US Politics Mega-thread - Page 3633

On April 19 2016 23:21 Plansix wrote:
GH, I always wonder if you are aware that a big reason why people are so dismissive of Sanders in this thread is your love of talking down to people with almost every post. That your advocacy for him and attacks on anyone with even the mildest criticism of his campaign have resulted in a lot of people on the fence to just want him to lose.

On April 19 2016 23:16 GreenHorizons wrote:


Ah, so you did know it's a dishonest attack. We went through this just last month. The reason it went nowhere is because people like you are taking a query and turned it into confirmation that he's doing something wrong.

On April 19 2016 23:33 Nebuchad wrote:


Funny how I'm seeing the complete opposite when reading this thread and I see people ganging up on him and talking down to him every chance they get, suggesting that we should dismiss his posts because he wrote them; it's almost like perception is everything.

President Obama leaves this afternoon for Saudi Arabia, and what could be an uncomfortable visit.

King Salman and neighboring leaders are unhappy with the president's overtures to their regional enemy, Iran. And Obama only added to that tension with a magazine interview that was anything but diplomatic.

"It's going to be a tough visit," says Ilan Goldenberg of the Center for a New American Security.

In a lengthy interview with the Atlantic Magazine's Jeffrey Goldberg, Obama said the Saudis need to find a way to "share the neighborhood" with the Iranians. That was salt in the wound for the Saudis, already rattled by the U.S. nuclear deal with Iran and Obama's backtracking from his red line in Syria.

Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes says differences are inevitable in a relationship as complex as the one between the United States and Saudi Arabia. Analysts say the two countries have similar goals but very different priorities.

"We have a common enemy in the Islamic State," says David Ottaway of the Woodrow Wilson Center. "For the Saudis, it just so happens that even more important to them is overthrowing [Syrian President Bashar al] Assad, and if possible containing and rolling back Iranian influence in the Arab world."

The Saudis' rivalry with Iran dates back decades, but it has boiled over in recent years. Goldenberg says both countries are acting more aggressively because they believe the United States is stepping back from the Middle East.

On April 19 2016 23:39 Plansix wrote:

It’s a long term observation I have had over the span of the primaries. The thread has slowly moved to resemble the political tenor in the country. As Clinton pulled ahead, the discussions about her became nastier and more combative. The political attacks lead to people souring on some of Sanders points and supporters. People attacked back, with some valid or not valid complaints and nastier posting. But at this point people do gang up on GH. But this is after months of GH calling them dumb for supporting Clinton.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — After he became Kansas governor in 2011, Sam Brownback slashed personal income taxes on the promise that the deep cuts would trigger a furious wave of hiring and expansion by businesses.

But the "shot of adrenaline" hasn't worked as envisioned, and the state budget has been in crisis ever since. Now many of the same Republicans who helped pass Brownback's plan are in open revolt, refusing to help the governor cut spending so he can avoid rolling back any of his signature tax measures.

If Brownback won't reconsider any of the tax cuts, they say, he will have to figure out for himself how to balance the budget in the face of disappointing revenue.

"Let him own it," Republican Rep. Mark Hutton said. "It's his policy that put us there."

Tax collections missed projections in 11 months of the last year. A growing number of Brownback's conservative allies want to scale back the tax cuts to ease the budget crunch.

Brownback took office on a pledge to make Kansas friendlier to business and successfully sought to cut the top personal income tax rate by 29 percent and exempt more than 330,000 farmers and business owners from income taxes. The moves were popular in a Legislature where the GOP holds three-quarters of the seats.

The governor argued that Kansas had to attract more businesses after a "lost decade" in the early 2000s, when private sector employment declined more than 4 percent.

The predicted job growth from business expansions hasn't happened, leaving the state persistently short of money. Since November, tax collections have fallen about $81 million, or 1.9 percent below the current forecast's predictions.

"We're growing weary," said Senate President Susan Wagle, a conservative Republican from Wichita. While GOP legislators still support low income taxes, "we'd prefer to see some real solutions coming from the governor's office," she said.

Last month, Brownback ordered $17 million in immediate reductions to universities and earlier this month delayed $93 million in contributions to pensions for school teachers and community college employees. The state has also siphoned off more than $750 million from highway projects to other parts of the budget over the past two years.

Lawmakers are worried about approving any further reductions in an election year. All 40 Senate seats and 125 House seats are on the ballot in November.

On April 19 2016 23:47 Kipsate wrote:
I want to be hopeful and say that US will rethink their ties with such an awful country but we all know that won't happen due to political reasons.

On April 19 2016 23:37 ticklishmusic wrote:


How is it dishonest?

This is the third time he's gotten one of these letters. In contrast, the Clinton campaign got about 4 pages and the questions were asking about a couple hundred bucks of hotel reimbursements.

Right, so 3 FEC letters and Sanders innocent until proven guilty. Meanwhile, Clinton is about to be indicted for her emails and is committing gross campaign finance fraud and voter fraud.

-Take a big check, into the HVF

-$2700 goes straight to HFA (that donor is capped for supporting Hillary for the primary)

-The HVF (remember this is run by campaign staff including the treasurer) spends some of that additional money (millions in total) trying to get small donations

-The first $2700 of each of those small donations goes directly to Hillary for America (her campaign).

On April 19 2016 23:47 Nebuchad wrote:So perhaps in a few months this thread will be very pro Sanders and a big reason for that will be everyone's love of talking down to GH with almost every post!

On April 20 2016 00:26 Mohdoo wrote:
I'll be honest. I got lost reading your post GH. Some things you say sound like a leap in logic or a big assumption, then followed by some known number. I think you mix known vs unknown a lot. Or it is too early and I'm just not keeping up. And with no sources, it is difficult to just take all this at face value. I've admitted to Clinton hoo-haw in the past, and I have made it clear that "she's a snake, but she's a snake on my side" so to speak. I believe she is legitimately invested in progressive legislation. She's a snake, but she also genuinely cares, IMO.

On April 20 2016 00:40 ticklishmusic wrote:
If the Clintons hadn't pushed a lot of the stuff that seems common-sense today, the US wouldn't have moved leftwards as much. It's because of people like them that the extreme left today even has a place in political discussion.

On April 20 2016 00:40 ticklishmusic wrote:
If the Clintons hadn't pushed a lot of the stuff that seems common-sense today, the US wouldn't have moved leftwards as much. It's because of people like them that the extreme left today even has a place in political discussion.

On April 20 2016 00:35 Velr wrote:
Real question: "do people see the Clintons as progressive?"

All I see from them, as a person that cringes at half of plansix post, is common sense progressism (is that a word?), like equal rights for LG.. people and stuff like this.