[speechlesstx]

This is why The One is so annoyed about no solutions yet... being president is interfering with his getting reelected. Poor thing.

The debt showdown isn't just the dominant issue in Washington this summer — it's virtually the only one getting any attention in the nation's capital.

From the White House to Congress, the negotiations over raising the U.S. debt limit have overshadowed or halted work on everything from job creation to the military conflict in Libya to education reform. And the debt debate has hamstrung President Barack Obama's ability to hit the road to campaign and raise money for his re-election bid.

[NeedKarma]

Speaking of pandering to the masses:

[TUT317]

Speaking of pandering to the masses:

Hi NK,

A guess all visual media pander in that way.

Why I am so critical of Murdoch is the way he exploits our basic instincts.

With the News of the world it was a Peep Show into people's private lives. This is especially despicable when it comes to people who were victims of crime.

Fox exploits uncertainty, fear and anxiety. Sometimes it even creates anger towards certain sections of the community. It does this under the guise of news.

[tomder55]

Back to topic.
We could double the debt ceiling for all the good it will do. The truth is that the market has already made the call. We had trouble selling our debt notes because the foreign investors don't want to eat a cr@p sandwich . That is why we had QE2. No one would buy our paper ,so the Fed set up a program for the Fed to purchase the debt with dollars that flew off Geithner's printing press.
We are already maxed out . If we try to sell more debt we will get QE3 .
But to make it more complicated.. the Fed does not buy direct from the Treasury . No indeed... they buy them through 3rd parties. And who are those 3rd parties?. the banks the Administration loves to demonize . Yup ;the Obots are making the Goldman Sachs of the world rich . They get the bonds at discount from the Treasury ,and flip them by selling them at a tidy increase in rate TO the Fed.

I guarantee that if the debt ceiling is increased then QE 3 will begin in earnest. In anticipation ;the price of gold shot up again today. Look for oil and all commodities to follow suit in these days of no inflation.

[talaniman]

I agree Tom, with no jobs being created, revenues have to come from someplace, and either its grow business, or grow government, and guess what wins in that case, after all we bailed them out first. Now we wouldn't have to keep a weak economy going that way if political leaders put people back to work. We wouldn't be having this conversation because the money the government has so far spent, is from adding the off the books expenditures to what was spent on the recession, keeping our head above water, and giving the states as much support as possible, yeah we have a large deficit.

No other nation in the world has the tools we have to fight a global recession, and make no mistake, its global, and extremely important, as there can be no recovery until we get back to work, and put others back to work also. Yes I will say it, businesses will have to take a risk to create demand, GLOBALLY. The working man is what creates the kind of demand to circulate the money, and until he can get in the game, there will be no economic growth.

Now we can talk about the Markets, but unless there is demand, doesn't matter if the standard is the dollar, or gold, because unless its circulated more widely, there will be the rich, and there will be the poor, and a lot of the poor, and lets be real, who wins that election? We will see.

All that needs to be done is quit the posturing, and raise the limit, so scared rich people can stop screwing helpless poor people. It really is that simple you know. Too bad repubs have to katow to the tea party, or else we could have been much further down the road to recovery, heck if the goal was not to obstruct, but to govern, we probably would have had a much more robust economy.

The problem isn't spending, its obstructing the spending, and distracting us from the WORK that needs to be done, to get out of this hole we find ourselves in. Caused by the robbery that was done in '08. Should have sent them to jail because they didn't run very far.

[speechlesstx]

Speaking of pandering to the masses:

What can I say, conservatives love beautiful women, don't you? Anyway, that babe in the opening still image is Kiran Chetry and she has worked for for CNN for almost 4 1/2 years so your video is a little outdated.

[NeedKarma]

What can I say, conservatives love beautiful women, don't you?

I rest my case.

[excon]

What can I say, conservatives love beautiful women,

Hello again, Steve:

All I know, is I saw Lauri Duh's a$$, and I LOVED it. I LOVE Rachel Maddow too, but I don't want to see her a$$.

