What happened to all of the doom and gloom economic threads?

[cebalrai]

Do you want his quotes on things such as coal producing electrical plants?





Goes something along the lines of, I'll still let you build coal plants, but you'll go broke running them...

Smells of patriotism to me.

So you're not mercury?

trolls

Proclaiming paranoid, downright idiotic things such as "the president wants the economy to fail" is the opposite of patriotism.

It's pure sedition.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

Well, I already said that any similarity is just a coincidence...but:

- didn't we have more than ten days notice about the oil slick in the gulf? That's the problem, now that the explosion is in the past.

- why is the administration (and it's message board flunkies) in full damage control mode, if there's nothing to see here?

Similarities? *laugh* Talk about message board flunkies, you're starting to sound like Crazynice and her band of moronic alts accusing everyone of being shills for the government covering up the 9/11 conspiracy.

There was response to the oil rig explosion post haste Firespun, in fact the Coast Guard was on the scene that day assisting with fire fighting and formulating search plan for the 11 missing oil rig workers. The time line isn't a mystery unless you're just in a position of willing disbelief, or just completely out of touch with reality.

I know, you don't believe the timeline, or that actions taken have been effective.


And re: your earlier disbelief that controlled burns were used to try to contain the oil.

Don't forget controlled burning.

What else should the federal government have done? What options did they have to plug the leak that they chose not to access?

Tell us when that started, please.

Crews begin controlled burn of oil in Gulf

 

[firespin]

And re: your earlier disbelief that controlled burns were used to try to contain the oil.
Crews begin controlled burn of oil in Gulf

Try to keep up. WrongElement was making that case that burns occurred during the first week as part of the immediate efforts at minimizing impact, so I hinted that he should check the timeline, since that's being used to proof competence here.

And, of course, they didn't start until after the 28th.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

Try to keep up. WrongElement was making that case that burns occurred during the first week as part of the immediate efforts at minimizing impact, so I hinted that he should check the timeline, since that's being used to proof competence here.

And, of course, they didn't start until after the 28th.

Actually, they started ON the 28th, the explosion occurred at 10PM on the 20th, First response was on the 21st.. That would put the start of controlled burns within the first week.

But then you would quibble over 2 hours.

 

[IrezumiKiss]

Well, I already said that any similarity is just a coincidence...but:

(nah, you didn't say that in the beginning, you acquiesced to it grudgingly as you realized you couldn't dance your way into an Obama fuck-up)

- didn't we have more than ten days notice about the oil slick in the gulf? That's the problem, now that the explosion is in the past.

(because BP said it had shit under control...then...OMG GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE IN FREE MARKET AND PRIVATE BUSINESS OMG OMG OMG)

- why is the administration (and it's message board flunkies) in full damage control mode, if there's nothing to see here?

(because BP couldn't clean up their shitting in their britches as it became too big for them to wipe and OMG GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE IN FREE MARKET AND PRIVATE BUSINESS OMG OMG OMG)

*guuuurk*

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Consider these figures. The current size of the American economy is roughly $14 trillion. As of this writing, the federal government's total public debt stands at nearly $13 trillion.

In its first midsession review, the White House Office of Management and Budget estimated that at the end of 2010, the national debt will breach the $14-trillion mark. This means that America's sovereign debt will be soon equal to the annual output of our economy. In other words, our national debt will shortly reach 100 percent of GDP. History and experience show that most governments that assume such levels of debt are ultimately not able to contain them. In most cases, this kind of situation eventually leads to the disintegration of the country's monetary regime and the collapse of its currency.

This outcome is not inevitable, given that -- in theory, at least -- a debt of 100 percent of GDP is still manageable. But to bring things under control would require strict fiscal discipline. Unfortunately, there no indication that our federal government can muster any. Quite the contrary. Last year the federal budget deficit reached a record $1.4 trillion. At nearly 10 percent of GDP, this was the highest peacetime deficit in history. Despite the numerous assurances that the 2009 shortfall was a one-off event brought on by the financial crisis, this year's deficit will go even higher. According to the analysis submitted by the Congressional Budget Office last month, it will climb to $1.5 trillion. This will amount to 10.3 percent of GDP.

