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Read the rules in the OP before posting, please.In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up! NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious. Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action. |
On April 09 2013 12:56 aksfjh wrote:Show nested quote +On April 09 2013 12:36 oneofthem wrote:
ok santorum maybe genuinely believes in this stuff Most politicians believe what they say. They may hide some things or back positions they have little actual opinion on, but if they're insincere, you can see it.
Watching Romney squirm and gyrate as he took every position on every issue would support this. It was painfully transparent. Santorum is most certainly a true believer, which means he will never be president, fortunately.
Still, Rick and Dale Peterson whould team up and make the most epic campaign ad ever seen by man. I'd pay to see it.
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2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
State and local officials are pushing a new way to expand gun control: taxes. Gun owners in and around Chicago last week started paying a new $25 tax on every firearm they purchase. In California, a statehouse panel on April 15 will hear testimony on a nickel-per-bullet tax measure, and in New Jersey, lawmakers want to slap an additional 5 percent sales tax on guns and ammo. The effort to impose new taxes on guns and bullets faces serious opposition from pro-gun groups, but it shows how far some states and localities are willing to go in this new frontier on gun control — especially as Washington struggles to find consensus even on the most scaled-back gun proposals being debated in Congress. The Senate is expected to consider gun control legislation this week. But Democrats are still trying to gain Republican support for a compromise bill that would allow background checks for gun sales. Many Republicans are balking at a provision to allow record keeping once the background checks are conducted, which they say could open the door to a national gun registry. State lawmakers, meanwhile, are making the case for why taxes should be part of the debate. “There are costs incurred as a result of gun violence which are borne by the general taxpayer — both social and economical,” California Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, who put forward a nickel ammo tax proposal in January, said in an interview. “There ought to be a cost … to those who want to buy firearms.” Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/guns-bullets-taxes-gun-control-tool-89782.html?hp=t2_3
Well, I think this is a step in the right direction:
President Barack Obama is expected to use his budget proposal to call on Congress to overhaul the corporate tax system in a way that doesn’t generate additional revenue, a move that is sure to anger liberal Democrats in the Senate. The White House didn't respond to requests for comment on the expected language, which several sources said would be included in the fiscal 2014 budget proposal that will be unveiled Wednesday. Beyond calling for revenue-neutrality, it’s not clear how deeply the president’s budget will wade into the choppy waters of corporate tax reform. The budget move is a concession of sorts by Obama, who released a framework for corporate tax reform last year that would have raised $250 billion over 10 years. But it likely will not be enough to entice Republicans who want individual and corporate tax reform, with no overall revenue increases, done as a package. And liberal Democrats — already fuming over the administration’s plan to change the way Social Security benefits are calculated — aren’t pleased. “Corporations are not overtaxed in America,” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Tuesday. “Let’s be frank about that. We need to close a lot of loopholes and we need to raise some revenues — bottom line.” Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, said he “would like to see us use ... corporate tax reform to generate revenue for deficit reduction.” “But I think the president’s budget does not take that approach,” he said. “The president’s budget is important and I’ll look at it carefully, but more important is the fact that we passed a budget resolution in the Senate.” That legislation included $1 trillion in new revenue generated from both individuals and corporations. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who is working closely with Republican House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp on a comprehensive tax overhaul, struck a more moderate tone than some of his colleagues. Revenue-neutral reform is “easier on corporate than it is on individual,” Baucus told POLITICO. “It just seems to fit more neatly than the other side.” Obama has signaled his shift on corporate tax reform to lawmakers over the past several weeks. He told Republicans in closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill last month that he could back a revenue-neutral approach to corporate tax reform. Still, his budget provides plenty of red-meat tax provisions for liberals, including a proposal to limit tax-advantaged contributions to IRAs to $3 million. That’s a direct smack at people like Obama’s former presidential rival Mitt Romney, whose IRA was valued at as much as $100 million last year. Statutory corporate tax rates top out today at 35 percent, though many companies take advantage of generous deductions and credits to push their effective tax rates much lower. Camp and other congressional Republicans have called for cutting corporate and individual tax rates to 25 percent. The administration released a “framework” last year outside of the normal budget process. That document called for cutting corporate rates to 28 percent — and as low as 25 percent for manufacturers. While the administration left most of the dirty work required to lower rates to Congress, the framework called for the elimination of oil and gas tax breaks, accounting changes and different treatment for some insurance products. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/obama-tax-reform-budget-2013-89821.html?hp=f2
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@ the taxes on guns and bullets: ammunition is near-prohibitively expensive as it is thanks to current demand (my dad and I went to a pistol range a couple weeks ago; 50 rounds of 9mm were 30 bucks...). This won't fly well not only with private gun owners but also ranges and suppliers.
