help needed

[eekee 182]

Look into the true origins of the Tea Party. I found this documentary (made by an Australian filmmaker) to be very enlightening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO_WC0FINmA

There is no such thing as "white" magazine. White is simply the default.

As far as Herman Cain goes... I don't go very far into researching Republican candidates, because there is simply no way that any Republican candidate in the current state of the Republican party would be someone I would agree with. And his 9-9-9 plan indeed sounds like a gimmick created by a pizza chain that would increase taxes on consumer goods, thus hurting the poor/middle class more. Plus, what about states' rights, that thing that Republicans are supposedly all about? Wouldn't a national sales and business tax impede on, say, Delaware's ability to attract commerce?

Edited October 20, 2011 by eekee

[SMR 368]

Nobody brought up the fact that John McCain was actually born in Panama.

You must not read the news much. That was brought up quite a bit during the campaign. It just didn't come up after the election because when McCain lost it became a mute point. As far as Bush, his mother wasn't living in another country near and around the time of his birth. It's pretty typical to bring up skin color when there is a much simpler explanation.

[visaveteran1 33]

"Hegemony" is when one group controls a society to such an extent that it's not even questioned, basically. So the idea that, say, white males wouldn't hold basically all of most privileged positions in America and be the decision-makers is, for most people, quite frightening because the hegemonic status of the White Male is ingrained in us since birth. Herman Cain, despite his skin color, is less threatening because he is a wealthy CEO and doesn't represent a threat to the dominant power structure. He would promote the same pro-business old white dudes to his cabinet that any of the other Republican candidates would.

Nobody questioned whether George W. Bush was born in Connecticut and demanded to see his birth certificate and school records and whatnot. Nobody brought up the fact that John McCain was actually born in Panama.

(Sorry, I am writing a dissertation right now in the sociology/cultural studies sphere at the moment.)

Funny, you're living in a country totally male-dominated (oOften brutally) and "white," yet you often want to argue Russia is better than America. Your arguments and complaints are not incongruity.

Maybe you'd prefer white women like Hillary Clinton run the show...she came pretty damn close.

Complaining women in Russia get slapped down or killed, depending on who they're mouthing off about. Or has the "new Russia" really kicked in?

One thing, additionally, I'll say about white women...they've turned their white children over to people of color to raise. Should we applaud they're racial tolerance or hold them accountable for turning away from their mothering responsibility?

[eekee 182]

Funny, you're living in a country totally male-dominated (oOften brutally) and "white," yet you often want to argue Russia is better than America. Your arguments and complaints are not incongruity.

Maybe you'd prefer white women like Hillary Clinton run the show...she came pretty damn close.

Complaining women in Russia get slapped down or killed, depending on who they're mouthing off about. Or has the "new Russia" really kicked in?

One thing, additionally, I'll say about white women...they've turned their white children over to people of color to raise. Should we applaud they're racial tolerance or hold them accountable for turning away from their mothering responsibility?

SMR, during the election I was here.

I don't particularly care for children except in the smallest of doses and I don't care how parents delegate their parenting responsibilities. I would probably hire a nanny. I definitely would hire a maid/housekeeper.

I feel more comfortable judging my own country than I do someone else's. I would say that America [had] a superior system, but now I worry for its future. I am currently better off here, but that has to do with my own specific personal circumstances that I doubt would apply to many other Americans. I don't think I've argued for Russia's "superiority."

And yes, I like Hillary.

[LvivLovers 39]

Look into the true origins of the Tea Party. I found this documentary (made by an Australian filmmaker) to be very enlightening: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=GO_WC0FINmA

There is no such thing as "white" magazine. White is simply the default.

As far as Herman Cain goes... I don't go very far into researching Republican candidates, because there is simply no way that any Republican candidate in the current state of the Republican party would be someone I would agree with. And his 9-9-9 plan indeed sounds like a gimmick created by a pizza chain that would increase taxes on consumer goods, thus hurting the poor/middle class more. Plus, what about states' rights, that thing that Republicans are supposedly all about? Wouldn't a national sales and business tax impede on, say, Delaware's ability to attract commerce?

