1 How about now, Ed?

2 Get an Amazon Link up, Ace.

3 The long-term trends are almost all bad news for the left wing of the party.

The "left wing" of the Dem Party?  Is there any other wing?  They range from socialist to communist.

4 What's that Thatcher said about running out of other people's money?

5 Instant wood.

6

Actually, ad I think Obama's advisors know this, raising marginal rates results in less revenue, not more.

As he has said on numerous occasions, tax increases are about "fairness" and not money.  It's easier for the government to borrow (taxing unborn voters) and print money than it is to raise taxes.

7 DOOMecrats?

8 Like it or not, Obama is not the new FDR, but the new Gorbachev: a man forced to preside over the demise of a political system he desperately wants to save.

He needs to read New Deal or Raw Deal. The parallels between the FDR regime and the Obama regime are amazing AND scary.

9 Once the government indentures everyone and impoverishes everyone (except the government class) it will be nearly impossible for a TEA-like movement to move the country to the right.  It will simply be too costly to mobilize and activate.

10 I dunno. If they can't raise taxes, they can't still work to regulate those industries in favor of their donors. they may no longer be paid directly by the government, but they can still rig the system to make sure that somebody is paying them

11

The Democrats are a coalition, forged in the New Deal, of diverse interests that do not get along well. Imagine the deer-hunting union member sitting down with the vegetarian college professor and the lesbian lawyer and you will begin to see the trouble party leaders have holding the horde together.

 

Bwhahaha! 

Well, if the RINO's make the Republican party virtually extinct, than there is no common enemy for these divergent groups.  Then they'll start tearing eachother apart.  (Kind of like if Israel ceased to exist, all those lunatics in the Muslim world would really start killing eachother).   I guess Kratos is right, in the end there is nothing but chaos.

12 The prognosticators just a few years ago declared the Republican party dead and buried forever; I won't be so foolish as to take the same silly argument in the other direction either.
 
The tit will shrivel up for a while, there will be mass discontent, and the messengers will be shot (so to speak). Then some smooth talking hipster with a fresh bag of Hope&Change goodies will lure 'em in like flies once again.

13 If they can't raise taxes, they can't still work to regulate those industries in favor of their donors. they may no longer be paid directly by the government, but they can still rig the system to make sure that somebody is paying them

Yeah, but that's far less lucrative than the funding systems the Dems have had in the past.

This is why the Wisconsin fight was a big effin' deal.  Scott Walker unplugged one of the Dems' major life-support lines, and as other states limit public employee unions things are going to get much worse for Dems.

14

Once the government indentures everyone and impoverishes everyone (except the government class) it will be nearly impossible for a TEA-like movement to move the country to the right.  It will simply be too costly to mobilize and activate.

It's hard to start a revolution from the camps.  Sobibor and some of those other uprisings didn't turn out so well.

15 for the most part student loans do get paid back ... so they are really not handouts ...

16 1) Propose a reform to SS/Medi that is honestly income neutral that does nothing at all other than separate "returning money you actually paid" into two separate payments: "New SS", and "Welfare".

2) The hard part is actually done now. It might take a couple of years for people to actually look at the sizes of the checks involved, but you should be able to cut "Welfare" without having nearly as much opposition. And you -know- the bulk of the opposition was a lost cause anyway.

17 "Whistling past the graveyard" as the fly-blown Dead Elephant Party festers in the hot summer sun...

18

 DOOMecrats?

I am so stealing that.

19

for the most part student loans do get paid back ... so they are really not handouts ...

 

That was then, this is now.  Now you have Obama promising forgiveness of student loan debt if you say, go work as a teacher in an inner city school, do community service, etc.  The old model is history.  Hope and Change, baby!

20 That Hussein has not already been impeached is all of the proof I need that he is still winning his soft revolution.

21 for the most part student loans do get paid back ... so they are really not handouts ...

And the Department of Education now has their own SWAT team to go after people who don't pay.  What could go wrong?

22 Yeah, but that's far less lucrative than the funding systems the Dems have had in the past.

Tell that to the "friends of Angelo Mozilo".

There will always be a large group of people who want the game rigged to benefit them.

23 I suspect Minter is just trying to mobilize the base.  Didn't they run doom and gloom stories around the election to try to ensure high lib turnout? 

24

for the most part student loans do get paid back

They better!

25 We may be doomed, but I don't see how the Social Democrats are. They'll pop up wherever and whenever there's a revenue stream again.

26 They are doomed because white liberals don't breed, and as more and more hispanics move up the economic ladder and live here longer more will become conservative. There's even hispanics in so cal who don't even know spanish, ie qb Mark Sanchez

27 This just goes to show how selfish Republicans really are. They get a nice fresh batch of DOOM everyday but try to allow the Democrats to have some and it's NO Way.  Greedy selfish bastards.

28 >>>for the most part student loans do get paid back ... so they are really not handouts ... Well the loans are subsidized. You don't get the subsidy back. And I guess I meant grants, too.

29 Personally, I prefer wags over pundits. Just sayin'...

30 Goes back to the age-old question.

"If I ate myself would I disappear or be twice as big?"

31 Obamacare is not overthrown, Holder has not been fired and thrown in jail. A new agency has been created ("Consumer agency") and another czar appointed, And etc., and etc., andetc.

32 Wishful thinking. They will do what Leftists do the world over. Inflate the heck out of the currency and that devalues what the haves have, and they give stuff to the favored constituencies. It doesn't work forever, but it works for a while.

33 The trouble is, the GOP can't really do this, as those programs are unsustainable at current levels, pretty much no matter what you do. I suppose if you severely, severely cut domestic discretionary spending you could manage it, but there are a lot of middle and lower class Republican voters that like some of those subsidies, too. Like student loans, for example.

I've said before, we need to change the terms of the debate from "reform" (which has become synonymous with "cut") to "restructure."  Yes, they'll corrupt that term, too, but maybe it'll give us enough breathing room to talk sense into Seniors.

