Topics

1

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / So about that "safe and legal" abortion nonsense...

« on: May 17, 2013, 10:58:44 AM »

Here we go again. http://www.chron.com/default/article/Houston-doctor-accused-of-illegal-abortions-4519565.php Just like Gosnell, complaints were made for years, but ignored.

The above link is safe for libtards to read. If you want to continue pretending that late term abortion isn't a ghoulish abomination, don't read this one: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2325786/Douglas-Karpen-Second-house-horrors-abortion-clinic-investigated-Texas.html

The best the left can muster is that these cases somehow prove the need for access to "safe and legal" abortion (er, sorry, "reproductive health"). But it seems that once again the all-powerful "right to choose" led regulators to look the other way.

2

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Right Wing = Ripped

« on: May 16, 2013, 08:36:58 AM »

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2325414/Men-physically-strong-likely-right-wing-political-views.html

And obligatory Paul Ryan workout picture in 3, 2, 1...

3

Auntie Mae's ComboFan Board / Registering a used car in Kansas

« on: March 28, 2013, 03:30:08 PM »

Anybody bought a used car and registered it in KS recently? Trying to figure out if they calculate sales tax based on KBB value or the price on the bill of sale.

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I am proud to be a KState basketball fan and I don't care what anyone else tells me / 5 fouls to zip.

« on: March 16, 2013, 05:29:09 PM »

Yup, its a KU game.

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I am proud to be a KState basketball fan and I don't care what anyone else tells me / Print the T-Shirts...

« on: March 02, 2013, 08:20:37 PM »

Cats just locked up at least a share of the Big 12 Title.* Now let's win this bitch outright!!!!

* I think we can all count on beating TCU.

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Auntie Mae's ComboFan Board / Car Detailing

« on: February 24, 2013, 02:49:12 PM »

I'm selling my mid-size SUV. Inside is leather and pretty clean, but the mats and carpets need work. The outside has some scratches and one scuff of a few inches where the paint has been worn off. In short, the cars in pretty good shape for having about 100k miles on, but I really want to shine it up before selling.

Anybody know anything about auto detailing? What should I ask for / expect, and how much should I pay? I did buy some touch-up paint, so I'm hoping they can put that on the scuff without it looking too crapty, but I'm not expecting miracles.

7

Auntie Mae's ComboFan Board / Taxes - how'd you do?

« on: February 18, 2013, 10:40:58 AM »

Finished my returns this weekend. Paid an effective federal income tax rate of 15.6% (total federal income tax / total income). Add in FICA, KS income tax, real and personal property taxes, and (approximate) sales tax, and I paid about 35% of my income in taxes in one form or another.

How'd you guys do?

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / So, are we going to have a predicto thread?

« on: November 01, 2012, 04:27:39 PM »

 

9

Kstate cat football: There is Nothing Better on the Earth / Crickets

« on: September 23, 2012, 07:59:16 AM »

OU is infested with them.

10

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Met Ron Paul today

« on: March 10, 2012, 11:14:48 AM »

Paul is touring the caucus sites in JoCo today. Delightful guy. Did not tell him I'm voting for Romney.  I gotta give the Paul team props. Now I understand why they do so well at caucuses. Everybody else had one guy speak: Gingrich chose a professional local politician to go give a standard stump speech. Santorum's guy just read a letter from the candidate. Very lame. Romney's guy was just a local volunteer delivering extemporaneous remarks, which I appreciated, but it was pretty meh.

But Paul staged the whole thing perfectly to give it an extemporaneous "grassroots" feel. Started with one guy who made a few bumbling remarks, then said "well, that all I've got. Any body else want to talk for Doctor Paul?  At his point, the plant in the audience jumps up and finishes off with a good stem winder. Seemed pretty obvious, but effective.

11

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / It's a new record!

« on: March 08, 2012, 07:02:56 PM »

We ran a 229 billion dollar deficit for the month of February. It's a new record!!!

But in more important news, did you hear Rick Santorum wants to ban birth control? Also, Rush Limbaugh is running for president, I guess, and called some woman a slut. Perhaps most troubling, I heard Romney baptized a dead guy. Really puts trivial things like our impending bankruptcy in perspective. I wonder what will be covered on the nightly news tonight?

12

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Gas prices up, and Obama is still fighting Keystone

« on: March 08, 2012, 04:37:23 PM »

Senate tried to amend the highway bill today to fast track Keystone. 60 votes were necessary, and it failed 56-42. Obama was actually lobbying senators to vote against the measure.

