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Dallas the Phallus replied to Dallas the Phallus's discussion The New Words Thread: Things you ran across, remembered, or had to look up in the group A World of Words
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President Obama's Speech
For those who missed the speech, well worth the read.
"What we've been debating here in Washington for the last few weeks will affect your lives in ways that are potentially profound. This debate over budgets and deficits is about more than just numbers on a page, more than just cutting and spending. Its about the kind of future we want. It's about the kind of country we believe in. And that's what I want to talk about today.
"From our first days as a nation, we have put our faith in free markets and free enterprise as the engine of America's wealth and prosperity. More than citizens of any other country, we are rugged individualists, a self-reliant people with a healthy skepticism of too much government.
"But there has always been another thread running throughout our history – a belief that we are all connected; and that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves. And so we've built a strong military to keep us secure, and public schools and universities to educate our citizens. We've laid down railroads and highways to facilitate travel and commerce. We've supported the work of scientists and researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, and led to countless new jobs and entire industries. Each of us has benefitted from these investments, and we are a more prosperous country as a result.
"Part of this American belief that we are all connected also expresses itself in a conviction that each one of us deserves some basic measure of security. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, hard times or bad luck, a crippling illness or a layoff, may strike any one of us. 'There but for the grace of God go I,' we say to ourselves, and so we contribute to programs like Medicare and Social Security, which guarantee us health care and a measure of basic income after a lifetime of hard work; unemployment insurance, which protects us against unexpected job loss; and Medicaid, which provides care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, poor children, and those with disabilities. We are a better country because of these commitments. I'll go further – we would not be a great country without those commitments.
"For much of the last century, our nation found a way to afford these investments and priorities with the taxes paid by its citizens. As a country that values fairness, wealthier individuals have traditionally born a greater share of this burden than the middle class or those less fortunate. This is not because we begrudge those who've done well – we rightly celebrate their success. Rather, it is a basic reflection of our belief that those who have benefitted most from our way of life can afford to give a bit more back. Moreover, this belief has not hindered the success of those at the top of the income scale, who continue to do better and better with each passing year.
"Now, at certain times – particularly during periods of war or recession – our nation has had to borrow money to pay for some of our priorities. And as most families understand, a little credit card debt isn't going to hurt if it's temporary.
"But as far back as the 1980s, America started amassing debt at more alarming levels, and our leaders began to realize that a larger challenge was on the horizon. They knew that eventually, the Baby Boom generation would retire, which meant a much bigger portion of our citizens would be relying on programs like Medicare, Social Security, and possibly Medicaid. Like parents with young children who know they have to start saving for the college years, America had to start borrowing less and saving more to prepare for the retirement of an entire generation.
"To meet this challenge, our leaders came together three times during the 1990s to reduce our nation's deficit. They forged historic agreements that required tough decisions made by the first President Bush and President Clinton; by Democratic Congresses and a Republican Congress. All three agreements asked for shared responsibility and shared sacrifice, but they largely protected the middle class, our commitments to seniors, and key investments in our future.
"As a result of these bipartisan efforts, America's finances were in great shape by the year 2000. We went from deficit to surplus. America was actually on track to becoming completely debt-free, and we were prepared for the retirement of the Baby Boomers.
"But after Democrats and Republicans committed to fiscal discipline during the 1990s, we lost our way in the decade that followed. We increased spending dramatically for two wars and an expensive prescription drug program – but we didn't pay for any of this new spending. Instead, we made the problem worse with trillions of dollars in unpaid-for tax cuts – tax cuts that went to every millionaire and billionaire in the country; tax cuts that will force us to borrow an average of $500 billion every year over the next decade.
The rest.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by doone on -
I thought it was a very good speech and from the reactions of the Republicans you can tell they thought so too.
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Permalink Reply by Neal on -
Same. I thought the content of the speech was impressive, he didn't hold much back.
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Permalink Reply by doone on
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When There’s Nothing Left To Burn, You Have To Set Yourself On Fire
This is what pathetic desperation looks like in its rawest form, as presented on a Fox News web page. When you’ve spent two years pushing every bullshit meme you can find, in the worst economy since the Great Depression, and even your own polling shows that nobody can stomach either the crazy or the supposedly sane candiates you’ve propped up, this is all you’ve got left.
Next up: Was Obama eating sushi when the 9.0 earthquake hit in Japan? Bust out the file photos—I’ll bet Malia was wearing a Hello Kitty t-shirt that day.