There is every reason to believe that the deficit will grow even faster in the years to come, as the federal government further increases its involvement in health care. The estimates by the Office of the Management and Budget which we quoted above do not factor in the costs associated with the recently passed health care reform. Even the more conservative estimates project that the legislation will cost well over one trillion during the program's first ten years. It is almost certain, however, that this figure is grossly understated, as government programs have a tendency to exceed their initial cost projections by grotesque multiples.

This, however, is not the worst of it, because the national debt represents only a relatively small portion of our government's total financial obligations. The far greater bulk is made up of long-term liabilities inherent in entitlement programs. According to the latest estimates by the Dallas Federal Reserve, the combined liabilities of Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid amount to an astounding $104 trillion.

When we add the national debt and entitlements together, we get a figure of some $117 trillion. This figure represents the amount of money the federal government will have to come up with in the years ahead in order to discharge its obligations.

...

There is only one conclusion that reasonably can be drawn on the basis of these figures: The American federal government is simply not in the position to make good on its obligations.

There is a growing recognition of this fact. When discussing America's national debt in his lecture at the Mises Institute, the noted financial analyst Peter Schiff said this:

We're not going to pay the Chinese back their money. It's impossible. We can't. We can't possibly.

Given the figures, Schiff only stated the obvious.

Sooner or later, our government's ability to finance deficit spending with low yield bonds will come to an end. Deprived of the source of cheap cash and pressed by the need to meet its vast array payments, the government will be left with two options: It will either have to default, or it can seek to meet the payment schedules by creating new money.

Given the dollar's status as the world's reserve currency, default would be a cataclysmic global event that would result in the disintegration of the world's financial system. Needless to say, this kind of calamity would bring about the dollar's sudden collapse with ruinous consequences for the American people.

The second option -- paying its outstanding bills with new money -- looks initially more attractive. On this scenario government would discharge its liabilities with freshly created dollars. This is actually the most likely course our government will take, since money creation is the route that over-leveraged governments usually take in an effort to service their excessive obligations.

At first sight this may seem like an easy way out, but it has bad consequences down the line. As the government pumps new dollars into the system, the value of the money stock is diluted and inflation occurs. In light of the enormous depth of our indebtedness, inflation will in the end eat away most of the dollar's value.

It should be noted that inflation is really only default in disguise. On the inflationary scenario, creditors will only get paid back a portion of their original investment while entitlement beneficiaries will only receive a portion of the value of their promised benefits.

Whichever of the two possible options our government chooses to pursue, the final result will be currency destruction. Outright default would result in the dollar's immediate collapse, while inflation would produce a more gradual decline, at least initially. Needless to say, given the immense weight of the government' financial burden, the inflationary route will ultimately wipe out most of the greenback's worth. Either way, we will end up with a greatly debased, if not completely worthless, currency and all the painful repercussions inherent in that downfall.

To put it bluntly, the dollar's days are numbered and its demise is inevitable. Anyone who still hopes there may be a way around it, must answer that ultimate money question: Where in the world is the American federal government going to get $117 trillion?

Vasko Kohlmayer
American Thinker

__________________
"The System WORKED!"
"We had (Defense Department) resources there from Day One. This was a situation that was treated as a possible catastrophic failure from, from Day One!"
Janet Napolitano

 

[The_Trouvere]

Vasko Kohlmayer
American Thinker

copy & paste
copy & paste
copy & paste

:caning:


I guess someone who submits 60.17 posts per day does not have enough time to do much independent study and original thinking.

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

It's good to have trolls...

 

[IrezumiKiss]

Taser Takes Down Excited Teenage Baseball Fan

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/7/2010/05/500x_0504_tased.jpg

Philadelphia sports fans are notoriously crazy. So when a 17-year-old superfan ran onto the field during a Phillies games yesterday, one cop decided that enough was enough and fried his ass with a taser.

http://gawker.com/5530506/taser-takes-down-excited-teenage-baseball-fan

 

[popapill]

Taser Takes Down Excited Teenage Baseball Fan

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/7/2010/05/500x_0504_tased.jpg

Philadelphia sports fans are notoriously crazy. So when a 17-year-old superfan ran onto the field during a Phillies games yesterday, one cop decided that enough was enough and fried his ass with a taser.

http://gawker.com/5530506/taser-takes-down-excited-teenage-baseball-fan

Cool!

 

[mercury14]

Vasko Kohlmayer
American Thinker

__________________
"The System WORKED!"
"We had (Defense Department) resources there from Day One. This was a situation that was treated as a possible catastrophic failure from, from Day One!"
Janet Napolitano

Nobody gives a shit about the American Thinker though.

