Texsox

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 12:43 PM) No Newt Gingrich or Tip O'Neill? Newt was the only one I could remember, mostly because I place him in my top 5 most intelligent elected officials of my lifetime. I forgot about the Tip'ster

At this point I do not believe Obama has an option other than allowing the military to dictate the strategy. IMHO he risks too much by making changes until he has his feet underneath him. Plus it will build trust as a non-military guy takes over as Commander-in-Chief.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 10:37 AM) She has to be the stupidest Speaker of the House we have ever had. I couldn't even name two other speakers, so I guess at least she's been memorable and quote worthy.

QUOTE (mreye @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 12:03 PM) Yeah, I get that, but I still don't like it. It's like the people of my church voting down an usher and then we introduce him as our new Deacon. (No, we don't vote for ushers. Just saying) It should make someone pause. But I think the skill sets are sufficiently different. My Deacon would suck at running our basketball league. I wouldn't want the guy that runs our men's basketball league, leading the choir, and the choir director would be the last person to run a youth program (he's old and ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz) and our choir director would never win an election.

The Killer Bees, my local team, then auctions them off for charity.

Since moving to a minor market, I've grown to love minor league promotions. That one is so sweet.

I see him popping up around the All-Star break to make a run with somebody.

QUOTE (mreye @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 11:52 AM) Just to throw this in the mix as well: I disagree with the pick of Daschle on different grounds...if the people of South Dakota didn't want him to represent them anymore, why should he be elevated to a position of leadership for the entire United States? Two different jobs, two different skill sets. I can see that. Many great CEOs of corporations would be terrible on the campaign trail and never be elected, that doesn't mean they would not be excellent picks to run a large bureaucracy. Gates comes to mind. So not getting elected doesn't concern me too much.

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 11:36 AM) How do you rack up $120k in taxes on a driver and car in 3 years, anyway? Basically certain perks are considered taxable income. For example, if your company has a "crash pad" in Mexico for employees to use when it is more convenient than crossing back into the US and returning, your nights living there could be considered income because they are providing housing. And while they are scrutinizing this, they may see flights from Texas to South Carolina with a long layover in Chicago without any natural business dealings in Chicago. A portion of your plane ticket could be considered income.

QUOTE (mreye @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 11:42 AM) OK. I hear ya. I thought you meant the "official" process. For the most part, I'm with you, I believe. I don't sit hear and believe that Obama knew that Daschle didn't pay his taxes and decided to nominate him anyway. My main problem, and this is a problem I have with both sides, is that he still defended the pick once the tax "evasion" was made public. And continued to defend until Daschle pulled himself out. That is a fair question and I really dislike the ethical quandary that puts the country in. On one hand, we want the best results with every pick. On the other hand, we want perfection, or pretty damn close to it, before we confirm somebody. When we start tossing stuff like this on a scale, it begins to stink. But getting back to the original comment by Biden. I disagree. Just paying taxes does not make you patriotic. There is so much more.

Dear bailed out companies: So we taxpayers gave you money and now you want we the taxpayers to butt out. I have a problem with that. If you want my money, it is coming with some strings. I did not give you money for a new jet or to throw a party. So if you are now pissed that I want some control, too bad. I'm going to be p;aying for your mistakes for many, many, years. Yours truly, Tex

QUOTE (mreye @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 11:31 AM) I get your point, Tex. But, did the process find this out or was it some blogger or the like? (It's a legit question, I don't really know) And I would consider the public as part of the process. The names are released and all of a sudden many, many, people get involved. I always like the public getting involved. Bottom line for me, and ymmv, I'm done expecting any vetting process to be 100% fool proof. No administration has managed it for a very long time. To me it becomes silly partisan b.s. which flips each time the party changes. And in the back of my mind, I knew this would happen, and when I was saying the same thing for Dubya, I knew the day would come when I could come to a Dems defense as well and it is going to happen for the next Rep President. So, I ask my fellow American GOPs, why not be consistent today and say, at least it was caught before the nominee was confirmed. Because y'all know this will never end.

