LJWorld.com

cato_the_elder (Anonymous) says…

Simply another petulant leftist unaccepting of others' success who wants to tax those who are successful into oblivion. He certainly has a candidate he can support.

Das_Ubermime (Anonymous) says…

Do you deny that this economic crisis is hitting the middle and lower classes hardest?

cato_the_elder (Anonymous) says…

Das, for starters, are you personally experiencing an “economic crisis” of any kind? If so, what is it? Just curious. By the way, you might want to head over to K.C. sometime and drive through Mission Hills, then over to the Rockhill district by the Nelson Art Gallery, and count the numerous “For Sale” signs in front of some of the most expensive homes in Kansas City. Imprudent decisions are not made solely by those with moderate incomes. In fact, they can be made by anyone who gambles with his or her financial future by borrowing more than is necessary to live moderately.

Das_Ubermime (Anonymous) says…

Yes. Tight job market, high cost of food, high transportation costs. Not as many lay-offs here (here for me is not the KC area btw) as there are in Michigan, but the place I work for has seen much less activity this month (the first month of high activity for us) than it normally does. My debt is minimal. My monthly deficit is problematic.

You can count as many “For Sale” signs as you want, but when the housing market crashes like it has, it doesn't really mean anything about the financial status of the owners.

snap_pop_no_crackle (Anonymous) says…

I haven't checked the national news in a couple of hours. What has the O'dude's economic policy flipped to now?

barrypenders (Anonymous) says…

None of us are getting out of here alive!

acg (Anonymous) says…

LOL barrypenders comment cracked me up. Sometimes I really think that none of us may get out of this alive, metaphorically speaking. Not without some serious changes on our parts. For too long we, as a society, have been living beyong our means. It's not just middle/lower classes, either. I have a rich aunt/uncle that I go visit once a year. They have this big beautiful house (like 7 bedrooms 5 baths kind of house) and no kids and everything is very cold and beautiful and I just found out they barely have two nickels to rub together. Between trips, boats, the house, the country club, etc. they're going broke. But they're still going to Hawaii next month. We're pretty much all guilty of making bad money decisions at one time or the other. Think about the last thing you bought, whether it be a $4.00 coffee, a $4.00 pack of smokes or a new blouse, a trinket or a concert ticket or what not. Did you really need it? Was it necessary to sustain your survival? We're all going to have to learn how to spend way less money in the next few years because no matter who wins in the White House come November, this problem isn't just going to magically go away. It's going to get worse.

repaste (Anonymous) says…

Cut taxes for wealthy, deregulate everything, ( let the corporations pillage), spend up a debt our grandkids will be paying,(we still pay from Reagans deregulation of savings & loans) tax the pee out of the lower class to pay for the shortages, The Dude has little chance of making it worse. Corporations with holdings bigger than most countries need regulation or they will eat us(are eating us)
Far left liberal, socialist, neocon, names are for sissies.

repaste (Anonymous) says…

ACG has core right - Big Biz is selling us to death- bigger ,better, faster, more, more more. It would not seem to be sustainable. Stock market must allways go up - Why? Only way is for us to by more widgets to fill the landfill.

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

I don't find it coincidental that the LJWorld chooses articles criticizing McCain from social commentators (as if they are the truth), but when Obama flip flops and makes major gaffs, it is an AP article which de-emphasizes the negatives. The only way I get real news about Obama is by other sources (I don’t get fox news and never go to their website). Even the LA Times printed an article the other day discussing Obama’s recent removal from his website of this opposition to the surge. The only article that mentioned it in the LJWorld it was buried in a one sentence remark in the middle of a non critical article, that Obama wasn’t even the focus of.

Das_Ubermime (Anonymous) says…

acg,

I don't think anyone would claim that the upper class is unaffected by this. I would say, though, that the middle and lower classes are probably getting the brunt of it.

I also am starting to view this less and less as a product of poor fortune (sort of a perfect storm of economic trouble) and more as a product of poor governing and leadership.

