Professor Vatz, I was fooled by Mr Obama during the 2008 campaign. I supported and voted for Mr Obama with my time and money. I believed he would "change." Washington as I knew It. He made a change, but in the wrong direction. He is a disaster on foreign policy, economic issues and social issues. Since my father was an immigrant and became an American citizen the right way, I despise the way Mr Obama wants to give a "free pass" to illegal immigrants. I am also disgusted with illegal immigrants (non citizens) receiving free education to 12th grade, free school lunches, health care (thru CHIP and emergency rooms) and food stamps. My children will bear the burden of this overwhelming federal debt and insane federal programs. Yet most Amercian citizens have their head in the sand. I will pay more in taxes and accept less Medicare and Social Security; if the federal debt is dealt with by bringing it down and stop some of these insane federal social programs.

What the media isn't telling you about our economy. By John Lott
"Judging from the media coverage, you might think that our economy was improving. You’d be wrong.

The truth is that the slowest recovery on record appears destined to set even more records for slow growth. That’s not good news for President Obama. And more bad economic news hit him this past week. Here's a short list of indicators:

-- Slow GDP growth: GDP rose at an annual rate of just 1.25% during April through June, barely keeping up with the growth in population. The economy has been getting slower and slower since the end of last year.

-- Durable goods orders plunged 13.2 percent in August.

-- Median household income has actually fallen. Income has dropped from $53,718 to $50,678 since the “recovery” started in June 2009.

Despite all this, the news media has been uncharacteristically cheerful the last couple of months. Take some of the newspaper headlines from August, when the unemployment rate had gone up again for the second time in three months, rising from 8.2 to 8.3 percent. The Wall Street Journal headline read: “Job Gains Spark Stock Rally.” The New York Times reported: “Hiring Picks Up in July, but Data Gives No Clear Signal.”

Man, professor, I'm glad I didn't have to sit in on your class...

How exactly is the economy disastrous? On Dec 31 2008 the Dow closed at 8776.39, today it closed at 13515... Disaster... What of the American corporations that are sitting on 5 TRILLION dollars in cash reserves? What are they doing with that money? They sure aren't hiring, they aren't investing in manufacturing facilities. All I know is my portfolio is doing rather nicely, thank you very much.

What President in the last 60 years didn't have a policy that created instability in the mid east? The area is inherently unstable. You have had a religious conflict for almost 2 thousand years. We supported despots, the Soviets supported despots and they kept things under relative control. What would Mr Romney have done differently? If you listen to his talks to wealthy supporters, He was very clear that, you can't do anything, you just. and I quote, "kick the ball down the field and hope it works out..." Really? Yes he said that...

As for Mr. Akin, the man is running for the United States Senate. He was guilty of the one thing politicians shouldn't do, telling what he actually thinks. (lol) But if elected he wants to legislate that ignorant position... Along with Mr. Ryan running for Vice President. If you don't understand basic biology, you should be writing legislation about it...

As for Mr Romney's taxes, heck, even his dad released 12 years of returns. I'd be interested to know how much Mr Romney made during the economic meltdown of 2008 by betting against American interests? Look, he wants to be President, I'm not forcing him to run, but I will tell him what I think is important, and not the other way around. His self serving comment about paying 14%. Ok, but why not take all of the charitable deduction you were entitled to instead of about 1/2? Maybe because if you took the full amount, you would have paid 10%, and that would look bad? I bet win or lose, Nov 5th, he files an amended return for a refund... (which is quite legal...)

And Mr Kerry has nothing on Mr Romney about flip flopping. In fact I think Mr Romney wins.

Abortion, For it, now against it
Romney care For it, now against it.
Auto bailout, against it, now for it....

Please Professor, your post was as a Romney shill and it shows. At least be upfront about it instead of couching it as a lecture on spin...

Ok, Joe, I know it's impossible to argue a negative, but where would we be if we hadn't had the stimulus? Like the majority of Republicans opposed? I bet we wouldn't be talking about recovery, even if it is a bit slower than most would like. (an argument can be made that the stimulus wasn't big enough...) But we as a country are doing much better than most of the world... I know I'm better off today than I was 4 years ago.

