I recently saw two ads by Obama in a row. One attacked McCain for not offering relief from high gas prices immediately. In the next one, Obama promised to raise high gas prices by adding a "windfall" tax, that in general would be added onto the price of a gallon of gas when the price of a gallon of gas is at its highest.
I think the point of the Hamdan case is that it doesn't matter what he actually did-we have fouled the chain of evidence so completely that we can't convict anyone of anything. It's easy to call people "terrorists", but in a nation of laws, you have to prove something to a neutral arbiter before you rob a person of their liberty.
I don't know who the terrorists are, and neither do you, and most crucially, neither do THEY. We left them in charge, and they utterly messed up, and we are going to pay for it for decades to come.
I have no doubt that there are some bad people in Guantanomo. I also have no doubt that there are some perfectly innocent people in Guantanomo. The tragedy is that we can't tell the difference anymore because the inexcusable actions of the gang of petty thugs in the White House have f&*ked everything up beyond all recognition. As a result, bad people are going to get away and cause more havoc.
I don't have an answer for gas prices, either. The only solution that has a chance of working, in my opinion, is, frankly, the Paris Hilton plan-drill now (the oil companies have plenty of leases right NOW that they are not using, so I don't see what giving them more leases will do), along with research on alternatives and conservations for later benefit.
You're really going to defend ExxonMobil? The greatest quarterly profit in the history of corporations, during the time of the highest oil prices in history, and their profits are perfectly fair and ok? No price gouging going on? Really?
Would a windfall profits tax help? I don't know. But in a bitter, atavistic way, it wouldn't hurt. They shouldnt be able to make record profits off of the misery of others. Tax CEO pay over a million dollars, too.
I don't have an answer for gas prices, either. The only solution that has a chance of working, in my opinion, is, frankly, the Paris Hilton plan-drill now (the oil companies have plenty of leases right NOW that they are not using, so I don't see what giving them more leases will do), along with research on alternatives and conservations for later benefit.
"You're really going to defend ExxonMobil?"
If someone makes false accusations against someone, why not defend the victim?
"The greatest quarterly profit in the history of corporations"
This misleading thing about this is that it overlooks the massive volume of expenditure by the company. Everything they do is big, even the raw $$$ of the profit. However, the actual percentage of profit is small comapred to other industries, and is smaller than the profits made by the government due to extra existing taxes on gas which boost the price at the pump.
"and their profits are perfectly fair and ok?"
No evidence otherwise.
"No price gouging going on? Really?"
No evidence of this found either.
"Would a windfall profits tax help? I don't know."
There is no reason to doubt that the windfall profits tax would be passed on at the pump.
"But in a bitter, atavistic way, it wouldn't hurt."
Only if you think that higher gasoline prices at the pump don't hurt.
"Tax CEO pay over a million dollars, too."
CEO pay is already taxed as an income, and the percentage of tax is higher than that for the middle class and poor. This tax applies to CEO income below AND above one million.
There are piles and piles of evidence that there are people being detained at Gitmo who are at best, peripheral, and at worst, innocent.
To deny this is to become an accomplice in crime.
I don't disagree that there are bad people there. I don't agree that because they are there, or because the president says they are bad, they are bad.
My whole point is that we don't know. We can't know, because they were scooped up and tortured and detained without regard for law, reason, or common sense. And we'll never know.
And this is all the fault of the current president and his minions.
I agree that the innocent ones should be set loose. However, the legal proceedings should be free of the type of lying attorney and tactics that and let O.J. free. let a lady get rich spilling coffee on herself.
" and is smaller than the profits made by the government due to extra existing taxes on gas which boost the price at the pump"
You do realize how vanishingly small gas taxes are, right? In my state, less than 40 cents per gallon, federal and state. And these aren't profits, they go (or are supposed to go) to pave the roads.
Should we let peripheral terrorists loose? I don't know. It depends on how peripheral, and what they actually did. I'm not a fan of thoughtcrime- just hating America is not enough for you to be ethically detained.
The point is, we don't know who is who. And we can't know. And we will never know, because the rogue's gallery in the White House blew it, and will never answer for it.
The real rogues are behind bars at Gitmo, and should stay there. I don't call the people in the White House "rogues" for rounding up these terrorists who were caught in the act, fighting in Al Queda, the Taliban, etc, "rogues". They were doing their job.
Locking up people who haven't done anything, rendering innocents to be tortured and abused in third countries, and acting with a rampant disregard for the rule of law, giving America a black eye for generations to come, is NOT their job.
"and allowed terrorists and their enablers to run free after a few months."
ReplyDeleteI thought it was the Democrats, not Republicans, who have been calling for the terrorists to be turned loose from prison.
I am done with party politics. Neither "side" is effective at anything. Democrats are whiny and weak and Republicans have lost all effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteGive me one candidate that speaks to the majority in this country...just name one. Black O'Blah Blah and John McPlain do nothing for me.
