Smoke and mirrors? It's math. Like, second grade math.
Posted By: sm on 2008-10-10
In Reply to: Smoke and mirrors. Thanks but no thanks on that - health insurance tax. Slippery slope.
I don't understand your attack.
A little addition, a little subtraction, a tiny bit of multiplication. It's not all that hard to understand.
If you have questions, ask them. Unless you just don't want to hear the answer. In that case, I can't help you.
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SMOKE-&-MIRRORS.
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Smoke and mirrors. Thanks but no thanks on that
nm
More smoke and mirrors and much ado about nothing
My first clue that this may be a red herring that merits further investigation was that I could not find information on this piece anywhere except conservative websites and blogs. I also had difficulty locating the text of Newt's so-called "Fairness Rules", which my gut told me was an oxymoron, the mention of Newt and fairness in the same breath.
The key phrase in this piece is found in paragraph 3, lines 4 and 5:
"...bar Republicans from offering alternative bills, amendments to Democrat bills or even the guarantee of open debate ACCESSIBLE BY MOTIONS TO RECOMMIT for any piece of legislation."
It is worthwhile to note that this phrase only appears once, embedded in a storm cloud of protest, fore and aft, and for good reason. There is method to this madness.
Motions to recommit occur at the final stage of bill passage. I have reviewed the text of the Contract On America, err, I mean Contract With America and the scope of its measures did not address the ENTIRE legislative process, as they are trying to suggest here.
I'm not that good at nutshell summaries. Instead, I have tried to present the ENTIRE picture below to clarify exactly what part of the process Pelosi's so-called "erasure" would affect. So much for the assertion that Pelosi is propsing to do away with the democratic process as we know it.
http://www.house.gov/house/Tying_it_all.shtml
Legislative Prcess
A bill is introduced and referred to committee. Any member of the House can introduce a bill at any time, meaning if the pubs don't like what they get out of one bill, they can pen their own as a counter-measure. The bill is then assigned a number, printed in its introduced form and a bill summary appears on the Bill Status Today schedule.
It is then referred to all appropriate committees where it is scheduled for public debate and markup. Notices as such are posted. Transcript of the testimony taken in the hearings is made available in the committee offices as well as printed and distributed by the committee.
Markup occurs after the hearings where amendments are proposed, considered and voted on. This can happen either at subcommittee or committee levels, all of which are subject to due process of notice, available to ALL interested parties.
The committee then votes on the action to be taken. It can be "reported" either with or without amendment or tabled. Sometimes new bills are written if extensive amendments have to be added, resulting in a "clean bill" which is assigned a new number. A committee report is issued summarizing the purpose and scope of the bill and the reasons it is being recommended for approval.
It then goes to the House floor for FULL CONSIDERATION. This process is governed by a "rule," a simple resolution that MUST BE PASSED by the house that sets out the particulars of how much time will allowed for debate, whether amendments can be offered, and other matters. Debate is divided between proponents and opponents. Amendments are offered, debated and voted upon, summarized on a daily basis and posted.
http://www.rules.house.gov/archives/recommit_mot.htm
Motion to recommit
Following this, the bill is ready for a vote on final passage. IT IS AT THE POINT IN TIME WHERE, in some cases, A VOTE TO "RECOMMIT" the bill to committee is requested, also known as a THIRD read. This is usually an effort by opponents to change some portion or table the measure. If the attempt to recommit fails, a vote on final passage is ordered.
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
How Our Bills Are Made...for further details on this process.
No smoke, no fire, only mirrors. LOL!
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Politics is all smoke and mirrors.
It's all about what you can make people think they can see, not what's really there.
Someone should do the math....sm
Of all the so called bailouts over the past few months.
I'm with you....if they would have given the money to every adult worker in this country, instead of FM/FM, Wall Street, AIG, the car companies, et al.....I bet it would come close to tens of thousands, if not over 100,000 or more to each....wouldn't that solve the economy problem?
I would trust the average American to spend the money more wisely, especially since our taxes are going to pay for it sometime anyway...why shouldn't we be using it now, to turn our economy around.
Probably too easy, that's why no one in charge has thought of it yet....
Mostly for the ones who can't do the math
--
Do the Math
It's 2.11418%
Once again...do the math
They say that the projects and programs that do not work and will be eliminated will save 2 trillion dollars over a time of 10 years.......
Well, your answer is in the math.
By population, Alaska ranks 47th, ahead of only North Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, with 683,478, not all of whm are voters, of course. It is also a predominantly red state, with 26 out of 40 republican state house members and 15 out of 20 state senators (67% of their legislators), a republican US representative and 2 republican US senators. It's just not that hard for a republican to get high approval ratings when the poll is taken from a pool of fellow choir members.
