COUNT DOWN: ONE YEAR
One year from today, Barack Obama will be handing over the reigns of power to his Democratic successor. As has been pointed out on this site too many times to count (and why is it that I seem to be the only person to have noticed this little statistic thus far?) the last time the Democrats exchanged the office of the presidency on Inauguration Day was on March 4, 1857. It hasn't happened since. It will happen again a year from today. Take that to the bank and don't bother locking the vault. So dysfunctional and corrupted have the Republicans become in the last decade, it's an easy bet that they'll never occupy the White House again. I cannot predict the name of the man or woman who will be taking the oath of office on that day, but, barring an electoral coup d'etat (they're working on that), it will not be a member of "the party of Abraham Lincoln".
Here's another prediction you can bet the farm on: The last year of this administration is going to be the most tumultuous in its eight-year history.
I kinda miss the good old days when the GOP was comprised of a collection of bumbling, befuddled, not-too-bright, but essentially well-meaning old geezers. Today it is nothing less than an organized criminal enterprise. I miss those days of yore when the Republicans were only a danger to the economic security of the American people. In recent years they have become a danger to life on this planet. Within days of discovering that the drinking water consumed by the unfortunate people of Flint, Michigan has been poisoned by the governor of that state in an effort to save money, we learn that the Republicans in congress are working overtime to gut any-and-all clean water laws. This after we learn that some of the innocent children living in that forsaken city may have suffered permanent brain damage from drinking the right wing's Stinky Water.
Who's side do you think these people are on? Wake the fuck up.
A lot can happen between January 20, 2016 and January 20 2017. With that in mind let's look at where we are:
For seven years these assholes have been screaming about the dire consequences of this president's policies and the certain economic doom in store for the hapless American people as a result. Unfortunately for their purposes things didn't quite work out that way. Do you remember Where we stood on January 20, 2009, the day that Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States? At that nasty moment in history, as a result of the incompetence of the executive mansion's previous inhabitant, eight-hundred thousand people a month were becoming unemployed. By the summer of that year, this administration was able to put an end to that trend and reverse it. How many consecutive months of job growth have we had since that time? To tell you the truth, I've lost count.
They told us that the Affordable Care Act (or "Obamacare", as they sneeringly termed it) would be unworkable, that it would plunge the economy into the abyss. That prediction has blown up in their clueless faces. Not only is Obamacare working, its success has startled its most optimistic adherents. That it needs to be improved is beyond a doubt; but millions of people are today insured who never would have had the chance if John McCain or Mitt Romney had won in 2008 or 2012 respectively. The Affordable Care Act has already saved countless lives. Rejoice, kiddies.
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Personally, President Obama is been a disappointment in too many ways to count. I was expecting the second coming of Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was sworn in seven years ago today. That didn't happen. The guy was barely half as progressive as I would have wanted him to be, but given the obstacles that have been hurled into his path by a disloyal opposition determined to sabotage him at every turn - the well being of the American people be damned - it's a miracle that the dude has been able to accomplish anything. My personal feelings aside, I have never regretted voting for Barack Obama - not for one/tenth of a millisecond.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
And before this year is over, the going is gonna get very weird, very weird indeed.
The extreme right wing (which, these days, encompasses about seventy-five percent of that disgusting party) is desperate beyond words. They told us from the beginning that their goal was to ensure that the Obama administration would fail. That didn't happen. In fact it has succeeded despite their best (or worst) efforts. They need to something - ANYTHING! - to see to it that the American economy is decimated in the next twelve months. You don't think they would attempt something as despicable as that? You haven't been paying attention.
This is going to get interesting.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
AFTERTHOUGHT:
When I was a kid, people born before the year 1900 were a dime a dozen. In my neighborhood alone there were about fifteen or twenty elderly folks who were born in the nineteenth century, and I knew them all personally. As of this morning there are only two left on the entire planet - both women; both born in 1899; one from Italy, the other from Florida. Two hearts still beat from the century of Abraham Lincoln. That's incredible when you think about it. Savor this moment.
They told us that the Affordable Care Act (or "Obamacare", as they sneeringly termed it) would be unworkable, that it would plunge the economy into the abyss. That prediction has blown up in their clueless faces. Not only is Obamacare working, its success has startled its most optimistic adherents. That it needs to be improved is beyond a doubt; but millions of people are today insured who never would have had the chance if John McCain or Mitt Romney had won in 2008 or 2012 respectively. The Affordable Care Act has already saved countless lives. Rejoice, kiddies.
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| He's listening |
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
And before this year is over, the going is gonna get very weird, very weird indeed.
This is going to get interesting.
Tom Degan
Goshen, NY
AFTERTHOUGHT:When I was a kid, people born before the year 1900 were a dime a dozen. In my neighborhood alone there were about fifteen or twenty elderly folks who were born in the nineteenth century, and I knew them all personally. As of this morning there are only two left on the entire planet - both women; both born in 1899; one from Italy, the other from Florida. Two hearts still beat from the century of Abraham Lincoln. That's incredible when you think about it. Savor this moment.
posted by Tom Degan @ 1:48 PM
78 comments
78 Comments:
"barring an electoral coup d'etat (they're working on that)"
Evidence of that please.
Yeah, what a success Barry has been. True unemployment is still in double digits with millions of people that have simply stopped looking for work. Health care costs continue to rise, despite promises to the contrary. I liked my health care and my doctor. I now have neither anymore directly because of Obamacare. There are more people on welfare and living under the poverty level under Obama than there have been since the Great Depression. Our allies no longer trust or respect us and our enemies our taunting us. The world is a much more dangerous place right now, thanks directly to Obama's actions.
