Chu: Solyndra demise due to 'totally unexpected' change in market

By msnbc.com staff and wire reports

Taking responsibility for the loss of $535 million in taxpayer money in a loan to Solyndra, the California solar company that went bankrupt last September, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told a House committee Thursday the loss was “extremely unfortunate,” but was due neither to incompetence by his department, nor to a politically-motivated decision to grant the loan.

______________________________________________________

Chu is a political hack trying to explain away the incompetence and possible political corruption that surrounds the Solyndra debacle. When a company’s auditor says the company has “financial troubles deep enough to “raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”, only a complete moron like Chu and his incompetent lackeys would pretend they didn’t screw up. This Bozo and his lackeys need to resign or be fired by Barry if they don’t.

Pathetic.

From Bloomberg News:

Obama Team Backed $535 Million Solyndra Aid as Auditor Warned on Finances

By Jim Snyder and Christopher Martin - Sep 12, 2011

Solyndra LLC’s workers making solar-power panels in a California factory subsidized by U.S. taxpayers showed “the promise of clean energy isn’t just an article of faith,” President Barack Obama said on a visit to the company in May 2010.

Two months before Obama’s visit, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP warned that Solyndra, the recipient of $535 million in federal loan guarantees, had financial troubles deep enough to “raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.”

The Obama administration stood by Solyndra through the auditor’s warning, the abandonment of a planned initial public offering and a last-ditch refinancing where taxpayers took a back seat to new investors. That unwavering commitment has come under increasing scrutiny since the company’s travails culminated in its filing for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 6 and a raid on its headquarters by the Federal Bureau of Investigation two days later.

“People including our government put blinders on and did not want to believe in the obvious,” Jonathan Dorsheimer, an analyst in Boston for Canaccord Genuity Inc. of Vancouver, said in an interview with Bloomberg Government. “The fact that the government chose Solyndra as their white horse is mind- boggling.”

Perfect Jody... just plain perfect! ;o)

How open and transparent would a Romney presidency be?

*raises hand* I know... I know...

About as transparent as muddy as week old coffee!

I know that everytime I have ever left a job, I've taken my computer hard-drive with me! lol

Why are Feisty and fiens loading their diapers over Newt and Freddie?

Did Newt say …….

“These two entities – Freddie and Fannie – are not facing any kind of crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing?”

… nah …. that was Barney Frank, the ranking dem on the Financial Services Committee during the dems effort to prevent reform of Freddie and Fannie, defeating the repubs Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Act of 2005.

And they did! They blocked it being voted on …. 55 reubs for – 45 dems against.

100% of repubs for Freddie reform?

What was Newt doing ….. lobbying the dems?

If anyone thinks the OWS folks are a mob, and unruly now, wait until the 1% becomes .1%, then .01%.

Just saying.

Now, in order to save JAS1, no jo, WCA, Bob numerals, Albany Joe and some others from wearing out their keyboards, I offer the following:

I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama I hate Obama.

And so Spank doesn’t feel left out:

Who? What? When? Were? How? Who? Who? What? When? Were? How? Who? Who? What? When? Were? How? Who? Who? What? When? Were? How? Who? Who? What? When? Were? How? Who? Who? What? When? Were? How? Who? Who? What? When? Were? How? Who?

Happy Friday, kids.

Feisty, thanks! :o)

*** And why this debate will be a big issue in next year’s election: . . . . And if the Super Committee fails, that means that next year’s presidential election could settle this budget fight, with President Obama campaigning on a balance of tax hikes and spending cuts.

That would be an interesting platform for Obama to campaign on, after he signed the Obama tax cuts last December, and even doubled down by providing a 33% reduction in employee paid SS taxes. We're also still waiting for the first spending cut from Obama, $1.5 trillion dollar deficits and all.

So Obama will be campaigning not on reality, but what ever fantasies are rolling around in that empty head of his.

GOP to Obama: Come home to end the Super Committee impasse

Chu is a political hack trying to explain away the incompetence and possible political corruption that surrounds the Solyndra debacle.

Joe in Albany,

Yes, Solyndra should be investigated. But let’s put it into perspective by comparing it to a scandal from the previous administration.

Solyndra was not a war entered into under false pretenses. It did not result in the deaths of over 4,400 U.S. soldiers. Nor were another 32,000 U.S. troops wounded because of Solyndra. 100,000 civilians did not die because of Solyndra. Solyndra did not cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. Billions of dollars stacked on pallets at an airfield did not simply vanish overnight. The Vice President was not the former CEO of a corporation that received a no-bid contract—a corporation that has earned tens of billions of dollars to date and which has been investigated for billions of dollars of fraudulent invoicing. Those directly responsible for the scandal have never been investigated, and not only do they walk about freely, they continue to earn royalties off the fraud they perpetuated.

So yes, Solyndra should be investigated. But Solyndra is dwarfed by the previous administration’s scandal, a travesty of such proportions that many (and I am one) would call it treason. Solyndra is Charles Mound sitting in the shadow of Mount Whitney.

Albany Joe, when the Committee gets around to sending out subpoenas and investigating the role the Bush administration also played in the Solyndra loan, be sure to let us know. So far, the committee has made ZERO effort to ask those questions. When they do, I will take their investigation as being serious about getting to the bottom of it; for now, it seems to be one more Issa witch hunt for bogeymen in the Obama administration.

GOP to Obama: Come home to end the Super Committee impasse???

SMDH

That is an oxymoron. and kookey jackassery tea bag insanity. The Gop is an immpasse.

Do your jobs and stop obstructing!!!

*** Friday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews . . . . . .MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, and the Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza.

It's getting so bad at MSNBC that now the hosts are interviewing the hosts, or in the case of Chris Cillizza, "guest host".

At least the MSNBC lib loon fans will get their daily head nodding exercises done watching this crew.

Joe in Albany -- What...no mention of the $10 Billion set-aside Congress put in place when making the Loan Program for green energy? They did this anticipating losses in a program such as this. Also don't forget all the letters from Republicans requesting funds be directed to companies from their states. Remember, many republicans still support the initiative today.

Jack in Portsmouth: Solyndra was not a war entered into under false pretenses. It did not result in the deaths of over 4,400 U.S. soldiers.

Jack, you really should not deflect from the topic.

Jody, Iowa:

You wrote: "Last weekend Lou Engel (sp), one of Rick Perry's Texas Prayer Rally preachers, held an all-night prayer revival at the Detroit Lions football stadium. The purpose was to pray away Muslims in their sleep. There were no reports of mass mysterious disappearances during the night. Seriously, you can't make up this kind of crazy."

Of course, there were no mysterious disappearances - of Muslims or anyone else. I have it on good authority - Harold Camping - that the world had already ended.

Obviously, there was no point in reading further, because none of whatever you think happened, didn't happen. In fact, whatever you think you wrote you didn't write, and I wouldn't have seen what you couldn't write.

But if I had read read what you think you wrote, I'm sure I would have thought it was very good, and I would have thanked you for reminding about what couldn't have happened.

No point in wishing you a good weekend.

Yes, Solyndra should be investigated. But let’s put it into perspective by comparing it to a scandal from the previous administration.

____________________________________________________

That makes about as much sense as comparing Solyndra to Watergate. But, if it makes you feel better about Barry, be my guest.

Gee, First Read ... You think the Super Committee might ultimately fail?

Would that possibly be because it was designed to fail?

Sheesh.

Off topic indulgence -- from the Heartland ...

... for those naysayers who scoff at the possibility that Scott Walker will actually be recalled ...

http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/new-poll-shows-majority-support-walker-recall/article_3d9ba00e-0ff4-11e1-ab66-001cc4c03286.html

Gov. Scott Walker has lost support among his Republican base, according to a poll released Tuesday that shows a majority of respondents want to recall him from office.

The Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert College Survey was released the same day that Democrats, labor unions and others, angry over his moves to curb union rights, began circulating petitions to get the 540,000 signatures needed to force a recall election next year.

The poll showed that 58 percent of respondents believe Walker should be recalled from office. That compares with 47 percent who said in April that he should be recalled.

The growth in support for a recall came, surprisingly, from Republicans. In the spring, only 7 percent of Republicans supported recalling Walker but that grew to 24 percent in the fall. Support among Democrats held mainly steady at 88 percent in the spring and 92 percent in the fall.

(emphasis added)

Rather than support for the recall declining, as some conservatives have suggested, seems that recall support is actually growing AND that it's growing among Republicans as well as Democrats.