I haven't had time to watch the whole video...but I've watched the first 10 minutes. A couple of things I'll say...I actually don't care who founded the Tea Party or how much money they have...what I care about is the beliefs/goals of the Tea Party itself. I'm not working for anyone because I believe in something that they also believe in or because they have ulterior purposes. I do believe in some of the things I've seen in that video so far...shutting down many of the departments of government...I think they are a complete waste of money. For example, the department of energy...brought about to reduce our foreign dependence on oil? Sorry...total failure there so I believe it should go away. That's $30 billion/year that I think we will find a way to do without...private business would be much more efficient. I could say the same about many of the other departments shown...I don't know about all...but in the least I think they should be intensely scrutinized to see if they can be downsized or gotten rid of completely.

I'll have more commentary once I've watched the rest of the video when I have a chance...even if it is anti-Tea Party (just a guess, but again I haven't watched it yet)....I don't try to shut out opposing opinions/voices to my own...I always listen to see if they make valid points or if I can learn something from them.

As far as the 9-9-9 plan...maybe it needs some tweaking, but the overall idea is sound...a SIMPLE tax plan for a nation of what has become a bunch of morons. It's much better to have a tax plan where EVERYONE plays by the same rules rather than having a huge tax code where some people are given breaks all the time to reduce their taxes down to 0. It shouldn't cater to anyone. Increasing taxes btw does NOT necessarily mean increased cost. Would it mean more taxes for some people? Yes. But that's only because around 50% currently pay no taxes and now they would. But as long as the cost of the goods came down (which it would under the plan), they don't have to pay more...they might even pay less. States' rights are not affected by this at all...whatever they want to do with state taxes or no state taxes would be up to the states...just like it is now. It's only the nature of the federal part of taxes that would change. Again, every state pays federal taxes right now. As far as Delaware's ability to attract commerce...it should help since it would lower taxes for businesses and the employees they hire. That's the main purpose of the plan...to stimulate job growth. But the best part of it in my opinion is doing away with the 70,000 page tax code that is riddled with corruption.

Or we can just continue doing what we are currently doing....we are only 15T in debt and spending 4B + per day that we don't have. In a few more years, the U.S. dollar will be worthless, because we will either a) default on the money we've loaned to other countries or b) print so much money that we have hyperinflation. So far we've been printing money.

Ukraine will default on their debt soon followed by Greece, and other countries in the EU. They are just a little further along than we are.

[eekee 182]

Delaware already has no sales tax and the best tax code for businesses in the country. That is why basically all financial institutions, etc. are legally incoporated/headquarted in Wilmington, DE.

If you want to know why we are in such debt, it's because they lowered taxes while starting wars in several theaters.

I do not have faith in corporations to do things that will benefit humans more than the bottom line. At least you can elect officials. We can't elect the CEOs of companies.

Edited October 20, 2011 by eekee

[LvivLovers 39]

Ok....so I've watched about another 10 minutes of the (propaganda) video....this part is mostly about Obamacare. It's true that most Tea Party folks were against Obamacare. Not because we want to serve big pharmaceutical companies or health companies...but because it would cost even more than what we are spending now. Yes...I realize that those companies were serving their own interests so of course they were going to come out with their positions as well. That's what every entity known to man would do...look out for their self-interest...I'm not surprised by that again. It's irrelevant and I could care less. We didn't want Obamacare because it makes an already crappy situation 10 times worse. The government can not do anything right and it is just a black hole for money, so no...most of us didn't want it to expand into another front. That said...our current system is broken and needs to be reformed...just not in the Obamacare way. In my opinion, it's current as fubar as it is because of government intervention in the first place.

I can assure you...it's a grass roots movement for most folks. Either that or I and all the people I know just don't exist. I'm not paid. I don't support the Tea Party because someone tells me to or persuades me too. I support them because our government is inefficient, incompetent, and broke....we simply can't afford all of the niceties that everyone would like to have and taking from wealthy people and giving to less wealthy people, although convenient, is not right.

[eekee 182]

What do you consider "niceties"?

[LvivLovers 39]

Delaware already has no sales tax and the best tax code for businesses in the country. That is why basically all financial institutions, etc. are legally incoporated/headquarted in Wilmington, DE.

If you want to know why we are in such debt, it's because they lowered taxes while starting wars in several theaters.

I do not have faith in corporations to do things that will benefit humans more than the bottom line. At least you can elect officials. We can't elect the CEOs of companies.

What in Delaware's tax code makes it so much better than other states? I'll admit...I have not looked into it.