Further, with multiple quantitative easings digitizing our money right out of thin air, our economy is in a very precarious situation right now. We have begun to see the fall out from that as China and many of the European nations' economies stand on the brink. And to top it all off, we have made it possible for the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism to continue their nuclear program and unfroze $150 billion in assets for them. I am sure that will be put that to altruistic use. Even race relations are ironically worse off now then they have been since the 1960's due to the nonsense and rhetoric coming out of this administration. With cops "acting stupidly" according to our president it is no wonder that they have targets on them now.
Yeah, Obama has really been a "great" president. 50 years from now historians will look back and judge his governance on the merits, and I suspect Obama will rank in the bottom tier of our worst presidents accordingly... just a few places below George W. Bush
Only two people alive from the 19th C? Shame. To live in three centuries, though, how cool.
Obummer will only be remembered for being the first black president. He will not be remembered for any policy, in fact, his Obama care will fail and that's what he will be remembered for.
Chuck Morre: "'...barring an electoral coup d'etat (they're working on that)...' Evidence of that please."
The previous sentence, of course. How did you miss that? (Desperate times call for desperate measures. Maybe it's not exactly evidence, but pretty damn good conjecture. It's not like they haven't done it before. ;-)
Conjecture is now evidence?
Talk about lowering one's standards!
Chuck Morre: "Conjecture is now evidence?"
No it isn't (as I already said), so let's just file it away with the "evidence" that 19 Arabs, without any additional help, hijacked 4 jetliners with box-cutters and brought down two steel-framed skyscrapers and destroyed a wing of the most heavily guarded and fortified building in the world.
Was the government's explanation based upon evidence or conjecture?...or, because we're not being totally fair if we don't list the other option, was it merely just a pack of lies?
Come on JG, I thought you were a intelligent man.
If, as you have said 9-11 was an inside job, then how did those insiders destroyed a wing of the most heavily guarded and fortified building in the world?
Your statement is a perfect example of a Straw Man argument.
Let's see. Instead of blaming both parties...
Healthcare costs rose under Bush. Now it is Obama's fault for not fixing it.
Bush left us a financial collapse and de-regulated Wall Street. Now it is Obama's fault for not fixing it.
Bush left us skyrocketing unemployment. Now it is Obama's fault for not fixing it.
Bush left us the Great Recession. Now it is Obama's fault for not fixing it.
Bush started a war based on lies for crony profit that further destabilized the Middle East and spawned ISIS. Now it is Obama's fault for not fixing it.
Bush declared he was "not that concerned with bin-Laden". Obama ordered the raid that killed him. This is clearly proof of Obama's failure.
If I believe all this fervently enough, I will be a "true conservative". And maybe a racist.
With cops "acting stupidly" according to our president
Don't tell me this is in reference to "Gates gate", when the cop escalated an incident AFTER learning the man was in his own home. I have explained in detail, quoting the police report, that this is what happened.
Iran was expanding it's nuclear program while Bush demonized them. Now, thanks to international diplomacy, they are reducing uranium stock and centrifuges, along with accepting inspections.
Instead, the black president gets blamed for "supporting terrorists".
Race relations are worse because of the evil black president? White racists have nothing to do with this? (There are no white racists. Just ask them.)
If so, this proves no facts, or accurate accounts of reality, can change far Right beliefs. It proves no matter how many times the facts are given, they will be ignored in order to cling to far Right propaganda.
The fact that good people can believe all this vile propaganda is very sad. Yet they CHOOSE to believe what they want to believe. Only those suffering deep fear of change, anger, or hate willingly choose to follow this propaganda.
"True conservatives" have opposed every advance in racial equality, union rights, and voting rights throughout history. "True conservatives" have opposed every effort to implement constitutional regulation of commerce and health care provisions for the general welfare.
They are not their brother's keeper, after all. "You're on your own" is their rule. "We are in this together" is rejected as some evil hippie Marxism.
Yet they are the ones who know what's best for all the non-believers of their propaganda.
Facts are Facts.
Social Security Cards up until the 1980s expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes.
Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became
convenient to use it anyway and the NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION message was
removed.
Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program.
1.) That participation in the Program would be Completely voluntary [No longer voluntary]
2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400
of their annual Incomes into the Program [Now 7.65% on the first
$90,000, and 15% on the first $90,000 if you’re self-employed]
3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program
would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year [No
longer tax deductible],
4.) That the money the participants put into the independent ‘Trust Fund’ rather than into the general operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program [Under Johnson the
money was moved to the General Fund and Spent]
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income [Under
Clinton & Gore up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed].
Since many have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a
Social Security check every month — and then finding that we are getting
taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to ‘put
away’ — you may be interested in the following:
Q: Which
Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’
and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.
Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.
Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’
deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of
the US
Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?
A: That’s right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants
moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security
payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though
they never paid a dime into it!
Now, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!
Since Obama took office,
Democrats have lost 13 Senate seats
69 House seats
11 Governorship's
30 state legislative chambers
900 state legislative seats
According to Pew Research just 19% of Americans trust govt to do the right thing all or most of the time.
Could it be because of Democrat policy's this tidal wave against Democrats has occurred? Nah, we must blame both parties!!!!! Or G.W. Bush.
Then there is the failure to launch of Obamacare, not to mention it's broken promises, lies, and the bribes needed in order for it to be passed, the VA hospital scandal, the IRS political targeting scandal and the smallest % of Americans in the work force since the Great Depression.
Now tell me how smart it is to still believe the liberal/progressive Democrat policy's of past 7 years are what is best for America and to want more of same starting in 2017?
Chuck Morre: "Now tell me how smart it is to still believe the liberal/progressive Democrat policy's of past 7 years are what is best for America and to want more of same starting in 2017?"
