Where's All the Anger?

You should really only pity your own education. The TEA Party does not have enough members to completely change both houses in Congress. Furthermore of the 20% (and that's a liberal estimate) of Americans that identify with the TEA Partiers only about 33% are even active members which does not exactly parlay into votes.

If you think it's news to anyone that TEA Parties don't support this liberal Democrat Party which isn't even a major party you are only fooling yourselves.

But let me get this straight. Out of two special elections the TEA Party lost one (which was in New York) and claim to have won another (which the numbers don't even support).

Still waiting for this education you keep promising me.

By the way which party is it that you think favors less government? It certainly can't be the Republican Party. They love big government which they have proven over and over again since 1994. They have yet to do one thing that has shrunk the government. I guess once again I have to remind you that it has been under Obama and the Democratic congress that Americans have seen the lowest amount of taxes in 50 years. That covers Nixon, Reagan, and BOTH Bushes.

But don't let the facts get in your way. Keep riding that dead horse of Republicans means less government.

What the hell happened in Massachusetts? Well let's see Brown was supported by independents and moderate Republicans. The numbers just don't support your "theory".

The key to this election is not liberals or conservatives but as always independents. Come November they have a choice to stick with the Democrats who have single handedly (with nothing but obstructionism) turn the economy around and cut taxes or choose the Republicans and go back to the system that ruined the economy in the first place. Not to mention the party that will raise taxes on 98% of Americans in order to cut taxes for 2% of Americans.

By the way edmund of the 290,000 jobs created in April only 60,000 were created from Census jobs. So your little claim falls way flat.

Also not to start a firestorm or anything but you do know that wearing the American flag whether it be a shirt or a bandanna is actually against the rules set up by the Congress in the early 1900s.

Actuality edmund since you posed it is a statement of what I stand for and not a question I will clear it up for. I do not support the expulsion of the students. Whatever their intention was in wearing the shirts the administration at that school was wrong to expel them over it. But please this is not a controversy so don't try to make it such. I was pointing out the very forgotten fact that it is against United States rules to use the American flag for any purpose other than flying it.

It's just one of those things where you want to enforce certain rules and laws for one group of people but not for another. It's a local matter that has nothing to do with you.

What free health care do we have right now edmund? This is news to me. I would like for you to show me one person on here or anyone else that supports the illegal alien criminals right to our free health care.

It is really interesting just how quick you drove the direction of this blog away from the November election to a nontroversy. Speaks volumes of just how insecure you are about this "conservative revolution, take 2" you keep promising.

Anyone interested in actually talking about the blog now, other than edmund of course, you seems not to want to talk about November though he's been claiming all along about the takeover. Share your thoughts.

So the TEA Party will overwhelmingly vote for Republicans in the fall giving Republicans absolutely no boost since the TEA Party is made up overwhelmingly of Republicans.

Voters know which party would reduce the size of government in a crisis and the Democrat party is not the one.

-- Posted by edmundburke on Fri, May 7, 2010, at 1:03 PM

If recent history tells us anything edmund it certainly isn't the Republican Party. So what is this mysterious party you keep alluding to? Could it be the liberal Democrat Party? Continue not letting facts get in the way of your argument.

edmund seriously if you think there is a single liberal in charge in Washington you just are not paying attention. Obama is a moderate, Reid is a moderate, Pelosi on her good days tends liberal, but she is also a moderate. Who are these liberals you keep claiming are in charge in Washington.

I gotta ask though edmund you keep talking about these mysterious parties, the liberal Democrat Party and the Democrat Party. So, what about the Democratic Party? Where they fit into your meme.

Right now the polls simply do not back you up. The TEA Party had one good protest a year ago and their numbers have dwindled since then. They do not have a good grass roots organization. There is nothing to support your claim that if the TEA Party people do show up en masse that there will be a titanic shift as you keep claiming. Especially considering their participation numbers are so low.

