It's the economy stupid!

[miles]

Victory through potatoes!

We orchestrated the collapse of the Soviet Union by supplying cheap vodka to the Russkies. They were too fucking drunk to do anything.

 

[Andra_Jenny]

Titanic - Is Jesus really a maniac?

The right wing militia meets at my house on Wednesdays (tee hee). You all think you could get reverend Jesse to appear as a guest speaker?

 

[Triatic]

Funny you should say that. I finally accepted Jesus into my life about a week ago - not as my personal savior,but as a man I intend to borrow money from.

Seriously, though, the stuff you're talking about is spooky. Do you really beleive all that America-uber-alles crap?

 

[miles]

Andra_Jenny

You, of all people should know better.

In order to be gramatically, and most importantly politically correct, the phrase "right wing" must be preceded by the words "gun-toting", "Republican", or "stupid". It must also be followed by (pick one)
"gun nut", "bigot", or "extremist."

No need to thank me.

 

[Weird Harold]

Re: Amazing!

To think Reagan was the impetus of Soviet demise is naive and betrays a total ignorance of cause and effect. Excuse me, Reagan was so mighty and awe inspiring they just caved in?

I don't think Pres. Reagan was THE cause of the Soviet collapse. I do think that his policies were "the straw that broke the camel's back."

There was a half-century's worth of "keeping up with the jones" that put the USSR into a position where they couldn't afford to try to match "Star Wars". I think both they and Reagan knew that star wars was not likely to be a success, but they had to spend the money to try and counter it just in case it worked, and that tipped the balance to force them into bankruptcy.

Republicans do have a history of spending too much when they are in office, just as the Democrats have a history of chopping the military to pieces. Both partyies have flaws in the way they do things. Perhaps such an even split in power will force some moderation on them. (I'm not holding my breath though.)

 

[Andra_Jenny]

Triatic, What have I said that is so spooky? I believe Clinton was a slime. I believe he got even with the military. I believe he disrespects women all the while protesting that he does not. I believe that the democratic party has been behaving under the Georing principle, that of the big lie. I believe that his troubles began when he slipped up and told a little lie instead of saying "Yeah, I whipped it out, I'm sorry!" Why didn't he just pay her off?

I am a rural american and as such believe in little things like taking care of my family. I had a friend down from the city and we are both in the top 10% financially. He kept counting, one, two, three..., those people have seven buildings, those people have six cars, what are your payments like? How can you afford it? Payments? We own everything. Our families have taken care of us and we take care of them. He earns 110,000 a year and I earn nothing (You IRS snoops!). I am richer. All of his income goes into payments to keep up his lifestyle. That is why I started this thread out the way I did. Social Security keeps writing me telling me I need to work 18 more months to get full benefits. Will they take that and turn it around like I turned around my investments? I do not believe so. If I saw this coming, a dumb-ass farmer, how come those geniuses in D.C. didn't? Yeah the dot.com's were overated, yeah the power was deregulated, but who is looking to the future?

Yes we in those red states tend to be republican, but am not a gun-toting nut, whoops, lets pick a better example, I am not a guy in a 3-piece suit and shiney shoes yelling because the Dems want to count the votes by themselves in private (tee hee)? No. Nore am I a knee-jerk Dem-type who still believes rioting and burning the ROTC building is the way to get noticed. Nore do I hate Gore. I just did not believe in him because he said, "That's my guy!" during impeachment (and the Republicans were absolute cowards and that is why I voted for Browne).

Just tell me what's so spooky about what I am saying and please keep in mind that this country owes what it has to a right-wing gun-toting militia (tee-hee). Sorry about no paragraphs, rambling, and typo's, but I am snowed in with a two-year old and I believe that if I see Barney's Christmas or learning Chinese with Mei Mei one more time I will become a scarry person. See Ya!

 

[Thumper]

About my no drinking advice...

... but I am snowed in with a two-year old and I believe that if I see Barney's Christmas or learning Chinese with Mei Mei one more time I will become a scarry person. See Ya!

I rescind that...

However I wish my daughter was two again...she is home from college...AJ, don't blink buddy it will pass way too quick.

But at least I never had to deal with Barney...in some cases extinction is a good thing...how did he escape?

 

[Andra_Jenny]

I think the tape finally degrades, I hope...,

 

[Thor's Hammer]

AJ one great thing about this country is the fact that we all have the right to express ourselves. Reasonable people disagree, without being disagreeable. I am a reformed "R" - about 15 years ago I realized that the "I have mine, lets stop 'those people' from slurping at the trough" was way off base. The party of Lincoln had (has) become people from those "red" states where few people live and you have the luxury of "rock-ribbed" independence without worring that the kid down the block will be a drive-by shooting victim or the "company" closed the plant, sucked up the pension money, and 6,000 people suddenly have no jobs.

By the way, I have a son who is career military. Surprise, some of us liberals support a strong national defense too. And I have an honorable discharge of my own someplace.

The President is not someone I would want to have my daughter know either. However, we have had a run of prosperity in this country. Have you forgotten that "conservative" Republicans (translate Reagan and Bush) gave us the obscene deficits of the 1980's? You know, the funniest thing about Bush is his slogan "compassionate conservative." If I ever heard an oxymoron, that is it!

 

[Andra_Jenny]

It was Goebels stupid me (sp?). Goering was the luftwaffe! Iwas really into my cups last night!

