The end is in sight

[James Arthur]

Eeyore wrote:

James Arthur wrote:

Eeyore wrote:
James Arthur wrote:
Eeyore wrote:
Richard the Dreaded Libertarian wrote:
James Arthur wrote:
Jim Thompson wrote:
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(
I've been in socialist countries.

They suck.
Welcome to the Future. In case you haven't noticed, the socialists have
been taking over America for generations, and are following the example of
the now-defunct Soviet Union right down the toilet.
Ummm.... wasn't it GWB who introduced the 'Patriot Act' reducing your
liberties.
That's complete bunk.

That received overwhelming support from both parties, has been
re-affirmed by wide margins several times, and had no effect on
our freedoms.
So both your parties are anti-libertarian !
Well, yes, frankly, but that's a poor example. How exactly
do you imagine the Patriot Act restricted my freedom?

Didn't it introduce absurd requirements for boarding planes for one ?

Not that I'm aware. There were some silly changes made, but
separately AFAIK. They're more comical than inconvenient.

A very odd criticism to get from a country that videos its citizens'
every move.
Town centre CCTV helps catch criminals and prevent crime.
The big AGW-media complaint about the Patriot Act was that it
allowed eavesdropping on calls to Al Queda originating in the US.

How ? Do they have Al Qaeda's phone number ?

Of course. If you call a phone number in Pakistan belonging to a
known terrorist, they might listen then rather than run to
a judge, get an order, and then listen. Why? Because the latter
would be too late to catch a new person--a new link--calling a
known terrorist.

They're supposed to get court approval after the fact, within 48hrs
I think it was.

It's already perfectly legal to eavesdrop on non-citizens outside
US borders; the big issue was whether Big Bro might accidentally
overhear a citizen's private call to Bin Laden, which is verboten
w/o probable cause + court order against the citizen.

Meanwhile, the City of Los Angeles for years had a policy of listening
to every single payphone in the city, in an attempt to catch drug
deals. Completely outrageous and illegal, but not blameable on Bush.

Might that help catch criminals and prevent crime?

Not in the routine way. Our CCTV catches everyday criminals. I take it you don't
object to shops etc having security cameras ? Local town centre CCTV is simply an
extension of this and helps the police detect the escape routes of offenders. It's
also been effective in preventing or identidifying paedo-crime.

Don't get me wrong, I don't approve of excessive surveillance but some has its
place.

Grham

To us, universal surveillance is an unthinkable intrusion; Orwellian.
To Orwell, too.

It's a good thing Big Brother loves us so much.

Cheers,
James Arthur

 

[James Arthur]

Eeyore wrote:

James Arthur wrote:

Jim Thompson wrote:
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(
I've been in socialist countries.

Such as, and when and what do you call socialist ? Europe is mostly
'Social Democrat' in nature which is something you don't have.

Graham

I was thinking of the DDR, the aptly-named German Democratic Republic.

On reflection, though, I only went "to," not "in" it, and stared, from
a colorful Bavarian town full of flowers and gaiety, across the razor
wire and safeguards preventing escape, at its dismal drab grayness
and empty streets, festooned with signs declaring their universal
happiness and mandatory prosperity.

Socialism is capital punishment.

Cheers,
James Arthur

 

[James Arthur]

Bob Eld wrote:

"John Larkin" <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in message
news:kt8fv4ds5o8tfjmmtv5fqaqek65kdnqq3r@4ax.com...
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:10:37 -0700, "Bob Eld" <nsmontassoc@yahoo.com
wrote:

"John Larkin" <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in
message
news:ju0fv496bjuibtjl25of7k195d5kbiacqb@4ax.com...
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:24:59 -0700, "Bob Eld" <nsmontassoc@yahoo.com
wrote:

"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@My-Web-Site.com> wrote
in
message news:d7bev4thm46u1t8io05n85ilne48ts4mo7@4ax.com...
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(

...Jim Thompson
I love to cook with wine Sometimes I even put it in the food
Yep, the end is in sight at least for old fools clinging to the
CONservative
past. We've had 30 years of deregulation and greed that has culminated
in
the collapse of the financial system. This is because unregulated,
uncontrolled, do what you want, Laissez-Faire Capitalism is inherently
unstable. It goes from boom to bust in chaotic cycles. For
approximately
50
years since the depression it has been more or less controlled with a
modicum of rules and regulation that kept it reasonably on track. Then
along
came Reagan and the Conservatives who over time took many of the
regulations
off under the idea that government is not the solution, government is
the
problem.

Quiz time: which President negotiated and signed the bill eliminating
the Glass-Steagall regulations?