Tsk-tsk, you still believe there's a profound difference between the two major parties, don't you? You should join the 21st century, release yourself from that absurd 1950s mindset, and wake up to what's going on.
They're both -- and I refer to them as two separate and distinct parties, but they really work under one umbrella -- giving you the screwin' of your life. When are you going to figure that out?
(Although, admittedly, the pain and suffering is less pronounced when administered by a Democratic administration.)
Chuck Morre: "If, as you have said 9-11 was an inside job, then how did those insiders destroyed a wing of the most heavily guarded and fortified building in the world?"
Exactly! That's the very definition of inside job! Get it? Inside...as in planned and executed by those from within...
Is the concept unfamiliar to you?
Tom Degan: "I have never regretted voting for Barack Obama - not for one/tenth of a millisecond."
You should. I regret that you did.
“Healthcare costs rose under Bush. Now it is Obama's fault for not fixing it.”
Yes, it is Obama’s fault because he lied and said that his plan would reduce the average family’s healthcare costs by $2500 a year. Mine have gone up that much, and I was no longer able to keep my insurance plan or doctor that I liked, like he said I would be able to do. I guess I should have paid more attention to the televised debates on C-SPAN that he promised on health care. Oh wait… they never happened either. Obama’s lies and bribery of wavering members of congress to support his atrocious plan was simply the first step to “universal single-payer health care” just like Canada and Europe have. Yippee! I wonder where the rich Canadians will go for their medical care now that they cannot come here in the coming years. Your damn right it is Obama’s fault. He did not fix it as he promised. The idiot made it worse.
“Bush left us a financial collapse and de-regulated Wall Street. Now it is Obama's fault for not fixing it.”
Yep, Bush messed things up badly. And then Obama and the Democrats came in and fixed it with their brand of corrupt crony-capitalism, Dodd-Frank, and dangerous quantitative easings of our money supply so that now we are “unpatriotically” and “irresponsibly” $19 trillion in debt instead of $9 Trillion when that damned fool took office.
Bush did leave us the “Great Recession”. Obama doubled down on the same foolish policies that Bush caused the problem with in the first place. He spent trillions of dollars on shovel ready jobs that he admitted didn’t exist. His buddies at the now bankrupt Solyndra company and Dave Dubya’s road in front of his house seem to be the only real beneficiaries of that foolish largess.
Bush enforced UN resolution 1441 with UN and bipartisan congressional support. Obama telegraphed our troop withdrawals of a still unstable and unsafe region, thus creating the power vacuum that ISIS filled. He should have worked with the Iraqi government to renegotiate status of forces agreements to prevent this from happening, but he was so damned focused on getting us out of there, even though it was dangerous to do so, that the results are all of his doing. Obama is responsible for the God damned JV team of ISIS coming to power and becoming such a huge threat.
Oh, but Obama got bin Laden!!! Well what a courageous president for doing what any American president would have done. And the very reason we were able to find out bin-Laden’s location was due to intelligence gleaned through methods and sources that this asinine fool abhorred and wanted to discontinue.
I guess that since I believe all of these FACTS, that makes a true conservative like me just another racist though, huh?
The whole racial tension issues are due directly to Obama and his corrupt attorney general Eric Holder. They constantly deride the police as racist villains while thugs and gangbangers like the “gentle giant” Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin are seen as innocent victims. I knew Obama’s presidency would be an unmitigated nightmare for our nation, but I did have hope in the beginning that he would finally be the one president that would nearly eradicate racial divisions in our country. Instead, he has inflamed them to levels that the country hasn’t seen since the 1960’s or 70’s. The only person that could have done a worse job with this issue is Al Sharpton.
I am happy for you that you think Iran is going to join the nations of the world in seeking peace with their nuclear “energy” program. I am sure that releasing $150 billion dollars in assets to the largest state sponsor of terrorism will all go to altruistic uses. And if there are some minor disagreements with their “energy” program, I am sure that they will cooperate and resolve those issues within the 24 day period that the agreement allows them. Good God… we have all become damned fools when refused to listen to the very words our intractable enemies spout when they say they wish to destroy us and our allies, and then we give them the money and the means to begin to accomplish just such a feet.
But of course, THESE facts will be ignored in favor of the preconceived false assertions from the left. It is no wonder the ill-informed and ignorant are championing Trump. They think that only a narcissistic blow-hard that talks tough will be able to save us from all of the problems and illegalities that this ass of president has saddled us with. Sadly they are just replacing one would-be constitution-ignoring tyrant for another one.
So tell me, Mr. Dubya, who really is the “true believer” here?
Chuck, that is good stuff. Too bad that it won't matter a wit to the "true believers".
Jefferson's Guardian: I agree with your last comment to Mr. Degan.
Despite TP’s blindness to Bush’s Status of Forces agreement to withdraw from Iraq, and other mile-wide deceptive and misleading omissions, he at least has the courage to admit, after some prompting, Republicans are part of, and did indeed precipitate many of the problems. Only a self-deluded dupe of far Right propaganda can ignore the fact that there has been much recovery from the Bush Great Recession. However the rigged system has “trickled up” most of the wealth.
Chuck, that is good stuff.
The words of a true believer.
Facts are facts, indeed. Just don’t expect any from the far Right fringe.
We all know morons and Right Wingers BELIEVE every stupid email forwarded by their crazy uncle.
Chuckie is no exception. I’m not surprised TP didn’t check for the facts before jumping on the true believer bandwagon once again.
Snopes debunks the lies and misinformation from Chuckie’s idiotic propaganda dump.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/socialsecurity/changes.asp#trust
(. . . the money the participants put into the independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the General operating fund,)
The Social Security Trust Fund was established in 1939 to receive monies collected for Social Security through payroll taxes. The monies in this fund are managed by the Department of the Treasury; they are not, nor have they ever been, put into the "general operating fund."