Oh, I agree some people have to be taken care of. A young friend and long-time student was visiting me at our flagship school right after the election and we were talking about the election (actually, I was dressing him down for not voting!). He would have voted for Gore he informed me, because Bush wanted to end social security and his Dad's disability. Well, his dad is a typical bush-wacking lazy ass Missouran whose disability is pretty much laziness. Ya, he collects a monthly check, and he makes a ton of cash on the side doing stuff. That is what really chaps my hide! There is just way too many hogs at the trough and I know several of them. It has become vote buying as the party of the working class has become the party of, hey, vote for me, I've got cigarettes.

Yes we operated on deficits, but if I remember my days of liberal education, it was the libs who first came up with the idea that government spending more than it had was good for people. But isn't charity the role of family, community, and church? Why should government be the helping hand? Why should we tolerate every aberrent behavior with no consequence? I know there are no easy answers, but at what point does it become too easy?

Hey, I was Liberal at one point, so was my family and it cost us our farm. I was Republican and I found out they were just like the Liberals. Then I was Libertarian, but I realized they had no power. Now I am just doing the best I can and enjoying the discussion on how to deal with the problems we have and the issue of are they really problems.

I also agree that Bush is fodder for a lot of dumb jokes and inconsistencies such as "compassionate-conservative." It is a hoot, but the libs painted him into that corner. But, on the other hand, he is assembling a cabinet that "looks like America." Hey, I did not vote for the guy. Nor would I. I never trusted senior after he broke the "No New Taxes" pledge. But read my lips, Gore was not the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Unclebill]

Excuse me while I inject a fact or two

Originally posted by CreamyLady
I don't think it was us tree-huggers, dear. I think it was the deregulation of the electric utilities (pushed by those same utilities, by the way), runaway wholesale pricing, and piss-poor management that caused our current problems. That and the price of oil, on which environmentalists have very little impact.

Since I'm not feeling very ladylike tonight, I'm going to tell you to go sit on a cactus and stimulate your brain.

You really should get a few more facts before you start throwing around the insults.

It was deregulation formulated by three specific California legislators who now don't want their names associated with the fiasco they created. Susan Davis, Steve Peace and Dede Alpert are the culprits along with Gray Davis.

They "deregulated" California's electric utilities by creating a new government bureaucracy (the ISO or Independent System Operator) from which every electricity distributor MUST buy their electricity by LAW.

There price is set by bids for sale and the ISO uses the HIGH bid of the day to set the day's price. So whoever offers the highest prices brings everybody's price up to his.

Sound like a free market? In the free market, which would you buy? The kWh at 5 cents or the kWh at 25 cents? Well your government being much smarter than you (if you're lucky enough to be a California resident) has decided that you're too stupid and would select the 5 cents/kWh so they step in and make your decision for you for 25 cents/kWh!

And buying long term contracts for cheap power is prohibited by the ISO also. If you could find it and SDG&E (the provider in my area) has been offered cheaper power for a 3 or 5-year term contract and far below the 25 cents/kWh (around 9 cents/kWh) but the ISO and California law prohibits their acting in a forward thinking, long range planning manner.

Another fine example of your government looking out for our best interests, eh, Thumper?

Oh, yeah. Another nifty benefit. Susan Davis and Gray Davis put together this little phony rate rollback legislation package as a favor to use consumers. The deal? Well, just too good to be true, one might think. But no, they say it's the solution to all our problems and they only have our best interest at heart, right?

From now on, we are only billed for electricity what we paid a few months back so we can rest easy. The extra money that the utility has to pay to buy power from the ISO is put into a cumulative account. But, not to worry. We don't have to pay that money. Well, not yet. In fact, we don't have to pay it for two whole years.

Wow! What a benefit provided by those looking out for our best interests. And in that two years, let's say you're billed $50/month for your electricity. Well, lucky you are also having about $200/month added to your cumulative account.

But not to worry. You won't have to pay that until after the election and these guys have moved on to greener pastures. But in two years, guess what? Your cumulative account comes due PLUS INTEREST leaving you with a nice balloon payment of about $5,000.00 for your trust and faith in the politicians who are just looking out for your best interests.

Yeah, it's sure nice to have a government looking out for me. I can rest knowing the regulators are there looking out for me and my family.

The fact that Wall Street just downgraded SDG&E bonds to class B or C (from AA) because of the debt they're incurring from this new law shouldn't be a concern, now should it? After all, the politicians are only looking out for our best interest aren't they? After all, it only means that they have to pay higher interest to finance their debt. And who pays for that? Oops; did you say the consumer? You mean the politicians aren't going to take responsibility for their actions and pay the bill themselves. Say it ain't so, Joe! They're only looking out for our best interests, right?

And as far as building new power plants, if I remember correctly, the newset one in California is 15 years old now. But, no problem, right? California's population, industrial and economic growth have been stagnant for those 15 years, haven't they?

Or is it because permits to build the needed facilities can't get approval through the governmental bureaucratic red tape? Nah, couldn't be that. After all, they're only looking out for our best interest, aren't they?

The environmental idiocy imbedded in government is not providing any progress or benefit by refusing the permits to build needed facilities when the proposed facilities meet or exceed all the current air quality regulations. What then is the benefit? I know, they're just looking out for our best interests aren't they?

Perhaps some of the enlightened out there can help me with my misunderstanding of this one.