The poll I referred to was SPECIFIC to approval of the TRANSITION. It is patently false to suggest that Obama "hasn't even being doing anything." Since he garnered 52.9% of the popular vote on Nov 4, the 67% approval rating would suggest that he has managed to "win over" 14% of those who voted against him in one of the most divisive campaigns in recent memory. Evidently, some of your fellow party members are seeing something different than the "same old crap" you are trying to assert. By the way, the math would not be complete without pointing out that we are talking about a poll pool among 129,368,906 voters. Winning over even 1% when we are talking about such numbers is considerably more of a daunting task by comparison.
Wow, you're REALLY bad at math!
"98% of the hate spewing on this board has been by the McCain/Palin fans" Whuh? What's the matter, do only HALF the pixels on your monitor work?
You know, you're supposed to add water to that Kool-Aid, right? Not just suck it out of the packet full-strength.
You're proof positive that Obama fanatics are delusional!
It's fuzzy math, looking...tax cut")
First, if (more like when) the Bush tax cuts expire, what does that yield? Hmmmm....
Also, those in the $42K salary will get honked, too. I'll look for it and post it.
Well I'm no math whiz -- but
it would seem to me that of the times McCain did vote, 90% of it would be with Bush -- whether he only voted 10 times in total and 9 of those times voted with Bush or whether he voted 100 times in total and 90 of those times were with Bush.
But again, I'm no math whiz, just using my gosh darn common sense!
Your math is flawed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/10/AR2008121003232.html?hpid=topnews
Notice the part where he goes out of his way to dampen any speculation about Obama. As usual, you guys are grasping at straws that are not there....AGAIN.
Need to re-calculate your math
Bush + Cheney + Rice + Rove + Rumsfeld + GOP and their greedy corporate buddies= war mongers, liars, criminals and have the blood of every American soldier who was ever sent to Iraq on their hands and to every American family they continually bring to financial ruin because of their totally corrupt and amoral policies at home and abroad
LOL....at least he/she isn't majoring in math....(sm)
You hit the nail on the head. That's why I didn't bother answering -- that along with the bogus threats that seem to be prevalent lately.
Whoa, where did you learn math??
You cannot do your calculations based on the fact that everyone in the lower 48 and Hawaii would NOT vote for her!!
The math is based on Sam's claim
If Sam is talking 80% approval rating in Alaska, that would imply that she is talking about people who actually are familiar with her policies, programs, credibility, how she conducts herself and soforth...in other words, approval rating among those who actually know her/voted for her. That is what a governor's approval rating is.
The math shows us how much of an overall approval rating of these same factors she has nationwide. SP was only in the governor's office for 20 months. She is still an unknown quantity here and will remain so. The only people who can rate her job performance are the one from her state, since she is not known in the lower 48. The math merely points out exactly what that means within the context of a national approval rating of job performance, since the rest of the 49 cannot possibly be included in that figure. Thus on a national level, that 0.182% means next to nothing.
Your math doesn't add up. So, what you're saying is
please enlighten
I like your math better. - thatnks that's 20 days less
20 days is 20 days. I'll take anything less than what I had. - oops 19 days.
Seeing as they've started a count down of how many days left with Bush in office I think I will start the countdown of the next. Then every day when they get on and see 1475 days left, 1474 days left, 1473 days left, they will understand how sick of it we are getting.
'Fuzzy math ' - isn't that what they're teaching in all the
So that they'll be even more adept at rigging election results than last time?
liberal fuzzy math....the fact remains....
she has a higher approval rating than most of the governors in the lower 48...quite possibly THE highest. Nice try...no cigar.
Thanks for posting, my math was off, you are right......aagghhhhh! (worse than I thought)...nm
nm
I suppose they should cover the mirrors
and rend their clothes in grief instead? They are busting their butts to get things done. I think a little laughter, joy and goodwill is necessary as well as healthy. But, I suspect you would neither understand nor APPROVE of anything you deem "frivolous." The Dow has been up for 4 days running, at least 3 major banks are seeing profits and are stating they no longer require any bailout money.........Bringing in Congress and various insiders for a weekly get-together is a good way to inspire and promote goodwill.....but I guess the WH is something to look at - not live in.
By the way, what grade are you in?
x
Try using a better grade
of duct tape, and winding it much tighter. Helps me.
3rd grade civic lesson
Posted by Don Rasmussen of CampaignForLiberty. com on 10/30/08
Special thanks to my mom for sending this along.
