Joke time

[Cuba]

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her
altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse
me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago,
but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air
balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of
2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north
latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm
still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are
going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot
air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me
to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in
before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault

 

[Oscar54]

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her
altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse
me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago,
but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air
balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of
2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north
latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm
still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are
going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot
air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me
to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in
before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault

I always love self serving humor.

Unfortunately, if the Republicans were so technically knowledgeable and had any true understanding of their bankrupt economics and its long term effects or did anything but enrich themselves at the expense of everyone else, we wouldn't be in the economic crisis we are in now. (Maybe I give them too much credit for being ignoramuses. Maybe they did it to get more money from the Government for nothing? Hummm....)

Oh, and by the way your joke is bass ackwards, in that they made the promises that lowering taxes and deregulating would create prosperity for all and ruined the economy in 8 years and they, like you, want to blame Obama who's been in office 4 months.

It is the Republican's fault!

That's the real joke. And this current group of Republicans can't find their asses with both hands let alone lead us out of this mess.

Peace!

 

[Cuba]

Well well well, your original insight into the extreme complexity of modern day economics and finance is that "it's the Republicans' fault". We seemed to have made such progress, but I see you have abruptly regressed to gross over simplifications and thoughtless comments. Please, if you want to revive old threads, respond to the dozens of questions I asked before you disappeared- the ones you had no intelligent response for. The ones where you used similar broad and grossly simplistic responses to change the subject, lest you actually get cornered and have to answer specifics.

Edit: You do realize this is a joke, right? Rough day?

 

[The Toecutter]

you know I don't understand the whole i'm a repulican or i'm a democrat following.I'm a man trying to feed and shelter my family,and honestly this so called resession has'nt effected me negatively.i,ve never owned stock,and like I heard a comedian say yesterday morning my retirement plan is a wet floor in a wal-mart!! LOL and i'm going out on a limb here but if yall are riding fz6's like me....... you are probably in the same boat as me. so heres my question....what has either political party ever done for you to be so loyal??

 

[LERecords]

....what has either political party ever done for you to be so loyal??

exactly.. thats why in not a rep or dem.. i am an AMERICAN!!!!... and as an american, i can look at both sides (both side of information that is), make my own determination, and move on.. i like some of what the dem's stand for, and i like some of what the rep stand for.. therefor i will be in the middle.. take the good from both sides... but thats whats great about america.. we can agree and disagree and BOTH respect each others opinions.. even if they are not in line with our own :thumbup:

 

[Cuba]

Exactly. Being a member of either kool-aid brigade is pathetic. You are responsible for forming your own opinions. America is based on the idea that our government is accountable for it's actions and we have the duty (not just the right) to voice our opinions. Ignoring the facts and/or simply subscribing to either side's propaganda machine is irresponsible.

Right now it seems as though the media and both political parties have cultivated a sports mentality, as if they are the Yankees vs. the Red Sox. They each have die hard fans that ignore the facts and skew everything possible to "support their team". They want to see their team "win" by dominating the other, but by doing that we all lose. Checks and balances are what keep us safe and prosperous, and right now we don't have that. Don't be a face painting moron, be a talent scout.

 

[abacall]

From another forum.......

> Three men - a Canadian farmer, Osama bin Laden and a
>
> White Trash Biker are all walking together one day.
>
> They come across a lantern and a Genie pops out of it.
>
> 'I will give each of you one wish, which is three
> wishes in total',
>
> says the Genie.
>
> The Canadian says, 'I am a farmer and my son will
> also farm. I want the
> land to be forever fertile in Canada '
>
> POOF! With the blink of the Genie's eye, the land in
> Canada was forever
> fertile for farming.
>
> Osama was amazed, so he said, 'I want a wall around
> Afghanistan ,
> Palestine , Iraq and Iran so that no infidels, Americans or
> Canadians
>
> can come into our precious land.'
>
> POOF! Again, with the blink of the Genie's eye,
> there was a huge wall
> around those countries.
>
> The Biker says, 'I am very curious.
>
> Please tell me more about this wall.'
>
> The Genie explains, 'Well, it's about 5,000 feet
> high, 5oo feet thick and
> completely surrounds the country. Nothing can get in or
> out;
>
> it's virtually impenetrable.'
>
> The Biker sits down on his Harley, cracks a beer, lites a
> cigar,
>
> smiles and says,
>
> 'Fill it with water.'