"When any private enterprise is facing an untenable fiscal situation, they declare bankruptcy and restructure their debt.  Social Security and Medicare are in the same boat- they simply cannot continue as they are.  We do not propose whole-sale, barbaric "cuts" to these programs which, whether we like it or not, have many people depending on them.  Instead, we plan to restructure them in a way least disruptive to all, while still putting them on a path back to sustainability."

34 Is it closer to death than the country itself?

35 "If I ate myself would I disappear or be twice as big?"

Damn, I've gotta try that.

36 Hussein is THE MOST successful president ever, so far, at accomplishing his intended goals, and sociopaths do not get alarmed when there is the illusion of set-backs lulling their adversaries to sleep.

37 I don't know whether I should look forward to my Weimar history class next semester to see what's coming, or skip it since I can just catch it on the reruns.

38

Slightly o/t (sorry I'm not waiting the pre-requisite 100 comments or 15 minutes) but do you think that some of these far left wing loons are running the Nevada DMV?  (From Hotair):

A Nevada man has filed a lawsuit against the stateÂ’s Department of Motor Vehicles alleging his rights were violated when he says the state denied his requests for personalized license plates with conservative political themes. Â…

The complaint alleges [Douglas County resident James] Linlor requested a personalized license plate of “GOPALIN” in 2009 and 2010, but the DMV denied his applications, stating the request was “vulgar or obscene or expressing superiority of political affiliation.” …

Despite the judge’s decision, the complaint alleges the DMV again denied Linlor’s request for a “GOPALIN” plate. Meanwhile, Linlor discovered the DMV had issued other politics-related license plates, including “GOGREEN,” “DMOCRAT,” “AL GORE,” “KERRY,” “EDWARDS,” “DEAN,” “HILLARY” and “RONPAUL,” while rejecting requests for “REPBLCN” and “BUSH,” the complaint alleges.

When Linlor applied for a “GO OBAMA” plate, the DMV approved it, he alleges.

39 I think he's right. But it's probably best not to actually mention it. I'd rather they just lost slowly and as quietly as possible, with this bunch of loudmouth idiot babies. You ask why we Xers are so quiet about what is coming. It's because we know. And we know what our parents and the Shampoo Planet kids are like. Best to stay quiet and keep your powder dry, just go about your business. It will be Gen Y "eating" their parents - and if their children don't get them, the young immigrants will. We won't exactly be crying about it.

40

Heh, the public sector unions are in the process of ensuring their own demise by their outrageous retirement packages funded by the taxpayers. As more and more folk become aware of what's actually happening (which they will do, when bankrupts states stop issuing liquor licenses due to shutdowns, hey, don't mess with my booze, ya bastards), they'll rebel.

This article is a bit optimistic for me, but it's fun to fap to.

41 36 "If I ate myself would I disappear or be twice as big?"

Damn, I've gotta try that.

Posted by: Michael Moore

 

I do that whenever I can't get a date.

42 #2

Ace,
Put up the Amazon link like garrett suggested.  I buy from them all the time and I will click through your site.

43 Linlor discovered the DMV had issued other politics-related license plates, including “GOGREEN,” “DMOCRAT,” “AL GORE,” “KERRY,” “EDWARDS,” “DEAN,” “HILLARY” and “RONPAUL,” while rejecting requests for “REPBLCN” and “BUSH,” the complaint alleges.

Now do you Paulbots get it?

44 Commie-lib Dems (elected and non-elected)have control of almost every lever of power and vitually all of the MSM. The have thoroughly indoctrinated two generations. Who's winning?

45

"If I ate myself would I disappear or be twice as big?"

 

Is that the same as eating yourself out of existence?

 

I wonder how well Road ID fits around your neck.

*Road ID = worst idea ever.

Some of my running friends have Road ID--heh!

 

 

 

 

46

Leftwing democrats (democrats) will never learn that communism is very expensive; Once you kill off the host, communism dies with it. Every time.

47 Money quote in that entire piece, IMO...bold added. 

"Yet the overwhelming majority of Republicans pay more than they receive. They want to pay less, not get more."




Pretty succinctly sums up the conservative position on taxes and social programs.

48 The "left wing" of the Dem Party?  Is there any other wing?  They range from socialist to communist.
This

49 Now you know why Democrats have encouraged illegal immigration and want amnesty so badly.  (a) more voters, (b) more people legally paying into SS and Medicare and paying federal taxes to support the weflare state.  They have to replace all those people who would have been taxpayers but were aborted since 1973.  Of course they can't talk about either of these in public, so we get the nonsensical rants about social justice etc. 

50 Posted by: Mallamutt, RINO President for Life at July 19, 2011 11:29 AM (OWjjx)

Absolutely correct.

And, no, 10 years ago they weren't available to middle class earners, either.  I know, 'cause I didn't qualify for one.

The government should not be in the student loan/education business as a matter of First Principles.  But, as a money saver/budget buster?  Not really an issue.

51

Pell Grants are not available to the mass of the middle class you are discussing Ace. May have been 10 or 20 years ago. But today, you make over 50k a year, the kid isn't getting a Pell Grant.

 

Yeah, I couldn't qualify for a Pell Grant when I was in college in the 80's, and we were middle class.  In fact, I could only qualify for student loans the 2 years my older sister was in college.  Once she graduated, I didn't qualify any more.  I paid those off less than 3 years later.

52 Then some smooth talking hipster with a fresh bag of Hope&Change goodies will lure 'em in like flies once again.

Ordinarily I would agree.  There is a roughly 30 year cycle until a new batch of pigeons comes along who don't remember the last catastrophe (Carter in this case).  But there are larger drivers as well.  In particular, the left benefited from the relatively unchallenged economic dominance we enjoyed after 1945.  Combine that with a huge cohort of ignorant young people (the boomers) and you have a recipe for fiscal and societal irresponsibility.  The unions could demand what they wanted, and youth simply don't think in terms of long range consequences.  That's all changed now. 

I think we either go back to a more mature government and society, or descend back into the 1930s.   I sure hope it's the former.

53 An Amazon link would actually pay off here. Also, looking at other successful blogs business plans, an AoSHQ cookbook, and a "Alley Hobos Passed Out 2012" calendar would also be a new revenue channel.

