vorpalmusic's Comments (603)

“I do give you health care as change. Unfortunately, it's the kind of change I'd have expected Bush to make.”

“For the fourth time, we are discussing the appointment of bank insiders to control the TARP. Congress does not appoint the members of the administration--only Obama can do this.”

“How is that relevant to Obama offering policy changes for American industry?”

“''''Is that denying the fact that we were heading tor a depression and now we are not? Simple answer required. Since you felt that you have to add facts that are not in evidence, you are not debating in good faith; therefore I have no desire to debate with you further.''

It sure seems like you'd rather finish the debate because you have nothing of substance to contribute and you don't understand what I'm telling you, not for the reasons you give.

Quibbling over whether this counts as an official official big D Depression is completely pointless. The economy is destroyed, perhaps you've noticed?

We are arguably in a depression at this very moment. Unemployment during the great depression only hit 25%, independent analysis puts us now at 22%. But being as confused as you are, you probably think true unemployment is at 10% because of the fake government figures.

shadowstats.com

I suggest you go learn something.”

“61 million people are jobless. That number continues to increase, albeit more slowly, but if you really believe that this means the recession is over, or you don't think unemployment will spike again after Christmas then you are smoking something really good.

He's got a long way to go; it's certainly nothing to be dancing on the rooftops about yet.”

“If the amount of offspring is the measure of a country's worth, then you must be a big fan of Muslim countries, right?”

“Actually, an executive order carries the same weight as legislation. It may not be right, or according to the Constitution, but it's been a fact since the 18th century.

Obama has kept over 200 of Bush's executive decisions as law, and has shown his unmitigated support for other Bush-era offenses such as the Patriot Act by re-instating them after they had expired.”

“The ''tough'' rule for lobbyists is a joke, it refers to advisory boards. There are still lobbyists in his administration!

Geithner's chief of staff lobbied for Goldman Sachs last year. Lynn lobbied for Raytheon, a defense contractor.

Funny, his ''tough on lobby'' stance doesn't seem to prevent these people from working in his Cabinet.”

“''Did you notice that the direction has not changed? Just the "velocity"?''

Actually, the term velocity includes both direction and speed. : )

Otherwise, thank you for supporting me.”

“So what was Obama talking about when he said ''shovel ready'' jobs? Was I supposed to assume that he didn't really mean it?

Back to your original argument. A lot of the WPA put people to work building roads and infrastructure, which is sorely in need of work right now in many places.

Are you telling me that doing standard road work that has been done for decades requires a complex study?

Here's another question: why isn't anything being done to keep people in their homes instead of letting them foreclose? A recent report right here on HP showed that less than 15% of the people who applied are getting help.

Do you really believe we are better off giving banks 700 billion than helping these people? Obama (through Geithner) has the power to use those TARP funds to keep people in their homes instead. Don't you think that would have stimulated the economy more?

Why is Geithner's chief of staff a Goldman Sachs lobbyist and why isn't anyone talking about getting rid of these guys when the Treasury's independent watchdog has just given a scathing audit of the way the TARP is being handled.

Only Obama can appoint these guys, no one else deserves any blame for this.”

“No, I didn't elect him, I cast one vote for him. If you think having voted for him means I am not permitted to criticize his performance than we have different ideas of what democracy means.

Let's try to avoid giving Obama credit for things that have not happened yet, can we at least agree on that? We don't know how many jobs the stimulus might create, so far very few.

Yes, unemployment has slowed down by.2% for one month. You seem to forget that all of those people that have lost jobs before still don't have jobs, and you ignore the fact that people who have been unemployed for 6 months magically do not count anymore. Furthermore, get back to me in a few months--if you think the rate changing by .2% for ONE consecutive month means the bad times are over, I've got a pipeline in Afghanistan to sell you.

No, I'm not impressed that the new health care will force people to buy health insurance and fine them if they can't afford it. This is not ''reform,'' this is a disguised bailout for insurance companies.”

“''Is that denying the fact that we were heading tor a depression and now we are not?''

Yes, I explicitly deny that the numbers are finished in their downward trend. Get back to me in just a month or two.”

“All of these things I've listed have been widely reported; it's just people like you refuse to acknowledge reality.

When Bush was president, there were plenty of people talking about what a great job he was doing too. It took several years for many people to wake up, partially because they didn't want to believe the truth, even though people like me were trying to explain it to them.

You are just like those people. I've just presented a carefully assembled list, and since you are incapable of responding to the argument on its merits, you call me ''little boy,'' as if that will hide the fact that you have no idea what you're talking about.

Do you explicitly deny that Mark Patterson lobbied for Goldman Sachs last year? Google it if you're so confident that being unaware of something is the same as that thing not existing. Do you deny that Obama promised the health care debates would be televised? Perhaps you should have watched the debates more closely, but you can google that one too.

Did Obama vote for immunity for the telcoms? This is also a matter of public record, as is the part where he promised to filibuster to prevent this very thing. (This shows he was breaking promises before he even got elected).

You have nothing of substance to contribute.”

“At least he's capable of formulating an argument.

Please explain how renewing the Patriot Act has anything to do with the ''only one year'' argument. How about putting lobbyists in his administration after promising not to? What about televising the health care debates on C-Span? They passed the ''reform'' today so I'm pretty sure we can decisively say that he did the precise opposite of what he said he would do on this one.

What about those 545 secret meetings with big pharma? How does that fit in with his promise to be ''the most transparent administration in American history?''”

“I'm sorry you have so thoroughly faired to pay attention to Obama's actions since taking office. It took my parents several years to realize how much damage Bush has done; similarly someday you dissemblers will no longer be able to delude yourselves about Obama.”

“Time will tell if it's an ''achievement,'' and plenty of other bills have come through equally fast.”

“''If the insurance companies systematically choose not to pay claims on customers, they will have class action suits up their ass. Tort Reform is NOT part of the Bill.''

Perhaps so, but this will be too late for your loved ones. They decided to leave this in the hands of profit-driven private firms rather than offering a true government health care.

It's going to work out as well as having the banks regulate themselves has worked out. We don't have to ''speculate'' about this, we've seen it before.”

“Yes, it is that simple. It's called executive order. This is how the program's were started and Obama chose not to undo them, though he had said he would.”

“''The economy was in free fall when President Obama took office. It has stabilized since then.''

Look up 'terminal velocity'.”

“''The point, very simply, is citizens vote, companies don't.''

You can't be serious. Corporations have no influence on US government?

Who picks the guys that make it to the final binary ballot? Not us.”

“Not only will the premiums be unaffordable, but since it's still private profit-driven firms running the show, when your sister actually does get sick they may find ways to get out of paying out. There's nothing in the bill to curb that kind of behavior, which is commonplace now.”

“''Selling indulgences'' ring any bells?”

“Why exactly do we hold elections then?”

“Yeah, well since there seems to be no end of new countries for us to ''liberate'' we may yet overextend ourselves to the point where people can stop covering their mouths when they laugh.”

“What the h3ll do we have presidents for then? Is it a homecoming dance of epic proportions?

Besides, the guy's campaign motto was CHANGE ffs. It's what he said he was going to do.”