So, you still think there will be a deal?

excon

[tomder55]

Speaker Bonehead will argue persuasively to his Reps that the Republicans only control 1/2 of Congress and they cannot impose their will . That will be the pretext for them to cave and give us milquetoast and call it victory .

[speechlesstx]

Hello again, Steve:

All I know, is I saw Lauri Duh's a$$, and I LOVED it. I LOVE Rachel Maddow too, but I don't want to see her a$$.

Laurie Dhue? She looks good from any angle.

So, you still think there will be a deal?

I don't know, the president seems intent on increasing deficit spending AND raising taxes while ignoring every other plan including that of his own debt commission. By the way, while he's claiming that 80 percent of Americans want to pay more in taxes, they're actually wanting spending cuts - by a wide margin.

Americans continue to express a strong desire that any agreement that is reached include plans for major cuts in future spending. Americans now by a 20-point margin -- 55% vs. 35% -- say they worry more that the government would raise the debt ceiling without plans for major spending cuts, than that the government would not raise the ceiling and an economic crisis would ensue.

Can we at least start with cutting out the stupid stuff, like studying gay men's penis size?

[NeedKarma]

Can we at least start with cutting out the stupid stuff, like studying gay men's penis size?

Not sure how you always end up finding these oddities but it's irrelevant.

[excon]

By the way, while he's claiming that 80 percent of Americans want to pay more in taxes, they're actually wanting spending cuts by a wide margin.

Can we at least start with cutting out the stupid stuff, like studying gay men's penis size

Hello again, Steve:

Well, of course, when the question is framed like that, the answer is a foregone conclusion.. But the premise is wrong - I'll bet purposely so. The ACTUAL proposal is for taxes to be raised on ONLY the top 5% of wage earners. Nobody else's taxes will be raised. When asked CORRECTLY, they overwhelming support it, ALONG with spending cuts.

I'll go along with suspending our study of gay men, as long as you agree to end the war in Afghanistan TODAY and bring the troops home. See?? That's how negotiations go. You give a little, then I give a little.. Frankly, my Afghanistan demand is getting traction among you guys.

excon

[speechlesstx]

Not sure how you always end up finding these oddities but it's irrelevant.

It's called wasteful spending which is extremely relevant to a discussion on the federal debt.

[speechlesstx]

I'll go along with suspending our study of gay men, as long as you agree to end the war in Afghanistan TODAY and bring the troops home. See??? That's how negotiations go. You give a little, then I give a little.. Frankly, my Afghanistan demand is getting traction among you guys.

I'm asking a little, you're asking a lot. Frankly, I don't know what to feel about Afghanistan. Our president said it was a "war of necessity" but he approaches it halfheartedly, so what's the point if we aren't in it to win it?

[NeedKarma]

... so what's the point if we aren't in it to win it?

How is "win" measured?

[excon]

so what's the point if we aren't in it to win it?

Hello again, Steve:

I don't know what winning is..

If it's to make sure that Al Quada DOESN'T re-enter to use it as base to launch attacks on us, you'd have to presume that Al Quada is just OUTSIDE of Afghanistan, sitting on the sidelines, WAITING till they get back in, so they can attack us, because they CAN'T attack us from, say, Somolia.

I don't believe that.

excon

[speechlesstx]

How is "win" measured?

Defeat the enemy for starters.

[speechlesstx]

I don't know what winning is..

You do know what trying is don't you? You can't go campaign on a war of necessity and finishing the job, then approach it with apathy and uncertainty and expect anything close to a "win."

[NeedKarma]

Defeat the enemy for starters.

I agree, But who is the enemy to the United States there?

[excon]

You can't go campaign on a war of necessity and finishing the job, then approach it with apathy and uncertainty and expect anything close to a "win."

Hello again, Steve:

If you expect me to support Obama/Bush on steroids, war policy, you're barking up the wrong tree. IF that war COULD have been won, the opportunity was squandered when George Bush got sidetracked. You CAN'T go back into a war after you've ignored it for YEARS and expect to WIN. Wars don't happen like that.

But, in terms of money, make me a counter offer to the BILLIONS I just cut. That's right, I've got the Iraq war in my back pocket too.

excon