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Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012 | 2 a.m.
In a Feb. 15 letter, “Frustrated about whether to vote,” Stuart Weiss expressed his frustration with voting when he sees significant money supporting candidates he does not like and with the complexities of issues going through Congress. I sympathize with Mr. Weiss and many times have been discouraged about the choice of candidates, the large amounts of money that appear to swing elections as well as the complexity of the issues today.
Most everyone is just trying to survive right now and has little time to educate themselves about all the issues that affect us. But if we don’t do that, we leave the decisions that will significantly affect our lives and children’s lives to others who may not have our best interests at heart.
This coming election will be the most important I have seen in my life. On one hand we have a chance to elect someone who may possibly steer us back to what America was meant to be, and on the other a chance to continue down the path toward a socialistic society in which government controls every aspect of life. I strongly encourage Mr. Weiss and everyone else to take some time to familiarize themselves with what is going on in this country and then vote in the election. Democracy, by its very nature, is a messy process, but it is better than the alternatives.
The Obama State of the Union
Liberals say "I'm in favor of Regulated Capitalism." That is where the government decides who produces what and when.
"Regulated Capitalism" is liberal code for government run ventures. Liberals are against private business. Without private businesses, without private property rights, there can be no wealth creation by individuals. This is the way to bring down the people who have succeed.
Obama's idea of a fair shot for all is to bring down those that are successful job creators.
Obama said we must "settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well"
Obama said we have to increase the federal income tax rate to 39 % for individuals making over $200 k and then said millionaire must pay a 30 % investment tax rate. Confused? Bottom line is that this will not create jobs which is the only way to give a fair shot.
Obama's singular wealth redistribution idea is to raise the tax rate on capital formation on small businesses from 15% to 30 percent. These is a 100% increase in taxes.
Amen, letter writer. The first term of President Obama will pale in comparison to a second. Obama will have his way all the way come what may especially if Congress is democratic. And.... 4 years from Nov 2012, he'll be telling Americans that he deserves another 4. NO thanks. 4 was way more too many.
Carmine A. DiFazio
I agree Steven. It's important this year for Americans to analyze and determine which candidate's platform fits the direction this country should, in their view, head in these next four years. What Obama and the socialist organizers of the OWS have done is brought attention to the American people that socialism is a belief system here in America and that liberals(not fiscal conservative democrats) want government to take more of our money and make more decisions for us. I have faith that freedom-loving Americans will clearly understand that just seeing how government mis-manages our finances, re-distributes our money to some who are here illegally in the US, blocks business growth here in the US, challenges states rights to enforce federal laws already on the books, supports unions who have driven manufacturers overseas and tries to pass laws and create executive orders to socially engineer our society based on the views of the radical liberal few is a directing us towards a socialist America where government either blocks individuals & businesses ability to make decisions on their own or wants to take over decision-making for us. Here are two examples below of Obama explaining his social engineering goals that expenses the good of our nation and citizenry and it concerns
Obama's cap & trade plan that would have raised the prices consumers pay for electricity and capital gains tax policy that Obama feels should be raised for fairness reasons even though it lowers tax revenue collection:
Obama's Cap & Trade Plan (1 minute in length)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlTxGHn4s...
Obama stating he wanted to raise capital gains tax based on fairness even though it reduces tax revenue (2 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__L5DOxgh...
I can tell you that, in my view, Obama has proven that he's more interested in socially engineering our society than any other President in modern history. Facing soon a $16 trillion dollar national debt, averaging $1 trillion federal deficits each year, gas prices up to nearly $4 dollars a gallon and rising, and an economy that the CBO now projects we'll be back to full employment in the year 2017, is this the time to have a social engineering President in the white house or is it best to have a President who will steer us away from our Greece-like financial abyss and create an environment for businesses to invest, grow and create jobs?
Most Americans would be alot better off if we worried less about whether or not President Obama is leading the country too far to the left or an R, if elected would take us too far to the right.
President Obama has given clear indications that his plan to address the deficit spending and debt we face is to tax his way out of it and do precious little on reducing spending.