Republicans - be careful of what you wish for.
Huge tax increases, huge budget cuts to the military, the Alternative Minimum Tax not yet patched, the enormous debt, the printing of money, Israel ready to take out Iran, problems in the middle east. - From a politcal perspective, whoever is in charge is going to be left holding the bag.
It will not take much to blow up this market. When this market collapses, everything else will fall with it. From a political perspective, much better off for the Republicans to have Obama in the White House. It will show how terrible he is.
MAYBE we can then retrurn to two political parties rather than what we have now.
Both parties are simply terrible. Maybe this would spell the end of MSNBC and the Sean Hannity types.

Dr. Vatz is right - the Republican candidates have been completely unable to set any agenda. They inability to communicate or even grasp basic concepts shows how inept the are. Maybe Mitt should have taken Dr. Vatz's class (no that Mitt would be caught dead taking a class at a public institution from a public school professor).

From Ryan's complete silence on the budget, to Mitt's "writing off" of 1/2 of your fellow Americans - they haven't just failed to lead, or failed to set agenda, they failed to execute any real campaign at all. But then, why should they if all they had was Idealism and Rhetoric - the America public chewed them up and spit them out... if they can't even turn a press conference of paying supporters into a win, how can we expect them to help the Middle Class and the Economy? All they seem to be able to do is help themselves...

I'm not surprised by that, but I am surprised that Dr. Vatz and I agree on something - the Democrats set the agenda. The Republicans have merely impotently chased their tails... if they can't even lead a campaign, why should I elect them to lead my Country?

Four More Years it is.

My guess is that smart Americans across the country will resoundingly reject four years of abject failure by our dismal huckster-in-chief.

Your guess? ...lol Do you really think that because Fox says the polls are biases, that they are? Have you looked at any historical polling data from the last 10 years? It's pretty much spot on, no matter what Fox says. And even Fox's poll says the the President is ahead.

Just perhaps we should try to start being a bit more civil in our discussions? I never try to call anybody names, it isn't productive to trying to get a point across.

I always try to refer to someone by their title. If they are elected to an office, the office get the respect. Like President Bush, or President Obama... You may not respect the person or their positions, but you should respect the office.

Just saying...

ObamaDebt Jumped $1.2759T in FY 2012; Up $10,855 Per Household in Just 12 Months; Beats 2011.
ObamaPhones jumped exponentially.

Now Owe'Malley is under investigation for ethics issues. He is being looked at for "improperly used official office resources for personal and political purposes, which is a big “no-no” according to state law. "

"In that letter, Governor O’Malley wrote the following:

I don’t need to remind you how important this election is. Whether it’s protecting the investments we make together in our schools, re-electing Senator Cardin, Congressman Van Hollen, and President Obama, or helping elect a new Democratic Congressional majority by sending John Delaney to Congress – the work we do together during this election cycle will determine what type of work we’re able to do together for the people of our State in the years to come.

I’m writing to ask not only for your vote, but for your voice."

Joe I'm sorry, but you are wrong that the economy is worse off today then when President Obama took office. We were losing 800,000 jobs per month, Banks weren't lending at all... We were on the verge of a depression and total market collapse.

Hard to reason with people that refuse to come out of the bubble...

What does a Judicial Watch complaint against the Governor have to do with Rmoney??

Like I said, in the bubble. Joe, go back to watching FOX 'news'

Under Obama, Poor, Middle Class Incomes Fall Sharply.

"Despite repeated promises that he would build prosperity from the bottom up, President Obama has presided over three years of income losses for the middle class, according to the latest household income data from the Census Bureau.

Since 2009, the middle 20% of American households saw their average incomes drop 4%. In 2011 alone, they fell 1.7%. The poorest 20% have fared even worse under Obama, Census data show. Their incomes have dropped more than 7% since 2009, and are now lower than they've been at any time since 1985, after adjusting for inflation.

Meanwhile, the wealthiest have managed to eke out gains in two of the past three years. In 2011, the top 20% saw their average income climb almost 2%, the Census data show.

