Reason Magazine
- reason.com
- reason.tv
- reason.org
- Donate
- Site Search:
Reason on Facebook
Reason on Twitter
Reason on YouTube
Reason RSSGet Reason E-mail Updates!
Manage your Reason e-mail list subscriptionsadvertisements
|8.7.09 @ 12:29PM|#
ok, then all politicians need to shut the fuck up, since they are the ones who caused the problem. that includes you Mr. PresHopenChangeident.
jc|8.7.09 @ 12:34PM|#
jesus christ that dude has an ego.
"don't do a lot of talking"
...are we playing pick-up basketball now?
|8.7.09 @ 12:40PM|#
Nutra-Sweet, you simply can not write enough chapters in "Love Crimes" about this asshole. How about a very deserved ripping to start off the weekend?
The Angry Optimist|8.7.09 @ 12:42PM|#
given that the frontman for the Democrats in the House is Barney Frank, that party doesn't have a lot of room to "talk", either.
|8.7.09 @ 12:43PM|#
How long before this administration "owns" the problems this country is facing? Is it day 300? 500? Or is it when things are looking better and not a second before?
qwerty|8.7.09 @ 1:12PM|#
Well, Obama, I never did anything to cause the recession. Do I get to tell you to shut up?
triangleman|8.7.09 @ 1:14PM|#
"I don't want the folks who created the mess to do a lot of
talking..."
But if they do, report them to flag@whitehouse.gov, for your
country!
|8.7.09 @ 1:16PM|#
WTF? OK the mess we're in is that the country is bankrupt because of wild spending, and the economy collapsed because the government thought everyone should own a home. I don't have a copy of Obama's Senate voting record in front of me, but he did indeed vote for most or all of the reckless spending bills passed during the time he was in the Senate. And his "community organizing" included "expanded home ownership." So how can he solve the mess if he helped create it?
|8.7.09 @ 1:33PM|#
So what does everyone put his odds of being re-elected in 2012
now?
He so easily forgets that HE was a part of the problem and that his
PARTY was in control for 2 years leading up to his needing to clean
it up.
Whats the saying, don't expect those that fucked things up to be
the same ones that fix them. This jackass forgets he WAS THE
PROBLEM and a member of the Congress with the approval rating below
15%.
How many people voted for this ego maniac now wish they had just
stayed home on election day.
IMO 2010 will be the telling time, either we are united to send
them ALL home or we will send them back. If we send them back we
might as well quit talking about it at all since it will be obvious
the majority could give a shit less what worthless pieces of crap
we have controlling our lives.
LOL|8.7.09 @ 1:35PM|#
Pablo,
How many years ago was that law put into effect, and you obviously
cling to that mantra as the reason we're in the mess now. A few
things,
It isn't only homes, it's everything, credit cards, student loans,
commericial property, and prime borrowers. It's easy to blame
strawmen like the govt. and deadbeats, but if you've been paying
any attention it was interest rates that pushed everything over the
top. An entitlement attitude to interest rates if you will. Which
wouldn't have been a problem if people the last few years weren't
trying to wittle away the effective counter balance that is
bankruptcy. Since we don't want business's or individuals to have
the option of liquidating and moving on, don't be surprised that
this economic mess is going to continue.
If you want a low wage economy, don't be surprised when folks can't
pay the bills, but good try though.
|8.7.09 @ 1:40PM|#
On one hand, most Republicans in Congress are indeed flaming rectums who contributed to this mess, and in theory I would love to have them called out for their hypocrisy. On the other hand, Obama's "cleaning up" has only exacerbated the situation, and silencing the Republicans means silencing the only dissent coming from those in power. Just further proof that we're being fucked from the Left AND the Right.
|8.7.09 @ 1:47PM|#
It's easy to blame strawmen like the govt. and deadbeats, but if you've been paying any attention it was interest rates that pushed everything over the top.
No, you're committing the same error that you're (correctly, I
think) accusing him of. Interest rates can't, and don't, explain it
all either. Interest rates don't explain why some areas of the
country, say Texas and North Carolina, had a relatively normal
housing market and didn't participate in the bubble and enormous
underwater mortgages leading to foreclosures, even if NC is getting
hit with unemployment and some related foreclosures (but below the
worse bubble states) now. It also wouldn't explain why other
countries with higher interest rates also had bubbles.
There are other factors. Anything this big has lots of causes.
Personally, I'm a strong advocate for looking at the role of zoning
and land-use planning in making bubbles more severe and more
frequent, but again even that only makes them more common, but is
not a complete cause.
Which wouldn't have been a problem if people the last few years weren't trying to wittle away the effective counter balance that is bankruptcy. Since we don't want business's or individuals to have the option of liquidating and moving on, don't be surprised that this economic mess is going to continue.
People do have the option of liquidating and moving on. Just not
easily if they make over the median income for their area. But in
any case, do you really think that making it easy to socialize your
losses if your house price goes down but keep all the gains if it
goes up would have reduced the housing bubble?
|8.7.09 @ 1:49PM|#
Time to update the "Joker" poster.
