tagged w/ McCain
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Join the club Senator McCain, the rest of "thinking" America don't understand it either. thinkingblueJoin the club Senator McCain, the rest of "thinking" America don't... more
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Kentucky Senator Rand Paul reflects on 13-hour stand on the Obama administration’s use of drones, criticism from McCain and Graham and more with Fox News’ Greta van Susteren.
http://youtu.be/A1bpUEriwGgKentucky Senator Rand Paul reflects on 13-hour stand on the Obama... more
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Elder Sen. John McCain, who this week engaged in friendly fire when he launched his "maverick" missiles at fellow Republicans seeking clarification on the administration's drone policies, has upped the ante, deriding Tea Party-backed GOP lawmakers as "wacko birds."
McCain, who hit the Senate floor Thursday to belittle Sen. Rand Paul's filibuster, which succeeded in getting an answer from President Obama that drones won't be used to kill Americans on U.S. soil, even suggested that the Kentucky senator and his allies, like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, don't represent the GOP mainstream.
"It's always the wacko birds on right and left that get the media megaphone," McCain told Huffington Post's Jon Ward in a story titled "John McCain: Getting Back To Maverick, With An Eye On Retirement."
Full Story: http://bit.ly/XywT6V
http://youtu.be/FIpXqE54f_AElder Sen. John McCain, who this week engaged in friendly fire when he launched his... more
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I loved when McCain told Hannity that he was wrong about Libya, twice. Every once in a while McCain still shows that maverick style that once made him popular with the middle in this country. Shame he abandoned it for the most part, but at least he stood up to Hannity's BS this time.I loved when McCain told Hannity that he was wrong about Libya, twice. Every once in a... more
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An Obama supporter joins a progressive web forum. Predictable results follow
http://youtu.be/bqsd0WNl8u0An Obama supporter joins a progressive web forum. Predictable results follow... more
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Mr. Kyl and Mr. McCain have introduced a bill known as the Navajo-Hopi Little Colorado River Water Rights Settlement, which would require the tribes to waive their water rights for “time immemorial” in exchange for groundwater delivery projects to three remote communities.
The tribes must sign off on the settlement, along with 30 other entities including Congress and the president, before the bill becomes law.
Mr. Kyl said the bill was on a “fast track” and he would like to see it pushed through Congress before this session ends. But the outcome is uncertain, as there is a disagreement within the Navajo and Hopi governments over whether or not to endorse the bill, as well as disapproval within the communities, which are pushing for more public hearings.
The settlement would benefit the two tribes by providing clean drinking water piped directly into their homes, Mr. Kyl said. There is very little surface water on the two reservations, he said, adding that most of the water that does exist is in aquifers and the tribes can’t afford to build the infrastructure necessary to gain access to it.
What the tribes would lose by settling is a crucial bargaining chip. Other parties, including Peabody Coal and two other corporations, want the water for ranching, farming and coal mining operations. Coal mining in particular uses copious amounts of water for its slurries.
The tiny Hopi reservation is completely surrounded by the much larger Navajo reservation, which covers 27,000 square miles of land over sections of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Many homes lack indoor plumbing, and one out of three families on the Navajo reservation does not have access to a public drinking water system, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Some wells and springs are still contaminated with uranium and other toxic heavy metals, a legacy of 40 years of mining.
In an arid region where water is scarce, some tribal leaders are in favor of settling their claims in exchange for running water. But the bill has also stirred some controversy among environmental groups and tribe members, who say that their leaders didn’t inform them about the details.
“Water is life, and when you take away our water, you take away our lives,” said Ed Becenti, a Navajo grass-roots organizer. He said that after the meeting, which took place behind closed doors, a crowd of about 200 milling outside followed the senators to their cars chanting “Kill bill 2109″ and “Leave our water alone.”
He said that Senator Kyl should “meet with the Navajo and Hopi grass-roots representation on the settlement agreement and go over it in detail.” He added, “Our tribal leaders have evidently dropped the ball on this one.”
Several environmental groups also oppose the bill. The Grand Canyon Trust, which was recently successful in halting new mining claims on federal land around the Grand Canyon, characterized the bill on its Web site as containing “several dangerous provisions that require a permanent waiver” of water rights.
More at the linkMr. Kyl and Mr. McCain have introduced a bill known as the Navajo-Hopi Little Colorado... more
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War mongers: Senators McCain, Graham and Lieberman want to give weapons to Syrian rebels because it worked out so well when we armed Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein...These people sure do piss the fu*k out of me...
