Oh no problem, that'll buff right out.

>> ^imstellar28:I can at least understand and sympathize with NetRunner's perspective on unemployment. That is a case of all people helping all people; even if I don't agree with forcing people to help, I can understand the reasoning. In the big scheme of things, unemployment benefits are such a small amount of money compared to our national income its really not a big deal. That cannot be said of trillion dollar socialistic bailouts to failing corporations, the governmental manipulation of markets, inflation, the creation of booms and bursts, etc.


My goodness, my efforts are paying off -- he's starting to have a grudging respect for my beliefs, even if he doesn't agree with them.

I think, imstellar, you just inadvertently stumbled into the main complaint us progressive/liberal people have about what Obama's doing with the economy now. He seems to be continuing this socialism-for-the-rich policy, which is vastly more expensive than anything we've ever dreamed of proposing in terms of unemployment, welfare, and health care, and that's saying quite a bit.

I would agree in general that we need for the losers to lose, mainly these investment banks that built these ponzi schemes. Problem is, when Paulson let Lehman fail, it triggered a run on the banks. In fact, the only thing that's stopped that from happening to all banks is the expectation that government will find a way to keep them afloat somehow.

That's why I see the question of how we deal with the banks as being one of the most important questions right now. If we let them fail, this really will be a huge depression, likely bigger than 1929, and more like the earlier "Long Depression" that followed the Panic of 1873. If we bail them out, not only is that unlikely to work, it would probably make the nation bankrupt, while heaping huge sums of cash into the pockets of the very people who built this house of cards.

I think the only reasonable option is to put them in receivership -- nationalize them. The government takes over the bank, wipes out the shareholders, brings in new management, straighten out the balance sheets, and then sell the bank back to private investors.

That way we keep the bank intact, make the losers lose, and while the risk is socialized, the taxpayers would get any upside that would be gained in the process.

All this talk about debt and deficit spending seems like hot air to me. Sure, we need to worry about it, but it's not really driving any of our issues right now. Cutting government spending right now would be a horrible idea, because it'd just add more people to the unemployment lines (even if I'd otherwise be happy to see the engines of war lose their biggest customer). Cutting taxes might help, but keep in mind Obama did that in the stimulus package (the largest middle-class tax cut in history, lefty demagogues would say), as well as spending money investing in infrastructure, to try to bring down unemployment. As Farhad said, it's probably insufficient to the size of the downturn we're in, but it should lessen the blow.

imstellar and blankfist, you both bring up inflation as a long-term risk. Here's what Brad DeLong has to say about that risk. I'm no economist, but my reading is that he's saying "good point, but here's how we would detect if inflation became an issue, and all of those metrics say we're good to go." From what I'm reading, deflation is the problem we're looking at, not inflation, and while it's true that if we make the stimulus too big it would lead to inflation, I think we're nowhere near that point right now.

Incidentally, that's the answer to imstellar's question about "why don't we do this in good times/developing countries too?"

I also love the compromise plan of saying that government should buff up our social safety net so that an economic crash doesn't put people on the streets, starve them, push them out of school (if there), or forgo medical treatments, then I'm all for letting the rest of the economy crash as hard as it cares too. I think, generally speaking, that's more in line with progressive ideology than what Obama's actually doing.

You could probably just buff that out.

#1 All small dogs pee as a sign of submission

#2 This guy obviously realizes it went in his mouth, and his reaction of disgust is real. (ie huffing out without trying to breathe in more, lack of creative swearing..)

#3 Is dog urine sterile? Maybe it really tasted bad.

#4 He drops the dog, because he considers it property if only on a subconscious level. He obviously cares about being a buff meathead.

#5 Lucky did all the analysis needed.

#6 You read this far?

How do you fix that? Its easy, turn remote access off. Then buff your firewalls. IF you dont have at least 2 firewalls then you are asking for a screw up.

You could also set up a honey pot, with some nice logic bombs to destroy the computer that is attacking your personal computer.

If they claim that you broke a law, then you will have to fight for what you believe is right.

1. My dad was a bullrider
2. My mom was a homecoming queen
3. I spent most of my childhood on a farm
4. As a child, I had a Shetland Pony named "Kong"
5. I started driving when I was twelve
6. My high school graduating class had 33 people in it
7. I'm pretty handy with a gun
8. I shot my first deer with my first shot through the heart
9. I used to be a very good pool player
10. My first car was a '67 Chevy Impala
11. I've performed in three plays
12. I wrote, directed, and edited a 30-minute movie called “Sotto Voce” about teen pregnancy
13. I've written three novels (never published)
14. I'm a college drop-out
15. I'm a Lamda Chi Alpha
16. I once had a spike haircut with a pink and purple stripe on the side
17. I over-dosed and nearly died once
18. I've tripped on LSD over 250 times
19. I once bought a quarter pound of weed to resell and deal
20. I never sold any of it and smoked it all myself
21. I taught myself how to type (70 wpm)
22. I'm a trivia buff and love NTN
23. I study Buddhism and the I Ching
24. I was once an alter boy in the Catholic church
25. In grade school my teachers were Irish Nuns

Crossfit training was the same thing they used to buff up the dudes in the movie 300, with slight modifications.

For those who are Cold War buffs, here's the original "About Fallout" video:

http://www.archive.org/details/AboutFal1963

>> ^volumptuous:
^ Methinks you should get your ass to Iraq since you love dead kids so much.
CP420 apparently doesn't give one shit about what the Iraqis think, or want. He just wants more war, more bloodshed, and more US imperialism. The concept of Iraqis wanting the US the fuck out of their country, doesn't phaze the Cap'n here. Imperialism, domination and blood are the only things that bring a smile to his face.

And sorry. But I would have a history-lesson-off with you any day of the week. If there is one bit of foreign policy and history that I'm a "buff" on, it's Mesopotamia, biznitch. I'd wipe the floor with you quicker than you can say Gertrude Bell. (as cp420 scrambles to wikipedia)


I'll take that as non-responsive since you resorted to cursing and name calling with no factual rebuttal. So you admired Hussein boy Sr. and his human rights violations? That's really great. OTOH, I like it when people can defend themselves.

^ Methinks you should get your ass to Iraq since you love dead kids so much.

CP420 apparently doesn't give one shit about what the Iraqis think, or want. He just wants more war, more bloodshed, and more US imperialism. The concept of Iraqis wanting the US the fuck out of their country, doesn't phaze the Cap'n here. Imperialism, domination and blood are the only things that bring a smile to his face.


And sorry. But I would have a history-lesson-off with you any day of the week. If there is one bit of foreign policy and history that I'm a "buff" on, it's Mesopotamia, biznitch. I'd wipe the floor with you quicker than you can say Gertrude Bell. (as cp420 scrambles to wikipedia)

That should buff right out...

I'll check it out.

I'm a big animation buff.

Jungle Book is one of my faves.

That'll buff right out...

David Tennant got buff! o.O

So... conspiracy buffs said there would be a US attack and controversy just before the election.

We should watch what happens next...

Will this attack be really convenient leverage for the McCain campaign? Will Syria and or Iran retaliate? Will Bush need to declare a state of emergency and suspend the election?
...Stay tuned...