Politics As Usual

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
I tend to think that some soldiers are always going to be sadistic exploitative bastards. The job kinda attracts that type.

Do you have some kind of deal in which you split the cash reward for the inevitable Samuel?

'Cause if so, I want in.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
Do you have some kind of deal in which you split the cash reward for the inevitable Samuel?

'Cause if so, I want in.

If The Market (or Invisible Hand, or whatever) wanted you to have such a deal, you would have such a deal.

[Not Me]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Considering the whole point of the war was to get $$ to cHeny's buddys

Are you sure that was the whole point of the war? I thought we were there to steal their oil. If we don't steal their oil, how are we going to get gas cheap enough so that the Marin Countyites can drive their illegal alien house cleaners back to Oakland in their SUVs?

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
If The Market (or Invisible Hand, or whatever) wanted you to have such a deal, you would have such a deal.

The Cons are allowed to point out evidence of market failures, like the very existence of a liberal media* and a liberal education system, but we Libs are required to live with markets as we find them? Alas, cruel fate!

*I have a new theory about why the media is left of the government. It's because certain Americans vote irregularly, but buy media regularly. The pool including voters and non-voters skews left of the subset pool of likely voters. (Note that Dems always have an edge when polling all registered voters, while Reps have an edge polling likely voters.) So the consumer-side of the market for media, which apparently involves less commitment than ACTUALLY PULLING A FUCKING LEVER ONCE A YEAR, represents the centerline of the entire American demographic, while the results of the Electoral College are slightly to the right of the market of media consumers as a whole. This is a working theory that I reserve the right to punt at any time. Discuss.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

More detail on the people hired by the CPA after they submitted resumes to the Heritage Foundation:

• According to a remarkable article in the Washington Post, the CPA selected a number of utterly inexperienced young conservatives to oversee critical aspects of Iraq's reconstruction. Apparently these youthful idealists were chosen solely because their résumés had been posted on the Web site of the right-wing Heritage Foundation. (Such clumsy political vetting is ironically reminiscent of the ultra-left origins of the neoconservative movement.)
  
  The results of their excellent adventure were predictably poor, as important aspects of the struggling nation's finances were turned over to the likes of Todd Baldwin, a former legislative aide to Sen. Rick Santorum; John Hanley, an editor of the Heritage Foundation Web site; and Simone Ledeen, the daughter of Iran-Contra figure Michael Ledeen, whose résumé featured her role in founding a cooking school. Despite their obvious lack of qualifications, all were hired without so much as an interview or a background check. (The level of Ledeen's political maturity is amusingly displayed on a Christian-right Web site, which posted her gushing account of the president's Thanksgiving visit to the troops in Baghdad. Coming down from the euphoria of meeting Bush, Ledeen wrote, "Hillary Clinton is coming here tomorrow. For her sake I hope I don't see her. I might do something crazy like spit in her direction.")

link

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by Not Me
Are you sure that was the whole point of the war? I thought we were there to steal their oil. If we don't steal their oil, how are we going to get gas cheap enough so that the Marin Countyites can drive their illegal alien house cleaners back to Oakland in their SUVs?

Irrelevant. They're sent back on the bus.



Jeez. Effective caricature in political argument requires some element of truth. Let's get with the program, shall we?

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
incomprehensible theory justifying the liberal media

Why are you assuming that the two groups are coterminus? Isn't it obvious that the lazy liberals are larger consumers of media because they leave their do-gooder jobs at 5pm and head home to read their liberal rags and watch their liberal shows, while the conservatives, the hard-working taxpayers of america, continue to slave away, unable to make much time for the pablum the liberal media continues to spit out? The conservatives make time to vote, though. Like the liberals, except they know how to punch the right hole.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Why are you assuming that the two groups are coterminus? Isn't it obvious that the lazy liberals are larger consumers of media because they leave their do-gooder jobs at 5pm and head home to read their liberal rags and watch their liberal shows, while the conservatives, the hard-working taxpayers of america, continue to slave away, unable to make much time for the pablum the liberal media continues to spit out? The conservatives make time to vote, though. Like the liberals, except they know how to punch the right hole.

Interesting. So do conservatives want to cut taxes so that they can become lazy liberals, or have they been manipulated into believing in the Protestant Ethic? Or has the rise in conservative media in the last few years been fueled by tax cuts? That's a nasty feedback loop, eh?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Isn't it obvious that the lazy liberals are larger consumers of media because they leave their do-gooder jobs at 5pm and head home to read their liberal rags and watch their liberal shows

Careful. i think Sidd has to review Ty's work product. You know that makes for some long nights.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
That's a nasty feedback loop, eh?

It's a positive feedback loop. By buying time for conservatives on tv, liberals become disgusted with the media options available to them, and work becomes relatively more attractive, which, in turn, makes lowering taxes more possible. Genius I say.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Careful. i think Sidd has to review Ty's work product. You know that makes for some long nights.

Sure, but that leaves Sidd's days free for Ellen! and Oprah!

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
The Cons are allowed to point out evidence of market failures, like the very existence of a liberal media* and a liberal education system, but we Libs are required to live with markets as we find them? Alas, cruel fate!

*I have a new theory about why the media is left of the government. It's because certain Americans vote irregularly, but buy media regularly. The pool including voters and non-voters skews left of the subset pool of likely voters. (Note that Dems always have an edge when polling all registered voters, while Reps have an edge polling likely voters.) So the consumer-side of the market for media, which apparently involves less commitment than ACTUALLY PULLING A FUCKING LEVER ONCE A YEAR, represents the centerline of the entire American demographic, while the results of the Electoral College are slightly to the right of the market of media consumers as a whole. This is a working theory that I reserve the right to punt at any time. Discuss.

If by consumers you mean only the people who watch the news, I'm sure a pretty high percentage vote- So your theory may need work. If by media you include American Idol and, say, West Wing, you may be onto something. I'm willing to start the research in the Midwest to work it through.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Sure, but that leaves Sidd's days free for Ellen! and Oprah!

You'd think that, but in fact his days are dedicated to Kandi! and Kayla!

I'm surprised he didn't chime in on the FB's "Hints from Heloise" on pesky stripper glitter.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
Sure, but that leaves Sidd's days free for Ellen! and Oprah!

"Ty, this assertion here that XYZ Company wrongly hid assets to cheat the poor, you don't support it with any facts, do you have support, or just suspicions? And over here in you caselaw section you say the law has always been suspect of the intentions of big corporations, but you only cite to the Green Party webpage. I'm afraid this will take some tightening up."

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
It's a positive feedback loop. By buying time for conservatives on tv, liberals become disgusted with the media options available to them, and work becomes relatively more attractive, which, in turn, makes lowering taxes more possible. Genius I say.

But the conservatives are working less. Your theory only works if there are more liberals than conservatives, which was Atticus's original point! Ha!