I recently saw two ads by Obama in a row. One attacked McCain for not offering relief from high gas prices immediately. In the next one, Obama promised to raise high gas prices by adding a "windfall" tax, that in general would be added onto the price of a gallon of gas when the price of a gallon of gas is at its highest.
ReplyDeleteI think the point of the Hamdan case is that it doesn't matter what he actually did-we have fouled the chain of evidence so completely that we can't convict anyone of anything. It's easy to call people "terrorists", but in a nation of laws, you have to prove something to a neutral arbiter before you rob a person of their liberty.
ReplyDeleteI don't know who the terrorists are, and neither do you, and most crucially, neither do THEY. We left them in charge, and they utterly messed up, and we are going to pay for it for decades to come.
I have no doubt that there are some bad people in Guantanomo. I also have no doubt that there are some perfectly innocent people in Guantanomo. The tragedy is that we can't tell the difference anymore because the inexcusable actions of the gang of petty thugs in the White House have f&*ked everything up beyond all recognition. As a result, bad people are going to get away and cause more havoc.
I don't have an answer for gas prices, either. The only solution that has a chance of working, in my opinion, is, frankly, the Paris Hilton plan-drill now (the oil companies have plenty of leases right NOW that they are not using, so I don't see what giving them more leases will do), along with research on alternatives and conservations for later benefit.
You're really going to defend ExxonMobil? The greatest quarterly profit in the history of corporations, during the time of the highest oil prices in history, and their profits are perfectly fair and ok? No price gouging going on? Really?
Would a windfall profits tax help? I don't know. But in a bitter, atavistic way, it wouldn't hurt. They shouldnt be able to make record profits off of the misery of others. Tax CEO pay over a million dollars, too.
"they" did know who the terrorists are, which is why the terrorists ended up captured. It is nothing but games and sophistry to claim otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI don't have an answer for gas prices, either. The only solution that has a chance of working, in my opinion, is, frankly, the Paris Hilton plan-drill now (the oil companies have plenty of leases right NOW that they are not using, so I don't see what giving them more leases will do), along with research on alternatives and conservations for later benefit.
ReplyDelete"You're really going to defend ExxonMobil?"
If someone makes false accusations against someone, why not defend the victim?
"The greatest quarterly profit in the history of corporations"
This misleading thing about this is that it overlooks the massive volume of expenditure by the company. Everything they do is big, even the raw $$$ of the profit. However, the actual percentage of profit is small comapred to other industries, and is smaller than the profits made by the government due to extra existing taxes on gas which boost the price at the pump.
"and their profits are perfectly fair and ok?"
No evidence otherwise.
"No price gouging going on? Really?"
No evidence of this found either.
"Would a windfall profits tax help? I don't know."
There is no reason to doubt that the windfall profits tax would be passed on at the pump.
"But in a bitter, atavistic way, it wouldn't hurt."
Only if you think that higher gasoline prices at the pump don't hurt.
"Tax CEO pay over a million dollars, too."
CEO pay is already taxed as an income, and the percentage of tax is higher than that for the middle class and poor. This tax applies to CEO income below AND above one million.
No. They. Did. Not.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2007/1207_courts_wittes.aspx
http://cjrarchives.org/issues/2006/5/Umanskyb.asp
There are piles and piles of evidence that there are people being detained at Gitmo who are at best, peripheral, and at worst, innocent.
To deny this is to become an accomplice in crime.
I don't disagree that there are bad people there. I don't agree that because they are there, or because the president says they are bad, they are bad.
My whole point is that we don't know. We can't know, because they were scooped up and tortured and detained without regard for law, reason, or common sense. And we'll never know.
And this is all the fault of the current president and his minions.
So we should let peripheral terrorists loose?
ReplyDeleteI agree that the innocent ones should be set loose. However, the legal proceedings should be free of the type of lying attorney and tactics that and let O.J. free.
let a lady get rich spilling coffee on herself.
" and is smaller than the profits made by the government due to extra existing taxes on gas which boost the price at the pump"
ReplyDeleteYou do realize how vanishingly small gas taxes are, right?
In my state, less than 40 cents per gallon, federal and state. And these aren't profits, they go (or are supposed to go) to pave the roads.
Should we let peripheral terrorists loose? I don't know. It depends on how peripheral, and what they actually did. I'm not a fan of thoughtcrime- just hating America is not enough for you to be ethically detained.
ReplyDeleteThe point is, we don't know who is who. And we can't know. And we will never know, because the rogue's gallery in the White House blew it, and will never answer for it.
The real rogues are behind bars at Gitmo, and should stay there. I don't call the people in the White House "rogues" for rounding up these terrorists who were caught in the act, fighting in Al Queda, the Taliban, etc, "rogues". They were doing their job.
ReplyDeleteTheir job is to try and keep us safe.
ReplyDeleteLocking up people who haven't done anything, rendering innocents to be tortured and abused in third countries, and acting with a rampant disregard for the rule of law, giving America a black eye for generations to come, is NOT their job.