Shady

It's very sad that only now people are realizing how inefficient large bureaucracies can be. And even more inefficient when several large bureaucracies go about trying to work together.

From the non-partisan group Judicial Watch.org “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2009 Nancy Pelosi's "Most Ethical Congress ever" meets Barack Obama's "Hope n Change" politics.

Obama's direction certainly has had a chance to play out, and it stinks. He's been President for close to a year, 25% of his first (and hopefully only) term. * His record spending economic stimulus bill (which wasn't really designed as an economic stimulus) hasn't had any real impact on the economy. It hasn't created any real private-sector jobs, and hasn't kept unemployment from going above 8%, like he and his economic guru's had predicted. * His record setting omnibus spending bill completely busted the budget, and guarantees trillion dollar deficits for the forseeable future. * His so-called heathcare reform, mandates that you buy coverage or be fined or go to jail. It raises taxes on small businesses, which create the majority of jobs. * And there still hasn't been any significant financial regulatory reform, which was the cheif cause of the severe recession in the first place. But in an interview with Katie Couric, he gives himself a "solid B+"! I hope he and his family have a wonderful Christmas at their $4000/a day getaway in Hawaii.

This video looks like its already gone viral. If anyone hasn't seen it yet, it's worth at least one watch through. If he's not drunk, he's certainly behaving rather oddly, and not at all normal for Max Baucus.

It'd be nice if we could. But that would involve some profiling in order to be more efficient. And *gasp*, we can't have that!

Veneuela isn't doing better. As you said, Veneuela has an inflation rate of almost 20%! And if one factors in the influence of the oil indusrty in Venezuela, they really have a very pathetic real economy that isn't fueled by fuel. Columbia is going about it the right way. Yes, they'll have a higher unemployment rate for a while. And yes they'll have slower economic growth. But it's real growth. Not based on hyper-inflation, and oil money, that rises and falls with the price of a barrel of oil.

I always found the NDP's so-called concern for the demise of the manufacturing sector, coupled with its support for Kyoto, and other manufacturing sector killing policies as pretty screwed up. Talk about talking out of both sides of their mouths.

Yeah, but it's still funny cause it's true. But for your credibility's sake, I really hope you're not defending Chavez. The communist-loving, drug-smuggling, holocaust-denying kingpin type of the Iranian government. Best Friends Forever! PIC Btw, the above posted picture needs to be viewed while listening to for full effect.

Unfortunately, you're completely wrong, again. I'm not sure if you're purposely being obtuse, but I'll try and explain things really slowly, so that hopefully, this time, you won't have the same problem. You made assumptions about the Shatner/Palin comedy clip before even viewing it. In fact, you even refused to view it because of your prejudice towards her. And what does prejudice mean? To pre-judge. And that's exactly what you did. I, on the other hand. Linked to a photo, clearly illustrating the vast difference in the looks of Palin and Fey. And then I commented on those observed differences. The two situations are entirely different. But I applaud your efforts in blurring the issues. But please let it drop. You had your ass handed to you in this thread. It's time to move on.

I agree that the current political climate for Dems won't necessarily impact the next Presidential election, but it certainly will impact the upcoming mid-terms. There's some 40+ congressional seats currently held by Demcrats from districts that went slightly or heavily for McCain in '08. It's going to be very difficult for the Dems to hold on to those. And when you add in the recent retirements of several Dems in swing districts, it only makes it that much more challenging. Also keep in mind, that high-profile senators from fairly blue states such as Dodd in Connecticut and Boxer in California will have difficult fights on their hands. In fact, Dodd, and the current senate majority leader Reid are fairly safe bets to be kicked out of office.

Sorry, but I don't agree with that at all. That may be your premise, but it certainly isn't mine. PIC <--- Ewww, not even close!

How is mandating the purchasing of health-insurance from private insurance companies "public healthcare"? Not only that, but if you refuse to purchase this private service, you're jailed or fined by the government. Not to mention that the US already offers public healthcare in Medicare, Medicaide, Medicade Advantage, and the Children's Health Insuranch Program. So what exactly are you referring to?

I had to borrow this from Bugs' thread. Great find Bugs! Keep the Big Tent big By William M. Daley Thursday, December 24, 2009; A15 "The announcement by Alabama Rep. Parker Griffith that he is switching to the Republican Party is just the latest warning sign that the Democratic Party -- my lifelong political home -- has a critical decision to make: Either we plot a more moderate, centrist course or risk electoral disaster not just in the upcoming midterms but in many elections to come. ... On the one hand, centrist Democrats are being vilified by left-wing bloggers, pundits and partisan news outlets for not being sufficiently liberal, "true" Democrats. On the other, Republicans are pounding them for their association with a party that seems to be advancing an agenda far to the left of most voters. The political dangers of this situation could not be clearer." Washington Post This is for those of you who continue to downplay the incident in an intellectually dishonest fashion.