(. . . participation in the Program would be completely voluntary)
There was no provision in the Social Security Act of 1935 (nor has there ever been any provision) for the payment of Social Security payroll taxes known as FICA, from an acronym for the Federal Insurance Contributions Act) to be voluntary.
(…. . . participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program)
Social Security taxes were never limited to the first $1,400 of annual income, nor was there any provision in the Social Security Act of 1935 to permanently fix the tax rate at 1%.
(. . . the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year)
The original Social Security Act of 1935 specifically stated that Social Security payroll taxes were not to be allowed as income tax deductions.
(Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities? A: The Democratic Party.)
Prior to 1984, income derived from Social Security benefits was exempt from taxation. Amendments to the Social Security Act passed by Congress in 1983 allowed for 50% of Social Security benefits to be considered taxable income for taxpayers whose total income exceeded specified thresholds.
Responsibility for this change cannot fairly be assigned to either political party. The idea originated with a proposal issued by the bipartisan Greenspan Commission, which had been created by President Ronald Reagan, a Republican.
(Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants? A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive SSI Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!)
No one — whether he be a citizen, immigrant, or illegal alien — is eligible to collect Social Security benefits unless he (or someone else, such as a parent or spouse) has paid into the system. Someone has confused Social Security itself with Supplemental Security Income (SSI) — the latter is a federal welfare program "designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people, who have little or no income" by providing "cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter." Immigrants can qualify for SSI benefits under certain conditions, but SSI is financed by general revenues and not Social Security taxes. SSI was not enacted by the administration of President Jimmy Carter (a Democrat); it was created and signed into law in 1972, during the administration of President Richard Nixon (a Republican).
===
Now tell me how smart it is to still believe the crap Chuckie spews from his stupid email forwards.
“Despite TP’s blindness to Bush’s Status of Forces agreement to withdraw from Iraq, and other mile-wide deceptive and misleading omissions, he at least has the courage to admit, after some prompting, Republicans are part of, and did indeed precipitate many of the problems.”
Dave, I specifically said that Obama needed to renegotiate with the rightful Iraqi government a new status of forces agreement due to the volatility and instability of the region. Did you miss that? Obama was in such a hurry to get our troops out that he precipitated this problem with ISIS. He downplayed the threat by them. Just as he underestimates the Iranian threat and the nuclear arms race that his egregious “deal” is creating in the Middle East right now.
Yes, the damned Republicans are a huge part of the problem with the recession, but the MINIMAL recovery we have seen has all occurred DESPITE Obama and his policies; not because of them. Please tell me what that damned fool did to help jump start this anemic economic recovery that still shows a true unemployment rate in the double digits and record-breaking poverty levels of Americans going back to the 1930’s.
Next, while I have found erroneous fact checking in Snopes in the past, I will take your word for it that the information presented was wrong. I really don’t care enough to go and research it right now. Considering the incompetence, corruption, and hypocrisy of the Democrats though, you will have to pardon me for logically assuming the validity of the accusations.
That said, my statement of facts regarding race relations, Iran, Obamacare, the “Great Recession”, the killing of bin Laden, and the creation of ISIS all stand, sir.
T. Paine: "...his atrocious plan was simply the first step to 'universal single-payer health care' just like Canada and Europe have."
One can wish, but, no, it was always conceived to be a give-away to the health insurance companies. That's why your rates have gone up.
"Jefferson's Guardian: I agree with your last comment to Mr. Degan."
Then I hope you'll agree with this...I would have regretted it even more if Mr. Degan had voted for either John McCain or Mitt Romney.
JG,
Let me get this straight, because there is no evidence of it being done from the out side it has to have been an inside job.
Really?
What is the video of the jet crashing into the most secure building in the world?
What did eye witness in and out of the building see?
Come on man, get a grip on reality.
Dave,
How about reading the original S.S. act instead of Snopes?
I'll wait until you get back.
T. Paine to Dave Dubya: "Considering the incompetence, corruption, and hypocrisy of the Democrats..."
Both parties are incompetent, corrupt, and hypocritical. You're just like your buddy, Chuck Morre. You both believe in an outdated and past vision of what the two parties possibly were many decades ago. They've both joined forces (albeit, the Republican Party did a lot longer time ago) with mega-powerful and ultra-wealthy interests that have bought not only them, but the whole political process. They...neither party, represents yours or my interests - or gives a flying fuck what happens to you. That's a given.
My question to you is, why haven't you figured this out yet?
Chuck Morre: "What is the video of the jet crashing into the most secure building in the world?"
I saw an explosion...of something striking the Pentagon. But I can't say, with certainly, it was a jet airliner. Just saw a ball of fire, which you did too.
Being the most monitored and closely surveilled building in the world, certainly there had to be multiple angles from literally dozens of cameras showing the "aircraft" hit it. Maybe an angle of the aircraft approaching the building, as we saw in New York, would allay any doubts by a skeptical public.
All I'm asking for is more proof. But they will not provide it. Hmm...
Chuck Morre: "Let me get this straight, because there is no evidence of it being done from the out side it has to have been an inside job."
No, but it's certainly a distinct possibility. Of course, you'd have to be cognizant of, and make a concerted effort to read, the evidence that has been brought forth over the years to make this assumption.
Obviously you're unaware, and haven't made the effort, otherwise you'd be skeptical yourself.
I'm very skeptical of what you claim when I place it up against the facts that we know, not "Conjecture" that you support.
Look, the evidence just does not support what you so dearly want to believe.
And that it is conjecture, just weakens your position.
In a way it is like my faith in God, I can't show him to you but I chose to believe he exists. Just like you can not show me with total clarity that 9-11 was an inside job.
