LGP Political Discussion Thread - Latest news at top

[mac5155]

"common sense"......

[Alejandro Rojas]

It is interesting how often "common sense" is that policy to which the speaker agrees.

[Shyster]

It’s disappointing to see President Obama double down and repeat what is obviously a patently false and utterly stupid statement, namely: “If there is a step we can take that will save even one child… then we should take that step.” Okay, if that is true, I propose the following. In order to protect each and every one of our precious children from any possibility of violence, I propose creating the federal Department of Child Protection, which would hire an armed guard to provide 24/7 protection for each and every one of the approximately 75 million children under 18 in the United States. Each DCP guard would follow his or her ward on a full-time basis, even sleeping in the same house. Salaries for such intensive jobs would need to be significant, so let’s assume they’d be no less than $50,000 a year. That program would thus cost three trillion seven hundred fifty billion dollars per year, which would more than double federal spending. Taxes would need to double or triple, and it would eventually bankrupt the nation. But, hey, if it saves JUST ONE LIFE it’s worth it, right?

[tifosi77]

The 6 Best Dresses At The Golden Globes
As usual from The Onion, spot on satire.

[Alejandro Rojas]

Spoiler:

[King Sid the Great 87]

Obama's back is against the wall in this debt ceiling fiasco. He's got no leverage if the Republicans want to attach spending cuts to the discussion. You know he realizes it by the tone he has taken on the subject over the last month. He's on the hot seat now and doesn't like it.

I hope the Republicans force his hand right up to default. We need to take a little bit of pain now or reckoning day is going to be a whole lot worse if we continue down the path we are on.

[Troy Loney]

Obama's back is against the wall in this debt ceiling fiasco. He's got no leverage if the Republicans want to attach spending cuts to the discussion. You know he realizes it by the tone he has taken on the subject over the last month. He's on the hot seat now and doesn't like it.

I hope the Republicans force his hand right up to default. We need to take a little bit of pain now or reckoning day is going to be a whole lot worse if we continue down the path we are on.

Great idea, make the markets think the US is going to default.

[mac5155]

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-seals-1st-stat ... 53716.html

This is bad.

[DocEmrick]

MOAR STATE MOAR GOVERNMENT WE NEED MOAR OF IT! BIGGER GOVERNMENT MOAR PLZ

FOR THE CHILDREN'S SAKE!!!!11one

Spoiler:

[King Sid the Great 87]

Obama's back is against the wall in this debt ceiling fiasco. He's got no leverage if the Republicans want to attach spending cuts to the discussion. You know he realizes it by the tone he has taken on the subject over the last month. He's on the hot seat now and doesn't like it.

I hope the Republicans force his hand right up to default. We need to take a little bit of pain now or reckoning day is going to be a whole lot worse if we continue down the path we are on.

Great idea, make the markets think the US is going to default.

We've all got plenty of time between now and then to get to less riskier investments.

Raising the debt ceiling simply to appease the market then becomes a never-ending cycle. And it's not sustainable. If the debt ceiling gets raised every time it is hit, the market bubble will burst eventually. Time to draw a line in the sand. If it's not done now, when will it be done?

Considering the United States government too big too fail leads to moral hazard.

[shafnutz05]

"This is a scourge on society," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday night, six days after making gun control a centerpiece of his progressive agenda in his State of the State address. The bipartisan effort was fueled by the Newton tragedy that took the lives of 20 first graders and six educators. "At what point do you say, 'No more innocent loss of life'?"

Cuomo is a political opportunist and a **** head, no doubt about that.

[mac5155]

"This is a scourge on society," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday night, six days after making gun control a centerpiece of his progressive agenda in his State of the State address. The bipartisan effort was fueled by the Newton tragedy that took the lives of 20 first graders and six educators. "At what point do you say, 'No more innocent loss of life'?"

Cuomo is a political opportunist and a **** head, no doubt about that.

sounds like he's setting up for his presidential run in 2016

[Gaucho]

MOAR STATE MOAR GOVERNMENT WE NEED MOAR OF IT! BIGGER GOVERNMENT MOAR PLZ

FOR THE CHILDREN'S SAKE!!!!11one

Spoiler:

You are completely out of your mind.

[DocEmrick]

Michelle Obama is going to run in 2016 and when she wins, you know that the United States has been destroyed and no longer functions as a free country.

[Troy Loney]

Obviously your not wrong, it just doesn't make any sense to me for the republicans to make a stand here without any sort of sustainable resolution. The money is already spent. Both sides need to work together on the actual fiscal issues, like the ones that make up the majority of the government's budget. Balance medicare spending and shrink the military.

[Alejandro Rojas]

The military is actually not that big a part of government spending (and it is one of the few things the government is actually supposed to do).

[Digitalgypsy66]

SAN DIEGO—Following the events of last week, in which a crazed western lowland gorilla ruthlessly murdered 21 people in a local shopping plaza after escaping from the San Diego Zoo, sources across the country confirmed Thursday that national gorilla sales have since skyrocketed.

