mr_genius

Konerko is known to be a streaky player. plus he's getting old.

Carl Rove suggests he may end up murdering Todd Akin http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/31/t..._n_1847318.html

QUOTE (2nd_city_saint787 @ Sep 3, 2012 -> 04:44 PM) Cubs fans have learned to accept failure, and just come out for the novelty of it...pretty simple Wrigley is a big tourist attraction too. A lot people there probably aren't even baseball fans, let a lone care if the Cubs win.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 3, 2012 -> 03:57 PM) No worse than a town depending on any industry. Heck, probably a lot more reliable than some. The industry probably can't just dig into the middle class workers pay check, so it might be more vulnerable. unless it's an Obama sponsored Wall Street Finance industry that donated hundreds of millions in bribes. They need those billion dollar bonus checks to save the town! but i also suppose anything that has to do with the State of Illinois paying you isn't looking good either.

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 3, 2012 -> 03:42 PM) My hometown had that kind of funny realization that they absolutely depended on gov't spending. bad situation

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Sep 3, 2012 -> 03:09 PM) Don't forget of course that most of police, fire, and education is paid for at the state and local level, so balancing the federal budget doesn't do much for keeping them employed. It does a little because the feds pay for a little, but that isn't where the real money is for those jobs. We've seen state and local payrolls shrink by nearly 750,000 workers since their peak in 2008. This is what you get if you try to balance budgets and cut taxes. This is what we're supposed to want. state spending is completely out of control in some states. like Illinois. you really can't even raise taxes enough to fix it. too many state workers at salaries and benefits that are way too high; too much corruption and other wasteful spending as well.

The options aren't totally limited, but health care and defense are real expensive. Anyways, here is a NY Times interactive thingy from a couple years ago that is fun. You can balance the budget! There's other spending cuts you could make that are left off that particular application. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11...ts-graphic.html

QUOTE (Markbilliards @ Sep 3, 2012 -> 02:22 PM) Tony Clifton ^^^

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 04:28 PM) and if the top 1% were paying their fair share in taxes, this wouldn't be the case. Then why don't Illinois Democrats simply raise the taxes on the 1%, they control the state. That would fix everything.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 02:39 PM) Are upper class not having to pay those taxes? Because I thought sales tax, property tax and income tax would apply to them as well. Or are you proposing that taxes should only be raised on the upper class? Im kind of confused as to where this is going. Reddy thinks Democrats don't raise taxes on middle class workers. I'm merely supplying some valuable examples for him to learn from.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 01:39 PM) ..... this is baffling. we've EXPANDED tax breaks for middle and lower classes while attempting to tax the upper class MORE. you have it COMPLETELY backwards. god how do you people look in the mirror and not hate yourselves? you're just clueless. Illinois /Chicago: increased sales tax on middle class and lower class increase in state income tax on middle and lower class constant increase in property tax on middle and lower class ... and there's a lot more tax increases they have been subjected to and the state/city is still totally busted financially.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 01:18 PM) (here's the secret: the Democrats are the party that fights for the middle and lower classes!) The Democrats take from the middle and lower class to give to political cronies. Like a reverse Robin Hood, steal from the poor to give to the entitled.

:cheers

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 11:04 AM) it's baffling how selfish some people can be we are defending the hard working middle class whom is squeezed to the extreme right now and cannot afford to pay more taxes for massive pay increases for teachers. most of these teachers make much more money and have better benefits than the working poor you wish to douse with big tax hikes.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 12:00 PM) But strictly to protect the good closers from getting unduly demoted. yes of course

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 10:50 AM) Maybe we should give pro athletes tenure to balance things out.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 2, 2012 -> 08:45 AM) so a typical modern Republican? I doubt it. You guys are trying to scrap everything he created with the New Deal. The neo-con wing of the GOP is far to the left of FDR. They aren't trying to scrap any big government. They don't even want to ban public sector unions, they just want to slightly cut down on the outrageous costs of them.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 10:05 PM) you realize Dwight Eisenhower's positions were more in line with today's democrats than todays republicans, right? or are you just making things up? you know that Franklin D. Roosevelt would be considered a radical right hate monger in today's loony Dem party right? Public sector unions? compare eras much?

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 06:52 PM) the party used to stand for. something you know nothing about.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 06:52 PM) and by neo-con liberal Republican you mean actual Republican right? instead of today's GOP which is the bastardization of everything the party used to stand for. no my friend, the Romney wing is a democrat spin-off. you guys might get a free ride this election. you are basically running against a corporate Democrat with a s*** load of money for ads. Dem vs Dem 2012.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 05:21 PM) your sentence made no sense. it's not his fault. lies

QUOTE (MexSoxFan#1 @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 05:08 PM) You can also call Romney a corpse after the elections. the final nail in the neo-con liberal Republican establishment coffin? not really a bad thing in my opinion.

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 05:18 PM) So...don't pay the teachers! do i get my property taxes back?

QUOTE (Jake @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 04:10 PM) So in that case, is it safe to say that Republicans are what's wrong with the USA? Can't choose good politicians to lead us? The problem is we have a flip flopping liberal GOP establishment candidate on the top of the ticket.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Sep 1, 2012 -> 04:10 PM) I'm sure we've all known our share of jocks who embellish their athletic accomplishments (e.g., how much they can "bench", etc.) to "one-up" everyone else and make themselves sound that much better than you. Personally, I've aways hated those kind of douchebags. It looks like Paul Ryan is one of them. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archiv...on-time/261866/ What is it with these VP picks? Take that Atlantic joke journalism to the Dem thread.