These results are in direct contrast of what President Obama said his policies would produce when he ran for president in 2008.

At a high profile speech in March of that year at Cooper Union in New York City, for example, Obama said "I've put forward a series of proposals that will foster economic growth from the bottom up."

http://news.investors.com/100212-627662-under-obama-poor-middle-class-incomes-fall-sharply.aspx#ixzz289e83ZWV

Health insurance costs grew slowly for two years. Now, they’re speeding up.

"U.S. spending on health insurance grew at an accelerated rate in 2011, breaking a two-year trend of smaller cost increases. The culprit, a new study suggests, is not Americans seeking more treatment but rather rapid growth in the price of medical care.

Spending for private health insurance surged by 4.6 percent in 2011, according to a report from the Health Care Cost Institute. That growth rate is faster than the rest of the economy and higher than the previous year, which had 3.8 percent growth.

Average spending on a private insurance patient rose to $4,547 in 2011, compared with $4,349 in 2010. That statistic suggests that a recent downturn in health-care spending may have been a temporary product of the recession rather than a more permanent change, as some health-care economists have hoped."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/25/health-insurance-costs-grew-slowly-for-two-years-now-theyre-speeding-up/

Debt Jumped $1.2759T in FY 2012; Up $10,855 Per Household in Just 12 Months; Beats 2011.
" According to the U.S. Treasury, the debt of the U.S. government climbed by a total of $1,275,901,078,828.74 in fiscal 2012, which ended yesterday.

That means the federal government borrowed approximately an additional $10,855 for each household in the United States just over the past twelve months.

The total debt of the United States now equals approximately $136,690 per household.

In fiscal 2011, the debt increased by about $10,454 per household--$401 less than the $10,855 per household increase of 2012.

The $1.2758 trillion that the debt increased in fiscal 2012 was about $47.18 billion more than the $1.2287 trillion that the debt increased in fiscal 2011.

The federal fiscal year begins on Oct. 1 and ends on Sept. 30.

At the close of business on Sept. 30, 2011, the total debt of the U.S. government was $14,790,340,328,557.15, according to the Treasury. At the close of business on Sept. 28, the last business day of fiscal 2012, it was $16,066,241,407,385.89"

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/debt-jumped-12759t-fy-2012-10855-household-just-12-months-beats-2011

Huge tax increase looms at year-end 'fiscal cliff' .

" WASHINGTON (AP) -- A typical middle-income family making $40,000 to $64,000 a year could see its taxes go up by $2,000 next year if lawmakers fail to renew a lengthy roster of tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, according to a new report Monday

Taxpayers across the income spectrum would be hit with large tax hikes, the Tax Policy Center said in its study, with households in the top 1 percent income range seeing an average tax increase of more than $120,000, while a family making between $110,000 to $140,000 could see a tax hike in the $6,000 range.

Taxpayers across the income spectrum will get slammed with increases totaling more than $500 billion - a more than 20 percent increase - with nine out of 10 households being affected by the expiration of tax cuts enacted under both President Barack Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FISCAL_CLIFF_TAXES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-01-18-05-26

Yea yea! Thats the ticket! Things are looking up.. "The private sector is doing fine."
"My plan will lower your premiums by $2500 a family." "You didn't build that, someone else did that."

Study: Obama's Spending Plan Raises Middle Class Taxes.
"A new study by Douglas Holtz-Eakin of the American Action Forum finds that President Barack Obama's spending plan would raise taxes on the middle class. "[T]axpayers making as little as $30,000 will carry $1,500 more in taxes annually over the next 10 years," the study finds. The significance of this study is that it contradict Obama's pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class. “If you are a family making less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes go up,” Obama said in 2008.

But if the American Action Forum study is correct, and if Obama is reelected, he will either break his pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class or his commitment to balance the budget."

Obama Increased Foreign Aid 80%; Spent 76% More on Foreign Aid Than Border Security.
"From fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2011, according to the U.S. Treasury, the federal government increased spending on foreign aid by 80 percent and, in fiscal 2011, spent 76 percent more on foreign aid than it did securing the borders of the United States.