OK, OK, that's too hard a question. Sorry. The answer is "Clinton."

Next question: which reps followed up by forcing banks to make bad
mortgages?

John
You're quite right Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act repealing
the
1933 Glass-Steagall act. It was a bad move and Clinton shares the blame,
no
doubt about it. However, all there of those guys, Gramm, Leach and Bliley
were Republicans, right? The fact is that most deregulation comes from
republicans starting with Reagan and Phil (a nation of whiners) Gramm was
a
major player pushing deregulation as recently as last summer as things
were
collapsing. He worked for McCain.

And Clinton was pushing for bank deregulation even before he was
elected President. I wonder why.

John

I doubt that most people believe you that make it out to be Clinton's fault.
In truth Democrats are about 20% culpable and Republicans 80% culpable.
Deregulation was primarily a republican thing you cannot spin it any other
way.

You obviously haven't followed the history, or seen the several
reform attempts Democrats blocked.

Google up some of Barney Frank's 2005 YouTubes, where he
argues shrilly against restraining the lending, and calls
those in favor "racists."

Bush was the first to speak up about it, timidly, circa 2001
and then in 2003 IIRC, but he got shouted down by Barney &
crew.

Cheers,
James Arthur

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:33:32 GMT, James Arthur
<bogusabdsqy@verizon.net> wrote:

Bob Eld wrote:
"John Larkin" <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in message
news:kt8fv4ds5o8tfjmmtv5fqaqek65kdnqq3r@4ax.com...
[snip]

And Clinton was pushing for bank deregulation even before he was
elected President. I wonder why.

John

I doubt that most people believe you that make it out to be Clinton's fault.
In truth Democrats are about 20% culpable and Republicans 80% culpable.
Deregulation was primarily a republican thing you cannot spin it any other
way.



You obviously haven't followed the history, or seen the several
reform attempts Democrats blocked.

Google up some of Barney Frank's 2005 YouTubes, where he
argues shrilly against restraining the lending, and calls
those in favor "racists."

Bush was the first to speak up about it, timidly, circa 2001
and then in 2003 IIRC, but he got shouted down by Barney &
crew.

Cheers,
James Arthur

Don't bother trying to convey _fact_ to leftist weenies. Take
consolation in the fact, when the economy really shits, the leftist
weenies will be the ones who are out of work. And I'll be in orgasmic
Schadenfreude ;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine Sometimes I even put it in the food

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:24:59 -0700, Bob Eld wrote:

"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@My-Web-Site.com> wrote in
message news:d7bev4thm46u1t8io05n85ilne48ts4mo7@4ax.com...
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(

I love to cook with wine Sometimes I even put it in the food

Yep, the end is in sight at least for old fools clinging to the CONservative
past. We've had 30 years of deregulation and greed that has culminated in
the collapse of the financial system.

Oh, feh. The government was actually PUNISHING bank that didn't make
enough bad loans to meet their Affirmative Action quotas. The government
wanted to ensure that EVERYONE had a house, whether they were qualified
or not, so to comply with the government's demands the banks started
writing loans to people that everybody _knew_ they couldn't afford to
pay, but Uncle Sugardaddy said, "Don't worry, if it tanks. we'll bail you
out." The problem was compounded by people riding the bubble, buying
houses that they and the banks KNEW they couldn't afford, because they had
intent to flip them and make a bundle, screwing the next guy up the line.

The bubble popped, and they all went broke, now Uncle Sugardaddy is using
your money to cover their gambling losses.

Hope This Helps!
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:10:37 -0700, Bob Eld wrote:

"John Larkin" <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in message
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:24:59 -0700, "Bob Eld" <nsmontassoc@yahoo.com
"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@My-Web-Site.com> wrote in
message news:d7bev4thm46u1t8io05n85ilne48ts4mo7@4ax.com...
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(

Yep, the end is in sight at least for old fools clinging to the
CONservative
past. We've had 30 years of deregulation and greed that has culminated in
the collapse of the financial system. This is because unregulated,
uncontrolled, do what you want, Laissez-Faire Capitalism is inherently
unstable. It goes from boom to bust in chaotic cycles. For approximately
50
years since the depression it has been more or less controlled with a
modicum of rules and regulation that kept it reasonably on track. Then
along
came Reagan and the Conservatives who over time took many of the
regulations
off under the idea that government is not the solution, government is the
problem.

Quiz time: which President negotiated and signed the bill eliminating
the Glass-Steagall regulations?

OK, OK, that's too hard a question. Sorry. The answer is "Clinton."

Next question: which reps followed up by forcing banks to make bad
mortgages?

