Palin steps down as governor of Alaska

Machjo

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 19, 2004
17,878
61
48
Ottawa, ON
National debt by U.S. presidential terms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fascinating. According to this, the Debt-GDP ration since the 1940's grew under only three presidents, the beloved Ronald Reagan and the Bush family. No wonder the US people liked Reagan: he was spending like a drunken sailor creting jobs and false prosperity for everyone! Scary thing is, the second Bush outdid even the spendaholic Reagan!
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
Could Mr. Shwarzenegger hold a high level cabinet post in a Republican run
Palin Presidency, being born outside of the USA???

Yes as long as he is not inline to become the President.[/quote]



That doesn’t sound right, ironsides. Does that mean that a foreign born US citizen cannot become Speaker of the House, or Leader of the Senate? They are both in line for President (Speaker is second in line, after Vice President).

But that is an interesting point. The succession line for President is very long maybe 15 or 20 long. Does that mean that everybody in that line must be a US born American citizen? E.g. Senator Byrd is President pro tem of the Senate. He is fairly high on the list, may be No. 4 or 5.

Does that mean that President pro tem of the Senate cannot be a foreign born US citizen? Or does it mean that if ever it comes to him assuming presidency, he cannot do it and the presidency would go to the next one in line?

If so, the same thing may apply to vice president as well. A vice president may be foreign born. However, in the case of death of the president, the VP then cannot become the president; it will have to be the Speaker of the House.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
National debt by U.S. presidential terms - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fascinating. According to this, the Debt-GDP ration since the 1940's grew under only three presidents, the beloved Ronald Reagan and the Bush family. No wonder the US people liked Reagan: he was spending like a drunken sailor creting jobs and false prosperity for everyone! Scary thing is, the second Bush outdid even the spendaholic Reagan!


Machjo, the conservatives are forever bragging about how their Messiah, Reagan rescued the economy and ended the recession. What they omit to mention is that he did it on borrowed money. He went on a spending spree to stimulate the economy; he did exactly what Obama is doing.

And many conservatives have done that, Reagan, the two Bushes, Mulroney, Mike Harris, now Harper etc. As I said, conservatives talk a good game, but when they assume power, their economic performance is almost invariably lousy.
 

Kreskin

Doctor of Thinkology
Feb 23, 2006
21,155
149
63
Palin is an odd one. During her resignation speech she claimed that people who put their heads down and stick it out through times like hers are quitters. The non-quitters are the ones who step aside and let someone else take over.
 

Machjo

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 19, 2004
17,878
61
48
Ottawa, ON
That is what conservatives usually do, Machjo.

Please put an upper case C in that word. A true conservative is fiscally conservative too. They are not conservatives, but spendaholic imperialists. They couldn't care less if they have to bust the budget to achieve their goals.

They talk a good game while in opposition, they promise responsible government, balanced budgets, fiscal responsibility etc. However, when they do assume power, they invariably shoot the deficit through the roof. Indeed, I cannot think of even one conservative leader in recent memory who has balanced the budget (Harper did it for a while, riding on Liberal coattails, but soon he went into deficit, because of his moronic GST cut).

Again, a true conservative focuses on reducing government spending first, with tax reductions following suit; not the other way around. Please write it with an upper case C, or in the US, an upper case R.

Now Democrats re in exactly the same position, they control everything. If things go sound, they have nobody but themselves to blame.

From what I understand, the New Democrats in some provinces are proving to be more fiscally conservative than their federal Conservative counterparts. What real conservatives ought to be looking at is supporting independents. Just compare André Arthur, an independent MP (André Arthur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) to any federal Conservative MP, and it just doesn't compare. He's a self-professed Libertarian, yet even the federal left could likely agree with at least some of his ideas and at least not perceive him as an imperialist threat.
 

Machjo

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 19, 2004
17,878
61
48
Ottawa, ON
Machjo, the conservatives are forever bragging about how their Messiah, Reagan rescued the economy and ended the recession. What they omit to mention is that he did it on borrowed money. He went on a spending spree to stimulate the economy; he did exactly what Obama is doing.

And many conservatives have done that, Reagan, the two Bushes, Mulroney, Mike Harris, now Harper etc. As I said, conservatives talk a good game, but when they assume power, their economic performance is almost invariably lousy.

Again, you're confusing conservatives with self-professed conservatives.

Now though I don't agree with how Obama is spending like a fish, I will say that at least his spending is more likely to make a return on the investment than Reagan's spending spree. Infrastructures spending is generally a much wiser investment than military welfare. Heck, even corporate welfare, as much of a wastage as it is, surpasses military welfare in that at least it produces something in the market.
 

Machjo

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 19, 2004
17,878
61
48
Ottawa, ON
Actually, something I wouldn't mind seeing would be the Conservative Party replaced by independent candidates. That way, without the dictatorial strictures of partisanship, they would be freer to vote their conscience.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
Palin is an odd one. During her resignation speech she claimed that people who put their heads down and stick it out through times like hers are quitters. The non-quitters are the ones who step aside and let someone else take over.

