uberlefty's Comments (244)

“I find it ironic that some need to turn these sorts of things into gender bashing. The one thing that all of these MEN have in common is that they cheated with other WOMEN. It takes 2 to tango. The idea that these men were perps and the women they were involved with victims is an insult to women. You dont know the real story here and its just as likely that this woman planned on selling her story all along. If thats the case then it is the man who was the victim of an enterprising young woman? I think not. In affairs of the heart there are no victims only volunteers. We have little control over who we are attracted to. Some people have more control than others and some are more ruled by their hearts than their heads.”

“Texans had to look long and hard to find someone stupider than W to replace him as governor. They had the good fortune to find Rick Perry. Well done Texas!”

“That seems like a reasonable assumption but usually you dont turn security tapes on and off or change them for that matter. Part of the reason you have a security camera is to capture what happens when you are not there. Burglaries for instance. The tapes in security cameras in the 90s were generally able to record 24 hours of video. This is why the images tended to be grainy. The tape runs very slowly so there is more magnetic data per inch than on a standard 120 min. tape. After 24 hours the machine automatically rewinds the tape and records over the previous 24 hours. This was standard procedure for most private security cameras. The government cameras tend to save the tape for a long period of time and have procedures that trained security personnel or law enforcement follow when it comes to changing the tapes.”

“If there is anyone who knows about crybabies it is someone who works for Faux News. Freedom of association is one of Americas greatest freedoms. The president has chose to not associate himself with Faux News. Let Freedom ring!”

“Poor choice of words. We arent supporting them we are exploiting them. They work for less than a citizen would and contrary to popular myth they pay taxes and social security/medicare even though they arent entitled to the benefits. The IRS and SSA have known for years that the SSNs illegals use were false but didnt care as long as they didnt try to file. So you see unradicalized one you have gotten it backwards.”

“Joe Wilson was the designated dumb ass. They all saw the text of the speech so they knew it was coming. They chose a person from a safe district to pander to "the base". Conservatives have shown a taste for confrontational speech and this outburst can be likened to Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. A cynical effort to distract us into a conversation about immigration rather than the merits of the plan. We need to stop providing political cover for this sort of nonsense and call it what it is.”

“They arent the problem. They ARE just a distraction, but for whom? Here we have the Yale professor explaining to us why we cant get what we want. How the president, though well meaning, was naive and ill advised. He is responsible for not going toe to toe with Glenn and Rush. He should have known that the wing nuts were going to descend upon us like a wave of locust. Its been a whole month and already we are hand wringing. Have the wing nuts taken over the country? No. Are we willing to settle for something less that REAL health care reform? The status quo is hoping we are. We are as distracted as we allow ourselves to be. We control our destinies. Not the networks, not the Yale men, not the wing nuts. If we dont get health care reform it isnt Obama's fault, it is ours. Thats democracy.”

“Americans are not left, right, or center. This is all part of the discredited "triangulation" mentality. People vote when they believe they have something to gain or lose. Anyone who thinks that they have something to lose by having more people insured doesnt understand the underlying economics of health care. The government is the only institution that has the ability to deal with the problem, something that the rest of the industrial world figured out a while back. The problem is that Americans have a high consumption expectation, we like to shop, combined with real wage stagnation. Reform benefits every sector of the economy with the exception of the insurers. Industry is opposed, against their own competitive interest, to ANY government involvement in corporate conduct. They fear that if government involvement in health care is successful that they will be next. What reformists need to communicate to the country is that we dont deal with this today we will continue down a road that leads to collapse of the health care system and that the government will end up having to bail out the insurers and providers. If we spend a smaller amount today we will get something for it. If we bail them out in a few years it will cost us more and we get nothing in return. That isnt ideology, its math and history. The clueless here are those who believe we can do nothing and it will all work itself out.”

“She isnt a journalist, she is a payed spokesperson for Wall Street. She jets around with CEOs on corporate junkets and pretends to be unbiased. She is married to Jonathan Steinberg the CEO of WisdomTree Investments. They specialize in ETFs, one of the worse investment vehicles because of their high fees. Whether you like ETFs or not it doesnt change the fact that she has a very personal stake in the status quo. In short she is what Forbes would refer to as a capitalist tool.”

“The first thing the NAZIs did was have "pet" judges declare their actions legal. The Nuremberg Laws and the doctrine of "Fuhrerprinzip" ( German for Executive Privilege ) were the legal justification that long established German institutions used to legalize their crimes against humanity. The last administration took it all out of the NAZI playbook. Many of the participants of the Wannsee Conference were lawyers and one of the purposes of the meeting was to establish the legal framework for the final solution. They saw Judaism as a threat to Christian culture in much the same way that the last administration saw Islam. The parallels between the NAZIs and the last administration are too numerous to chronicle. Allowing them to avoid prosecution, regardless of the legalization of their actions would set a frightening precedent.”

