I don't like this question;

29) A flood-control levee (or National Defense) is considered a public good because:
A. citizens value it as much as bread and medicine
B. a resident can benefit from it without directly paying for it
C. government construction contracts increase employment
D. insurance companies cannot afford to replace all houses after a flood
E. government pays for its construction, not citizens

I'm putting B?, but both B and E are simplistic to the point of being confusing.



Okay, now this one,

31) International trade and specialization most often lead to which of the following?
A. an increase in a nation’s productivity
B. a decrease in a nation’s economic growth in the long term
C. an increase in a nation’s import tariffs
D. a decrease in a nation’s standard of living

Now I want to put A, but B could be the answer if you're talking to a jerk... this is kind of a bogus question.

too bad you weren't this skeptical and cynical about Bush's administration and his policies before he trashed our government, economy, environment and general standing in the world.

As a proud conservative, I consider myself more cynical and skeptical than you about government's ability to solve anything. I am equally skeptical of human nature.

My Bush disappointments are many: spending like a liberal, open borders fiasco, NCLB, taking no action against rampant fraud in both Iraq and Katrina cleanups, pushing the bailout without debate and towards the end, failing to stand up for himself or his party. Bush lacked core principles, and look what all his pandering to lefties got him: unbridled contempt.

Nevertheless, Bush got a hysterically bad rap from the main-piss-stream media, which has acted like deplorable, infantile squawking seagulls these past 8 years, criticizing the man even as he spent money like a liberal and expanded government. I'd say the lowest point for the bottom feeders was blaming Bush for Katrina while ignoring the fact New Orleans was run by corrupt taxocrats (and still is!) all the years those levees should've been fixed.

I find it hard to take you serious, it's as if you haven't been paying attention to what's happened in the last 8 years

Look what the rest of us had to deal with from the blame-America-first left. Worst Congress ever, controlled by taxocrats. Soaring gas prices and they do nothing. Non-stop negativism about Iraq, even as the good news increased exponentially. 9-11 conspiracy theories taken seriously. Lefties seem to have awfully selective hearing and vision when that irrational-beyond-measure Old Tyme Bush hatred kicks in.

But all this is going away. Soon it will be your fellow at bat. Some people have to learn things the hard way, and that time is here for you, Obama's True Believers. Grab a chair. The Jimmy Carter Remix w/ guest starring 60s radicals is about to begin!

Wait did you just say that the Republican Party who have held a near dominant position for the last 8 years have been fiscally conservative and serving the American people?

You'd think to be more grateful that once these fakeservatives make it in they start acting exactly like liberals. Well, not exactly: a President Kerry or Gore (shudder) would've spent even more than Bush post 9-11, only they'd waste it on global warming fiction and expanded health care for illegals.

I think folks over in New Orleans would disagree.

You're confusing the natural ineptitude of Big Government + unprepared people depending on the same + living in a city below sea level + the fucking city was/is run by Democrats the past 50 years who skipped taking care of the levees with "Bush caused racist hurricane" tabloid fodder.

Biden you did OK on your little speech but now it's time to TAKE THE TRAIN and bow out.

Thanks

In reply to this comment by choggie:
*promote

Its fine if people want to live in a geographically dangerous area...just don't make me pay for it. My states entire budget is approximately $4 billion a year. So the $100 billion dollar in damages could fund all the operations in my state for 25 years.

People have apathy because they know when something happens, someone else is gonna pay for it/take care of it. If there wasn't someone to bail them out, I bet they would have spent a little more money maintaining those levees.

There were two big problems, as I see it, tied to the New Orleans levee failures. Money and human apathy. In order to keep the levees in good condition it takes a lot of time and money. They have to constantly be maintained, and the benefits of this constant maintenance aren't readily apparent to the general public or administrative officials in charge of funding. The fact is the levee's more or less did their jobs for decades, which makes it a lot easier to ignore the problems it had. The general public doesn't think about it, because it hasn't been a threat, and the administrators who're told there's a threat easily blow it off, cause nothing has happened yet, and it'd cost a heap money to fix.