And while we're on the subject, hey, Governor Scotty ... where are the jobs you promised us?

http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dwd/newsreleases/2011/unemployment/111117_october_state.pdf

The latest preliminary seasonally adjusted estimates show total nonfarm employment declined by 9,700 jobs from September to October; and private sector jobs, by 9,300 in the same period. Compared to October 2010, private sector employment increased by 14,500 jobs.

This is the fourth straight month of job LOSSES, mostly in the private sector, while the Governor keeps trying to claim credit for job gains that occurred BEFORE his budget bill passed, and even before he took office.

Big anti-Scott Walker rally in my town tomorrow. Petitioners got 50,000 signatures within 48 hours, many of those signatures coming from "outstate" (i.e., not Madison or Milwaukee).

Only 57 days left to get the rest. Yes, we can.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Obama coming home is not the problem but GOPers oath to Grover Norquist is the problem and until they undo that, Obama come home will only turn into a mud fight all over again. We've seen it before.

bob-1805084

Why are Feisty and fiens loading their diapers over Newt and Freddie?

booby numerals

You are a sicko. The more you watch FOX NOISE the sicker and dumber you get as well as the you loving it more. Stop watching FAUX NEWS

Newt also founded a think tank called Center For Health Transformation. It took in over 37 million dollars and of all things this group promoted health insurance mandates for anyone making 50K or above or they could post a bond.

Wasn't he just bragging he would repeal Obamacare over mandates???

This guy really puts new meaning behind the word hypocrite.

Link to WaPo article below:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gingrich-think-tank-collected-millions-from-health-care-industry/2011/11/16/gIQAcd72VN_story.html?hpid=z1

Jody,

Regardless of who occupies the White House, such reports are disturbing.

What is really disturbing is that there were reports that the OWS guys voiced their support for this guy.

BTW - Aren't these the imbeciles that Obama voiced his support for? (Libs .... always good for a laugh.)

There is so much mistrust, hate, anger and frustration which reminds those of us old enough to remember the 60's of tragic events because of misguided mistrust, hate, anger and frustration.

Again .... Like the OWS guys, right, the guys Obama supports.

Afterall, it is Obama that has spent 3 years demonizing the rich and Wall Street.

Most polarizing President in Gallup history - FACT.

Smiff and Joe in Albany,

Try walking upright. It will enhance your critical thinking skills.

Good to see you this morning Sniffy!

Trust you had a good nights sleep?

Maybe you will be so kind to answer the question I posed to you yesterday?

Come on old gal - we know you can do it! lol

This week it's the fact that Gingrich had a job and provided a service to Freddie Mac for a reported $1.6 million. Of course our "elite" journalists can't break down what the number really means

Please all knowing & elite one - enlighten all of us as to exactly what Newter's job was & why it was worth a $1.6 million dollar pay day?

You claim to have all the answers... we'll be waiting Sniffy

Bless you, Jody. I have a hard time keeping up with the weeks' events at times. Always look forward to your wrap up. Missed it last Friday & the whole weekend was shot! :)

IR & David, both have a way of hitting the nail on the head with your comments. Much food for thought. I truly appreciate the time you spend on your posts

FR-THANK YOU for getting the ignore author restored-I just don't always have time to wade thru the chaff & so just quit reading the articles & posts for much of this week.

Have a good weekend all!

bob all you do is spew nothing but diaper loads every time you post.

Joannasmithi same as above.

bob --

Most polarizing President in Gallup history - FACT.

People can't be polarized unless they let themselves be polarized, bob.

You're a perfect example of someone who has drunk the kool-aid and let the hatred in.

bob - 180:

I'd sure like a link to that Senate vote - 55 Republicans for and 45 Democrats against - on the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Act of 2005. Everything I can find says it didn't get past the committee.

Also, I'm still waiting for one of those job-killing regulations you said you'd bring to the Vine.

I'm too busy this morning for the "here's what else happened last week" segment of our program.

Well, except to point put that Obama revealed himself to be a birther- which is pretty funny.

Oh, and the debt is now FIFTEEN trillion dollars- way to go, Obama! It took you less than three years to add five trillion to the debt!

Think what he could do if, heaven forfend, he got a second term.

Energy Secretary Chu, in the face of multiple emails that showed constant political pressure, including White House exhortation that Solyndra not announce their plant closing and layoffs untilAFTER the midterms, (which Solyndra complied with), claimed yesterday that NONE of the decisions were politically based. Nope. Unh unh.

His take? He and his staff are just too incompetent to do a good job with taxpayer money.

In this administration, that passes as a good excuse for corruption.

Oh- a new book put this week revealed the startling information that 80%- EIGHTY PER CENT- of the stimulus funds had, coincidentally, found its way into the pockets of Obama donors.

Nothing to see here, folks. Just typical, Chicago style graft.

New Gingrich, proving that he is a master of the obvious, declared MSNBC the official Obama reelection network. You think maybe he concluded that because of the hosannas that go up whenever Obama's name is mentioned? Maybe it's the misleading stories about republicans, mis attribution of quotes from one icon to their idol, or the deliberate untruths about such things as lobbying- about which we are breezily told that, no one knows what it is? When, in fact, there is a very clear explanation- and anyone calling himself or herself a political reporter should stand ready, willing, and able, to define?

Could be.

Democrats who align themselves with OWS might want to give that support a re-think. Yesterday's event proved that these idiots are not just, well, idiots- some of them are evil.

At 9:15a.m., they declared victory because they had stopped the opening bell. The opening bell went off, on time, at 9:30a.m.

Their attempts to harass and annoy and shut down the subway system was met with New Yorker disdain- I guess they don't understand that New Yorkers who ride the subways are used to dealing with fools greater than they. So, they failed.

From the stupid to the despicable- a police officer required 20 stitches to close a wound when one of the peace-loving hippies threw a home made weapon- a glass star- at him.

Another officer was hospitalized with an eye injury when these peace loving hippies threw a liquid irritant- possibly vinegar- into the faces of police officers.

And, in possibly the lowest activity yet, these miserable excuses for humanity chased young schoolchildren, frightening them.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/11/17/ows-protesters-chant-follow-those-kids-as-small-children-try-to-go-to-school-on-wall-street/

So, rapes, murders, riots, drug use, attacks on the cops attempting to protect everybody- and now this.

Great group you dems support.

Jody, Iowa

"And that's the way it is....." this week.

Well, Well, Well, Now the Senate Republicans have a new request. They want President Obama to come and broker a deal instead of the super committee...

Senator Dan Coats(R,IND)," Its hard to see us getting a deal unless he comes in at the last minute."

Hey Dan, what do you think we are paying you for? Get to work.

Meanwhile according to the Hill article: House and Senate leaders indicated they are in no rush to jump in and broker an agreement." AND THEIR THANKSGIVING RECESS IS STILL A GO!

POX ON BOTH CHAMBERS AND BOTH PARTIES

91% of citizens disapprove of Congress. And this farce with the super committee is a perfect example.

Maybe it is time to Occupy the halls of Congress, we are paying for the heat and lights while they pretend to do the people business three days a week, three weeks a month.!!!

Jack,

If you want to go that far, you need to bring up charges to all the Congressmen/women and Senators that also voted to invade Iraq.

It's kind of strange you supported Obama for his actions for Libya and didn't ask for Congress permission, but want Bush to be tried for treason and asked Congress to go to war. My 2 cents, I supported both actions that Obama and Bush did.

Why did Obama get involved in Libya? Because the people were getting killed, just like in Iraq, Saddam killed 100,000 of his own people, even used chemical weapons against them.

no joe:

Great group you dems support.

Offhand, I'd have to guess that the guy who took 9 potshots at the White House this week wasn't a liberal.

So, what's your point?

There are always a few bad actors on both sides. Civil unrest is always a little messy, and always has been. Vietnam was no different.

That didn't make the protestors wrong about the war, did it?

And maybe there wouldn't be so much trouble with OWS if city officials would just be more gracious in consideration of the protestors' First Amendment rights.

You HAVE heard of the First Amendment, haven't you, no joe?

.. and oh, by the way, where are YOUR suggestions for how to solve the problems being identified by the OWS movement?

I haven't heard one yet.

Don't_carry_it_all:

After reading some of the stuff that comes out of these "think tanks", I like to take a break. I head over to the Dew Drop Inn and get too tanked to think.

Is it true that the Republican Party is adopting a new slogan for their education plan? "Reading is detrimental."

Gawd, this built in mouse on my my new laptop is just like Congress. It won't co-operate.

Jody, Iowa

"And that's the way it is....." this week.