I just can't understand this. It makes no sense as a matter of policy or politics.

13

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Something we can all agree on

« on: March 08, 2012, 11:29:28 AM »

The Middle East is a big pain in the ass without an easy solution. Give it a read.

14

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Unemployment

« on: March 08, 2012, 11:16:22 AM »

Gallup reports that unemployment is up sharply to 9.1%, the third straight monthly increase.

This is just based on polling, which is obviously different than how official unemployment is measured, but it is curious that Gallup's numbers, and more importantly, the trend, is so different from the official numbers. Gallup says unemployment has been going up over the last three months, while the official unemployment rate has steadily dropped.

Perhaps this is explained by the number of people dropping out of the job market (and thus, not counting towards the official numbers), or is there something else?

15

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / The pandering is just unreal

« on: March 04, 2012, 05:00:44 PM »

Obama invites himself to a women's college to give commencement address. The timing seems oddly convenient. Perhaps there will be talk of "women's health" and/or "women's reproductive health."

Ironically, now that Obama has seized his next pandering pedestal, the originally scheduled speaker, New York Time's Exec Editor Jill Abramson - a woman, as it were - has been given the boot.

And - wait for it - Jill will be very publicly given another speaking opportunity to reduce any political blowback.

Pander, pander, pander, and yet, the libs never feel insulted. They just gobble it up by the spoonfull.

16

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / The Chevy Dolt

« on: March 04, 2012, 08:49:38 AM »

GM "temporarily suspending" production of the Volt and laying off 1300 workers.

General Motors Co. will suspend production of the Chevrolet Volt at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant for five weeks, temporarily laying off 1,300 employees.

According to the Detroit-based automaker, the idling from March 19 to April 23 is to match production with demand. This means demand was so shitty that they need to seriously lower the production.

"We’re matching our production levels with demand and building to market,” GM spokesman Chris Lee told MLive.com. No crap, Sherlock.

After starting 2012 with lackluster sales of 603 units in January, GM sold 1,023 Volts last month. Most of these cars were purchased by local and state governments, who know a good bargain when they see one.

GM sold 7,671 Volts in 2011, well below Akerson's announced target of 10,000.

GM blamed the lack of sales at the beginning of this year on “exaggerated” media reports and the federal government's investigation into Volt batteries catching fire. The fact that GM is charging $40k for a mid-size sedan that doesn't stay warm in the winter, cool in the summer, or even save much on energy costs, what with skyrocketing electric rates, might also have something to do with the low demand.

Engineers are also starting to second-guess the wisdom of tucking an internal combustion engine under the hood of the Volt, when it serves as nothing but a very heavy and expensive backup generator. "Gosh, if we were gonna include the engine, maybe we should have used it to alternatively power the drivetrain, kind of like the (much more popular) Prius and other parallel hybrids" said a GM janitor who wished to remain nameless.

To boost demand, the Obama Administration is considering a new "Rich Prick Rule" which will require all persons earning over $250,000 dollars to purchase a Volt. When asked about the possible legal hurdles this bill might face, White House Spokesman Jay Carney replied "eff it, we can make people buy health insurance, can't we?"

17

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Living in your parents' basement

« on: February 24, 2012, 09:59:58 AM »

way up under Obama. But, seeing as how this demographic overwhelmingly voted for O in 2008, fitting?

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / We're Number 1

« on: February 23, 2012, 02:56:09 PM »

in debt per citizen, even ahead of Greece.

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / That's Strange... Taxes Up, Revenue Down

« on: February 22, 2012, 08:09:10 AM »

UK's new 50% tax rate results in lower revenue.

50p tax rate 'failing to boost revenues’
The amount of income tax paid fell sharply last month in the first formal indication that the new 50p higher rate is not raising the expected amount of revenue.

The Treasury received £10.35 billion in income tax payments from those paying by self-assessment last month, a drop of £509 million compared with January 2011. Most other taxes produced higher revenues over the same period.

Senior sources said that the first official figures indicated that there had been “manoeuvring” by well-off Britons to avoid the new higher rate. The figures will add to pressure on the Coalition to drop the levy amid fears it is forcing entrepreneurs to relocate abroad.