The R candidates ideas seem to revolve around less regulation and reducing taxes as a means to address the debt and deficit spending. They also tend to be less than specific on exactly how they would cut spending.
Whether President Obama wins re-election or an R wins, we cannot allow these half measures proposed by each side to be all that they enact. They are wholly inadequate to address the massive problems we have.... and I think many of us know it.... although we tend to be unwilling to express it.
Michael
Dennis,
I have alot of belief that if President Obama is re-elected to a 2nd term and continues the same policies, the election following will be much like 2008, when the R's, having held the White House for 8 years, had virtually no chance in the 2008 election, no matter who they had run.
The truth is that in 8 years, former President Bush did not make much of an attempt to deal 'effectively' with government finances. The first term under Obama has shown little progress in 'effectively' dealing with our finances. If he follows the same course in a 2nd term, no D will stand a chance in 2016.
Michael
"On one hand we have a chance to elect someone who may possibly steer us back to what America was meant to be, and on the other a chance to continue down the path toward a socialistic society in which government controls every aspect of life."
I have questions. Who decided what America was meant to be and why should we act on their vision of their future rather than our own? Shouldn't we resist control of every aspect of life whether that control is exercised by government or the stealthy action of moneyed private interests?
The letter would indicate that the writer sees his choices clearly from his point of view. He raises the specter of "socialism" to incite fear and aligns himself those who might define any action to benefit the masses as Unamerican.
The United States is not a business, it is a people. We are all in this together. If we want the best for our country, we need to select a course that benefits the maximum number of its citizens not just the fictional "job creators".
"i hate to say this but what are you going to do after Hillary takes over from Obama in 2016?"
That's a scarry thought but pales in comparison to another 4, 8 or more of Obama.
The latter, several terms of Obama, is more likely than Clinton. No love lost between Obama and Clinton. He took her out and it was her time to shine. Now she's too old, too beat. Clinton will likely be the next World Bank Chief.
Carmine A. DiFazio
Give Emperor Osama Obama another four years and his record of waffling, bowing and scraping to foreign leaders will accelerate; America will continue on its downward spiral and the freedoms we have taken for granted will be whittled down even further. His "(mis)management" will result in continued record prices for energy, record spending, record deficits, record unemployment, record levels of poverty and record losses of equity for homeowners. Don't let his toothy Cheshire Cat grin fool you! He's an incompetent, inexperienced and dangerous buffoon who is leading America down the garden path towards a Socialist Utopia. One that does not exist and will destroy the America some of us are old enough to remember!
wtplv - "President Obama has given clear indications that his plan to address the deficit spending and debt we face is to tax his way out of it and do precious little on reducing spending."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/e...
Obama signs payroll tax cut extension into law, includes jobless benefits
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ob...
Obama proposes cutting corporate tax rate to 28% from 35%
Steven Saterlie - "On one hand we have a chance to elect someone who may possibly steer us back to what America was meant to be, and on the other a chance to continue down the path toward a socialistic society in which government controls every aspect of life."
You bet you are confused if you buy into that socialism nonsense. Take a closer look at the party screaming about a smaller government. They want to kill the EPA, education, and a few other goverment programs, but will decide what people can vote, what women can take birth control, what sex adults can have in privacy. They will force women who were raped to have unwanted children. Virginia tried to have women forcibly probed vaginally before having an abortion. If the men deciding these issues were forced to get anal probes before buying viagra, those proposals would die before a vote was taken.
Misdirecting the voter by playing on socialism is what's happening by the right. It's actually a reverse role because it is the right who wants to control what individual rights people hold. Evolution is very real and Santorum and his ilk is the proof of a knuckle walking de-evolving neanderthal mentality. If leftup to them we'd have another Inquisition deeming which Christians are true or better Christians. Protestants should be looking over their shoulders based on what Santorum said just a few years ago.
Maxine Waters certainly believes in socialism and taking over industries. Take a look(1 minute clip):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BtuSioq-...
Dippy ays "i hate to say this but what are you going to do after Hillary takes over from Obama in 2016?"
