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Post by ouchy on Nov 5, 2008 12:32:02 GMT -5
At least McCain didn't vote "present." Hope Obama gets over that little shenanigan!
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Post by staceys on Nov 5, 2008 13:01:01 GMT -5
You're right, but remember you have to be present to vote present. 110th congress John McCain: 407 votes missed (63.8%), 231 votes cast Barack Obama: 290 votes missed (45.5%), 348 votes cast What it means to vote present from www.blogher.com/what-does-it-mean-vote-presentThe "present" vote is in effect a "no" vote, but it is a "no" vote that sends a message. The "present" vote is used by lawmakers in situations where they agree with a bill in spirit, however the current version of the bill is not good enough to vote "yes;" either it is too expensive, it is inadequately planned or funded, or it has riders or earmarks attached that are entirely inappropriate. A "present" vote is taking a stand. In fact the "present" vote says more than if the Senator had just voted "no."
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Post by ouchy on Nov 5, 2008 13:06:21 GMT -5
I think people who vote "present" need to locate their balls.
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Post by ouchy on Nov 6, 2008 20:54:17 GMT -5
It was pointed out to me in a PM that tess, your parents should WANT to pay taxes and not try to find tax shelters...bc according to our vice-president elect, "paying taxes is patriotic." LOL! PLUS, those who dont' want higher taxes are "selfish," according to our president elect. So, c'mon, tess! Tell your parents to be patriotic and "help spread the wealth!" Welcome to the great world of socialism! cheer! cheer! barf!
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Post by cass on Nov 6, 2008 22:30:27 GMT -5
Ouchy i told you in confidence!! lol
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Post by ouchy on Nov 6, 2008 22:33:35 GMT -5
LMAO! It wasn't cass, everyone!
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Post by cass on Nov 6, 2008 23:02:13 GMT -5
No it wasnt me... everyone should know id just tell Tess myself hahaha!
I need to up my lap dance fees cause of these tax rises!!
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Post by ouchy on Nov 6, 2008 23:35:34 GMT -5
^Oh! That is a good idea! LOL. HUMMMM. That means fewer customers, though. Great for the economy, eh?
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Post by JackMcFarland on Nov 6, 2008 23:42:39 GMT -5
F U CASS! I KNOW IT WAS YOU! DAMN COMMY! Lol. My dad was comparing Biden to Stalin today when we were debating. It was pretty funny... not that communism is funny...lol. AND, btw, my parents DONT find tax outlets. in fact, they pay their taxes... always have and always will. ill agree that paying taxes is patriotic.... BUT its not patriotic when my parents taxes pays for someone elses living... if u get my drift. and the only wealth that my parents should share is adding to my and my sisters education and perhaps our growing closets. i can go on acting like a spoiled product of the republican party... if you want. LMAO. i'm sort of a centrist... i can see both sides to the ass and the elephant but its 11:45 and tomorrow starts my four day vacation, so im going to shut my mouth and go to bed! LOL.
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Post by ouchy on Nov 7, 2008 1:08:05 GMT -5
I dont' think paying taxes is patriotic! Part of the reason America was founded was to get away from taxes. There was even a war fought over it!
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Post by ouchy on Nov 7, 2008 1:09:38 GMT -5
4-day vacation!!! where are you going?
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Post by staceys on Nov 7, 2008 2:12:28 GMT -5
Are you joking about the PM ouchy? And for once, I think there's something that Ouchy and I agree on... I don't think paying taxes is patriotic either, it's a necessary evil in my opinion. When I write out my quarterly taxes, I'm not a happy camper. If my taxes go up, I wont' be thrilled, but the reality of it is that we are in a mess and we need to get out of it. It's going to fall on our backs unfortunately, we as a country are the ones who voted in Bush, not once but twice. We let this happen, and no I don't think it was all the republicans fault either, but Bush was running the ship. At least before Bush we were getting out of debt not drowning in it like we are now.
For whatever it's worth, I was always registered independent, but had to register as democrat in the spring to vote in the primary - I think that totally sucks. I think the two party system needs to go. My views are mostly center, but have swung more to the left after this Bush era.
Time for bed!!