Picture of a citizen, with the same pose, but with eyes panicked,
with duct tape over the mouth.
Caption: "obamism"
Extra points: a little American flag sticker over the tape, and add
"flag@whitehouse.gov" under "obamism"
jtuf|8.7.09 @ 1:50PM|#
Obama was a US senator from 2007 to 2009. He is one of the people responsible for the problem.
jtuf|8.7.09 @ 1:51PM|#
Does Obama even realize that his speeches get broadcasted to a national audience outside his echo chamber?
LOL|8.7.09 @ 2:16PM|#
I didn't mean to state interest rates were the main or only
factor, but more like the tipping point. And yes, there are many
factors to this mess.
I have to disagree with you to an extent on the bankruptcy. Yes
people can, and filings have increased, but some segments of the
population are denied bankruptcy protection. And before this
recession the trend was still heading toward wittling this
protection away.
Again, not to leave the impression that this is the only thing i
felt triggered the housing collaspe but it was just the one i
expanded on, and i think, one that has been neglected. Lenders can
charge any interest rate they think they're "entitled" to, but
bankruptcy should definitly be there for when unsurprisingly the
debt burden becomes unsustainable. Lenders and borrowers are apt to
work together if both have options. I think the coming education
bubble may back up that assertion.
Mad Max|8.7.09 @ 2:21PM|#
Check out this passage from
President Obama's Notre Dame speech, and see if the attitudes
endorsed therein - acknowledging the sincerity of those who think
differently than you, refusing to demonize them, etc. - is
reflected in today's link.
'The question, then -- the question then is how do we work through
these conflicts? Is it possible for us to join hands in common
effort? As citizens of a vibrant and varied democracy, how do we
engage in vigorous debate? How does each of us remain firm in our
principles, and fight for what we consider right, without . . .
demonizing those with just as strongly held convictions on the
other side? . . .
'As I considered the controversy surrounding my visit here, I was
reminded of an encounter I had during my Senate campaign, one that
I describe in a book I wrote called "The Audacity of Hope." A few
days after I won the Democratic nomination, I received an e-mail
from a doctor who told me that while he voted for me in the
Illinois primary, he had a serious concern that might prevent him
from voting for me in the general election. He described himself as
a Christian who was strongly pro-life -- but that was not what was
preventing him potentially from voting for me.
'What bothered the doctor was an entry that my campaign staff had
posted on my website -- an entry that said I would fight
"right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman's right to
choose." The doctor said he had assumed I was a reasonable person,
he supported my policy initiatives to help the poor and to lift up
our educational system, but that if I truly believed that every
pro-life individual was simply an ideologue who wanted to inflict
suffering on women, then I was not very reasonable. He wrote, "I do
not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak
about this issue in fair-minded words." Fair-minded words.
'After I read the doctor's letter, I wrote back to him and I
thanked him. And I didn't change my underlying position, but I did
tell my staff to change the words on my website. And I said a
prayer that night that I might extend the same presumption of good
faith to others that the doctor had extended to me. Because when we
do that -- when we open up our hearts and our minds to those who
may not think precisely like we do or believe precisely what we
believe -- that's when we discover at least the possibility of
common ground.'
|8.7.09 @ 2:29PM|#
Yes people can, and filings have increased, but some segments of the population are denied bankruptcy protection.
Not exactly true either. People who make over the median income for
their area are denied the right to file Chapter 7, but they
certainly can file Chapter 13. The difference is between
liquidation and expecting them to pay off some portion of the debt.
I'm sorry, but I don't find it onerous that people who have income
over the median for their area be expected to put some money
towards their debt.
And if that protection hadn't been whittled away, then you would
see even more people getting outlandish mortgages on multiple
homes, expecting to make a big profit if they could flip, knowing
that they could always file Chapter 7 if they couldn't. Again, not
enough to cause the problem alone, but it certainly would have
contributed.
Unfortunately, easing the burden for people if they do take risks
will make it more likely for them to do so. Same holds for
companies.
Paul|8.7.09 @ 2:31PM|#
Do you think if I write the President a heartfelt letter asking him not to do anything, I can become a poster-child for his administration?
SpongePaul|8.7.09 @ 2:53PM|#
So Das Furhuer wants us to sit down and shut up aw sthe bus driver form southpark would say eh, well FUCK YOU MR. PRESIDENT!
D.R.M.|8.7.09 @ 2:58PM|#
So what does everyone put his odds of being re-elected in
2012 now?
Pretty damn good. The economy will be doing better, the media will
be busy attacking the Republican congressional leadership, and
health care will have been a long-dead issue. Welcome to a replay
of Clinton's first term.
JB|8.7.09 @ 3:12PM|#
This retarded douche helped create the mess with his support for stupid policies at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I hope that motherfucking fishy cunt shuts up.
|8.7.09 @ 3:24PM|#
He could be referring to the fact that the GOP, since they know they have no power, has zero interest in proposing solutions to any problems, but only trying to destroy the Obama presidency. It's not like they haven't played these games before.
|8.7.09 @ 3:39PM|#
> "So what does everyone put his odds of being re-elected in
2012 now?"
