Posts Made By: Rod Kaufman

Originally Posted by Chris Pagan

In theory if the current budget matched revenue (taxes collected) there would be no need to borrow money assuming debt service is included in budget and no need to raise debt ceiling.

I own a business and have gone to a bank to borrow working capitol.  The first question is "What do you need the money for?"  The second question is "How do you plan on paying it back?" 
If I answered the second question "I'll just borrow some more money"  I would be shown the door and not get the loan. The bankers are smart enough to know that I probably won't be in business with that attitude.  This is how our government operates and it needs to change. 

Personally if I were in McCarthy's shoes I would use the debt ceiling vote to at least get some accountability for future spending and "get something in writing" that shows a commitment towards a balanced budget.  

I understand the possible ramifications of possible default but the spending issue is as important.  How I see it if he capitulates the gap between revenue and sending will get much worse (no matter who is in the Whit House).  Sometimes you need to get burned to gain respect for fire.

For the record I was upset at the spending under Trump.

Chris

"In theory if the current budget matched revenue (taxes collected) there would be no need to borrow money assuming debt service is included in budget and no need to raise debt ceiling."
Needless to say that's not reality.
The situation is analogous not to "I went to the bank to borrow money and..." but to, "my credit card statement is coming due but I'm not going to pay it." In other words, the money had already been borrowed and spent. Now it's crunch time and it has to be paid back. The government can't file for bankruptcy protection against its creditors. So it either raises the debt ceiling or it defaults on its obligations. That's reality.
I see Biden, McCarthy, Jeffries and finally, McConnell are going to meet on May 6th to hopefully reach an understanding. Now we have to hope and pray cooler heads will prevail and the country won't be destroyed by some MAGA extremists in the House...

June's right around the corner and today, Mitch McConnell has bailed on the debt ceiling crisis by stating he's gonna sit this one out!
Let me see,  the GOP has raised the debt ceiling 49 times under GOP presidents and 29 times under Democratic presidents, including three times under Trump who said he couldn't imagine using the debt ceiling as a discussion for a debate about it. And, the same MAGA extremists who voted for unconditionally raising the debt ceiling under Trump are the same ones who are willing to tank the US and world economy now by refusing to pay for the nearly 8 trillion in debt incurred under the Trump administration.  
The economic decline that will follow if the US defaults on its debt is too awful to contemplate but it will likely be akin or worse than the great recession in '08.
McCarthy's inane bill that barely eked by the GOP controlled house is a non-starter that is DOA in the senate. To pass that monstrosity, McCarthy had to appease the Republicans in the midwest agricultural states by including subsidies for their ethanol-fuel producing corporations which McCarthy had deleted from his bill because that sort of corporate welfare was too much for even him! But, to get his "victory", it's back in there! 
The potential for a cataclysmic economic catastrophe is growing exponentially every day thanks to the MAGA extremists in congress who would like to tank the economy and the government and then blame it on Biden in order to get Trump re-elected...

Originally Posted by James Brown

Where do you get this stuff Rod?  This left-wing outrage guy/site equals any right-wing outrage porn ever posted by anyone on Astromart ever.   

I guess there is equivalent apatite for outrage on both sides of the aisle?

For those who choose not to watch it, this commentator is outraged at a pro-gun T-shirt held up by Lauren Boebert at a shooting range.  The T-shirt re-names an AR style rifle as a "cordless hole puncher," and thus is a dig at the woke crowd as well as being pro-gun.  I would agree the T-shirt is in poor taste.  Still, the commentator rants in the popular "high outrage" style of the finest NewsMax personalities that AR style rifles are not used to "poke holes in targets" and are not used to "poke holes wild animals" but are used to poke holes in human beings.  His message is clear, "assault rifles" (his words) exist only to kill people.  Furthermore, I'd say that he implies that Lauren Boebert is just fine with school shootings. The level of his lefty outrage is ridiculous.

As most of you know, I don't own guns.  Still, it seems only fair to call out another fine example of left-wing outrage porn since it is apparently as prevalent as the right-wing outrage porn that we are subjected to pretty much constantly.

