Popdose: Confab-ulous? Obama vs. McCain: Round 1 | Popdose
steve
· 1 year ago
"Well, when you invest in communities, that’s pork, and McCain is going to teach Washington a lesson on spending — except when it comes to the military."
Ted, McCain won the spending part of the debate and nailed Obama on his earmark past (and no doubt future). Here's what you are confusing - often money should be spent for things that are requested in earmarks. BUT, it should be spent by States - NOT the Federal Government. If Alaska wants a bridge, let them get the money from their own taxpayers to pay for it. When Obama requested $7 million of Federal money For The Wheaton Sanitary District to support its Water Environment Research Foundation in Illinois, that's BULLSHIT!! I, who live in Virginia, should not have to pay for that shit pay for that shit with my taxes. Let the Illinois State governement pay for it through Illinois State Tax income. Here's just a sample of Obama's earmark requests - http://answercenter.barackobama.com/cgi-bin/bar...
If you look at that website, there are many request for things that seem very important and frankly good for society, or more specifically - society in Illinois. And that is the heart of the matter - Illinois should pay for it - not everyone.
I think McCain won the debate marginally because he exposed Obama's earmark-past, which will keep haunting him and Americans have shown in poll after poll that they're sick of. However, McCain looked angry, obstinate, and frankly belligerent sometimes. Obama came across as way more human, a generally nice guy, and more open to working with someone else, instead of having the my-way-or-the-highway appearance.
I'm still voting Obama because we need new, young, fresh blood. Spending and earmarks are my biggest pet peeves, and even though Obama has shown he'll just be business-as-usual in that manner and waste our money, the so-called small government Republicans have set spending records over the past 8 years that are eye-bulging. It's outta control. So you'd think I would vote McCain since he is earmark free, but I have some hope that if Obama wins, Congress will turn Republican and then they will halt most earmark requests as they did with Clinton just to stick it to him. We need checks and balances, and the Republicans have shown that if they have Congress AND the Presidency they will get drunk on spending worse than anyone. But if we have a Demovratic President with a Republican Congress, as in much of the 90's, they'll fight the inevitable wasteful spending just to be partisan. Even if the intentions aren't noble, I'd still prefer the spending to be cut. So go Obama, and let's hope Congress goes back to Republicans and maybe we'll put and end to funding obscure agricultural research projects in Illinois with my hard-earned money.
DwDunphy
· 1 year ago
A hard pragmatism needs to kick in. We know that, in spite of our sometimes irrational desire to have a superhero running for office, we're getting a politician in either case. There are promises that can't, and won't, be kept. It is the candidates' alignment that is driving a lot of my process. Obama is aligned with the Clintons, for better or worse whether he likes it or not, because they're still Dem superstars. And no matter how despicable Bill has been he's gotten the job done before.
McCain is irrevocably tied to Bush, whether he likes it or not, due to his voting record, and I have to keep coming back to the broad assumption that McCain is in many ways propagating another four years of Bushonomics.
StandingDamaged
· 1 year ago
The entire mess was boring, trite, and poorly managed. Mr Lehrer needs to go back to his newsdesk and not try this again.The poor man can NOT manage a debate well.
And now, to the lies BOTH served us . Georgia was responsible for the invasion NOT Russia. Bush's policy of hemming the Russians in with NATO and 'missile defense' and other moves created a climate of Russian paranoia and then having the just 'trained' by American/Israeli soldiers move in during the Olym[pics when they thought it could be done on the sly and having their asses handed to them by Russians who have had their paranoia amplified previously thru Gollm W's warmongering to keep a hold on Caspian Sea oil simply shows the contempt both men have for our ability to find the facts for ourselves online.
There is NO SUCH THING as CLEAN COAL - that's like saying a little bit pregnant or SAFE Nuclear Power - holy mother of christ people pay attention! Why not just revert to burning buffalo chips?
Achmehdinejahd did NOT say ANYTHING about wiping Israel off the map - even Israeli translators have had to admit that THAT line is nothing more than Likudniks propaganda to divert attention away from the ONLY nuclear power currently terrorizing the Middle East.
Al Quaeda is nothing more than a brand name for the current 'Evil Empire' needed as a tool to scare Americans into giving tax money to the Military Industrial Complex...amazing how they conveniently popped up when we began talking about a 'peace bonus' ennit?
