If only someone had stood up on 8 December, 1941 and said, "hey, you're not supposed to do stuff!"
Joel Send a noteboard - 02/02/2010 03:28:38 AM
It is the Stupid Party getting together with the Evil Party to do something that is both stupid and evil.
As far as I am concerned, all the sniveling about structural defects in our form of government that prevent anything from getting done is merely amusing, because A. a great deal of the engineering of the US government was centered around preventing legislation from being enacted and B. a legislature that cannot pass anything is about the best I can hope for in practical terms. Ideally we would have a legislation that understood they should NOT be passing anything, but I'll settle for one that gets in its own way.
As far as I am concerned, all the sniveling about structural defects in our form of government that prevent anything from getting done is merely amusing, because A. a great deal of the engineering of the US government was centered around preventing legislation from being enacted and B. a legislature that cannot pass anything is about the best I can hope for in practical terms. Ideally we would have a legislation that understood they should NOT be passing anything, but I'll settle for one that gets in its own way.
I'm sure the Founding Father were rolling in their graves....
Never mind that the natural pace of committee coalition government is no pace at all, and that one real advantage of our system is that it's more responsive and proactive. This is a short one, so I can respond; the other must wait a bit, but I'll be rejoining it soon in part because I think we need to define our terms (and in part because you want me to disprove propriety no one is asserting. )
Honorbound and honored to be Bonded to Mahtaliel Sedai
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Last First in wotmania Chat
Slightly better than chocolate.
Love still can't be coerced.
Please Don't Eat the Newbies!
LoL. Be well, RAFOlk.
Why bipartisanship can't work: the expert view
- 01/02/2010 11:34:58 PM
881 Views
And a personal comment
- 01/02/2010 11:39:28 PM
615 Views
Who's to say YOU really know what's happening in Washington, though?
- 02/02/2010 01:41:20 AM
648 Views
? *NM*
not to mention those who mistake knowledge for understanding
- 02/02/2010 10:41:14 PM
459 Views
Even so.
- 05/02/2010 05:45:54 AM
485 Views
Like the NYT?
- 05/02/2010 02:12:36 PM
519 Views
I don't believe the Times has ever conceded bias.
- 05/02/2010 06:03:02 PM
539 Views
and neither does Fox so I am not sure that matters
- 05/02/2010 06:40:15 PM
581 Views
Note that I didn't mention Fox (or anyone, for that matter. )
- 05/02/2010 07:13:31 PM
513 Views
PBS is biased
- 05/02/2010 07:21:14 PM
488 Views
You're entitled to believe that.
- 05/02/2010 07:31:07 PM
618 Views
PBS has an obvious yet undeclared bias so does NPR
- 09/02/2010 04:47:53 AM
448 Views
Even were that true (which I dispute) my statement stands.
- 09/02/2010 09:50:36 AM
562 Views
so they wouldn't be biased becuas it could hurt them but you still argue republicans attack them
- 09/02/2010 02:19:53 PM
522 Views
We have been for some time.
- 02/02/2010 03:31:10 AM
510 Views
I don't think that's the case
- 03/02/2010 02:59:50 PM
493 Views
Universal healthcare was the primary plank in Clintons '92 platform.
- 04/02/2010 10:02:18 AM
474 Views
That does not mean his bare plurality was an endorsement of National Healthcare
- 04/02/2010 02:09:32 PM
606 Views
I don't think he won by default, and that was his primary issue.
- 05/02/2010 08:09:50 AM
625 Views
Re: I don't think he won by default, and that was his primary issue.
- 05/02/2010 03:52:23 PM
573 Views
[insert witty subject line here]
- 06/02/2010 02:15:21 AM
603 Views
Let me break this into multiple replies here
- 06/02/2010 07:45:36 PM
582 Views
'K
- 08/02/2010 01:22:12 PM
566 Views
Probably time to go into 'summary mode'
- 08/02/2010 07:34:55 PM
596 Views
Again, we're back to "how would you prefer to do it?"