As to the reason we are in debt....I have to disagree. Even if we had not gone to war at all, and even if we had not given tax breaks, we would still be in debt and it would still be increasing. We simply spend much more than we take in. It's just like someone who loves to spend with a credit card. Yeah...tax the rich more than anyone else while taxing 50% of the people nothing and complain that they still don't pay their "fair share"...but that's just not true. They pay more than their fair share already...it just isn't enough to cover the spending.

I mean, it's like being in a family....and you spend and spend and spend going into debt....and so you complain that your parent's or whoever else is the breadwinner in the family aren't contributing their fair share to your spending. I just don't buy that.

Anyway....it won't solve anything to argue about it. Everyone goes on believing what they believe. There just are strong philosophical differences in people when it comes to religion and politics.

For the record, I'm someone that has never borrowed money....I only pay for things in cash with the exception of buying something on my credit card for convenience and immediately paying off the balance. Not cars...not houses....nothing. I've also earned my own way and never taken government hand outs. So I guess that slants my view into believing that everyone should work hard to improve their own situation. For those that like socialism, I just don't get why they try to change the U.S. into a socialist country when there are already so many wonderful socialist countries available. Maybe because they are further along the fail curve.

Oh...and you CAN elect the CEOs of companies...that's what shareholder meetings are for. They also typically get fired if their performance is bad...something missing from government.

I think it's unrealistic to expect any company to exist for the purpose of benefiting humans instead of making money. They almost always exist to make money. Typically, benefiting humans is the way to make money though...otherwise people just go somewhere else and they go out of business. If benefiting humans is the main goal, there are much better ways to accomplish that than through corporations imo.

Edited October 20, 2011 by LvivLovers

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

The former. Yes, I understand that people were between a rock and a hard place... my grandmother's friend was shot by Germans point-blank while pregnant, while the Soviets wanted to kill my grandfather's side. But I think that now, we shouldn't revere people who sided with the Fascists and build statues of them, as I remember hearing about in Western Ukraine, out of anti-Soviet/Russian feelings.

You mean Bandera? I'm not sure if you know the history of Stepan Bandera, but he was imprisoned by the NAZI's after waging Guerrilla warfare against them. There are two statues of Bandera in Western Ukraine that I know of, please tell me how many Lenin, Stalin, and Dzerzhinsky statues remain in Russia?

While your at it, let me know how many statues are there of Hitler in Germany? Stalin 20,000,000+ deaths, Lenin 3,000,000+ deaths, Hitler 12,000,000+ deaths. Do the math.

Again the Bolsheviks/Communist were responisble for twice the number of deaths as the NAZI's. Both are equally evil. Bandera on the other hand was no NAZI. He was a Ukrainian that spoke Ukrainian and fought for Ukraine.

I don't know anyone who was forced to vote, but I am sure it happened. The thing is, no one else is allowed a chance to become a competitor. I read an interesting article a few weeks back about how Putin is of the Stagnation generation, and right now the country is basically in a similar situation as Stagnation. I am interested to see whether newer generations will step up. You also might find this article interesting; it seems to reflect how most people I know feel: http://www.snob.ru/selected/entry/41259?rp=fb

The last Russia presidential elections were a mockery and nothing short of what happens in Belarus, in fact it may have actually been worse for the fact it was done on a wider scale. The OSCE monitors were not allowed to monitor polling stations, nor where the allowed to speak to teachers and students. Pressure was put on people all across the country...pressure that a lot of these people here in the US wouldn't even have a clue on. Peoples careers were threatened on a large scale basis and it wasn't any better for students.

None of the people I know with ultra-nationalist leanings support Putin. It is more to do with a perceived loss of power/influence in the world, as well as the influx of immigrants. In Petersburg first grades, for instance, a third of the children are Uzbek/Tajik and don't speak Russian. People in Western Europe are also freaking out and being racist about the influx of immigration to their countries. With the situation in Russia more tenuous and lawlessness more prevalent in general, obviously the reaction is going to be more violent. Not that it is excusable in any way, but it makes sense from a sociological/sociocultural standpoint.