 

[antijoy]

A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost. She lowered her
altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse
me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago,
but I don't know where I am."

The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air
balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of
2,346 feet above sea level. You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north
latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude.

"She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

"I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct. But I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm
still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

The man smiled and responded, "You must be an Obama Democrat."

"I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are
going. You've risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot
air. You made a promise you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me
to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in
before we met, but somehow, now it's my fault

The joke works even if the party's are switched...

 

[Oscar54]

Well well well, your original insight into the extreme complexity of modern day economics and finance is that "it's the Republicans' fault". We seemed to have made such progress, but I see you have abruptly regressed to gross over simplifications and thoughtless comments. Please, if you want to revive old threads, respond to the dozens of questions I asked before you disappeared- the ones you had no intelligent response for. The ones where you used similar broad and grossly simplistic responses to change the subject, lest you actually get cornered and have to answer specifics.

Edit: You do realize this is a joke, right? Rough day?

Oh, Mr. Cuba!

Unlike you, I have a life.

And you should not ever accuse anyone of being regressed, simple minded or thoughtless.

Enjoy yourself repeating the talking points you hear each day in the echo chamber you helped create.

Thanks for your astute observation that it was a joke!

 

[Oscar54]

you know I don't understand the whole i'm a repulican or i'm a democrat following.I'm a man trying to feed and shelter my family,and honestly this so called resession has'nt effected me negatively.i,ve never owned stock,and like I heard a comedian say yesterday morning my retirement plan is a wet floor in a wal-mart!! LOL and i'm going out on a limb here but if yall are riding fz6's like me....... you are probably in the same boat as me. so heres my question....what has either political party ever done for you to be so loyal??

You are correct in your statement. Unfortunately, it is a matter of the lesser of two evils.

Anything good that the government has done for the average worker has been done on a liberal or progressive platform. All you have to do is look at history to see that it is true. (Unfortunately the current Democratic Party is not all that liberal or progressive.)

I can honestly say that if the Republicans and their economics which have pretty much held sway for the last 28 years had created the great prosperity that FDR helped create after the countries last binge of totally unfettered free market capitalism crashed the economy in 1928, I would proudly change my stripes and be a Republican.

 

[Cuba]

Anything good that the government has done for the average worker has been done on a liberal or progressive platform.

:rof::rof::rof::rof::rof::rof::rof::Im With Stupid:

You proved my point. I think this has become an echo chamber because there is no logical, rational argument for these policies, at least not one that you or the president can intelligently explain. Rather then debate issues you will simply change the subject when asked a question that would alter your preconceived notions, that might put a dent your agenda. Keep drinking that kool-aid and leaving the thinking to those of us with the ability to use rational thought. Sad really, for a moment there I thought you were actually planning on using your brain. We need a liberal here to engauge in debate that has the ability to think, to agree on some issues and disagree on others, but this person would need to be intellectually honest to do that, and you just are not.

Here's a question for you, please explain how the liberal progressive states are currently bankrupt and looking for handouts, (CA, NY, MA, etc.) while the more conservative states are not? Why is that? Also, please explain why the president now agrees with the arguments from conservatives and publicly stated the other day that his policies are totally unsustainable, are mortgaging our childrens' futures, will drive up interest rates and inflation, and cause foreign countries such as China to stop loaning us money. What's your take on that, since you disagreed so strongly when we were discussing it and your "logic" (or lack there of) was that a) Obama promissed you everything would be okay, and b) that Bush used deficit spending too (at a quarter of the current level). So was Obama simply lying to the American people, or was he just blind to the facts and making incomeptant decisions?

