTV like social frenzy.
http://www.barackobama.com/
Check it out, it's awesome. I must say, I've never seen a candidate campaign on cult of personality alone!
Tons of tee shirts and coffee mugs! That's nice.
Quote from: Gaspar on June 12, 2011, 07:02:41 AM
There is not a single issue left that shows a record of success, so we of course turn to class warfare.
I have to say that I find the class warfare argument hilarious, because the data proves that the class war is running exactly counter to your expectations. I know you think the benighted masses will start to vote themselves perk after government perk, while there's more than ample evidence that what's actually happened is that the fabled 1% has been siloing most of our wealth where only they can access it.
Quote from: Gaspar on June 12, 2011, 09:24:07 AM
Give me an idea of the platform you expect President Obama to run on (this should be rich).
How about these?
Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:
Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/04/Afghanistan-and-NATO
Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/pentagon-will-help-families
Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.recovery.gov/About/Pages/The_Act.aspx
Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-small-business-owners
Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America's Veterans:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans
Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201410.html
Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:
http://www.serve.gov
Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:
http://www.business.gov
Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:
http://www.cio.gov
Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:
http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009
Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding
Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/washington/19gates.html
Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908954,00.html
Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/science/18sfstimulus.html
Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_Systems_Acquisition_Reform_Act_of_2009
Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26calif.html
Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/stimulus/2009/01/08/poll-americans-strongly-back-increase-in-infrastructure-spending.html
Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/obama-signs-hou.html
Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/mortgage/2009/05/21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act
Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we'll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ApplianceEfficiencyStandards
Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean's vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:
http://www.earthday.org
Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered
Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-On-Bilateral-Meeting-With-President-Hu-Of-China
Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html
Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:
http://www.facebook.com/NMAAHC
Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered.com/archives/2010/02/pew_finds_credi.html
Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/obamas-council-on-women-and-girls
Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2009/February/20090210163128saikceinawz0.7537805.html
Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Accord
Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm
Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-03-26-body-armor_x.htm
Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/25/world/fg-obama-nuclear25
Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism
Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o
Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp
Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri
Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw
Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/new-car-tax-credit
Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html
Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html
Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009
Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-by-fu_n_253146.html
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. It is up around 50% in 30 months.
http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html
Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care
Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm
Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2009031325/obama-s-budget-supporting-students-not-banks
Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570
Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class
Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-Announces-Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Assistant-to-the-Preside
Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Signing-of-the-Veterans-Health-Care-Budget-Reform-and-Transparency-Act
Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010a.html
Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/how-to-get-extended-cobra-health-coverage-subsidies
Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm
Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report
Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319
Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq
Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1671
Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction.org/media/releases/89-release-president-obama-restores-endangered-species-protections.html
Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html
Increased funding for national parks and forests.
http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2010/02_01_2010_obamas_budget_includes_key_funding_for_land_and_water.php
Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ
Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning
Let's see...Helps families, appoints women, protects the environment, supports small businesses, supports veterans...
Looks like he is moving America forward.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 12, 2011, 11:01:43 AM
How about these?
...snip
Looks like he is moving America forward.
Only if you're not a Republican...
Reinflate the economy. 2 trillion in necessary infrastructure projects are out there in need of action. Print more money. Don't allow the fright wingers to take the country down by stalling out progress with the excuse that debt will be our undoing. Grow the country. Lean forward.
And well, then there's this that apparently is less significant than all the government job/programs in RM's list:
QuoteThe last month has been a horror show for the U.S. economy, with economic data falling off a cliff, according to Mike Riddell, a fund manager at M&G Investments in London.
"It seems that almost every bit of data about the health of the US economy has disappointed expectations recently," said Riddell, in a note sent to CNBC on Wednesday.
"US house prices have fallen by more than 5 percent year on year, pending home sales have collapsed and existing home sales disappointed, the trend of improving jobless claims has arrested, first quarter GDP wasn't revised upwards by the 0.4 percent forecast, durables goods orders shrank, manufacturing surveys from Philadelphia Fed, Richmond Fed and Chicago Fed were all very disappointing."
"And that's just in the last week and a bit," said Riddell.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43239586/Horror_for_US_Economy_as_Data_Falls_off_Cliff
And that list? Wow. Nothing in there about keeping the Bush tax cuts, not closing Gitmo, not stopping rendition, pass stimulus to keep unemployment from passing 8%, and hiring lobbyists and tax cheats to high level positions. And how is that transparency thing working out for you America?
What's worse everyone? Being a devoted and loving lapdog or a critic of someone? Seriously, the love RM and others have for Obama is really creeping me out.
I am not amazed that you are creeped out by people who disagree with you.
And by the way, I don't love Obama. If you could remember back during the election, I supported other democrats and settled for Obama after the primary.
Luckily for the democrats, the republicans ran a ticket that was unelectable. I guess that will probably happen again in 2012.