It is something you believe in. I don't want to mock your faith, any more than I want you to mock my faith.
Let's leave it at that.
Well that is a surprise, a real honest and humane post from Chuck. The first I have ever seen!
Chuck Morre: "Just like you can not show me with total clarity that 9-11 was an inside job."
Oh, but you're wrong -- I can show you sources of evidence that prove it wasn't done the way the official narrative wants you to believe it occurred, and in fact prove it couldn't have been done without prior inside knowledge, planning, and execution.
But, you'll have to put in some time reading and comprehending. I'm almost positive you're not the type that can do that.
Anyway, let's flip your statement around. You can't show me, with total clarity, how 9/11 was accomplished by 19 amateur (not to mention inept) Arabic pilots who had never, ever, spent any time flying 757 or 767 commercial aircraft -- much less at near ground level at over 500 knots -- and were able to hit their targets precisely and, in the case of the Pentagon "aircraft", in acrobatic fashion. Even seasoned pilots, with decades of experience, couldn't duplicate those scenarios in simulators.
No, sorry, unlike your faith in a supreme being, which as you've alluded can't be proven to exist, my "faith" (as you've chosen to label it) is based upon pure science. And you know, whether you choose to believe in science or not, it doesn't matter. It still exists.
Chuck Morre: "Let's leave it at that."
No, let's not. It needs to be discussed and debated, because it's the only way to come to a truthful and just resolution of not only what happened that day, but also the intended and unintended consequences that we continue to be tormented with presently.
It's the 800 pound gorilla in the room, and people like you refuse to acknowledge it.
TP, you are well intentioned and a good man on a personal level. It is your beliefs and acceptance of propaganda over investigation of truth that are ill-considered
Bush enforced UN resolution 1441 with UN and bipartisan congressional support.
False. The UN did NOT support Bush’s invasion. The propaganda duped 70% of Americans into thinking Saddam was working with al-Qaeda. This has been proven false, just like the fictitious “nukular” aluminum tubes.
the first step to “universal single-payer health care” just like Canada and Europe have. Yippee!
Poor people are still dying due to lack of health care. Yippee? The US has higher health care costs and poorer outcomes. Yippee? The US has lower life expectancy. Yippee?
Some lives have been saved regardless. No “yippee” there? It is the lesser of evils compared to the former system that denied benefits for many. Do want to go back to that?
How about you check and see how many people in Canada and Europe want the corporate health care racket that we have? Your insurance would not have gone up with socialized health care. Americans would be healthier and live longer too.
Obamacare is NOT a liberal program, It was invented by the conservative Heritage Foundation and even implemented by Romney. Your seem to prefer to funnel billions of dollars into insurance company accounts that could be better spent on actual health care. Please justify this by reason and evidence, if you care to do so.
That said, my statement of facts regarding race relations, Iran, Obamacare, the “Great Recession”, the killing of bin Laden, and the creation of ISIS all stand, sir.
None of which you support with evidence or reason. Just your opinion.
I specifically said that Obama needed to renegotiate with the rightful Iraqi government a new status of forces agreement due to the volatility and instability of the region. Did you miss that?
You “shoulda coulda” opinions are NOT facts. Iraqis wanted US troops out. They never wanted them there in the first place.
Here’s a real fact for you. Bush’s war of choice, and disbanding of the Iraqi army, directly spawned the radicalization of Sunnis and their formation of ISIL. How can you NOT see this?
MINIMAL recovery we have seen has all occurred DESPITE Obama and his policies; not because of them.
Once again you elevate your opinion to fact. At least “minimal recovery” is better than what Bush left us. How you can believe the Republicans, and their ideology that lead to the disaster, would do any better is amazing.
Considering the incompetence, corruption, and hypocrisy of the Democrats though, you will have to pardon me for logically assuming the validity of the accusations.
“Logically assuming”?? Please. This is called a “confirmation bias fallacy”. Why don’t you make the same assumption for Republicans? Are they not also incompetent and corrupt hypocrites?
I really don’t care enough to go and research it right now.
It is evident you don’t care enough to research ANY accusation or far Right propaganda, do you? All you cared to do was CHOOSE to believe it.
Failure of reason, failure of logic, failure of understanding, even failure of curiosity.
the nuclear arms race that his egregious “deal” is creating in the Middle East right now.
“His deal”?? Once again you elevate your opinion to fact. It is a multi-national agreement.
Far Right dogma is so easy to regurgitate. I don’t think you are even aware of how much you do this without any thoughtful consideration.
Look. You, I and JG, and probably most Americans, suspect our two political parties are corrupt and their masters have rigged the system.
Trump is neither liberal nor conservative. He is a narcissistic, power hungry, loose cannon. Hillary and Cruz both take money from, and owe their position to, Citibank and Goldman Sachs. (Cruz’s wife even works for GS.)
When you, or I, or anyone buys into one party’s propaganda, we condone and participate in that corruption.
It is beliefs that separate us as a nation and as individuals. Divide and conquer has been very effective for the elites. They are winning.
The fist duty of citizens and voters is to care enough to research what is so often accepted as fact. The propagandists know most of us don’t have the time, or interest, to investigate their claims.
Now, please stop believing everything Chuckie says. He is making a fool of you. Don’t you understand he is a dishonest Republican propagandist?
The same applies to the lies of Bush and Cheney. If I can agree with you that Obama lied about keeping your health plan, you may want to consider Republicans also lie.
“If Donald Trump becomes the voice of conservatives, conservatism will implode along with him.”
That was then. Now the Wall Street Journal has changed its tune:
“Mr. Trump is a better politician than we ever imagined, and he is becoming a better candidate…he might possibly be able to appeal to a larger set of voters than he has so far.”
