Comments Posted By bsjones
Displaying 141 To 150 Of 237 Comments
Celebrim,
It is a real possibility that 30,000 people will show up at tea parties in July. That would be a truly astounding feat, especially for CPAC members.
QUESTIONS:
1. What is the purpose of such an assembly? (I suspect it is simply a tactic used to confuse citizens into thinking ONLY DEMOCRATS SCREW UP, thus, allowing our broken political system to carry on unhindered by any real, systemic, democratic change.)2. Will riot police intimidate and jail many of the 30,000 peaceful protesters exercising their right to assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievances as it usually does when ordinary citizens attempt to exercise their Constitutionally guaranteed rights?
I have asked tea party attendees similar questions about four times now. I would really love to hear a thoughtful response to my queries.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 28.02.2009 @ 22:55
Melissa,
I am glad you were motivated enough to alter your daily schedule to register your disgust with the Washington corruption that is bankrupting America and forcing it into a septic tank. You are blessed to have a job that allows you to perform personal business such as this at such short notice.
This is the third time I have asked tea party attendees to explain what the end game is. I believe we have a need, a right and even an obligation to register our disgust with our political elites. That is a great start. To what end?
Do we want to run McCain again?
How about a Palin/Plumber ticket?My concern is that the Republicans talk a good game, but their hands are red with the same blood as the Democrats. Electing Republicans in 2010 or 2012 solves nothing.
If you do not believe me ask Bernie Madoff, he's home a lot lately. If he's out, go visit Jack Abromoff he's at a four year minimum security prison camp. He checked himself in for a four year stay for fraud, tax evasion,and bribery of public officials.
I know I'm a bit snarky, but if we only scalp Democrats at these tea parties we are allowing ourselves to be misled. Please explain to me how I am wrong. Seriously.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 28.02.2009 @ 20:34
Kris,
If I am turning your post into a straw man, forgive me. I agree the tea parties were poorly prepared, but I really want to understand what the actual point of the tea parties are.
As I understand it, the tea party is protesting how Obama has stolen America from regular people and destroyed it with his socialist Obamanomics. We are going to take America back through protest and return it to conservative principles, thus ensuring it will return to a stable footing.
I do not want to say that protest is bad, wrong, or un-American in any way. However, I do think this protest does not align with current reality at all.
First, McCain explicitly ran against the Obama "spread the wealth" philosophy and lost the election. Resoundingly.
Second, the collapse of the American and global economies were already in full swing before the 2008 presidential election took place. Bush was president at that time.
Third, Republicans only pay lip service to conservative principles. Bush expanded medicare, grew the deficit, bailed out the banks and the auto industry and cut taxes while America was at war on two fronts simultaneously.
I feel Obama won the election because of MASSIVE Republican failure. I think the point of these tea parties is to distract conservatives from this sad and disturbing fact. I think we will not win the next presidential election by hoping Obama is a failure.
The Republican party has had real failures. The Republican party has real problems. I am afraid these tea parties are a distraction from the hard work we need to do.
Please, talk me off the ledge. Explain to me why I a wrong.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 28.02.2009 @ 15:00
I am genuinely curious and looking for answers from tea party attendees.
Did any speaker at any of the tea parties have an analysis of the banking crisis? What were their proposed solutions?
I ask because in my midnight ramblings I came across this:
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/02/more-on-simply-dreadful-performance-of.html
The title is, "More on the simply dreadful performance of CDOs"
It describes how the economic models used by the masters of the universe are working out in the real world.
Of note was this statement: "I would hazard a guess that this is easily the worst outcome for any assets that have ever carried a “triple A” stamp. No wonder so many investors are now utterly cynical about anything that bankers or rating agencies might say these days".
At least it ends on a cheerful note: "if an open auction ends up pricing mortgage-linked CDOs near zero, at least the capital hit to the banks and insurance companies will be clear; and if it is higher than zero, it might even cheer investors up."
Comment Posted By bsjones On 28.02.2009 @ 00:26
I did not go to CPAC, but I have seen a clip that left me scratching my head.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylI02kvViZA&eurl
1) The applause John Bolton received when laying out a hypothetical scenario where Chicago gets devastated by a nuclear bomb. I believe an Iranian nuclear bomb hitting Chicago would be more devastating than a 9/11 recurring every Tuesday for the next 12 months. What's the point of cheering that line?
I know, it's a joke. Right? But still.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 27.02.2009 @ 22:22
Rick,
It's true that many American's are enraged and disgusted at what they see everyday. It's just that these citizens are not angry or disgusted with Obama or his Administration. The anger and contempt people feel is not aimed at one political party. It is aimed against the entire political class. We are distrustful of leaders in both government and business. We have been lied to by politicians both Democrat and Republican.
Many of us see through the "slight of hand" that is being attempted by the Tea Party backers. We refuse to accept that the total collapse of America can be blamed on one political party or one political philosophy. There is plenty of blame to go around. Everybody had a hand in it.
When a group of "activists" come up with an honest explanation of our problems, that makes sense, and a solution that has the potential to fix these real problems, then we will have a real "revolution". Until then we will stay on the sidelines.
Americans are too smart to buy what Santelli and his ilk are selling in between their dinner engagements.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 27.02.2009 @ 16:36
REFLECTIONS ON GOD, MAN, AND CPAC
P. Aron,
One more thing...Nixon had his name and reputation tarnished for "screwing up".
Ford pardoned him.
I, for one, would have preferred to see Nixon on trial and in jail if convicted.Do you think there is any relationship between Ford's pardon of Nixon, and the unpunished and wide ranging criminality we see from our political class today?
Comment Posted By bsjones On 27.02.2009 @ 18:46
P.Aaron,
It's all about accountability.
Every American should jump for joy when a prominent business person is held accountable for his illegal, screw up behavior. This is especially true if the business person destroys his employees 401k accounts in the process of illegally defrauding his investors, as Ken Lay did. Thankfully, he was arrested and convicted. Accountability and Justice served.
Accountability for Bernie Madoff is a bit less clear. Bernie has admitted that his investment scheme was "one big lie". He has confessed to the FBI about defrauding his investors of 50 BILLION dollars, saying, "It's all gone." The aftermath of the screw up has a tragic human face; two of Bernie's more unstable clients have killed themselves after learning about losing everything.
Besides having his name and reputation publicly tarnished the punishment for Bernie's screw up, so far, has been house arrest. Armed guards have recently been placed at his modest home because he had been seen breaking the terms of his imprisonment.
Accountability for Bernie? Possibly. He is expected to begin trial in mid March. If Bernie is convicted of the crime he has confessed to Accountability and Justice will be served.
As for Congressmen, they need accountability too. The first thing we can do is remove them from office. When their behavior is illegal, they should be arrested and tried.
A few unsavory congressional characters:
Mark Foley
Dane Crane
Gerry Studds
Dan RostenkowskiIf these and all other congressional criminals went unpunished would that mean letting Madoff off the hook was o.k.? W
We need :
Accountability for Democrats.
Accountability for Republicans.
Accountability for "white collar" crime.
Accountability for "common" criminals.Something is wrong when our political leaders are routinely let off the hook for their criminality. Let's raise the accountability bar for EVERYONE.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 27.02.2009 @ 14:49
Sara in VA,
Concern noted and taken under advisement.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 26.02.2009 @ 21:20
funny man,
Agreed.
Many of our values are in tension.
freedom order
individual communityThere must be others. I think problems arise when some values completely overshadow others. Politics is the art of negotiating between these competing values in an ever changing world.
Comment Posted By bsjones On 26.02.2009 @ 19:54