Kreskin, at least in my mind it is clear what Joan of Arc is up to. Now that she is not governor any longer, press won't scrutinize her very closely. She can earn fantastic amounts of money in speech circuits. She is very popular with the far right base and they will pay her astronomical fees to give a speech in front them.

She also has a book deal. So she can earn several million dollars in a short order, which she wouldn’t be able to do as a governor. At the same time, she can build contacts, network for 2012.

She did what any politician who is interested in running in 2012 would have done. Of course, se wrapped it up in family friendly language (her handicapped kid needs her etc.); the far right base just loves that kind of drivel, they lap it up eagerly.

So this tells me that she is serious about a presidential bid in 2012.
 

Machjo

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 19, 2004
17,878
61
48
Ottawa, ON
Kreskin, at least in my mind it is clear what Joan of Arc is up to. Now that she is not governor any longer, press won't scrutinize her very closely. She can earn fantastic amounts of money in speech circuits. She is very popular with the far right base and they will pay her astronomical fees to give a speech in front them.

She also has a book deal. So she can earn several million dollars in a short order, which she wouldn’t be able to do as a governor. At the same time, she can build contacts, network for 2012.

She did what any politician who is interested in running in 2012 would have done. Of course, se wrapped it up in family friendly language (her handicapped kid needs her etc.); the far right base just loves that kind of drivel, they lap it up eagerly.

So this tells me that she is serious about a presidential bid in 2012.

As for the handicapped kid part, who knows, maybe she is being honest there, so I wouldn't cut her down too quick on that front. I don't know, maybe she is a good person outside of politics, but God help us if she ever becomes president in her current state of heart and mind.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
petros, I did what any responsible government should do (but never does): I spent less and scaled down our life style to have more modest expectations.

Yukon, you mean what any liberal government never does. I assume your conservative governments do it all the time; they are the paragons of virtue when it comes to fiscal management.

With Obama economy flooding over to Canada, it is a lead-pipe cinch that they will be WORSE off than our generation.

For your information Yukon, Obama is not in power in Canada, your Messiah is. And he is spending exactly like Obama. But due to some reason, you have problem with Obama’s spending, but not with spending by your Messiah (with his 50 billion plus deficit).
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
As for the handicapped kid part, who knows, maybe she is being honest there, so I wouldn't cut her down too quick on that front. I don't know, maybe she is a good person outside of politics, but God help us if she ever becomes president in her current state of heart and mind.

Maybe she is and maybe she isn’t, Machjo, we don’t know. But that is the kind of thing any politician would say in order to delight his/her base.

It is quite possible that she quit because she really wants to pay more attention to her handicapped son. But what she said is also consistent with her making a run for 2012. I am always filled with cynicism when it comes to politicians. In my opinion, her reference to her handicapped kid was made to pacify, to delight her far right base. If she is going to devote full time to running for 2012, obviously she won’t have that much time to devote to her kid.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
Good points Machjo... Seeing how we've seen ho well the academic crowd has managed to run nations, Trudeau, Dion, Iggy and let's not forget Obama - you'll recall that he is the one that applied for foreign-born student scholarships to make his way through post-secondary.

Captain, and I assume your Bush did a stellar job of managing the economy? Spoken like a true believer. And Dion and Iggy mismanaged the economy? Even without being the Prime minister? I didn’t know they have that much power over your Messiah.

So I assume the current 50 billion dollars plus deficit by your Messiah is purely the fault of Iggy and Dion? Your Messiah is totally blameless; he is going a great job of managing the economy?

You true blue conservative loyalists never cease to amuse me.

I see you don’t mention Mulroney here, I assume in your opinion, he was the best there is in fiscal management, I assume under him economy prospered as never before?

At least you had the decency not to claim that economy tanked big time under Chrétien and Martin, that under them we had high inflation and high unemployment (and huge deficits, bigger than under your other Messiah, Mulroney). I give you some credit for that.

But if Bush did such a great job of managing the economy, why did your party (Republicans) suffer such humiliating defeats in 2006 and 2008? Was it all due to Democratic propaganda? I assume Mulroney lost purely due to Liberal propaganda (those evil, nasty Liberals wouldn’t let poor Mulroney explain to the people how good things were under Mulroney). Do you give the same reason for Republican losses?

Come come, Captain, amuse me some more.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
let's not forget Obama - you'll recall that he is the one that applied for foreign-born student scholarships to make his way through post-secondary.

So Captain, do you agree with conspiracy theorists, that Obama is an illegal alien, a Muslim terrorist who should be imprisoned and deported to Kenya or to Indonesia?
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
So lets elect the guy who works nights at the Shell on the corner?

Wrong, petros. Let us elect right wing extremists (according to Captain anyway). Let us have far right in power in perpetuity (like they do in Alberta), the likes of Bush. That will bring in paradise to Canada and USA.

The way to salvation lies through perpetual extreme right government.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
The guy who works nights at the Shell on the corner might very well be an intellectual in his own right simply trying to support his family. I'd met a Pakistani engineer working in a corner store in Kitchener.