“You need to get your eyes checked. She states clearly that raising taxes on oil extraction in California is an obvious solution. There arent any jobs at stake with this sort of tax increase. The oil will keep flowing and those companies will take a small hit on their dividend. This whole country has fallen victim to a mentality that mineral extractors shouldnt have to pay for the privilege to extract wealth out of public lands. We have lost billions in revenue as a result of this resource ripoff. It belongs to the public and we should be properly compensated. What are they going to do, stop pumping? Not likely.”

“The time for progressives to push back is now. Call the White House and let them know that that the public option has to be part of this. They want to do it but they dont want to get burned. If enough people let them know we want it they WILL get behind it.”

“This is all about traditional media trying to regain relevance. They want this to be a good game. They will do everything they can to create an environment that is conductive to regaining viewership and readership. The best thing that we can do is not watch. Just say no to the MSM.”

“You make some valid points as to why we shouldnt boycott Whole Foods but there are a couple of flaws to your reasoning. 1. Even if there are thousands of employees it isnt my responsibility to make sure they are employed. If even 10% of Whole Foods shoppers shop at a local store rather than Whole Foods it will be a benefit to the community. Anytime you have a choice between spending money at a locally owned store or a publicly held chain you should shop locally. More money stays in your community and less money ends up in the hands of Wall Street. 2. Even if Whole Foods is publicly held it was his choice to associate the brand with his politics. If the board agrees they should keep him. If they believe that his using the brand in such a blatant way is damaging to the brand he should go. 3. The notion that Whole Foods is a green pioneer is nuts. They are just one more company that has decided to brand itself as green. It took thousands of co-ops to validate the viability of the organics market and thousands more mom and pop manufacturers to produce the products they sell. They did it for love not for share value! If you want to buy green go to a co-op and join a CSA but dont fool yourself into believing that there is ANYTHING green about Whole Foods.”

“The president does have the authority to order the withdrawal of US troops from a Iraq and Afghanistan but only in accordance with the law. In the case of Iraq the current troop presence is in accordance with an agreement between the US and Iraqi government. Withdrawing US troops would be a violation of that bilateral agreement. Afghanistan is a different situation and it is a little more complicated. The US invaded both countries and destroyed their institutional abilities to govern themselves. Iraq is moving towards a day where US troops wont be present. Afghanistan less so. In short whether you agreed with the policy of invading those countries we have broken them and now we have a responsibility to try to fix them. Smart compassionate people can and do disagree with how to accomplish that but it is simplistic and irresponsible to just leave no matter how appealing the prospect.”

“They dont sign up for it because unlike the majority of Americans they actually control their health care program. They determine the benefits they receive and are very happy with the program they have. What they are trying to do is place individuals in control of the benefits they receive rather than the insurance industry that currently picks and chooses who they will insure and for what. There are legitimate arguments for and against the plans currently under consideration but the public losing control isnt among the cons. I am always at a loss when it comes to understanding people who trust the very wealthy while mistrusting their own representatives. Conservatives were sold a bill of goods by Bush and Co. He promised to roll back the clock on social issues but instead he bankrupt the country and abortion is still legal. Gays are getting married and a black man is president. If I were a white conservative I would feel pretty screwed over about now. They need to grow up and get over it. The process can work but only if you can accept that you dont always get your way.”

“There is nothing the right would love more than for the government to be perceived to be cracking down on free speech. It fits perfectly into their narrative of an administration out of control. Only by tolerating the bad behavior can we demonstrate that we are not afraid of a debate. The more insane they act the less serious they will be taken. The key is to call your congressperson and senator and let them know you want reform now.”

“Your logic escapes me. If Obama "takes it" as you put it his popularity goes up? Bush didnt worry about what people were saying because he had everyone's phone tapped, was reading their e-mail, and had the FBI planting spies in activist groups. If you disagreed with him or defended those he disagreed with you could be arrested and detained. I would suggest you Google Brandon Mayfield if you want to see how Bush dealt with his opponents. Pointing out that people in the media need to be responsible for what they say and shouldnt be inciting riots isnt a violation of the First Amendment. It is free speech. The right goes nuts when anyone suggests that they should be responsible for the crap that they spew. They protest that their rights are being infringed on. BTW Pelosi wasnt elected by California, she was elected by the 8th congressional district in California, which is about 2/3 of San Francisco. Just so you know.”

“Just a few points on your comments. What program are you talking about when you say expand and already existing program? Medicare? Medicaid? I think that expanding Medicare to cover every uninsured person would be acceptable to the uninsured. When you say that Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements are lower you are correct but they are also codified and have a much lower administrative cost then dealing with private insurers with complex reimbursement/copay formulas. As far as private insurance companies they do very well selling coinsurance plans to those with Medicare. If the argument is that they will have to change their business models such is life. Lastly the majority of "shoestring hospitals" are in poorer communities. They are forced to treat uninsured patients who are unable to pay. They would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of insuring the uninsured.”