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

“I also am starting to view this less and less as a product of poor fortune (sort of a perfect storm of economic trouble) and more as a product of poor governing and leadership.” - Das_Ubermime

Exactly, the Democrat controlled Congress is to blame, which is why they have a 9% approval rating (even most Dems think they are doing poorly)

Das_Ubermime (Anonymous) says…

If you want to blame someone, look to the leader. The first rule of leadership is that everything is your fault.

I would personally refrain from blaming anyone and concentrate on how it happened and what can be done to prevent it in the future.

cato_the_elder (Anonymous) says…

Anxious, in what market were you working? Was it in commercial or residential construction? Was it in residential construction in Lawrence, where housing has been ridiculously overbuilt for years, and market forces finally took over a few years back? Does anyone reading this understand that in Lawrence no one, I mean no one, ever got wealthy as a homebuilder until the explosive growth that began in the mid-80's? Anxious, do you not understand that what you might call “Republican” economic policies at the local level in Lawrence allowed the housing market to function - too well, frankly, for many? Do you realize how many strong voices there have been in Lawrence for years wanting to curb residential growth, which if you were living here might have resulted in your not having a job in the first place? If you don't live in Lawrence, your local real estate market is more than likely overbuilt, which has occurred all over the country due in large part to the factors succinctly identified by ACG, above. If you blame the failure of the construction business by which you were employed on politicians in Washington, while your need to want to blame someone is understandable, you need to look elsewhere - starting first with those who ran your company, local attitudes and policies toward new construction, and the fact that the supply and demand function as a market force is immutable. The perceived housing crisis in America today results almost solely from homeowners who have taken on more debt than they can afford, including wealthier ones who have chosen to use their homes as ATMs and have stacked multiple mortgages on them, imprudent lenders, and builders who have failed to realize that you can't keep building new homes and commercial offices when there aren't people out there to buy or rent them, which has been the case in Lawrence for some years now. Although given your previous employment you may already be aware of this, you can ask any realtor about the number of new and older homes for sale in Lawrence today and how long many of them have been on the market. Unemployment figures nationally are not remarkable historically, and the perceived housing crisis, which involves lenders, builders, and homeowners all, will dissipate once market forces are allowed to work. In the interim, there will be many hardships for a significant number of our citizens, and government at many levels has been actively involved in attempting to lessen the pain as much as possible. And, as ACG says, it will only get worse unless people go back to living within their means, especially when it comes to credit card debt, which does in fact present an impending crisis for the country if people will not curb borrowing that they cannot afford.

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

Yeah, tax cuts are a bad idea, they don't help anyone. In fact because they are so worthless perhaps we should raise taxes for everybody, since people keeping more of their own money is apparently not helping anyone. Or even better, give all our money to the government and they can provide us with everything we need. Brilliant!

just_another_bozo_on_this_bus (Anonymous) says…

“which is why they have a 9% approval rating (even most Dems think they are doing poorly)”

They have a 9% approval rating because Republicans don't like Congress (as a whole) because it's (nominally) controlled by Democrats, and everyone else doesn't like it because the Democrats have failed to reverse the idiotic policies that 12 years of a Republican Congress brought us— partly because Democrats lack a true majority in the Senate, which because of filibuster rules makes it full-out gridlock.

I suspect that if you averaged the approval ratings for individual Congress members, that number approaches or exceeds 50%— mostly because of the power of pork and access to the media.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Satirical, I noticed the same thing not only about the LJW, but the media in general. Where's the outrage that Michelle Obama's Princeton thesis is not available for viewing? Doesn't the press get upset when information is not shared? Yet there's a free pass on this one as on his attending a racist church for 20 years and growing up in a Muslim environment.

I've read excerpts of her thesis and it has definitely anti-white leanings. Truth be known, the American people are getting ready to elect a flop-eared soundbite. We really don't know anything about Barack Obama. What he says does not jive with what he did and where and by whom he was raised.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Athiest, nothing I wrote was anything but fact. Not my ideas. Is Barack Obama beyond criticism or beyond fact?

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

“We really don't know anything about Barack Obama.”