Food for Thought: "Never put off till tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow." Mark Twain,

Your post Jody is wonderful. Too bad the cretins in Congress won't follow you thoughts

JoAnnaSmth1:

That would be an interesting platform for Obama to campaign on, after he signed the Obama tax cuts last December, and even doubled down by providing a 33% reduction in employee paid SS taxes. We're also still waiting for the first spending cut from Obama, $1.5 trillion dollar deficits and all.

So, JoAnnaSmith is as outraged today about Obama's MIDDLE CLASS tax cuts as she was outraged yesterday about NBC's "bias" for hiring Chelsea Clinton as a correspondent together with Jenna Bush and Megan McCain. She must lead a very boring life if she needs to make up stuff like that to be outraged about.

So your contention is that people have a First Amendment right to chase and frighten little children?

You're as sick as the people who did it.

And the guy who took potshots at the White House? Thinks he's Jesus Christ. There's a video he sent to Oprah Winfrey, detailing his philosophy. I believe he sees her as one of "his" prophets.

In other words, another lunatic whose political party is "crazy".

I know how disappointed you are. First Loughner, now this nut. Why can't at least one of these guys be a TEA Partier?

Jody great job as usual. Had to wait and make the time to read your wonderful 'look back'

Have a great weekend everybody.

Perspective. There's a lot of huffing and puffing over a $535 million failed loan to a green energy company. Wonder why no one investigates or questions the millions in taxpayer dollars lost when NASA sends something into space and it doesn't work. Solyndra required a "leap of faith" to try something new that, if successful, would mean a cleaner, renewable energy source for the future. Space exploration by NASA requires that same "leap of faith" that, if successful, opens up the universe. Why so much fuss over one failure as opposed to the many expensive failures which occurred during the nearly 50 years we have explored the heavens.

Deb C, thank you. You can read last Fridays weekly wrap by going to the FR archives.

Leave it to FOX to sell to their FR conservative sheep who repeated it, the idea that the "assassin" was part of the Occupy movement, and naturally, he must have been a liberal. News flash: he's from Idaho, know many liberals in Idaho where the anti-government folks often call home. The man thought the world would end on 11/11/11, he hated ALL government.

The "trigger" thing if the Stupor Committee doesn't agree to budget cuts is a sham. The next Congress can undo all the supposed automatic cuts. I just hope the Democrats don't cave like they usually do to Republicans demands for tax cuts for the rich. Go ahead, pull the trigger. The only thing that will happen is a flag popping out of the gun barrel that says "Bang".

Paul:

Saddam killed 100,000 of his own people, even used chemical weapons against them.

That occurred 15 years BEFORE the invasion, while Reagan was President, actually, and it wasn't 100,000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halabja_poison_gas_attack

So, in reality, it does beg the question of why Pappy Bush didn't follow Saddam back to Baghdad after Kuwait, doesn't it? But it doesn't justify an invasion 15 years later, especially when that wasn't the reason we were given at the time of the invasion.

but want Bush to be tried for treason and asked Congress to go to war.

Bush should be tried for treason because he deliberately misled Congress and the American people by trumping up the claim that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and hiding from Congress the intelligence that said there were no such weapons.

I've seen conservatives out here -- in their rush to demean President Obama -- actually admit that the President had intelligence that Congress did not. In retrospect, we know that this is the truth.

Well, then, let Bush live with the consequences of withholding the real intelligence from Congress.

Ahh...David of course reading is detrimental.... to those that prefer slogans over facts. It's no wonder they are fighting so hard to cut funds from education; someone might learn something.

Cheers! Let's start early! ; ) My head hurts from reading too much.

just put princess nancy in charge of the dept of pretend science. she will get us a guaranteed roi!

Feisty

Good to see you this morning Sniffy!

Trust you had a good nights sleep?

Maybe you will be so kind to answer the question I posed to you yesterday?

Come on old gal - we know you can do it! lol

Feisty, You have given that old bat way too much credit.

Lady Sniff can't even find her magnifying glass and houndogs, Spanky, No Jo, Joeey, et al to assist her in investigative snooping.

Too bad we all know who she loves foraging for lies. Kinda like the House republicans over Solanydra always digging for dirt.

Jody:

Why so much fuss over one failure as opposed to the many expensive failures which occurred during the nearly 50 years we have explored the heavens.

Because making "a fuss" is the only thing the Republican majority in Congress are good at. That and naming post offices.

Thanks Jody, Iowa for another great wrap up. Have a great weekend!

I think the football analogy is dead on but the context is wrong. The quarterback is on the sideline because the "special teams" is asked to kick a field goal and instead they are trying to punt. Do your jobs CONGRESS!

So when will MS-NBC be renamed MS-OWS? Just to make it official.

hey MSDNC employees pretending to be posters on these sites: we sure missed your input on the DOE hari kari hearing yesterday.

lol

TEA

Thanks, Anna Molly. Saved me from replying--and you said it better than I would have.

whatever the super secret super committee comes up with, lets hope it includes pinwheels and choo choo trains!

Smiff said: "Jack, you really should not deflect from the topic."

Haw Haw Haw Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha......Oh God- stop! Your're kililng us out here!!

JoAnnaSmith1

So when will MS-NBC be renamed MS-OWS? Just to make it official.

I'm really surprised that you've decided to do some more whining about "bias" after you made a fool out of yourself complaining about NBC hiring Chelsea Clinton as a correspondent when it was pointed out to you that NBC had hired Jenna Bush two years earlier.

Jody,

Romney announced that "with President Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon; with Mitt Romney as president, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon."

Didn't Obama VOW that Iran would not be allowed to get the bomb?

So ..... you are suggesting, agree, that the repubs are not as gutless as Obama?

And gosh, the whole world cares more about Iran not getting the bomb than they ever cared about Libya .... and we don't have to bomb the whole country like Libya - just the weapons sites.

And when they advocate torture and simply call it "enhanced interrogation techniques", ask them if they think it will be okay for foreign countries to torture and water-board Americans who might be captured in the future because "we do it"?

Sheez ..... they take Americans and behead them, cut up bodies / burn them and hang them from bridges .... waterboarding is a day at the waterpark compared to what these animals do to us.

And really, blowing a man to pieces with a Hellfire missile fired from a Predaror like Obama is so fond of doing ..... is nicer?

Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions expressed "conflict of interest" concerns about the Supreme Court. His concern is aimed at Justice Elena Kagan's "conflict" but the Keebler Elf made no mention of Justices Scalia and Thomas's foxes in the hen house "conflict".

Most of the Supremes' spouses have political interests, they go to dinners ... bla blah blahhh. Kagan helped with the actual legislation ...... but guess what ... nobody is taking a pass on this gig ..... get over it.

Perry one-upped Romney with "can you believe that? That's what our President thinks is wrong with America? That Americans are lazy?" What I can't believe is how easily these yahoos lie and take comments out of context while claiming to be God-fearing Christians.

Coming from the party that stakes its existence on taking things out of context?

Regardless, Obama blaming American business for being lazy is the height of hypocrisy and another demonstration of his contempt for business considering the wanton damage Obama has done to the business environment.

BTW - Thanks for putting up something that is at least well enough thought out to respond to, as opposed to the stuff like Feisty's typical banality.

Anna,

"So, in reality, it does beg the question of why Pappy Bush didn't follow Saddam back to Baghdad after Kuwait, doesn't it? But it doesn't justify an invasion 10 years later, especially when that wasn't the reason we were given."

That wasn't the mission to follow Saddam up to Bahgdad, it was to liberate Kuwait. We went as far as Bashra and stopped. During the terms of surrender, the Iraqi government was handed terms they had to follow, well Saddam didn't follow such terms and the UN placed sanctions on them. Remember the NO Fly Zone of the 90s? Remember Operation Desert Fox? Look it up, you might learn something.

The Congressmen/women and Senators seen the same information. I believe Hillary even said so.

"Again .... Like the OWS guys, right, the guys Obama supports."

Straight off Hannity, folks. Almost verbatim.

Hey Bob- why don't you see if you can make it past Hannity's 'screener', and tell him you know for a fact that most of those OWS people haven't ironed their pillow cases in over a week!

Try walking upright. It will enhance your critical thinking skills.

_____________________________________________

Would that make me as clever and witty as you?

Hey, bob lotsanumbers and others buying what the GOP is selling. Check out the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, and then explain why it took 30 years (that's 2007) for Wall Street including Fannie & Freddie to collapse because of bad loans to improvident poor people. That's what is so ridiculous about the GOP argument we have heard for 3 years. Encouraging home ownership for lower income people began in 1977!

If those irresponsible democratic bleeding hearts enacted laws to expand home ownership in 1977, why didn't Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43 repeal such a horrific financial concept. Was Barney Frank secretly President?