Quote from: guido911 on June 12, 2011, 04:45:46 PM
What's worse everyone? Being a devoted and loving lapdog or a critic of someone? Seriously, the love is really creeping me out.
Cough, Palin, cough.
Quote from: Townsend on June 12, 2011, 10:45:30 PM
Cough, Palin, cough.
I was restraining myself from making a bib comment...
Quote from: Townsend on June 12, 2011, 10:45:30 PM
Cough, Palin, cough.
Sharia don't like it
Rockin' the cat box
Rock the cat box
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 12, 2011, 11:01:43 AM
How about these?
Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:
Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/04/Afghanistan-and-NATO
Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/pentagon-will-help-families
Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.recovery.gov/About/Pages/The_Act.aspx
Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-small-business-owners
Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America's Veterans:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans
Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201410.html
Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:
http://www.serve.gov
Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:
http://www.business.gov
Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:
http://www.cio.gov
Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:
http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009
Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding
Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/washington/19gates.html
Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908954,00.html
Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/science/18sfstimulus.html
Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_Systems_Acquisition_Reform_Act_of_2009
Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26calif.html
Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/stimulus/2009/01/08/poll-americans-strongly-back-increase-in-infrastructure-spending.html
Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/obama-signs-hou.html
Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/mortgage/2009/05/21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act
Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we'll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ApplianceEfficiencyStandards
Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean's vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:
http://www.earthday.org
Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered
Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-On-Bilateral-Meeting-With-President-Hu-Of-China
Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html
Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:
http://www.facebook.com/NMAAHC
Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered.com/archives/2010/02/pew_finds_credi.html
Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/obamas-council-on-women-and-girls
Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2009/February/20090210163128saikceinawz0.7537805.html
Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Accord
Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm
Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-03-26-body-armor_x.htm
Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/25/world/fg-obama-nuclear25
Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism
Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o
Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp
Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri
Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw
Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/new-car-tax-credit
Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html
Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html
Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009
Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-by-fu_n_253146.html
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. It is up around 50% in 30 months.
http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html
Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care
Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm
Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2009031325/obama-s-budget-supporting-students-not-banks
Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570
Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class
Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-Announces-Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Assistant-to-the-Preside
Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Signing-of-the-Veterans-Health-Care-Budget-Reform-and-Transparency-Act
Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010a.html
Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/how-to-get-extended-cobra-health-coverage-subsidies
Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm
Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report
Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319
Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq
Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1671
Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction.org/media/releases/89-release-president-obama-restores-endangered-species-protections.html
Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html
Increased funding for national parks and forests.
http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2010/02_01_2010_obamas_budget_includes_key_funding_for_land_and_water.php
Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ
Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning
Let's see...Helps families, appoints women, protects the environment, supports small businesses, supports veterans...
Looks like he is moving America forward.
Well that is impressive. With that framework he should be able to construct a platform and list of positions on important issues. I disagree with much of the spin injected into many of these topics, but I find the spin from the right is just as disagreeable.
Most the above relates to issues outside of the current economic concerns of the people I know, but I will concede that the issues for Democrats are very different that the issues that other groups share.
It looks like I was at fault, President Obama does indeed have an agenda that he seems to be pursuing with vigor. Shame that it's not a platform he is willing to share on his campaign website. Makes comparison between candidates very one sided.
Perhaps you should suggest that he compile and recapitulate his position to the people. I fear that Hope & Change will not be enough to motivate the independent who has been out of work for three years and burnt through all of his savings and retirement attempting to support his family.
Your concern for Obama and his campaign is impressive. Let me know where you park your vehicle and I will put a re-elect Obama sticker on your bumper.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 13, 2011, 08:13:28 AM
Your concern for Obama and his campaign is impressive. Let me know where you park your vehicle and I will put a re-elect Obama sticker on your bumper.
Are those available yet? Do they feature any ideas?
I already have this one:
(http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5273/5812730156_486c7614eb.jpg)
He IS trying to create jobs. Apparently his campaign is hiring:
http://www.barackobama.com/jobs
I wonder how much money you have to donate to get one of those jobs?
Quote from: Conan71 on June 13, 2011, 09:17:09 AM
He IS trying to create jobs. Apparently his campaign is hiring:
http://www.barackobama.com/jobs
I wonder how much money you have to donate to get one of those jobs?
We donated $20. Of course, the job on offer didn't pay very well.
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 12, 2011, 02:22:13 PM
Reinflate the economy. 2 trillion in necessary infrastructure projects are out there in need of action. Print more money. Don't allow the fright wingers to take the country down by stalling out progress with the excuse that debt will be our undoing. Grow the country. Lean forward.
That all sounds interesting. . .
CNBC is reporting this morning that the US is now in worse financial shape than Greece.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43378973
(http://thelifeinexile.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/obama-economic-plan1.jpg)
Quote from: Gaspar on June 13, 2011, 10:17:12 AM
That all sounds interesting. . .