Well we would be happy for Hillary in 2012. Get on it
Fool me once ........
Obama call his 2013 budget a "Socialist blueprint" for his re-election.
Obama last year put out a 2012-2021 ten year budget outlay which spent $47 trillion
Now Obama says he has reduced the deficit by $4 trillion over ten years!!!!!! LOL
But the 2013 budget outlay is still $47 trillion. Annual outlays are $3.8 trillion in 2013 and Obama increases it to $5.8 trillion in 2022. So how can Obama claim a $4 trillion dollar deficit reduction even after his faux $1.5 trillion in tax increases.
Look at Obama S-5 table and see that last year Obama forecast a 10 year budget deficit of $8.5 trillion - this year Obama forecast a deficit of $7.0 trillion for 2013-2022.
No way that is a $4 trillion reduction. It is just the trillion reduction Republican passed last year.
Classic Obama math. Obama is lying about the savings
Yet another example of liberal democrats attempting to control society and remove our freedom:
Georgia Democrats propose limitations on vasectomies for men
As members of Georgia's House of Representatives debate whether to prohibit abortions for women more than 20 weeks pregnant, House Democrats introduced their own reproductive rights plan: No more vasectomies that leave "thousands of children ... deprived of birth."
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/21/geo...
RefNV - Where's your sense of humor?
Jim- It's like Obama's class warfare to raise taxes only on the rich. Most know Obama can't get a class warfare tax bill through congress. It's silly and he's only fooling the OWS portion of his democratic base. Same with silly vasectomy bills at state legislatures. OWS burns our flag and liberal democrats mock our legislative branch. I don't see how Americans can take democrats seriously.
Vernos,
Here is a collection of your anti-capitalist comments on LVS(the link to each comment is below):
"Just gotta love "capitalism" and the way we treat our vets"
You "capitalists" have it arse backwards, caving
"to a communist third world nation for a few greenbacks, while placing our own out on the streets to go hungry."
"For those of you who still insist we operate under "capitalism" pay attention to China. American companies have sold their souls to the communist Chinese."
"Does capitalism trump your hostility towards Iran?"
"Excuse me, time for another dig. CAPITALISM out weighs border control."
"Is that what CAPITALISM is all about? Make sure Americans can't find employment? Just a little dig at those defending a corrupt and broken system."
"Capitalism:doing business with communists countries bypassing restrictions on enemies such as Iran selling WMD's to Saddam Hussein
putting puppet dictators in power ... The Shah, Egypt, Syria, etc., etc., etc."
"Want to stop illegals from crossing over? Fine the crap out of the companies hiring them. Why aren't they being punished? Oh yeah, it's call capitalism."
"Eventually all of us will get screwed including those supporting capitalism. That system no longer is valid because corporatocracy has replaced it. We've reached a point similar to the guilded age of robber barons in the late 1880's."
Vernos- If your that much against capitalism then what economic system do you favor?
http://m.lvsun.com/news/2011/nov/18/fail...
RefNV - As I understand you, it's OK for Republican men to make decisions about women's reproductive choices, but it's not OK for Democratic women to make decisions about men's reproductive choices. Is that about right?
As for the rest of it, save the Class Warfare propoganda for someone who doesn't know better.
Vote Obama and four more years of the "inherited thang"
RevNV...
You have WAAAAY to much time on your hands.
You & Mr. Castler think this is some kind of competition, & that your 'job' is to dissuade others of their beliefs.
This is the comment section of a newspaper; not debate class.
We read an article or an editorial, & we comment as to our take on it... our 'take' is not really an invitation to debate you. Sure, a little back and forth is fine; good even...but this ain't Debate Bowl.
What you need is your own, personal BLOG!
Whatever your political persuasion, people...
Get out and VOTE!
It was just this week that Freeman told us he was no longer concerned about socialism because the Occupy movement was fading. Yet his fears have been reignited at the mere mention of the word. Pick a buzzword, any buzzword, and the talking points crowd will jump on the bandwagon. Your choices are vast. You can fire up the base by whispering abortion, contraception, religion, guns, god, socialism, fascism, collectivism, statism, capitalism,regulation, debt, taxes, class warfare, or the granddaddy of all conservative magic messages -- freedom.