The 'ESCALATION' (screw surge) is NOT working - the Sunni minority had been fairly ethnically cleansed by the time Gollum W pulled this PR stunt -= and then AGREED TO PAY a large portion of the 'insurgents' (bet Reagan woulda called em valiant freedom fighters in his day ) to STOP fighting...that's right - the escalation is PR but the BRIBERY with YOUR tax dollars might be working till someone else pays them more.
Don't believe me when I type these things - GO DO THE RESEARCH yourself...
siiiigh - at this point what we are forced to do is choose between incompetent warmongering same evil as the last 30 yrs OR the lesser evil - and after watching that tawdry boring 'trot out my talking points and ignore the gorilla in each room' bs from last night - I still have to say that at best - Obama is the lesser evil at this point.
Sad endorsement eh? as Cthulhu says - Why choose the lesser evil?
autodidact
· 1 year ago
I am concerned about nuclear security, but there are types of reactors which are not subject to China Syndrome, types of reactors that can use reprocessed waste from current reactors. There are many good options that use real (not imagined) technology. China is building pebble bed reactors, for example, which cannot blow up like Chernobyl. They just get very hot, but not dangerously so. The operators could walk away and leave them.
There is some danger involved in anything nuclear, but my best friend, who is a virtual encyclopedia of knowledge on the Manhatten Project and the processes involved, says that nuclear is really an excellent option. The answer to storing waste is not to store it. Reprocess it.
Here's another possibility: Nathan Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures company examined the hope of reviving nuclear power. It is described in the May 12 New Yorker "Annals of Innovation" piece by Macolm Gladwell.
"'Teller had this idea way back when that you could make a very safe, passive nuclear reactor,' Myhrvold explained. 'No moving parts. Proliferation-resistant. Dead simple. Every serious nuclear accident involves operator error, so you want to eliminate the operator altogether. Lowell and Rod and others wrote a paper on it once. So we did several sessions on it.'"
It would run on thorium, of which we have a 100,000 year supply. It is still in the idea stage at this point, but the company has 30 people working on it.
So I'm glad Obama has flip-flopped on nukes. But then, what is his campaign about, if not contradicting himself when his old position becomes inconvenient? Just last week he became a "fiscal conservatve." Wow, that's progress. Next week, he might even convert to Christianity from his "Muslim religion." ;-)
BobCashill
· 1 year ago
My half-awake wife, dozing after a day with our one-month-old, woke up during the debate and said, "Short North Koreans! What did McCain say about short North Koreans?" We knew what he was implying, but, probably suddenly self-conscious of having gone there in the first place, he never finished the thought, to the bafflement of Americans everywhere not watching "Stargate SG-1" on the Sci-Fi Channel (easily the best of the ten "Stargate" shows Sci-Fi has aired).
To which I say: What's the big deal that they're short? Once Dear Cuckoo kicks it, we go in with umbrellas and smack them over their tiny heads. The umbrellas have been earmarked. It's not in the interest of Wall Street or Main Street to have axis evildoers taller. Sen. McCain doesn't seem to understand.
All Comments
Ted, McCain won the spending part of the debate and nailed Obama on his earmark past (and no doubt future). Here's what you are confusing - often money should be spent for things that are requested in earmarks. BUT, it should be spent by States - NOT the Federal Government. If Alaska wants a bridge, let them get the money from their own taxpayers to pay for it. When Obama requested $7 million of Federal money For The Wheaton Sanitary District to support its Water Environment Research Foundation in Illinois, that's BULLSHIT!! I, who live in Virginia, should not have to pay for that shit pay for that shit with my taxes. Let the Illinois State governement pay for it through Illinois State Tax income. Here's just a sample of Obama's earmark requests - http://answercenter.barackobama.com/cgi-bin/bar...
If you look at that website, there are many request for things that seem very important and frankly good for society, or more specifically - society in Illinois. And that is the heart of the matter - Illinois should pay for it - not everyone.
I think McCain won the debate marginally because he exposed Obama's earmark-past, which will keep haunting him and Americans have shown in poll after poll that they're sick of. However, McCain looked angry, obstinate, and frankly belligerent sometimes. Obama came across as way more human, a generally nice guy, and more open to working with someone else, instead of having the my-way-or-the-highway appearance.