CNBC is reporting this morning that the US is now in worse financial shape than Greece.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/43378973
Want some cheeze to go with that baloney....
We live in the nicest house on the block in case you haven't noticed. And the term on the mortgage is out 100 years. But keep that bashing alive and just maybe Mitt will rise to the top.
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 13, 2011, 12:27:03 PM
Want some cheeze to go with that baloney....
We live in the nicest house on the block in case you haven't noticed. And the term on the mortgage is out 100 years. But keep that bashing alive and just maybe Mitt will rise to the top.
A lot of the "nicest houses on the block" also sit vacant due to foreclosure these days. ;)
If only the country were a house we could throw people out. Of course, if it were a house it would be stockpiled with too many weapons, a bad driveway, and no emergency kit among other defects.
But the country is not a house. It's a home with a bunch of fighting over the family budget.
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 13, 2011, 02:55:58 PM
If only the country were a house we could throw people out. Of course, if it were a house it would be stockpiled with too many weapons, a bad driveway, and no emergency kit among other defects.
But the country is not a house. It's a home with a bunch of fighting over the family budget.
You're right.
The kids want a bigger allowance, a bottle of Jack and the keys to the mini-van, and unfortunately, we elected the "cool parent" that lets them party!
Know what's kinda funny? Joking over the lack of shovel ready jobs that Americans spent billions and billions on.
http://nation.foxnews.com/president-obama/2011/06/13/obama-jokes-jobs-council-shovel-ready-was-not-shovel-ready-we-expected
You really need to relax guido. Your obsession with Obama is a little frightening.
Guido,
I found you your candidate:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/06/13/234883/rick-perry-gods-plan/
"I think we're going through those difficult economic times for a purpose, to bring us back to those Biblical principles of you know, you don't spend all the money." Secessionist and (another) Texas Governor Perry.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 13, 2011, 05:35:59 PM
You really need to relax guido. Your obsession with Obama is a little frightening.
But am I creeping you out? lol.
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 13, 2011, 02:55:58 PM
If only the country were a house we could throw people out. Of course, if it were a house it would be stockpiled with too many weapons, a bad driveway, and no emergency kit among other defects.
But the country is not a house. It's a home with a bunch of fighting over the family budget.
Hey, it was your metaphor. I was just running with it.
RM, Hoss, etc;
Gaspar's quote a few posts ago tells you the whole story;
Most the above relates to issues outside of the current economic concerns of the people I know, but I will concede that the issues for Democrats are very different that the issues that other groups share.
He and even more particularly, guido, are so far removed from what has badly affected the majority of Americans, that they cannot relate. guido makes particular noise like the Steve Martin movie line, "I was raised a poor black boy from the ghetto..." and yet, no longer relates to those humble beginnings in any way. Makes one wonder if his hardship when young was actually having to SHARE the BMW to drive to school with a sibling.
That is a good list, RM. There has been much progress in the last 2 1/2 years. And if we had not been on such an "export all the jobs" binge in the last 30 years, it would been much better. The story IS all there in the unemployment numbers. College educated people have enjoyed an unemployment rate in the 3 to 4% range. And that is about 25% of the working population. So even if you take into account "underemployment", that still leaves 75% of the working population getting hammered at a 9% rate or more!!
And those ARE the jobs that NAFTA, CAFTA, "import-illegals-from-South-and-Central America" policy, and "export-the-jobs-to-China" policy has destroyed in this country! The phony concern from the RWRE about the unemployment rate is not just disingenuous, but dishonest and morally bankrupt! As are Palin, Bachmann, Newt, and Santorum.
Has everyone noticed Gaspar's 'endnote'??
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it."
Frederic Bastiat
He is arguing with that note, the side against the class warfare the RWRE has waged against working class people, and the dramatic redistribution of wealth that group of men has created for themselves in the legal system we have today.
And then says the things he says??
Gaspar,...is that you in there??
Quote from: CharlieSheen on June 13, 2011, 07:14:39 AM
Sharia don't like it
Rockin' the cat box
Rock the cat box
I don't think it's time yet.
I see our resident circle jerkers had a meeting recently.
Quote from: guido911 on June 14, 2011, 01:21:44 PM
I see our resident circle jerkers had a meeting recently.
Smoke a little paranoia inducement?
Quote from: Townsend on June 14, 2011, 01:28:31 PM
Smoke a little paranoia inducement?
Nope. Just laughing at how the same 2-3 of you chime in sounding like clones of one another.
Quote from: guido911 on June 14, 2011, 01:34:42 PM
Nope. Just laughing at how the same 2-3 of you chime in sounding like clones of one another.
As opposed to your loon-assed lone gunman routine?