I'm with Jim Weber. What is that image of what America was meant to be? Is it the ancient picture of a nation that burns women at the stake, denies voting rights to females and blacks, owns slaves, employs child labor, denies civil rights, practices adultery? Americans, including our revered founding fathers, don't necessarily practice what they preach.
Steven Saterlie only perpetuates our problems by reducing complicated issues to two choices -- them or us -- then throwing in a false argument about socialism, all the while appealing to patriotism, that favorite refuge of every scoundrel. Please. He doesn't actually believe voters need to educate themselves. He, like every other mouthpiece for the radical right, believes you need only listen to him. That's why they talk so much.
Jim- Obama's idea of "fair share" is taxing the top wage earners more even though the top 10% already pay 70% of all federal income taxes while 50% of filers do not pay any. This is the fourth straight year that we borrowed more than $1 trillion to support the U.S. government, our budget deficit will top $1.3 trillion. How bad is is that? Only two European countries, Greece and Ireland, have larger budget deficits as a percentage of GDP. Things are only slightly better when you look at the size of our national debt, which now exceeds $15.3 trillion, or 102% of GDP. Only four European countries have larger national debts than we do -- Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Italy. The class warfare tax bill combined with no entitlement reform will not keep us from being in a financial straight jacket similar to what Greece is experiencing now. The CBO has stated that our current fiscal course "would put the nation on an unsustainable fiscal course by increasing budget deficits and federal debt relative to what they would be under current law. Over time, the resulting larger deficits would reduce private investment in productive capital and result in real GDP that would fall increasingly below the level in CBO's baseline projections". When GDP falls we lose jobs. Obama is leading in class warfare and not leading us in a direction that will allow us to sustain economically. Counting both official debt and unfunded pension and health-care liabilities, the most indebted nation in Europe is Greece, which owes 875% of GDP. The United States owes an astounding 911% of GDP. France, the second most insolvent nation in Europe, owes just 549% of GDP. And Obama doesn't have a plan to reign in debt and deficit spending?? Obama is not a leader and I can't put it any clearer than that.
Truthiness(LastThroes),
I'm not worried about socialism replacing capitalism. The Occupiers blew any chance of that. What Americans now are seeing is how this administration is both interpreting laws and creating executive orders that force a socialist agenda on our society that is unacceptable to a majority of the American people. As Americans, we want a President who protects our freedom and has our best interest in mind, not liberal special interests.
"You can fire up the base by whispering abortion, contraception, religion, guns, god, socialism, fascism, collectivism, statism, capitalism,regulation, debt, taxes, class warfare, or the granddaddy of all conservative magic messages -- freedom."
Truthiness(LastThroes), Only liberals would try to convince others that being concerned about our freedom and our nation's finances is immoral or wrong. Right is freedom and right is getting our nation to live within it's means. It's sad you don't see how important each is to Americans and our nation.
Dennis- Americans wanted to try something different in 2008 and it has now failed. A liberal President, with sights set on wanting to make more & more decisions for us, is as close to a dictator as America will ever get.
RefNV - "Vernos, Here is a collection of your anti-capitalist comments on LVS(the link to each comment is below):"
As usual you people miss the point. If we practiced true capitalism those items you listed wouldn't be in quotation. It's my form of sarcasm seeing what the "capitalists" are doing to our country and the rest of the world. You have the Koch brothers bypassing sanctions on Iran and Goldman Sachs cooking the books in Greece. When did that become capitalism? You'd be better off paying attention to the handful of billionaires who've just contributed huge amounts of funds to the present set of candidates. What are these store bought politicians willing to pay off when the big bucks call in their chips? Our democracy is being bought and sold and you worry about some socialistic fantasy driven by certain media. The take over of the United States by corporatocracy is happening right under your nose. It's called miss direction and you've been hooked by your paranoia/hate of liberals and Obama.
Re Freeman: Low blows are your style. Though I neither wrote nor implied that a concern with freedom was immoral or wrong, I will borrow your technique: Only a conservative would try to convince others that he has the one and only prescription for freedom.
