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Colonel Rebel

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Everything posted by Colonel Rebel

  1. Someone tell me how one Senator bribes a second Senator with taxpayer money to vote for a bill that is going to cause all sorts of chaos? Does anyone not see the problem with this? What now stops other senators from bribing other senators with huge payouts of taxpayer money? I'm sure this is not the first time this has happened, but probably never on this scale. A hundred million here, a hundred million there...and pretty soon we're talking serious money.
  2. There was a tea-party like protest in downtown Chicago, and the protesters were chanting, "Atlas has shrugged!" hmmmm...
  3. I never thought I would see the day where Objectivists would defend a fundamentalist christian who managed to push through a major increase in the oil-profits tax to fund new, worthless government projects and to redistribute the remainder to the people of Alaska. And one who not only talks like a scratched sean hannity cd, but who has about the same level of education and executive experience. I wonder how low expectations will go next time around? Who cares about raw, studied talent when all that matters is popularity? I don't like Mitt Romney, but had McCain picked him, it would have sealed the deal. McCain had every chance to win, but he lost it all on betting on a long-shot. It's a nice argument to say she 'energized' the conservative base (which a VP shouldn't have to do), but that means nothing when he lost by such large margins. Including Indiana, my home state. McCain needed a vice president, and he chose a cheerleader. How anyone can defend Palin, I don't know. I guess we could play the blame game and point our fingers at the usual suspects. But that doesn't vitiate how poor of a pick she was.
  4. I'll try to get there this weekend. I'm just across the street on 17th and Locust. I may hunt down my trusty Rearden Steel t-shirt for easy I.D. (I've been stopped several times in the city while wearing shirt, always positive comments about her work.) I take it we'll be on the third floor? Or...
  5. I just voted Bob Barr. McBama is not an option.
  6. Not sure why this is such a big deal. The Bush administration did not disclose to Powell that the information they gave him nonsense when he went in front of the UN. His lifelong career serving this country was marred as a result. Plus, I think he gave some pretty strong reasons otherwise. I think the BIGGER endorsement comes from Senator Lugar (R-IN) (at least on foreign policy) and Ken Adelman. ANyone miss those? I'm not sure why these aren't worthy of discussion. And this goes without listing the several republican state congressmen/women who have come out and said Obama is clearly a more sound choice.
  7. This is an old story from 2005. The real travesty was that the prosecutors tried to tack him with 'attempted terroristic threatenings", which they later dropped. I recall the kid was given probation for a charge that didn't even exist (and who, apparently, later violated the probation). What a twisted mess. Note to self: throw away my copy of Red Dawn.
  8. To imply that McCain wont himself 'spread the wealth' because he simply does not state as such, does not mean he won't do so. The difference between McCain and Obama here is that, at least Obama is clear about what he likes (althought I think it is more appropriate to quote him fully, as opposed to that single line...for the sake of context and objectivity), while McCain thinks he is a conservative maverick who proposes much of the same. Curiously, Obama appears to want to stop spending taxpayer dollars on a country that so far appears resistant to the ideals of freedom of liberty, and focus on the very war on terror that needs to be waged. McCain, to the contrary, appears to hold the belief that taking money from taxpayers should instead go to Iraq for the simple reason that he needs to 'leave with honor". The fact that he's supporting the government stepping in and buying bad mortgages and assets is beyond the pale. Which is worse? The self-defined socialist or the socialist-in-denial? Neither. They're equaly evil.
  9. It's easy to have knee-jerk reactions and simply blame everything on liberals. It really is. And, you know, on occassion, you're right. But the 4chan crowd is a bit to the right of center, and they often preach anarchy. They are quite anti-regulation. Seething hatred? Really? I hear Hannity say that all the time. Probably because to them, the 'karma' of wiretapping Americans seems abhorent? Honestly, this is just the beginning to the hackers. While I agree that it is an invasion of privacy, it would be interesting to find how much dirt is found through piercing the veil of government secrecy.
  10. if it wasn't for the link posted, I would swear that is something McCain would have said. Apparently he didn't get to pay taxes as a POW, and every person should be thankful they have the right could assuredly conclude that statement if he did.
  11. Can someone tell me why Obama's 35% tax versus John McCain's 35% tax makes them so distinctively different?
  12. You speak in principle and I agree. But, the fact is, China is attracting large multi-national corporations because of the benefits they afford to businesses. In theory, no corporation should be attracted to a communist environment. Yet, here they do. The Chinese work for these businesses for cheaper, increasing corporate profits over time, and the corporations have a hand in the direction the infrastucture is headed furthering the corporate direction. To quote Kevin quoting Rush quoting Obama, "Then corporations see that and decide to move there... [blah blah blah]". And slave labor you say? Labor prices are based upon the value provided to the business. I don't know where slave labor comes into play for these multi-national businesses, but if you have some info that they utilize slave labor, do enlighten me. Yet at the end of the day, the purpose of a business is to make money. If they can make more money and increase thier corporate value in a communist country than they can in a country with a mixed economy, then alarm bells should be ringing about what's going on in the mixed economy. Or, alternatively, what isn't going on...