 

[abacall]

We are in an impossible situation. What choices do we have, really? To continue on the path we were on? That's a joke.
The way I see it is that Obama is trying to fix a situation that is extremely complex. I don't think there is any perfect solution, and waiting around while the two parties fight is not an option.
Mortgaging our children's future? I love that. I love even more that so many are blaming the current administration for necessity to borrow in order to fix the economy that was thrown in the crapper by the Bush administration.
It's too late to point fingers, but it's not too late to do what we can to fix it.

I'm not a member of any party. Both of them are completely insane. Not everyone in them, but the parties as a whole. I think there are some that want positive change.
The biggest problem I see in America is greed. Get over it, money is not everything. Life can be more rewarding when you help others out.

 

[Cuba]

We are in an impossible situation. What choices do we have, really? To continue on the path we were on? That's a joke.
The way I see it is that Obama is trying to fix a situation that is extremely complex. I don't think there is any perfect solution, and waiting around while the two parties fight is not an option.
Mortgaging our children's future? I love that. I love even more that so many are blaming the current administration for necessity to borrow in order to fix the economy that was thrown in the crapper by the Bush administration.
It's too late to point fingers, but it's not too late to do what we can to fix it.

I'm not a member of any party. Both of them are completely insane. Not everyone in them, but the parties as a whole. I think there are some that want positive change.
The biggest problem I see in America is greed. Get over it, money is not everything. Life can be more rewarding when you help others out.

See, there are some actual comments for these policies, that's a start.

Just so you are aware, the "mortgaging of our childrens' future" line is a direct quote from Obama himself regarding his own policies of unsustainable deficit spending. This after months of vicious attacks from the left aimed at silencing that exact same comment from the right. That's pretty insane isn't it? Reminds me of 1984.

Anyway the problem I have with your statements is not that they are incorrect, but that they aren't complete. You simplify the arguement into only two choices: continue exactly what we were doing, or do exactly what Obama wants. Both are incorrect. I agree that Obama faces a lot of challenges upfront, but the idea that you can just buy your way out of all of them at the same time by printing money and handing it out without the necessary thought and oversight is not the right way to do it. I agree with you that if you want to minimize the damage of this particular financial crisis then it will cost money, but that doesn't mean you hand over a blank check and say "Go nuts!!!" which is exactly what has happened. The argument that a dire crisis where millions are losing jobs and the government is so deeply in debt already that it will take generations to pay off, that we should be thoughtless in our outrageous deficit spending for all sorts of outrageous pet projects, like Pelosi's $50M San Fransico field mouse study or her $200M in chinese made condoms, is absurd.

As Rahm Emanuel said quite clearly, they aren't about to waste this crisis. They went straight for the money, so much money that the human mind can barely comprehend its significance, and said to the people you shouldn't question what we're doing with it. Their "transparency" is a fallacy. The website isn't functional, and even when it is it will only tell you how much went to each state, not what it was actually spent on, or which politician's family members are profitting from it (Murtha).

This isn't an A or B senario. It's not an extreme liberal spending spree vs. a lame duck presidency. It's a question of what would be the best plan, the best policy for sustained economic success. It isn't what Bush did, and it isn't what Obama is doing. The idea that he or any other president or elected official is getting everything right, is utterly wrong. So if we can agree on that (I hope) then we can also agree that we need to discuss the bad with the good, and not blindly follow everything they are telling us as gospel. The very fact that he completely flipped and is now admitting to everything the opposition stated about his deficit spending policies is a good example of this.

 

[Wavex]

 

[abacall]

Agreed Cuba. I don't think the current policy is a great one. Not by a long shot. If it were, I think the voting would not have been so cut across the party line. I think more Repubs would have crossed and voted for it if it were solid.
I think the Dems are going nuts right now with power. They have been unable to push the big changes they wanted through for so long, that now they are taking advantage.
I just think that some action is better than sitting and arguing. Spending has to occur in order to get us out of this, but it needs to be responsible. Is it? No, how can it be? There is just so much money being thrown around that some of it will end up where it shouldn't.

 

[Cuba]

Agreed Cuba. I don't think the current policy is a great one. Not by a long shot. If it were, I think the voting would not have been so cut across the party line. I think more Repubs would have crossed and voted for it if it were solid.
I think the Dems are going nuts right now with power. They have been unable to push the big changes they wanted through for so long, that now they are taking advantage.
I just think that some action is better than sitting and arguing. Spending has to occur in order to get us out of this, but it needs to be responsible. Is it? No, how can it be? There is just so much money being thrown around that some of it will end up where it shouldn't.