QUOTE (DBAHO @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 11:25 AM) How many Americans on average per year as a % would cheat on their taxes though? Homer Simpson did. Does that make him unpatriotic? It isn't so much cheating, but the average American can not truly understand the totality of the tax code. Errors are made, and corrected.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 11:17 AM) It's the job of the vetting people to assume that people being considered for positions may not disclose all of their personal issues if there are in fact any. Or at least it's supposed to be. That does not excuse someone from lying or withholding information. That is what a responsible person should do. Shifting their bad behavior to someone else, seems wrong to me.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 11:17 AM) That is what the vetting process is for. Agreed. But we have had these sorts of surprises for 20+ years. Are we seriously going to believe any administration can solve this? We have an entire process, including the hearings. I'm not going to blame any President or staff when the process turns up these sorts of issues. When these sort of issues are not discovered until the person takes office, then we can look at the process and begin to see where mistakes were made. So while some go flipping based on who the President is, I'm staying consistent. It's kind of nice

The entire vetting issue has gotten too out of hand. And just like I said for Bush's picks, I can say here, discovering this stuff is why we have confirmation hearings. The process is working as long as this stuff is discovered and dealt with.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 10:57 AM) I think a fairer question would be what does it say about the Obama/Biden group that they have repeated nominated people with major legal issues. There are only a few possibilities here which I can think of... 1. They didn't know, and the vetting process was a failure 2. They knew and didn't think the public would care, so they tried to fly them through 3. They knew and didn't think that even if there was a public notice of the problems, that the political capital of their win in November would be enough for their nominees to get in anyway. All three of these sound like things the Bush administration was ragged on for eight years. 4. The people nominated did not know of their personal issues. 5. The people nominated did not disclose all of their personal issues. Let's not let off these people scott free.

I imagine most people here have had some pretty straightforward tax returns. Perhaps my judgment is clouded by years of working overseas, being paid as an outside vendor, owning a business, etc. As I mentioned before, I have been audited, and have lost. It could be said I was evading taxes, but that gives a connotation that I believe is unfair. How many here are evading taxes by not claiming income from their eBay sales? How many have paid the neighborhood teenager to babysit? You pay her $10-$20 once a week and soon she has an income that should be declared. Did you file the necessary paperwork?

I've been audited and lost over deductions for income I earned while working in Mexico. I assume then that Biden might consider me unpatriotic, but I would not agree. I filed what my tax preparer thought was a proper return.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 10:22 AM) Tex, politicians should have the CLEANEST tax returns you can imagine, since you know it always comes back to bite them in the ass when they don't. Do you seriously give Rangel a pass for his failure to pay taxes? And this isnt the first tax problem for Daschel. I posed a serious question. if Biden claims that it is patriotic to pay our fair share of taxes, is he then calling Daschel, Rangel and the others unpatriotic? Or do they get a pass because of the D after their names? Are you seriously concerned about a comment that Biden made? OK, based on Biden's comment, Biden should consider them unpatriotic. I'm not certain how important Biden's opinion on patriotism is. But it seems that you are very concerned about Biden's definition. I'm wondering why

Really, you should ask an expert how to impress and charm your girlfriend, ask your wife!

QUOTE (kyyle23 @ Feb 3, 2009 -> 07:45 PM) Third, always state the "no laughing during sex" rule* *FOTC Actually it is OK to laugh, just don't point! THAT'S a mood ruiner.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Feb 4, 2009 -> 09:24 AM) Cuckold, or cockloft (even better). Its up in the roof of a cathedral. I won't even try to Google it at work, but its a real word. The google search is NSFW. based on this definition Based on cockloft, it is sfw, from a firefighting jargon list . . .

I've defended every President when facts come out about cabinet picks that derail a nominee. I hold the person being nominated to a higher standard than the person doing the nominating. Sadly, party loyalists strive to make each of these an indictment on our President. It seems unfair to me to hold the person who is least involved in fact finding, to a higher standard than the person being nominated. Nannygate is a couple decades old, anyone being interviewed should be expected to know if they paid taxes on their domestic help.

I have given every politician a pass on most tax issues that arise from deductions, unusual income, etc. I've even given them passes in the household help. How many of us have used unlicensed day care provided by friends and paid cash, I know I have. It was the best quality program for an affordable price in the neighborhood. I would hazard a guess that most public officials have a higher rate of clean returns than the average taxpayer of the same income range. Can you "buy" patriotism? I guess so. And it is nice that Alpha is agreeing with a Dem, that may be the first time.