Obama administration thoughts.

[dirkpeddler]

Anyone else feeling disappointed by the Obama administration?

All promises but no action. Biggest flip-flopper of modern time.

High unemployment, yet his own administration has not filled all positions available, the ones that have been filled are all morons.

Pass a credit card bill and attach approval for carrying LOADED weapons in parks and other big gathering places. That's go over well with those looking to hit us in droves.

Whine about not being able to use your blackberry, then have the tax-payers pay for making it so it is 'safe' but only accessible by specially modified blackberries. How is that in the interest of us, the people, just more waste full spending.

Put your foot in every sector of the economy so you can go on a power trip, invest billions of dollars in companies and then force them into chapter 11, thus making us, the tax payer end up with not getting those billions (read trillions) back.

Worried about Global warming? Stop flying all over the country (and the statue of liberty) just so you can be seen and put humongous amounts of polution in the air. Take the train, set an example.

Why release memos about waterboarding etc and then reverse yourself when the attention it gets, puts you in a bad spot? Flip-flop.

Transparency huh? It's even worse then with Bush1, Bush2 and Bush3. With them you knew you were going to get screwed, Obama, smiles, (read laughs in our face) and does what his powertrip wants him to do.

Wait for it, the US will be in chapter 11 procedures pretty soon.

[David!]

Do not insult the prophet

[nation-x]

he has been in office 4 months... Bush was still on vacation at this point.

[_Richard_]

some of those are easy-to-argue points, but yes, it is slightly disturbing the direction he's going

shh tho

[dirkpeddler]

Originally Posted by nation-x

he has been in office 4 months... Bush was still on vacation at this point.

Yeah he has been in office 4 months, and what a joyful 4 months it has been so far. I though he was all about change, quick change, like close Guatanomo Bay, bring back our troops, etc. Yeah he's a man of his word alright. It's like a kindergarten cop and his playground buddies. Let's rush into filing chapter 11 for GMC so he can take another trip on June 4th instead of calling of his trips to resolve issues, isn't that what the Secretary of State is for, to represent us abroad?

[IllTestYourGirls]

He is Bush on steroids

[nation-x]

Originally Posted by dirkpeddler

Yeah he has been in office 4 months, and what a joyful 4 months it has been so far. I though he was all about change, quick change, like close Guatanomo Bay, bring back our troops, etc. Yeah he's a man of his word alright. It's like a kindergarten cop and his playground buddies. Let's rush into filing chapter 11 for GMC so he can take another trip on June 4th instead of calling of his trips to resolve issues, isn't that what the Secretary of State is for, to represent us abroad?

I can see that you lack a clear understanding of the reality of it. Thx for contributing to the noise tho.

[Sly]

I'm perfectly fine with being a critic of Obama, but most of your examples are pretty silly.

You want the President of the United States to take a train? Seriously? Do you have any idea how much money that would cost to pull that off?

[gaymale]

Originally Posted by SBR Richard

some of those are easy-to-argue points, but yes, it is slightly disturbing the direction he's going

shh tho

Yeah, some are easy to argue, but still, it's not looking good on too many issues. I've had weird feelings about him since the presidential race, and am more and more getting the feeling I was right.

The condition our nation is in should be all the more reason for 'our' president to stay home and work his presidential butt off to pull us out of this mess we are in. Yeah I know, much of the mess is thanks to our previous administration, but keep in mind, Obama was indirectly part of that era, he is not a new comer to Washington, although his inexperience is clearly showing every minute of the day. He seems to be a president who does before he thinks.
Close Guantanomo Bay, oops, maybe not
Hand out billions to failing companies, ooops now that we given all that money let's force them into filing for chapter 11, why not do it the other way around?
Start bringing our troops back when I (he) am sworn in.... ooops maybe not and let's send more troops to the other war.
It's just a worst continuation of the last 8 years.
etc. etc.

[dirkpeddler]

Originally Posted by Sly

I'm perfectly fine with being a critic of Obama, but most of your examples are pretty silly.

You want the President of the United States to take a train? Seriously? Do you have any idea how much money that would cost to pull that off?

Yes I do, we do have a special presidential train to do that. Isn't the president, byt the people and for the people? The people take trains. Do you know how much 1 one way flight on Airforce one costs? About $ 400,000! not to mention all the pollution.