People in Europe freak out and they make laws. People in Russia freak out and they beat people to death. I see what your getting at though. Russia hasn't evolved enough to handle the situation any differently. It's at least two+ century's behind the rest of civilized Europe hence the the reason that not only do Russian nationalist get away with assault, but murder. In fact Russians love their wing nut nationalist so much they not only elect them to the Duma, but reelect them to the Duma on a regular bases. Dmitry Rogozin <--- Tsar Putin loves this guy as much if not more than he loves the NASHI Hitler Youth Brigade he created. That's Russia's representative to NATO. Tsar Putin, the Kremlin and the rest of the Russian bone head nationalist are your typical barbaric no brain thugs. Evolution hasn't hit Russia like it has the rest of Europe and most likely it won't for the fact Russians hold themselves back. They just keep digging the hole deeper and deeper while blaming their misery on everyone else but themselves. Maybe they should worry less about Russia's stature in the world and more about Russia's image.

And look at LvivLover's post... Obama just seemed "suspicious." To me, the only thing he did was represent something subversive to White Male Hegemony.

Obama is black, Hillary Clinton is a woman. You tell me if and when Russia will ever even come close to this. You want to compare racism and sexism in the US to Russia? Seriously I can't even believe you went there.

I think one of the things that you have to understand is that to Russia, democracy is a foreign input. It's not something that comes naturally or is even terribly compatible with the culture/mentality. Communism went along well with the traditional peasant "mir." But democracy is something else and you can't just switch it on one day and expect it to work. It is especially difficult in a country as natural resource-rich as Russia. This is known as the "resource curse." The only countries with a lot of oil/gas that have functioning democracies are countries like Norway and Canada where democratic institutions were in place well before natural resources were discovered. The other Eastern European countries don't have Russia's resources, and were oppressed by, and not the originator of, Russia's strong, centralized authoritative bureaucracy.

That's a pathetic excuse that Iv'e heard for years now from Russian's. Russians always have some lame ####### excuse as to why they choose a dictator over democracy. The oil and gas excuse started showing up about five years ago, before that it was Russians didn't know about democracy, etc.. etc.. It's lame and it's total and pure utter bs. Russians can use that excuse to convince each other, but I wish they would spare the rest of us in regards to this bs. I just wonder what next years excuse will be when Tsar Putin takes over again as President. Hopefully it's not as totally lame as the last few they have beaten to death. Funny thing only Russians buy into that one, everyone else hears that excuse and they laugh.

Tsar Putin and his KGB henchman knew exactly what it would take to string the Russian people along until they got a rock solid grip on Russia and it's resources. Gazprom <--- Owned and operated by the KGB/FSB. Medvedev was chairman of the Gazprom board before he stepped down to become Tsar Putin's puppet president. Gazprom is not only used as a weapon against Ukraine and Belarus, it's been supplying Tsar Putin and his FSB henchman with billions of dollars.

Do you think that I spend time with people who have their head up Tsar Putin's ####? And I don't have a tv and only really read Russian news to keep abreast of news/policies that might affect me, like the new abortion law back by Svetlana Medvedeva and the ROC.

You know the truth....so why this bit?

[eekee 182]

What bit?

I wasn't comparing the treatment of different races/women between the US and Russia. I am not sure why you think I was attempting to compare them.

[LvivLovers 39]

What do you consider "niceties"?

Good question. I guess as I used it here I'm referring to government services in general. Supposedly, they all serve a purpose and we receive some benefit from them. That's great and all, but I think most of them are just wastes of money. I already mentioned what a waste the Dept. of Energy is. I think at more than $77B, the Dept. of Education is also a waste and should be gotten rid of. Reason: fail! We are slipping drastically in education...throwing money at the dept. of educ. does not fix that. I'd get rid of the whole thing or at least operate it on a skeleton crew. Whatever they actually do...it's NOT worth it. Plain and simple. Leave education up to the private sector...parents will want their kids to go to a good school and will pay more money for that. Let the crappy schools go out of business.

I'm just flummoxed on every aspect of our government...illegal immigration for example. We spend a TON on illegal immigrants...that's a nicety. They get all these benefits that they shouldn't. We have to pay for it. It adds to our debt. They COULD stop it...but some people just don't want to. I probably don't need to get into a lot of detail here...but anchor babies = failed policy. Scholarships or other assistance = failed policy. Not requiring proof of citizenship everywhere = failed policy. That's our government....so no I don't want any more of that.

Call me a hardass, but food stamps, welfare, etc. I wouldn't give to anyone who has a better phone than I do (and I have a piece of ####### phone btw). I'd make people that can work work...only the disabled....the TRULY disabled would get some assistance. At the least, I'd put into place a system where anyone on assistance could not buy booze, cigarettes, playstations, TVs, etc. That would be the incentive to get up off their butts and work.