WASHINGTON — Senior US lawmakers filed a resolution Wednesday in the Senate condemning deadly violence ordered by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and urging the arming of the country’s opposition.
Republican Senator John McCain presented the text, co-sponsored by four other senators including Lindsey Graham and independent Joe Lieberman, “condemning the mass atrocities committed by the government of Syria and supporting the right of the people of Syria to be safe and to defend themselves.”
The non-binding resolution “supports calls by Arab leaders to provide the people of Syria with the means to defend themselves against Bashar al-Assad and his forces, including through the provision of weapons and other material support.”
The senators urged President Barack Obama to implement such efforts, and also called on his administration to take “all necessary precautions” to ensure such support for the opposition does not fall into the hands of individuals aligned with Al-Qaeda or other terror groups.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/03/28/senators-file-resolution-to-arm-syria-opposition/War mongers: Senators McCain, Graham and Lieberman want to give weapons to Syrian... more
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No wonder so many countries in the world hate us. Given the kind of double dealing we've been into, its no surprise. We tried to kill this guy about 20 some odd years ago and were pissed we didn't. He was promoted as a terrorist for years. Then 9/11 happens and things changed. Now, he might be a ally in our "War of Terror", so Bush decided he wasn't so bad and made him a friend. McCain goes over there and offers weapons. But this Spring, he was a bad guy all over again and McCain was leading the charge in trashing him.
Just great.No wonder so many countries in the world hate us. Given the kind of double dealing... more
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The core question is, do we want to limp along defending a failed President who has no allegiance to progressive values or Democratic Party achievements and then get blamed for the next 20 years for the economic non-recovery? Or do we want to get into oppositional mode and build a real progressive movement from the ground up in the expectation that a Republican Presidency in 2013-16 will fail, that Democrats will win back the Presidency in 2016 and not blow their opportunity a second time with a weak President, and that real change will become possible. Based on past performance with Obama, we can expect him to continue digging a hole for Democrats; giving him four more years most likely would mean the hole would be too deep to climb out of. It is time for progressives to let Republicans take responsibility for digging that hole while we create an alternative.The core question is, do we want to limp along defending a failed President who has no... more
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In the latter two minutes of President Obama’s speech, he identified the nation’s public.
The citizens. In each our own way we can be “patriots”, we will be patriots and this word of nationalism will NOT be confined to military bases or themes of war. Among 30,000 troops used for the surge to counter alleged Taliban and Al qaeda forces in the region; we
First must react with the Constitutional ideals FIRST and shed ourselves from considering terms like “ POWER” to be its self engineered justification of our actions.
We were not greeted as Liberators. We had not liberated. Our armed forces will not face propaghanda proclaiming heroism before the work is done. Former Vice President Richard Cheney would have had wisdom to instead say: “ we will leave as liberators” Early celebrations cost lives first and money , lots of it, also. Don’t jinx the goals , dicky.
Power is gluttonous. Power is a word that is not democratic. Power is the action of last resort by weapon that neither thinks or shoots itself. The Taliban is a self contained regime that operates as an effective shadow government for the regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran… They are sectarian and they have a daily need to recruit people
in a battle of plurality no different than organized crime. My block or your block, Sunni, Shi’a, Wahabi, political party or boxers or briefs. (women make that undies choice too , its not sex specific) ‘Protection” money. Talibans are not synonymous with Islam . Al qaeda NOR Bin Laden was originally a sworn enemy of the United States. One item that the previous president : America’s broken promise of support to a war time economy was the ignition point. The Afghanis had served and seen their exploitive purpose to the other gluttonous nuclear power war with former USSR. George W. Bush was incorrect: Both Al Qaeda and the Taliban are political quests whether with staff or not. To control them , first our nation must put down the sword and recognize the pen in this case.. is the first offensive. Not All persons claiming to be Muslims are truly muslims.
Just as president Obama addressed Afghanistans goals should move from a wartime economy to a peacetime investment of resources in its own people; this is our nation’s lesson also. We didn’t endure looking for Bin Laden, We OVERSPENT and OVERSTAFFED a mission that endangered our own troops, our own reputation in the world and our neighbors of the globe being stereotyped as Osama’s brother , mother, or significant other. I prefer if President Barry would retract one specific statement he made:
“The United States , by choosing to not engage in global military / defense operations would be retreating”
We would not. Our policy as world leaders must stand ahead of mediocre male valor of 'fight or be a pussy (pacificist) '. Frugality as a deficit nation is rationale and responsible. End these politics of two faced saber rattling like Senator McCain both criticising late Libyan intervention yet hesitance on participation as a UN force. Mavericks don't have weak backbones to being wrong or being toys of news networks for ratings.