I'm still voting Obama because we need new, young, fresh blood. Spending and earmarks are my biggest pet peeves, and even though Obama has shown he'll just be business-as-usual in that manner and waste our money, the so-called small government Republicans have set spending records over the past 8 years that are eye-bulging. It's outta control. So you'd think I would vote McCain since he is earmark free, but I have some hope that if Obama wins, Congress will turn Republican and then they will halt most earmark requests as they did with Clinton just to stick it to him. We need checks and balances, and the Republicans have shown that if they have Congress AND the Presidency they will get drunk on spending worse than anyone. But if we have a Demovratic President with a Republican Congress, as in much of the 90's, they'll fight the inevitable wasteful spending just to be partisan. Even if the intentions aren't noble, I'd still prefer the spending to be cut. So go Obama, and let's hope Congress goes back to Republicans and maybe we'll put and end to funding obscure agricultural research projects in Illinois with my hard-earned money.
McCain is irrevocably tied to Bush, whether he likes it or not, due to his voting record, and I have to keep coming back to the broad assumption that McCain is in many ways propagating another four years of Bushonomics.
And now, to the lies BOTH served us
.
Georgia was responsible for the invasion NOT Russia. Bush's policy of hemming the Russians in with NATO and 'missile defense' and other moves created a climate of Russian paranoia and then having the just 'trained' by American/Israeli soldiers move in during the Olym[pics when they thought it could be done on the sly and having their asses handed to them by Russians who have had their paranoia amplified previously thru Gollm W's warmongering to keep a hold on Caspian Sea oil simply shows the contempt both men have for our ability to find the facts for ourselves online.
There is NO SUCH THING as CLEAN COAL - that's like saying a little bit pregnant or SAFE Nuclear Power - holy mother of christ people pay attention! Why not just revert to burning buffalo chips?
Achmehdinejahd did NOT say ANYTHING about wiping Israel off the map - even Israeli translators have had to admit that THAT line is nothing more than Likudniks propaganda to divert attention away from the ONLY nuclear power currently terrorizing the Middle East.
Al Quaeda is nothing more than a brand name for the current 'Evil Empire' needed as a tool to scare Americans into giving tax money to the Military Industrial Complex...amazing how they conveniently popped up when we began talking about a 'peace bonus' ennit?
The 'ESCALATION' (screw surge) is NOT working - the Sunni minority had been fairly ethnically cleansed by the time Gollum W pulled this PR stunt -= and then AGREED TO PAY a large portion of the 'insurgents' (bet Reagan woulda called em valiant freedom fighters in his day ) to STOP fighting...that's right - the escalation is PR but the BRIBERY with YOUR tax dollars might be working till someone else pays them more.
Don't believe me when I type these things - GO DO THE RESEARCH yourself...
siiiigh - at this point what we are forced to do is choose between incompetent warmongering same evil as the last 30 yrs OR the lesser evil - and after watching that tawdry boring 'trot out my talking points and ignore the gorilla in each room' bs from last night - I still have to say that at best - Obama is the lesser evil at this point.
Sad endorsement eh?
as Cthulhu says - Why choose the lesser evil?
There is some danger involved in anything nuclear, but my best friend, who is a virtual encyclopedia of knowledge on the Manhatten Project and the processes involved, says that nuclear is really an excellent option. The answer to storing waste is not to store it. Reprocess it.
Here's another possibility: Nathan Myhrvold's Intellectual Ventures company examined the hope of reviving nuclear power. It is described in the May 12 New Yorker "Annals of Innovation" piece by Macolm Gladwell.
"'Teller had this idea way back when that you could make a very safe, passive nuclear reactor,' Myhrvold explained. 'No moving parts. Proliferation-resistant. Dead simple. Every serious nuclear accident involves operator error, so you want to eliminate the operator altogether. Lowell and Rod and others wrote a paper on it once. So we did several sessions on it.'"
It would run on thorium, of which we have a 100,000 year supply. It is still in the idea stage at this point, but the company has 30 people working on it.
So I'm glad Obama has flip-flopped on nukes. But then, what is his campaign about, if not contradicting himself when his old position becomes inconvenient? Just last week he became a "fiscal conservatve." Wow, that's progress. Next week, he might even convert to Christianity from his "Muslim religion." ;-)
To which I say: What's the big deal that they're short? Once Dear Cuckoo kicks it, we go in with umbrellas and smack them over their tiny heads. The umbrellas have been earmarked. It's not in the interest of Wall Street or Main Street to have axis evildoers taller. Sen. McCain doesn't seem to understand.