Again...I could go on and on.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

SMR, during the election I was here.

I don't particularly care for children except in the smallest of doses and I don't care how parents delegate their parenting responsibilities. I would probably hire a nanny. I definitely would hire a maid/housekeeper.

I feel more comfortable judging my own country than I do someone else's. I would say that America [had] a superior system, but now I worry for its future. I am currently better off here, but that has to do with my own specific personal circumstances that I doubt would apply to many other Americans. I don't think I've argued for Russia's "superiority."

And yes, I like Hillary.

Again let me know when US journalist and human rights workers are gunned down in cold blood time after time after time and nothings done about it. Let me know when Obama starts imprisoning his opposition.

[eekee 182]

Again let me know when US journalist and human rights workers are gunned down in cold blood time after time after time and nothings done about it. Let me know when Obama starts imprisoning his opposition.

Why are you bringing this up when it is not relevant to the discussion at hand?

LvivLovers... "Parents will pay more..." which parents? My parents were wealthy, I went to expensive private schools my whole life, and there were some scholarship programs for talented students, but I don't think that privatizing education is the answer. I think that EVERYONE should have access to a decent education, regardless of their parents' net worth. If we had spent what we spent on the Iraq and Afghan Wars on education and healthcare, we'd be halfway there.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Interesting thread.

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents on the Tea Party since I identify myself with them...NONE of the many Tea Party people I have known are racist. They are simply people who are tired of big government and don't like the direction the country is headed. I, in fact, just donated to Herman Cain a couple days ago and he's quite a bit "blacker" than Obama. My father is doing the same. Race has nothing to do with it. In any large group there are going to be a few bad apples...I've never personally seen one at a Tea Party gathering, but I'm sure they exist somewhere since the liberal media always manages to find one or two to highlight.

As far as birthers...I'll admit, that I too wanted to see Obama's birth certificate. It wasn't because he is half-black though...it's because I don't trust him (or any other politician) and his behavior was more than a little suspicious. That and the fact that he's a worse president than even Jimmy Carter and it was obvious to me from the get-go he was going to make a sh*tty situation even worse. To be honest, I was surprised to find out that EVERY President was not more thoroughly vetted with proof that they meet all requirements to be President available to all citizens. So yeah...I didn't see what the problem was in getting carded so we didn't just have to take his word for it.

In other thread-hijacking news, I just bought some guns and have been having a blast going to the shooting range with my wife...Tuesday ladies shoot free!!! Just out of curiosity, do all of you RUB folk realize that our standard of living is about to go into the crapper along with a collapse in the the U.S. dollar or is that just me? If not, consider this your wake-up call.

Good news, glad to see your wife enjoys it also. Alla loves it and it is something we do together each week. Alla is beginning to get very particular in her preferences for ammo, equipment, even how the trigger pull is adjusted on her rifle.

As for the Tea Party, I am not a member and do not identify myself as one, or any other party for that matter. But the Tea Party members seem to be favoring Herman Cain. So much for being racists.

The 9-9-9 plan is not a gimmick. If someone thinks it is they do not understand it or have been lied to. The people that would be damaged by it, attorneys, accountants and politicians, like to fling about lies and horrible sounding (but meaningless) words.

Read it, understand it. I am not a supporter of 9-9-9, but I am a believer that we MUST change the abominally obscene tax code we currently have completely and start over. I prefer the FAIR TAX myself, but Cain seems to be the only one with a clue. We MUST change this first because EVERY OTHER attempt to fix ANY other problem always truns into a "who pays for this" deadlock. 9-9-9 answers that and takes the politics right out of it. THAT is what a revenue system should do. We cannot, CANNOT allow the revenue stream for our government to be threatened, politicized, and gamed.

John McCian was born in the US Panama Canal Zone NOT "Panama" which makes him as much a native born citizen as anyone born in Kansas. To usggest otherwise would be to say that Obama was not born in Hawaii but on "some remote Pacific Island" Obama had never even produced a birth certificate which all of us had to do to get our wives/fiancees here and I see no reason why the same could not be expected of the President. It was ridiculous for it to drag out as it did. I think the requirements for President ough to tbe as strictly enforced, at least, as those required to get an approved I-129f petition.