Who's “we?” Got a turd in your pocket, knee?

Obama is not beyond criticism. Turn on your TV and flip through any of the news channels, or (even worse) turn on your radio and go to the AM side.

What is the title of Mrs. Obama's thesis? I'm curious.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

“I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don't belong. Regardless of the circumstances underwhich I interact with whites at Princeton, it often seems as if, to them, I will always be black first and a student second.”

Sounds like a woman with a bone to pick to me. Not First Lady material.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Up to now anxiousa*****e, I have done nothing but present facts and you go off on some rant, personally attacking me and flailing around with your purse.

Typical reaction by someone who can't think past the rhetoric. Frustrating to be led by the nose Anx?

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

Do you know the title of Mrs. Obama's thesis, knee? And her maiden name, if you have it — If I have those two bits of info, I can probably get a copy through the library system.

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

Anxiousathiest…
“Here is the truth, the reason congress is at 9% is because they are not opposing the president enough!” “The reason congress' rating is so low is directly tied to how bad the president is!”

(1) A completely wrong and unoriginal tactic of blaming all of the Dem’s, the country’s and the world’s problems on Bush. Who will you blame for all your problems when he is gone?
(2) By your logic Congress’ rating would be higher than the Presidents. Who would have a lower approval rating, Hitler or someone “tied to” Hitler?
(3) Congress’ rating is so low because they can’t compromise with Bush or the Republicans. They are more interested in scoring political points than solving any issues (is oil in 7 years better or worse than no oil at all?)

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

Thanks, anxious!

As this thesis is A) an undergraduate work and B) localized to black Princeton alumni, I fail to understand knee's negative reaction to this paper.

Most of my undergraduate papers were far less well-done than this, and I have a feeling most folks with a bachelor's degree may agree with me.

Was there a feeling on the campus of Princeton in the mid-eighties that may have been negative (or at least non-inclusive) towards blacks? Most likely. I wonder what the ratio of black to white students was there at the time — probably pretty unequal. In the late 90's on my campus (mostly white) there was certainly a feeling of non-inclusiveness towards the non-white portion of the student body.

Knee, this is much ado about nothing.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

nd,

then why was the thesis “frozen”?

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

anxiousathiest…
“How can you compare them without becoming logically incoherent?”
Odd this is exactly what you were attempting to do: “The reason congress' rating is so low is directly tied to how bad the president is!”

You may disapprove of both, but it is clear that by far, more people disapprove of the Democrat controlled congress than President Bush (9% to 23%). Your personal opinion is not that of the entire country.

“What would Bush have to do for you to disapprove of him? Everytime I ask this question I get no answer…”

I have answered you before on this question, but I guess that is another fact you choose to ignore. There is a lot he has done that I personally disapprove of (immigration reform, deficit spending) but the difference between you and I (and between you and most rational human beings) is that I don’t personally blame him for all of my, the country’s, and the world’s problems. The situation reminds me of Rush Limbaugh’s blaming Bill Clinton for everything wrong when he was in office. It is stupid (although Clinton is an amoral perjurer)

preebo (Anonymous) says…

I love watching right-wingers being forced to defend/support McCain. There are fewer things in life that carry such a sweet scent of irony.

Then again most conservatives often vote against their own interests.

For those crying out to see Ms. Obama's thesis (seriously, really?), I pose this question to you. Why don't you demand more information about the “Keating Five” scandal in 1989 and McCain's involvment?

Face it. McCain is this years Bob Dole (no disrespect Mr. Dole). An old Republican with atiquated ideas and no enthusiasm.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Once again, you can't disagree with BO without some simp (anxoiousa.) calling you a racist. How polarizing. And, what was so bad about the thesis?….well, Barack Obama was the one who froze it, ask him what he doesn't want aired publicly.

acg (Anonymous) says…

“please let rational people vote this time and we promise we won't take your Jeff Foxworthy away”…aatheist. That was freakin' awesome intellectual discussion burn of the day!! I like to tell people to save their voting for American Idol. Those of us that have two brain cells to rub together appreciate it.