The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.
To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.
The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia’s mother. The day arrived when they were to make their speeches. Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her speech was concise. She said, “If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream.” She sat down. The class went wild. “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.
”
She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn’t sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn’t know. The class really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.
Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream, and fifty percent of America reacts like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other fifty percent know they’re going to have to feed the cow.
SORRY but that is a second grade word dear
nm
Brown's Economic Plan in England Mirrors Obama's
As you read the piece (see link below) in the London Times, substitute "Obama" for Brown, and "Geithner" for "Darling". Then multiply the billions in pounds by 1.5 to change them to US dollars. You'll think you're reading about the US plan - and the same catastrophic results, among which the worst are:
1. A burden on future generations of unparalleled and unprincipled proportions.
2. An outflow of investment capital to other countries that do not penalize the engines of the economy.
What struck me about Brown's plan was his "soak the rich" approach, which exactly mirrors Obama's - i.e., hitting the "upper 2%" of the "wealthy". It is more than passing strange to me that this is the precise percentage that Obama proposes - and is equally doubtful. Given Brown's recent meetings with Obama, no one will ever convince me that he didn't get some tutoring from our superclown...er, I mean, superpresident.
Another thing that's striking is how Brown's proposals are structured so that the real pain will be imposed after the elections in GB next year. In Obama's case, most of the real pain has also been scheduled for the "out years" - meaning that the public won't begin to feel them until beyond 2011.
And finally, there is the criticism that Brown's program is based on a lot of rosy "recovery" predictions which are very doubtful. Exactly the same criticism has been leveled at Obama's program, and in our case the criticism has come not from the opposition party but from within the government itself, i.e. the Office of Management and Budget - which is considered to be a very credible source of information on this sort of thing
Cut and paste, or follow the link at the bottom: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article6168950.ece?Submitted=true
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4th grade teacher's letter to Obama
April 17, 2009
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington , DC 20500
Mr. Obama:
I have had it with you and your administration, sir. Your conduct on your recent trip overseas has convinced me that you are not an adequate representative of the United States of America collectively or of me personally.
You are so obsessed with appeasing the Europeans and the Muslim world that you have abdicated the responsibilities of the President of the United States of America . You are responsible to the citizens of the United States ... You are not responsible to the people of any other country on Earth.
I personally resent that you go around the world apologizing for the United States telling Europeans that we are arrogant and do not care about their status in the world. Sir, what do you think the First World War and the Second World War were all about if not the consideration of the people of Europe ? Are you brain dead? What do you think the Marshall Plan was all about? Do you not understand or know the history of the 20th century?
Where do you get off telling a Muslim country that the United States does not consider itself a Christian country? Have you not read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution of the United States?
This country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics and the principles governing this country, at least until you came along, come directly from this heritage. Do you not understand this?
Your bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia is an affront to all Americans. Our President does not bow down to anyone, let alone the king of Saudi Arabia . You didn't show Great Britain, our best and one of our oldest allies, the respect they deserve yet you bow down to the king of Saudi Arabia .. How dare you, sir! How dare you!
You can't find the time to visit the graves of our greatest generation because you don't want to offend the Germans but make time to visit a mosque in Turkey ... You offended our dead and every veteran when you give the Germans more respect than the people who saved the German people from themselves.
What's the matter with you? I am convinced that you and the members of your administration have the historical and intellectual depth of a mud puddle and should be ashamed of yourselves, all of you.
You are so self-righteously offended by the big bankers and the American automobile manufacturers yet do nothing about the real thieves in this situation, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Frank, Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelic, the Fannie Mae bonuses, and the Freddie Mac bonuses. What do you intend to do about them? Anything? I seriously doubt it.
What about the U.S. House members passing out $9.1 million in bonuses to their staff members - on top of the $2.5 million in automatic pay raises that lawmakers gave themselves?
I understand the average House aide got a 17% bonus. I took a 5% cut in my pay to save jobs with my employer. You haven't said anything about that. Who authorized that? I surely didn't!
Executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be receiving $210 million in bonuses over an eighteen-month period, that's $45 million more than the AIG bonuses. In fact, Fannie and Freddie executives have already been awarded $51 million - not a bad take.
Who authorized that and why haven't you expressed your outrage at this group who are largely responsible for the economic mess we have right now.
I resent that you take me and my fellow citizens as brain-dead and not caring about what you idiots do. We are watching what you are doing and we are getting increasingly fed up with all of you.
I also want you to know that I personally find just about everything you do and say to be offensive to every one of my sensibilities. I promise you that I will work tirelessly to see that you do not get a chance to spend two terms destroying my beautiful country.
