Madine

Reply to When Are Republicans Going to Get It? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Democrats don't have much leverage to talk about deficits unless they are willing to cut "health and welfare" programs. The reasons Clinton balanced the budget were that we downsized our defense budget and there was a tech bubble in the economy. Is this a good time to slash our defense budget? Is it really viable to balance the budget on a mix of defense cuts and tax increases? Realistically, we aren't going to get a handle on the budget unl

Reply to Be wary of "free" health care in Politics JoeUser Forums

Doesn't Canada use price controls on drugs? The long wait times in Canada are the manifestation of a simple economic law: price ceilings create shortages.

Reply to Be wary of "free" health care in Politics JoeUser Forums

We could try letting people use their payroll tax money towards health care.

Reply to So, what the hell, he makes mistakes! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Do you really think that GW Bush is personally responsible for the planning and execution of the military action in Tora Bora? Unless we are willing to blatantly violate Pakastani sovereignty, we won't be able to use the US military to capture Al Qaeda/Taliban located there. McCain has and still does support the invasion of Iraq. He hasn't always agreed with everything Bush has done, but they share the same underlying philosophy for winning th

Reply to The Ugly Economy Is Back in Politics JoeUser Forums

I think it depends on which economy you're looking at. If people vote based on the 2001 economy, Bush doesn't stand a chance. On the other hand, the 2004 economy is rather similar to the 1996 economy, when Clinton was re-elected. Over 1 million jobs have been created in the last 12 months, and most of them pay higher than the national average.

Reply to Another Iraqi Fairytale in International JoeUser Forums

Just because the new situation is having major problems does not make the old situation great, and vice versa. That is my point though, that Iraq pre-war wasn't exactly a peaceful utopia. The idea that Iraq would have been "just fine" without a US invasion isn't a very popular notion in Iraq. I certainl

Reply to Tax Strategy: The Way To Take Down Central Government in Politics JoeUser Forums

I am all for not giving excessive "aid" to local governments, but do you really think that the federal level is more in touch with the needs of the people, more efficient, and more accountable than local government? I am quite sure that there is more waste (proportionally) in the federal budget than my state's or city 's budget.

Reply to Another Iraqi Fairytale in International JoeUser Forums

If the old Iraqi government was so great, why aren't there massive outcries in Iraq for it to be restored?

Reply to Creating Jobs in Politics JoeUser Forums

I bet plywood is cheaper than hurricane-proof glass.

Reply to Food for thought (in case Bush gets re-elected.) in Politics JoeUser Forums

I think the chance is about 0, barring a war with China.

Reply to What Would *insert your name here* Do? in Politics JoeUser Forums

We have to clear out Fallujah.

Reply to Are We Sending Russia the Wrong Message? in Politics JoeUser Forums

What does the CIA have to do with giving asylum to a former finance minister? How is it relevent whether the terrorists want despair or attention? What about this angle: Putin wants to use Chechen terrorism as an excuse to crush the peaceful Chechen separatist movement. Are you suggesting that we should give at least tacit support to this?

Reply to Kerry's plan helps Americans in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Shozan.... That article is one year old.

Reply to Reagan's Revolution in Politics JoeUser Forums

the contract for the disadvantaged Who is this contract with? A flat tax, for instance, eliminates tax loopholes.

Reply to Reagan's Revolution in Politics JoeUser Forums

I would argue that a true economic conservative is against tax loopholes. You can blame Bush and Reagan for deficits, but our biggest non-defense expenditures are from programs created by Roosevelt and Johnson. Has the working class gotten stronger through increasing social security taxes?

Reply to A List of Security Measures Sacrificed for the Iraq War Cost in Politics JoeUser Forums

If we hadn't spent money in Iraq, it would have just lowered the deficit. Some of this makes sense, but I don't agree with all of it. I don't think spending billions of dollars to guard airlines from stingers is worthwhile. Wasn't the COPS program supposed to be temporary? What does "securing" fissile material mean? I think that if we are spending money on non-US fissile material that isn't being guarded, we should destroy it. I don

Reply to Are We Sending Russia the Wrong Message? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Isn't meeting with Chechen leaders analogous to meeting with Palestinian leaders? Terrorism originating from volatile region X does not delegitimize peaceful efforts to gain sovereignty for volatile region X.

Reply to Kerry's plan helps Americans in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Work harder to internationalize the situation and with a better team is likely to get more international support. Which countries are going to send additional troops to Iraq? Hint: France, Germany, Russia have said they will not. <TABLE cellpadding=8 width="95%" align=center bgColor=#FFF394 cl

Reply to Ownership Myth in Politics JoeUser Forums

[i]Moreover, the payroll tax, respectively, $1400 and $3500, substantially reduces the subsistence level of both groups.[/i] This is a good reason why the payroll tax should fund ownership instead of entitlements.

Reply to Latest on the battle of the Bush memos in Politics JoeUser Forums

The PCMAG article misses the point. In theory, the document could have been created with a state of the art typewriter in the 1970s using special settings. On the other hand, it has been duplicated nearly effortlessly by multiple people using default MS Word settings.

Reply to Working as part of playing a video game in PC Gaming JoeUser Forums

I have a theory that the more "real life" things people want to do in video games, the more they don't do those "real life" things in real life.

Reply to Diplomacy and Commonsense Are Not Dirty Words in Politics JoeUser Forums

I mean liberal in the classical sense (individual freedoms, minority protections, etc) not the left wing politics sense. One of the keys to a gradual transition from a totalitarian government to a liberal democracy is giving more freedom to people. Part of that is giving economic freedom which helps create a middle class.

Reply to OK, You want him!!??? in Democrat JoeUser Forums

Foreign: 1. Which country has GW Bush invaded without Senate authorization? 2. So are you saying that National Guard units should not be called up in time of war? Are you sure you mean National Guard and not Army Reserve? 3. Please replace "rest of the world" with "France, Germany, Russia". We have the support of the UK, Italy, Japan, S. Korea, Poland to name a few. 4. So you want to stop searching for fossil fuels? 5. This is

Reply to 9/11 Guns and the Patriot Act in Politics JoeUser Forums

[i]The patriot act takes away a great deal of the liberties that the bill of rights gives us[/i] If that were true, then please feel free to take your case to the court and have the Patriot Act overturned. If the Patriot Act violates constitutional rights, the courts will overturn it. It is not legal to make laws that violate the constitution. I'm sure the ACLU will be more than happy to help you convince the courts to overturn the Patiot Act.

Reply to Diplomacy and Commonsense Are Not Dirty Words in Politics JoeUser Forums

If Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Sudan, and Libya start seriously moving towards liberal democracy, won't that have a serious effect on terrorism?