You know how everyone just walks away from you in the middle of a conversation at a cocktail party Guido? You've been lied to. Yes, that is your fault and no, it doesn't happen to everyone else.
Townsend,
Ya gotta remember - guido is the president of his little CJ club.
And he wouldn't smoke some paranoia inducement - that would be wrong - and off-script. More likely the designer booze dujour.
(That way if he did get caught driving, he could get 10 or 12 'passes' rather than jail time.)
Now, if there were some absinthe involved....
Bernanke Tells Republicans: Stop Playing Chicken With the Debt Ceiling
"I fully understand the desire to use the debt limit deadline to force some necessary and difficult fiscal policy adjustments, but the debt limit is the wrong tool for that important job," he said. "Failing to raise the debt ceiling in a timely way would be self-defeating if the objective is to chart a course toward a better fiscal situation for our nation."
He also warns of the dire consequences of not raising the ceiling:
...even a short suspension of payments on principal or interest on the Treasury's debt obligations could cause severe disruptions in financial markets and the payments system, induce ratings downgrades of U.S. government debt, create fundamental doubts about the creditworthiness of the United States, and damage the special role of the dollar and Treasury securities in global markets in the longer term. Interest rates would likely rise, slowing the recovery and, perversely, worsening the deficit problem by increasing required interest payments on the debt for what might well be a protracted period.
His warning is not helping the long end of the Treasury market, though it's not having a big effect. Ten-year note yields are up to 3.10% from 3.09% before the speech. Two-year notes yield 0.44%, up from 0.43% before.
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/06/14/bernanke-tells-republicans-stop-playing-chicken-with-the-debt-ceiling/?mod=yahoo_hs
DUH! Ben, print more money....fuel the economy.
It took 31 years of mostly Republicontin spending to put us where we are. It may well take a like amount of time to get out - IF they start actually doing something about it. Which they still aren't. Well, in 31 more years, I probably won't have to worry about it. Just the grandkids and great grandkids.
They are gonna be SOOOO proud!!
Quote from: RecycleMichael on June 12, 2011, 11:01:43 AM
How about these?
Since coming into office on January 21, 2009, President Barack Obama has:
Renewed dialogue with NATO and other allies and partners on strategic issues:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/04/04/Afghanistan-and-NATO
I wasn't aware we'd quit talking to NATO. Is that the same NATO whose sanctions Saddam Hussein kept flouting that President Bush finally acted upon? The same NATO which stirs up smile and expects the U.S. to go in and play the cop?
Provided funding to families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/pentagon-will-help-families
Signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act:
http://www.recovery.gov/About/Pages/The_Act.aspx
Announced the "Making Home Affordable" home refinancing plan:
http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov
Lauded as a great program at the time, homeowners are saying it's a bust.
Launched a $15 billion plan to boost lending to small businesses:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-to-small-business-owners
Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) with more than $1.4 billion to improve services to America's Veterans:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/veterans
Signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Office of Urban Affairs:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/02/AR2009070201410.html
Established a central portal for Americans to find service opportunities:
http://www.serve.gov
Launched Business.gov – enabling conversation and online collaboration between small business owners, government representatives and industry experts in discussion forums relevant to starting and managing a business:
http://www.business.gov
I do admire his stated goals of making it easier to do business in America. I really must check out this site and see all it has to offer. It's a shame though that he turns a deaf ear when small business tells him what would make the biggest difference in turning the economy around and creating jobs. Update: I checked out this site, it rolls right to SBA.gov which existed long before his time in office.
Appointed the first ever Federal Chief Information Officer to provide management and oversight over federal IT spending:
http://www.cio.gov
How many more bureaucrats were created to serve under this new position?
Signed the Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured:
http://themiddleclass.org/bill/children039s-health-insurance-program-reauthorization-act-2009
Issued an Executive Order repealing the Bush-Era restrictions on embryonic stem cell research:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/09/obama-administration-stem-cell-funding
Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/washington/19gates.html
Provided federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1908954,00.html
Provided new federal funding for science and research labs:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/science/18sfstimulus.html
Signed the Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act to stop fraud and wasteful spending in the defense procurement and contracting system:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_Systems_Acquisition_Reform_Act_of_2009
I'm all for searching out waste and fraud. When do you suppose he will do the same thing for Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, EBT Programs, and other entitlements which are easily scammed?
Empowered states to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26calif.html
Typo? States cannot enact federal standards.
Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/stimulus/2009/01/08/poll-americans-strongly-back-increase-in-infrastructure-spending.html
Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
Awesome! What's he done to increase majority access to capital?
Signed the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act which gives the federal government more tools to investigate and prosecute fraud, from lending to the financial system, and creates a bipartisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to investigate the financial practices that brought us to this point:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/05/obama-signs-hou.html
What have they found out so far?