Did you see the Twit of the Tundra babble her endorsement for Trump?
“No more pussy footin’ around. Hallelujah!”
Stephen Colbert does a great bit on her incoherent word salad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LPR7DktumA
JG,
So show me the science.
Chuck Morre: "So show me the science."
There are a ton of good resources available. Dig them out. Do a search on Amazon, or to make it easy on yourself go to my blog and read my last post (and two prior to the last) where I reference two excellent resources. That's possibly a start.
The information's out there, but you have to take the initiative and be proactive. Laziness and apathy is the enemy of democracy. Our Founders alluded to that.
No JG,
I'm looking for use of the scientific method to prove, as you claim, that 9-11 was an inside job. It is you who claims science supports your belief.
Look, right now all you have is conjecture, you admitted as much your self. You clam science supports your view, I believe, however, your political views have tainted a lot about your belief that 9-11 was an inside job than any proof. Surely much more than science.
Using the scientific method would remove that bias.
The scientific method is a way to ask and answer scientific questions by making observations and doing experiments.
The steps of the scientific method are to:
Ask a Question:
Do Background Research
Construct a Hypothesis
Test Your Hypothesis by Doing an Experiment
Analyze Your Data and Draw a Conclusion
Communicate Your Results
It is important for your experiment to be a fair test. A "fair test" occurs when you change only one factor (variable) and keep all other conditions the same.
Using the scientific method may not prove your Hypothesis that 9-11 was an inside job. Scientist are in search of the truth, if a hypothesis is proven false, truth has still been found.
Now can we just leave it at that?
I'd like to see my blue stained dress on display at the Clinton Library!
I have to "Chuckle" at Chuck's defense of science. To hell with the vast consensus. As long as the minority of scientists are paid by energy corporations, he trusts their "research".
Too bad this doesn't apply to the past studies funded by Exxon that indicated climate change from burning fossil fuels, but were then suppressed. A RICO lawsuit is pending.
Chuck will not research this information either.
Now can we just leave it at that?
"To hell with the vast consensus."
So reality is now based on consensus?
"indicated climate change from burning fossil fuels"
Indicated?
Conjecture
Consensus?
Was the vast consensus correct when "it" believe the world was flat?
Dave, my discussion with JG is about 9-11. Are you joining in to
A. Bring incivility to the so far civil discussion?
B. Distract from the need for 9-11 was an inside job believers to use the scientific method to support their belief?
C. Rescue JG? (I don't believe he needs your help)
Or are you just acting as the straw man?
In any case your commits are not welcome by this poster, as you rarely post anything real, honest or humane.
Mr. Paine says he tells us the thruth is, and the first thing out of his mouth is lies. Laughable.
Chuck will not research this information either.
Incivility?
No. It is fact, in direct response to his truly laughable hypocritical lecture on "Using the scientific method would remove that bias".
Now can we just leave it at that?
If Chuck or T.Paine took one hour and did what I did 15 years ago, they would not be Conservatives today. About two months after 9/11 I was wondering why we never saw pictures of the debris field in Penn or close ups of the damage to the Pentagon. Or film of the plane crashing, there has to be hundreds of cameras around the Pentagon.
So I did what incurious Conservatives never do, I went to Google and saw hundreds of pictures of the Pentagon.
First there was a 30 foot hole in the building, then the facade collapsed and it became u shaped. Then a fire truck appeared but there was hardly much of a fire to put out. Then came dump trucks to lay 6 inches of sand on thousands of square feet of lawn.
I could see inside like looking in a doll house, no fire damage, no damage to the walls or windows on either side of the entry hole. No plane parts or bodies any where to be seen.
There were NO pictures of Penn to be found any where so I went on to find out a lot of information about building 7 and the Twin Towers.
It was amazing what happened that day, especially considering the true story was in plain sight. But so many people to this day believe an impossible story.
Almost as amazing as the blindness you have towards the destruction of our country under Obama and his Party over the last 7 years. I've seen pictures of the debris field in Penn. I've seen the video from the security camera outside the Pentagon at an entrance gate of the jet flying into the building, almost at ground level. Have you searched using Google for videos of the 2nd plane crashing into the tower?
What I find amazing is how posters here want to blame both political parties. Yet only trust the federal govt and it's intentions if the Democrat party is in control of that government.
So tell us all Mr. Hansen, what is the plain truth in sight that so many of u are blind to?
No Dave
What is laughable is your hatred of anything not as liberal as you.
Greenpeace founder Dr. Patrick Moore October 2015:
My Lords and Ladies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Thank you for the opportunity to set out my views on climate change. As I have stated publicly on many occasions, there is no definitive scientific proof, through real-world observation, that carbon dioxide is responsible for any of the slight warming of the global climate that has occurred during the past 300 years, since the peak of the Little Ice Age. If there were such a proof through testing and replication it would have been written down for all to see.
The contention that human emissions are now the dominant influence on climate is simply a hypothesis, rather than a universally accepted scientific theory. It is therefore correct, indeed verging on compulsory in the scientific tradition, to be skeptical of those who express certainty that “the science is settled” and “the debate is over”.
But lets not listen to Dr. Patrick Moore.
Instead we should be listening to AmeriKa's smartest prison guard and that lunatic tin foil hat wearing Jefferson's Guardian (and his sock puppet James Hansen) that “the science is settled” and “the debate is over”!
Chuck"The Brain" Morre is on a roll!
"Almost as amazing as the blindness you have towards the destruction of our country under Obama and his Party over the last 7 years"
I guess you are an Alzheimer patient, I never supported Obama, did not vote for him and criticized him many times in the past on this blog. The same goes for Hillary.