By the way, I'm not LastThroes.
Gmag is right. First it was the tedious numbers repeated endlessly by NPRI's Patrick Gibbons to "educate" us. Now it is the non-stop attacks by his replacements, a new set of propagandists and professional trolls that don't live in or have any connection to Nevada. No liberal perspective goes uncontested. It is their MO. Their only goal is to sway sentiment, votes and policy toward gains for the wealthy and business class. All that money tied up in unions and social programs just eats at them. They are romantic about economics, at least their brand of economics, and particularly enamored of a new strain of market capitalism, which occurs nowhere in the first world, except in their gold-filled fantasies.
Indeed, they are incapable of nuance. By defining themselves as "pro" anything, whether it's capitalism, life or freedom, they automatically define any divergent position as "anti". Any criticism of capitalism equals anti-capitalism; any criticism of business is anti-business; any criticism of America is anti-American. If you're not with them, by god, you're against them. Fight, fight, fight. It's pathological and it has turned this nation ugly.
Somehow I led Mr. Saterlie astray about whether I should vote. I shall. My intent was to question the usefulness of my meager contributions when one man or corporation can give millions.
Did you hear Obama today about his flip-flop on energy?
Obama came out today for an all of the above strategy that includes more oil and gas.
The payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit extension are not paid for and add to the deficit. I'm ok with the President proposing them, as long as he either raises taxes somewhere or cuts spending somewhere else to balance the costs. He's like Bush.... provide a benefit... put the cost on the credit card. Why can't you see that and realize we can't keep doing it?
As for the corporate tax rate cut, it's a broad proposal, not anything specific. Vernos, I can guarantee you that if a specific proposal comes out, the proposal will include spending more money somewhere else in exchange for the cuts. This is the game Obama plays.
Just like Bush, Obama knows that if we really raise taxes on enough Americans to make a difference, or really cut spending enough to make a difference, it will be VERY unpopular.
We need someone who understands the risks we are at isn't afrid to do some things that are really unpopular. Bush wasn't that guy. Obama isn't that guy.
Michael
"Obama came out today for an all of the above strategy that includes more oil and gas."
Not surprising for a couple of reasons. Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania are heavily entrenched in gas and oil. If President Obama wants to win one/more of these states in the election, states he needs to win, he has to make nice nice to them and their dependence on these fuels.
With gas prices going north with targets of $5 per gallon by Memorial Day and $6 by mid summer, President Obama's slow walking of the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline and off shore drilling looks dumb. Especially with China and Canada laying the framework for the Canadian crude and China and South America pushing ahead on drilling.
The USA thanks to Obama is lagging behind vice leading from behind.
Carmine A. DiFazio
RICK SANTORUM / PAT BUCHANAN 2012
Let's Get It RIGHT America!
Women & Hispanics need not apply.
No Bla....either.
Yes. We definitely have 2 choices next fall. A return to the failed right wing foreign and economic policies of George W Bush or forward with president Obama. I'll take the current president on this one. I can say with absolute certainty that Ben laden would prefer Bush over Obama. :)
Future - "Obama came out today for an all of the above strategy that includes more oil and gas."
Facts mean little to you and other Obama haters. There are three times as many oil wells being drilled since Obama was elected and imports of foreign oil are at a 16 year low. Gas prices are going up because of the stock market speculators worrying about events in the middle east. You would know that if you gathered information from real news sources and not some propaganda channel.
"There are three times as many oil wells being drilled since Obama was elected ..."
For obvious reasons. As the price of oil goes up, as it has done under the Obama admin, it's profitable for companies to drill more.
Carmine A. DiFazio
"imports of foreign oil are at a 16 year low"
Due to the USA becoming more energy conscience and efficient, especially with our vehicles.
Carmine A. DiFazio
United States oil production
2001 - 8,054,000 barrels
2004 - 7,800,000 barrels
2005 - 7,610,000 barrels
2007 - 8,457,000 barrels
2009 - 9,056,000 barrels
Source: CIA World Factbook
Almost 600,000 barrels more and gas prices still rising. Is "drill baby drill" really the answer?