 

[Beco]

Doh, the job losses stopped already.

Whew!! glad thats over....

 

[IrezumiKiss]

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/05/04/arts/picasso190/picasso190-articleInline.jpg

Picasso Sells at Auction for $106.5 Million, a Record for a Work of Art

By CAROL VOGEL

8:27 p.m. | Updated

A painting that Picasso created in a single day in March 1932, “Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur (Nude, Green Leaves and Bust),” sold for $106.5 million, a world record auction price for a work of art, at Christie’s Tuesday night. The painting, more than 5 feet by 4 feet, shows Picasso’s mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, both reclining and as a bust. Picasso’s profile can be discerned in the blue background.

The painting broke the record price for a work of art set in February when a Giacometti sculpture, “Walking Man I,” was sold for $104.3 million at Sotheby’s in London. Bidding for the Picasso lasted 8 minutes and 6 seconds; there were six bidders. Nicholas Hall, an expert at Christie’s, took the winning bid by telephone. He declined to say who he was bidding for.

Giacomettis were also selling well on Tuesday night. “Grande Tête Mince,” a distinctive narrow bust, was bought by Guy Bennett, a private New York dealer, for a final price of $53.3 million, well over its estimate of $25 million to $35 million. “Le Chat,” an elongated bronze cat, sold for $20.8 million. And “La Main,” an outstretched arm and hand with fingers spread wide, went for $25.8 million in about six and a half minutes of bidding. It had been expected to bring $10 million to $15 million.

Final prices include the commission to Christie’s; estimates do not.

“Nu au Plateau” comes from the collection of the Los Angeles philanthropist Frances Lasker Brody, who died in November and was the wife of the real estate developer Sidney F. Brody. It is one of a group from the Brody estate being sold at Christie’s this spring, including works by Matisse, Braque and Giacometti. The painting has been publicly exhibited only once since 1951, the last time it changed hands. The year it was painted, 1932, is considered a turning point for the artist; it was then that he began creating luscious canvases of Marie-Thérèse that were unlike anything he had done before: bigger and more sensual.

The sale kicks off two weeks of important spring auctions.

 

[unregistered]

 

[IrezumiKiss]

State Senator Looks At Topless Pics During Abortion Debate (Updated)

Florida State Senator Mike Bennett is anti-abortion. And yet, during a floor debate on a bill requiring abortion seekers to pay for an ultrasound, the cameras caught him looking at topless pics on his laptop.

Debate over the bill — which has no exceptions for rape, incest, or endangerment of a woman's life — has been heated, but it failed to hold Bennett's attention. Just as Senator Dan Gelber, a Democrat, was saying, "I'm against this bill, because it disrespects too many women in the state of Florida," Sunshine State News service's cameras caught Sen. Bennett looking at a photo of topless girls, and then watching a video of a dog shaking itself dry. Per the same source:

Bennett defended his actions, telling Sunshine State News it was an email sent to him by a woman "who happens to be a former court administrator."

"I was just sitting there, bored as they were debating the abortion bill," Bennett said.

As hypocrisy gotchas go, this is a good one. But it's actually significantly more disturbing, if unsurprising, how little interest Bennett took in a crucial bill in which presumably he'd vote the party line. (Update: To be fair, we should note that while he is usually a reliable anti-choice vote, Bennett opposes pre-abortion ultrasound requirements — but his web-browsing preferences are what they are.)

Then again, perhaps he thinks the only choice a woman should exert over her body is taking off her bikini top.

Second Update: Bennett has threatened the reporter, Lane Wright, who exposed him:

"What kind of man are you?" he asked, then ascribed other attributes to my character such as "pathetic" and "voyeuristic".
"What kind of man sneaks over people's shoulders like that?" Bennett questioned.

Who're you calling voyeuristic, Senator? He also said, by the way, "I will do everything in my power, everything — I don't know what that is exactly — but I will do everything I can to make sure your days at the Capitol and reporting are over." As TrueSlant contributor Joseph Childers put it, "If you're going to threaten someone, don't hesitate mid-threat to ponder your ability to carry it out."

http://jezebel.com/5530724/state-senator-looks-at-topless-pics-during-abortion-debate-updated

Sen. Mike Bennett Caught Looking at Porn on Senate Floor

BY: LANE WRIGHT | POSTED: MAY 3, 2010 2:41 PM

Sen. Mike Bennett caught viewing a pornographic image during session. Claims it was an unexpected email from trusted source

No one will argue that sitting on the Senate floor during session can get a little boring, but looking at porn is probably not the best way to pass the time.