“There are costs incurred as a result of gun violence which are borne by the general taxpayer — both social and economical,” California Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, who put forward a nickel ammo tax proposal in January, said in an interview. “There ought to be a cost … to those who want to buy firearms.”
There is a cost: there's a number with a dollar sign in front of it at the bottom of the receipt. 
Kidding aside, I don't like Assemblyman Dickinson's reasoning. It's as if he suggests anyone who wishes to simply purchase a gun for a safe, law-abiding purpose is somehow partially guilty, or at least suspect, of the tragedies that others inflict with firearms. Plus, there are costs incurred based on our other actions that are borne by the general taxpayer too. And now that we've got more and more stuff being subsidized by taxpayer money, this excuse can and will be abused more and more, if you ask me.
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+ Show Spoiler +On April 10 2013 04:19 Souma wrote:Show nested quote +State and local officials are pushing a new way to expand gun control: taxes. Gun owners in and around Chicago last week started paying a new $25 tax on every firearm they purchase. In California, a statehouse panel on April 15 will hear testimony on a nickel-per-bullet tax measure, and in New Jersey, lawmakers want to slap an additional 5 percent sales tax on guns and ammo. The effort to impose new taxes on guns and bullets faces serious opposition from pro-gun groups, but it shows how far some states and localities are willing to go in this new frontier on gun control — especially as Washington struggles to find consensus even on the most scaled-back gun proposals being debated in Congress. The Senate is expected to consider gun control legislation this week. But Democrats are still trying to gain Republican support for a compromise bill that would allow background checks for gun sales. Many Republicans are balking at a provision to allow record keeping once the background checks are conducted, which they say could open the door to a national gun registry. State lawmakers, meanwhile, are making the case for why taxes should be part of the debate. “There are costs incurred as a result of gun violence which are borne by the general taxpayer — both social and economical,” California Assemblyman Roger Dickinson, who put forward a nickel ammo tax proposal in January, said in an interview. “There ought to be a cost … to those who want to buy firearms.” Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/guns-bullets-taxes-gun-control-tool-89782.html?hp=t2_3
I'm fine with this. To my knowledge gun owners already pay licensing/registration fees. I'm sure it varies by state though. I recall someone promoting the idea of requiring gun owners to carry special insurance to pay for accidents/violence and such.
+ Show Spoiler +[quote]Well, I think this is a step in the right direction:
[quote]President Barack Obama is expected to use his budget proposal to call on Congress to overhaul the corporate tax system in a way that doesn’t generate additional revenue, a move that is sure to anger liberal Democrats in the Senate.
The White House didn't respond to requests for comment on the expected language, which several sources said would be included in the fiscal 2014 budget proposal that will be unveiled Wednesday.
Beyond calling for revenue-neutrality, it’s not clear how deeply the president’s budget will wade into the choppy waters of corporate tax reform.
The budget move is a concession of sorts by Obama, who released a framework for corporate tax reform last year that would have raised $250 billion over 10 years.
But it likely will not be enough to entice Republicans who want individual and corporate tax reform, with no overall revenue increases, done as a package. And liberal Democrats — already fuming over the administration’s plan to change the way Social Security benefits are calculated — aren’t pleased.