In fiscal 2008, the government spent a total of $11.427 billion in international assistance programs, according to the Monthly Treasury Statement. In fiscal 2011, according to the statement, it spent $20.599 billion—an increase of $9.172 billion, or 80 percent, from 2008.

Prior to Obama taking office, international assistance spending had been trending down for three years, according to the Treasury. In fiscal 2005, it was $14.787. In fiscal 2006, it dropped to $13.914 billion. In fiscal 2007, it dropped again to $12.764 billion. And, in fiscal 2008, it dropped yet again to $11.427 billion.

Since 2008, international assistance spending has increased each year. In fiscal 2009, it climbed to $14.827 billion. In fiscal 2010, it jumped to $20.038 billion. And, in fiscal 2011, it climbed again to $20.599 billion."

Property Owners Face a New Surtax
"The housing market may indeed be recovering, as many experts suggest, but investors are still struggling to understand what, if any, taxes they'll owe upon selling their homes.

At issue is how the new "Medicare tax" will apply to real-estate transactions.
Passed in 2010 to help fund the health-care overhaul, this 3.8% surtax kicks in next year on many forms of investment income—including some interest, dividends, rents and capital gains.

The new tax will hit individuals with more than $200,000 in adjusted gross income, and married couples with adjusted gross income above $250,000 ($125,000 for married taxpayers filing separately). These thresholds are not indexed for inflation, so more people may be affected over time.

Specifically, the tax will apply to either your net investment income or the amount that your adjusted gross income exceeds the threshold—whichever is less."

Dude, Take your Meds. That's 12 Spam posts in a row.......

Steve, I am VERY impressed that you actually counted to 12. What an accomplishment for a 9 year old.

You couldn't count to 12 when you were 9????

Must have been home schooled...

Obama Agenda: "Vote like your lady parts depend on it, Because they kinda do."
Now the Democrats have lowered themselves to genitalia! If the shoe fits......

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-campaign-website-vote-your-lady-parts-depend-it_653393.html

They let Crazy Uncle Joe out and this is what the LSM will never report!

"Vice President Joe Biden said the middle class "has been buried the last four years" at a campaign event in Charlotte, North Carolina:"This is deadly earnest, man. This is deadly earnest," Biden said. "How they can justify--how they can justify--raising taxes when the middle class has been buried the last four years... How in Lord's name..."

Of course, Barack Obama has been president the last four years, and Biden has been vice president.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/biden-middle-class-has-buried-last-four-years_653395.html

Which radical Muslim said the following?
"The future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam."
Ayatollah Khomeini?
Osama bin Laden?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?
Barack Hussein Obama?

Which is pushing Sharia and the limiting of the USA's freedom of speech?

"The future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam."
Holy "c*ap" he (Obama) said it, he really, really said it to all the folks at the UN 8 days ago. See, I told y'all a long time ago, this man does not lie. We just don't listen. I suspect we better begin listening, for he has a tale to tell, a story if you will. Try your very best to read in between the lines, honey child!! And for all those darling ladies out there so impressed with Mr. Obama...wonder when he will begin to praise Sharia law if he is still in the White House for the next four years. Remember ladies, fundamentally changing our country will include you, maybe in ways you never, ever dreamed, certainly never, ever thought possible in this great land of plenty. Yikes!!!

continue...notice he does not mention "the future must not belong to those who slander Christianity..." Wonder why???? or "Catholicism" Wonder Why" or "Buddhism" Wonder why??? Interesting, is it not? He said recently that one of the things is needs to do is tell the people of our country a "story." mmmmm we are waiting!

Pssst Lorna before being totally duped by JoeBlob it might be worthwhile to read the speech in it's entirety...

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/328483/obama-future-must-not-belong-those-who-slander-prophet-islam-katrina-trinko

"White House Has No Comment on House GOPers’ Assertions that Libyan Mission Requested Security Prior to 9/11/12 Attack"
"White House press secretary Jay Carney declined to comment on an assertion by the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that requests from diplomats in Libya for added security prior to the September 11, 2012 attack on the diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya, were denied.