- 09/02/2010 09:42:51 AM
621 Views
Any way that works, which currently probably is none
- 09/02/2010 06:12:41 PM
559 Views
I think HDI is more accurate than nothing, though it certainly needs some fine tuning.
- 10/02/2010 11:03:08 AM
610 Views
I'll play a bigger age card since it was my third election to vote in and he won because of Perot
- 05/02/2010 05:57:04 PM
496 Views
Let's put it another way: Why did Dems nominate him instead of, say, Gephardt?
- 06/02/2010 02:22:04 AM
566 Views
you don't get mandates from primaries
- 08/02/2010 02:12:29 PM
467 Views
No, but end of the day more people wanted healthcare than didn't.
- 08/02/2010 03:09:31 PM
479 Views
everyone want health care they just don't want congress runnig it
- 09/02/2010 04:56:44 AM
519 Views
Whom do you prefer?
- 09/02/2010 10:07:39 AM
539 Views
Sorry not a big fan of socialism I hear it big over in Europe though
- 09/02/2010 02:23:55 PM
441 Views
In other words you prefer the system we have; thanks for admitting it. 
- 10/02/2010 10:05:38 AM
496 Views
- 10/02/2010 10:05:38 AM
496 Views
I prefer Thomas Woods Jr's description of bipartisanship
- 02/02/2010 02:49:06 AM
501 Views
If only someone had stood up on 8 December, 1941 and said, "hey, you're not supposed to do stuff!"
- 02/02/2010 03:28:38 AM
649 Views
you're making a good job taking things out of context, Joel
- 03/02/2010 12:47:57 PM
468 Views
Don't speak in absolutes and I won't read absolutes.
- 04/02/2010 10:08:43 AM
481 Views
Some qualifiers can be left unsaid for a clearer message. Or better delivery 
- 04/02/2010 10:26:56 AM
472 Views
- 04/02/2010 10:26:56 AM
472 Views
Qualifiers are clarifying by nature.
- 04/02/2010 10:49:06 AM
601 Views
huh. That does make sense. I know malpractice is a big weight on the the system in the US.
- 04/02/2010 11:58:37 AM
438 Views
Perhaps, but it's hardly the greatest weight, or even in the top three, IMHO.
- 05/02/2010 05:44:49 AM
588 Views
Pearl Harbor would never have happened to a classically liberal nation
- 05/02/2010 01:33:56 AM
491 Views
Wow - that was a dumb statement even for you!
- 05/02/2010 04:22:59 PM
673 Views
I do generally agree, but I think the Washington Naval Conference is too often overlooked.
- 06/02/2010 02:33:51 AM
609 Views
Politicians and pundits should stop calling things that happened in the last decade "unprecedented"
- 02/02/2010 03:23:27 AM
679 Views
Or the democratic party has shifted so far to to the left they can't even get all of the dems
- 02/02/2010 02:39:14 PM
470 Views
You didn't hear all the whining when Bush was in charge with a Republican Congress?
- 02/02/2010 08:50:05 PM
487 Views
I there was plenty of whining going on
- 02/02/2010 10:36:56 PM
415 Views
Is this you conceding that the GOP is being obstructionist?
- 08/02/2010 01:43:04 PM
448 Views
I agree they are obstructing the libs from doing whatever they want
- 08/02/2010 02:19:13 PM
374 Views
They've tried including Republicans in drafting bills.
- 08/02/2010 03:08:17 PM
532 Views
tyring to pcik off one republican is not including republicans
- 09/02/2010 05:03:44 AM
479 Views
So we've gone from "stop being secretive" to "no public meetings" eh?
- 09/02/2010 11:59:50 AM
487 Views
well it was your guy who was up in arms about private meetings
- 09/02/2010 02:29:34 PM
468 Views
Was it? I don't recall any Dem complaining about private meeting on healthcare.
- 10/02/2010 09:44:56 AM
624 Views
most liberals seem to foretting the "rhetoric" that Obama used to get elected
- 13/02/2010 06:54:34 AM
462 Views