Signed the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, expanding on the Making Home Affordable Program to help millions of Americans avoid preventable foreclosures, providing $2.2 billion to help combat homelessness, and helping to stabilize the housing market for everybody:
http://www.zillow.com/blog/mortgage/2009/05/21/president-obama-signs-helping-families-save-their-homes-act
Sounded great at the time, again not heavily lauded by actual homeowners. Sort of hard to avoid foreclosure when you can't afford your home under any conditions.
Issued a Presidential Memorandum to the Department of Energy to implement more aggressive efficiency standards for common household appliances, like dishwashers and refrigerators. Through this step, over the next three decades, we'll save twice the amount of energy produced by all the coal-fired power plants in America in any given year:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ApplianceEfficiencyStandards
That's okay, his EPA is about to idle quite a few coal plants which will either be shut down indefinitely or undergo expensive and lengthy re-fits, including the AEP/PSO plant at Oologah. But hey, retrofits create more temporary jobs while the plant workers sit at home and collect unemployment for a few years! Yay!
Unveiled a program on Earth Day 2009 to develop the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents. These regulations will enable, for the first time ever, the nation to tap into our ocean's vast sustainable resources to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner:
http://www.earthday.org
Every president needs his rainbows and unicorns moment
Announced a strategy to address the international nuclear threat:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-By-President-Barack-Obama-In-Prague-As-Delivered
Established a new "U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue":
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Statement-On-Bilateral-Meeting-With-President-Hu-Of-China
That appears to be working out great for the Chinese laborers
Announced new policy steps towards Cuba:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/05/world/americas/05cuba.html
So the SOSOTUS' husband's cigar collection will no longer be considered contraband?
Increased minority access to capital:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/16/increase-minority-access-to-capital
Repeating accomplishments, that's cheating
Funded the design of a new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2015:
http://www.facebook.com/NMAAHC
Cool! When will the Hispanic, Asian, GLBT, Women, Muslim, and Anglo American history museums be completed?
Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act to protect Americans from unfair and deceptive credit card practices:
http://www.newsunfiltered.com/archives/2010/02/pew_finds_credi.html
Banks have already figured out new ways to abuse consumers to make up the difference
Signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Council on Women and Girls to provide a coordinated Federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and
families:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/obamas-council-on-women-and-girls
Men and boys don't face challenges, I guess?
Launched a U.S. financial and banking rescue plan:
http://www.america.gov/st/econ-english/2009/February/20090210163128saikceinawz0.7537805.html
Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Accord
Yeah we don't torture enemy combatants anymore. Cough Wink, wink
Launched U.S. Auto industry rescue plan:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/31/content_11102980.htm
Provided better body armor to our troops:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2004-03-26-body-armor_x.htm
He's a seamstress?
Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection infrastructure/protocols:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/sep/25/world/fg-obama-nuclear25
Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic:
http://jonbowermaster.com/blog/2009/04/obama-calls-for-limits-on-antarctic-tourism
Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, and addressed the U.N. Climate Change Conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ-SMqh7q3o
As I recall he left Copenhagen amidst much ridicule
Supported the first steps of a legally-binding treaty to reduce mercury emissions worldwide:
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/feb2009/2009-02-16-02.asp
Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2009/nov/19/chain-email/chain-e-mail-claims-obama-has-visited-more-countri
You mean took more vacation days? Oh wait those were working vacations. Jet-setted like the global celebrity he is.
Managed several natural disasters successfully, including severe winter ice storms and flooding in several states:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drlsi3Ng4jw
Well done, Brownie!
Provided new car tax credit:
http://www.soundmoneymatters.com/new-car-tax-credit
Provided attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles:
http://www.hybridcars.com/federal-incentives.html
Purchased fuel efficient American-made fleet of vehicles for the federal government:
http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2009/06/gsa-buys-210-million-worth-of-fuel-efficient-vehicles-from-us-carmakers.html
Endorsed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 that would close offshore tax havens:
http://www.financialtaskforce.org/2009/10/27/the-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-of-2009
Nominated Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court. She was confirmed and becomes the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/06/sotomayor-confirmed-by-fu_n_253146.html
70. Helped reverse a downward spiral of the stock market. On January 19, 2009, the last day of President Bush's presidency, the Dow closed at 8,218.22. It is up around 50% in 30 months.
http://stockcharts.com/charts/historical/djia1900.html
Not noted is how he presided over an additional slide of about 1700 points over the next six weeks while he and Secretary "TurboTax Effed Me" Geithner continued to beat down the economy. Makes me wonder if they were shorting the whole time. Much wealth was lost from people's IRA's and 401K's while this administration did absolutely nothing to inspire confidence in the economy.