“I’m not going to get into a situation under review by the State Department and the FBI,” Carney said.

Earlier today, chairman of the committee Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the chair of the subcommittee on national security, homeland defense, and foreign operations, wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, asserting that “multiple U.S. federal government officials have confirmed to the Committee that, prior to the September 11 (2012) attack, the U.S. mission in Libya made repeated requests for increased security in Benghazi. The mission in Libya, however, was denied these requests by officials in Washington.”"

Pssst Steve...already checked it out darling and my main interest is in that particular statement. Pssst Steve...what do you gather from it honey child??? I really haven't a clue what it would take to "un dupe" you! Any response to Joe's reference to the Christians being butchered in Nigeria on a regular basis, darling? As for calling Joe (JoeBlob) can't you leave your school yard days behind for five minutes, just five little ole minutes darling. You will be alright..believe me, nothing bad will happen to you. And if all else fails...crawl back under the rock from whence you came honey child.

You truly are as dumb as a box of rocks.

That statement was a typical cut and paste, taken out of context butcher job from JoeBlob.

Speaking of rocks, darling ..time for you to go back under yours. Nothing you say have much meaning...just a lot of blah, blah,blah. There was no need to cut and paste...you wish it so. It is, what it is,Stevee.

Take the whole passage in it's entirety, then see what you get.

"The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam. Yet to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see when the image of Jesus Christ is desecrated, churches are destroyed, or the Holocaust is denied. Let us condemn incitement against Sufi Muslims, and Shiite pilgrims. It is time to heed the words of Gandhi: “Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.” Together, we must work towards a world where we are strengthened by our differences, and not defined by them. That is what America embodies, and that is the vision we will support."

Somehow in your "Anybody But the Black Guy" twisted mind you see something wrong with this passage........

Steve, watch Hannity tonight on FOX NEWS with the real Barack Hussein Obama. In his element, from his heart, in his own words.

I believe it was Just a Guy who posted about Romney's off shore accounts. Lets look at that a little closer.
The big one is invested in Sankaty Credit Opportunities (Offshore) IV, L.P., set up in the Caymans. This fund was founded by one Jonathan Levine. IT also happens to be affiliated with Bain Capital. And who is managing partner of Bain Capital today? One Jonathan Levine. Who is Jonathan Levine? A big bundler for Obama! About $460,000 collected and donated to Obama and the Democrats.

Why is Obama taking money form an evil "vampire capitalist" who runs Romney's old company?

http://freebeacon.com/nyt-ignores-ties-to-obama-in-romney-hit-piece/

“This is deadly earnest, man. This is deadly earnest,” the vice president said. “How they can justify, how they can justify raising taxes on the middle class that has been buried the last four years — how in Lord's name can they justify raising their taxes with these tax cuts.”

Great, Lorna the condescending bitty is back. I swear, if she did that to me in person, (one more honey child..) she'd get bitch slapped into the next county. My granny quit doing that when I turned about 14....

Wow! "Just a Guy" is not "Just Any Old Guy" ...I am constantly amazed at how the words 'honey child' inflict so much psychological harm to some folks. It seems to stir up so much misery for certain folks. Wish the current situation in Washington would do the same for them. Hope Granny did not have to stop because her grandchild "bitch slapped her"...yikes!!! I assume the "bitch slap" is a term used for beating up women.

Forward...into a possible abyss...so be it?:??? Wow..with that attitude, there is obviously nothing more to be discussed. Possibly one who feels that way might deserve the FORWARD TO THE ABYSS..only problem is that the rest of us would have to suffer also and that is not the way we want to go, thank you very much!!! I always questioned what FORWARD direction y'all were talking about...now we know THE ABYSS. Thank you mucho!!

But we'll all go together... ;-)

And so that, ladies and gentlemen, gives you some idea of what we are dealing with here. The fact that you seem to have a pretty clear picture, Just a Guy, of what the future will be with the Obamites and that you actually seem to be overjoyed at the prospect, gives one pause.

