U.S. Politics, 23

[Lord O' Bones]

Even if this is true, you navy fellows were still creating hilarity, and we need hilarity now as much as ever.

This is true. Comedians and reality TV personalities still get paid.

[The Anti-Targ]

And with Cheney, there were at least clear cut reasons to believe he was evil. What reasons exactly do tea baggers have to believe Obama is evil? Even before he took office and he was pretty much all flowing rhetoric and beautiful speeches, some people considered him evil or the antichrist or any of a dozen hated words and phrases. So what is it about him? I mean, besides the color of his skin?

I know not everyone who hates Obama is a racist, so what is it?

a) he's a Muslim in Christian clothing (i.e. he's lying)

B) he wasn't really born in the USA (i.e. he's lying again)

c) his middle name is Hussain (hence proving point a) and confirming the truth of his lying-ness)

Thus it is proven Obama hates the USA and everything he's trying to do is geared towards bringing the USA to its knees and destroying its global power and influence so that Indonesia and/or Kenya can takes its rightful place as the sole global hegemonic power.

Thus Obama is evil equivalent to, or worse than, Hitler.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

LoB,

Silly question. There's an airshow scheduled at Charleston AFB on Saturday. I called the public affairs office and they claimed it would take place regardless of whether or not there is a shutdown. Are they full of it or does that sound right?

[Tempra]

LoB,

Silly question. There's an airshow scheduled at Charleston AFB on Saturday. I called the public affairs office and they claimed it would take place regardless of whether or not there is a shutdown. Are they full of it or does that sound right?

I think military personnel are exempt from the shut down.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=959&sid=2281333

[Lord O' Bones]

LoB,

Silly question. There's an airshow scheduled at Charleston AFB on Saturday. I called the public affairs office and they claimed it would take place regardless of whether or not there is a shutdown. Are they full of it or does that sound right?

That sounds right as PR is far more important than some Sailors paycheck.

ETA: There are always waivers.

I think military personnel are exempt from the shut down.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=959&sid=2281333

We weren't; see above.

[ThinkerX]

then you should also remember, thinker, that it costs more to have the government shut down than it costs to keep it running

Perhaps I was not clear enough:

I regard the whole 'shutting down the government' thing as a farce. As absolutely nothing more than political posturing. As a way of *pretending* to deal with real issues rather than *actually* dealing with real issues. And yes, this is true of both parties.

Apart from that, my (sarcastical) comment about the government staying shut down; what of it? Might it not be interesting - if painful for many government money addicts - if the federal spigot were to be turned off for a month or so, with zero chance of future reimbursement? In that situation, perhaps, we might actually learn which government functions are actually needed and worth paying for, verses a massive array of utterly incompetent government agencies which accomplish very little. The number of (federal) government employees has doubled over the past decade or two; yet what has it gotten us?

[TrackerNeil]

Democrats have engaged in political theatre - I'm thinking of SCHiPs back in 2007 - but it's usually in pursuit of some real policy goal. With Republicans, it seems usually calculated for electoral advantage or some other nonsense. Republicans came to the House spoiling for a shutdown, and I'm beginning to believe that even though Boehner doesn't want that, he'll go along for fear of losing his leadership role. It's crazy, and those who think a little shutdown will be good for America doesn't know the damage a shutdown does. But whatever...if stunts and shutdowns are your thing, well have the Republicans got a show for you!

[Shryke]

Hey, speaking of that:

To the Tea Party movement that helped fuel Republican electoral success last November, a promise is a promise.

So when it became clear last month that House Speaker John Boehner, a conservative GOP hero, was willing to accept far smaller spending cuts for the rest of the current fiscal year than what Republicans pledged in the 2010 election campaign, the Tea Party reaction was both swift and decisive.

"There is no other way to put this," Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips wrote on the group's website in early March. "The Tea Party movement should find a candidate to run against John Boehner in 2012 and should set as a goal, to defeat in a primary, the sitting Speaker of the House of Representatives."

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/06/tea.party.shut.down/index.html?hpt=T2

[Heal]

You guys can bash Ryan all day long, but I don't see the Dems doing anything at all. The Dems had full control of the house and senate for 2 years and they did nothing but pass a terrible healthcare legislation that will probably eventually get repealed. So please do your research first, both parties are pretty much to blame and the only way this country will ever get better is if Ron Paul is elected.

[Sariel]

You guys can bash Ryan all day long, but I don't see the Dems doing anything at all. The Dems had full control of the house and senate for 2 years and they did nothing but pass a terrible healthcare legislation that will probably eventually get repealed. So please do your research first, both parties are pretty much to blame and the only way this country will ever get better is if Ron Paul is elected.

Satire is always fun.

[The Anti-Targ]

You guys can bash Ryan all day long, but I don't see the Dems doing anything at all. The Dems had full control of the house and senate for 2 years and they did nothing but pass a terrible healthcare legislation that will probably eventually get repealed. So please do your research first, both parties are pretty much to blame and the only way this country will ever get better is if Ron Paul is elected.

