The Current Events, News, and Politics Thread
07-30-2013, 02:43 PM
#4605
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During the second wave of attacks on Benghazi, David Ubben was on the rooftops with the Navy SEALS. Eventually, several rounds of mortar attacks found their mark, killing Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty while shredding David Ubben’s right leg. Ubben was stuck on the rooftop for 20 hours before help arrived.
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07-31-2013, 07:40 AM
#4606
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So much for being a champion of the middle class:
cliffs: Top Tax Rate Should Be 28-25% for Corporations, 40% for Small Business
(notice he doesn't want to cut the portion that brings home the bacon, but notice he understands that lowering taxes promotes growth)
The New York Times reports that President Obama is reviving an old proposal to lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 28 percent (and 25 percent for manufacturers). Obama's push to lower the corporate tax rate to 28 percent comes less than a year after he raised the top individual income tax rate, paid by many small businesses, to 39.6 percent.
(notice he doesn't want to cut the portion that brings home the bacon, but notice he understands that lowering taxes promotes growth)
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07-31-2013, 07:43 AM
#4607
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dropping someone off at the airport is an unsafe practice:
SFO Officials Make Citizen Arrests Of Internet Rideshare Drivers « CBS San Francisco
I.E., we can't tax and regulate and extort the industry.
SFO Officials Make Citizen Arrests Of Internet Rideshare Drivers « CBS San Francisco
I.E., we can't tax and regulate and extort the industry.
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07-31-2013, 08:47 AM
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08-01-2013, 01:19 AM
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I haven't watched the video, but here's text description I was working from...
According to the House Oversight Committee, the fracture Castillo claimed he suffered didn't show up in X-rays taken at the time of his supposed injury. And Castillo doesn't even remember how he got injured in the first place.
That was more than enough for Castillo to earn the ire of decorated war hero [Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois], who lost both her legs and the use of her right arm while serving as a helicopter pilot in Iraq.
But what really pushed her over the edge was a letter sent by Castillo to the VA as part of his efforts to secure government contracts.
"These are crosses that I bear due to my service to our great country and I would do it again to protect this great country," Castillo wrote.
"I’m so glad that you would be willing to play football in prep school again to protect this great country," Duckworth responded. "Shame on you, Mr. Castillo. Shame on you. You may not have broken any laws … but you certainly broke the trust of this great nation. You broke the trust of veterans. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans right now are waiting an average of 237 days for an initial disability rating. It is because people like you who are gaming the system are adding to that backlog that young men and women who are suffering from post-traumatic stress, who are missing limbs cannot get the compensation and the help that they need."
That was more than enough for Castillo to earn the ire of decorated war hero [Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois], who lost both her legs and the use of her right arm while serving as a helicopter pilot in Iraq.
But what really pushed her over the edge was a letter sent by Castillo to the VA as part of his efforts to secure government contracts.
"These are crosses that I bear due to my service to our great country and I would do it again to protect this great country," Castillo wrote.
"I’m so glad that you would be willing to play football in prep school again to protect this great country," Duckworth responded. "Shame on you, Mr. Castillo. Shame on you. You may not have broken any laws … but you certainly broke the trust of this great nation. You broke the trust of veterans. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans right now are waiting an average of 237 days for an initial disability rating. It is because people like you who are gaming the system are adding to that backlog that young men and women who are suffering from post-traumatic stress, who are missing limbs cannot get the compensation and the help that they need."
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08-01-2013, 02:34 AM
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Oil is a fungible commodity which is traded on a global market.
If the rate of growth in the sum total of all oil demand world-wide exceeds the rate of growth in the sum total of all oil production world-wide, then the price of oil will rise. It is not relevant which specific countries are doing the actual demanding and producing.
Based solely on that chart, the sum total of all oil production has been roughly constant over the past decade. By contrast, the sum total of all demand for oil has increased, mostly due to economic growth in the APAC region.
If the rate of growth in the sum total of all oil demand world-wide exceeds the rate of growth in the sum total of all oil production world-wide, then the price of oil will rise. It is not relevant which specific countries are doing the actual demanding and producing.
Based solely on that chart, the sum total of all oil production has been roughly constant over the past decade. By contrast, the sum total of all demand for oil has increased, mostly due to economic growth in the APAC region.
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08-01-2013, 08:15 AM
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MARK KNOLLER, CBS NEWS: Jay, in his speech again yesterday, President Obama mentioned the phony scandals that are part of an endless parade of distractions. Can you tell us what phony scandals he’s talking about?
JAY CARNEY: I think we all remember a few weeks ago when Washington was consumed with a variety of issues that, while in some cases significant, there was an effort underway to turn them into partisan scandals. I don’t think anybody here would doubt that. And what we’ve seen as time has passed and more facts have become known -- whether it’s about the attacks in Benghazi and the talking points, or revelations about conduct at the IRS -- that attempts to turn this into a scandal have failed.