Provided affordable, high-quality child care to working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/244/provide-affordable-high-quality-child-care
Issued an executive order to create the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/18/news/economy/obama_debt_commission/index.htm
Increased funding for student loans and pell grants for 2010 students:
http://www.ourfuture.org/report/2009031325/obama-s-budget-supporting-students-not-banks
Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals:
http://www.law.com/jsp/law/international/LawArticleIntl.jsp?id=1202433002570
Provided tax credit to workers thus cutting taxes for 95% of America's working families:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2008/sep/18/barack-obama/a-credit-for-workers-cuts-taxes-for-middle-class
Appointed the first Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Vice-President-Joe-Biden-Announces-Kareem-Dale-As-Special-Assistant-to-the-Preside
Signed the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act authorizing advance appropriations for the Department of Veterans Affairs by providing two-fiscal year budget authority thus enabling better medical care for veterans. Endorsed by the American Legion, American Veterans, Blinded Veter...ans Association, Disabled American Veterans, Jewish War Veterans, Military Officers Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Paralyzed Veterans of America and Vietnam Veterans of America:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Signing-of-the-Veterans-Health-Care-Budget-Reform-and-Transparency-Act
Protected 300,000 education jobs, such as teachers, principals, librarians, and counselors through the Recovery Act that would have otherwise been lost:
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010a.html
Extended discounted COBRA health coverage for the nation's unemployed from 9 months to 15 months. Workers laid off between September 1, 2008 and February 28, 2010 qualify:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/how-to-get-extended-cobra-health-coverage-subsidies
Extended unemployment benefits for 2,000,000 unemployed Americans by 20 weeks. At the time the bill was signed 7,000 unemployed Americans were losing their unemployment benefits each day:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/05/news/economy/Extending_unemployment_benefits/index.htm
Eliminated federal funding for abstinence-only education which was significantly increased during the Bush Administration to $176 million annually:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/20/bush-teen-pregnancy-cdc-report
Appointed the most diverse Cabinet in history including more women appointees than any other incoming president:
http://www.diversityinc.com/content/1757/article/6319
Committed to no permanent military bases in Iraq through the Defense Authorization Act. For your reference:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/132/no-permanent-bases-in-iraq
Provided the Department of Veterans Affairs the largest spending increase in 30 years to improve medical facilities and national cemeteries, and to assist states in acquiring or constructing state nursing homes and extended care facilities:
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1671
Strengthened the Endangered Species Act:
http://www.stopextinction.org/media/releases/89-release-president-obama-restores-endangered-species-protections.html
Empowered states that legalized medical marijuana to regulate themselves. Fourteen states have allowed some use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/19/new-medical-marijuana-pol_n_325426.html
Once a doper always a doper. Man up and decriminalize it nationally. The war on drugs is an abysmal failure.
Increased funding for national parks and forests.
http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_releases_folder/2010/02_01_2010_obamas_budget_includes_key_funding_for_land_and_water.php
Allocated special funding to the Labor Department to provide green job training to veterans:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/466/create-a-green-vet-initiative-to-promote-environ
Allocated funding to states and the Department of Homeland Security to save thousands of police or firefighter jobs from being cut during the recession:
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/promise/188/increase-funding-for-local-emergency-planning
Let's see...Helps families, appoints women, protects the environment, supports small businesses, supports veterans...
Looks like he is moving America forward.
Wow! That's a whole lot of fun with America's checkbook! Such benevolent generosity! How could anyone possibly ignore this obvious contribution to the national debt? How much of this was really required as a response to something that was Bush's fault?
I wish I could print my own money. I'd be riding in a chauffeured limo, flying all over the globe in a 747, and giving handouts to whomever I saw fit as well. Man that's a lot of spending and a lot of new bureaucracy he created.
What looks especially bad is in spite of all that government spending (a great percentage of it in programs created his first six months in office), the economy is still creaking along, unemployment is still hovering around 9% with no major change in sight, and people are still losing their homes.
In other words, not much in the way of results to run on, don't you think? It's one thing to set out on a path of well-intentioned actions, quite another to leave a path of more debt and government dependence for someone else to have to mop up down the road.
Inevitable Bush's fault bash coming in 3,2,1....
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 14, 2011, 03:38:55 PM
induce ratings downgrades of U.S. government debt, create fundamental doubts about the creditworthiness of the United States,
That's coming regardless. Again we are faced with cold hard realities. Deal with them now or kick the can a few more blocks down the road? There were obvious problems we put a band aid on in 2001/2002 without really fixing the problem. Look how bad the fall-out was when the smile finally hit the fan in the summer of 2008.