  13. Spot on. I would add that in addition to the customized infrastructure they have a hand in organizing, also consider that the labor prices are well below what they are here in the United States. I read a report the other day discussing how finance jobs many of the Ivy League MBA'ers have are being outsourced down to India for a fraction of the cost. Same, I think, will occur with BIGLaw. One question I would like to know is, does China have a minimum wage?
  14. Again, the point is missed. Even if she did call him a "big doody-head", it is immaterial to her arguments. Are you suggesting that if she did have an unkind word, whatever comes after it must be dismissed as revulsive?
  15. Excellent point. So, initially, it seems the choice is between a man whose motives we know (Obama) and one whose motives are intentionally obscured with pandering buzz words (McCain)... One must also consider how badly Bush has bastardized the notion of 'free market's" and "capitalism"....and understand that McCain can only make it worse. So long as people think 'capitalism' and "Republicans" are synonymous words, the people will continue attacking the big-government debt-spending "capitalism" that this country has seen over the last 7 years.
  16. I say that often, so I don't understand what the big deal is with this. Tell me you didn't say this when you read the Kelo opinion. Hagee has gone out of his way to smear the Jewish people. He's the love child of Jerry Falwell and Mel Gibson. Suprisingly, McCain sought out Hagee's support AFTER his hateful comments were made. My own personal opinion; if I had to decided to join either a person who condemned America for what its government has perpetrated against citizens, and one who's speech benefits the skinhead and klan movements and whose motive are based on end-times Armaggedon (and let's not forget his absurd comments bout Hurricane Katrina being "god's punishment"), then clearly the former would be the best choice. If there were any proper use of 'guilt by association', McCain has earned it.
  17. Thanks for adding nothing to the thread except a personal attack. On second thought, whether I mock his name because he's a self-described conservative that isn't one at all, is immaterial to whether I have made a valid argument. Likewise, it would make just as little sense to say that, "your improper use of punctuation marks hurts your argument". I hope you can see past that, and I hope it doesn't hinder you from providing a responsible post. This said, would you disagree with the fact that John has painted himself as an economic conservative despite his track record?
  18. Fascinating. You know, religious groups have always been left-wing. It is immaterial that they call themselves "right-wing". The thing with McCain, however, is that while he is rated toward the secularist end, he still must, MUST kowtow to the religious right. If he didn't, there would be absolute bloodshed in the Congressional races.
  19. Fair point. Theatricality always serves as proof of understanding. Of course, I'm more demanding than this. I would like to see...you know... a record of his understanding. I think the phrase concludes as, "...walk the walk."
  20. Politicians will be politicians. The politicians in Iran today don't have, as of yet, the fanatical argument that Iran and Islam must be defended against western aggression and that they must be proactive in thier response. As soon as you terminate the Iranian politicians with LGB's, the persons who would step into thier place, obviously, will have such backing and fervor and support. A show of force is never an argument. It proves nothing but that you have the ability to drop bombs. Educate them (the people) of the merits of a free market economy, of individual rights, and you spread this influence for decades and longer. I think the best way that one can establish these principles and ideas in the Middle East is through the support of the people. I think this is the spirit of what Rand's work was about. To 'nuke' Tehran is to incinerate all of the demonstrators, the students and civilians, and thier work, against the theocratic rule in thier country. I cannot believe that some of you have said these persons deserve to suffer because they were not successful. But I must be mistaken: apparently it is acceptable, no, appropriate, for a government to kill millions of innocents to simple eliminate a few dozen power-brokers. By this reasoning, it would have been acceptable to detonate nuclear weapons in the general locales where the concentration camps were set up. The end result of what some of you have proposed would be no different. I cannot fathom why this question was brought up, or that it took 20+ pages to sort out. It speaks of such small-mindedness and simplicity.
  21. You want to give him props for what? Being able to say "taxes are bad" and "I don't believe in the redistribution of wealth"? As far as economics and free markets are involved, McLame does not have even a marginal understanding of how it works. He, in fact, has said as much. So, if he gets any props, it's because he can recite talking points. This debate was a sham as far as I'm concerned. Having watched it again in bits, the sole purpose of this was for McShame to pander to the christian-right (or left, in my book), and re-assure them that he's a christian 'conservative'. That he supports the overturn of Roe v. Wade, that he wants to give the theocrats more control and influence, etc... There can be , in my opinion, no other way to understand why this debate even occured. But, I'm sure my comments will fall on deaf ears as people continue to debate whether it is better to support a socialist or a fascist.
  22. What is most bothersome about this Rick Warren forum is that Obama and McCain agreed to do it. The guy is an evangelical christian preacher. I'm not saying he has any less rights than ourselves or anyone else, but, doing this perpetuates the significance of christanity and further establishes it in the mainstream political discourse. Also, I was strongly disappointed that Bob Barr was not invited.
  23. http://www.finallyequal.com/index-flash.html Watching the trailer made me think of Anthem.
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