mr_genius

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 10, 2009 -> 01:33 PM) He has gone out of his way to talk to GOP members of the House and Senate and get their feedback. What news have you been watching? uh you might want to get news from somewhere besides huffingtonpost.com, dailkos and MSNBC

If I was a pro-baseball player I would have juiced too. I'll admit it. So much of the league was caught up in it, I wouldn't want to be at a disadvantage because I refused to use PEDs.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 03:49 PM) Where did you get that big paint brush of yours? federal stimulus money. cost about 8 trillion. well worth the money.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 03:47 PM) I'd be in favor of what Feingold is proposing. I thought this was a Democracy. You guys were all against a special election. Until a Democrat proposes it. Hilarious. continue.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 9, 2009 -> 12:52 PM) Geithner flying coach. lol OMG OMG!

QUOTE (Texsox @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 02:06 PM) I've lost track, how much have we already committed and how much more is being proposed? only 9 trillion http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=was...id=aGq2B3XeGKok

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Feb 7, 2009 -> 10:56 PM) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123360930255440715.html Very good article on lessons that can be culled from the Japanese "lost decade" and the spending stimulus plan they erected. Totally agree with the concerns about some of the recent cuts (by the Senate) having the most detrimental affect on the bill. I ALMOST wish they would just start over from scratch and dare the Republicans to come up with their bill that's not totally based on tax breaks. Tinkering around with the AMT....none of these things will get the economy going/consuming again, because the last tax refund ended up being applied to credit card debt, car loans, mortgages, home loans. It's GOOD, of course, that we (as individuals and as a country) start paying down our debts, but the stimulative effect of that is very minimal at best. How many Americans are going to rush out and invest in their businesses or buy stocks (how can you trust any segment of the economy right now?) Not very many...of course, the super-smart and richest always use these situations to their advantage, whether it's buying up foundering real estate for the future or running their competitors out of business, but the average/middle-class families are just hanging in there and fighting to get through the winter's heating bills and paying off Christmas purchases. But to summarize the WSJ article: 1) Don't build roads and bridges that are unnecessary, just to put people back to work...because there will be no long-term benefits 2) Do invest in education and health care, buildings, weatherizing/energy efficiency, "green jobs," technology, innovation, R&D, math and science In other words, invest in human capital... Unfortunately, the stimulus bills the Democrats will push through will be just as bad, if not worse than Japan's. Debt also really made things worse for Japan. We are going down the same path, except possibly worse.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Feb 6, 2009 -> 06:47 PM) btw- I dont like you because you make me mad with bad posts. Seriously, never reply to me ever again. Asking politely. This post disappoints me, DukeNukeEm. Just when you were getting your elitist posting style down (and I mean that as a compliment) you take 3 steps backward with "Your posts make me mad". For shame.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 6, 2009 -> 07:43 AM) Gawd I hope the Fullerton/Damen/Elston intersection is near the top of that list. oh man that intersection is so messed up.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_...oject-list.html Of course not. Imagine what's in this 'stimulus' spending. I can hardly wait to read the posts about how any spending is good spending; it's going to be great.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 03:17 PM) Senator DeMint's website I love this. You guys spend a week going crazy about the CBO report that says that only 79% of the stimulus will be out the door by 2011. Such ineffective stimulus...it won't be nearly fast enough! Senator Demint proposes huge tax breaks that won't hit until 2011 and after. You guys cheer. start the tax cuts right now. why wait?

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 03:00 PM) I think that it's probably impossible to better illustrate how far off beyond Pesky's pole the Republicans are on this matter than a vote last night did. Senator DeMint introduced a bill that would remove every bit of spending from the Obama plan and replace it with a series of permanent (not temporary) tax cuts, including several things that wouldn't hit for years (i.e. until the Bush tax plans start expiring - 2011 and beyond) This got the support of 36/40 Senate Republicans. Essentially, 90% of the Republican caucus in the Senate is opposed to the concept of a stimulus package. I like the things listed there. The GOP should vote for that (unless there is trillions in BS spending on top of those tax cuts). But I need a reliable source on this, TPM is basically a joke.