54 51 7 Like it or not, Obama is not the new FDR, but the new Gorbachev: a man forced to preside over the demise of a political system he desperately wants to save.

He needs to read New Deal or Raw Deal. The parallels between the FDR regime and the Obama regime are amazing AND scary.

Posted by: Vic at July 19, 2011 11:15 AM (M9Ie6)

Problem is, King Barry would read it as an instruction manual, not a cautionary tale. 

Posted by: Insomniac at July 19, 2011 11:32 AM (v+QvA)

Yea, don't give him any ideas - like seizing gold.

55 Don't be tryin' to take our free stuff.

56 He needs to read New Deal or Raw Deal. The parallels between the FDR regime and the Obama regime are amazing AND scary.

Posted by: Vic at July 19, 2011 11:15 AM (M9Ie6)

You should read "Ex America" by Garrett Garrett or the excerpt "The Revolution Was." I think the latter is available at Von Mises.

Although it details the beginning of the New Deal, it could have been written about the first two Obama years.

57
Yes, Democrats have to buy votes with money, but there's something else they do: SCARE people. As long as they remain incredibly good at scaring their constituents into voting for them, they'll keep going.

Urban ghetto dwellers for example continue to believe Jesse when he points to their wretched slums and says "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even have this! White people want you to live in the street!"

58

The government should not be in the student loan/education business as a matter of First Principles. 

Notice that The Vapid One© now uses the excuse that "students won't get college loans" when taxes are cut now?

Funny, but can I remember when that didn't used to be a problem...

59
There simply isn't enough money available under the current tax system to maintain the Democrats' payoffs to there layabout constituents.  Somebody has to work and create taxable income.  What they need is a VAT that's invisible to most of the non-income-tax-paying 49%.

Then they'd have access to some real money with high income taxes on the producers and hidden taxes on the masses.  It would be a Democrat dream come true!

And the standard of living in this country could be just like Greece.  On the plus side, the immigration problem would be solved, because no one will want to come here.

60 Hey, AllenG (dedicated Tenther), I assume you mean the 10th Amendment.  What state are you in.? I started and run this outfit.

61
today's Cocksucker of the Day goes to...

Rep Mike Capuano of the Masshole delegation!

In an interview on left wing hate radio Capuano discussed how Obamacare was bringing us one step closer to a single-payer system, which would be swell.

Capuano also expressed the desire for people to become more "civically engaged."

"Capuano also discussed ways to get people more civically engaged, and he acknowledged having entertained the thought of making voting compulsory for all Americans.

He also raised a potential scenario in which Americans are assessed $10, “and if you go vote, you get your 10 dollars back.”"

62
There is a roughly 30 year cycle until a new batch of pigeons comes along who don't remember the last catastrophe (Carter in this case).

Which is why I would love, for fucking ONCE, for Republicans to get serious about education reform. Macroeconomics and Personal Finance as part of high school junior and senior curriculum. Oh, and Civics, that old ghost too, yeah.

63 In The Road to Serfdom, Hayek notes this problem that is inherent to collectivism. All of the different little interest groups can agree one thing -- that they need the power of government force to enact their vision. They all think that when it comes down to it, it will be their vision that gets implemented. Inevitably though, those visions eventually come to cross-purposes and either one group rises to the top through increasingly heavy use of the methods of force they have obtained, or the whole thing falls apart.

Let's hope the whole thing falls apart.

64

Greece has a serious immigration problem from Turkey and points south.

No matter how shitty your country is, there's probably a shittier country nearby.

65

Apart from the high-income Cultural Liberals, Miniter notes, every single other segment of the coalition depends on government largess.

Au contraire---the high-income cultural liberals are the administrators and overseers and bureaucrats of the government largess.

 

66 Posted by: Sukie Tawdry at July 19, 2011 11:38 AM (MPtFW)

Yes, the 10th Amendment.

Texas.

67
the Masshole delegation!

They hope to add Elizabeth Warren now that Obama has thrown her under the bus.

68 The government should not be in the student loan/education business as a matter of First Principles. Notice that The Vapid One© now uses the excuse that "students won't get college loans" when taxes are cut now? That was the point of having the government take over the entire student loan business. It wasn't to save money, it was to have something to threaten over tax cuts.

69

Isn't that what we really want?

Posted by: White Liberal Guilt at July 19, 2011 11:37 AM

Shhhhhhh!

70 The government should not be in the student loan/education business as a matter of First Principles.
----
I see no problem with the States doing it for economic development reasons.  After all, they're all in the higher ed business already.  But I have never understood federal student loans and grants. 

71
Slightly o/t (sorry I'm not waiting the pre-requisite 100 comments or 15 minutes) but do you think that some of these far left wing loons are running the Nevada DMV?  (From Hotair):

Reminds of the Carlos Mencia bit on vanity plates. He tried several times to get a plate with a variation of the N word on it and was denied every time. Then he asked if "wetback" was available and it was immediately approved.

72

Also, looking at other successful blogs business plans, an AoSHQ cookbook, and a "Alley Hobos Passed Out 2012" calendar would also be a new revenue channel.

 

How about creating a pay per view channel that features vignettes of the moron lifestyle as well as documentaries like "Teh Hobo Wars, Parts I, II, and III", entertainment like "No Holds Barred Ultimate Bum Fights", and of course the obligatory Thai tranny midget porn? 

73 I think I have some ones stuffed into my fat folds . . .

74 >>Democracy works until a majority of the population realizes it can vote itself a raise by taking money from a minority of the population." All of these sayings including Thatcher's famous socialism one are derivatives of de Tocqueville's philosophy which included such gems as: >The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money and >A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. He was wicked smaht. The way we are currently structured with half the population living off the productive half is a recipe for Democratic doom.

75 Americans are assessed $10, “and if you go vote, you get your 10 dollars back.”"

And to ensure this happens, I'm announcing a bill to form a new government agency. Voter Open Mitigation Intervention Team (V.O.M.I.T.)