That is not so unusual, Machjo. He could very well have been a Pakistani (or Indian) doctor. Many professional have a great deal of difficulty getting their qualifications approved by the professional organizations in Canada.

In this respect, Canada is much worse than USA. It is a crying shame, a lot of talent goes waste, because the engineers and doctors cannot get their qualifications recognized by the professional institutions.
 

ironsides

Executive Branch Member
Feb 13, 2009
8,583
60
48
United States
Yes as long as he is not inline to become the President.



That doesn’t sound right, ironsides. Does that mean that a foreign born US citizen cannot become Speaker of the House, or Leader of the Senate? They are both in line for President (Speaker is second in line, after Vice President).

But that is an interesting point. The succession line for President is very long maybe 15 or 20 long. Does that mean that everybody in that line must be a US born American citizen? E.g. Senator Byrd is President pro tem of the Senate. He is fairly high on the list, may be No. 4 or 5.

Does that mean that President pro tem of the Senate cannot be a foreign born US citizen? Or does it mean that if ever it comes to him assuming presidency, he cannot do it and the presidency would go to the next one in line?

If so, the same thing may apply to vice president as well. A vice president may be foreign born. However, in the case of death of the president, the VP then cannot become the president; it will have to be the Speaker of the House.[/quote]


Correction:
The Constitution requires presidents to be natural-born citizens of the United States who are at least 35 years of age and have resided in the United States for 14 years. As a tacit statement of America’s commitment to democracy and equal opportunity, the Constitution gave any free white male citizen of the country the opportunity to become president. All males gained the right to become president in 1870 when the 15th Amendment to the Constitution gave African Americans the right to vote. Women were excluded from running for the office until 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the Constitution gave them the right to vote.


This is a list of the current presidential line of succession[1], as specified by the United States Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 (3 U.S.C. § 19) and subsequent amendments to include newly created cabinet officers.
#OfficeCurrent Officer
1Vice PresidentJoe Biden
2Speaker of the House of RepresentativesNancy Pelosi
3President pro tempore of the SenateRobert Byrd
4Secretary of StateHillary Rodham Clinton
5Secretary of the TreasuryTimothy Geithner
6Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates[2]
7Attorney GeneralEric Holder
8Secretary of the InteriorKen Salazar
9Secretary of AgricultureTom Vilsack
10Secretary of CommerceGary Locke
11Secretary of LaborHilda Solis
12Secretary of Health and Human ServicesKathleen Sebelius
13Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentShaun Donovan
14Secretary of TransportationRay LaHood
15Secretary of EnergySteven Chu
16Secretary of EducationArne Duncan
17Secretary of Veterans AffairsEric Shinseki
18Secretary of Homeland SecurityJanet Napolitano
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
That is one of the biggest downfalls of our treatment of immigrants by disrespecting their education's and not allowing them to practice the field they are highly educated in.

When you compare the quality of their education to what is passed off as education in western nations is a joke.

We have waiting lists for surgeons where lives are being lost and yet highly qualified specialists are driving cabs or making 3 for pizzas earning a crap living instead of being a big part of this country and paying the taxes that is generated by those who have qualified skills.

Indeed. There are several hundred doctors in Toronto alone, who are driving taxies or delivering pizza because their qualifications have not yet been recognized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

Many of them have post graduation, several years of experience etc. But due to some reason, Canadians are pig headed when it comes to recognizing foreign qualifications. Indeed, until recently it was difficult for a doctor to move from one province to another. Getting license in another province was not just a formality, the doctor had to appear for exams. Just recently they have made it easier.

But Canadian seem almost paranoid when it comes to recognizing qualifications from another jurisdiction.
 

ironsides

Executive Branch Member
Feb 13, 2009
8,583
60
48
United States

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
That is al very well, ironsides, but you still didn’t answer my question. Does this mean that Speaker of the House etc. must be born in USA? I seriously doubt it.

Henry Kissinger was Secretary of State under Nixon, he was born in Germany. According to the list provided by you, he was 4th in line, yet he was foreign born. I think the way it works out is that Speaker of the House, Leader of the senate, anybody may be foreign born. But if due to some reason presidency comes to him, he cannot become a president.

Thus Kissinger was 4th in line. If due to whatever reason, Nixon, his VP and Speaker of the House had died, Kissinger would not get to be the President, it would go to next in line, Secretary of Treasury.

But I think anybody except president may be foreign born.
 

SirJosephPorter

Time Out
Nov 7, 2008
11,956
56
48
Ontario
People are already protesting Obama's policies.


Fort Lauderdale Tea Party protesters declare: End "fiscal lunacy"


"FORT LAUDERDALE - In a sea of red, white and blue, hundreds of anti-tax demonstrators took to the streets in Fort Lauderdale to speak out against government spending and President Obama's policies."


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-lauderdale-tax-tea-party-070409,0,1607438.story?track=rss

That is the far right protesting, ironsides. Up until two years ago they were in power (with Bush). Now they have lost all the levers of power (except the Supreme Court), so protest is the only way they can make their discontent known.