The collapse was not caused by that "liberal" Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, it was caused by over-reaching, greedy mortgage firms and preditory loans bundled and sold as "sure bets" derivatives and all that happened because of de-regulation of financial institutions signed by President Reagan and the final blow signed by President Clinton.

You know all of you folks that think its funny and cute to call the president names such as Barry and Hussien or just Obama, should show a little more respect for the office he holds. He has a title and you should all remember like it or not he is your president. You sound like a bunch of little kids trying to get a laugh out of your friends. Its disgusting to read.

Joe in Albany

Would that make me as clever and witty as you?

Nope.

Your "cool" factor notwithstanding, you DO understand that, in this country, elective office does not give you any greater rights than any other citizen, do you not? That our Founders went to great lengths to preclude that very thing?

I may disagree with the cutesy nicknames- I believe they undermine an argument- but I call Obama, Obama, Bush, Bush, Reagan, Reagan, and only add "Bill" or "Hillary" to Clinton to avoid confusion.

If you feel the need to bend your knee to a living person, I suggest you seek citizenship somewhere in a monarchy.

Robiscoole,

Isn't those the names he used and still goes by? So to be far you would expect your friends on here to call Palin, Governor, Newt, Mr. Speaker, Romney, Governor and so on-right?

Let's open both eyes and not just close the right one.

Boy, little "b"-ob lotsanumbers, my weekly wrap has your undies in a bunch--which means I have the facts on my side.

No, never heard Obama "vow" any such thing about Iran. I did hear him say often that he was willing to meet with Iranian officials "without preconditions" (remember that brouhaha) to negotiate. Sanctions are working and those sanctions were successfully put in place by the UN and negotiated by President Obama who convinced Russia and China to help. You don't have to blow up Iran or invade to achieve a goal. It might take a bit longer but there's a lot less collateral damage.

Wow in the same post Bob lotsanumbers called the President who actually followed through on the killing of Osama Bin Laden "gutless" and with the flick of his wrist suggested that the president was assassinating American Citizens via Predator drone. With more flick of the wrist you are effectively jacking--0ff

Paul:

That wasn't the mission to follow Saddam up to Bahgdad, it was to liberate Kuwait. We went as far as Bashra and stopped.

Oh, really?! Who knew?

But then, forgive my ignorance and all that, but why WASN'T it the mission, at a time when the Kurdish massacre was still fresh in our memories?

And then, if that's the case, why did it suddenly become the mission 15 years later?

You know better than that, Paul.

During the terms of surrender, the Iraqi government was handed terms they had to follow, well Saddam didn't follow such terms and the UN placed sanctions on them. Remember the NO Fly Zone of the 90s? Remember Operation Desert Fox? Look it up, you might learn something.

Seriously, Paul? If I knew enough to debunk what you said about the Kurdish massacre, then you don't suppose I also knew these facts, but realized that they weren't relevant to your original point about the Kurds, who were already long dead the time Saddam invaded Kuwait in 1990, much less 15 years later when we were thinking about invading Iraq?

I think you're the one who should look it up.

I believe Hillary even said so.

Why would I take your word for what Hillary said, seeing that you don't seem to know the truth about the Kurds, either, and somehow think that this was a justification for the 2003 invasion.

Besides, how would Hillary know whether she had all the same intelligence or not?

And double besides, her vote on Iraq is one of the major reasons I didn't support her for President. So don't try to pin Hillary on me.

With more flick of the wrist you are effectively jacking--0ff

Nah...

That would require some 'wood' in his 'pecker'...

Poor little guy has been 'hollow' for years...

Bobs' voice is at a high pitch this morning. Someone must have snuck up behind him and given him a wedgie.

Speaker John "hell, no, you can't" Boehner accused democrats and the White House of never saying "yes".

Coming from the leader of the party of "No" that sure carries a lot of weight.

As usual another great "And that's the way it is....." this week.

Great post Jody. Thanks.

Bev,

You are a sicko.

Thanks

Kidding aside - I hope you and your family are doing as well as possible.

Have a good weekend Bev.

Anna,

People can't be polarized unless they let themselves be polarized, bob.

WOW!

IT IS AMERICA'S FAULT - OBAMA IS THE MOST POLARIZING PRESIDENT IN GALLUP HISTORY!

Typical mindless statement from a worshipper, but ....

WOW!

David,

Sorry about the reg thing - it has turned more into an article than a blog comment. Probably needs to be in 3 or 4 parts.

All for you David!

Will have it up Monday.

Jody,

It wasn't The CRA, it was what Clinton started mandating, how he he expanded it. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 was a big prob (signed by Clinton with repub support).

Bottom line is that only government has the ability to legislate, regulate - to control - and it failed big time. The rat problem was not the rats - it was the guys (mostly dems) whose responsibility was to control the rats not doing their jobs.

That simple.

Accept it, wake up ..... it's happening all over again.

No Anna the original point was that Saddam killed his own people like Kadafi and he went so far to use chemical weapons. How did you debunk on what I said? Did I say, "Because Saddam used chemical weapons, Bush invaded." No, my point is that he used them and you're correct it was in the 80's. That was my point. It's been report that Saddam may had killed up to million of his own people. So, that goes back to what I originally said, Obama used force to oust Kadifi for doing what Saddam did to his people, but yet you support Obama's actions. You probably failed to see that I supported both.

How did saying Hillary, pin that on you? I used her because of her position now.

Nice save Jack, but I'm pretty sure you couldn't answer the question.

Herman Cain declared yesterday, "We need a leader not a reader!"

With that kind of anti-intellectualism,...what could possibly go wrong?

These idiots take PRIDE in being idiots. Cuz' they know they've got foot soldiers like nojo, jas1, spanky, big and little bob lotsanumbers, etc to carry the water for them.

Again, I ask, WHAT could possibly go wrong with this line of 'reasoning'?

Why the Super Committee ultimately might fail

Easy. Progressive democrats sit on the committee. They claim you can spend your way out of debt and refuse to admit that debt and increasing deficits represent the largest single factor impeding a US recovery. Interest on US debt held by China paid EVERY MONTH by hardworking citizens COMPLETELY PAYS FOR CHINA'S ENTIRE MILITARY. Obama's answer? BORROW MORE FROM CHINA SO HARDWORKING US CITIZENS pay for MORE OF CHINA'S MILITARY and OPEN A NEW US MILITARY BASE IN AUSTRALIA. You really cannot make up stuff THIS STUPID.

Jody,

Boy, little "b"-ob lotsanumbers, my weekly wrap has your undies in a bunch--which means I have the facts on my side.

Hardly ..... I refute your comments and that's all you got?

No, never heard Obama "vow" any such thing about Iran.

Really? So Obama was cool with the biggest state sponsor of terrorism getting the bomb?

You don't know much, huh?

I did hear him say often that he was willing to meet with Iranian officials "without preconditions" (remember that brouhaha) to negotiate.

Duh ..... yea.

Remember Sarkosy saying what a naive narcissist Obama was? How Obama was clueless, how Iran and Russia would punk him, how he would never succeed?

And btw - what negotiations has Obama had with Iran and how has that worked out?

You are aware of the IAEA report, right?

Sanctions are working and those sanctions were successfully put in place by the UN and negotiated by President Obama who convinced Russia and China to help.

So you are clueless and have no idea about the IAEA report.

You don't have to blow up Iran or invade to achieve a goal. It might take a bit longer but there's a lot less collateral damage.

Got one right - just blow up the nuclear weapons sites.

With that kind of anti-intellectualism,...what could possibly go wrong?

Ummm...

Didn't we try that little social experiment from 2000 - 2008?

What a EPIC success THAT was!

*snark off*

Bobs' voice is at a high pitch this morning.

Shrill comes to mind... ;o)

"Again, I ask, WHAT could possibly go wrong with this line of 'reasoning'?"

Geez, I don't know, calling people idiots doesn't really prove your point, it kind of make you one, don't you think?

Paul-Florida,

It's kind of strange you supported Obama for his actions for Libya

Pure conjecture on your part. I never said that.

I'm pretty sure you couldn't answer the question.

Anna Molly has more patience than I do, but here goes.

We did not go to war in Iraq because Saddam killed his own people, as you profess. Neither Bush nor Cheney nor Rumsfeld nor Wolfowitz nor anyone else in that administration said that was the reason we invaded Iraq. Furthest thing from their minds.