[Rochard]

We can't blame the economy on Obama, nor can we blame it on Obama. If there was something they could do to instantly fix these problems, the prior administration would have done them before leaving office.

The truth is more like every incoming President goes into office with the best of intentions, only to discover it's nothing but an uphill battle once they get there and the only way to get anything done is to play by the old rules that have been in place for hundreds of years. It's more of the same, no matter who sits in the oval office.

On top of this, it's not only who is President, but also who is in Congress and the House, etc.

[dirkpeddler]

Originally Posted by nation-x

I can see that you lack a clear understanding of the reality of it. Thx for contributing to the noise tho.

That might be true, but I guess you lack the same understanding of the reality or you would have at least tried to explain them to me.

[nation-x]

I think it's very easy to be a couch quarter back. There isn't a single person on this board who has the absolute logical right to judge Obama on any of his policies yet... 2 years from now... yes... right now... no. I read alot of negative posts about what he is doing... I don't hear anyone making viable, logical and well informed posts with alternative solutions... they don't exist... even the GOP hasn't provided any.

[Pleasurepays]

Originally Posted by nation-x

I think it's very easy to be a couch quarter back. There isn't a single person on this board who has the absolute logical right to judge Obama on any of his policies yet... 2 years from now... yes... right now... no. I read alot of negative posts about what he is doing... I don't hear anyone making viable, logical and well informed posts with alternative solutions... they don't exist... even the GOP hasn't provided any.

an example,.. he signed an order to close gitmo to fulfill a campaign promise on his first day in office... he did it with no planning, no clear understanding of the issues and no idea what to do with the people, much less without funding to close it. he did it because it was politically popular and did so, with everything else being an afterthought.

he still has no idea how to try the detainees... no idea where they will go, no idea how to fund whatever happens to them and so on.



there is a pattern... only in your eyes, the black jesus can do no wrong, so you don't see it.

[kane]

Originally Posted by dirkpeddler

Anyone else feeling disappointed by the Obama administration?

All promises but no action. Biggest flip-flopper of modern time.

He as only been in office a few months. I'm going to give him some time before I say that he has taken no action. You can't fulfill every promise overnight. That said he has flip flopped on some things and I think he needs to be held to task for that.

High unemployment, yet his own administration has not filled all positions available, the ones that have been filled are all morons.

I wouldn't say they are all morons, but I would say that he is finding out it is not easy to find someone in Washington who isn't in the pockets special interests or who is without skeletons in their closests. It often takes 6-9 months or sometimes longer for all of the cabinet and white house positions to be filled so he has some time.

Pass a credit card bill and attach approval for carrying LOADED weapons in parks and other big gathering places. That's go over well with those looking to hit us in droves.

This one he should be hit for. He should have sent it back and told them to take that off of the bill and send it back to him. If the republicans won't support it without that, fine, let them explain why they added this on to the bill and they aren't needed to pass it anyways. I think this was his way of appeasing some of the right and not giving them another fighting point, but it is stills stupid.

Whine about not being able to use your blackberry, then have the tax-payers pay for making it so it is 'safe' but only accessible by specially modified blackberries. How is that in the interest of us, the people, just more waste full spending.

The guy is running the country. I think we can pick up the tab of a few special blackberries if it helps him do the job better.

Put your foot in every sector of the economy so you can go on a power trip, invest billions of dollars in companies and then force them into chapter 11, thus making us, the tax payer end up with not getting those billions (read trillions) back.

I think some of the bailout stuff was needed, but like you I am getting sick of them writing checks and not seeming to know where it is going and never having a hope of getting it back. I hate when they spend a bunch of money then a few weeks later say, "we're not really sure where it went or what went wrong."

Worried about Global warming? Stop flying all over the country (and the statue of liberty) just so you can be seen and put humongous amounts of polution in the air. Take the train, set an example.

The train is simply not a viable answer. He is the most powerful person in the world and the leader of the country. He might need to be in Los Angeles one day to meet with people then back in Washington the next. Dealing with anything but a jet would be impossible.

Why release memos about waterboarding etc and then reverse yourself when the attention it gets, puts you in a bad spot? Flip-flop.