These banks are not free market entities. I am totally in favor of this move. Hopefully it will discourage other 'private' business entities from going to the bailout welfare program. Good job Obama.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 5, 2009 -> 02:39 PM) So, when does this go beyond just how bad the Obama vetting is (which it has been), and start worrying people that maybe there is just a large percentage of people out there who are avoiding taxes? This is not normal for appointments or people in general from what I can tell. Obama just didn't vet anyone, and think back to all the ramblings about how McCain didn't vet Palin (teehee). Wealthy Democrats love to raises everyone elses taxes, but they feel they are the 'enlightened elite' therefore the rules do not apply to them.

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2009/2/ibm-to-...ve-to-india-ibm haha wow. first time i've heard this one.

oh nancy pelosi, it's 600 million jobs a month. she's just trying to avoid fear mongering.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 3, 2009 -> 03:14 PM) Perhaps they want the economy to fail now so that they could stay relevant. Thats like sayign the Democrats were hoping for terrorists attacks in the United States during the Bush term so they can stay relevant.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 3, 2009 -> 02:56 PM) I hope they consider Howard Dean to replace Daschle. He seems to have gotten the shaft in all of this. Maybe he hasn't paid his taxes either. lol

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 3, 2009 -> 01:06 PM) What exactly do you think stimulus is? It's money that is temporarily used by the federal government to juice the economy. You may not like a particular program, but saying "stay with the bill's intent" is just incoherent when the intent of the bill is to spend as much money as effectively as possible to make sure the downturn doesn't continue to spiral. No it really isn't. This argument that merely spending money will fix the economy is not something I am buying into. Wasting trillions of dollars does not 'stimulate' the economy. It's cancerous and will end up destroying the economy. I mean, really, it's gotten to absurd levels. You are basically setting the precedent that all spending, no matter what it is on, will no be considered economic stimulus.

QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Feb 3, 2009 -> 12:59 PM) It's a Senator's job to get pork for their state. That's the whole point of representative democracy. It is why our system is the way it is. Then put some of this stuff in a seperate bill. Have a 'global warming initiative bill' and such for the other stuff. I am against these big bills with everything under the sun stacked into it; stay with the bills intent.

Vote 'no'. But I would have voted against the bank bailout bill too. The bill is too pork ridden to be fixed IMO. I would, however, vote against a filibuster and if the economy doesn't turn around I would attack the Democrats with their votes for this bill. Then I would hire Joe the Plumber to answer the phones at my office. "Senator Genius' office. This is Joe the Plumber. Can I help you?"

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Feb 3, 2009 -> 12:35 PM) That is something which is kinda BS too. She quit over a 900 dollar tax lien which was corrected five months after the lien happened. Not saying that the lien should have ever happened, but five months was probably the time it took for notification of the lien. I understand Daschle getting blown out for his hundred thousand dollar plus tax cheat, Geithner too. But the CPO nominee looks like a real tax mistake, not anything else. There's just too many Dems getting busted for not paying taxes, makes Obama look bad; especially when the Democrats were pushing a 'Paying taxes is patriotic' marketing slogan.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 2, 2009 -> 08:44 PM) Judd Gregg, R-NH is now the official nominee for the Commerce department job. This is happening despite the fact that the Democratic governor of NH has promised to place a Republican in that chair, rather than a Democrat. Gregg will be the 3rd Republican in Obama's cabinet, the most members of the opposing party in any President's cabinet since FDR. In response to yet another act of Bipartisanship, the Republicans found a way to change a few of their votes on other bills so that they could say they'd given a negative number of votes to the stimulus package. Good. Republicans better not vote for this bill. I've been hearing rumblings that even some Senate Democrata are going to vote 'no' if the bill doesn't get a big overhaul.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Feb 3, 2009 -> 08:36 AM) You'd think after a terrible election cycle in 2006 and 2008 the GOP would do something to rebrand its image. This isn't what I was expecting. marketing move. 'everyday American gets his voice heard!'