Bush "tax cuts" might be the biggest expense in history.

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday September 07, 2010 · 4:24 AM PDT

2010/09/07 · 04:24

The real question is, \"Were there ever really any republican tax cuts at all in the last 40 years?\"

No there weren't, and that means there were no Bush tax cuts, either. They were loans we were forced to take, that we still are paying interest on.

Interest on republican tax cuts is now the 4th largest expense the government pays, behind Social Security, Medicare, and the huge bloated military budget.

I'm trying to condense this argument down to a simple emotionally powerful soundbyte that will resonate enough with people so they understand just how bad these "tax cuts" are for the nation. Will you help me out in the comments to get this thing down to it's most simple and raw, "CON convincing" form?

Poll

102 votes Show Results

Can you now see just how expensive the bush tax scheme has been?

102 votes Vote Now!

Can you now see just how expensive the bush tax scheme has been?

Yes. It's really frightening to see how much of our tax dollars are going to pay intrest on the bush "tax cuts."

86 votes

No. Let me read that again

7 votes

I know this is somehow important but I'm falling asleep here.

7 votes

Other: I'll leave a comment.

2 votes

100 megabits? That's IT? Seriously, FCC?

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday March 18, 2010 · 5:45 AM PDT

2010/03/18 · 05:45

The internet revolution changed the whole face of the media, but as Al Gore said in 2000, the Internet needs a major upgrade.

Speed. Upload speed especially, = freedom.

The more upload speed each of us has, the more freedom we have to communicate with the rest of the world.

If we each had a fast enough speed, for example, we wouldn't have to worry about counting on somebody like let's say youtube to host our videos, because we would have enough ability all by ourselves, from our own computers, to allow millions to watch anything we made.

A site like DailyKos would be easily able to run on a home server and bandwidth would not be an extra cost at all.

The paltry 100 Megabit per second speed that the FCC says it wants to see the country achieve in TEN YEARS from now, is so slow that there are already other countries with millions of users at those speeds today. We can do so so much better.

Poll

243 votes Show Results

Will you get active to ban proprietary internet protocols that keep us slow, and free up the internet for real innovation?

243 votes Vote Now!

Will you get active to ban proprietary internet protocols that keep us slow, and free up the internet for real innovation?

Yes. I'm at least going to vote up net neutrality posts on Openinternet.gov

94 votes

Yes. I'm also going to post my own pro-neutrality ideas.

3 votes

Yes. I'm going to do that and write to my represenatives and senators.

60 votes

No. I am willing to have America fall way behind all the other countries.

24 votes

I'd really do something here, but I don't understand what the heck you're talking about. (please ask, in the comments then!)

18 votes

Actually I'm developing some of tomorrow's communication technologies, myself. I'm very smart.

30 votes

Other. (please explain)

14 votes

observed: a tea partier sneaks into a Franken Rally

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday February 23, 2010 · 6:57 AM PST

2010/02/23 · 06:57

I came across a blog entry this morning, by a tea partier. What I thought was very interesting about it, was how much he came to the realization that liberals and tea partiers are actually similar...

I think with a little tweaking, We can help tea partiers understand that their natural enemy is not liberals, but indeed the Republican party.

Poll

255 votes Show Results

Can we find common ground with tea partiers?

255 votes Vote Now!

Can we find common ground with tea partiers?

Yes. They just need to understand their enemy is "big power," not just "big government."

64 votes

No. They've been totally fooled, and will never really be able to see who their natural enemies are.

177 votes

Other. Explain.

14 votes

We need more liberals in congress.

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday December 20, 2009 · 6:08 AM PST

2009/12/20 · 06:08

We need more liberals in the house and senate. Period.

That's all we should be talking about, right through to the election in 2010.

If we'd had more liberals in the senate... I'd say about 10 or so, we wouldn't be looking at a huge giveaway to insurance companies. We'd have universal health care. There would be no mandate, because health care would just be free, and there would never actually be anything in particular to pay out of pocket, at all.

Poll

36 votes Show Results

Legislation this year has become far too conservative.

36 votes Vote Now!

Legislation this year has become far too conservative.

I hate it and now I'm going to go hide under my bed.

3 votes

It's Obama's fault for not giving us the change we believed in.

9 votes

We can do something about it by helping more liberals get elected, especially in the senate.

20 votes

I give up on politics. One slap in the face is enough to make me cry and go home to mommy

1 vote

The right wing never stops fighting, but we should, because we aren't quite there yet.

3 votes

The shining city on a hill, once again

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 18, 2009 · 9:35 AM PDT

2009/10/18 · 09:35

There are a lot of small, under the radar, things that the Obama administration is doing, on a pretty large scale, that I know will make a huge difference in the long run. These are all the types of things that won't be in the headlines, and when we are reaping the fruits of these efforts, credit probably will not be given properly either.

Poll

115 votes Show Results

There are a lot of changes happening in our government, under the radar.

115 votes Vote Now!

There are a lot of changes happening in our government, under the radar.

I know. I see these things every day.

42 votes

I think I have heard about one or two things.

31 votes

I didn't realize any of this was happening because it is just not being covered effectively in the news.

36 votes

Other

6 votes

my fun conversation with a verizon fios rep

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday August 07, 2009 · 7:21 PM PDT

2009/08/07 · 19:21

Ok this isn't really political... well only partially... because the laws as they are now, allow companies like verizon to set terms for internet use that are completely against the whole idea of the internet in the first place.

The markey internet bill does not directly address the problem of ISPs deciding what people can and cannot do, while connected to the internet.

It would be as if the road pavers could decide what people were allowed to carry in their cars. ridiculous. but that's how it is today.