There were plenty of people that didn't want to be independent from England.. FORWARD!

There were lots of people that wanted to keep slaves...FORWARD!

There were lots of people that didn't want woman to vote. FORWARD!

Old people dying poor and without any dignity. (social security) FORWARD!

Lots of people that didn't mind Germans trying to kill all the Jews and take over Europe... FORWARD!

Lots of people were fine with segregation... FORWARD!

no or inadequate health care for the poor and the aged. FORWARD!

Health care for all (and let them help pay for it), clean energy alternatives, taxation equality, free speech, less waste and abuse, more efficiency... FORWARD...

Bring it on Lorna.. The right wing, nutbag, teabaggers got the message wrong, and it looks like they brought the proverbial knife to a gunfight...

Well Just A Guy, I remain perplexed that you find "honey child" so damning. Would you find it preferable for one to use more explicit school yard trash talk? Sorry, not my style. I suppose you believe your style to be more sociably acceptable, eh??

Joe, now you are just being stupid. LEARN TO READ! There is a good book for you called Hooked on Phonics... The comprehension thing, I can't help you with that...

One more thread appropriately handled by the great tag team efforts of Joe and Lorna...! It's really not fair that they take such advantage of regular losers in this arena, but the facts that are shared by them remain true and necessary.
Thanks for the effort that goes into these very informing debates....and Lorna,"honeychild", you continue to make me smile...) thanks..

I loved watching Obama last night. To repeat the wording of Senator Harry Reid, Obama did speak in his "Negro dialect" for 40 minutes. I just wonder how the hell he lost that dialect since he was elected.

He sounded exactly like Screwy Louis Farraklan or his Preacher Rev Wright.
He TOLD us his agenda in that 40 minutes. I am surprised Obama didn't blame Bush for blowing up the levy like Farraklan did.

"Damn the white man who hates you all!" "God DAMN America!!"

I am of the opinion that our Country MUST completely bottom out at an accelerated rate, so that the sleeping majority will have no choice but to wake up and begin to pay attention. Until this point has been reached, the real restoration of our Country will continue to be put on hold, prolonging the agony. Neither party has the talent or ability to pull us out of this mess at this point. Let the chips fall where they may..!!

LOL "Sleeping Majority" = Bitter old White People.

Another brilliant Steve statement....you lose every debate that you enter into...silliness understood..

LOl @ Buck the Sovereign Citizen. It's not raining. Maybe you can go play Army Men (uh excuse me Militia Maneuvers) in the woods today.

Joe, Lorna, I feel sorry for you. You are continually lost in your own little bubbles.

Once again...Any attempt at reasonable debate with Steve is like playing chess with a pigeon.
No matter how good you are at chess, the pigeon will walk all over the board, knock over all of the pieces, crap on it , and then strut about with it's chest puffed out as though it were the winner...
Steve would be the perfect model of a Patch Pigeon....crappin up every thread that he encounters..

LOL Goober made a funny!

Now watch. We will get 15 posts now from JoeBlob.

The debate was lost at this post from the mentally challenged one.

Joe
2:57 pm on Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Which radical Muslim said the following?
"The future must not belong to those who slander the Prophet of Islam."
Ayatollah Khomeini?
Osama bin Laden?
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?
Barack Hussein Obama?

Which is pushing Sharia and the limiting of the USA's freedom of speech?

Bain capital is in the business of equity extraction. If you don't know what that is, look it up. If any other businessman had over 20% of the business they bought file for bankruptcy under massive debt loads, they would be a failure. But apparently, as long as you get really rich, it's ok... I'm sure that the other companies that are still in business, is a lucky coincidence...

And just exactly how do you get 100 Million dollars into an IRA? How is that possible? at a maximum of $30K per year, not even the 1000% roi from Bain makes that work...

The only thing Buck, Lorna and JoeBlob are good for is that they give me a couple of days warning about which viral e-mail I'll be getting from my Crazy Uncle in the Nursing Home.

Bitter White People Behaving Badly

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8jt-Fqf6s1s#!