You write as though you believe there will be an election in 2012.
This assumes that there will be a Constitution in 2012, and further
that this country will exist in its present form in 2012.
That's a lot of assuming.
|8.7.09 @ 3:59PM|#
We've been needing healthcare reform for a lot longer than 2 years. The problem's been building, at least since the 80s. I don't think its unreasonable for Obama to ask for people to actually engage in a dialog about reform rather than trying to shut it down and foil any kind of meaningful discussion. If all you can do is yell and wave your arms around, I think he's right: get out of the way.
hmm|8.7.09 @ 4:09PM|#
It took until this afternoon.
post dispatch
I saw a few union guys hanging out in SEIU shirts at the last
event. I should have gone to this one.
Cavuto is covering it now. Looks like Kenneth Gladney was just
there selling his crap. More than one person I know said they
outright let in SEIU members and not others.
A couple of them are making it to Youtube.
long url for youtube
|8.7.09 @ 4:33PM|#
What kind of idiot do you have to be wear your union T-shirt at
a public event and beat somebody up? I was glad to hear that the
victim has a lawyer and is filing suit.
It sounded like they knew who the thugs were. If that's true, I'm
wondering where the criminal charges are. If its not, I'm wondering
where the police investigation is. This was an outright assault,
witnessed by dozens, in broad daylight.
Not only that, but the victim says they called him a nigger before
they beat him up. I'm no fan of hate crimes laws, but I see no
reason not to apply those laws here if they are on the books.
This is just wonderful. The President's supporters, as part of a
campaign orchestrated out of the White House urging that his people
"hit back twice as hard" commit a violent hate crime.
This is also a test for our national media. If this doesn't lead
the network news, I don't want to hear anybody saying that they
aren't in the tank for Obama and the Dems.
hmm|8.7.09 @ 4:37PM|#
From the Cavuto interview it sounds like the guy was just there making a buck. I saw two guys doing this at the one town hall I went to. They were selling little flags and crap off a tailgate.
hmm|8.7.09 @ 4:38PM|#
One guy was selling everything from Obama bobbles to Gadsden flags. Now that is a businessman.
JB|8.7.09 @ 4:51PM|#
SEIU are thugs. Avoid union products and unions services.
SEIU President: "We spent a fortune to elect Barack Obama - $60.7
million to be exact - and we're proud of it."
http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/2009/05/seiu-prez-union-spent-607-million-to.html
Obama: bought and paid for by SEIU thugs.
|8.7.09 @ 6:36PM|#
So what does everyone put his odds of being re-elected in
2012 now?
I'd still put him sightly above 50%. The Republicans are in total
disarray, and they're likely to screw the pooch in 2012 by
nominating some asshole like Romney.
-jcr
|8.7.09 @ 6:56PM|#
Why did it happen? Here are three articles by Michael Lewis
detailing how irresponsible actions in the bond market by
investors, traders, ratings agencies and regulators crashed the US
economy. These are relatively long articles but well written and
very informative.
The End of Wall Street's Boom?:
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom?tid=advert/wired/michael_lewis#commentsforms
The End of the Financial World as We Know It:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/opinion/04lewiseinhorn.html?_r=1
How to Repair a Broken Financial World:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/opinion/04lewiseinhornb.html
perilisk|8.7.09 @ 10:29PM|#
"Not only that, but the victim says they called him a nigger
before they beat him up. I'm no fan of hate crimes laws, but I see
no reason not to apply those laws here if they are on the
books."
The article I read said that the person who said that was black.
That would be one reason not to apply those laws, insofar as most
juries would not infer a racial motivation merely due to the use of
that term, in that context. You'd just have to settle for charging
them with beating the shit out of political dissidents.
iamse7en|8.8.09 @ 12:04AM|#
I miss the days when our old President would just shut up and ignore all the criticism.
mark|8.8.09 @ 1:46AM|#
The Republicans are in total disarray, and they're likely to
screw the pooch in 2012 by nominating some asshole like
Romney.
I'm still holding out for Sanford, but even I would have to admit
Romney is more electable. Who is more electable than Mitt?
JB|8.8.09 @ 4:05AM|#
Romney should change his name.
First name: Hope
Second name: Change
That, and put on blackface. Easy win.
Suck it, 0bots|8.10.09 @ 5:52PM|#
HEnry | August 9, 2009, 3:07pm | #
what Obama's saying is not COMPLETELY ridiculous...
Yeah, or at least it wouldn't be if he would just shut up and get
out of the way as he's saying he and his kind ought to...
As when the Dimrats included the politically incorrect term
"retarded" in their bill, they apparently do not, alas, realize
they are referring to themselves.
Site comments/questions:
Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:
(310) 367-6109
Editorial & Production Offices:
3415 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-2245