The self-assessment returns from January, when most income tax is paid by the better-off, have been eagerly awaited by the Treasury and government ministers as they provide the first evidence of the success, or failure, of the 50p rate. It is the first year following the introduction of the 50p rate which had been expected to boost tax revenues from self-assessment by more than £1billion.

I guess Thatcher and Reagan were right.

If you want more revenue, you've got to do three things: (1) simplify the tax code, (2) broaden the base (meaning a less progressive code where the bottom 50% actually pay something in income tax), (3) improve the economy (in part by fixing the tax code, but also by setting a more pro-business agenda). Oh, and we'll almost certainly need to elect Republicans to the Senate and White House to accomplish this, so I guess that's four things.

20

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Affirmative Action

« on: February 21, 2012, 12:19:13 PM »

at least in school admissions, and possibly as a general policy, will die in 2012.

The Supreme Court cast doubt Tuesday on the future of affirmative action at the nation’s colleges and universities, agreeing to hear an appeal from a white student in Texas who seeks an end to "racial preferences" in college admissions.
...
The court’s intervention nonetheless is an ominous sign for defenders of affirmative action. Justice Elena Kagan also announced she will not take part in the decision.

The court has been closely split on affirmative action since 1978. By a 5-4 vote then, the justices said universities may consider a minority student’s race as a plus factor when choosing new students so as to bring about more diversity in the class. Eight years ago, the court reaffirmed that view in a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The dissenters included Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Not long afterward, O'Connor retired and was replaced by the more conservative Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. In 2007, he joined an opinion by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. that forbids school districts from assigning students to elementary or high schools for the purpose of creating a better racial balance. "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race," Roberts said.

21

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Woody Allen would be proud

« on: February 01, 2012, 09:41:54 AM »

Rich guy adopts adult girlfriend to shelter assets. I have not seen a picture of her assets.

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / How do you define "poor"?

« on: January 30, 2012, 01:44:49 PM »

In any given election cycle, and politics in general, we hear a lot about "the poor." Most often, liberals invoke the devastating consequences to the poor of any efforts to curtail spending. And most people of any political persuasion would agree that the government should provide a safety net for the poor, but maybe it's time to redefine what poor means. A new study re-confirms that America is a pretty darned good place to be "poor."

As President Obama crafts a reelection income equality message aimed at punishing the rich and rewarding the poor, his own government finds that the 46 million living below the so-called “poverty line” live and spend pretty much like everyone else.

Forget the image of Appalachia or rundown ghettos: A collection of federal household consumption surveys collected by pollster Scott Rasmussen finds that 74 percent of the poor own a car or truck, 70 percent have a VCR, 64 percent have a DVD, 63 percent have cable or satellite, 53 percent have a video game system, 50 percent have a computer, 30 percent have two or more cars and 23 percent use TiVo.

“What the government defines as poverty is vastly different from what most Americans envision,” he writes in his newly released book, “The People’s Money.” Consider other details from two recent Department of Agriculture surveys cited in the book:

--On an average day, just 1 percent of households have someone who is forced to miss a meal.

--On any day, children are hungry in .25 percent of U.S. homes.

--96 percent of poor parents say their children were never hungry during the year because they couldn’t afford food.

--83 percent of the poor said they have enough to eat.

Says Rasmussen, “About 40 million Americans are officially defined as living below the poverty line. Yet most of those have adequate levels of food, shelter, clothing and medical care. Sixty-three percent of American adults believe such a family is not living in poverty,” he writes. “Only 16 percent believe that a family is living in poverty if it has two color televisions, cable or satellite TV, a DVD player, and a VCR, but that’s what the average family living in poverty has as defined by the U.S. government,” he adds.

23

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Of Electability and Swing States

« on: January 29, 2012, 04:28:32 PM »

As you know, due to our selection of President by Electoral College, only a few swing states will realistically tip the balance. Thus, I've always been surprised that so many pollsters conduct nationwide polls instead of just focusing on only the states that matter.

But now USA Today and Gallup have released a poll that is limited to registered voters of 12 swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In head-to-head matchups with Obama:
- Romney 48%, Obama 47%
- Obama 54%, Gingrich 40%
- Obama 50%, Paul 43%
- Obama 51%, Santorum 44%

The only way this poll could be more relevant is if it screened for "likely" voters (like Rasmussen, and why the hell doesn't Rasmussen do a poll like this?)

Now, The GOP is being dragged down a bit during this ugly primary fight, so any GOP candidate will likely get a bounce after securing the nomination, but the point remains: Romney continues to be the candidate with the best chance to defeat President Obama. It isn't even close.