The ostensible reason was that Saddam had WMDs. But it's clear that Powell didn't believe there were WMDs--I think it was Joe Klein who reported that the day before Powell was supposed to appear before the UN he threw the speech the administration had prepared for him into the air and said something like, "I'm not going to read that b***s**t!" But he went ahead and did it anyway. Shame on him. He was an officer in Viet Nam and should have had more respect for our troops.

My opinion for the invasion? A president who wanted to finish his daddy's work (and in the process both show him up and gain his respect--even Bush is complex, amazingly enough). A VP who wanted to enrich the corporation he had been the CEO of, both by giving Halliburton a no-bid contract for wartime services and to strategically position them for oil profits post-war.

Madison,

“and OPEN A NEW US MILITARY BASE IN AUSTRALIA” – You Lie

No new base will be built and U.S. Marines will be stationed in northern Australia under the plan announced by Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The troops will be deployed on a six-month rotation, starting with 250 personnel and eventually expanding to as many as 2,500.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-17/obama-says-u-s-troops-in-australia-will-keep-asia-pacific-region-secure.html

um, Paul, Fl - if you don't think some of the crap coming from the pie holes of Cain, Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and even Romney makes them idiots - well, I can't help you with YOUR 'reasoning'. If public figures don't want to be called idiots,...they ought to tamp down on the idiocy, no?

I was just thinking about......Uh oh- what's that high-pitched squealing sound? Crap- sounds like the bearings are going on the ol' HVAC system in here.

Wait....... no...... it sounds more like......Aw, never mind.

It's just bob again.....

Bob -- I think our military and this Administration has every under control with Iran. Don't listen to Newt who thinks our CIA does nothing or to Romney who thinks we can't handle Iran. Fact is we just ordered and received (I think) 20 new very powerful, very capable bunker buster weapons. Otherwise known as MOPs possibly. That ought to put Iran on notice.

Maybe that will ease your mind and rhetoric this morning.

Clara -- You said:

Herman Cain declared yesterday, "We need a leader not a reader!"

With that kind of anti-intellectualism,...what could possibly go wrong?

Can't make this stuff up folks! Guess those classified briefs will lay in a pile....unread. Are you righties comfortable with that??

Great post as usual Jody.

Would only like to add the new talking point lies of Perry and Romney. Openly taking words out of context and spinning lies like no one is going to notice. I think they are taking republican lying to a new level all with the support of faux news who can turn any truth into a lie.

Faux has killed the right to truth, republicans want to kill the OWS movement to kill freedom of speech, republicans want to limit the right to vote which along with citizens united kills our democracy. Seems to me this republican so called freedom is getting mighty expensive when it comes to our freedoms and rights as humans.

15 trillion deficit now. Thats 5 trillion in only 3 years. Thanks Obama. Now he wants to spend even more till we end up like Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain. All those countries are broke and need to be bailed out.

Who is going to bail the US out when Obama runs it up another 10 trillion if he gets re-elected?

43 million people on food stamps now.

Millions on welfare.

Riots in the streets of NYC at teh occupy protests.

Scandals in the obama administration of croney capitalism.

Who can't love this "change" and "hope"?

Who cares if you don't like the republicans. What can Obama run on that he has made better for america? Is your life better than it was 3 years ago? Do you see it getting worse in the future?

AmericanFirst - O'Donnell played this up classically on his program yesterday.

Perry calls Americans lazy. Romney calls Americans lazy. And O'Donnell has the video clips to prove it. Was nice of O'Donnell to illustrate the snippet-game can be played two ways.

Dennis,

Good morning hope all is well. I don't believe we have stationed any military force, regardless of size, in Australia since WW11. Myself and thousands of other troops took R & R in Australia from Vietnam, and if there is any overseas area I would volunteer for, Australia would be it. Australia is, and has been, one of our most important and trusted allies and I really enjoyed the Australian troops that served in Nam. I do believe the troops will actually be there more as a "quick reaction force" for the Pacific area.

Have a good weekend Dennis.

Paul:

So, that goes back to what I originally said, Obama used force to oust Kadifi for doing what Saddam did to his people, but yet you support Obama's actions.

You really don't get the difference, do you?

What Obama did was act to try to PREVENT Khaddafi from wiping out a whole province full of people. Unlike Reagan and Bush 41, who did nothing to prevent the Kurdish genocide, which occurred on their watch, and also did nothing to vindicate it later.

The reason we stopped Saddam's invasion of Kuwait was oil. And that's why we didn't see any reason to follow him back to Baghdad and punish him for the Kurdish massacre. We didn't care about dead Kurds, once we had secured the Kuwaiti oil fields.

Similarly, and as Jack explains so eloquently, we didn't invade Iraq because of any Kurdish massacre that happened 15 years before. We didn't invade because we truly believed there were weapons of mass destruction. We didn't invade because we truly believed there was a connection between Iraq and September 11.

The reason we invaded Iraq was oil.

None of those other excuses ever had anything to do with it.

Thanks Sarge,

You have a great weekend also.

Be it 250 or 2500 troops, that number is very small for the size of that region. Nothing has been said but is there a fear we could lose our access to bases and ports in Japan?

DCIA:

Can't make this stuff up folks!

And he didn't even do that, did he? "Leader, not a reader," is a direct reference back to The Simpsons, I believe.

Someone should tell Cain that The Simpsons is satire.

They didn't mean it.

sfcret:

I don't think any troops - past or present - really know the overall goal of deployments around the world. However, given the movements about which we know, don't you get the feeling that the goal is encirclement of the Muslim world?

I just can't get past the idea that China is not a military threat. Today, they have the economic might that is necessary to put a military solution on the back burner.

Wuddya think?

Anna -- And the 999 plan from a video game.....hahaha! Too funny by half. Someone appears to be playing too many video games and watching too much tv. The values police might have a problem with that. ; )

Madison,

“and OPEN A NEW US MILITARY BASE IN AUSTRALIA” – You Lie

No new base will be built

???

November 18, 2011, 4:54 am

U.S. Establishes Military Base in Australia
By HOLLY EPSTEIN

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/18/u-s-establishes-military-base-in-australia/

New US training base in Australia

By Anna Mulrine, Staff writer /November 16, 2011

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2011/1116/New-US-training-base-in-Australia-is-all-about-the-rise-of-China

Why don't Obama supporters think "new bases" are not "new bases"? This is PROOF we need to SHUT DOWN the Department of Education TOMORROW what an UTTER FAILURE throwing money at a problem solves NOTHING.

Why the hell does the GOP want Obama to come home, and end the super committee impasse. Congress are the one's, who passed this mess. Where the hell is Boehner and Reid? I thought they were the leaders in congress. If these two can't do the job anymore, they should be shown to the door.

RedDev, I saw Lawrence O's clips about Romney and Perry; can't wait to see the DNC or some liberal group, run ads showing Romney and Perry calling Americans lazy! It would be terrific to see the democrats beat Mitt and Rick at their own game and bet we wouldn't hear another such comment from either. Lawrence's shows are always great.

Never mind, "b"-ob lotsanumbers--since you refuse to accept facts and truth, enjoy wallowing in denial.

And why do we pay our congress?

It was reported that the House has passed 22 bills this year (Rep controlled) and the Senate has passed 0 bills this year ((Dem controlled)??????? Zero, nada, zip........

How can it be that the Dem calls the Rep the party of "no"? Senate, where's the bill???? Before you (Dem) start becoming defensive, remember that the House has Dem and Rep as well (I can hear you all whining about how it is the Rep/TP fault because they will not agree to what the Dem wants without negotiating.

Both parties are an embarassment, has our president encouraged unity or division? 3 years and 2 of been dem controlled congress (both the House and Senate) and very little done, so sad!

Madison,

Establishing a base does not mean we are building a base as you imply.

Dennis,

The Japanese government has long wanted the Americans out of Okinawa, mostly for their own political reasons, we won't loose our ports as that is the military shield for Japan itself. The ground troops have always been a sore point and are kept in Okinawa mostly for quick deployment to Korea. Australia is probably a better choice because of the whole picture now in the pacific area.

David,

I really doubt it has anything to do with circling "Muslim countries", but more on the security of our troops. Australia has been and still is a very trusted and strong ally. With the mobility of forces today I am surprised we haven't already had a "quick reaction force" in Australia. I don't think China is a military threat and they do not want a military confrontation with the U.S. If they did they would have made a push for complete control of Taiwan already. Have a good week end David.