I used to work in an IS/IT department, and the song was pretty much the same there. None of the administration wanted to implement safety based protocols because they'd cost time, money, and cause inconvenience. It wasn't until after something happened everyone would go into, "OH SHIT WE NEED TO FIX THIS" mode. Perhaps the admins at the company I worked for were particularly retarded (which wouldn't surprise me), but I feel like I run into that attitude a lot, and I think that's what happened in New Orleans, and what's still happening there and in other cities threatened by poorly engineered/maintained levees.

I have a feeling you're gonna like this: http://www.videosift.com/video/Robert-Plant-Jimmy-Page-When-The-Levee-Breaks

I like that old bluesy stuff. Thanks for sharing it.

In reply to this comment by rasch187:
Similar taste, eh? Thanks

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
*promote

Similar taste, eh? Thanks

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
*promote

Funny, that's the same thing my ex-girlfriends always said.

In reply to this comment by rasch187:
jeez...that was fast

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Thanks buddy!

In reply to this comment by rasch187:
*promote! even though the sound sucks...

jeez...that was fast

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
Thanks buddy!

In reply to this comment by rasch187:
*promote! even though the sound sucks...

Thanks buddy!

In reply to this comment by rasch187:
*promote! even though the sound sucks...

Endless discussions about a farting cat and this gets 9 upvotes? Where’s Choggie when you need him ;-)?

Seriously, just skip to 4.10 into this vid, Bush saying: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees”. Nuff said!

Verse 1
A long long time ago
I can still remember how that music used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my chance
That I could make those people dance
And maybe they'd be happy for a while
But February made me shiver
With every paper I'd deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
I couldn't take one more step
I can't remember if I cried
When I read about his widowed bride
But something touched me deep inside
The day the music died


So, bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levee
But the levee was dry
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die

Verse 2
Did you write the Book of Love
And do you have faith in God above
If the Bible tells you so
Do you believe in rock n' roll
Can music save your mortal soul
And can you teach me how to dance real slow
Well, I know that you're in love with him
'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym
You both kicked off your shoes
Man, I dig those rhythm & blues
I was a lonely, teenage broncin' buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck
But I knew I was out of luck
The day the music died
I started singin'


Verse 3
Now for ten years we've been on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin' stone
But that's not how it used to be
When the Jester sang for the King and Queen
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
In a voice that came from you and me
Oh, and while the King was looking down
The Jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
And while Lenin read a book on Marx
The quartet practiced in the park
And we sang dirges in the dark
The day the music died
We were singin'


Verse 4
Helter Skelter in a summer swelter
The birds flew off with a fallout shelter
Eight miles high and falling fast
It landed foul on the grass
The players tried for a forward pass
With the Jester on the sidelines in a cast
Now the half-time air was sweet perfume
While the Sergeants played a marching tune
We all got up to dance
Oh but we never got the chance
'Cause the players tried to take the field
The marching band refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day the music died
We started singing


Verse 5
Oh, and there we were, all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack, be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the devils only friend
Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
My hands were clenched in fists of rage
No angel born in Hell
Could break that Satan's spell
And as flames climbed high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Satan laughing with delight
The day the music died
He was singing


Verse 6
I met a girl who sang the blues
And I asked her for some happy news
But she just smiled and turned away
I went down to the sacred store
Where I'd heard the music years before
But the man there said the music wouldn't play

And in the streets the children screamed
The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The church bells all were broken
And the three men I admire most
The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died
And they were singin'


Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levy
But the levy was dry
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die

They were singin'
Bye-bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my chevy to the levy
But the levy was dry
And them good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singing this'll be the day that I die

Let's impeach the President for lying
And misleading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door

Who's the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors
They bend the facts to fit with their new stories
Of why we have to send our men to war

Let's impeach the President for spying
On citizens inside their own homes
Breaking every law in the country
By tapping our computers and telephones

What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees
Would New Orleans have been safer that way
Sheltered by our government's protection
Or was someone just not home that day?

Flip - Flop
Flip - Flop
Flip - Flop
Flip - Flop

Let's impeach the president for hijacking
Our religion and using it to get elected
Dividing our country into colors
And still leaving black people neglected

Thank god he's cracking down on steroids
Since he sold his old baseball team
There's lots of people looking at big trouble
But of course our president is clean.

Thank God