Thought I'd share this video I saw the other day from Jon Stewart on "Class Warfare."
It made me laugh more than once, particularly the comment about the "poor" owning refrigerators.
Sadly, however, everything he says rings true. The poor have always been (and will always be) screwed over by the rich.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over | ||||
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A little over a week ago, Texas governor Rick Perry officially announced that he is running for president.
I held off on commenting about it, thinking maybe it was a joke. Sadly, it isn't.
Seriously, have we not learned our lesson about electing Texas Governors as President?
Much of Perry's success has been to lure companies to Texas with promises of huge tax breaks and lax regulations.
How could he repeat that all across the country? It's just not possible.
I honestly can't see Perry (or Bachmann either, for that matter) getting past the primaries.
I think the best hope for the Republicans is going to be Mitt Romney.
Romney isn't that great either, but seems to be the only "sane" candidate in the GOP field.
Why isn't possible Ken? You thought it was possible with Obama and he had very little experience when he was elected. Look, I concede that Rick Perry is not exactly an articulate fellow, but that does not rule out that he is not intelligent and couldn't be a good president. He certainly is a great governor. Mr. Perry is a high achiever. His upbringing, education and resume are well rounded.
ReplyDeleteFirst, he was the Eagle Scout son of Democratic tenant farmers. He is a graduate of Texas A&M and became a U.S. Air Force pilot who flew C-130s in the Middle East and Europe. He served in the Texas legislature for three 2-year terms. He served two terms as Agricultural Commissioner, Lieutenant Governor and then Governor of Texas for three terms, a job in which he has done a very good job with. Anyone with half of a brain can see that he has far more experience (and success) than Obama and therefore, just might be a good choice for president. I assure you, Perry is a sane man. No one could get where he is and not be "sane".
And F.Y.I, Perry supported Gore for president and was once a Democrat (until he wised up). Perhaps you can't see Mr. Perry "getting past the primaries", but that can't be helped. I believe he will. I agree that Bachman will not get past them. She is frankly, boring.
Mitt Romney is another far, far more experienced man than Obama. More centrist than Perry and a successful business man, he is very mid-west and people feel relatively at ease with him and his views. Yes, I agree he is sane too.
Romney is the only GOP candidate that, if he became president, wouldn't completely upset me. A "centrist" candidate has the best chance of winning over independents, and people like me who don't particularly like Obama, but wouldn't vote for an extreme right-winger. I'd consider voting for Romney, but the rest of them? No way.
ReplyDeleteThere is a current political article in Newsweek written by Kinky Friedman about Rick Perry. It may help you to see Rick Perry in a different light. It's pretty funny.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/08/24/kinky-friedman-rick-perry-s-got-my-vote.html
Not counting all the other stuff I don't like about Perry, but just his record on healthcare and education alone is enough for me to not support him. Texas is #1 for most uninsured children in the country, and they rank either last (or almost last) in educational spending. It's almost seems like Perry wants future generations to be complete idiots (who then end up Republicans.)
ReplyDeleteRomney is a fool to keep distancing himself from his state's healthcare record. In his state, 98.1% of the people are insured, and 99.8% of kids are insured. Public support for "Romneycare" is at a 2/3 margin. Yet because the GOP doesn't like it, Romney has to be a puppet and follow the flock.
But, as I said previously, I would still support Romney over Perry. I can't imagine what might happen under a Perry presidency, a guy who calls Social Security a "ponzi scheme." If Social Security is ever taken away, I know of a lot of seniors who will suddenly find themselves homeless.
Ken, I really don't understand your obsession with Health Insurance. _ _You've said it yourself, the ridiculous co-pays and exclusions make health insurance a questionable service anywa _ _ As I've stated on your blog at least twice, "Health Insurance begins at the supermarket." Look at Steve Jobs. He has enough money for all the doctors in the world...and he's apparently not doing well. Please remember that all 'medicine' is nothing but chemicals. Western medicine virtually always treats the SYMPTOMS without dealing with the underlying causes. Maybe I'm lucky... Sodas, chocolate and most other junk foods give me a stomach-ache. Therefore, I don't have a great desire to consume such products.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing....If so many people don't have insurance, wouldn't that encourage them to be MORE CAREFUL about their health (i.e. overeating, drinking, smoking, drug use)?
If you tell everyone OK, YOU'RE COVERED. WHATEVER HAPPENS, UNCLE BARACK will take care of you, won't people be even LESS-concerned about taking care of themselves (including how we drive, by the way...)
Well, I work in health insurance, so it's a topic I'm pretty familiar with. It's the uninsured that are making the costs for healthcare astronomical. In the ER, I see people come in time and time again for minor problems like sore throat and headache, and they pay nothing because they are uninsured. The hospital I work at has to write off millions of dollars a year for uninsured/bad debt. If everyone had insurance, maybe (hopefully), costs would go down. This seems like a win-win scenario for health insurance companies, so I'm not really sure why the GOP is so opposed to it. I understand their whole philosophy of "not wanting the government telling you what to do", but once big money is thrown around, I'm sure they'd look away at that.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I just want costs to go down. I don't want to pay $300 for my daughter to have an eye exam (which I paid even though I had insurance). I don't want to pay $600 for a doctor to look at my kids and prescribe penicilin. Why should I have to pay these ridiculous prices for healthcare while others come and go through the ER and pay nothing? Everyone should pay, right? Isn't that something the GOP is for?
Ken, if you actually take the time to compare the structures of a Ponzi Scheme and Social Security, you can plainly see that they are similar. Many well-educated economists, right and left have called the comparison a valid one. Perry is merely echoing what they have already said many times before he announced his candidacy for president. The fact is that Social Security cannot sustain itself as it exists. Simple arithmetic proves this beyond a doubt. When Social Security fails, it won't be Rick Perry's fault. To imply so indicates a substantial deficiency of understanding of how the system (and world), works.
ReplyDeleteYou can't actually believe that Rick Perry wants everyone to grow up as uneducated citizens (idiots in your own words). Why in the world would he want that?. Spending for education certainly does not equate into high test scores. There is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that educational spending equates into higher achievement of students. Aside from state spending, Federal spending on education has tripled in the last 30 years. That includes Texas. Where are all the well-educated graduates? Spending per student is not the answer. Clearly. Look at spending in other countries and their test scores to verify this.
All this demagogic talk of the GOP being the proverbial "Axis of Evil" is based on feelings and not reality. If all Republicans are idiots as you insinuate, how is it that that the Democrats are continually frustrated by them? It seems a easy task to just walk around idiots to get what you wish, right? That is, if you are smarter than "them" - the "idiots".
If the label is good for one group, it sure applies to the other. Come on Ken... there are good and bad in both parties. Admit it.
Cole is wrong. It's not a Ponzi scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission defines such a scheme as "an investment fraud that involves the payment of purported returns to existing investors from funds contributed by new investors." It is true that benefits to current Social Security recipients are paid for in part by new members of the workforce. But Social Security is not a fraudulent criminal enterprise designed only to benefit current participants in the program. It is a legitimate government program meant to serve both current and future generations of retirees.
ReplyDelete