Quote from: Conan71 on June 14, 2011, 04:09:35 PM
That's coming regardless. Again we are faced with cold hard realities. Deal with them now or kick the can a few more blocks down the road? There were obvious problems we put a band aid on in 2001/2002 without really fixing the problem. Look how bad the fall-out was when the smile finally hit the fan in the summer of 2008.
Can you prove "That's coming regardless" statement? Is growing an economy kicking the can a few more blocks down the road? Band aid? The housing debacle? HUH!?
You know it's about ideology, Conan. And your less government is ok except when we need more government to raise the economy and facilitate job creation.
Now print some money, Ben. Ignore Conan, Ayn Rand, Keynes and just get us growing while re-inflating. I think we're seeing a flat tire economy right now and nobody has air and a tire tool they want to grab.
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 14, 2011, 05:02:13 PM
Can you prove "That's coming regardless" statement? Is growing an economy kicking the can a few more blocks down the road? Band aid? The housing debacle? HUH!?
You know it's about ideology, Conan. And your less government is ok except when we need more government to raise the economy and facilitate job creation.
Now print some money, Ben. Ignore Conan, Ayn Rand, Keynes and just get us growing while re-inflating. I think we're seeing a flat tire economy right now and nobody has air and a tire tool they want to grab.
Good analogy.
The tire has a hole in it, and the air supply is limited. It's not a slow leak.
Best to patch the tire, then fill it up. Huh?
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 14, 2011, 05:02:13 PM
Can you prove "That's coming regardless" statement? Is growing an economy kicking the can a few more blocks down the road? Band aid? The housing debacle? HUH!?
You know it's about ideology, Conan. And your less government is ok except when we need more government to raise the economy and facilitate job creation.
Now print some money, Ben. Ignore Conan, Ayn Rand, Keynes and just get us growing while re-inflating. I think we're seeing a flat tire economy right now and nobody has air and a tire tool they want to grab.
So now, basically, the U.S. Government needs a bailout.
Previous attempts don't appear to have offered a long-term solution. The only solutions government has offered with more printed money are either temporary solutions like "shovel-ready" stimulus projects or long term dependence to try and stimulate spending with chump change.
Perhaps your grasp on things like bonds and T-Bills is better than mine. Problem is, as I see it is if you keep borrowing money to pay on the interest on the money you borrowed earlier, it's a sure sign your financial house is in total disarray and not only do you not have the intention of paying it back, but you lack the ability.
To oversimplify, if I called my banker and said I needed to borrow $100K to pay on that $1mm I already owe him, otherwise I'll go into default, he might do it once if I'd hit a bump in the road or had a large client who owed me money and could not pay me yet. If I did it several times and just kept making interest payments because I've been on a cocaine binge for the last two and a half years sooner or later he's going to call in the note rather than to get stuck with a bunch of worthless debt.
That sort of spending problem is an issue even on a macroeconomic level.
Conan, your issue is you keep trying to put the ordinary household budget in direct correlation with annual government handouts and the US deficit with personal indebtedness. This is a fallacy. Get off it.
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 14, 2011, 05:29:58 PM
Conan, your issue is you keep trying to put the ordinary household budget in direct correlation with annual government handouts and the US deficit with personal indebtedness. This is a fallacy. Get off it.
Not so fast. I have a tendency to oversimplify at times, however, when the dollar eventually collapses due to over-printing, our major debt buyers like China will be holding a bag of feces and they know it.
How good an investment does Greek debt look like these days?
It's like suicide. It's a short term solution for long term problems. We've been printing money like crazy for at least the last ten years and it's resulted in a collapsed banking system, collapsed housing market, high unemployment, and more government dependence.
So let's say we print two trillion more and two or three years down the road we are still stuck in the same mode, what then? Say we were wrong and apologize?
Quote from: Townsend on June 14, 2011, 01:28:31 PM
Smoke a little paranoia inducement?
No, him and BB had one of their 'sessions'...
Quote from: guido911 on June 14, 2011, 01:34:42 PM
Nope. Just laughing at how the same 2-3 of you chime in sounding like clones of one another.
Can't be any worse than the amount of self-replying you do to your own posts.
Quote from: Conan71 on June 14, 2011, 05:47:33 PM
So let's say we print two trillion more and two or three years down the road we are still stuck in the same mode, what then? Say we were wrong and apologize?
Question: If the two trillion dropped the unemployment rate significantly and added trillions in value to the overall economy, would it be a worthy investment?
I've thought about your comparisons. What would a bank say if the borrower had an asset base of 80 trillion and indebtedness of ten trillion? Many companies borrow even with negative cash flow because sometimes the lender see's the advantage to making a loan based on future production. The only collateral Greece could offer up is the Parthenon and olive oil....maybe some beaches.
edit to add: and what if there were those in our country willing to sign a personal guarantee for this indebtedness? I'll take some of Lake Meade as a lien.