“Corporations are not overtaxed in America,” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) said Tuesday. “Let’s be frank about that. We need to close a lot of loopholes and we need to raise some revenues — bottom line.”
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, said he “would like to see us use ... corporate tax reform to generate revenue for deficit reduction.”
“But I think the president’s budget does not take that approach,” he said. “The president’s budget is important and I’ll look at it carefully, but more important is the fact that we passed a budget resolution in the Senate.”
That legislation included $1 trillion in new revenue generated from both individuals and corporations.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), who is working closely with Republican House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp on a comprehensive tax overhaul, struck a more moderate tone than some of his colleagues.
Revenue-neutral reform is “easier on corporate than it is on individual,” Baucus told POLITICO. “It just seems to fit more neatly than the other side.”
Obama has signaled his shift on corporate tax reform to lawmakers over the past several weeks. He told Republicans in closed-door meetings on Capitol Hill last month that he could back a revenue-neutral approach to corporate tax reform.
Still, his budget provides plenty of red-meat tax provisions for liberals, including a proposal to limit tax-advantaged contributions to IRAs to $3 million. That’s a direct smack at people like Obama’s former presidential rival Mitt Romney, whose IRA was valued at as much as $100 million last year.
Statutory corporate tax rates top out today at 35 percent, though many companies take advantage of generous deductions and credits to push their effective tax rates much lower.
Camp and other congressional Republicans have called for cutting corporate and individual tax rates to 25 percent.
The administration released a “framework” last year outside of the normal budget process. That document called for cutting corporate rates to 28 percent — and as low as 25 percent for manufacturers.
While the administration left most of the dirty work required to lower rates to Congress, the framework called for the elimination of oil and gas tax breaks, accounting changes and different treatment for some insurance products.
[url=http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/obama-tax-reform-budget-2013-89821.html?hp=f2]http://www.politico.com/story/2013/04/obama-tax-reform-budget-2013-89821.html?hp=f2[/url][/QUOTE]
Not a bad idea in general. I'm not sure why manufacturers would need a special break - they already disproportionally benefit from MACRS. They'll also need to find a way to reconcile pass-through entities with corporate forms.
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2nd Worst City in CA8938 Posts
And while gun legislation will soon be voted on (filibustered), we have a timely stabbing incident.
A student has gone on a building-to-building rampage at a Texas community college, stabbing and wounding at least 14 people before being subdued and arrested, authorities say. They said Tuesday's attack in the southern US state began at about 11:20am on the Lone Star Community College System campus. At least 12 people were rushed to area hospitals, including four people taken by helicopter, according to Robert Rasa, volunteer fire department spokesman. He said several people refused treatment at the scene and all the wounds were consistent with stabbing. Sheriff Adrian Garcia said officers responded to the campus after receiving a call about a male "on the loose" stabbing people. He said it was not immediately clear what type of weapon was used. "Some of the details in the call slip did indicate that students or faculty were actively responding to work to subdue this individual," Garcia said, describing the man as being about 21 years old and enrolled at the college. "So we're proud of those folks, but we're glad no one else is injured any more severely than they are." Lone Star officials initially urged people on campus, about 40km northwest of Houston's business district, to take shelter and be on alert for a second suspect. But the sheriff's department said a short time later that authorities believed just one person was responsible. "It was the same suspect going from building to building," Thomas Gilliland, department spokesman, said. Garcia said buildings still were being searched Tuesday afternoon. Student Teaundrae Perryman said he was in class when he received a text message from a friend and went outside to see a young woman being loaded into an ambulance with what appeared to be stab wounds to either her neck or head. He said he did not receive an email alert from the college until 11:56am. "I was concerned but I wasn't afraid because I was with a large group of people," the 21-year-old said, later adding: "The police got to the scene very quickly." http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/04/201349201730414716.html
