The Thailand expat forum for Travel, Lifestyle and Fun.

raycarey

yeah, that'll stick.

keep trying though.

sabang

Can't afford quite a lot these days actually. Hard to see how McCains 'give even more to the rich' camapign promises will improve that situation.

It's a very valid point you know, given the US debt situation, the USD, US economy and asset price implosion- can America afford another four years of Republican profiglacy?

__________________
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.

Jet Gorgon

^Can they afford four years of higher taxes? BO has not done the numbers yet on where he will get the moola to pay for all his social/health programs. Oh ya, pull the troops outta the sand dunes.
I wonder how he would respond to another attack on the US?

sabang

The 'higher taxes' proposed for the rich are hardly draconian- even Warren Buffet and Bill Gates say they pay too little tax. Buffet also said that raising the tax on dividend income to 20% would have no meaningful impact on investment. One way or the other, the US government has got to balance it's books, indeed pay down some debt.

I'm not aware of any, save Healthcare reform- which most US citizens would like to see. If he does start dangling these spending promises left right and centre I will indeed be cynical- but at the moment it seems to be McCain that is being fiscally irresponsible in his campaigning.

Milkman

Nice try.

Were you in America during Carter's term? I was.

Carter and Obama have NOTHING in common.

The late 1970s and 2008 have very little in common.

Please tell us, the similarities in policy - specific policies - that are similar between Carter and Obama.

sabang

George W. McCain has a more convincing ring to it.

Mr Earl

I seem to remember gas prices going crazy, the dollar being worth shit, and the Islamofukwit association having their merry way in Tehran.
I was pretty high at the time so I might be wrong.

Milkman

Gas prices went up starting in 1973. That was short-term. Today's price increases will be long-term, IMO. Different.

Weakening dollar? Many reasons for it today. Different.

Iran? Reza Shah was overthrown in large part because of the what the USA did. It was an Iranian domestic issue, not international Islamicism like today.

Different.

__________________
Military men are dumb, stupid animals, to be used as pawns for foreign policy

Mr Earl

The invasion of the sovereign territory of a foreign embassy is hardly a domestic issue. It was and still is an international outrage. Perhaps you haven't noticed but the USA still has not resumed formal diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran for that very reason. Their government has been hijacked by fanatics.
What happened in the late 70's is very similar to the radical stance Iran has now if not the same.

Milkman

I see 2 points noted above.

1. Raiding and embassy is bad. I agree. And...the seeds were sown according to many by the overthrow of Mossadegh (but we'll never be 100% sure). But ther is some linkage there, no doubt about it. Reza Shah was installed by the Americans. Reza Shah sold out his people, IMO.

2. Yes, the Supreme Countcil in Iran is radical: and this goes back to point number 1.

One book I recommend is "All the Shah's Men" by Stephen Kinzer.

There is a bibliography of which to futher delve from additional sources.

FayeQuarry

This thread is wandering badly. It's about Obama's priorities, remember?

Milkman

Faye is correct.

The thread is about "Obama's priorities" (policies).

Posts about Michelle Obama are related to BO's campaign but it's best for us to keep them in the "Michelle Obama Thread."

Iran's hostage taking in 1979, is a completely off-topic issue, of which I've posted on.

Let's try to stay with Obama's policies and Obama as a candidate on this thread.


Cheers.

Mr Earl

Actually Obama has made fewer preconditions regarding meeting the with the fanatical regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran than he has regarding having a debate with McCain.
link

Obama has made Iran a central issue I'm afraid.

Texpat

^ good question.

Bugs

McCain = Bush third term - bullox.

Obama = Cater second term - bullox.

But it makes for good press:
Obama-Carter Reality Check | Newsweek Ellis Cose: Facing Facts | Newsweek.com

Turning Obama Into Jimmy Carter | The New York Observer

Obama = Carter; Part II | Stop Him Now Blog

Obama = Carter; Part II | Stop Him Now Blog

And this guy say a bit about Obama=Cater but also compares McCain to Lieberman:
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan

Of course limited comparisons can be made in each case but in reality both are just smoke screens and sound bites meant to instill horror in the minds of the electorate. An electorate that does not have the attention span long enough to really delve into the issues. Thus leaving both campaigns with bascially fear and terror as their main weapons of propaganda.