Just for the record Chuck, I truly believe Obama turned out to be one big bullshit artist and Jimmy Carter is no longer America's worst President.
Mr. Hansen,
I stand corrected, you were not blind after all.
Thanks!
Sorry, thought I'd signed in.
Mr. Hansen,
I stand corrected, you were not blind after all.
Thanks!
This was my post
The 6:39 post is Chuckies.
Chuck Morre: "Now can we just leave it at that?"
No, of course not. You want proper scientific methodology? If so, why aren't you critical of NIST's Final Report concerning the free fall of WTC 7?
You haven't read my post, have you?...even after you feigned interest about wanting to know how science proves the official account is a whitewash. Again, read my post, and then pick up a copy of The Mysterious Collapse of World Trade Center 7: Why the Final Official Report about 9/11 is Unscientific and False, by David Ray Griffin. Mr. Griffin's well-researched book explains in exquisite detail why the NIST account was more interested in achieving political concerns and overriding science, than following unbiased and accepted scientific methods. He pokes more holes in their account than you'd find in Swiss cheese. The book is all about the scientific method and how NIST disregarded it. That's what you told me you're interested in, right?
Read the book, then get back to me. If you don't read it (or even search out equally compelling researchers and authors who explain, very thoroughly, why the official account couldn't have happened like it did), it convinces me you want to believe the illusion of the official narrative. If so, that's cool. Some people aren't capable of thinking for themselves and are more comfortable being told what is right and what is wrong, and not having to make any decisions or think critically. The powers-that-be count on people like you to keep the deception alive. That's fine with me. It tells me you'd make a good infantryman, and there's nothing wrong with that. But...please don't be disingenuous with me and feign interest in learning more about what happened that day, when you really don't care.
By the way, do you recall the day you decided to take the blue pill? ;-)
I wouldn't bet on anything or any direction...I don't think the American people know what they want...other than to vent.
JG
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time understanding how the scientific method is used and how your 9-11 theory doesn't use it.
Chuck
Mr Hansen
Are the posts at 5:20 & 6:20 yours?
Be a lot easier if you would post as others do here with a hyper link for your name.
But then you couldn't claim someone had stole your name, could you.
All the posts with my name is mine except for the ones posted by you.
are
Chuck Morre: "I'm sorry you are having such a hard time understanding how the scientific method is used and how your 9-11 theory doesn't use it."
Actually, I understand the scientific method perfectly -- and so does David Ray Griffin, as I previously explained. But it's obvious to me you're afraid to learn the truth. That's okay, many people are. Not unlike most Americans, you suspect that your government has turned rogue but you're even more afraid to confirm it.
If you ever find the courage to seek the truth, and decide to change your mind, you know where to go.
Oh, one last comment and I'm through. You didn't answer my last question from my previous comment: Can you recall the day that you decided you'd rather swallow the blue pill?
Ah, the "Founder of Greenpeace" lie again.
Patrick Moore (At least the spelling of "Moore" is correct this time) is NOT the founder of Greenpeace.
Harry Chuck and the far Right propaganda ministry are liars and idiots .
Moore is a paid shill of energy corporations, the Heartland Institute and their Koch supporters. Just like Harry Chuck is a Republican propagandist.
But lets not listen to Dr. Patrick Moore.
This is the only sensible sentence this idiot ever typed, unwittingly of course.
JG,
I haven't a clue what blue pill comment you are talking about. So why should I answer?
Show me the results from using the scientific method that supports your view of 9-11.
Just show me the results of the experiments supporting your view and I can change my mind. Until then I believe it is pure conjecture on your part, that is tainted by your political views. Heck, just show me the experiments!
Dave, you are starting to sound a lot like Mozart.
"I haven't a clue" will be your epitaph!
"I haven't a clue" will be your epitaph!
LOL!! Perfectly fitting.
We can add, "But I do know Patrick Morre has convinced me there is a global conspiracy of evil climate scientists who refuse to regurgitate Republican lies and Exxon-Mobil/Koch PR".
No you can't add Dave, for two reasons.
1st of all you're too stupid to add,
and secondly I didn't post what you claim that I did. Not that it matters, cause you live in your own world of evil and you will live in it the rest of your life.
Okay, JG, you have intrigued me enough to at least try and look at the evidence available regarding 9/11. I read your article on your blog to get started. Normally I would agree that a steel framed building would be highly unlikely at best to collapse due to fire, as per the other fire examples you cited, but there are indeed differences here.
I am not trying to be contrary, but am genuinely looking for explanations. Considering the jet liners were nearly full of fuel, is it possible that such a flammable accelerant explains why the fire perhaps burned hot enough to cause structural collapse? Is this a subject that is addressed in the book you cited?
TP,
After you do your due diligence, go to link below for, as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story".
www.google.com/search?q=why+9-11+was+an+inside+job+is+a+myth&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
I have researched both sides of this question (despite JG's claim that I haven't) and have come to conclusion that one's opinion on the subject of "9-11 being an inside job" has more to do with their political leanings than the truth.
Chuck
I will look at both sides, as I try to do on all important issues. Thanks Chuck!
Congratulations T. Paine, you are the first Conservative that has an open mind about 9/11!
If you want to know about a subject going to the experts in that field is usually the best option, except for the subject of Climate Change then you go to the politicians and oil company spokesmen:)
Patriots Question 9/11 is where the experts are, retired senior military such as Gen Wesley Clark who ran for president a while back and thousands of ex CIA, NSA,FBI,pilots, demolition experts and so on.
If you were watching TV that day you would have seen Building 7 has almost no damage, some broken glass and a few small fire but it fell at free fall in under 7 seconds. Thousands of tons of structural steel that gave way like balsa wood. How did that happen?
