As a Christian, I have to go with Rick Perry on this one.

I cut the cable cord a couple of years ago. I get good reception with an antenna locally. I get all the regular broadcast networks in HD and PBS and a couple independent stations too for free. I pay for Netflix to get additional stuff and pick up Hulu too over the internet.

Some guy told me you can get almost any network show from usenet.
I'm a man so I need cable. Football...

As for trolling you need to get on Twitter more.

My attention span is too long for for twitter.

If I had to guess, this includes reducing or eliminating gas taxes. opening up drilling and tort reform, all of which will decrease gas prices. I think there is also talk of shifting oil subsidies from the oil companies to the consumer in the form of cash credits. But, according to one article I read, this would not apply to diesel since the credits would only apply to "consumer vehicles."

If I had to guess I would say it's meaningless populist bullshit.

Populist bullshit seems to have been the name of the game for the last few years. I can use the extra gas money to pay my soon-to-be astronomical health insurance premiums. Anyway, the best way to get gas prices down is to stop Obama from driving around in those big-ass buses.

We evacuated to West Memphis once. Don't ask me why - my uncle got us the rooms. It's a nasty place.

I like the one with the smoke monster.

Get cable. Stop downloading. Quit trolling. Enter society. Watch reality. Become enlightened.

I'm really not into watching Reality Shows on a regular basis but some of my favorites are:

American Idol
Worst Cooks in America
Iron Chefs
Hoarders---if you can call that show a reality show
Auction Kings " "
Pawn Stars " "
Storage Wars " "
Dancing With the Stars

Those are all reality shows. Wow - we're totally incompatible.

My top 10: 1. Flipping Out 2. Celebrity Rehab 3. Tabitha's Salon Makeover 4. Ultimate Fighter 5. Top Chef 6. Kitchen Nightmares 7. FaceOff 8. Oddities 9. Hell's Kitchen 10. All Worked Up

I've heard about those (mythical?) studies that say conservatives give more than liberals to charities but I've never actually seen one. What I've like to know is how charities are defined when taking the surveys. Do conservatives include weekly tithing to their churches as part of their charity giving? Do they count all the money they donate to Right-to-Life organizations or other causes most liberals would classify as giving to a political cause? How do we know the surveys are using the same yardstick when they measure charitable giving between these two groups?

I'm not sure how things have been elsewhere but after Katrina the churches were a huge part of the recovery. Some examples:


Pat Robertson's crew had several huge operations throughout the area. They were rebuilding houses, giving away food, etc. In my parish they rented a vacant grocery store and brought in truck after truck of supplies and building materials. In St. Bernard Parish they were rebuilding houses for the elderly as well as fixing and renovating much of the little league sports infrastructure. They rebuilt a community gym totally with funds from their followers (with the caveat being that no alcohol would be served inside - blasphemy in St. Bernard.)


In the 9th ward we were working on a project sponsored by Brad Pitt called "Make It Right" - basically building "environmentally friendly" houses (whatever that means) for displaced residents. This area was "Ground Zero" for New Orleans. While we were doing our thing, I saw bus after bus of young church kids from different denominations around the country come into the neighborhood to sleep in cots and perform service work. This was their vacation.


One church in my area gave away food every day to whoever wanted it - long after the government food trucks had left. I asked why they continued to do it for years after the storm and they basically said "we'll stop when they stop coming."


The Catholic church was footing the bill for medical expenses, dental, and mental health. Good luck getting any of that from the federal government.

If I had to guess, this includes reducing or eliminating gas taxes. opening up drilling and tort reform, all of which will decrease gas prices. I think there is also talk of shifting oil subsidies from the oil companies to the consumer in the form of cash credits. But, according to one article I read, this would not apply to diesel since the credits would only apply to "consumer vehicles."

That debt ceiling question – Our rating would have been lowered regardless of whether or not we happily raised the debt ceiling. Democratic strategists can call it a Tea Party Downgrade all they like, but facts and opinions presented in the official report explained the decision clearly and without political spin. The only way S&P wasn’t going to lower the rating was if we didn’t raise the debt ceiling, passed massive spending cuts, and passed revenue increases that would not have a negative impact on business. They aren’t financial idiots like our elected officials. They know we owe too much, spend too much, and have put ourselves in a position where we can’t afford to further impede economic growth by taxing businesses to compensate for the debt and spending. The jig is up.

Reading the same report, it seems like the debt ceiling wasn't the issue. So agreed, there. As we all know, the rating was going down unless we dramatically cut Medicare, specifically, and most other entitlements. Interesting, also, that they include the idea that future tax increases on the successful are necessary not to be downgraded even further. Very grim, indeed.

My main objections to a Bachmann candidacy rest with her social views and my belief that she is unelectable. It will take more than a spoonful of sugar for independents and disillusioned liberals to wash down all of that ‘godly’ baggage.