76 I would be all over the Ace of Spades cookbook. 

77
Posted by: mr.frakypants at July 19, 2011 11:38 AM

That is exactly what I have been clumsily trying to explain to my ex-lefty friend about identity politics. I think I should memorize that paragraph. Or maybe I should actually read Hayek's whole book, duh.

78 Posted by: Y-not at July 19, 2011 11:40 AM (5H6zj)

I should have qualified to say "Federal Government."  I sit corrected (too lazy to stand).

However, I mostly think that States shouldn't be in the Higher Education business, either.  More and more, I don't think they should be in the education business at all; leave it to communities if government has to be involved at all.

79

81 Americans are assessed $10, “and if you go vote, you get your 10 dollars back.”

With interest, if we you vote "appropriately."

80 If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?

81 today's Cocksucker of the Day goes to... Rep Mike Capuano of the Masshole delegation! I thought he was disqualified, based on all his previous awards.

82
if you eat your peas, you get your $10 back

83

*Road ID = worst idea ever.

Awwwwwgh!

^{_{(I'm thinking about getting one as I ride alone 100% of the time)}}

84

Interesting take. I didn't think of this angle. It makes sense. Thanks Ace!

85

82 I would be all over the Ace of Spades cookbook. 

Most of it is hobo recipes, though

86

The entire University system is a gigantic jobs program for loser boomer assholes in sandals and beards.

That's exactly what it appears to be to me...eng schools, and hard science, not so much, but ALL the other shit has been rendered worthless by these jagoffs.

Keep the kids pumping money into the system, so that douchebag Profs can flit around acting all important with all their spiffy "research" into how racist white people have always been.

Just a shitty thing...get those fun government grants to study how racist white men are! Free money for it!

87 However, I mostly think that States shouldn't be in the Higher Education business, either.  More and more, I don't think they should be in the education business at all; leave it to communities if government has to be involved at all.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) at July 19, 2011 11:41 AM (8y9MW)

There was a study done (I don't have a citation), that the rise in tuition correlated directly to increase in student aid.

88

Rep Mike Capuano of the Masshole delegation!

WTF is it with that state? Teddy "Waitress Sandwich" Kennedy, Bawney (I can run a gay brothel from my basement!) Fwank, Scott (RINO) Brown and now this asshole ****** of ****.

I'd be a'checkin' my water supply ifn's I was y'all. That there's some major league stoopid.

89

We hear a lot of this sort of thing about the Republican Party -- that we're simply "running out of white people" to get to vote for us

Yet the more blatantly anti-white the Demunists become, I honestly see no reason why the GOP can't get 70+% of the white vote.

The true enigma are Jews, given how disgustingly anti-Semitic so many Colored Commiecrats, or is that Commiecrats of Color, have become. Are they *that* wedded to the Party?

90 Hey,  BlackOrchid,  don't know what your parents are like,  but as a Boomer,  I refuse to be characterized as irresponsible.  I have been voting against this crap since 1980, and my sisters, brother and I are not wasteful spenders.  I live in the same damn house we bought in 1980, my husband is working overseas in order to stay employed.  I started an eBay business at age 60,  and I can shoot a gun, kill and clean a chicken, can food, and raise my own vegetables.

And I am armed, let me say again.

And the Gen Y people in my family are also independent people who will do fine.

Stop with the generation warfare, as it plays into the democrat plans.

91

If you were a hot dog, would you eat yourself?

 

You will be happy to know that part of my therapy includes yoga classes...

92
Imagine if a Republican made such a proposal.

The Left would be screaming about disenfranchising the poor.

93 97 Curse you Wyatt Earp and your faster fingers!       Fast on the draw works well here, but not in bed . . .

94

 Curse you Wyatt Earp and your faster fingers!

 

Wyatt Earp, fastest gun in teh east! 

95 47 Commie-lib Dems (elected and non-elected)have control of almost every lever of power and vitually all of the MSM. The have thoroughly indoctrinated two generations. Who's winning? Posted by: J Dance at July 19, 2011 11:30 AM (RHPMH) This is, unfortunately, quite correct. Once they completed the Long March through the Institutions, particularly academia, government, and big business, they had won the game. The rest is mopping up opposition and convincing the proles that their interests lie with the omnipotent state. Gramsci was a marxist tool but he knew what he was talking about.

96 Posted by: The Robot Devil at July 19, 2011 11:43 AM (136wp)

I think I saw it, too.  And it certainly makes sense- student aid = lower price. 

Law of economics: more of something will be demanded at a lower price than the same thing at a higher price.

Ergo, when student aid came in, demand for college went up.

Law of economics: as demand increases and outpaces supply, prices will rise.

Ergo, prices have gone up.  Of course, the government's brilliant idea is to increase the subsidies so that those who don't qualify can't afford college.  Great plan, guys.

97
new poots

98 I can make Hobo Chops taste like they were cut from the Middle Class!

99 Here's a problem, IMO, with our side.  We still have intelligent movers and shakers on the conservative side who don't fully get it.  Consider this portion of a HA post by Jazz Shaw titled "Yes, Virginia, there is a revenue problem" (underline added)


"We do have a spending problem. Lots of Americans do. But for every American family, if your debts exceed your income, you have tough choices to make. If you cut out every luxury or optional item in your life, slashing your budget to the bare bones, and you still canÂ’t cover the bills, youÂ’re going to have to get a second job. You have a revenue problem, even if it originated from your longer term spending problem. This is the same situation facing the federal purse today."

What Jazz, and others who actually agree with most conservative principles miss is this, raising taxes is not like the government getting a 2nd job.  It's a logically false premise.  Logically, the analogy would be, rather than me getting a 2nd job in the scenario he paints, I go to my neighbors house and "borrow" some money.  Only, I don't "borrow" it, I confiscate it through lies, manipulation, or even force (ever heard of the IRS?).  A second job would actually involve me providing something of value, my labor, to someone who seeks to turn that labor into a product or service for profit, and then being paid for that labor.  IOW, a 2nd job infers production occurs and value is given in both directions.  The government raising my taxes is not logically the same and is more closely related to me "borrowing" from my neighbor who has money I don't have.  If I get a 2nd job, I'm not harming the firm or business I go to work for.  The government raising taxes on everyone who breathes isn't so harmless.