I agree with you. But personally I think the amount of money being spent is so irresponsible and dangerous that I would rather have seen months of debate before any of it were signed off on (Rather than the few hours that were spent discussing a bill not a single congressperson had read). It's crazy. What really gets me though is what happens when we need more money for whatever comes next. Another Katrina, Iran/Isreali war, a major terrorist attack, a major earth quake, Geithner wants hundreds of billions more, for God's sake Pelosi is already talking about Stimulus 2!! We've already committed to spending FAR more money than we have, or that we will have, no matter how oppressive our taxes become. We had an opportunity here, I support some of the spending, schools, infrastructure, healthcare efficiency, but NONE of these areas actually had anything close to a plan in place before they decided to shove arbitrary billions at each. That is rediculous, and I think we are currently wasting the only shot our generation had at effect and positive reform. This isn't change at all, it's just A LOT more of the same. They are just now starting to discuss the taxes necessary to pay for all of this. The mantra of "Lowering taxes for 95% of Americans!" (by $13 a week, temporarily) is crumbling. Just wait and see. We are all going to be hurting from this for a long time.

 

[abacall]

We are all going to be hurting from this for a long time.

Of course we will. Mistakes were made, some are still being made. I'm in education and you should see how badly things are going. And we were lucky, there were some positive things that happened. We got off with only 17% budget cuts. Some other agencies were as high as 30%.
Tough decisions need to be made, and countless problems will continue to arise.
I never even thought about the problems of emergency spending.
And just like in most households, emergencies tend to come when you are least prepared.

Well, we aren't the only ones hurting. I think the only country in the world that is doing well (comparatively) is China. They have a savings mentality, while we have a spending mentality. Guess where our money ends up? And guess who we are borrowing it back from?

 

[Cuba]

The education side of it is really sad. We need to improve, but the answer is NOT to just throw money at the problem and hope it goes away. The California situation is truly scary because they are already dealing with the horror of finally having no more time to ignore the fact that they are unsustainable. The people voted down every proposed tax increase! As a result they are looking at drastic reductions for education. Shortening the school year, shutting down programs, firing thousands of teachers, it's scary. They are the model that the entire country is moving towards, massive government spending on an unsustainable scale.

 

[Oscar54]

:rof::rof::rof::rof::rof::rof::rof::Im With Stupid:

You proved my point. I think this has become an echo chamber because there is no logical, rational argument for these policies, at least not one that you or the president can intelligently explain. Rather then debate issues you will simply change the subject when asked a question that would alter your preconceived notions, that might put a dent your agenda. Keep drinking that kool-aid and leaving the thinking to those of us with the ability to use rational thought. Sad really, for a moment there I thought you were actually planning on using your brain. We need a liberal here to engauge in debate that has the ability to think, to agree on some issues and disagree on others, but this person would need to be intellectually honest to do that, and you just are not.

Here's a question for you, please explain how the liberal progressive states are currently bankrupt and looking for handouts, (CA, NY, MA, etc.) while the more conservative states are not? Why is that? Also, please explain why the president now agrees with the arguments from conservatives and publicly stated the other day that his policies are totally unsustainable, are mortgaging our childrens' futures, will drive up interest rates and inflation, and cause foreign countries such as China to stop loaning us money. What's your take on that, since you disagreed so strongly when we were discussing it and your "logic" (or lack there of) was that a) Obama promissed you everything would be okay, and b) that Bush used deficit spending too (at a quarter of the current level). So was Obama simply lying to the American people, or was he just blind to the facts and making incomeptant decisions?

First off, there are 9 states facing bankruptcy or significant deficits. Maine is not one of them. The list I found was AL, AZ, CA, FL, GA, MD, NJ, NY, and RI. I don't think AL, AZ, FL and GA would be considered liberal bastions. Second, their plight is mainly due to the economic disaster from the last 8 years mainly, and the last 28 years generally. But that doesn't support your argument.