You're quite right Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act repealing the
1933 Glass-Steagall act. It was a bad move and Clinton shares the blame, no
doubt about it. However, all there of those guys, Gramm, Leach and Bliley
were Republicans, right? The fact is that most deregulation comes from
republicans starting with Reagan and Phil (a nation of whiners) Gramm was a
major player pushing deregulation as recently as last summer as things were
collapsing. He worked for McCain.

Why are you so addicted to regulation? What makes you think that some
Washington bureaucrat can manage _your_ money better than you can?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:54:13 -0700, Bob Eld wrote:

"John Larkin" <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote in message

And Clinton was pushing for bank deregulation even before he was
elected President. I wonder why.

I doubt that most people believe you that make it out to be Clinton's fault.
In truth Democrats are about 20% culpable and Republicans 80% culpable.
Deregulation was primarily a republican thing you cannot spin it any other
way.

Democrats and Republicans are essentially indistinguishable these days -
they're just the two wings of the same Statist bird.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:43:54 +0000, James Arthur wrote:

Bob Eld wrote:
"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@My-Web-Site.com> wrote in
message news:d7bev4thm46u1t8io05n85ilne48ts4mo7@4ax.com...
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(

I love to cook with wine Sometimes I even put it in the food

Yep, the end is in sight at least for old fools clinging to the CONservative
past. We've had 30 years of deregulation and greed that has culminated in
the collapse of the financial system. This is because unregulated,
uncontrolled, do what you want, Laissez-Faire Capitalism is inherently
unstable. It goes from boom to bust in chaotic cycles. For approximately 50
years since the depression it has been more or less controlled with a
modicum of rules and regulation that kept it reasonably on track. Then along
came Reagan and the Conservatives who over time took many of the regulations
off under the idea that government is not the solution, government is the
problem. The lessons of the great depression were unlearned! So back to wild
swings of unstable capitalism we go. People want the rules put back in
place. They want a more stable system and they want leaders that will work
towards that end. Republicans offer NO solutions and are largely blamed for
the deregulatory environment. So yes, the end is in sight or more properly a
new beginning is in sight. It's not socialism nor communism but rather a
form of capitalism we had from the 1930's to 1980. It worked well, created
great wealth and allowed a large middle class to thrive. CONservatives seem
to want a system that favors robber barons and the few over the many. They
want to return to the 1880's. We aren't going there, sorry.

"Progressive" Great Society programs drove the financial bubble,
which frankly pales compared to the Social Security and Medicare
fiascoes.

Except your government is immune from the rules; it's the ultimate
out-of-control, unregulated financial institution gone wild.

So we're embarked on doing more of that. Great. Free money for
everyone! Work is optional! Prosperity is mandatory!

We're turning into Cuba. Hugo Chavez for President!

The whole damned bureaucracy belongs at the end of a rope, twisting in the
wind. Every single one of them is a Traitor to the Constitution.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:53:46 +0000, Jim Yanik wrote:

"Paul Hovnanian P.E." <paul@hovnanian.com> wrote in
Jim Thompson wrote:

The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(

Tell her to use both hands.

Seriously, there isn't enough support (or willingness to incur the wrath
of the voters) in the Democratic party to push it through.

sorry,but Obama wants the US to ratify the UN's small arms control
treaty,and use that as the way to gun control without "violating" the
Constitution.Then the courts will require gun control to fit the Treaty.
Treaties override the Constitution.
Of course,IMO,that is the trigger for bad things to happen.

Obama has always been for gun control,never voted against any gun control
bill. And he's a evasive,sneaky,lying SOB weasel.

He's the kind of slimeball that, if you shake hands with him, you'd better
count your fingers.

He's an even smarmier snake oil salesman than Al Gore, chief high
muckety-muck of the Church of Warmingism.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:46:56 +1000, Bob Larter wrote:

Jim Thompson wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:21:55 -0700, "Joel Koltner"
"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@My-Web-Site.com> wrote in
message news:d7bev4thm46u1t8io05n85ilne48ts4mo7@4ax.com...
The end is in sight...
Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).
I don't think the democrats are necessarily all that much more attractive than
they've been in say, the past decade... it's more than the republicans have
kinda imploded and Specter is running for cover.

Yep. But now that they have total power the Democrats are into rape
and plunder.

It'll be interesting to see if all the wingnut paranoia about Obama ends
up being justified.

1. It's not "wingnut paranoia"
2. It's already been shown to be justified.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:05:36 +0000, Jon Kirwan wrote:

On Wed, 29 Apr 2009 05:01:14 GMT, Jon Kirwan

Franklin

... Franken.