I guess I'm not sure what you mean by this. I thought he said he was going to release the pictures then decided not to. That is a flip flop, but it was a good one. sometimes changing your mind is not a bad thing. As for memos, I've read some about them being released, but not where he has reversed himself on them.

Transparency huh? It's even worse then with Bush1, Bush2 and Bush3. With them you knew you were going to get screwed, Obama, smiles, (read laughs in our face) and does what his powertrip wants him to do.

I agree with this point. He has said we will be more transparent yet there has not been much sign of that just yet.

Wait for it, the US will be in chapter 11 procedures pretty soon.

I'll be picking up my Speaking Chinese For Dummies book this week


All in all I think he has done a decent job. He has made mistakes, but that comes with the job. It is easy to say "I'll do this and I'll do that," when you are just talking, when you actually have to take action it is another thing and I think he is learning that.

I think he has done some good stuff to help win back public opinion around the world and I think he is working on solving the economic problems. I may not agree with everything he is doing, but these things are all actions that it takes time to decide how well they work or don't work. I wasn't expecting instant change and I think he has changed some things. If I had to grade him I would give him a B- so far. He has done pretty well, but could do better.

[bushwacker]

Originally Posted by dirkpeddler

Yes I do, we do have a special presidential train to do that. Isn't the president, byt the people and for the people? The people take trains. Do you know how much 1 one way flight on Airforce one costs? About $ 400,000! not to mention all the pollution.

[nation-x]

Originally Posted by Pleasurepays

an example,.. he signed an order to close gitmo to fulfill a campaign promise on his first day in office... he did it with no planning, no clear understanding of the issues and no idea what to do with the people, much less without funding to close it. he did it because it was politically popular and did so, with everything else being an afterthought.

he still has no idea how to try the detainees... no idea where they will go, no idea how to fund whatever happens to them and so on.



there is a pattern... only in your eyes, the black jesus can do no wrong, so you don't see it.

No... I don't think he can do no wrong... I think that it is impossible for anyone taking the office to not make some mistakes. Whether or not those mistakes are lawful or not is another question. I am just willing to give him a chance... something you are not because you would rather cling to your failed ideology instead.

[OG LennyT]

If you followed business you would not speak those words. Obama has turned me into a believer as he is def. a man of action.. a true leader. He has been fantastic to this point and I was an Obama hater.

[Rangermoore]

Originally Posted by OG LennyT

If you followed business you would not speak those words. Obama has turned me into a believer as he is def. a man of action.. a true leader. He has been fantastic to this point and I was an Obama hater.

I am not trying to call anyone out... obama a man of action? Giving billions of taxpayer dollars to private busness...Not have a FULL accounting of where and to whom the money went to...Is he going to give me money if my busness fails? A true leader? What has he done in his past that makes him a leader? he did put together some community groups.. I am trying to find something that I can like about him.. I just have not liked him from the start. It has nothing to do with what party he belongs to I don't link any of them. I have liked a few things he has done. I am trying...

[David!]

Originally Posted by OG LennyT

If you followed business you would not speak those words. Obama has turned me into a believer as he is def. a man of action.. a true leader. He has been fantastic to this point and I was an Obama hater.

You made me spill coffee on my keyboard
Obama is the biggest piece of dumb scum to have ever walked the floor of DC.
He will soon turn into the Milli Vanilli of world politics.

[Pleasurepays]

Originally Posted by nation-x

No... I don't think he can do no wrong... I think that it is impossible for anyone taking the office to not make some mistakes. Whether or not those mistakes are lawful or not is another question. I am just willing to give him a chance... something you are not because you would rather cling to your failed ideology instead.

you are calling major lapses in judgment and wholly uneducated remarks and promises - "mistakes".

my "idealogy" is that they are all the same. democrats and republicans are both, two sides of the same coin and the pendulum will forever swing back and forth between the two, just as it always has.

you are the one who has a problem seeing things for what they are because you are so biased in your views and you view liberal/conservative as "right and wrong" and "black and white". thats a part of protecting your fragile world view so you don't have to actually think for yourself when you can just check "democrat" in the box and go on with your day.

[nation-x]

Originally Posted by Pleasurepays

you are calling major lapses in judgment and wholly uneducated remarks and promises - "mistakes".