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

preebo…
I love watching left-wingers being forced to defend/support Obama. There are fewer things in life that carry such a sweet scent of irony.

Left_handed (Anonymous) says…

Yeah, Reason, but he's for Change. Change and Hope. Hope and Change. Drink the kool-aid.

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

acg…
“That was freakin' awesome intellectual discussion burn of the day!!”

Yeah, except he completely stole the idea from me on another post today “I plan on writing to Nickelodeon and Comedy Central to get a Sponge Bob Squarepants and a South Park marathon going to distract all the idiots who are too uniformed to be voting anyway. If all else fails I will distract these people with something shiny.” - McCain stresses Energy policy in Kansas City visit.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Truth is that if you dissect Mr. BO you';re left with a lot of unanswered questions, which don't seem to bother his supporters 'cause he's a reel guud speechifier.

And I'm not even saying he'd make a bad president. I'm saying he hasn't come clean. He's as sneaky a politician as they come. He's no different. He's no change.

beatrice (Anonymous) says…

Michelle's undergraduate thesis is the issue? Funny. I thought it was McCain's lack of knowledge of the dynamics of economics (a weakness he had previously admitted to).

But I'll play along. First off, how many schools even require an undergraduate thesis as part of graduation? She graduate cum laude, and then went on to Harvard Law. How well did John or Cindy McCain do in school?

The title of the thesis written by the 21 or 22 year old Michelle was: “Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community.” To think, a bright young woman talking about her own situation, her own experiences, and her own racial group — not exactly shocking. I'm sure it is really pertinent to the Presidential race of today. This is grasping at straws, at best.

Satirical, as I've recently noted, the Dems “majority” in the Senate is one seat — which is occupied by John McCain's new best friend and true DINO (Democrat in name only), Joe Lieberman. That is far short of the necessary seats to be effective to override a Bush veto. You know this, yet you pretend that the Dems have a huge majority and can accomplish whatever they want. Sadly, Bush and the DINOs won't let that happen.

Approval ratings for Congress will rise sharply once we have a Democrat in the White House and an even greater majority in the Senate.

And McCain is lacking knowledge on how to handle the economy. This is just one reason why people shouldn't (and won't) vote for him.

Obama for President!

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

Beatrice…

No one was claiming Mrs. Obama was unintelligent, they were claiming her views are racist and radical.

“…DINO (Democrat in name only), Joe Lieberman. That is far short of the necessary seats to be effective to override a Bush veto…”

(1) If Lieberman is not a real democrat, then why was he running as Gore’s VP in 2000?
(2) Their approval rating is so low because they can’t compromise with the President or the Republicans to accomplish anything. They are useless.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Beatrice, yes, “Michelle's” undergraduate thesis is the issue. With the Obama campaign. They put the freeze on it.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

And c'mon Beat. McCain's alleged lack of understanding of the economy is a moot point. The president doesn't actually do any work, he surrounds himself with smart people that advise him.

If we continue your point, that the president has to have first-hand knowledge of the major issues, then BO is definitely out, he's never been in the military. HOW is he ever going to handle the middle east situation???

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

“Are you in his pocket?”

Does insulting me make you feel better about yourself, RR? Does it make you feel like a Big Man?

And I'm not going to get into a discussion about Obama's experience. Or Mcain's. Personally, I feel that the only really relevant experience a Presidential candidate could have is actually serving a first term as President. A close 2nd would be serving as a state Governor. Anything else…not so much, being that the job of POTUS is such a unique one.

Do the experiences of Obama and McCain hurt their bid for the White House though? Probably not. I prefer the candidate with the most wisdom, intelligence, and common sense.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Don't know if insulting you, ndmod., makes RR feel like a big man, but it sure made me laugh.