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Permalink Reply by Jean Marie on -
no, it was a green pickle..? <====THAT is why Japan "got in a pickle" with that whole earthquake/tsunami/flood/nuclear leak problem, it WAS President Obama's fault....damn pickles...
Dang you President Obama!! did you have to do that???
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Permalink Reply by Adriana on -
I missed hearing it live but heard several excerpts on MSNBC last night. I was impressed by how string it was. i guess all those petitions by groups like Bold Progressives and others helped. I even signed a pledge to drop him if he allowed the destruction of Medicare. The Republican are going crazy because the words "raise taxes" were pronounced. Why don't they go back and see why we were in the black under Clinton? I will be hit with a tax increase but so be it. Taxes buy civilization; there should be higher brackets, though, as people who are really millionaires and billionaires have nothing to do with families who make over 250K, they are different beasts.
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Permalink Reply by Ed Spencer on -
Borrowed from the side of a 70's Volkswagen Bus - - - -
"It will be a great day in America when our schools have a budget surplus and the Air Force is holding a bake sale to buy a bomber".
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Permalink Reply by Jean Marie on
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Ed, look !! They had a bake sale to raise money for bombs in Ann Arbor Michigan!!
actually, this Michigan group was trying to raise awareness of how much of our budget IS spent on defense...(i am guessing they are atheists...)
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Permalink Reply by Jean Marie on
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this was a famous old poster, i had this, and some of my pals had this, framed and on the wall of our home....
(wonder where this framed poster ever went...maybe i sold it in a yard sale to raise money for Jaegerbombs..)
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Permalink Reply by Jean Marie on
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I hope our citizens actually HEARD THIS speech.....
//" They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that's paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs?"//
FINALLY--SOMEONE SAID IT==>
//"The second step in our approach is to find additional savings in our defense budget"//
HOPE THEY ACTUALLY *DO* IT...
*THIS* was THE line i was waiting to hear:
//"In December, I agreed to extend the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans because it was the only way I could prevent a tax hike on middle-class Americans. But we cannot afford $1 trillion worth of tax cuts for every millionaire and billionaire in our society. And I refuse to renew them again."//
WHEN DO THESE BUSH TAX CUTS FOR THE WEALTHY COME UP AGAIN FOR RENEWAL???
//" And as I called for in the State of the Union, we should reform our corporate tax code as well, to make our businesses and our economy more competitive."//
I'd rather he said WILL instead of SHOULD....shoulda woulda coulda's pile up all over....
BUT OVERALL, I WAS STOKED to hear his words, and only HOPE that others hear it, too. (wonders if Fox news even aired his speech---they don't always!!! or, mentioned to it's viewers their Prez will be talking on tv tonight last night)
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Permalink Reply by Jean Marie on
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---> "yeah, i SAID it!"
heh heh!!!!
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Permalink Reply by doone on
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More reaction to the speech from Memorandum .. it is a right wing RSS feeder but I like the way the link the new together
Wall Street Journal:The Presidential Divider — Obama's toxic speech and even worse plan for deficits and debt. — Did someone move the 2012 election to June 1? We ask because President Obama's extraordinary response to Paul Ryan's budget yesterday—with its blistering partisanship and multiple distortions …Discussion: Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, National Review, Mediaite, Washington Post, The New Republic, Ironic Surrealism, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Foundry, Don Surber, Conservatives4Palin, Riehl World View, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Fox Nation, CBS News and Shot in the DarkRELATED: The White House:FACT SHEET: The President's Framework for Shared Prosperity and Sha... — The President believes that we need a comprehensive, pro-growth economic strategy that invests in winning the future, lays the foundation for strong private-sector job growth and ensures …
Jeff Poor / The Daily Caller:Krauthammer's take on Obama's budget address: ‘I thought it was a d... — It's been just a few hours since President Barack Obama has finished his budget address at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and there already been significant pushback from the right.
Dan Balz / Washington Post:
Analysis: Obama speech frames a 2012 choice for the countryDiscussion: The Huffington Post, Pirate's Cove, msnbc.com, Daily Kos,Guardian, Gothamist and New York Times Paul Krugman:
The Budget Speech — Style: I liked the way Obama made a case …Discussion: National Review, Hullabaloo, Hendrik Hertzberg, It's A Free Blog, DownWithTyranny!,Weasel Zippers, Washington Post, Daily Kos, Liberal Values, Climate Progress, The Huffington Post, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, The Mahablog, Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Monthly, New York Times, Fox News, Firedoglake, Taylor Marsh, Corrente, Booman Tribune, The Daily Dish, The Lonely Conservative, Wall Street Journal, Gawker and Economist's View
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