You are characterizing them as "major lapses in judgment and wholly uneducated". I am wondering what makes you the authority on what constitutes a "major lapse in judgement" or even what an educated remark would be...

Originally Posted by Pleasurepays

my "idealogy" is that they are all the same. democrats and republicans are both, two sides of the same coin and the pendulum will forever swing back and forth between the two, just as it always has.

First... it's spelled "ideology"... not "idealogy". As far as the statement... fair enough.

Originally Posted by Pleasurepays

you are the one who has a problem seeing things for what they are because you are so biased in your views and you view liberal/conservative as "right and wrong" and "black and white". thats a part of protecting your fragile world view so you don't have to actually think for yourself when you can just check "democrat" in the box and go on with your day.

The very basic logic behind this statement displays your ignorance of the issue at hand. I don't base my opinions on ideology... they are based on logic. I can back up my positions with logic and I am not an ideologue... Yes, I have a liberal view on most issues... but that does not mean my view is "fragile" or "weak"... I would characterize my own views as pragmatic. I would be more than willing to support any candidate who represented a platform that I could get behind. 9 times out of 10 it isn't the conservative platform because their positions are typically based on ideology rather than logic.

[Pleasurepays]

Originally Posted by nation-x

The very basic logic behind this statement displays your ignorance of the issue at hand. I don't base my opinions on ideology... they are based on logic. I can back up my positions with logic and I am not an ideologue.

1) you're very liberal

2) "logic" is a highly subjective thing. i can argue any point with "logic" and declare myself right as you do.

but i'm just not that arrogant. i fully understand that each issue has more than one side, more than one argument and that both might be wrong, one might be right or wrong or that both can be right. further, i realize that i'm biased towards a certain viewpoint just as you are biased, and i use "logic" to deduce that my political views are not perfectly balanced due to how i perceive and interpret the world and events around me.

a christian uses "logic" to prove the existence of god... an atheist uses "logic" to disprove the existence of god.

at the end of the day, both views are based on faith, not provable fact. it requires substantial arrogance and an ironic absence of logic to declare such faith based, narrow minded views as fact. "logic" would demand that one would not reach a conclusion.

you cast everyone who thinks differently than you as being an idealogue.. but yourself as just being a fair minded, balanced person who uses deductive reasoning and logic to reach conclusions. the simple fact of the matter is that there are two distinct world views in US politics and two sides of the fence. a "logical person", carefully giving equal weight to both views and arguments, would be in the center, the great majority of the time.. not consistently on one side. thats just simple, 4th grade math.

[nation-x]

Originally Posted by Pleasurepays

1) you're very liberal

2) "logic" is a highly subjective thing. i can argue any point with "logic" and declare myself right as you do.

but i'm just not that arrogant. i fully understand that each issue has more than one side, more than one argument and that both might be wrong, one might be right or wrong or that both can be right. further, i realize that i'm biased towards a certain viewpoint just as you are biased, and i use "logic" to deduce that my political views are not perfectly balanced due to how i perceive and interpret the world and events around me.

a christian uses "logic" to prove the existence of god... an atheist uses "logic" to disprove the existence of god.

at the end of the day, both views are based on faith, not provable fact. it requires substantial arrogance and an ironic absence of logic to declare such faith based, narrow minded views as fact. "logic" would demand that one would not reach a conclusion.

you cast everyone who thinks differently than you as being an idealogue.. but yourself as just being a fair minded, balanced person who uses deductive reasoning and logic to reach conclusions. the simple fact of the matter is that there are two distinct world views in US politics and two sides of the fence. a "logical person", carefully giving equal weight to both views and arguments, would be in the center, the great majority of the time.. not consistently on one side. thats just simple, 4th grade math.

We can sit here and argue about what my views are for weeks... it wouldn't matter because you have no fucking idea what I think. What you do is the same shit everytime... characterize me as arrogant, etc. You are wrong about me... pure and simple because you are making assumptions about me based on the false pretense that I fit some mold that you think I fit into.

When I say "logic" I mean logic based on truth and provable FACT... not false logic. Using your example, it's is entirely reasonable for religious people to believe that there is a God based on the FACT that matter couldn't just have appeared based on our current understanding of science and thus they deduct that a third party, God, created the Universe (a theory)... It is ALSO reasonable, and in my opinion, for Atheists to deduct that there is no God because there is no scientific proof that God exists... However, there are theories (faith) based on the "God Particle". The faith in both positions is parallel... both are using logic based on a false premise because there is no substantive proof to support the basis of either position.