Jim

Jim,
While I understand your point, I don't agree with it. The shirt isn't just in "poor taste"; it's reflective of the mindset that produces it in the first place. That's what I believe the commentator is referring to as well as the lack of response to mass shootings in any manner on the part of right extremists like Boebert and her ilk in congress other than to provide picture cards of their families at Christmas time with each merrily displaying their assault weaponry...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9_R502_RPs

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

I never said there were no bad actors involved.....and also said that those that broke the law should suffer the consequences. What I did say was that it was a far cry from an insurrection and that remains true. But of course as is par for the course you leftists build a mountain out of a molehill LOL

Insurrection defined: "a violent uprising against an authority or government."
Proud Boys: "guilty: to forcibly prevent the peaceful transfer of power from then-President Donald Trump to Joe Biden after the 2020 election."
And you call Jan 6th "all that BS"...

Jim,
While I agree with your characterization of my position as well as that of Greg, I think, based on Greg's statements in various posts, that he views Jan 6th as "BS" and not much more. In other words, you could have simply stated that as his position without qualification.
That said, it's noteworthy that the convicted proud boys cited Trump as their reason for doing what they did, including his "stand back and standby" statement which was played in court. In other words, there's more bad actors here...

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

Haters and the left need to stop trying to rewrite history over this..... I am quite sure you heard Trump telling the crowd to *peaceably* march down there and make their voices heard. That is not prompting them to riot....that is asking them to protest as is their RIGHT and to do so peaceably. 

Lol! Now THAT'S BS!
Trump's so-called march "peaceably" remark came late in the game of his speech and after he whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Here's his entire speech, see if you can pick it out after everything he's says:
https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966396848/read-trumps-jan-6-speech-a-key-part-of-impeachment-trial

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

Ridiculous bullshit from you once again..... It was a speech, it had a start and an end. Late in the game??????? Do you mean to imply he should have told them to march down there peaceably to protest at the start of the speech? Who would do that? LOL.....No like any normal speech he said what he had to say and then urged them to peaceably make their voices heard near the end. But then it is you....and those glasses you view the world with are twisted fuckers at best lol

Taking his speech at his word, which the majority of the mob did, they peacefully marched down to the capitol. THAT they did. ONCE THERE, they proceeded to fight like hell and do what the proud boys and the Oath Keepers said Trump told them to do. Now do you get it?!

Originally Posted by James Brown

I don't get it.  Are saying that Trump overtly told them to march peacefully to the Capital, but then covertly signaled to them (wink - nod) style to riot once they got there?   There is no way Trump is capable of that much finesse!   You gotta either believe he is a sophisticated master manipulator, or just a moron who says whatever he feels like, damn the consequences.   I am firmly in the latter camp.  Trump's speech is rambling and ambiguous.  He wanted adoration from his fans, not an actual riot that threatened the safety of everyone in the Capital.   

That's right, you don't get it. Trump incited the mob to go to the capitol "to fight like hell" and that's what the mob did. He briefly told them to peacefully march to the capitol, which they did, and once there, they acted accordingly to his "fight like hell" mantra. Trump's own advisers pleaded with him to make a formal announcement to cease and desist which he only did a couple of hours later and only after gleefully watching the carnage on his TV...
 

Originally Posted by Greg Shaffer

Nope.... a few (comparatively) bad actors out of thousands showed their asses and are suffering the consequences....Now do you get it? lol

At this point, over a thousand have been charged for various offenses for Jan 6th.
Obviously, not all fit in the category of seditious conspiracy. As per their lawyer in court, "It was Donald Trump’s words. It was his motivation. It was his anger that caused what occurred on January 6th..."they want a scapegoat...for Donald Trump and those in power."
https://www.foxnews.com/us/proud-boys-leader-enrique-tarrio-3-other-members-convicted-plot-attack-capitol-jan-6
Just remember Trump sat gleefully watching the capitol rioting on TV until his advisers and his own family members begged him to make an announcement to stop it. And they only stopped when Trump told them to stop...