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On April 10 2013 07:35 Souma wrote:And while gun legislation will soon be voted on (filibustered), we have a timely stabbing incident. Show nested quote +A student has gone on a building-to-building rampage at a Texas community college, stabbing and wounding at least 14 people before being subdued and arrested, authorities say. They said Tuesday's attack in the southern US state began at about 11:20am on the Lone Star Community College System campus. At least 12 people were rushed to area hospitals, including four people taken by helicopter, according to Robert Rasa, volunteer fire department spokesman. He said several people refused treatment at the scene and all the wounds were consistent with stabbing. Sheriff Adrian Garcia said officers responded to the campus after receiving a call about a male "on the loose" stabbing people. He said it was not immediately clear what type of weapon was used. "Some of the details in the call slip did indicate that students or faculty were actively responding to work to subdue this individual," Garcia said, describing the man as being about 21 years old and enrolled at the college. "So we're proud of those folks, but we're glad no one else is injured any more severely than they are." Lone Star officials initially urged people on campus, about 40km northwest of Houston's business district, to take shelter and be on alert for a second suspect. But the sheriff's department said a short time later that authorities believed just one person was responsible. "It was the same suspect going from building to building," Thomas Gilliland, department spokesman, said. Garcia said buildings still were being searched Tuesday afternoon. Student Teaundrae Perryman said he was in class when he received a text message from a friend and went outside to see a young woman being loaded into an ambulance with what appeared to be stab wounds to either her neck or head. He said he did not receive an email alert from the college until 11:56am. "I was concerned but I wasn't afraid because I was with a large group of people," the 21-year-old said, later adding: "The police got to the scene very quickly." http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/04/201349201730414716.html
My Facebook has already been bombarded by, "Uh oh! Obama's going to take our assault knives now!" Quite annoying and I hope nobody is hurt too bad.
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So authorities did not find any bugs in Mitch McConnell's meeting room where he discussed strategy if/when he had to take on Ashley Judd. So it had to be someone that was in that room.
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I can only imagine how Mitch McConnell will go from here. What's his record on waterboarding again?
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Watch the recording be from a staffer who was just recording it instead of scribbling notes.
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Dammit, stealth! You're not giving updates, just posting stuff out of context. No idea what you're talking about...
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Sen. Mitch McConnell was prepared to go after Ashley Judd as "emotionally unbalanced," according to secret audio tapes of the Republican's strategy session, but the release of those tapes have prompted an FBI investigation into who may have bugged the senator's office, his campaign said today.
"We've always said the Left would stop at nothing to attack Sen. McConnell, but Watergate-style tactics to bug campaign headquarters are above and beyond," McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton told ABC News.
"Senator McConnell's campaign is working with the FBI and has notified the local U.S. Attorney in Louisville, per FBI request, about these recordings," Benton said. "Obviously a recording device of some kind was placed in Senator McConnell's campaign office without consent. By whom and how that was accomplished will presumably be the subject of a criminal investigation."
The Senate Minority Leader described the tactics used against him to reporters at the Capitol Tuesday as "quite a Nixonian move."
"This is what you get from the political left in America," McConnell said. "Much like Nixon in Watergate, that is what the political left does these days."
Source
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On April 10 2013 10:59 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:Show nested quote +Sen. Mitch McConnell was prepared to go after Ashley Judd as "emotionally unbalanced," according to secret audio tapes of the Republican's strategy session, but the release of those tapes have prompted an FBI investigation into who may have bugged the senator's office, his campaign said today.
"We've always said the Left would stop at nothing to attack Sen. McConnell, but Watergate-style tactics to bug campaign headquarters are above and beyond," McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton told ABC News.
"Senator McConnell's campaign is working with the FBI and has notified the local U.S. Attorney in Louisville, per FBI request, about these recordings," Benton said. "Obviously a recording device of some kind was placed in Senator McConnell's campaign office without consent. By whom and how that was accomplished will presumably be the subject of a criminal investigation."
The Senate Minority Leader described the tactics used against him to reporters at the Capitol Tuesday as "quite a Nixonian move."