All I can think of is that 1980's-ish SNL sketch:

"Vote for me, Al Franken - you'll be glad you did <smarmy grin>"

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:48:46 -0700, Tim Wescott wrote:

Eeyore wrote:
Tim Wescott wrote:
Jim Thompson wrote:
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(
Link?

Republicans and Democrats both have totally lost sight of their roots,
not to mention any clue of what reality is. So it's no surprise that
there should be some party switching going on.

They should merge into "The Party of Dippy Ineffective Extremists", and
allow some room for folks who want to see the country governed based on
some form of common sense, rather than knee-jerk litmus tests for
adherence to foolish Utopian* ideals.

You could almost say the same for the UK scenario.

Can I also blame you guys for inventing the system that we inherited?

Why not? Obama blamed Dubya for the deficit, then proceeded to triple it!

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 09:47:05 -0700, Tim Wescott wrote:

Jim Thompson wrote:
The end is in sight...
Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).
Pelosi promises gun control :-(

Republicans and Democrats both have totally lost sight of their roots,
not to mention any clue of what reality is. So it's no surprise that
there should be some party switching going on.

They should merge into "The Party of Dippy Ineffective Extremists", and
allow some room for folks who want to see the country governed based on
some form of common sense, rather than knee-jerk litmus tests for
adherence to foolish Utopian* ideals.

Obviously, it's time to start electing sane people:
http://www.lp.org

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:45:32 +1000, Bob Larter wrote:

Tim Wescott wrote:
Eeyore wrote:
Tim Wescott wrote:
Jim Thompson wrote:
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(
Link?

Republicans and Democrats both have totally lost sight of their roots,
not to mention any clue of what reality is. So it's no surprise that
there should be some party switching going on.

They should merge into "The Party of Dippy Ineffective Extremists", and
allow some room for folks who want to see the country governed based on
some form of common sense, rather than knee-jerk litmus tests for
adherence to foolish Utopian* ideals.

You could almost say the same for the UK scenario.

Can I also blame you guys for inventing the system that we inherited?

Are you being serious? The American founders invented that form of
government from scratch.

Which the power-trippers in the interim have essentially trashed.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:08:32 -0700, Robert Baer wrote:

Jim Thompson wrote:
On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:34:47 GMT, James Arthur
Jim Thompson wrote:

The end is in sight...
Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).
Pelosi promises gun control :-(

I've been in socialist countries.

They suck.

There must be great rejoicing in the Progressive Socialist Party (aka
Democrats).

Only took them 100 days to destroy the USA as we know it :-(

Do not forget that socialism started when FDR stole our gold...

The income tax caused the great crash of 1929, and FDR's socialism
parleyed that into the Great Depression. Or was that Hoobert Heaver?
(of course, the Dust Bowl helped a lot with that.)

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:16:00 +0100, Eeyore wrote:

GWB had already reduced it to its knees. Obama is more of an Insolvency
Practicioner, doing a neccessary job. The bubble couldn't last forever.

When it it "necessary" to steal the income of the productive, to support
the parasites?

Oh - almost forgot: you're a Brit, who apparently still believes that
socialism can lead a country to somewhere other than abject bankruptcy.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:14:03 +0100, Eeyore wrote:

James Arthur wrote:
Jim Thompson wrote:
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(

I've been in socialist countries.

Such as, and when and what do you call socialist ? Europe is mostly
'Social Democrat' in nature which is something you don't have.

Thank GOD!

Well, maybe we've escaped full-on socialism so far, but I don't see much
hope for the future.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:23:01 +0000, James Arthur wrote:

Socialism is capital punishment.

Should that be "capitol"? ;-)

(you might have to look them up to discern the difference.)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:23:40 +0100, Eeyore wrote:

Richard the Dreaded Libertarian wrote:
James Arthur wrote:
Jim Thompson wrote:
The end is in sight...

Arlen Specter has defected to the Democrat Party (an hour ago).

Pelosi promises gun control :-(

I've been in socialist countries.

They suck.

Welcome to the Future. In case you haven't noticed, the socialists have
been taking over America for generations, and are following the example of
the now-defunct Soviet Union right down the toilet.

Ummm.... wasn't it GWB who introduced the 'Patriot Act' reducing your
liberties.

Well, NAZI is the German acronym for "National Socialist".

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Richard the Dreaded Liber]

On Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:09:33 +0000, James Arthur wrote:

That received overwhelming support from both parties, has been
re-affirmed by wide margins several times, and had no effect on
our freedoms.

Other than being strip-searched at the airports and having your phone
tapped without a warrant.

Thanks,
Rich