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Annelise

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Tracker,

You are aware getting money back doesn't mean you didn't pay taxes? (Congratulations on your entry into the ranks of homeowners.)

Thanks. Yes, I am aware that I'm just getting back the money I paid. My response to Yags was non-pertinent as his, but I'll say for the record that getting savings out of industry by threatening legal reform is hardly analogous to government literally shaking down citizens at gunpoint.

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Thanks. Yes, I am aware that I'm just getting back the money I paid. My response to Yags was non-pertinent as his, but I'll say for the record that getting savings out of industry by threatening legal reform is hardly analogous to government literally shaking down citizens at gunpoint.

It is in that both are the results of threatening and extortion-ish tactics from the government, it is.

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Tracker,

I don't know. I do know there were a few people in one of the past fitness thread who have to eat a lot to maintain weight. If you have to eat things to maintain weight why eat crap that tastes like cardboard when you can eat stuff that tastes good? Why punish someone for eating something that isn't hurting them?

Who says it isn't hurting them? You don't become immune to massive doses of salt and transfats just because you are under an ideal body weight. Shitty, unhealthy food is shitty, unhealthy food, no matter what weight you are.

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I'm a bit annoyed with the Obama administration's economic projections for the next 18 months. They're far rosier than the CBO and all the business and trade groups. Similarly irked about the "stress test" which is already being called the "feather test" in Wall St. backrooms and board rooms. I thought we were done with bullshit economics, which was why we kicked the GOP to the curb this election cycle.

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Any sort of "stress test" that revealed actual problems with 1 or more banks to the public is just asking for a run on 1 or more banks and then 1 or more banks collapsing.

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Who says it isn't hurting them? You don't become immune to massive doses of salt and transfats just because you are under an ideal body weight. Shitty, unhealthy food is shitty, unhealthy food, no matter what weight you are.

He's right. Increased energy or calorie needs do not equal an increase in the need for salt. In fact sodium intake recomdendation stays the same unless an indivdual requires a special sodium diet becasue of a disease process or electrolyte imbalance.

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I'm a bit annoyed with the Obama administration's economic projections for the next 18 months. They're far rosier than the CBO and all the business and trade groups. Similarly irked about the "stress test" which is already being called the "feather test" in Wall St. backrooms and board rooms. I thought we were done with bullshit economics, which was why we kicked the GOP to the curb this election cycle.

Sometimes it feels like they're engaging in.. headology. To use Prachett's Granny Weatherwax word. Whether they are doing so irresponsibly, I don't know. For instance, I know the stress test was criticized as you say, but I didn't think it was attempting to proclaim everything is a-ok either. That there was more to do to get it where it needs to be. Am I wrong?

Essentially I felt like the message they were trying to send was that everything is on the right track.. now whether that's true or it's bullshit economics and harmfully deceptive, I couldn't even try to say unfortunately.

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Shryke,

Any sort of "stress test" that revealed actual problems with 1 or more banks to the public is just asking for a run on 1 or more banks and then 1 or more banks collapsing.

Then why publicise the fact you are doing the tests in the first place? Do it on the QT instead of holding press conferences about your "Stress Tests."

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It is in that both are the results of threatening and extortion-ish tactics from the government, it is.

By those lights the institution of speed limits is just like banditry, as well as the enforcement of parking regulations or the regulation of standards for the auto industry. In fact, taking that point of view makes pretty much any government action tantamount to armed robbery. Maybe that's your opinion, but I take a different view. In my mind, when a candidate in office does exactly what he promised during his election campaign, by legal and democratic means that are in line with popular opinion...well, I don't consider him a brigand.

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By those lights the institution of speed limits is just like banditry, as well as the enforcement of parking regulations or the regulation of standards for the auto industry. In fact, taking that point of view makes pretty much any government action tantamount to armed robbery. Maybe that's your opinion, but I take a different view. In my mind, when a candidate in office does exactly what he promised during his election campaign, by legal and democratic means that are in line with popular opinion...well, I don't consider him a brigand.

Come on, Neil, we've known each other a long time now. What part of "fundamentalist laissez-faire libertarian" do you not understand?

In any case, regulation of highway speeds is a legitimate function of government (though you can rapidly slide down that slope if you're not careful), and parking meters are one of the purest user-fee based ways of paying for equally legitimate physical infrastructure costs, so I'm down with those as well.

Auto industry standards I'm not as hot on.

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Shryke,

Then why publicise the fact you are doing the tests in the first place? Do it on the QT instead of holding press conferences about your "Stress Tests."

Hell if I know. To boost confidence? Because people expected them to be done?

The point is, you shouldn't expect bad news from any of them. Because bad news is a stupid idea.

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Auto industry standards I'm not as hot on.

Yes, because if there's one thing the government shouldn't be doing, it's creating/enforcing standards .....

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And the Republican party continues to be steered by temperamental man-children:

"GOP, RNC to rebrand Democrats as 'Socialists':

A member of the Republican National Committee told me Tuesday that when the RNC meets in an extraordinary special session next week, it will approve a resolution rebranding Democrats as the “Democrat Socialist Party.”

I suspect he's boasting that they will actually approve this measure, but the fact that they have to seriously contemplate it because 16 wingnuts called a special session on this matter is bad enough.

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And the Republican party continues to be steered by temperamental man-children:

"GOP, RNC to rebrand Democrats as 'Socialists':

I suspect he's boasting that they will actually approve this measure, but the fact that they have to seriously contemplate it because 16 wingnuts called a special session on this matter is bad enough.

This was discussed in a previous thread, actually.

To me, it's getting near the ultimate in juvenile behavior. I think the Democrats should respond by rebranding the GOP as the "Stupid mean poopyheads who don't want to play with us Party", while they change their own name to "Real Ultimate Power Ninja Awesomeness Party". Then the Republicans can respond by rebranding the Democrats as "Nu-uh, you just THINK you're awesome but actually you're awesomely SUCKY Party" and themselves as "The REAL REAL awesome Party".

Are these parties run by five year olds? Seriously?

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This was discussed in a previous thread, actually.

To me, it's getting near the ultimate in juvenile behavior. I think the Democrats should respond by rebranding the GOP as the "Stupid mean poopyheads who don't want to play with us Party", while they change their own name to "Real Ultimate Power Ninja Awesomeness Party". Then the Republicans can respond by rebranding the Democrats as "Nu-uh, you just THINK you're awesome but actually you're awesomely SUCKY Party" and themselves as "The REAL REAL awesome Party".

Are these parties run by five year olds? Seriously?

I'd hope that the non-Fox major news orgs, at least, would continue to refer to the Democratic Party by its proper name and not by the new Republican propaganda name, but the ease with which they swallowed and amplified the idea that a 4% increase in defense spending was "Obama cuts the military's budget" makes me think there's nothing they won't dutifully transcribe.

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