100 Of course, the government's brilliant idea is to increase the subsidies so that those who don't qualify can't afford college.

But that worked out so well with housing?

101

Most of it is hobo recipes, though

Include a section of "decadent desserts"...

Speaking of disasters in the making:

FBI arrests agent of Pakistan's official state intelligence service in Virginia http://on.msnbc.com/pM4d3Y

Law enforcement sources say the FBI has arrested an agent of Pakistan's official state intelligence service, accusing him of making thousands of dollars in political contributions in the United States without disclosing his connections to the Pakistani government.

/Care to guess which party got the lion's share of the contributions? 

102 Au contraire---the high-income cultural liberals are the administrators and overseers and bureaucrats of the government largess. Posted by: Curmudgeon at July 19, 2011 11:38 AM (ujg0T) Nothing cushier than those jobs and benefits and pensions. No greater largess than government's gifts to itself.

103 I hope the Presidential debates next year cover the Preamble to our Constitution. After all, isn't that what our federal government is supposed to be? I think the general public will be much more willing to get simple by then. And if Obama can't get with simple interpretations of what the USA is based upon, he should get creamed in the election. Assuming this piece is accurate, and the GOP stands up for once in a long fucking while, the D's won't be able to buy the election. 

104

You do already ride with some sort of ID, right?  Right?  And a cell phone?  Right?

Yes.

... but the phone and a burried ID don't help you much if you are unconscious.

Also, I have a bad habit of forgetting my license and Ins. card are in my Jersey for a few days.

I also need to get a spot for my backcountry adventures on the Mtn. Bike.  It would be nice if someone could find the pile of Bear Shit my riding shoes are in!

105

_{^{(I'm thinking about getting one as I ride alone 100% of the time)}}

 

 

I actually think it's a good idea.  Having Bob Roll endorse it was the worst idea ever.  If I run by myself, I have my driver's license in my pocket with my husband's phone number.  So if I'm found dead on the side of the road, someone can steal my i.d. too.  So I should probably get one too.

 

106 Yeah, like student loans, the bubble currently being inflated by the government.

107 Drats, nasty sock!

108 Democrats survived, because as a coalition they surreptitiously plotted the demise of our democratic republic by weakening the countries constitutionally based individual rights. It was an effort started by FDR to have more power transferred to the federal government and away from individuals and states. What people don't realize is that FDR was "ground zero" for this assault and many of the "reforms" he tried to undertake were found unconstitutional. That was also the point at which Democrats further realized the courts needed to be controlled in order to succeed. And so they embarked on a strategy to also load the courts at every level with their advocates.

This strategy allowed them to create generations of Democrat Party consumers, dependent on government handouts and a consistent effort, via the courts and legislation, to dilute the social mores which underpin a plurality our society. It was a slow and steady strategy which intermixed plausible positions which provided cover for the more overt, grander strategy. Many times, Republicans were complicit, especially in growing the debt or social programs, because Democrats made in politically untenable for anyone in elected office to oppose it. The people were convinced and hoodwinked into thinking programs such as Social Security were a "right" and backed up by a "trust fund".

But this strategy has come out of the shadows with Obama. His purely ideological, inflexible approach displayed by an overt willingness to use Presidential office as a cloak with which to hide his true intentions has been transparent and meaningless. He has plundered our institutions and caused almost irreparable harm in an effort to finally cement liberal, socialist changes within our society.

But all he has done is removed Democrats true intentions from the shadows. Our countrymen are realizing they have been hoodwinked for many years. Those who are dependent on Democrats overflowing public coffers are realizing that money is either greatly diminished or gone- along with their influence and power.

All I can say is it's about damn time. It's time to take this country back and restore America's greatness. You want change? Wait until 2012, then we will show the true meaning of that word.

109 The solution to education costs is not more money, but less.

110 The entire Dept of Ed and all of its assorted programs and regulations are unconstitutional and should be eliminated in their entirety.

111 I'm sorry to have insulted you, I thought we'd done the "of course there are exceptions, many of them here" thing, Miss Marple? Overall, however, I stand by my characterization. In general, Boomers spoiled the few children they had. These children in their 20s and even 30s now and still quite dependent. And not, from what I've seen, all that selfless. So, I leave their parents to their progeny's tender mercies. And won't shed a tear. And BOTH GROUPS will be at the mercies of larger demos - including recent immigrants who are not that predisposed to caring about either of them. Meanwhile, my peers and I were ignored throughout our childhood by our Silent Gen parents - who were busy screwing around, divorcing, whatever the hell. They did this MORE than the boomers, by the way. And we are self-sufficient and generally grumpy. We'll take care of them, minimally, but it irks that they only call on us when they need us (again, a generalization and not true at all in my case). We shall see, but the larger trends - regardless of exceptions, which only strengthen the human race! so they are good things, exceptions! - should be interesting to watch. And that's what Gen X is going to do, watch. There was a really stupid recent book, "Generation X Saves the World." Because supposedly we are the ones who have to do this? I'm not sure how likely that is. We're more likely to eat popcorn and get ready to rebuild. OR just be quiet and wait for the dust to settle. We're pretty good at that.

112 I suppose if you severely, severely cut domestic discretionary spending you could manage it

Yes.  Go Thunderdome.  SS or NPR?  EPA or Medicare?

Wring the crap out of the system, then when it's still not enough, ask the Seniors to take a haircut, but get the Federal boot off the throat of the economy or all is lost.

113

Also, I have a bad habit of forgetting my license and Ins. card are in my Jersey for a few days.

 

I do that too!  I leave them in the back zippered pocket of my shorts. And then they go through the wash.  When I take them out of the wash, they are all wet and stuck together.

114

Having Bob Roll endorse it was the worst idea ever.

 

No way!  Bob Roll is teh awesome sauce. 

He's such a ham, it's fantastic.

115 There was a study done (I don't have a citation), that the rise in tuition correlated directly to increase in student aid.