Funny thing about the Obama-Carter comparison for me is that much of it hinges on the tax and spend nature of the blue team. But when the red team takes control they sure do control taxes but they are just as bad if not worse on the spending side of things. So with the blue team the country pays now, and with the red team the country pays later.

__________________
"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it, you'd have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion" - Steven Weinberg

Jet Gorgon

Um, I don't think either gentleman makes $250k a year, either.I think you have to add way more than three 000s to reach their annual income levels.

Bugs

Not sure if this should be categorized as a flip-flop or reneging on another commitment. In any case the “candidate for change” has now decided to vote yes on a the FISA bill that before he said he would support a filibuster of.

Here is where he says he’ll support a filibuster:
Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Obama Camp Says It: He'll Support Filibuster Of Any Bill Containing Telecom Immunity


Here is where is says I’ll vote for it:
Obama Supports FISA Legislation, Angering Left | The Trail | washingtonpost.com


Feingold and Dodd still want to try and make a filibuster work (maybe Obama will swing back and give the lads a hand tomorrow?):
Slashdot | Dodd, Feingold To Try and Filibuster Immunity Bill


And an interesting letter from one of the many readers of the Rutland Herald:
Democrats sell out in Congress: Rutland Herald Online

Not to be outdone by the readership of the Rutland Herald, Feingold has posted a similar comment on his web page:
Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold on the FISA Deal

(wait a minute Fiengold posted his comments before the Rutland Herald guy so maybe it's the other way around)

Personally I ain't a big fan of the bill. McCain no doubt will vote yes for it. And Bush is probably chomping at the bits to sign the damn thing.

sabang

Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday unveiled a plan to create volunteer and service opportunities to help tackle some of the nation's most pressing issues, part of his weeklong focus on patriotism and national service.

"This won't be a call issued in one speech or one program -- I want this to be a central cause of my presidency," Obama said in a speech at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

"We will ask Americans to serve. We will create new opportunities for Americans to serve. And we will direct that service to our most pressing national challenges."

He added, "When you choose to serve -- whether it's your nation, your community or simply your neighborhood -- you are connected to that fundamental American ideal that we want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness not just for ourselves, but for all Americans. That's why it's called the American dream."

Obama highlighted his time as a community organizer on Chicago's South Side and his stint heading Project Vote, a group that helped register 150,000 new African-American voters in the Illinois city, according to his campaign.

"I wasn't just helping other people. Through service, I found a community that embraced me; citizenship that was meaningful; the direction I'd been seeking. Through service, I discovered how my own improbable story fit into the larger story of America," he said.

Obama highlights plan for national service - CNN.com

Nice to see a Politician appealing to more than the tired old porkbarrel style of politics, the gas tax holiday being the obvious example.

Nice also that the term 'national service' is not subverted to mean just the military.

Obama sounds more like Kennedy than Clinton.

Bugs

I don't know about that - this national service spiel doen't sound too much off of what Clinton promoted and then created Americorps. Sure Clinton ended up turning his focus mainly creating Americorps, but he also waxed quizotically about volunteering and the idea of citizenship.

I like the idea of promoting more national service, and generally speaking the US population is pretty lazy so the easier it is made for folks to participate the more participation they will get. That being said I am not too keen on driving this from the federal government. Not that I don't think it is a good idea for the President to promote volunteer service and the like, but I am leery of the potential for the politicalization of it, the creation of a federal department or staff to promote/support/control it, and the inevitable pork-barrel crap that ends up attached to pretty much any federally promoted issue. I mean take a look at some of the pork-barrel crap that is attached to bills passed thru congress in the past - hell many of the disaster relief bills should be renamed pork-barrel bills, with a bit of relief.

Bugs

Barack Obama's policy switches are giving the Left whiplash | Gerard Baker - Times Online

Quote:

Barack Obama's policy switches are giving the left whiplash

In the above articale I particularly liked this little snipit:
Seems that pragmatism has won over idealism, which sounds alot like politics as usual to me.

I wonder what happened to that idealistic man who was the candidate for change and against politics as usual?