"This is what you get from the political left in America," McConnell said. "Much like Nixon in Watergate, that is what the political left does these days." Source
This whole story amuses me. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you to see there's opposition research going on in campaigns!
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
nixonian move. i guess it's a tribute?
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On April 10 2013 12:32 oneofthem wrote:
nixonian move. i guess it's a tribute?
I'm a little confused...I thought Nixon was a republican and right wing? McConnell seemed to make it sound like it's a "left thing"
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Reporters covering the oil spill from ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline in Mayflower, Arkansas, are reporting that they've been blocked from the site and threatened with arrest.
On Friday morning, Inside Climate News reported that an Exxon spokesperson told reporter Lisa Song that she could be "arrested for criminal trespass" when she went to the command center to try to find representatives from the EPA and the Department of Transportation. On Friday afternoon, I spoke to the news director from the local NPR affiliate who said he, too, had been threatened with arrest while trying to cover the spill.
Michael Hibblen, who reports for the radio station KUAR, went to the spill site on Wednesday with state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel. McDaniel was in the area to inspect the site and hold a news conference, and Hibblen and a small group of reporters were following him to report on the visit. Upon arrival, representatives from the county sheriff's office, which is running security at the site, directed the reporters to a boundary point 10 feet away that they should not pass. The reporters agreed to comply. But the tone shifted abruptly, Hibblen told Mother Jones on Friday:
It was less than 90 seconds before suddenly the sheriff's deputies started yelling that all the media people had to leave, that ExxonMobil had decided they don't want you here, you have to leave. They even referred to it as "Exxon Media"…Some reporters were like, "Who made this decision? Who can we talk to?" The sheriff's deputies started saying, "You have to leave. You have 10 seconds to leave or you will be arrested."
Hibblen says he didn't really have time to deal with getting arrested, since he needed to file his report on the visit for both the local affiliate and national NPR. (You can hear his piece on the AG's visit here.) KUAR has also reported on Exxon blocking reporters' access to the spill site.
Source
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Cayman Islands24199 Posts
On April 10 2013 12:39 Roe wrote:Show nested quote +On April 10 2013 12:32 oneofthem wrote:
nixonian move. i guess it's a tribute? I'm a little confused...I thought Nixon was a republican and right wing? McConnell seemed to make it sound like it's a "left thing"
since this 'bugging' incident seems to be imaginary, the most salient feature is that he thought of getting bugged in the first place. nixon would have expected his opponent to pull a nixon on him, so to speak.
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I have nothing but contempt for Mitch McConnell and his brand of politics. I think it's far more likely that some disillusioned staffer or longtime-liberal staffer leaked it for umm ... giggles. I may agree with him on the War on Terrorism and maybe his pro-life stances, but he's too much old-guard big-spending for me to ever vote for him in a primary, should I ever move to Kentucky. On the slim chance that is was actually illegal wiretapping/bugging, I hope they are found and prosecuted.
I'd really like to see Obama's big push on gun control backfire on Democratic congressmen from states/districts where they won by narrow margins. I think any national ban on magazine sizes or stepped up background checks/license requirements has a nil chance of ever becoming law. Really, it can only hurt Democrats from rural districts while stirring up a base that is pretty far in Obama's court as it stands. I can't really see it as anything more than a distraction from talk about the economy (and PPACA), Iran, or North Korea. Then again, with this disorganized GOP, I don't think any distraction is necessary. They're plowing through on Gang of Eight immigration reform that doesn't have their base excited at all. I'm hoping for the Democrat's control on the Senate weakened in 2014 from gun control stances and PPACA.
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Wonder how Mr. McConell voted on the Patriot Act. :D
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It looks like a ton of wasted paper and money, if you ask me. Shouldn't the President have a million other, more executive-branch-like things to be worrying about? Thought the budget and purse were to be squabbled over with the legislators.
I know, I know, then Obama either signs or vetoes it, so that makes him pivotal in this process.... I still think the Pres. should be applying his resources elsewhere, and deal with this only when something is placed upon his desk.
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EPT