If you really want to talk about facts, you would acknowledge, that the last 28 years has seen the national debt go from $1 Trillion to $10 Trillion. Mainly because the Republicans sold the average American on the fantasy that tax cuts and deregulation would create a booming economy and result in government surpluses. Dick Cheney told former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neil that deficits didn’t matter when O’Neil warned against more tax cuts in 2002 would crash the economy, and was fired for it.

The Bush Administration went on to almost double the national debt, from approximately $5.8 trillion on 10/1/01 to $10 trillion at 9/30/08. Of the $9 trillion in national debt over the last 28 years, $7 trillion was accumulated under Republican Administrations. The Republicans in Congress didn’t scream about these deficits, but now that a Democrat is in the White House and they have lost control of Congress the Democrats are the ones mortgaging the future and running the country to bankruptcy.

During this time no administration, except the last few years of Clinton, even proposed a balanced budget. Also, during this time, the Congress was effectively controlled by “Fiscal Conservatives”. The only thing they ever propose to cut is anything the government does for the unemployed, the infirmed, or the poor.

Just because Obama can add and knows that we can’t continue to spend 3 trillion more than the government takes in in taxes, does not equate to the Republicans being right. That structural deficit was inherited from Bush and Cheney and Wall Street Con-men.

To suggest that Obama should try to balance the budget immediately, or go with another round of tax cuts that haven’t worked in the past 28 years is laughable. Obama's budget is so much larger than Bush's because he is actually bringing the cost of the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan on budget. Bush and Cheney and the Republicans did not want to be that honest.

Also, notice the absence of any reference to anyone’s intelligence or any other derogatory inference or name calling in my statements. Maybe you could try it sometime.

 

[Cuba]

Wow you responded with information and opinions!!! I totally disagree with you on virtually all points, but that's not the point. So your argument once again is that "Bush is bad!!"... okay. So you are upset that Bush doubled the national debt by deficit spending (rightly so, we agree on that), and yet you are fiercly defending Obama's proposal to QUADRUPLE the already DOUBLED national debt by the largest expansion of deficit spending the world has every seen. Why? You think it's as simple as "Bush did it"? That this insane amount of spending without any plan in place was the only option available? So you think that the answer to deficit spending and lower taxes is extreme deficit spending on anything and everything, followed by extreme taxes? And the printing of trillions of ""new" dollars to pay for it? How so? Obama himself spoke out against his own policy, which is still mindboggling. Which do you believe, the White House projections that are grossly optimistic according to every economist that has seen them, including Congress, or do you believe Obama's new stance that it was apparently a big mistake that will skyrocket inflation and kill the dollar (which we are seeing happen right now)? Which is it?

And somehow you still seem to think that I am some sort of Bush lover, even though I have stated clearly and repeatedly that I did not vote for him, I was strongly opposed to his spending policies, and that I am a fiscal conservative. You seem to have harbored massive resentment and prejudice that you spew out in hatefilled rants against people that had nothing to do with your perceived injury, in fact I spoke out against these very policies for years! I do think that Bush was absolutely railroaded for many many years by the media and he completely failed to defend himself, so the Bush bashing does bother me a bit because I think it's so over the top. He inheritted a lot of problems as well, but he never complained or badmouthed Clinton for all of his failures, he never blamed others for any of the problems he faced, and I can respect that. I think he did what he thought was right, and I think he made a lot of mistakes along the way, but you cannot blame everything on him. He was the vocal leader against subprime and the deregulation of Fannie/Freddie, yet he get's 100% of the blame for the housing crisis. That's simply untrue. I totally disagree with A LOT of what Obama is doing, but not everything. It's is intellectually dishonest to say he's totally wrong about everything, praising the Steelers was a good policy for one, putting some limits on predatory credit card practices seems okay. I think when we get through the 2010 elections and have some semblance of balance in Congress he will actually need to compromise and lead as he promissed rather than steamroll extreme policy changes as he promissed not to during the campaign. It seems the democrats themselves are already getting tired of his power grabs and unilateral decision making, and are showing that in their voting, but it will be a while before his over reaching really catches up to him.