Posted by: The Robot Devil at July 19, 2011 11:43 AM (136wp)

That's true.  The only way to reduce the cost of university tuition is to get rid of all the government subsidies.  No pain, no gain.

116 Oh, and I never run with a phone.

117 47 Commie-lib Dems (elected and non-elected)have control of almost every lever of power and vitually all of the MSM. The have thoroughly indoctrinated two generations. Who's winning?
Posted by: J Dance at July 19, 2011 11:30 AM (RHPMH)

Winning? They have won. 

I have 500 channels on my TV.  Only one of those provides limited random conservative ideas.

Government gets bigger by the day.

118 I predicted about ten years ago that the democrap party would cease to exist in its current form in about twenty years. It simply cannot continue to sustain itself and all of its entitlement members are sucking it dry (along with all of the rest of us.)

My friends thought I was crazy to make such a prediction. Maybe not so much now...

119

The left isn't losing because they already won, the minute The JEF became POTUS. All the leftward movement by both parties over the years, the education system, entitlements, etc set us on this course 40 plus years ago.

Once a radical fool like Chicago Jesus can become president of the USA, it's too late. He has moved the entire country, our private enterprise, economy, healthcare, policies, etc so far left and so fast they will never be moved back. Maybe by inches but they took yards.

These radical leftists who brought about this filth are not my countrymen. I love America but hate all of them. They have harmed my family and future generations of my family with their greed and dishonor. I wish nothing but bad for them all.

120

Black Orchid has a point. We in Gen X, growing up watching the Carter Commiecrats basically ruin everything and Uncle Ron basically save most of it, are quite Right. Gen Y, on the other hand, mollycoddled, is not. One hopes the Obamunist Debacle will teach them something.

Unlike Billy Jeff Clinton, who could demonize the Republican positions as mean-spirited and favoring the rich while slyly co-opting and even implementing said positions (capital gains taxes slashed in half and welfare reform for two examples), the Obamunist is doubling down.

Bill Clinton enraged many of us for his personal sleaze. But Bill Clinton was saved by his own pragmatism. Bill Clinton wasn’t all about the “progressive” (sic) Leftism; Bill Clinton was all about -- Bill Clinton.

121 Something just happened at the Phone Hacking hearing.  Someone is throwing punches or something.

122

Oh, and I never run with a phone.

 

Runners is weird...why don't you guys drink?

I can't ride over 25 miles without a liter and a half of water...min.   What is it about running that makes you not need water?   I don't get it.

123 Regarding student loans:

Parents should know that students can apply for them WITHOUT PARENTAL PERMISSION.

Also,  loans are no longer given just ro tuition and books.  They also cover LIVING EXPENSES.

I know this through my daughter,  who is paying off a large loan taken out to get a masters and who also borrowed enough for her and soon-to-be-ex artist husband to live on for a 2 years.

Guess what?  She got ALL of the debt in the divorce settlement.  Loan was taken out after her marriage so of course I didn't know,   or would have counseled against ti.  And in case you are wondering about all of those kids with iPhones, iPads, nail appointments, apartments instead of dorms,  etc.  please refer again to the portion where I said LIVING EXPENSES ARE INCLUDED.

124 derivatives of de Tocqueville's philosophy which included such gems as:

>A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.

Posted by: JackStraw

Except he didn't say that. The question was whether or not one Alexander Tytler did. Even that's unclear. The true author appears to be lost.

125 136 Running..............never heard of it!   I'm glad you don't run;  your walking is stressful enough.

126 I have Road ID, I think its good if you have any serious medical conditions.

127 Hey,  BlackOrchid,  if you wish to be specific,  then be so.  Do not ask ME to ignore an insult simply because you don't want to take the time to clarify.

Otherwise,  I will start talking about how all of generation X are slackers.  Which of course,  they are not.

128 Apart from the high-income Cultural Liberals, Miniter notes, every single other segment of the coalition depends on government largess.

That's amazingly wrong.

No one is more dependent on being in the government's favor than "the professional class (lawyers, engineers, stock brokers and so on)." Their livelihoods are pure side effects of legislation and regulation. Ideally that's not so (engineers would exist without building regs, and schools without gov't-job diploma requirements, etc.), but in real life here, they depend entirely on the favor of the state.

A nine-babied food-stamp mama's full load of gov't support doesn't represent as much of a gov't-forced drain the productive economy as the average lawyer's salary does—and there are only a few thousand nine-babied food-stamp mamas. There are two million lawyers. Utterly dependent on...? That's right—law. No one pays a lawyer unless compelled by it, or to compel by it.

This is why we're boned. "The professional class" is the welfare class. The. And it's huge. And it's insanely* defensive of largess-in-general, partly as a means to repress/conceal its dependence on largess-in-specific.

*Tell a tax accountant or a stock broker that he's a welfare dependent. Explain how so, if he lets you, in simple economic terms even a "professional" can understand. Then watch what happens.

129 But I'm NOT being specific! I'm generalizing! sheesh. and I'm no slacker either. maybe we'll step up. right now I'm just saying, we're being quiet and I completely understand THAT. not just all "stupid mushy middle" types.

130 Generation x, y, and Z generalizations are like all stereotype generalizations, they are bullshit.

The reason the youth of today is having a hard time making it is regulation, regulation, and regulation. Right now everyone is having a hard time making it. We ARE in great depression II and unemployment is > 20% with > 10% inflation.

We could fix a lot of the youth unemployment by two things:

(1) Eliminate the minimum wage law which is unconstitutional anyway
(2) Start prosecuting and jailing employers who knowingly hire illegals.

For the rest of the country the only fix for that is get the Democrats out of office permanently.

131

82 I would be all over the Ace of Spades cookbook. 

Most of it is hobo recipes, though

Posted by: Wyatt Earp at July 19, 2011 11:43 AM (zgZzy)

That and pudding recipes. Yuuuuuum. Nutty.

132 15 for the most part student loans do get paid back ... so they are really not handouts ...

Posted by: Jeff at July 19, 2011 11:20 AM (A3tpD)

Subsidized loans have the interest paid by the government until graduation, and there are a lot of grants as well. And all these things do (okay, mostly) is drive up the cost of tuition, so they should be seen as handouts for college administrators.