I believe the GOP wants the super-committee to not come to any agreement hedging their bets for the 2016 race. Since some Republicans (and probably more than we'd suspect at this point) probably don't think the GOP can win the White House in 2012, they have to muddle the future for the Democrats. Why are the truly top tier Republicans not in the race this year? Losing the top election is a career killer in that you won't get a second chance to run as the nominee again. Now with the almost certain recall of Walker in Wisconsin and regular people (not just the occupy crowd) really looking at the 1% and the top 400, the pendulum is swinging towards the Democrats and away from the GOP. Sure, there are plenty of Tea Party and fiscal conservatives who will see this other wise and will vote in large numbers, but it takes a majority to win and the right wing may be vocal and visible, the real majority are the moderates and left wing who (if they show up and vote) will re-elect Obama and could change some seats in the House.

Anyway, since these disasterous automatic cuts to the military and Medicare don't happen until the next presidential term, they want to cripple the second term for Obama as much as they possibly can in hopes of gaining seats in 2014 and the White House in 2016.

Jody, nice job, keep up the good work.

Nothing here for me today. Just the same old same old. But I'll leave you with this thought.

What if the "anybody but Mitt" party rallies around Ron Paul? Talk amongst yourselves.

Obama/Biden 2012

DCIA --

The values police might have a problem with that. ; )

Yeah, they might, but they don't get the references.

Ironically, it takes the "liberal" media to do that.

Damn liberals at it again! Too smart for some! lol

Why the Super Committee ultimately might fail

I think this title a little TOO optimistic. It should be more like:

Why the Super Committee ultimately will fail.

Why the Super Committee migh fail...let me guess, could it be because

72 House members from the conservative Republican Study Committee told the Super Committee that they won't accept any tax hikes or new revenue.

Obviously it would make no difference if the president offered yet another olive branch for them to slap away. Calls for him to come home are just a smear tactic, and a despicable one under the circumstances.

We need a Big Deal, and that will require a balanced approach, which the Dems offered that even included entitlements. We need $5 trillion, and since we already had spending cuts, that's means $3 trillion in revenue to $2 trillion in cuts. And NO, revenue cannot be off-set with additional cuts in spending. Obviously this would be counter to a balanced approach -- @#$%&! Teapublicans lack any Rule of Reason and think voters are just as stupid?

Fellow Americans, we could have a $5 trillion Big Deal IF Teapublicans would actually COMPROMISE. Millionaires have joined together demanding that the rich pay their fair share. What's the problem here? Write them, call them, Email them and demand the Teapublicans do their jobs!

Great Zeus, somebody please stop the right-wing Echo Chamber and Cone of Silence. Atlas -- We have debunked that BS a long time ago. The bills in the House are either about commemorative coins or legislation they know will never pass. Like the balanced budget amendment recycled today.

In the Senate nothing gets done because of Teapublican's record abuse of the filibuster requiring a Super Majority rather than a simple majority vote. But even if something passes in one chamber, it must still pass in the other. Go back and take a Civics Class.

The bottom line is, compared to the 300 + bills passed during Pelosi's first term, the Teapublican House is pitiful. Maybe they should take one week off for every two weeks worked? Conservatives, own it and stop with the spin.

It's their job to make it happen not Obama's these MORONS could not make things happen without a committee, and it won't be any different with the committee, is anyone surprised here ...

The thing about this committee is this, when they vote or make that suggestions they are accountable not like a room full of congressmen, so who wants to lose their job people, bet these people really don't want to be on that committee now ..

Great post. Only problem with justices going to these dinners after they retire - they never retire!!!

Good Morning Floyd!

And it’s nothing that runs afoul of ethics rules. In fact, justices are exempt from the Code of Conduct that governs the actions of lower federal judges

This is what I find most chilling about the entire situation!

Upshot of the whole deal was that a bunch of folks failed miserably at upholding the Ideals that they aspired to

They are ALL GUILTY in protecting the 'legacy' at any cost...

Including stealing the youth & innocence of the victims!

It makes my skin crawl!!!

Excellent, IR; the comparison of what happened at Penn State to Scalia and Thomas was perfect pearls of redneck wisdom. It should alarm every person, right or left, that some of our Supreme Court Justices feel they are above the Code of Conduct and blatantly flaunt their contempt for it.

Feisty, agree, makes my skin crawl. Heard something this morning that McQueary a week ? after witnessing the rape of a young boy had dinner with Sandusky. Didn't catch all the details but the bit I heard turned my stomach.

Kudos IR! Great post! Keep on keeping on!

I give you credit for being on top of this. A good defense is a good offense, I guess.

There are emails that prove Elena Kagan should recuse herself from the healthcare decision. There is no statute to force her to do so, but it is pretty clear that her mind is, in fact, made up.

Too bad the Senate did not have that information at her confirmation hearing.

I wonder- is perjury before the Senate an impeachable offense for a sitting justice?

Nojo this exchange showed me everything that I’m ever going to want to know about your opinions.

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/12/8772511-focus-on-foreign-policy-in-sat-gop-debate#c59869488

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/12/8772511-focus-on-foreign-policy-in-sat-gop-debate#c59869638

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/12/8772511-focus-on-foreign-policy-in-sat-gop-debate#c59871397

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/12/8772511-focus-on-foreign-policy-in-sat-gop-debate#c59871869

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/12/8772511-focus-on-foreign-policy-in-sat-gop-debate#c59872211

Don’t waste my time with your delusions. I’m getting old and I don’t have enough time left above ground to waste it on you.

I wonder- is perjury before the Senate an impeachable offense for a sitting justice?

I wonder...does "no joe" even know what perjury is?

Everyone likes to make lawyer jokes---I enjoy them myself. One time someone zinged me with a blonde lawyer joke---kind of a two-fer---and I laughed along with them. But I am proud to be a lawyer--proud of the work it took to become a member of the bar (never forgetting the good fortune and the help of others who helped me along the way). I am also proud that my skills allow me to help others with situations that can be daunting. But today I am ashamed that Scalia and Thomas can be so tone deaf as to allow the appearance of such impropriety, let alone that they appear to be in the pocket of the conservatives.

Well said, Steeler Fan! I have great respect for lawyers and judges but Scalia and Thomas taint the Supreme Court because it appears they have no Code of Honor.

IR, ka-ching on your NJ rebuttal!

Steller...nice post...thanks for sharing your experience.

My maternal grandfather was the adult in my young life who REALLY helped shape my core values. I remember the incredible amount of time he devoted to explaining the importance and protection of one's character and integrity. I also remember him using the members of our Supreme Court as the best examples he knew. WOW....he would be SO disappointed if he saw some of them now. The blatant relationships and improprieties appear beyond the pale to me.

The way in which the deck has been stacked and the possibility for appointment(s) during the next administration SHOULD scare everyone enough to get them to the voting booth....without fail!

Nojo this exchange showed me everything that I’m ever going to want to know about your opinions.

Don’t waste my time with your delusions. I’m getting old and I don’t have enough time left above ground to waste it on you

You said it.

I often wonder if she, JoAnna, Joe, the Bobs and Spanky are paid by some Conservative Group to throw as much mud as possible to see how much will stick and to confuse the weak.

Things that make you go hmm...

Devie -- Don't forget WCA....at one time I thought he was in training under Spanky and Spanky was being assigned to another blog....but sadly, Spanky is back here up to his old tricks.

Scalia and Thomas will almost certainly vote to overturn the mandate regardless, but the rest of the court may not be so easily swayed. Some very conservative judges ruled that the mandate was constitutional and if taken seriously by the others solely as a constitutional issue and not a political one, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a 6-3 ruling upholding the Healthcare law and mandate.

Rubio of FL the one time son of cuban exiles.. has now become just the son of ordinary immigrants ..since it was found out that his parents came to america before the take over by Castro ...Rubio is now saying that the GOP debates must stop .. people are starting to see how stupid republican candidates are .. you cant fool people for long once they look into your past .. like they did Rubios

Perfect, David.

Republicans, Thy Name Is Hypocrisy.

"To all appearances, the Republican Party marches in lockstep"

David,

wake up, man. That was last week's official George Soros-funded talking point.

This week , it is "the Republican Party is fatally split between its Far Right and moderates" .

Be careful, there are hundreds of moonbats out there who want your cushy job as a Soros lackey. One more such mistake. you are out.

Bob:

You've taken this "reading is detrimental" stuff too far. Had you read past the first two or three sentences you would understand that "appearances" are deceiving.

That was the point, which you clearly missed. Really Bob, I was kidding. That was a joke. Reading is really a very good thing. Try it. We'll work on comprehension after that.

Bob -- Looking forward to your arguments on regulations. : )

Why can't Republicans find someone like that?

Because they don't exist? Just wondering that's all.

Great post Dave.

Bravo, David Walker. Excellent.

Ditto Jody David!

Had you read past the first two or three sentences you would understand that "appearances" are deceiving.