Sincerely,
Every real American
Hint...Stop using 6th grade name calling and people might actually take you
x
First day of 7th Grade English Class in Fort Collins, CO
My daughter is seething! On her first day of school, my granddaughter's 7th grade English teacher instructed her students to copy the following from a handwritten overhead display:
English 8/22/05
4 success keys
1. Graduate from high school.
2. Get a job - keep it, no matter how much money.
3. Never have a baby out of wedlock.
4. Get married and stay married.
Now, I obviously don't know how many students are in this English class who were born out of wedlock, but I do know of ONE: My granddaughter. Can someone tell me please what this has to do with English? I'm as furious as my daughter is, and I don't know who to contact or complain to about this. My daughter had a rather uneventful meeting with the principal regarding this, so no help is likely to come from that area.
I'd appreciate input and opinions regarding this from rational-thinking people. Thanks in advance.
Again, if we are so much safer, why did the 9/11 commission give him a failing grade?
You can't answer that either. Despite any connection between Iraq and 9/11, Bush and Co. (on fake intelligence) has stirred up an incredibly dangerous hornet's nest, yet you think everything is great. Why don't we just hand Iraq to Iran on a silver platter and just be done with it?
You should retake grade school American History.
You don't seem to remember the basic foundation of this country, and the incredible amount of faith the Founding Fathers placed in God.
From the Declaration of Independence:
"That they are endowed by their Creator..."
"With a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence..."
"...the separate and equal status to which Nature and Nature's God entitle them..."
"We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions."
For goodness sakes, CHURCH SERVICES were held in the House of Representatives on Sundays.
Just an FYI.
I'm for it. And I don't even smoke it myself.
I'm probably the only person I know in the world who doesn't smoke it sometimes. And if it helps to restore a sick person's appetite, or helps ease another's pain, why not? Legalizing it would take all the profits out of it for those who are growing it illegally.
And no, I don't think people should overdo it (like they do with alcohol, which society seems to condone, no matter how many people it kills on our highways every year.) I once rode with a friend in her car when she was just slightly high, and nope. She shouldn't have been driving. Couldn't keep her car centered in her own lane. (Next time we took MY car, and I drove, instead.)
I also notice that MJ doesn't make people MEAN, the way booze does.
My aging mother says if she has pain in her later years, she wants to smoke marijuana rather than be doped-up on morphine. If she does, then I think she should be able to do that. I actually wish she'd start smoking it now, because she doesn't eat very well anymore.
There is no smoke. There is only hot air...
...and blatant lies. For anyone who is tempted to believe this garbage, please visit the following site.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthcertificate.asp
Where there is smoke there is fire!!
xx
and you can smoke your reefer in peace
last I knew there was nothing about the president not being able to smoke...
x
Obama Tax Promises Up In Smoke
Obama plainly, clearly, and unequivocally promised "not one dime" of tax increase on the workers of America.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D979POSG0&show_article=1
...and the point here is NOT whether you smoke or not. Even if you think that forcing the poor to quit smoking is a beneficial thing, the questions are:
1. Should Obama be held to his tax promises or not?
2. If he can raise these taxes, by what stretch of the imagination do you believe other increases will not follow?
3. Should the government use the power of taxation to enforce policies that it happens to think are beneficial? If you think so, how about taxing the next package of hamburger you buy a couple of bucks a pound unless it has less than 14% fat? And your next loaf of bread a buck or two unless it has 0% transfat? Or the next dozen eggs maybe five bucks for the cholesterol? After all, far more people in this country are obese than smoke.
If I were President, I'd hit every parent with a $10 per day tax if their kids forget to brush their teeth before going to bed (and I'd send jack-booted bed-tooth-inspectors to every house, too!). Now that would raise some serious coin, and improve the nation's dental health. Vote for me.
How I wish that sneaking a smoke was all Obama was hiding...lol....sm
...by the way, I did use my name....my initials actually, as I always do. I admit, I think once I got dyslexic and typed "sm" instead of "ms" ....but there you have it....
Ah well....time will show what he's really like. The one extreme case of poor judgment I'm seeing from Obama is his AG pick... I'm really worried about this Eric Holder.....heaven help us if he refuses again to examine someone's laptop, and permits evidence to go by unnoticed and causes another 9/11....that's my greatest fear at the moment....aside from several others, which shall remain nameless. I have better things to do...like sleep....at the moment....night GP
Obama couldn't do that........ he loves to smoke!!!
nm
My dad died of lung ca. from 2nd-hand smoke. I hope
nm
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