133

Hey,  BlackOrchid,  if you wish to be specific,  then be so.  Do not ask ME to ignore an insult simply because you don't want to take the time to clarify.

Otherwise,  I will start talking about how all of generation X are slackers.  Which of course,  they are not.

No offense intended, MM. After all, Limbaugh and millions of other pundits like him are Boomers. What got the Obamunist elected were:

--unrepentant treasonous Leftists

--ethnic tribalists of all generations, bred by policies of the Left above

--the naive Generation Y where were helicopter parented and believe in unicorns pooping Skittle candies.

Hopefully this last group is wising up fast.

134 142. oblig. You're right, and the author does mention that group - but he seems to think they are just not as ideological, or at least somewhat likely to "go rightward." He's underestimating this group and their power. This is really the crux of the problem, right there, by the way. You've hit on it! A city like, say, Philadelphia - you might think their problems are due to the underclass sucking it dry. But no. It's the OVERCLASS of lawyers and politicos that are doing that. That city could probably very easily support the underclass it has, and the lower- and middle-classes who are in need of it -- very wel. And even support the liberal social workers who are trying to "serve" those people. Except, there are these enormous law firms there that need to be fed. And they are fed FIRST, make no mistake!

135

#140  Yes, I was shocked at how easy it is for a parent to overload themselves with debt in that Parent PLUS loan program.  The website actually makes it difficult to choose a fixed amount for your loan.  I was surprised I even qualified for one since I have been unemployed for a year and have a shitload of credit card debt.  I think whatever credit check DoE does is a joke. 

 

136

26 They are doomed because white liberals don't breed

Progressives don't reproduce sexually, they infect a young host with their ideology when its in a educational larval stage.

137

*Tell a tax accountant or a stock broker that he's a welfare dependent. Explain how so, if he lets you, in simple economic terms even a "professional" can understand. Then watch what happens.

I am a tax accountant. We do what we can to help our clients fight the Beast, but we play by the rules set by the Beast. It's a tough call. Michelle Bachmann would understand.

I also work with the state Civil Service. We know what the Left and our Unions are demanding is utterly unsustainable. Of course I would love a cushy guaranteed benefit pension--who wouldn't? But I see the revenue projections and honestly know it cannot happen.

 

138 #81 Want to bet half the people getting paid $10 never will have seen at a tax bill for $10? I'm sure the dead and false registrations will swell the ranks of liberal districts as well.

Hell Detroit will become of one the country's largest cities overnight, at least on paper.

139 Frak.  Someone attacked Rupert Murdoch at the hearings today.  Shaving cream from the looks, but this is a very serious security breach.

It's starting.

140

Reforming Social Security and Medicare are short-term losers with their current beneficiaries, even if they were made exempt from any cuts. I think it's psychological.

First, they were invited to believe that our society is so prosperous that it could take care of its sick and retired citizens. Many of them also believe that they contributed to this prosperity during their working years. To tell them that this isn't so (and never really was) is to tell them, in effect, that they're receiving welfare. In my experience, no argument will dissuade them of this position.

Second, to tell them that they bought into these program (and they all did) and then telling them that the programs are unsustainable schemes is to tell them that they were wrong. Nobody likes that, no matter how much you sugarcoat it.

Although Miniter seems dead-on right, the people in the dying coalition will be there until the end, probably longer.

141 Richard Miniter:

The Democratic Party, as we have known it for the past 70 years, is now in its last days.

It's good to know that Richard Miniter agrees with me.  Heh.

142 >>Except he didn't say that. The question was whether or not one Alexander Tytler did. Even that's unclear. The true author appears to be lost. The piece you linked didn't say that. As the the author of the piece you linked stated it's unclear who said it first. Given de Tocqueville's body of work and his numerous similar quotes I'm inclined he said it or something very similar.

143 Interesting idea.  It's true that in most places with a major political party and ideology as left as the Dems there's no viable, vibrant alternative; we have one!

144

Oh, and I never run

FIFM

 

Ha! Ha!

145 Funny how even in a supposedly blunt political piece like that can't refer to the ethnic/racial angle.

Seriously. If you are writing a piece about the current Democrat coalition ... and the word "black" (or african-american) never appears ... maybe you still have some blinders on. Older whites get a govt check ... but they vote majority Repub. What is a better predictor of voting habits -- whether you get a govt check (SS, Medicare, welfare, unemployment, etc) or whether you are black?

Blacks vote 90% Democrat. Blacks, as a group, are the most religious, most anti-gay, least believing in evolution (Razib at Gene Expression has posted good data from social surveys breaking down beliefs like this along gender, racial, education, class, etc, etc).

Why do blacks in America support the Dems, who enact social policies the exact opposite of what most blacks say they believe? And the Dems don't just quietly support those policies. They attack anyone who opposes, say, gay marriage as the worst sort of nazi, gay-hating, bible-banging, sub-human trash.

I think the answer is simple. Blacks vote for Democrats because they believe the Dems will take money from white people and give it to blacks. Blacks want more redistribution. They, as a whole, are on the bottom. So they want to take some from the people on top (ie white people). And most blacks are willing to put up with gay marriage and the public attacks on Christians as a price worth paying to get more ObamaBucks.

Of course, some of this redistribution is not cash-based, but instead in the form of minority set-asides. "Diversity" policies. Easier college acceptance. Easier promotions.  Quota hiring by the Feds and state govt. Quote promotion in the military. Quote promotion in big companies. Special protections under the law for hiring and firing.

I think blacks want both redistribution and some retribution. Not a lot of talk about the rich Asian Google dude paying more for blacks. No racial retribution angle there. But some rich, fat white guy? Yeah, fuck him, that gets the juices flowing.

146

Runners is weird...why don't you guys drink?

I can't ride over 25 miles without a liter and a half of water...min.   What is it about running that makes you not need water?   I don't get it.

 

While it's true that there are many non-waterologist (what my friends call people who don't hydrate), I bring 12 oz. of water with 2 Nuun tabs in it on any run over 10 miles and to track workouts. 

