American Style Democracy
Posted October 16th, 2006 by Chip Bok
Click Image to Enlarge.
People vote in Iraq but not much seems to get done.
Here's a USA Today interview with Prime Minister al Maliki. He's optimistic about controlling the militias because he says they are at at least of the political process.
We don't have Sunnis and Shiites here but we do have Red and Blue states. Their militias are part of the political process too.
October 16th, 2006 at 7:13 am
let me say that despite my previous posts to the contrary, i actually think THIS cartoon by mr. bok IS actually timely AND kinda funny! congrats!
(oh, btw, right-wingers, see, us liberals have an independent brain and are confident enough in our intellect and our "manhood" that we can agree with a member of the "other side" without qualification. end of self-serving message! hehehehe!)
October 16th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
kj…. down boy. Your heart is in the right place but patting yourself on the back will get you nowhere.
The BJ retiree blog reported today that there are less than a dozen embedded journalists working in Iraq today. There were 600 during the invasion and 114 a year ago.
This doesn't bode well on a lot of fronts.
October 16th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
mencken,
see the "self-serving" comment at the end of my post. i am aware i'm patting myself on the back…but i still am better than the right-wingers! hahahaha!
October 17th, 2006 at 11:22 pm
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/008303.php
October 18th, 2006 at 2:36 am
We do not agree with the nations who argue that if Iraq complies with its obligations concerning weapons of mass destruction, sanctions should be lifted. Our view, which is unshakable, is that Iraq must prove its peaceful intentions. It can only do that by complying with all of the Security Council resolutions to which it is subjected.
Is it possible to conceive of such a government under Saddam Hussein? When I was a professor, I taught that you have to consider all possibilities. As Secretary of State, I have to deal in the realm of reality and probability. And the evidence is overwhelming that Saddam Hussein's intentions will never be peaceful."
- Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State, 26 March 1997. This statement was made in her first major foreign policy address as Secretary of State, at Georgetown University, USA.
October 18th, 2006 at 9:05 am
hey, burns, here's why i'm better than you right-wingers. see, i DISAGREED with my democratic prez on lots of stuff including this kind of thing.
is there NOTHING that you guys won't blame clinton for? what about that republican value of personal responsibilty? oh, it fine when you wanna lecture poor, single mothers but when it comes to your republican pols, it's ALWAYS someone else's fault. hell, look at hastert right now!
see, burns, you guys NEVER seem to call out your side. maybe i'm wrong. prove me wrong. cuz on this blog all you ever do is defend your party no matter what and blame clinton.
October 18th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Taxes Explained
This is a very good explanation of how income taxes really work!! Sometimes politicians, journalist and others exclaim, "It's just a tax cut for the rich" and it is just accepted to be fact. But what does that really mean?
Just in case you are not completely clear on this issue, I hope the following will help. Please read it carefully. It puts tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner and the bill for all comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this.
The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So that's what they decided to do.
The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant everyday and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily meal by $20." Dinner for the ten now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes, so the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the
$20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end being paid to eat their meal.
So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.
And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got $10!"
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man." I only saved a dollar too; it's unfair that he got ten times more than I."
That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"
"Wait a minute" yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill.
And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore, in fact they might start eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
October 19th, 2006 at 4:30 am
You sound like Wesley Snipes!
October 19th, 2006 at 6:34 am
Here's a new one to lay on Clinton (LOL): How about fmr. HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and her myopic view of the FIU/UM footbrawl last Saturday? She won't even view a tape the event to help her make disciplinary decisions!
October 19th, 2006 at 8:27 am
larry d., while i disagee with you most always, that WAS damned funny!
October 21st, 2006 at 6:26 am
Yeah Larry I gotta give you some props on that one.
Burns burned.