Great post. This adds further significance to the Griffith defection.

Actually, I like her a lot on 30 Rock. And the comment you linked to was a discussion on her looks. I don't find her very attractive. I'm sorry. But she is definitely funny. Nice try at cherry-picking though.

I tend to agree. However, that's exactly why I posted this in the Arts and Culture section, and not in American Politics. It's a non-political, non-partisan piece of comedy. Nothing more. But some people couldn't even bring themselves to view it because of purely political partisan reasons. Whether one views and thinks this clip is funny has nothing to do with whether one thinks Sarah Palin is qualified or unqualified to be President. And I find it bizarre that a certain female American uses that as part of her "logic".

Ok, I can agree with that. But slavery had little to do with the building of America and its ascendancy to power and wealth. That basically occured during the early to mid 1900's, some 150 years after slavery was abolished. And even during slavery, with the South having access to free labor, was still far behind the North in both power and wealth.

Well, one way we can help tens of thousands of people who are dying every day of preventalbe causes, is to stop listening to environmentalists. Several decades ago, "scientific consensus" argued that banning DDT was necessary because of harmful effects. At that time, third world countries were beginning to get a handle on the spread of many diseases, saving the lives of millions of people. Unfortunately, western governments listened to the "scientific consensus", and as a result, death and disease skyrocketed. Example: "In Sri Lanka, in 1948, there were 2.8 million malaria cases and 7,300 malaria deaths. With widespread DDT use, malaria cases fell to 17 and no deaths in 1963. After DDT use was discontinued, Sri Lankan malaria cases rose to 2.5 million in the years 1968 and 1969, and the disease remains a killer in Sri Lanka today" Link Now we have the same eco-imperialists urging these countries not to modernize, not to evolve. And who will bare the brunt of these decisions? The same kind of people. You may not want to hear the so-called excuse, but if Robert Mugabe or Kim Jong Ill refuse to allow people in to distribute aid, there isn't much we can do about it. Unless of course you're advocating regime change and armed conflict. Which I doubt. So the excuse you don't want to accept, is a pretty legitimate problem. That's not true. America spends more on healthcare than any other country on earth. It also dwarfs the American defense budget. So that may be a great sounding talking-point that most people will applaud. But what it gains in hyperbole, it lacks in truth. Well said, and often overlooked.

True, but it's one less seat the Republicans need to win next November to gain the majority. Plus, it underscores how radical and unpopular the Dems agenda has become.

Saying that you didn't doesn't make it true. Unfortunately for you, anyone can navigate to the very first page, and see that you did. See, I'm sure you know all about what the Shatner/Palin clip is like, and how it compares to other people's comedy. Hmm, I think the term is checkmate.

I didn't need to do any projecting. You provided all the proof that was needed, by first refusing to even view the clip and then characterizing the preformance of the individual. Kind of like reviewing a book without reading it. That's all well and good, but if you don't wanna waste your time with something that doesn't interest you, one shouldn't be offering a critique of something they refuse to even view. You can't have it both ways. Not really. Hollywood usually leans left.

Yes there is a monopoly. Surely you're not comparing the Beer Store with all of the products available at the LCBO, which also sells beer.

I'm not sure why you equate a non-political, non-partisan comedy skit on Conan O'Brien with reading Ann Coulter's work, or listening to Rush Limbaugh's work. They're two seperate things. If Michael Moore was participating in a non-political, non-partisan comedy skit, I'd definitely take a look. I already watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which definitely lean to the left. But if something's funny, I have no problem admitting it. And in many cases, they like to take shots at conservatives/Republicans. In fact, this speech from President Obama was one of the funniest I've ever seen from a political figure, and from whom I share almost nothing with ideologically. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cen37qxA7E For the rest of you more open-minded forumers out there. Be sure to check out McCain as well. He was pretty funny too. No, I'm not guilty of it. You shouldn't project your prejudices on to other people. You may discriminate in that particular fashion, but I don't. Your initial response of even refusing to view the clip illustrates your closed book mentality. You couldn't even get yourself to give it a chance, to absorb even one second of it. All because of blind political partisanship and a mindset that's closed to new ideas and new possibilities which may contradict or conflict with your own. Pretty sad.

Nope. You're 100% wrong. I have never, ever, pointed to somebody I disagreed with for posting a whole article. I leave that stuff up to the moderators to take care of.

Who cares? It's a great read, making excellent points. Pointing out a technicality in the forum rules only illustrates your inability to respond intellectually with the ideas presented.