“After seeing yet another deranged gorilla just burst into a public place and start killing people, I decided I need to make sure something like that never happens to me,” said 34-year-old Atlanta resident Nick Keller, shortly after purchasing a 350-pound mountain gorilla from his local gorilla store. “It just gives me peace of mind knowing that if I’m ever in that situation, I won’t have to just watch helplessly as my torso is ripped in half and my face is chewed off. I’ll be able to use my gorilla to defend myself.”

“Law enforcement and animal control can only get there so quickly,” Keller added. “And you never know when you’ll need to use a gorilla to save your life.”

Reports confirmed that gorilla sales have historically risen sharply in the immediate aftermath of a major gorilla attack, most notably after the 2010 tragedy in the small town of Logan, NM, where 14 people, including two 5-year-old children and a 92-year-old woman, were viciously beaten to death by a 12-year-old gorilla who spontaneously attacked patrons of a crowded grocery store.

A little levity. Maybe.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/gorill ... tac,30860/

[shafnutz05]

The military is actually not that big a part of government spending (and it is one of the few things the government is actually supposed to do).

While you won't get any argument from me on the national security side of the coin, the government is not supposed to police the world and act as the protector of overseas countries. There is a tremendous amount of waste in the defense budget.

It's the 2nd largest in the world relative to GDP next to Saudi Arabia.

[DocEmrick]

We should give more tanks and guns to Egypt. That's a good idea.

[tifosi77]

The military is actually not that big a part of government spending (and it is one of the few things the government is actually supposed to do).

Depending on how you crunch the numbers, the DoD spends between 20% and 25% of the U.S. total budget. (CBO considers it to be 20%) Add in 'homeland security' to Defense and the number bumps up towards 30%. I've also seen studies that suggest Defense is responsible for between 50% and 80% of the national debt, depending on how much of a ripple effect you cook into the books. (Meaning x amount of dollars were borrowed to pay for DoD stuff, therefore that money was not available in other budget areas and so that money had to be borrowed as well.)

This is the fallacy of Republican fiscal conservatism. They immediately take big chunk of the budget off the table in negotiations, in the same way that Democrats are loathe to touch the 20% of the budget swallowed by Medicare/Medicaid.

[pittsoccer33]

the national budget roughly breaks down like this

25% to defense
25% to social security
25% to medicare
25% to everything else

[DelPen]

The US will never default on debt. We take in plenty of revenue to pay for the debt servicing and current entitlements.

What will start shutting down will be non essential departments like Education, EPA, Arts, anything that does not have essential daily operations behind it. People in HUD and TSA and othjer departments will be furloughed.

All this talk of default is silly unless you value garabge over obligations. But this is a society that will make sure their cable and cell phone bills are payed before their mortgage and student loans so I can see why these morons think this way.

[Shyster]

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-seals-1st-state-gun-laws-since-newtown-074653716.html

This is bad.

New York already had a magazine-capacity limit of 10 rounds. This bill (which will almost certainly pass the Democrat-dominated NY House) lowers that limit to seven. Why seven? Dunno. Why was it 10 to begin with? What’s magic about that number?

For those who may have pooh-poohed gun owners over slippery-slope arguments, what do you have to say now? If New York can go from 10 to 7, then can go from 7 to 5, and 5 to 3, and 3 to 1. This soon-to-be law is exactly why entities like the NRA and GOA fight tooth and nail against any magazine limits. I feel terrible for the law-abiding gun owners of NYS who will soon be turned into criminals.

[stinky]

Thankfully my 930 SPX 7+1 Rd came yesterday; I am sure it will be illegal to buy after this law takes effect. I will need to pass background checks for ammo now if I want to go sport shooting.. crazy. I will be moving out of this state within the next decade, not solely because of this, but because this state just doesn’t even come close anymore to my political and moral beliefs; complete opposites

Anyhow, we all know the real reason for this magic number of 7 (because reducing 3 rds in a mg will be the magic formula to save lives). The real reason for this law is it renders many legal handguns useless by the law abiding citizens (not a lot of companies currently make 7 round mags). Your right, this ONLY harms the legal gun owners, does anyone with half a brain think the real criminals are going to be turning in their 10 round mags? Or buy ammo with background checks? Its asinine. So the criminals will come into my house with a gun with 10rds, I will have my 5 rds.

[DelPen]

http://news.yahoo.com/ny-seals-1st-state-gun-laws-since-newtown-074653716.html

This is bad.

New York already had a magazine-capacity limit of 10 rounds. This bill (which will almost certainly pass the Democrat-dominated NY House) lowers that limit to seven. Why seven? Dunno. Why was it 10 to begin with? What’s magic about that number?

For those who may have pooh-poohed gun owners over slippery-slope arguments, what do you have to say now? If New York can go from 10 to 7, then can go from 7 to 5, and 5 to 3, and 3 to 1. This soon-to-be law is exactly why entities like the NRA and GOA fight tooth and nail against any magazine limits. I feel terrible for the law-abiding gun owners of NYS who will soon be turned into criminals.

Most 1911 style pistols are standard at 8 rounds. The idea is to make it so bothersome to do special batches for NY that companies will simply ignore their market.

What makes me angry is some companies continue to have manufacturing plants in these states. If the government around you wants to make your product impossible to sell why would you continue to provide tax revenue to them? I know some companies have century+ tradition in NY but enough is enough, get out and take your jobs with you to TN, SC or TX.