...
KNOLLER: So you mentioned two -- the IRS and Benghazi.
CARNEY: Well, I’m not going to catalogue -- again, I think there was a period where there was -- a lot more energy and focus was paid by some in Congress as well as in the media on issues that, while important, are not of the highest priority to the American people, and they were not scandals.
JAY CARNEY: I think we all remember a few weeks ago when Washington was consumed with a variety of issues that, while in some cases significant, there was an effort underway to turn them into partisan scandals. I don’t think anybody here would doubt that. And what we’ve seen as time has passed and more facts have become known -- whether it’s about the attacks in Benghazi and the talking points, or revelations about conduct at the IRS -- that attempts to turn this into a scandal have failed.
...
KNOLLER: So you mentioned two -- the IRS and Benghazi.
CARNEY: Well, I’m not going to catalogue -- again, I think there was a period where there was -- a lot more energy and focus was paid by some in Congress as well as in the media on issues that, while important, are not of the highest priority to the American people, and they were not scandals.
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08-01-2013, 11:03 AM
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But here’s why it’s important to read the fine print. The President wants to give with one hand and take away with the other. Yes, the corporate tax rate would come down, perhaps from 35 percent to 28 percent, but the White House has signaled that businesses would have to accept higher taxes on new investment (because of bad “depreciation” policy) and on international competitiveness (because of misguided “worldwide taxation” policy).
To cite a very simple example, is it a good deal for companies if the corporate tax rate is lowered by 20 percent but then other changes force companies to overstate their income by 25 percent?
In reality, it’s more complex, with some companies probably coming out ahead and others getting hit with a bigger tax bill.
To cite a very simple example, is it a good deal for companies if the corporate tax rate is lowered by 20 percent but then other changes force companies to overstate their income by 25 percent?
In reality, it’s more complex, with some companies probably coming out ahead and others getting hit with a bigger tax bill.
Last edited by Braineack; 10-08-2019 at 09:48 AM.
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08-01-2013, 08:03 PM
#4615
I'm fine with the idea of lowering the base rate and then closing loopholes (which raises the effective rate); my problem is that the proposal has the stated purpose of raising revenue, which is incredibly stupid. Keep it revenue-neutral (or, better yet, lower revenue), and I'd be all for it.*
*Not really, I'd have to actually research more of the details to see if the so-called "loophole closing" is really a principled effort to make the tax code simpler and more fair, or if it's just more political games to hand out favors.
*Not really, I'd have to actually research more of the details to see if the so-called "loophole closing" is really a principled effort to make the tax code simpler and more fair, or if it's just more political games to hand out favors.
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08-02-2013, 11:55 AM
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Rangel: Tea Party Is 'Same Group' Of 'White Crackers' Who Fought Civil Rights | TPM LiveWire
Apparently the Tea Party is composed of liberal democrats...
Apparently the Tea Party is composed of liberal democrats...
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08-02-2013, 04:05 PM
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Rangel is a goof. Democrats wrote and passed the Jim Crow Laws, fought against the Civil Rights movement, used fire hoses and dogs to break up the marches and protests, and lynched the civil rights workers who were there to help the blacks. When the Democrats determined they weren't going to be able to stop the movement, they co-opted it by playing to the greed of the remaining civil rights leadership (after the idealist MLK was out of the picture). With a fat wad of dollars hanging out in front of them, unscrupulous political climbers like Rangel and greedy half-wits like Jesse Jackson have sold their bretheren negroes to the slave ship of the Democrat Party to carry them to unenlightened servitude on the state plantation. Their only true duty to ensure their masters give to them food to eat and state-owned slave quarters to live in is to vote every couple of years. They are owned by the state and kept ignorant to prevent revolt.
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08-05-2013, 11:31 AM
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"The Most Efficient Office in the World"
Slate article about a very well-run and efficient government office that is customer-facing: New York's Hudson Street Passport Office.
Slate article about a very well-run and efficient government office that is customer-facing: New York's Hudson Street Passport Office.
A few months ago, we had lunch with a friend who is a management consultant. He arrived at the restaurant raving about the fantastic experience he’d just had at the passport office on Hudson Street in lower Manhattan, where he’d gone for a need-it-by-tomorrow expedited passport. Having booked an appointment by phone, he arrived to have his application materials checked by a greeter (lest his papers be out of order, which might hold up others later in the process), who then handed him a number and sent him to a waiting room. Five minutes later, his number was called, and he was asked to hand in his paperwork. Then he was on his way; he had his new passport the next day. There was nothing that McKinsey, Accenture, or any other workflow consultant could have done to improve his experience.
They point out some reasons for the success of this branch, compared to LA for example, and talk about the importance of management - including but not limited to promoting excellent employees and firing bad ones ("Yes, while it isn’t easy, it is in fact possible to fire federal employees.").
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