You say I am a liberal (I agree I hold liberal views on many issues)... but what positions do I hold that make me a liberal? You have very little idea other than what I have posted and a guess. Your logic is based on a false premise that I hold certain views but you have no substantive proof of any positions that I hold other than what I have posted. Merely labeling me as "liberal" doesn't represent my views as a whole.

On the other hand, you typically make sweeping characterizations of my views or Obama's views based on what? Typically, I see you posting ideological differences and not logical differences. You rarely post a logical alternative to support your opposition.

[baddog]

Yes we can! Doesn't mean we are going to, but we can.

[nation-x]

Let me help you with some basic positions that I hold.

Immigration: I think that we need to secure our borders to stem the flow of illegal immigrants first and foremost. Secondly, I think that it's is an impossible task to round up an estimated 23 million illegal immigrants and deport them... let alone the fact that many of them have been living here in the US for a couple of decades since Reagan signed an Amnesty bill in 1986 (legalizing 1.7 million immigrants). I don't think another amnesty bill makes any sense either... so I agree with Obama when he says that we should have a policy that brings them out of the shadows and make them get into the line like everyone else while realizing that we can't just deport them all due to the logistical nightmare that would be... not to mention that it would defeat the purpose of getting them to declare themselves. It's a common sense approach and I support it.

Bailouts: I agree that some of the bailed out companies were too big to fail... their failure would have caused the crash of the entire economy... that said, TARP was passed under the Bush administration and the last congress and I don't think it was simple to change it into something more acceptable. I think that the bailout has produced positive results in the end... but yes... I think it could have used alot more thought and oversight.

Stimulus: I think that the stimulus was necessary as well to attempt to stem the tide of job losses. Spending is what drives our economy... neither corporate spending or consumer spending we showing signs of increase (the opposite, in fact) so the government was really the only alternative to increase the flow of dollars into the economy. If the government had implemented a spending freeze, we would have definitely seen a depression, according all indicators. I think this argument over unemployment money by some governors is ridiculous... I suppose they would rather have the unemployed on welfare or living in tent cities.

Spending in general: I would prefer that we not be in debt... that said, I think that Obama inherited a huge freaking mess on alot of fronts (including a $1.3 Trillion deficit) and spending money, in an attempt to stem the economic downfall, was the lesser of 2 evils. Obama said it himself... if he had it to choose... he would have chosen not to spend the money... but he felt, I believe correctly, that spending was the way to prevent a disaster. The most important part will be whether he follows through with his promise to cut the deficit in half. He really hasn't increased spending as much as you probably think he has... alot of the money showing in his budget is because he is including items that the Bush administration didn't show in their budget (the wars for example). EVERY president for the last 29 years (except for Clinton) raised the debt as a percentage of GDP. The test will be whether or not Obama is able to gain from the spending and bring it under control before the end of his term.



Abortion: I don't support abortion as a means of birth control. I think that it should be illegal except in the case that it saves the mothers life, rape or incest.

Gun Control: I support the right of citizens to bear arms... I don't support the right of citizens to possess any type of weapon unchecked and as such I support a ban on true assault weapons (not just because they are semi-automatic). The theoretical argument that possession of such weapons allows people the freedom to protect themselves against government tyranny is ridiculous in this day and age... unless the military is on the side of the people or a huge majority chose to have armed conflict with the government, this is "pie in the sky" reasoning. The risk of criminals gaining these type of armaments is far greater than the benefit of possessing them, as a right.

Health Care: I support a public option (alternative insurance plan that is a non-profit GSE that does not stifle private competition) and I support the presidents plan to modernize the industry. Our current health care system is insane... but the bottom line is that unless we do something about illegal immigration, any health care plan is going to be fucked.

The Wars: I think we need to get out of Iraq... we can't afford an extended occupation and I think that has contributed to our current economic condition. We have no business trying to run that country. As far as Afghanistan is concerned... I think we should secure Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and get the fuck out. Logic and history says that we can't win a guerrilla war anywhere and our continued occupation is really just seeding more enmity. We have special forces teams and high tech surveillance capabilities that they will nenver have in our lifetime (hopefully). We should use that to our advantage and do precision strikes as needed... policing the territory is just a fools errand.