Bob numbers is the living embodiment of "knee-jerk reaction".

If Romney is all about transparency why was the identity of who was behind the W Swann donation to "Restore Our Future" PAC such a big secret?

There seems to a lot that Mittens has been hiding. Alot of it seems to point to money.

Bob, tell me did you buy the hard drive from the computer from your last job? I have never heard of such a thing and neither did the two previous governors before Romney.

Hint: If the republican and your dislike and continued lying about President Obama cured the ills of our nation, we would all have well paying jobs and no debt. As you can see your lying and hating of President Obama does nothing for anybody especially America.

Thank you, and I will do my best to keep 'em coming.

Good morning to everyone at FR from the nation's oldest city (and I don't mean that wanna be Jamestown!) Happy Friday to all.

Da Noid, what I don't get about the GOP is their fear of technology. Don't they realize that with today's technology a person doesn't even have to be on the same continent to be in touch? What the GOP wants is the super committee to fail and blame it on the President. It is their MO. Do not take responsibility for anything.

Jody, excellent post, as always.

Feisty, hubby asks for no more Newter and Nuts, please. Scared him!

The super committee will likely fail. At that moment when the deadline passes, everyone one of us 91% should stop doing whatever it is we are doing, lean back, fold our arms, start tapping our foot, and refuse to budge until Congress does its JOB. Perhaps 91% of the country stopping in a "We Are Waiting" moment will shake those dolts up enough to actually get them to do something. Let the other 9% carry-on as usual, but good luck to them trying to wade through the masses of 91%.

Da Noid, probably another reason Speaker Boehner was crying uncontrollably Wednesday. The truth is that when a party does not believe in Government, it can never successfully govern--therein lies their problem.

RedDevPS, wouldn't that be something to see. Too bad, the 91 or 99% of us can't coordinate a 15 minute general strike.

phinephancy, thanks for the shout out. LOL at your husband's request.

Better watch out Bone'er will start to cry .....

You either did not see this

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/11/17/ows-protesters-chant-follow-those-kids-as-small-children-try-to-go-to-school-on-wall-street/

Or you are just as despicable as these rotten excuses for humanity.

So which is it- are you uninformed, or evil?

NF: You know, I would just like to say THANK YOU to each and every OCCUPY WALLSTREET protestor no matter where you are . . . especially those folks in the Big Apple!

How about the OWS in San Diego? The ones that gave a "Moment of Silence" in appreciation of Oscar Ramiro Ortega, the man that shot at the White House. You on-board with that crew Nashers?

NF: switched on my TV, and saw thousands and thousands of protestors speaking up for me and my little family!

Actually there were a few hundred, but you see double when you're cross-eyed.

Will OWS be erecting a statue of Mr. Ortega today?

Well said Nashville fan!

No Joe + Jo Anne,

Do you not agree with the fact that corporations have bought off our politicans...both Republicans and Democrats? Is it not obvious that special interest groups dictate what legislation is passed or removed? Is it not obvious that the beneficiaries of these legislative moves are those who donate the most money to our politicians and the politicians themselves?

You want answers to your questions, Vipp?

Ask Obama.

Read a book. I would suggest Vote Them All Out. I contains a lot of information, including the not-very-startling fact that fully 80% of the stimulus funds stimulated the pockets of Obama donors.

Many of which went bankrupt, leaving taxpayer borrowed dollars in his donors' pockets- and the rest of us holding the bag.

no joe and Smiff:

I miss ya'll too . . . can't play today though . . . maybe next week! :o)

Vipp: Do you not agree with the fact that corporations have bought off our politicans.

So get the money out of Washington and back to the states. If the money leaves Washington, the lobbyists will also leave.

But yet, the Left of the country wants MORE money in Washington. The "special interests" folks love that idea.

Do you not agree?

Or you are just as despicable as these rotten excuses for humanity.

Says someone who has battery acid running through her veins... PRICELESS! ;o)

Hey Sniffy - instead of hiding out down here, why don't you try to answer the question I posed above?

Nash---good to see you posting---hope everything is OK. I don't know where the Occupy movement is going but it has at least started the conversation of the 99% v. the 1% and that is a conversation we as a country need to have.

No Joe----you would be lucky to have the personal qualities and grace that Nash has but in your case it is hopeless.

no jo:

Of the $787 billion, at least $273 billion (34%+) went to tax cuts and aid to states (for Medicaid).

Or are you talking about a different stimulus package?

Me thinks your book is a pack of lies.

*waves to Feisty and Steeler Fan*

Good to see you ladies . . . I am A-OK Steeler Fan . . . thanks for asking . . . just super busy! :o)

P.S. Thanks for the kind words Vipp!

Nashville Fan. Terrific thoughts. As Candidate and now President Obama so often said, "change happens from the bottom up", he can't do it all by himself. The Occupy Movement represents bottom up demand for change. "YES, WE CAN"!!!

Judging from the venom from Jersey Shores and Smiffy, the forks in their tongues were accidentally glued together overnight.

LOL Jody!

Great post, Newday!

And for the poster above who suggested a 15 minute strike, how about a whole day? Maybe that would get the message across that we're all tired of being sheep!

Go OWS!!!! Go President Obama!!!!

Jody,

So I guess you think it's o.k. to riot, destroy property, assault people, threaten people trying to get to work, closing down bridges and highways, rape, murder, theft of property, forcing individual small businesses to close, open sex, drugs, and urinating and defecating in public.

One's first amendment rights cease when it infringes on another person's rights. I have nothing against protest, rallies or discourse as long as it is peaceful and controlled with the laws of the cities where they are taking place. These OWS protesters don't even know what they want.

Why don't the OWS do what the tea parties did, get involved in the political process and try and find candidates to challenge the establishment? Remember who is responsible for the current situation in Washington and on Wall Street, it's the voters who's have elected these members of congress.

Umm, Sfcret, I think voters did elect a new set of candidates who promised us jobs and reforms, but all we got was a T-Shirt that says "I'm with Stupid -->". Since the new TP approved reps blatantly lied about what they would do, and in turn, focused there efforts on abortion REGULATIONS and other nonsensical "In God We Trust" crap, the most immediate corrective step is to organize and demonstrate.

RedDevPS, So you think anarchy is the answer to our problems? Really shows your stupidity.

Nice to see you think all those silly French and Russians and most of all those damn American revolutionaries were stupid. Come on, own it, own it, and now say it, you are claiming George Washington was stupid.

RedDevPS, Don't even try to equate the idiots like the OWS and yourself with Washington and the revolutionaries that fought for independence from another country. To try and equate the two shows your utter stupidity and lack of education.

"He effectively handled the birds’ flu pandemic"

Since that is the only truthful statement in your entire pathetic list of blatant lies, that should be what Obama runs on.

A billion dollar ad campaign: "Obama got the bird"

Bob, you just can't help yourself. Your hate has overpowered all rational thought. Good luck with that.

Well said, Sam, and that's just the short list of all President Obama has accomplished.

Great point Sam.

Bob is so funny. He just doesn't get it.

I kinda feel sorry for Bob. He can't figure out why he has not heard of our president's accomplishments on the TV station he watches.

Don't_carry_it_all -- OK, let me try this again:

Germany manages to be a strong manufacturer, unionized and very profitable. Why is that friend? Do tell.

Glad you asked. You might be interested in this blurb from an article in Foreign Affairs that explains why:

"[Chancellor Gerhard] Schroder pushed through parliament a massive reform program called Agenda 2010…. Agenda 2010 survived and successfully rolled back the German welfare state by, among other things, paring unemployment benefits to encourage work, relaxing stultifying regulatory practices, and forging a grand bargain with labor unions whereby the unions agreed to hold down wages and the government assured job security for workers."

Good stuff, eh? You'll need to register at the site in order to access the article, but I have no doubt a conscientious lib in search of the truth (like yourself) will endure that minor inconvenience.

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67899/steven-rattner/the-secrets-of-germanys-success

in all that research did you uncover the fact that manufacturing overseas is becoming less attractive both economically and in quality standards?

By "becoming less attractive...economically" I presume you mean that wages elsewhere in the world are rising. So what? I'd say that's a good thing, wouldn't you? By "quality standards" I presume you're alluding to the junk we import from China. No quarrel from me on that point. Indeed, you reinforce one of the points in my original post that the U.S. is a leader in making the things that are hard to manufacture because the Chinese can't.

Let's move on to education and lack of skilled workers. Should we not put more effort and possibly targeted incentives toward gaining ground and graduates in fields such as engineering, medicine and science? How about partnering with employers and setting up "schools" with training targets designed by a consortium knowledgeable in certain sectors? I could go on and on here.

