The 10 scariest words in English

[MosesPresley]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly

the scariest words in the English language are really, "I'm from the insurance company."

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Originally posted by PLATO
Oh..and if you want to help those poor souls down there then here is the American Red Cross donation link:

http://arc.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_main&JServSessionIdr010=juivd043ac.app10b

Please note, that they are preparing to shelter over 350,000 people and are entirely privately funded.

I just sent $50. Show how much you libs care. Match me!

Not to worry. Our family gave $500 to Oxfam for tsunami relief; we'll give the same amount to the Red Cross or similar organization for this.

[Drake Tungsten]

I guess I should be glad that ya'll waited at least a couple days before using this tragedy to make dubious political points.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly


Not to worry. Our family gave $500 to Oxfam for tsunami relief; we'll give the same amount to the Red Cross or similar organization for this.

[Theben]

Originally posted by Drake Tungsten
I guess I should be glad that ya'll waited at least a couple days before using this tragedy to make dubious political points.

Both sides are equally guilty.

[Winston]

Oh yeah?

[Sava]

Originally posted by Winston
. He opposed big government as a gospel,

except Reagan was BIG government...

at it's peak in 1983... 24 cents of every dollar spent in America was spent by the government...

I actually feel sorry for you Winston. Because you supposedly hold these ideals of "small government" but yet you idolize a president who did THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU WANT!

Seriously Winston... it's like me idolizing Pat Robertson!

and quite frankly, it's hard to take you seriously because of this...

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Sava
it's like me idolizing Pat Robertson!

hmmm...didn't know that.

[Winston]

Trust me Sava, the last thing I'd want is to be taken seriously by you. But you lefties really need to make up your minds on this. Did Reagan destroy government or build it up, I think at some point you have to choose one.

[Theben]

Originally posted by Winston
Oh yeah?

Well I was trying to be nice and not say the right is more guilty, but if you insist.

[Theben]

Originally posted by Winston
Trust me Sava, the last thing I'd want is to be taken seriously by you. But you lefties really need to make up your minds on this. Did Reagan destroy government or build it up, I think at some point you have to choose one.

He made it big but useless for its intended purpose.

[Winston]

Originally posted by Theben


Well I was trying to be nice

You need more practice, then.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Winston
Did Reagan destroy government or build it up,

he contributed to a movement (that is still in progress) that is seeking to destroy government's power over corporate and other private interests while at the same time, seeking to build up governments power over the public and the US's ability to project power around the world...

effectively, creating a society where you have wealth concentrated at the top, and little chance for upwards social mobility...

corporatism...

mussolini had another name for it...

I think Reagan was most likely a figurehead. He was in the middle stages of alzheimers when he was first elected. Actually, he's quite comparable to Bush. A bumbling fool, easily manipulated by the evil people surrounding him.

And the best part about it is, average folks like you believe in this conservative garbage while the people at the top laugh all the way to the bank.

[Adam Smith]

Crying Wolf?

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly - Between 2001 and 2005, the US Army Corps of Engineers and other government entities repeatedly went to the Bush administration asking for money to bolster New Orleans against a disaster such as this, a disaster that his own head of FEMA said was very likely. They were given a fraction of what they deemed necessary.

It may be a bit more complicated than this. The Army Corps of Engineers has a long history of cooking the books to justify very questionable projects. For example, the infamous Tennessee-Tombigbee waterway was justified on the basis of having a 1.01 benefit/cost ratio in just one congressional district. In fact, the benefits were only about one tenth of what was projected. I wonder if New Orleans was an unfortunate case where lawmakers simply did not believe what the Corps told them.

PS: A friend of mine is a VP of a nationally known consulting firm. His firm refuses to do any more work for the Corps of Engineers because they have been burned before by not getting honest data. When a consultant won't even take your money, you have a real credibility problem.

[Winston]

Reagan had to work with a distribution in Congress that necessitated a lot of bargaining. Bills where the administration wanted to increase spending in one area were frequently dependant upon the opposition getting some of their own spending proposals passed. This is how it was in a lot of cases, where the alternative would've been to not address key programs at all. Over-budgeting by various departments out of habit from high-inflation times - which Reagan effectively ended - is also part of the explanation. And of course vastly increased defense spending.

But yes, I won't deny that in hindsight it appears the administration spent like a drunken sailor (he-he...), however, as for the defecits, that was a deliberate choice to run those and keep the taxes from rising. I think that was perfectly wise.

And please Sava, could you cut out the crap about Alzheimer's. Unless you back up your insulting claims, don't bother at all.