Fantastique wrote:
Jubber, you sound like the stereotypical, erratic, hate-the-government-for-no-good-reason republican.
That would make sense if I were a republican. I'm not.
Fantastique wrote:
While I am not the biggest fan of some of the government's shenanigans, I dont outright assume that everything they say is false. Until proven otherwise with some sort of tangible EVIDENCE, the $20 billion is NOT a cap and you sound silly if you continue to argue otherwise (which doesn't seem to phase you, but that's your choice).
The whole episode is completely shady. The executive branch assumed extralegal powers, and said/did no one knows what to effect something that if done appropriately would have been properly accomplished in either the legislative or judicial branch. Not surprisingly, this is not the first "shakedown" a chief executive and/or his representatives have been involved in. The World's Worst Republican's treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, said the following during a meeting with bankers when they started the TARP program: “We plan to announce the program tomorrow – and that your nine firms will be the initial participants. We don’t believe it is tenable to opt out,
because doing so would leave you vulnerable and exposed.” Hint, hint. At least Obama's administration is smart enough to keep that kind of thuggery under wraps, but it's still wrong.
It also proves something else I said. Once we let our government get away with something once, it's assumed they can continue to do it in perpetuity...I was just wrong in forgetting that the Crackpot from Crawford did it first.
Fantastique wrote:
Also, I'm no tree-hugger, but I dont think that restrictions in place for the protection of the environment are worthless. We share this planet, and you must be made of stone to not be at least a LITTLE BIT concerned for the wildlife that is currently affected by this disaster. Will we have to pay more for oil that we have not drilled up ourselves? Yes. Am I okay with that if it helps the environment? Yes.
Well, that's just swell. Of course, the rest of us just want dirty air and water and love all those animals dying all over the place.
No one said the regulations were worthless, but there needs to be a cost-benefit analysis. I'm
not OK with paying more for something just so some people can feel good about themselves because they think they've effected some sort of positive change when all they've really done is make life more difficult and expensive for others.
That was my point about why they're in the deep water drilling now. By localizing all offshore drilling to only those states that are so economically impoverished that they have no choice but to embrace the oil industry, we have not only put all our eggs in one basket (hello hurricane season), we've put the burden of providing the resource on the poorest among us while the wealthy get to skate off without doing their fair share.
Fantastique wrote:
The same applies to your argument about healthcare. My family is rich, and I plan on being rich. Will I be footing the bill for Obama's healthcare plan? Yes. Am I okay with that? Yes.
You want to "foot the bill" in this case, then you should insist that your peers among the wealthy in Florida should pay the same "cost" as those Creole and Cajun bastards in Louisiana by having to look at oil derricks from their vacation homes. At least you Rockefellers would only have to see them for a few weeks out of the year.
When the income tax was first enacted, it was promised to the American people that it would only impact the wealthy. Look where we're at with it now. We'll just go down the same road with healthcare, especially when the cost start exceeding projections just like every other government program that's been put in place over the last century.
Fantastique wrote:
Jubber got crushed, and I <3 Laelia for presenting my thoughts and resonses to Jubber's statements in a clear and concise manner.
Translation: Never mind that all Laelia's assertions were so full of holes that somebody drove a truck through them. I agree with those assertions, and that's all that matters.
Your Pal,
Jubber