The first lesson in being an independent nation is learning to manage problems as an independent nation. China did get the offer to wander in and privatize the United States petroleum wells when we were having our civil war. The occupation of Iraq was opportunistic during a struggle of sectarian Muslims lacking one thing that Christianity had already faced: The need to regather and create a harmonious Creed of Nicea. They still war , and they do so with jealousy. Their only peace in life is to find war with thin skin of hearing someone misspeak of their prophet Moe , an attitude of martyrdom not even HE lived. In the middle east our war with heretical clerics claiming to be Muslim is a true war that MUST escalate. New modifications to promote classist genocide of gullible young people looking to taste of nationalism.. on a suicidal course with creating terrorism for 2.5 Million virgins rather than the long standing 72. Who is truly authorized to offer so many women for the reward of war? Without a body to enjoy sex, the breaks in their rationale are obvious. A Difficulty to create new images of Allah quite difficult past the limits of the grave.
The United States Department of Defense was at culpability from the August of 2001 all through this very cost of war. From the President to the Kitchen staff. Creating a Homeland Security Department was an admission the Defense Department was elsewhere irritating the locals on other continents. We are not isolationist. Our business sector is so extroverted it can’t wait to hire foreign labor to scab the lifestyles of our own citizens. American citizens should not be taunted with three positions. A)Center, b) Cowards or c) SaberRattling Racial Ethnic Murderers for Arbitrary Causes.
We already saw that example. Low Class, Middle Class , Above Middle Class. There is no wealth class; no citizen is entitled to hoard the national currency simply because their career is a financier or organizational.
Our national difficulty in the wage distribution is that the financial and corporate sector feel it is their self entitlement to be paid more for holding an executive or fiscally responsible career. Products like packaged loan credits are not investments in our American Workers or in American Companies. Short Sellers making profit sooner than the company they were hedging on are forgetting that the Research and Development department of that stock is owed more of their income than they are. Simple math is not a social investment. Skills lead to profit. Operations by extremely fast computers: Microsecond stock trading techs, do not require large salaries. THAT is not a sapien skill.
Barry ain’t too shabby. His hesistance to oblige the Department of Labor to run a checks and balances on the Supreme Courts Decision is at lack. The Lilly Ledbetter bill to assure equal pay is due to cast its shadow on a Judiciary Panel whose decision is split not only on partisan lines but on sex and gender rights lines also. A Class action suit was ignored on the basis of the very commonality being argued of the discrimation of wage: Sexuality. Would the womens’ sufferage movement need additional qualifiers of equal privilege? The answer is no.
IS Barry retreating from his obligation of his own signature? Lilly Ledbetter lost her judgement on a technicality. Let’s decide if the self designed philosophy of law is actually providing justice ---or --sexist classism. On a purely sex based survey of judges, Lets the United States Judicial Branch test its consistent judgment on the Walmart case.
For judge and Citizen ; A referendum...... continued to Part2In the latter two minutes of President Obama’s speech, he identified the... more
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WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. Rick Santorum said Tuesday that Sen. John McCain, who spent 5 1/2 years enduring brutal treatment at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors, doesn't know how effective waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques can be. The Republican presidential contender insisted the tactics led the United States to al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.
McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a speech last week that waterboarding al-Qaida's No. 3 leader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, did not provide information that led to bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.
McCain said he asked CIA Director Leon Panetta for the facts, and that the hunt for bin Laden did not begin with fresh information from Mohammed. In fact, the name of bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti, came from a detainee held in another country.
"Not only did the use of enhanced interrogation techniques on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed not provide us with key leads on bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmed, it actually produced false and misleading information," McCain said.WASHINGTON -- Former Sen. Rick Santorum said Tuesday that Sen. John McCain, who spent... more
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Long ago, political feuds may have been aired on the floor of Congress, or in the pages of an op-ed section. In today's sped-up, social-media-addled sparring scene, however, the major outbursts of acrimony among political and media figures tend to surface first on Twitter.