Satirical (Anonymous) says…

Beatrice, anxoiusathiest…
How about we turn the tables and go into my time machine: It is 2011, Obama was elected president, by people who didn’t learn the mistakes of the past to, not elect someone who is inexperienced or incompetent just because he makes you feel good, the Dems lost control in the House and Senate after two years of a disastrous economy following tax increases and more regulation on business, and now (turning the tables) the Republican controlled Congress’ approval rating is at 9%, because they care more about politics than solving the countries issues, while Obama’s is at 23% for being able to come up with any solutions to this nations problems other than “hope and change” and “the rich should pay”.

Beatrice’s argument: Congress approval rating is so low because the Republicans are not working with the President to solve the issues.

Idiotic argument: Congress low rating is solely due to the fact people don’t like Obama.

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

If that's the kind of human being you want to be, knee, then flame on.

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Anx., as I've stated before, the issue is not finding the thesis, the issue is that Obama felt a need to limit access to the document at the Princeton library, maybe not realizing it was already online.

Can I be any more clear than that? Do you need this in some other language, 'cause you're having a fit with English?

It is a treatise showing her racist tendencies and that is what the Obama campaign didn't want to get out.

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

“My comment was designed to make you think more carefully about the words you use here.”

Yeah….riiiight. I certainly did not call knee a turd. I can't help you if you've never heard the saying that I wrote earlier.

“That certainly would not be the candidate who sat in that extremist church for 20 years and exposed his young daughters to that hateful and racist rhetoric.”

I'll think for myself, thank you.

cato_the_elder (Anonymous) says…

Anxious, if you worked construction in Johnson County and you and all of your fellow employees were let go and your employer went under, then you definitely need to look in that direction if you want blame someone. By the way, that occurred last October - are you still unemployed?

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

How is Mrs. Obama a racist, knee? Because she pointed out that a predominantly white college campus in the 1980s left its black students feeling left out?

beatrice (Anonymous) says…

Sati, you are re-writing my arguments now? Please stop, because you clearly get it wrong. My argument is that if you are blaming the Democrats only for the low approval rating of Congress, then wait until there are more Dems and a Dem in the White House. That is when we will see the approval rating rise. As it is now, the Dems can't get anything done because of the obstruction of the Republican members of Congress and Republican President. (And why is compromise a big thing now, when before the last national election we never heard that term uttered in earnest by Republicans?)

Regarding your question, “If Lieberman is not a real democrat, then why was he running as Gore’s VP in 2000?” I guess that is what you would call “flip-flopping.” He is an “Independent Democrat,” and his friendship with McCain over their favorable views on continuing the war in Iraq (for 100 years if necessary), he might as well just call himself a Republican.

kj: “McCain's alleged lack of understanding of the economy is a moot point. The president doesn't actually do any work, he surrounds himself with smart people that advise him.”

Yes, and we have seen how well the strategy of not having the smart guy in the driver's seat the last 7.5 years has worked out for us.

Obama for President!

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Read her thesis;

listen to what slips out on news shows (aka “my husband is a black man, he could be shot while filling up with gas”….responding to the question whether she fears for his safety);

Look at the racist mission statement of their church (which disappeared soon after he became a viable candidate)

Look at the doctrine of the church she attended. What did Jeremiah Wright preach? Diversity? Nope, he spewed racial hate mongering in an effort to keep the question alive and the donations coming in, much like Jesse Jack. and Al Sharpton do to line their pockets.

C'mon ndmod. open your eyes.

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

“my husband is a black man, he could be shot while filling up with gas”

You don't think this could happen? Being shot, I mean—somehow I doubt he fills his own gas tanks anymore.

I will not defend Obama's FORMER church. The soundbytes all over the news channels were certainly troubling to me, but at the same time there are hundreds of these types of sermons given all across this country every week…just replace the words “white people” with “homosexual.”

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

Some silly issues that should be non-issues.

WMDs - Saddam Hussein HAD them so who cares if we don't FIND them?

Obama's Church - He WENT there so who cares if he suddenly stopped going there?

And who really cares what Jesse Jackson says?

kneejerkreaction (Anonymous) says…

good man

ndmoderate (Anonymous) says…

“Can you give us any idea when you'll finally start thinking for yourself?”

OOOH! That's a good one! Boy, you sure got me. You should be proud of yourself.