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Post by JackMcFarland on Nov 7, 2008 6:57:18 GMT -5
4-day vacation!!! where are you going? NYC Oh, and it's more patriotic to pay your taxes than not, right? That's what I meant by what I said. My parents do the right thing. Their honest, hard working people who don't skip out on something they might not even agree with. Should they have to pay extra taxes because of that? No, but that's life... we've got to learn to roll with the punches. My mom used to tell me that whenever life throws you lemons, you should put them in the freezer then throw them back! LOL Either way, this country (whatever party) is based on greed. And I think Bush should pay off our national debt with his own money! lol Now that's patriotic!
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Post by staceys on Nov 7, 2008 9:42:41 GMT -5
Oh, I gotcha Tess... I misunderstood. I totally agree with you. I think Bush should go to jail, along with Cheney and a lot of other people, but since it will never happen, I'll take him paying back the debt! We are in a such a mess right now and all I can hope is that we get back on the right track. Greed is rampant, no doubt. I learned by opening a small business, that this country is totally set up for capitalism and breaks for business owners when it comes to taxes. I was amazed what is in the tax code and what is considered write offs or losses. I am also uber ticked off about the bailout; I understand why they are doing it, but if I bankrupt my business, who is coming to bail me out... no one. Who has to pay for the deregulation on wall street, us. Why did this happen... greed. I think it's really scary that the gov't may start buying out the banks and taking a financial interest in them... it's a slippery slope we are walking on when the gov't serves to make or lose money by having a personal stake in private businesses. Am I worried about Obama... sure, just as I would be worried about McCain. Do I think either of them lied to us in their campaign, of course they both did, the question is what can Obama uphold and what will he not. We are so far from being out of the woods and I don't think it will get better anytime soon. I'm not disillusioned that Obama is the end all be all or the saviour that some make him out to be and I don't at all think that he's the antichrist or socialist that some make him out to be; I am simply hopeful that he can heal a broken nation and start to turn this around. It took what, 6 years for Bush to bankrupt us, it's going to take just as long or even longer to see any change in the other direction.
Have a great time in NYC... I hope the weather holds up. It's been an absolutely miserable week up here in Philly.
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Post by karen80222 on Nov 7, 2008 10:40:03 GMT -5
No -- the PM to Ouchy wasn't a joke...it was from me as I was wondering what the policy was for discussing politics as I have been reading things that have I have been finding very troubling. The "paying more taxes is patriotic" comes from our new administration's VP Joe Biden! Under his thinking, if you do well financially from working hard, you should pay more to cover those who don't. So Tess, since your parents are successful, why should they take tax write-offs at all -- or any of us for that matter, if we can afford it? You don't have to take the standard deduction or exemptions, or write anything off and you can pay more than what is required on the tax form(s) -- the more you pay the more patriotic you are....I know, sounds ridiculous doesn't it! That was my point! Tess, yes your parents do have reason to worry....even assuming 4% additional taxes (trust me, it will be much more)...on a million bucks....that would mean they would work just as hard and make $40,000 less! I don't know how much your parents pay their employees, but that could mean laying off one of their workers....which is a loss of spending in the community (called the multiplier effect where each dollar increases in value), another person potentially on unemployment and welfare rolls. And, even assuming that person receives full unemployment and welfare benefits-- that person would still get less that $40,000, but would cost the government more than $150,000 to administer those benefits....now does that make any sense at all??? We have a HUGE deficit....how does this make it any better? As for George Bush -- no he was not our best president...possibly one of the worst, only the future will tell...but he is not King, nor a dictator, and did not run this country single-handedly. Our Congress (Senate and House) mainly run the country and initiate and administer the policies. Our economy was the #1 issue in this election, and our economy has tanked in the past 2 years. Who has been in charge of Congress the last 2 years??? The Democrats. Coincidence? Maybe....Maybe not. We also need to take some personal responsibility for this crisis as it has evolved from greed and easy credit, not just from Wall Street, but from consumers. It's not the government's fault that people ran up credit card debt for things they don't need and can't pay for, or got into huge over-priced houses with loans they could never pay for. It IS the government's fault (Democrats specifically on this one...no coincidence here ) that believed that home ownership was a right, not a privilege, and underwrote these easy loans to people who could never afford them, and never should have got them, turning Freddie and Fannie into a disaster which translated into more Wall Street greed. Sorry, this is so long....but I hate to see Ouchy standing alone here! Our country is in serious trouble. and we are dragging the whole world down, and no President (past or present) is going to fix that unless we take responsibility for ourselves and keep a keen eye on our Congressmen and women....not just our President and Vice-President.
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