On Thursday morning, Sunshine State News captured exclusive video of Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, looking at pornographic material on his state-issued computer on the Senate floor.

Ironically, as Bennett is viewing the material, you can hear a Senator Dan Gelber's voice in the background debating a controversial abortion bill.

"I'm against this bill," said Gelber, "because it disrespects too many women in the state of Florida."

Bennett defended his actions, telling Sunshine State News it was an email sent to him by a woman "who happens to be a former court administrator."

"I was just sitting there, bored as they were debating the abortion bill," Bennett said.

"I opened it up and said holy [expletive]! What's on my screen? and clicked away from it right away."

Sunshine State News could not verify how long the image of four bikini-clad women with their tops exposed was open before our cameras started rolling on it, but it was up for at least three seconds before it disappeared from the screen.

Senate spokesperson Jaryn Emhof explained further on Bennett's behalf.

"There was some confusion about an email he received," said Emhof. "He thought it was an email about an item being debated on the Senate floor. As soon as he realized it wasn't he closed the page."

But the one image we caught on camera wasn't the only thing Bennett had viewed. It appears other files, including at least two videos, may have been downloaded, too. He was also caught on camera watching a video of a dog running out of the water and shaking itself off. It is unclear if he also thought that was an email about a bill being debated on the floor.

We offered Bennett an opportunity to prove his statements to Sunshine State News by showing the executive editor and videographer the email record with a government-related subject line, but after talking to the Senate's top lawyer, he declined to let us see those records.

This revealing video comes just weeks after an investigation found a number of federal Securities and Exchange Commission employees had been spending several hours visiting pornographic websites on government-issued computers when they should have been working.

When asked if he ever looks at pornography while on the Senate floor, Bennett responded, "You'd have to be insane to do that. It all goes through a server. I don't think anybody would be doing that."

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/sen-mike-bennett-caught-looking-porn-senate-floor

 

[Frisco_Slug_Esq]

Sonny_Limata (flat5) sure picked a good time to begin crowing about the health of the economy...




Good morning U_D!

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

Sonny_Limata (flat5) sure picked a good time to begin crowing about the health of the economy...

Good morning U_D!

Still cheering for failure I see Cap'n One-note.

Meanwhile job creation (notice, not loss) numbers were WAY up last month (290,000 jobs). Now crow about the unemployment rate also going back up to 9.9 from 9.7. Neglecting to notice of course that the reason behind that is that many are returning to seeking jobs with the prospects looking up.

It must be one hell of a disappointing whirlwind you're riding.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Still cheering for failure I see Cap'n One-note.

The Cap'n, incredibly, has taken a back seat to the Vettebigot and Kancer Kraft when it comes to cheering any perceived downturn in America.

The latter two have taken the art of rhetorical masturbation to new heights each time any bit of negative financial news hits the wire. Of course, their sad, bitter lives are focused like a laser on bringing down the Obama administration.

 

[Wrong Element]

It's good to have trolls...

Figures that would be your attitude.

 

[RobDownSouth]

Figures that would be your attitude.

They complete him.

 

[Sean Renaud]

I think the R epublicans win. After all the Stock Market never fell one thousand points under Bush's Watch. And because Bush was an oil man he understood the industry and prevented oil spills. Got a man in office who's never run a business in his life and all this shit starts fallin apart!

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

I think the R epublicans win. After all the Stock Market never fell one thousand points under Bush's Watch. And because Bush was an oil man he understood the industry and prevented oil spills. Got a man in office who's never run a business in his life and all this shit starts fallin apart!

*laugh*

Nah, it just fell 700+ points multiple times in 2008 under Boosh... I'm sure that can somehow be blamed on Obama though. Just give the Cap'n a chance.

the 1000 point drop has been blamed on erroneous trading in more than 300 stocks, due to errors in electronic trading programs, that resulted in the Dow's massive plunge -- its biggest intraday selloff ever.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Of course the 700 point drops were Obama's fault. Don't you remember? They dropped when he got the nomination, and again when he got elected. Smart people were abandoning the market before Obama nationalized everything.

 

[unregistered]

 

[unregistered]