I was slightly curious, so i ambled on over to the verizon fios web page, and after the page was open for a few minutes, a chat window opened up all by itself. i figured, ok... if they're going to follow me around their web page, while i browse, with paid employees, like in some kind of expensive clothing store, i may as well have a chat.

Poll

92 votes Show Results

should isps be required to allow every user to be a full fledged member of the internet community, able to run servers, have a web page on their computer, upload and download at will, say anything they want about their isp?

92 votes Vote Now!

should isps be required to allow every user to be a full fledged member of the internet community, able to run servers, have a web page on their computer, upload and download at will, say anything they want about their isp?

Yes, of course.

71 votes

No.

14 votes

Other.

7 votes

Help fix the Net Neutrality Bill!

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday August 06, 2009 · 3:34 PM PDT

2009/08/06 · 15:34

AKA: Problems with the Markey Net Neutrality bill, as written...

I lay out some of the problems I have with the Markey Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009, HR 3458, which in my opinion is a little too myopic and perhaps suffers from just a little bit too much input from Telco and Cable giants' lobbyists.

Net neutrality is the only way we are going to keep sites like Daily Kos alive and well. Please recommend this diary if you believe that a discussion about real net neutrality is important.

The 800 LB Gorilla in the room is that any internet that has telcos and cable companies utilizing the lion's share of the network for their tv and phone services, is not even close to neutral.

Poll

13 votes Show Results

How should the internet be, to grow the most quickly and be most innovative?

13 votes Vote Now!

How should the internet be, to grow the most quickly and be most innovative?

Standards based, so anybody anywhere could contribute to the power of the network. If you want to upgrade under this model, you don't have to ask anybody permission for anything, as long as you use a standard device.

12 votes

ISP based, so telephone and cable monopolies could choose if and when we shall get any improvements to the network. Of course, you wouldn't be allowed to connect your own equipment to "their" network, and whatever equipment you do have connected will be c

1 vote

Insurance company bureaucrats shouldn't decide

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Thursday July 16, 2009 · 8:21 AM PDT

2009/07/16 · 08:21

We need to remove the word "insurance" from the health care debate, and ban private, for profit insurance companies from the business entirely. It is time to stop having insurance company bureaucrats deciding what medical care we should and shouldn't get.

Poll

53 votes Show Results

Should Insurance company Bureaucrats decide what medical care we get?

53 votes Vote Now!

Should Insurance company Bureaucrats decide what medical care we get?

No.

50 votes

Yes.

2 votes

Other.

1 vote

NY Times buries certain comments

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday June 06, 2009 · 9:11 PM PDT

2009/06/06 · 21:11

I have noticed, over time, that the NY Times has this way of including all the comments i make but if they don't like it, for one reason or another, they wait a very long time before approving it, so that it gets to be buried under a sea of other comments.

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Monday May 04, 2009 · 9:32 AM PDT

2009/05/04 · 09:32

Obama just finished making an announcement that will affect us all profoundly. He has finally declared war on those tax cheating large corporations and billionaires who have hidden their money in off shore tax havens.

Even better, he is going to take the savings from that, and put it into things like research and development, here at home.

Watch the video here.

Poll

125 votes Show Results

Where is our tax money best spent?

125 votes Vote Now!

Where is our tax money best spent?

Off shore tax havens, where billionaires will take it and leave it in their swiss bank accounts.

7 votes

Research and Development, where anybody with a brilliant idea can realize their dream more easily.

103 votes

Other

15 votes

MSNBC under attack corrected poll, real neutrality

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday May 03, 2009 · 7:45 AM PDT

2009/05/03 · 07:45

I noticed yesterday that there were at least a few people who voted on the poll without really checking to see if MSNBC has been placed on the same tier as FOX and CNN.

So I made a new poll.

Also, I'd like to throw in my 2 cents about what I believe really ought to be done.

Poll

238 votes Show Results

Go to your cable/satellite provider's web page and check before you vote. What's the story with MSNBC?

238 votes Vote Now!

Go to your cable/satellite provider's web page and check before you vote. What's the story with MSNBC?

I checked, and I can get MSNBC for the same exact price that i would pay to get FOX and CNN

169 votes

I checked and I have verified that I must pay more if I want to get MSNBC

37 votes

although CNN and FOX do not require an extra box, MSNBC does, which makes it more expensive to have MSNBC.

10 votes

Right now, everything is the same, but I recently got a letter from my provider saying they're moving MSNBC to a spot that will cost more because it reqires a box or for other reasons

2 votes

Other (please explain)

20 votes

MSNBC under guerrilla attack.

fractal

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday May 02, 2009 · 1:20 PM PDT

2009/05/02 · 13:20

In the past few weeks, it has come to my personal attention that one cable or satellite company after another has been quietly moving MSNBC away from the news channel section of their lineup and into the premium section, or into the stratosphere of three and four digit channels.

As a result, when the ratings came out this week, it was no surprise to see how MSNBC is now a distant third behind CNN and FOX.

If we don't do anything about this, we may lose MSNBC's liberal voice all together.

Poll

7294 votes Show Results

Where is MSNBC in your Cable or Satellite Lineup?

7294 votes Vote Now!

Where is MSNBC in your Cable or Satellite Lineup?

It's still in basic cable, right next to Fox and CNN.

5206 votes

It used to be in basic cable, next to Fox and CNN, but now it costs extra.

547 votes

It is still in basic cable, somewhere, but its hidden in one of those high up channels.

606 votes

It used to be in basic cable, next to Fox and CNN, but now it's gone.

162 votes

MSNBC was never available as far as I know.

294 votes

Other

479 votes

Newer
Older

RSS