I doubt if Bachmann needs any of the liberal vote. Independents will flee from Obama in any direction that offers something new.

The thing that bothers me the most about the Iowa poll is that you would think Bachmann won by a landslide. She won and deserves to be noted as the winner. Ron Paul came in second place and was only one percent behind Bachmann. That, apparently, is not newsworthy. The media marginalizes him and his own party leadership actively works against him because he is a constant reminder of how far they have strayed from Goldwater conservatism.

Ron got the shaft from the media at first. But in the last couple of days I've seen more than a few stories that say the same thing you do. So that's good.

Oh, and Perry – Brolin mixed with a lower primate. Something about him reminds me of an ape. He needs to seriously rethink the length of his suit jackets, too. He is a globalist with many skeletons in his closet, much like most of the other candidates. Definitely the party leadership choice and will get their full support. He is capable of getting the Anybody But Obama vote, independents, disillusioned moderate social Democrats, social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, and evangelicals. That’s a lot of votes.

So you like him too. It's funny. Perry is like Super-W. He mirrors Bush in many ways but trumps him on almost every level. And Ted Nugent played his inauguration:

"Nugent appeared onstage during the inaugural ball wearing a cutoff T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate flag and shouting derogatory remarks about non-English speakers, according to press reports."

I don't think I could stomach this movie. I've seen clips of it and it looks revolting.

It was... challenging. I recommend it.

One of Bachmann's degrees came from a Mickey Mouse religious college---part of Oral Roberts University---and her law degree from a law college that ranges 27th in the nation. Not exactly something that earns my respect. She is an expert at avoiding answering questions while seeming to give an answer in a pleasant manner, I'll giver her that. She has too many wacky ideas for my tastes like she wants to do away with the minimum wage and thinks that's the answer to the unemployment problem. Give me a break! What we don't need is to race to the bottom and become a 3rd world country in the process.

Are those colleges really so bad?

As far as the minimum wage, it's something to think about. According to some folks the free market should determine the minimum and maximum wage. After Katrina, McDonalds employees were making more than $10 an hour. It's because there was so much work to be done. No one proposed putting a ceiling on the amount we can pay our McDonalds workers. Things leveled out and those wages are back to normal - and those jobs are now coveted, unfortunately.

http://movies.netfli...9?trkid=2361637

Bachman just kicked ass on Face the Nation and Meet the Press.

Hey Squid It's me - VOR from the cesspool.


I respect your right to admire Bachman even though she isn't my personal pick for a presidential candidate.

I don't find her personality too irritating and actually agree with a few of her political views.

How did she kick ass, specifically?

VOR I am glad you're here!
As far as Bachman, I would say she has a very workmanlike way of navigating some tough questions. Being quoted as saying she was "submissive" seemed like a big deal to me at first but she just brushed over it. And when questioned about the logic of destroying the country by not raising the debt ceiling, she kept referencing her own plan that would have cut spending but guaranteed payments to the various entitlements, etc.
That was all political stuff. The most interesting answer was when she was asked whether she would extend unemployment benefits. She thought about it for just a split second and said "I don't think we can afford it." After watching politicians dodge questions like these for months it was definitely refreshing to see someone answer in a honest, thoughtful way.
To me, she doesn't seem like the moron the media is trying to portray. I do think I'm giving her some unearned credibility because of her degrees and experience as a tax lawyer. But compared to some of the idiots that are up there she is probably one of the better candidates.
What the hell - I'll give them Squid Ratings:
Bachman - 3 Squids
Ron Paul - 3 Squids
Tim P. - 0.5 Squids
Rick Santorum - 1 Squid
Herman Cain - 2 Squids
Rick Perry - 2.5 Squids (until further notice - he seems pretty cool. I like the fact that he totally reminds me of Josh Brolin's W)
Mitt Romney - 2 Squids
Newt - 2.5 Squids
Jon Huntsman - 1 Squid
Thad McCotter - ? Squids
Buddy Roemer - 3 Squids (not gonna happen, though)
Gary E. Johnson - ? Squids
Jimmy McMillan - 3 Squids
Palin - 1 Squid
I know I'm gravitating to the nuttier candidates but I was a Perot guy.

Bachman just kicked ass on Face the Nation and Meet the Press.

Were there any corn dogs on set?

Bachman just kicked ass on Face the Nation and Meet the Press.

On companies. If the cost of doing business goes up a noticeable amount because of increased taxes, they will either raise prices, shrink portions for same price, lessen quality or cut employees. I doubt they will just gladly pay it.

Welcome to the jungle.

There are lots of examples of business absorbing costs without raising prices. That's one reason why inflation is so minimal right now. Anyway, businesses hardly pay taxes except employment taxes. So the current tax system is, basically, a disincentive to hire.

Tax increases on companies or on wage earners? I doubt if most companies raise their prices specifically to increase salaries to offset tax increases.