Witness Cindy McCain, wife of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was none too pleased over a recent segment of Fox's Glenn Beck show that featured the voluble host making crude jokes about daughter Meghan McCain's appearance in a public service ad on the fight against skin cancer. Cindy McCain took to her Twitter account to reiterate her delight over Beck's forthcoming departure from Fox News, writing: "I'm so glad Glenn Beck is leaving Fox. Enough vitriol and hate. Glenn you are no rodeo clown. They are decent and nice. You aren't."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theticket/20110512/ts_yblog_theticket/mccain-ladies-feud-with-glenn-beckLong ago, political feuds may have been aired on the floor of Congress, or in the... more
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The last newspaper reader is back and this time, he sees stories about Gas Prices, Obama, John McCain and the Royal Wedding. Looks like the newspaper reader just found out that Donald Trump is talking about running for President in 2012. Boy, he does have an opinion, doesn't he?The last newspaper reader is back and this time, he sees stories about Gas Prices,... more
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!5791915/did-sarah-palin-carry-out-the-biggest-hoax-in-american-political-history
Rise and shine, Grandma Sarah!!5791915/did-sarah-palin-carry-out-the-biggest-hoax-in-american-political-history... more
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David Cay Johnston | Mar. 3, 2011 08:43 AM EST
We take you now to the official data for important news. Federal tax revenues in 2010 were much smaller than in 2000. Total individual income tax receipts fell 30 percent in real terms. Because the population kept growing, income taxes per capita plummeted.
Individual income taxes came to just $2,900 per capita in 2010, down 36 percent from more than $4,500 in 2000. Total income taxes and income taxes per capita declined even though the economy grew 16 percent overall and 6 percent per capita from 2000 through 2010.
Corporate income tax receipts fell 27 percent and declined 34 percent per capita, even though profits boomed, rising 60 percent.
Payroll taxes increased slightly overall, but slipped per capita because the nation's population grew five times faster than the number of people with any work. The average wage also declined slightly.
You read it here first. Lowered tax rates did not result in increased tax revenues as promised by politician after pundit after professional economist. And even though this harsh truth has been obvious from the official data for some time, the same politicians and pundits keep prevaricating. Some of them even say it is irrelevant that as a share of GDP, income tax revenues are at their lowest level since 1951, when Harry S. Truman was president.
No matter how many times advocates of lower tax rates said it, tax rate cuts did not pay for themselves, did not spur economic growth, did not increase jobs, and did not make America better off.
Now that the news has been broken, let's see how many political leaders start speaking facts instead of fairy tales. And let's also watch to see how many Washington reporters, news anchors, talk show guests, and syndicated columnists use the actual figures. It's called holding politicians accountable, and it used to be a mainstay of journalism, where the first rule is to check it out and the second is to cross-check until you know what is going on and can give context.
The tables accompanying this column should be easy enough to read and turn into graphics for television, newspapers, and magazines, not to mention all those blogs and digital journals.
So how soon will we see Washington journalists holding politicians accountable for what they say about taxes, tax rates, revenues, economic growth, and jobs?
Here's some advice: Don't hold your breath. Washington has become a city of ideological marketing, where those who would note that the emperors have no facts are unwelcome in their own newsrooms. It is a city where access matters most and those who ask tough questions don't get access.
Just as real Mad Men persuaded millions of men to put that greasy Brylcreem™ in their hair and convinced many more that cigarettes make you healthier, pure nonsense about tax cuts spurring growth and paying for themselves gets repeated and replayed and regurgitated as if it had some basis in reality. But Washington is the marketplace of ideas and governance, not the marketplace of products. Lies about taxes sold by people with no regard for facts are at least as dangerous to our society as cigarettes are to smokers.
Consider this nonsense from the syndicated column by Thomas Sowell, who holds the Rose and Milton Friedman chair at the Hoover Institution. Sowell at least hedged a bit when he applied the word "often," writing in December:
High tax rates on paper, that many people avoid, often does not bring in as much tax revenue as lower tax rates that more people actually pay, after it is safe to come out of tax shelters and earn higher rates of taxable income.1
But two months later, this former UCLA economics professor seems to have made up his facts, writing in his February column that "in each case, going back to the '20s, the reduced tax rates have led to increased tax revenues for the government."2
On the radio and television, I hear this sort of falsehood posing as fact all the time, sometimes by people who cite Sowell. It was true in the century past, and for limited times, that tax rate cuts were followed by more economic growth and increased revenues. But that has not been true in this century. And some tax increases have been followed by economic growth, a fact Sowell neglected to mention. Over time, as the facts have mounted, the leaders of the "tax cuts good, taxes bad" school have started moving from the unsupportable to the cleverly worded. Consider this quite typical 2003 report from Daniel J. Mitchell, then at the Heritage Foundation and now at the Cato Institute:(more at link & source material)David Cay Johnston | Mar. 3, 2011 08:43 AM EST
We take you now to the official data... more
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