Go to Faux News for the Republican Response, or just wait for gogo to spin it.
The conservatives like to blame Obama for the great recession. But those darn facts keep getting in the way. The great recession started in December 2007 not January 2009 as those rascals sure do keep trying to pin it on Obama though.
If you need a reminder why voting is important, please refer to the presidential election of 2000, And the disaster of a Bush presidency compliments of the supreme court and Kathleen Harris.
1. Who is more likely to make the tough decisions? A second-term President, or a first-term President, elected in a divisive year, desperate to hold onto his elected office? Mr. Casler has maligned politicians in the past for selling themselves out for campaign contributions. How is Mitt Romney any different, and haven't his most recent actions with SuperPACs proven he is a typical politician?
2. Given your prior revelation that you attended a Mitt Romney campaign rally, Mr. Casler, do you believe Romney is actually willing to do anything that's unpopular? To the contrary, he has shown himself quite adept at twirling like a weathervane at the slightest wind. I believe your faith is misplaced.
3. Given that the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit extension was written and passed by the Congress, isn't it shortsighted to give Obama all the blame? For someone who regularly criticized the liberal commentors for ignoring the actions of elected Democrats, shouldn't you also hold yourself to that standard and share the blame with the party which controls the House of Representatives?
4. Given the campaign rhetoric of the House GOP who were elected under the Tea Party banner in 2010, isn't it a gross violation of their constituents' trust that the House caved in without even a whimper to a deficit-financed extension of benefits? Why haven't you criticized them for that?
5. Isn't it dishonest to imply Obama didn't propose raising revenue to pay for the extension when he's proposed and supported a tax surcharge on millionaires for over a year? Wouldn't it also be dishonest to blame Obama for Congress failing to take action?
6. How can one remain straight-faced when Gogo accuses Obama of "systematically destroying the economy?" Since the bottom of the Bush Recession in 2008, we've seen steady improvement. Unemployment is down. Consumer confidence is being restored. The stock market is soaring. 23 straight months of job growth. GDP is growing. Even Fox News is reporting these facts, Gogo.
7. The price of oil in the futures market is not solely determined by supply, but by demand as well. As the economy has recovered, demand has increased, and fuel prices have increased in response. Furthermore, to blame prices on the drumbeat of war on Iran but to ignore your party's complicity in beating that particular drum proves you're quite deaf when it comes to the actions of your party, Gogo. With Tucker Carlson, who you are apparently a fan, calling for Iran to be "annihilated," when will you call on your party to tone down the rhetoric? After all, that rhetoric has caused a spike in the price of oil in the futures market!
Steven......
It looks like you're the one who hasn't done his
homework.
It also looks like you have learned nothing from
the disaster economy that your greedy, heartless
republican party created.
Why do you back these republican liars, thieves
and crooks?
You need to do us all a favor.
Please throw your voting card away.
We're not going back to those crazy republican
years again.
You also haven't seen any polls.
Yesterday's AP GFX poll.......
Obama 52% Santorum 43%
Obama 52% Gingrich 42%
Obama 53% Paul 44%
Obama 51% Romney 43%
YES, President Obama beats all crazy republicans.
FOUR MORE YEARS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!
Comical listening to Obama in Fla blaming repubs for $6/gal gas (in Orlando). He just can't stand any criticism.
The one who cancelled pipelines, cancelled drilling leases in Utah, hands-off ANWR, and sent the deepwater rigs to Brazil. As well as bankrupting coal and making electricity rates "necessarily skyrocket"?
If I were a speculator i may speculate that the price of gasoline would go, oh, I don't know, up maybe?
"United States oil production
2001 - 8,054,000 barrels
2004 - 7,800,000 barrels
2005 - 7,610,000 barrels
2007 - 8,457,000 barrels
2009 - 9,056,000 barrels"
Prima facie evidence that as oil prices go up, production increases. I opine the production for 2010, 2011 and 2012 are even more.
Carmine A. DiFazio