Unfortunately, there appears to be a strong faction of the Republican party that does not have an ounce of pragmatism and will not support Romney (at least, they say they won't). These people need to understand a few things: (1) Gingrich is not Reagan, even if he channels him in the debates, (2) Gingrich is not electable, (3) not only is Gingrich  not electable, his toxicity will work its way down the chain to House and Senate races, (4) Romney will do a far better job of working with a Republican legislature to advance conservative causes than another 4 years of Obama.

I love the Tea Party but, dammit, a lot of these people wouldn't know pragmatism if it hit them in the face.

24

The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Is Obama Creating a Nation of Dependents?

« on: January 27, 2012, 09:16:07 AM »

This article deserves its own thread. We're in a huge fiscal mess, and Obama has made it much worse.

Is President Obama Creating A Nation Of Dependents?

If the Republican primaries are any indication, one big debate in the upcoming election will be whether President Obama is pushing the country toward a European-style welfare culture.

Mitt Romney, for example, argues that "over the past three years, Barack Obama has been replacing our merit-based society with an entitlement society."

Newt Gingrich has taken to calling Obama "the best food-stamp president in American history."

Obama, in contrast, says the government must play an increasing role — what he likes to call "shared responsibility" — to ensure a society that is fairer.

So is Obama turning the country into a welfare society and away from one focused on opportunity?

While it's true that the country has been headed in this direction for many years — with the explosion in entitlements since the 1960s and the aging of the population — Obama has, in fact, greatly accelerated the trend. Examples:

Direct payments. The amount of money the federal government hands out in direct payments to individuals steadily increased over the past four decades, but shot up under Obama, climbing by almost $600 billion — a 32% increase — in his first three years. And Obama's last budget called for these payments to climb another $500 billion by 2016, at which point they would account for fully two-thirds of all federal spending.

People getting benefits. According to the Census Bureau 49% now live in homes where at least one person gets a federal benefit — Social Security, workers comp, unemployment, subsidized housing, and the like. That's up from 44% the year before Obama took office, and way up from 1983, when fewer than a third were government beneficiaries.

Food stamps. This year, more than 46 million (15% of all Americans) will get food stamps. That's 45% higher than when Obama took office, and twice as high as the average for the previous 40 years. This surge was driven in part by the recession, but also because Obama boosted the benefit amount as part of his stimulus plan.

Disability. The number of people on Social Security disability has steadily climbed since the 1970s, thanks mainly to easier eligibility rules. But their numbers jumped 10% in Obama's first two years in office, according to the Social Security Administration. That sharp rise was due largely to meager job prospects since the recession ended in 2009. When employment opportunities are scarce, experts note, many who could otherwise work sign up for disability benefits instead.

Health care. The government's role in health care has grown over the past decades, with 45% of all health spending now coming from the federal government, up from 32% in 1990. But this trend will dramatically accelerate should ObamaCare remain the law of the land. In eight years, ObamaCare will add 16 million people to Medicaid, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and another 24 million will be getting coverage through heavily subsidized government-run insurance exchanges, with the cost of those subsidies running $130 billion a year.

Corporate welfare. Prior to Obama, the federal government was already dishing out $92 billion in corporate welfare programs — in the form of subsidized loans, special tax breaks, bailouts and the like — the Cato Institute found. Obama added tremendously to this largesse. Federal grants to the energy sector, for example, quadrupled to over $18 billion in 2009, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts' Subsidyscope.

While each of these and other federal benefit programs may be designed with good intentions, their combined weight is already overwhelming the budget.

In just nine years, entitlement spending is on track to eat up 61% of the federal budget, according to the CBO. And unless these programs are cut back, they will soon consume all federal taxes, one CBO budget scenario predicts.

The problem is that once federal benefits get started, few Americans want to see them cut back, much less eliminated. Even with $1 trillion annual deficits, just 24% would support cutting Social Security and only 16% would back Medicare cuts, according to the November 2011 IBD/TIPP poll.

"Once we thought 'entitlement' meant that Americans were entitled to the privilege of trying to succeed in the greatest country in the world," Romney said in a recent speech. "But today the new entitlement battle is over the size of the check you get from Washington."

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / For the "If he was a Republican" file...

« on: January 26, 2012, 01:33:38 PM »

Biden does fake Indian accent during outsourcing speech. Our vice president, folks. Let's give him a hand.