Iran: I see nothing wrong with talking to Iran... I think it makes alot more sense to escalate diplomacy over sabre rattling. As long as Russia is not joining us in working to curb enmity toward Israel, we are really just playing a game of chess with them. I have no doubt that Russia is playing both sides here. We should just invest in an ambitious missile defense system and let them play their games. If we spent as much on Israel's defense systems as we spend on conflicts they would have nothing to worry about.

Energy: We need to ween ourselves off of our insatiable thirst for oil. It makes sense on so many levels. Our continued investment in oil is our plan for our own demise. We have plenty of Natural Gas and Coal right here in the US... not to mention the entire Mississippi and other large rivers that we could use to provide more than 70% of the nations electrical needs if we invested in it. Add solar, wind, thermal energy, tidal energy and bio fuels to the equation and it adds up to no reason why we shouldn't make a national effort to do it. I don't see any reason why the government couldn't subsidize conversions of existing vehicles to Natural Gas instead of subsidizing oil companies... it costs under $4,000 to do it. lobbyists are the only real reason I think it's not happening.

Torture: Waterboarding is torture... pure and simple... it has been considered torture for decades... using torture lowers us to the level of our enemies when we should be separating ourselves from them. I support prosecutions of the people at the top who ordered it and the lawyers who falsely justified it. What separates us from the people we have convicted of war crimes? They also had justification. They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin

If you want more... let me know.

[After Shock Media]

Originally Posted by Rangermoore

I am not trying to call anyone out... obama a man of action? Giving billions of taxpayer dollars to private busness...Not have a FULL accounting of where and to whom the money went to...Is he going to give me money if my busness fails?

Who gave out the first rounds of funding that nobody knows where it went really as it did not require any accounting, goals, or well saying what it will be used for?

Ah never mind, not worth the brain cells to even debate in this thread. Hell the first post is almost laughable.

Honestly only thing that can really be held against him is the gun bill attached to the credit bill. Which most people would not care about anyways since it just allows people to carry guns in state parks, whoopty fucking do - hint people have been doing this for as long as we had said parks. Then yes odds are the republicans wanted the addition and considering that people (gun freaks) have already sworn up and down he was anti gun and wanted to take them all away, this sort of shows the opposite and it appeases the republican side a bit while giving them one less point to argue.

Often politics are a lot of compromise. Seems more people are having issue with agenda's they projected onto him instead of things he said he would like to get done. Even if he changes his mind on some issues, which is good - it means a person listens to advice and is not dead set in their mind. Fact is sometimes you may think something is a good idea or want to do something and then after hearing more information on the subject it may be better off for the greater good to not go through with it.

Such as showing the photos of what people were doing to assorted Muslims - we can read about it but well the photos would just ignite some bad hatred towards us and well many of the people that would be the next terrorist idiots who blindly follow their leaders, can not read - where a picture is understandable to everyone but the blind.

Also seems closing gitmo is one thing, another when nobody wants to pay for it nor accept the prisoners in their states. Also he has issue with the small fact that some of them had their human rights violated, which means bringing them to trial would be well very bad. It is a catch 22.

This whole list can go on and on. Then of course this is rough as I am not nor was I an Obama fanatic, I just knew he would beat McCain in the election.

[EscortBiz]

this is what I found when it comes to the topic of a president but more so with obama

a) some people regardless what you say or what he does will always support him and defend him, you will not change them, those people are fucked up in the head, most cases really poor and will die poorer. This way of thinking allowed hitler to get where he got.

b) some regardless if fixes all of the economy tomorrow and he keeps every promise will still always bash him for whatever reason, maybe they hate whoever is in power maybe they are racist regardless once again fucked up people

c) weak minded people who depending who they are talking to will either like him or not like him, they have no position on nothing

d) people who have the druggy / fatso mindset (druggies dont bother to get help because they always know someone who does more drugs same with fat slobs), they can only repeat "hes only been in office X amount of days" or "Bush wasnt better" or Mccain would be better", this is not the issue or topic, once again these are sad fuckers who just are not wired right.

