Miscellaneous And Off Topic Subjects

[Da Geezer]

They feel DC is corrupted. They also want to reduce tax loop holes. The conclusion was the voters seem to be closer on the economy than either party portrays.

Ent:

If you actually want to attack corruption, you have to drain the swamp, and the Tax Code is where the favors are delivered. Eliminating all deductions would be a good first step.

Remember when Lois Lerner first planted a question about IRS targeting of the Tea Party? When asked why she said something on the order of "... everybody says that they are a real danger to our democracy.. " I bet that is the truth in DC. And that is a fundamental problem. There is a government/media complex that is not about money, but is about power (and I view the two as interchangeable). If you begin in Alexandria and go 25 miles west of I-95, and stay 25 miles west of 95 past Boston, then go east to the ocean both from Alex. and Boston, you have a box, inside of which reside the people who run the country, in my opinion.

And these folks are completely out of tune with the rest of America until you hit the west coast states. There are really two countries, Coastal America, and Overfly America. But the US is completely run by Coastal America. Christianity in Coastal America means Catholic. In OA it means Protestant. Again, 6 of 9 Supreme Court Justices are Catholic, the other 3 are Jewish. 7 of 9 SC Justices are from North and East of DC, and four are from NYC (all within the box I drew). Does that seem to you to be a little uneven? It is no wonder that this country is so divided, given that the productive part of the country is mostly in Overfly America. And we have the most racist President since Woodrow Wilson or even Andrew Jackson.

I voted for Obama in 2008. I believed what he said in his campaign. He has done the exact opposite, and I believe he was taught by Frank Marshall Davis to hate America. His Church in Chicago, and Rev Wright, taught "...God Damn America..." and that is what he believes. He sees every issue in terms of race, and that causes discord.

[Dr. Strangelove]

The idea that the "productive" part of the country is in flyover country is populist nonsense. It's the kind of stuff that's been spouted by populists since the Jacksonian Era, at the very least.

Right off the bat I might say there's no single group more addicted to welfare than America's farmers. Yet most of them will preach "self-reliance" and how the city dwellers are sucking all of John Hayseed's dollars away. The opposite is closer to the truth.

[entropy]

One of my other issues with politics today is morality of the parties and their supports is based upon who is in charge or party position rather than right or wrong. I do believe Obama has been the most blatant of the presidents in my time regarding this..

[entropy]

DSL... Do you believe the coasts view the fly over states as equals?

[Da Geezer]

I knew I was overgeneralizing. And your point about farmers is exactly right. More Corporate Welfare. Every fruit farmer I know votes Democrat.

[Dr. Strangelove]

DSL... Do you believe the coasts view the fly over states as equals?

Possibly not...I think Midwesterners who hate the coast dwellers probably know very few people from the coasts. And I've met just as many people in the Midwest who firmly believe they are morally superior to the people on the coast.

[Dr. Strangelove]

And this is more of an urban-rural question, because even most cities in flyover country are dominated by Democrats. There's very few major cities where conservatism holds sway.

Urban dwellers look down their nose at the hillbillies but the reverse is true too. Many, many country folk are utterly convinced that they lead a more virtuous, wholesome life than people in cities. And there's probably 200 years of tradition or more of that in America.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Not even Ted Cruz will endorse Muslim registration. Trump's the only candidate who refuses to rule out the idea. Which means he believes his supporters are largely IN FAVOR of the idea. Remember, Fascism is a populist ideology.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2015/11/21/gop_rivals_slam_trumps_muslim_registry_talk.html

[Ghengis Jon]

Flatlander city slickers...

[hack]

Geezer I'm not sure what you're looking for here. He was asked his position on something and he stated it clearly, and, after given the chance to back off it, he did not. Yes I've noticed the conservative media are now out to paint him the victim of some sorta microaggression, but Trump's an adult. If I can carry on here without going Missourian at all the veiled references you make, Trump can take the heat from something he said and chose not to back down from. He's a media vet. No need for Breitbarts and Limbaughs to channel their inner Missourians themselves, but that's what those types do anyways.

Frankly, at least I'm glad Trump finally found something to say that wasn't actually acceptable. Seems like he's been pushing for months now to see where the boundaries are. I hope we're done with the race-to-the-bottom statements.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Trump's supposed business savvy is often held up as a strong qualification for being President. But I recall this article from several months ago that pointed out that thr growth of his fortune since 1987 falls well short of what it would have been if he had just invested in Index Funds.

Since 1987 the S&P 500 has grown 1336%. Trump's fortune? 300%

http://fortune.com/2015/08/20/donald-trump-index-funds/

[hack]

Trump's real skill is keeping his name in lights. Which, surely, is the real explanation for what he's doing here.

[hack]

If you actually want to attack corruption, you have to drain the swamp, and the Tax Code is where the favors are delivered. Eliminating all deductions would be a good first step.

I think you attack defense spending and regulatory capture. Move all the pork in the DOD budget to beefing up regulatory oversight of Wall Street through the SEC. Give them enough lawyers to prosecute cases, and to target individuals for jail time rather than just corporations for fines.

[lineygoblue]

I've gone from uber liberal to more of a Liberaltarian... libertarian with a social conscience. I'm still searching for that elusive third party - both fiscally and socially responsible without the heated rhetoric or moralizing.

I've found that over the past 8 years I've gone from staunch conservative, to a more libertarian approach. I don't like the threats to freedom and liberty that both dems and pubs seem to be espousing. Government is supposed to protect and serve the people, not the other way around. Any time the government thinks they own the people, they're out of line... imo.

[hack]

When my wife and I were much younger we had a large circle of friends who spanned the political spectrum and yet we enjoyed a thriving and varied social life. Now we associate almost exclusively with folks of similar persuasion (ie, liberals in our case). I don't know how this happened but the USA was never this polarized as we were growing up.


The same is said about DC. In my work I do my best to ignore government and politics and focus on the many other interesting things going on here, but the vibe around town is that the two sides don't socialize as much any more thanks to the increasing partisanship, and that's only exacerbated the problem to start.