Last year, hubby and I did a run in Aug. in NJ.  We were suppose to go 20, but we only made 18.  We brought our 12 oz. of fluids, and then we had to stop 3 different times to buy water and gatorade (which I don't normally like because too much sugar upsets my stomach, esp. if I'm using Gu).  Thank God, we had mini-marts along the way!

147 Once a radical fool like Chicago Jesus can become president of the USA, it's too late. He has moved the entire country, our private enterprise, economy, healthcare, policies, etc so far left and so fast they will never be moved back.

Actually, in polls, the American public is still center-right on the issues.

Obama was elected, frankly, because he was historic (ifyaknowwhaddimean), not because his ideas were so popular.  You'll know America is beyond repair when we (they) elect a white man whose policies are as socialist as Obama's.

148 Obama is not the new FDR, but the new Gorbachev Obama is the Rebecca Black of Presidents. "It's My Moment..."

149

#165: I sense a certain despair here.

Folks, let us remember the Jimmuh Carturd Years:

--Wage and Price Controls. Even the most lefty creeps are not seriously proposing that now.

--A Soviet Threat, with some technological sophistication, that makes the Islamunist savages of today look tame.

--An appease and surrender Left wing (nuclear freeze, Sandinista fellating) that actually duped much of Middle America.

As much financial damage as the Obamunist has done, it has been in so many respects worse.

150

Obama is the Rebecca Black of Presidents.

Ha-ha!

151

Folks, let us remember the Jimmuh Carturd Years:

--Wage and Price Controls. Even the most lefty creeps are not seriously proposing that now.

There were no wage and price controls during the Carter years. Only twice in history of the U.S. have we had general wage and price controls. The first was during FDR and the war and the second was with Nixon.

152

And with that, Ace discloses that he doesn't have any college age children. And don't consider that a insult, rather, a blessing.

Pell Grants are not available to the mass of the middle class you are discussing Ace. May have been 10 or 20 years ago. But today, you make over 50k a year, the kid isn't getting a Pell Grant.

Student loans are subsidized to the extent that the government is paying the interest (or absorbing the interest) on the loan while you are in school.

If you wiped out the Pell Grant program today, very few suburban middle class voters would notice.

Posted by: Mallamutt, RINO President for Life at July 19, 2011 11:29 AM (OWjjx)

I was in college, receiving Pell Grants, when Reagan cut them back. It was possible that I might not be able to pay for college without them.  I was still for Reagan and the cuts.  My going to a pricey college was no entitlement.  In the end, the school bumped up some grants, and lent me the difference.

Pell Grants are no kind of third rail.

153 Frak.  Someone attacked Rupert Murdoch at the hearings today.  Shaving cream from the looks, but this is a very serious security breach.

It's starting.

Posted by: Seriously, you know it's coming at July 19, 2011 12:14 PM (GBXon)

What's starting - this is the same crap they have been doing for a generation or more.

154

Also, I have a bad habit of forgetting my license and Ins. card are in my Jersey for a few days.

 

I do that too!  I leave them in the back zippered pocket of my shorts. And then they go through the wash.  When I take them out of the wash, they are all wet and stuck together.

Posted by: runningrn at July 19, 2011 11:52 AM (ihSHD)

You could laminate them or put them in a waterproof sleeve.

155

There were no wage and price controls during the Carter years.

Gasoline does not count? There most certainly *were* gasoline and other fuel price controls....I remember odd/even day fill ups and other forms of rationing as well, precisely what happens when the price is controlled.

156

Only twice in history of the U.S. have we had general wage and price controls. The first was during FDR and the war and the second was with Nixon.

Perhaps not general across the board ones, but there most certainly were controls on specific industries (energy), and I most certainly remember Jimmuh Carturd's "wage and price guidelines" reported.

157 Gasoline does not count? There most certainly *were* gasoline and other fuel price controls

General Wage and Price controls. Gas was targeted and there were none on wages. Nixon and FDR froze everything.

158 Democrats cannot function as a major party if the black vote erodes.   Remember that it was the so called super delegates- the elected Democrat politicians- who broke the deadlock and gave the 2008 nomination to  Obama.  Many of them had deep reservations about Obama's ability to do the job but the super delegates knew that to alienate black voters would mean that Democrats would lose most statewide races. This is true even in states like Minnesota that are not know for large minority populations. 

159

The senior Republicans remind me of the Red Coats.

160 I LOVE THIS ARTICLE!

Ive been pointing out parts of this dynamic for the past few years now, but who gives a crap what I say?

161 Alternate Headline,

Host Weakens, Parasites Struggle!

162 Eventually the buzzards find there's nothing to eat but other buzzards...

163

The Left will be doomed when there are no more taxpayers to mug.  Until that time they will continue stealing.

 

The GOP will be interested onlookers.

164 This is why the supply siders always win in the end: You can't make an omlette out of theoretical Eggs.

165 "Miniter notes that as SS and Medicare consume more of the federal budget, that's actually bad for the Democrats, as that restricts how much they can spend on the other members of the welfare coalition. Unless they cut seniors' benefits to give them to another segment of the coalition, of course-- which Obama and the Dems did when they took $500 billion from Medicare for to pay for ObamaCare. But that will alienate the vote-iest cohort in the country."

You seem to be claiming that with the gummint out of cash, Obie and the Dems can't keep giving money to members of their base unless they take it from, say, seniors.  Who vote in greatest numbers.

You're missing a key piece there:  Taking money from Medicare to fund Dem voters only hurts Dems if the seniors are a) aware of what happened; and b) believe they've been hurt by the action.

In this case, the MSM didn't run big headlines "DEMS THROW SENIOR OVER THE CLIFF!!!", so I suspect not one percent of seniors *know* about the Medicare theft.

But even if they did, the MSM has convinced seniors that Obamacare will replace Medicare, and will be *better*.  Thus the claim that the Dems took half a trillion bucks from the latter are of no significance, since Obamacare will come to the rescue.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Team Obama didn't claim they'd SAVE a trillion dollars by scrapping Medicare and replacing it with Obamacare.