Chuck is on his best behavior when you are posting, when 9/11 came up before he said we were mentally ill ever to consider that the Bush admin would lie.
Mr. Hansen, don't get me wrong. I am very skeptical about the 9/11 truther narrative, but JG said enough things that did pique my interest enough to at least check out the evidence. By and large, what Chuck said is usually true: most people that believe those narratives tend to do so out of a political agenda. I am willing to look at the evidence and see where it takes me though.
As for General Clark, if that is the best "expert" that this movement produces, then I suspect I am not going to become a convert. He has been less than impressive with many of his statements during his presidential run and before.
I'll see what the data shows me and decide from there though. Cheers!
A Harris County Texas grand jury today decided not to take any action against Planned Parenthood in Houston. But two people who used undercover videos accusing the group of selling fetal tissue have been indicted.
The sting videos recorded last April alleged that Planned Parenthood illegally profited from donations of fetal tissue. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office investigated those allegations for more than two months, along with the Texas Rangers and the Houston Police Department.
In the end, a grand jury has cleared Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast of breaking the law.
“It affirms 100% what we have said from the very beginning, and that is that Planned Parenthood follows local, state and federals laws and extremely high medical standards, and our first priority is patient care,” said Rochelle Tafolla, with Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast. “These individuals broke the law and committed fraud in order to spread lies about Planned Parenthood and today they’re going to be held accountable for breaking those laws.”
Both David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt have been indicted for Tampering with a Governmental Record, which is a felony. Daleidan was also indicted for Prohibition of the Purchase and Sale of Human Organs, meaning he illegally offered to purchase human organs in the video recording. A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
“We were called upon to investigate allegations of criminal conduct by Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast,” said Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson. “As I stated at the outset of this investigation, we must go where the evidence leads us. All the evidence uncovered in the course of this investigation was presented to the grand jury. I respect their decision on this difficult case.”
Yay! The abortionists broke no human laws!
I shudder to think what will happen to our nation when we all receive our justice.
If this is really you Hansen saying this, (I mean it could be Dave D stealing your name) show me where I said what you claim to have said.
"Chuck is on his best behavior when you are posting, when 9/11 came up before he said we were mentally ill ever to consider that the Bush admin would lie."
I guess you forget my futile attempt to be "nice" over New Years to you? Just like you have forgotten that you were going to ignore my posts. Or maybe that wasn't you who said that?
BTW if you had read my posts you would have notice I said I had studied the 9-11 issue when I offered TP some further info.
But in typical fashion, you ignore the inconvenient truth. Unless of course this is not you posting, but someone who is posting under your name. Guess we will never know.
I guess I have a better memory than you but every thing you ever posted is in the Rants archive so it is easily proven.
There are a lot of things you have said that might haunt you here. You have offended me in the past so I hope to return the favor in the future.
Is this the "real James Hansen" or is someone posting using his name?
Maybe it wasn't the "real James Hansen who said he wasn't going to ignore my posts?
I sure hope there is a "real" James Hansen, one who can recall that I said I had studied the different theories surrounding 9-11, just a few hours ago. I hope there is a "real' James Hansen who can tell me when I said "we were mentally ill ever to consider that the Bush admin would lie."
Of course the "real" James Hansen can always claim he didn't post something, that it was someone else who posted under his name. Like he has already done once in this thread!
Nice escape clause, get caught in an error, he can always say it wasn't him, the "real" James Hansen, ( if there is one.)
"Will the REAL James Hansen please stand up!
LOL
T. Paine: "Considering the jet liners were nearly full of fuel, is it possible that such a flammable accelerant explains why the fire perhaps burned hot enough to cause structural collapse?"
I realize that supporters of the official narrative constantly refer to the fact that the North and South Towers were both hit by aircraft, filled at capacity with jet fuel, and this is always cited as the overwhelming reason why the buildings collapsed at free-fall into their footprints. And though this is scientifically impossible, for many reasons I will not go into here, please consider this: World Trade Center 7 also fell in exactly the same way -- in an unobstructed free-fall and into its own footprint. Why is this abnormality cited and keyed on by experts and researchers in this field? Because WTC 7 was never hit by a fuel-laden aircraft. Ever.
"Is this a subject that is addressed in the book you cited?"
Absolutely! David Ray Griffin's book demonstrates that NIST is undoubtedly guilty of the most serious types of scientific fraud: fabricating, falsifying, and ignoring evidence. Like the official government narrative which whitewashed the reasons for the Twin Tower collapses, NIST blatantly covered up the reasons behind the collapse of WTC 7. Yes, by all means, read Griffin's book.
"scientifically impossible"?
Show me the experiments that prove what you are saying is fact.
Are you a fan of the X-files JG?
Obama will go down in history as a worse president than Carter.
Chuck Morre: "'scientifically impossible'? Show me the experiments that prove what you are saying is fact."
I'll be more than happy to. These experiments are considered constants within the laws of physics, and have been replicated time and time again. These constants are as follows:
I. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.
II. The relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. Acceleration and force are vectors; in this law the direction of the force vector is the same as the direction of the acceleration vector.
III. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
"Are you a fan of the X-files JG?"
No.
Well JG, that's a surprise considering.
Chuck Morre: "Well JG, that's a surprise considering."
Considering? Considering what?...that I'm opened-minded and inquisitive? Not one to accept everything at face value? Think for myself, instead of parroting what the government and the mainstream media want me to believe? Know how to think analytically and critically? Yeah, Chuck, I'm everything you're not. That's why I consider people like you more dangerous to this nation than any outside enemy. As mentioned earlier, the powers-that-be behind the charade count on people like you to continue the deceit and deception. Congratulations on a job well done!
“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.” ― Neil deGrasse Tyson
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