If by "more effort and possibly targeted incentives" you're talking about the standard leftist view of solving this problem by throwing ever more taxpayer money at it, then no I wouldn't support that. How many "job training" programs are currently funded by governments at various levels as we speak? I'll take a wild a$$ guess and say hundreds. And what have we gotten for the money we've spent on same? I'll take another wild a$$ guess and say not very much.

But let's take a step back and look at our public schools. How many hundreds of billions of dollars have we poured into our public schools over the years? I don't even want to guess at that one. And what have we gotten for it? Too many high school graduates who can barely read, write or perform simple arithmetic computations. We have gotten to this point DESPITE massive amounts of dollars being poured into the system. So clearly – at least to those who see the world with clarity – government spending is not the solution to this problem, and anyone who takes the position that we need to spend MORE money on education is just one of those folks who do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result. BTW, no amount of government money can provide the motivation to apply oneself in school and actually learn something, that sort of thing starts in the home. Which is why our education problem in this country is more of a family issue than a government spending issue.

What I would support – and what many companies are already FORCED to do because the quality of public school graduates is so poor – is for private sector companies to pick the best potential workers they can from a sad lot, then invest their own funds in training these folks to perform the jobs for which they were hired. That would involve remedial education to make up for the failure of our public schools and job-specific training that would enable these hires to perform their tasks.

Additionally, we cannot ignore those that desire to and indeed are more skilled in working with their hands. (An expression for many blue collar workers.) This group is an important part of society as well.

No quarrel from me. I don't change the oil in my car or fiddle with the engine, and appreciate folks who have the skills to do that work. The issue isn't the desire of lots of folks who would prefer "working with their hands" the issue is the relative paucity of decent jobs available for those folks. And that's a function of our contemporary economy, not an insidious evil force to eliminate these folks from society.

Last of all let me speak to the $5.00 an hour issue. Are you kidding Bill? Because there is not a chance Americans will stand by and let others bring us down to standards set by China. Not going to happen. Ever. How about we focus on raising the standards here and not abroad.

Our wage standards for certain kinds of work are already declining and have been for quite some time. The cold hard fact of the matter is that the market for labor nowadays is global. And when there are folks in other countries who are willing to do certain kinds of work for what Americans would view as a low wage, those kinds of jobs will inevitably migrate to those countries. The "standards" you speak of are relative. From the perspective of some Chinese or Vietnamese or Malayasian or whatever, that $5/hr wage is their ticket to a more prosperous life.

But for Americans, the ticket to a more prosperous life doesn't lie in doing the relatively low skill work we ship offshore. It doesn't lie in the fatuous canard of competing with offshore "slave labor" in a race to the bottom. It lies in acquiring the value added skills domestic employers seek in today's economy, skills that some Americans need to get back on the path towards racing to the top.

I caught this and responded on the other thread that was collapsed above. Why do people collapse the darn posts anyway.

Detroit could run out of cash in December

Hard working citizens need to VOTE OUT ALL THE PROGRESSIVES before they DESTROY THE ENTIRE United States.

Look what the democrats have done to Detroit:

Detroit could run out of cash in December

With Detroit Mayor Dave Bing preparing to explain the city's fiscal crisis tonight in a rare televised address, Council President Pro Tem Gary Brown says the situation is even worse than anyone has let on.

Bing is expected to discuss a confidential Ernst & Young report obtained by the Detroit Free Press that suggests Detroit could run out of cash by April without steep cuts to staff and public services.

That's a grim prognosis, but according to Brown, the city actually could be unable to make payroll "as early as December."

For entire article: http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2011/11/gary_brown_detroit_could_run_o.html

We need CHANGE in Washington because THE CRIMINALS will KEEP PRINTING MONEY until we are paying $20.00/ gallon of gas and $10.00 for a loaf of bread and will KEEP BORROWING until WE CAN'T KEEP UP WITH THE INTEREST PAYMENTS LIKE GREECE then WHAT will the GENIUSES in Washington do START SELLING OFF FEDERAL OIL RESERVES to China the way DETROIT is SHUTTING DOWN its BUS and LIGHTING INFRASTRUCTURE?

Sounds like the logical answer is to raise taxes. Increase revenue, invest in jobs and getting America back to work will do a lot towards the deficit.

The republican plan of austerity is exactly the opposite plan from me and that is exactly how Greece got where it is today.

More cuts, more jobs lost led to less demand which led to even more jobs lost, even less revenue coming in and the debt continues to grow. The republicans keep saying we don't want to be like Greece and then want to implement the very same austerity that got Greece where it is today.

Why should our country go down like Greece because the republicans are unwilling to raise taxes even slightly on the rich even for a jobs plan?

Independent in Illinois, well said; enjoy your comments and keep posting. Coats and the other GOPers demand President Obama do THEIR job yet when he does step in to help, they complain about him treating them as children. If they were adults earning their taxpayer funded paychecks, they should be able to find common ground without someone pointing them to what it is.

If the GOP is ever to be taken seriously, they must throw Grover Nordquist and his insane Pledge under the bus. Rigid adherence to any ideology means never acquiring the ability to govern let alone lead.

RGiles,

Enough propaganda.

Let's not forget one important fact you left out ( on purpose) .

We borrow 40 cents of every dollar we spend ( mostly from China).

That's a recipe for disaster ( i.e. Greece).

Leona:

What does that have to do with anything written by RGiles?

Leona:

What does that have to do with anything written by RGiles?

As usual - NOTHING!

The chicken escaped her hen house and is busily dropping her cackle-berries everywhere... ;o)

blearyeyed,

Unfortunately, people like you don't get it. The debt overrides everything. It's priority one. It's the most important thing to our economic future and national security.

Feisty,

Take the meds down a notch. I am in a health profession. I know what I'm talking about. lol

I know what I'm talking about. lol

Cleaning bed-pans hardly qualifies YOU to tell us you know what you're talking about sweet cheeks!

Have another shot of your Hate-or-aide honey - your slip is showing! ;o)

RGiles, great post. Beginning with Reagan, the country was steadily shifted to the right by conservatives. Most of the shifting was in baby steps and went unnoticed by Americans. In 2010, we saw the far right fringe emerge as the majority power. Every generation or so, the country shifts back to center left/right and rights itself. The Occupy movement represents the realization that we've gone to far to the right, way to far and it is likely that we will see a generational shift back toward the left in 2012.

As James Madison said, "if men were angels, no government would be necessary."

Just hoping I'm not anywhere near where Leona is "in a health profession".

Feisty,

Not even in my "lean years" did I ever clean a bed pan ( never been a nurse or aide) but if it makes your delusions more fun, go ahead and think so.

BTW, It's not kind to "put down" people who do ANY kind of work for a living.

Stupid people (like you) attack others on their opinions to suit a twisted narrative.

It must su$& to be you.

the president is not a member of the super commitee. So, if it fails, it will be the fault of the members. as far as the worst president in history is concerned, you must have taken an eight year nap from 2000 to 2008.

During that period we had the brush cuttin, F250 drivin Texas "COWBOY" aka "THE DECIDER"

Yeah. He's president of 99% of the people.

He has tried to negotiate and has been met with steely resolve to make him a one term president.

I think the best thing Obama could do right now is to veto everything that comes across his desk that is not part of the 98% of what he wants. Debt reduction that does not include a tax increase on the top 2%? VETO. If anyone tries to do an end around of the trigger - VETO. If there's nothing signed to deal with debt reduction when the Bush Tax cuts are due to expire - VETO extending the tax cuts.

Start dealing from strength - the repubs have been pushing you around long enough. Fight back with your most potent weapon. Repubs are daring you to use it - so use it. Americans will get behind Obama on this 'cause it shows leadership.

hey "fuzzy",

I understand where your name came from, LOL

You are fuzzy on the historical facts , especially where the economy is concerned. The American people NEED JOBS.

You remember, that 3 letter word.

Carter and Obama think govt. welfare is a JOB.

Most people would love to see Newt debate Obama.

Whatever happens, that would be the most disappointing aspect of Newt not getting the nomination.

Leona . finally something I agree with you on. A debate between Obama and Newt with the Newt-lie-o-meter on and watching the needle stay solidly on the I"M LYING zone.

RedDev,

Obama will be asked "Why did you allow the billions of "green" loans to go out after your administration was warned these companies would fail and the tax payers would lose?"

Obama answers: "you win some, you lose some."

Obama will be asked " where are the emails Congress is asking for that show you and Biden knew about Solyndra going bankrupt?"

Obama answers: "Gee, maybe you should ask Biden."