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 14, 2011, 06:59:24 PM
edit to add: and what if there were those in our country willing to sign a personal guarantee for this indebtedness? I'll take some of Lake Meade as a lien.
I would hold out for a potential money maker like the Creek, Turner, or Will Rogers Turnpike. It would be difficult to say which part of Lake Meade was yours w.r.t. the water. Some shoreline would be another story.
From the Pew Research Center:
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 25 percent of America's nearly 600,000 bridges need significant repairs or are burdened with more traffic than they were designed to carry.
According to the Federal Highway Administration, approximately a third of America's major roadways are in substandard condition - a significant factor in a third of the more than 43,000 traffic fatalities in the United States each year.
The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that traffic jams caused by insufficient infrastructure waste 4 billion hours of commuters' time and nearly 3 billion gallons of gasoline a year.
The Association of State Dam Safety Officials has found that the number of dams in the United States that could fail has grown 134% since 1999 to 3,346, and more than 1,300 of those are considered "high-hazard" - meaning that their collapse would threaten lives.
More than a third of all dam failures or near failures since 1874 have happened in just the last decade.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, aging sewer systems spill an estimated 1.26 trillion gallons of untreated sewage every single year, resulting in an estimated 50.6 billion dollars in cleanup costs.
From the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
A decaying transportation system costs our economy more than $78 billion annually in lost time and fuel.
The United States must invest $225 billion per year over the next 50 years to maintain and adequately enhance our surface transportation systems. Currently, we're spending less than 40% of this amount.
U.S. transit systems earned a D+ rating from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Transit funding is declining even as transit use increases faster than any other mode of transportation - up 21% between 1993 and 2002.
Costs attributed to airline delays - due in large part to congestion and an antiquated air traffic control system - are expected to triple to $30 billion from 2000 to 2015.
By 2020, every major U.S. container port is projected to be handling at least double the volume it was designed to handle.
Throughout the United States, railroads are projected to need nearly $200 billion in investment over the next 20 years to accommodate freight increases.
So, just how far up our donkey do we have to have our heads to figure out we need to a national public works program, and we need it yesterday?
http://www.america2050.org/2008/06/npr-hosts-judith-rodin-and-rob.html
Invest in America. Invest for your children....
Debt-Ceiling Deal's Cuts Could Crash Economy
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011062312/debt-ceiling-deals-cuts-could-crash-economy
bottom line:"The Republicans are demanding that we cut and gut our government and therefore our economy in exchange for keeping the country from defaulting on its debts. The deal they are demanding will do just as much harm as default. Instead we need to invest in We, the People with jobs and infrastructure that enable us to grow our way out of this mess."
Quote from: Teatownclown on June 14, 2011, 11:13:11 PM
Debt-Ceiling Deal's Cuts Could Crash Economy
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2011062312/debt-ceiling-deals-cuts-could-crash-economy
bottom line:"The Republicans are demanding that we cut and gut our government and therefore our economy in exchange for keeping the country from defaulting on its debts. The deal they are demanding will do just as much harm as default. Instead we need to invest in We, the People with jobs and infrastructure that enable us to grow our way out of this mess."
Infrastructure growth and improvement to support a growing population is a worthy use of government resources and tax dollars. Especially considering if there's more of a push when the economy is down, it helps to drive jobs but also helps make sure we have a better infrastructure available to transport goods when commerce ramps back up.
Now, I've got to ask: Why aren't there better programs in place to get more people off unemployment, welfare, and SSD to make those projects a reality? When I drive past our locally-funded projects, I see a lot of people who look like guest workers leaning on shovels and running heavy equipment. Any reason we need "guest workers" for those jobs when there's lots of 'mercans looking for an honest day's work?
We are so far in a hole though, we really need to do a better job of saying we need road and rail projects rather than jerk-off university studies on the mating habits of june bugs and trying to be a nanny for every human need.
Conan,
China really won't worry about the money we owe them. That is a classic example of the "house of cards" economy we live with in today's world. We buy an infinite number of Chinese items. They have a extreme buildup of their economy and infrastructure, with a trillion or two left over that they don't know how to spend fast enough to be of more benefit to their economy than parking it in our treasury notes. We get the money to use.
We buy from them.
They build their country.
They give us the money we paid them back.
Everyone wins.
It's monopoly money that has had very real effects in the real world. Built China's economy. Helped us get cheap stuff. Helped us sustain our bad habits, since we are hopeless addicts that cannot say no to ourselves. It won't matter if they ever get the money back, because the benefit is in that buildup and it is real, and is of much greater value than the dollars in the debt. The money they gave us back is just the capital investment to build a world class economy in 15 years or so. And one hell of a bargain at that! It cost us a lot more to get to the same point and took much longer time.