I asked two years ago what would happen if the economy started to improve and I thought about what would happen if you were proven wrong about November but I already have that answer with your response to what happens if the economy improves, deny, deny, deny. Are you seriously (and this goes to JIMTS as well) still rooting for America to fail. The jobs created has steadily gone up since Obama took office, that is a fact that can't be denied and yet you two are acting as if this is some horrible disaster. It is a sad day when people start rooting against America because they don't like the President. Grow up. Whether you like this fact or not, we are in this together to get America back on track, if you want to moan and complain that the President isn't cowtowing to your whims that's your right, but rooting for America to fail? That's just sad.

Again edmund Massachusetts does not help you in any way. You can change the facts all you want and call us all idiots for not falling for your fact changing but the numbers simply don't back you up. Republicans and right-leaning Independents voted for Brown. Even Brown himself said that the TEA Party had nothing to do with his win.

Actually Illinois is a victim of a legislature that can't agree on how to solve the problem but you go ahead with your fact changing meme and creating parties left and right.

Mike,

I didn't read the Pew article, but did they or you decide to put Progressive vs. Capitalism? It seems to me a better pairing would have been Socialism and Capitalism.

Okay, I should have waited to post that, I skimmed the article and I have one word for your reporting of it:

SPIN!!!!!!!!

Nice work on the spin job there Mike.

What a joy to find all those REDUCE GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE IN OUR LIVES FOLKS ARE OUT FRONT'

Especially in mustering the Gestapo in Arizona to demand my identification before I'll be allowed to use the Rest Stop facilities along the highways.

Or to go into the United States Post Office.

That's getting big government out of our lives and I'm happy to see all those Tea Sippers out there in the lead.

Of course, back in the days -- as a cow college

AGGie student, we had a favorite song then also --

"Oh,we don't give a **** for the **** university, the tea sippin' University."

Been checking the internet, cain't nobody tell me what it is those unstraight folks do with tea bags that so revolts the Partying Political Fanatics who call themselves Tea Baggers.

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See the Repub-Dixie-Crat-licans are attacking the President because he relayed the report from the FBI and CIA that the Times Square bomber appeared to be a lonesome polecat.

I've been watching the TV interviews with this fellow's relatives, old friends, school mates, really tight buddies-- and just watching the body language, facial expressions and eyes is making me wonder.

Interview after interview, people with long histories with the guy cannot accept his involvement in anything of the sort, describing him as funny, comical, extremely friendly, a 150% believer in the U.S. of A.

Some talking about how this relative or that friend is working as a translator/interpreter for the U.S. here or in the Afghan/Pak-istan area -- will suddenly get a distant expression and quit having anything to say.

Makes me wonder if they suddenly realize the one way he would have been involved is working undercover with Uncle Sam to locate terrorist trainers in Pakistan.

His wife and sons supposedly moved to Pakistan, but no one seems to know where they are.

He supposedly has confessed and named names, places and all. Wouldn't it be poetic justice if he is in reality undercover for the U.S., which would explain a lot.

Quick confession, quick trial, quick sentence and quick conversion the the federal witness protection program.

From his history and the actual performance of the people he's related to and associates with, this seems more logical than the picture of an inept bomber who can't connect a simple timing device to explosives and relies on Pennsylvania "legal" fireworks and the wrong kind of garden fertilizer.

With any effort, any vo-ag junior or 4-H handyman on the plains could rig one heckuva explosion with simple timers, a few hundred pounds of Ammonium Hydrate and five gallons of diesel.

This guy supposedly had a month's training with people who have been real effective with IEDs and other homemade explosives.

Yet, the thing he left in NYC was incapable of exploding unless someone fired an artillery round into it.

Won't it be a shame for Neo-Cons if history shows this administration took a proactive approach to locating Pakistani Talib terrorist camps?