“I couldnt disagree more. The welfare of the nation is a subjective notion. The welfare of the individual is clearly defined depending on the circumstances. This nation was founded on the principals that all peoples have in common and a system of legislation was created to mediate the areas of conflict. These individuals were attempting to shed light in an otherwise dark place in an effort to promote understanding between peoples. The DPRK is the kind of place where the welfare of the state is ALWAYS put ahead of the welfare of the individual. The US can show no greater strength than to go to any means to protect the human rights of its individual citizens.”

“When Bill Kristol talks, people yawn and change the channel. He and those like him have been relegated to the bargain book table of punditry, Faux News. Nothing new there, just another way to roll the dice but always come up lucky 7. When Kristol says arrogant he means uppity and those who are left in the echo chamber snort and slap their knees. The right is doing its best to deride Obama the same way that sane, articulate, and literate people derided Bush. The problem for them is that Bush was the gift that kept on giving and Obama is stingy with gaffs. Swing and a miss Bill, better luck next week.”

“I dont think that this is an issue of two different versions of events but of two different perceptions. The reality is that if this had been a white homeowner and a white officer this wouldnt have happened. A lot of white people would like to believe that blacks are treated no differently than whites by law enforcement. Every study conducted on this subject shows that to be inaccurate. The makeup of Americas prison population shows this to be inaccurate. The FACT that the charges were dropped demonstrates that arresting Dr Gates was a mistake and considering that he is one of Americas foremost black scholars makes it a stupid mistake. None of us were there but it is safe to assume that the officer probably didnt have much experience dealing with African-American academics. He probably took offense at Dr. Gates tone and chose to arrest him rather than be berated, an entirely human reaction but not a well considered one. If Dr. Gates had been a white professor it is more than likely that there would have been severe internal repercussions for the arresting officer. Instead the officer will become a poster child for those who love to claim reverse discrimination. This is the true state of American race relations.”

“When put in the terms liberal and conservative you are correct. If you look at the individual makeup of the congressional districts you will find a different result. Americans have an affinity for simple terms that put things in black and white. When you poll the details you will find that Americans are overwhelmingly progressive. They want health care reform, increased spending for education, support a womans right to choose, and many more issues that are termed liberal. What they dont want is increased government intrusion into their personal business, something conservatives seem to want. The terms liberal and conservative are rapidly losing their punch, as the GOP discovered in the last election. When the liberal = evil label didnt stick to Obama he became a socialist and a communist. He palled around with terrorists. He was part of a sleeper cell etc. Wanting health care reform isnt a liberal/co­nservative issue, it is a pragmatic issue. The majority of Americans arent ideological, they want the country to work. They want good paying secure employment. They want to afford to send their kids to college. Conservatism doesnt have a viable solution to the problems that Americans face, they favor the status quo because it favors them. Progressives want action and social evolution. Something, that when polled, Americans overwhelmingly favor. Blue dogs arent ideological, they are scared and lazy. If they dont figure out which side their bread is buttered on they will be replaced. Thats democracy.”

“The GOP cant depart from its racist rhetoric because it is staffed by racists. Much is made of the "southern strategy" and how it pandered to racist white Americans. That was 30 years ago and the politicians who cynically played that game are long gone. In their place are the true believers. Todays GOP congressmen and senators arent pretending to be right wing ideologues they ARE right wing ideologues. The likes of Tancredo and his ilk are the leaders of the party. They cant leave their position anymore than a nun can stop being catholic. People like Rove arent in charge of the party, they just craft the message. Bush never ran the party and neither did Cheney. They fed a monster that they cant control. I have a group of friends who are VERY conservative. They think that Bush was a liberal and said so during his tenure. When we talk about the current administration they arent interested in the health care debate, tax policy, Iraq, Iran, or Roe -v- Wade. Not one bit. All they can talk about is Obama's birth certificate! These are educated business owners and professionals. Its insane. They are like the robots in "Westworld". Stuck in a loop, obsessed with the idea that Obama isnt an American. Oblivious to the idea that the lens of their own racism is so strong that it warps the horizon of their reality.”

“Higgy,

Its not his agenda its our agenda. The agenda of the over 70% of Americans who think the system is broken. The agenda of almost 50 million people who are uninsured. The agenda of anyone who wants this country to be able to compete globally in the 21st century. There is NO measurement that would indicate that the system is working for most Americans or that it will somehow fix itself. The only people who think the status quo is working are those who directly benefit from it or those driven by political ideology. Conservatives who realize that Americans prefer the Universal health care of the Democrats over the Universal war of terror of the GOP. Then there are the conservatives who seem to believe that wealth is meaningless if the poor don't suffer.”