So with all that said, how about talk about facts not fiction:

For those who say hes not dealing with the economic crisis good, what should he do, what other option is there (yes there are many experts especially those who predicted it who have ideas) is he even giving their ideas any thought?

Iraq / Afgan situation - some say we need to get out today, can we really do that, some say we will anyway get out from there and the countries will be the same as its now so why not just pack up and leave? Or maybe thats ridiculous?

Being nice to the arab world, putting pressure on Israel will that make us safer? (obviously many here hate jews and would prefer if the US trains iran on how to use nukes)

In a year from now do you feel that the way things are going now will we be better or worse off? Will the unemployment rate be greater than 9% or less?

[gaymale]

Originally Posted by kane

The guy is running the country. I think we can pick up the tab of a few special blackberries if it helps him do the job better.

I would agree with this one if it was actually for running the country, but he has been told he cannot use it for official business, just to stay in contact with family and friends, who also got these specially modified blackberries. Modifying the system used for these blackberries, maintenance and supplying the blackberries to his family and friends is out of OUR pockets. It is not that he fact that he got this that bothers me, it's the fact that it is useless, wastefull spending we cannot allow right now.
It's like we have a whining kid for president, stamping his feet in the oval office because he cannot continue to use his toy.

[nation-x]

Originally Posted by gaymale

I would agree with this one if it was actually for running the country, but he has been told he cannot use it for official business, just to stay in contact with family and friends, who also got these specially modified blackberries. Modifying the system used for these blackberries, maintenance and supplying the blackberries to his family and friends is out of OUR pockets. It is not that he fact that he got this that bothers me, it's the fact that it is useless, wastefull spending we cannot allow right now.
It's like we have a whining kid for president, stamping his feet in the oval office because he cannot continue to use his toy.

May be you think a Blackberry is a toy... but I KNOW that mine is an important tool that I use for alot of business. I think he has just brought the office of the president into the 21st century and the only real expense is that they have to write a proxy server that logs all of his emails and make a Blackberry that uses the NSA satellite network, instead of a carrier. I don't see anything wrong with giving the man the tools he needs to do his job efficiently and I think that it is a tool that will get use from alot of top govt. officials.

[kane]

Originally Posted by gaymale

I would agree with this one if it was actually for running the country, but he has been told he cannot use it for official business, just to stay in contact with family and friends, who also got these specially modified blackberries. Modifying the system used for these blackberries, maintenance and supplying the blackberries to his family and friends is out of OUR pockets. It is not that he fact that he got this that bothers me, it's the fact that it is useless, wastefull spending we cannot allow right now.
It's like we have a whining kid for president, stamping his feet in the oval office because he cannot continue to use his toy.

I guess I still don't see it as that big of a deal. Being the president of the US is the most stressful job in the world. Just look at how it ages the guys that do it. If we can give him something that makes his life a little easier, even if it is only used to keep in touch with his family, I don't see what the big deal. The costs is not that much and when you compare the use he gets from it to the cost of it I know there are many other things that are much larger wastes that could be cut out.

[pornguy]

Originally Posted by nation-x

he has been in office 4 months... Bush was still on vacation at this point.

Will we still be saying that he has only been in office for 4 years???

Originally Posted by dirkpeddler

Yeah he has been in office 4 months, and what a joyful 4 months it has been so far. I though he was all about change, quick change, like close Guatanomo Bay, bring back our troops, etc. Yeah he's a man of his word alright. It's like a kindergarten cop and his playground buddies. Let's rush into filing chapter 11 for GMC so he can take another trip on June 4th instead of calling of his trips to resolve issues, isn't that what the Secretary of State is for, to represent us abroad?

they should have been allowed to fail. Yeah we would have had some unemployment issues but another company would have risen to take their place.



As for Obama flying all over the place. Thats something that I dont understand. He said he was going to CURB Government spending.. Yet he is in a new city ever 4 days and that is costing us a TON of money. Its not just the 100k to start the engines of Airforce 1 but its the pilot, co pilot, Navigator, Chef, Wait staff cause you can bet your ass his wife aint cookin, not to mention he maid staff, the ground crews, and the Military escorts as well as the airborn tankers. I am willing to bet that a trip from DC to New York cost the tax payers more than 20 or 30 million dollars over a 2 to 3 day period.