The only way this (and every other) country will ever get better is to have a complete overhaul of the political system, from the ground up. But I think in the medium term Ron Paul has a better chance of getting elected POTUS. I actually hope that happens, because then all the Paulettes will see how their hero will be incapable of achieving anything of real substance.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

AT,

The only way this (and every other) country will ever get better is to have a complete overhaul of the political system, from the ground up. But I think in the medium term Ron Paul has a better chance of getting elected POTUS. I actually hope that happens, because then all the Paulettes will see how their hero will be incapable of achieving anything of real substance.

Without a politically sympathetic Congress, you are correct.

[awesome possum]

You guys can bash Ryan all day long, but I don't see the Dems doing anything at all. The Dems had full control of the house and senate for 2 years and they did nothing but pass a terrible healthcare legislation that will probably eventually get repealed. So please do your research first, both parties are pretty much to blame and the only way this country will ever get better is if Ron Paul is elected.

I like how Cons have already conveniently forgotten how completely obstructionist their party was. Short term memory loss is a bitch.

[Paladin of Ice]

Hey, speaking of that:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/06/tea.party.shut.down/index.html?hpt=T2

So basically, we now have three working political parties in the US. I wonder if the tea party will be able to continue surviving, and if they do while clearly working against the Republicans as much as with them, if it will allow other legit parties to make their way onto the playing ground and get us out of the limited choice duopoly we've been stuck in.

Personally I think it's more likely that the tea party runs out of steam first and peters out after another election or two, but I'd certainly love it if there were a good four or five parties actually representing differing points of view instead of being swallowed up into the two parties.

[Guest Raids]

Apart from that, my (sarcastical) comment about the government staying shut down; what of it? Might it not be interesting - if painful for many government money addicts - if the federal spigot were to be turned off for a month or so, with zero chance of future reimbursement? In that situation, perhaps, we might actually learn which government functions are actually needed and worth paying for, verses a massive array of utterly incompetent government agencies which accomplish very little. The number of (federal) government employees has doubled over the past decade or two; yet what has it gotten us?

This is absolute garbage. Really. For one, no you won't learn what government functions are necessary because you have absolutely no idea what actually goes in any government agency. All their budgets and activities are freely available online, but I doubt you've ever looked at any of it, and yet here you are spouting off like you actually know anything.

Do you really think you're going to notice that the backlog of Veterans' appeals will increase drastically? Like that's something you even pay attention to? Yet, I wouldn't say that we should just close my whole office, right? Or are benefits to Veterans totally extraneous to you?

Secondly, no, finding out if I can pay my rent on only my husband's paycheck, losing my leave that I would accrue if I were working forever, losing my matching retirement contributions forever, and having all my benefit payments - health insurance, my retirement account payments, etc. - from the period of non-pay status come out of my first paycheck when I go back into pay status - in addition to the normal deductions - is not interesting.

Losing the buying power of 2.8 million people in a recovering economy is not interesting either. Neither is losing .2% of GDP every week the government is shut down. Additionally, paying unemployment benefits for 2.8 million people, should this last long enough (only a week in some states) is not interesting for the states either, who will never recoup that money from the federal government. I shudder to think what that will do to D.C.

We keep our health insurance, but it looks like supplemental dental and vision coverage will cease, as will our access to our flexible spending accounts.

[awesome possum]

So basically, we now have three working political parties in the US. I wonder if the tea party will be able to continue surviving, and if they do while clearly working against the Republicans as much as with them, if it will allow other legit parties to make their way onto the playing ground and get us out of the limited choice duopoly we've been stuck in.

I think the GOP could have effectively squashed the tea party a year ago, were it not for the GOP's main goal as a political group: winning elections. If they cared about governing, they never would have embraced the nuts who proudly called themselves tea baggers. Anyone with common sense saw this coming from a mile away. You don't give people whose political platform is run on crazysauce a seat at the table. Republicans did, and much to the detriment of the US, these clueless, nutty, idiotic fuckers now have a smidgen of power and are determined to take it all.

Personally I think it's more likely that the tea party runs out of steam first and peters out after another election or two, but I'd certainly love it if there were a good four or five parties actually representing differing points of view instead of being swallowed up into the two parties.

I think, if anything, the tea party has helped ensure we remain a two-party system. Neither political party is going to be too keen on giving up any of their power to people who might then try to hijack the entire party.

[Jon Sprunk]

Raids, stop spreading lies. I heards on Fox news that you govt employees make like $5 million dollars a day and get free stuff like laundry service.

[Guest Raids]

To be fair, as I look around my office, there are probably only three pieces of functional duct tape.

[Gear]

Raids, stop spreading lies. I heards on Fox news that you govt employees make like $5 million dollars a day and get free stuff like laundry service.

I'm pretty sure that's only for teachers. My brother is a high school English teacher. You should see his mansion and the 500 acres he owns. He uses his students as workers instead of educating them (that's why education is really failing). And he doesn't even work in the summer. I think in an entire years, it's about 2 hours of real work he does (gotta pretend you are doing something when you meet the student's parents).

[TrackerNeil]

I hear all the time how the Tea Party is its own thing, a separate movement, blah blah, but honestly it seems to me just a strongly conservative wing of the GOP. (The GOP is already pretty conservative, so, wow.) All their stated goals - small government, rollback of health insurance reform, low taxes, harsh immigration policies - match pretty well with that of the Republican Party. The only difference is that the Tea Party causes more trouble for the Republicans than, say, the environmentalists do for the Dems. (Christine O'Donnell, I'm looking in your direction.)