Dadgum,just ain't fair, we're just about out of Iraq in an intelligent withdrawal, winning the fight in Afghanistan on several fronts, the Pakistan situation is much improved, GM is rebounding big time, Chrysler actually showed a profit (How do you say RAM), nearly 300,000 jobs were added in the last reporting month and despite Greece having to start practicing some austerity and making pensioners angry,the stock market is still high.

Kind of makes a fellow wish he had bought a better grade of hat decoration, so he could actually drink the stuff.

Hank,

Maybe you haven't heard of this thing called "Google" it would probably help you with your technology problem:

"Been checking the internet, cain't nobody tell me what it is those unstraight folks do with tea bags that so revolts the Partying Political Fanatics who call themselves Tea Baggers"

Here is the top hit I got when I googled it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_bag_(sexual_act)

Although to be fair, I don't think it only applies to "unstraight folks" as you put it.

How do you see spin in that SW? Honestly? You read the article and you decide that I am still spinning. How? I was reporting the numbers. You can't put spin on numbers. I just thought it was interesting that more people had thought positively of progressive than they did on capitalism. How is that spin?

But let's look at the numbers on socialism for all the hate and vitriol directed at anything that might even be similiar to socialism it only has a 59% negativity rating.

My point which I guess I did not clarify enough for you is that for two years all we have been hearing is how right capitalism is and how progressives want to destroy it and yet when you look at the numbers people have a higher positive look on progressive than capitalism. You would think as widely popular as the TEA Parties as we have been told progressive would have a much lower positive rating and socialism would have a much higher negative rating.

What is your fascination with Greece? Do you have nothing at all to say about what's going on over here. Nothing to say that under George W. Bush jobs were lost yet under Obama jobs have been created? Nothing to say about the muted affect that seems to be playing out with the TEA parties.

SW, read edmund's post, that is spin.

Jobs have been created but the jobless rate went up so it doesn't matter that jobs were created, that's spin.

I voted against the health care reform but the good parts in it were our idea, that's spin.

I said that the Stimulus bill would bankrupt America and not create jobs, but when I go home I will take credit for the bill and praise it, that's spin.

Where did the marijuana thing come from edmund that was straight out of left field.

You want to blame liberals for the illegal immigration problem yet the two states they are coming into at the highest amounts are both conservative states that have had conservative Senators and Representatives. Not to mention the fact the Bush himself tried to get immigration reform done and it was CONSERVATIVES not liberals that blocked it. 78% of American favor some sort of immigration reform yet conservatives continue to block it.

How about this:

One version of immigration reform that people have discussed would do the following if passed into law; it would secure the border, crack down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, require illegal immigrants to register for legal immigration status, pay back taxes, and learn English in order to be eligible for U.S. citizenship. Do you favor or oppose Congress passing this version of immigration reform?

Guess what the support for this is: 81%

Finally progressivism has been a liberal ideology from the beginning. The one Republican who tried to be a progressive, Theodore Roosevelt, was booted out of the party.

Edmund, you really have to check your copy, paste facts before you post them.

One final note, edmund, you say that when you attach progressive to a party those numbers drop. Do you have proof of this or were you just making it up?

So in other words no you don't have proof. Though I gotta say it's amazing after going point by point breaking down your argument all you can say to that is read the news? Sad

Or maybe he means this:

http://drudgereport.com/

Which is still question what happened yesterday even thought it's already been said that it was mostly on an error between a b and m

Sorry Ladies,

Guess I just didn't care to spend an hour researching an unimportant item.

However, going over various recent primary elections, have not found any indication whatsoever those Tea Leaf Readers had even a minor impact.

Where a well-oiled "Get Out The Vote" organization existed, with at least one volunteer voter for every thousand or so registered voters in the applicable party -- the organized candidate won.

Where there was no apparent organization by any candidate -- the best rounded and most qualified candidate usually won.

Where an ethnic candidate ran in an ethnic community, particularly against a professional idiot, the ethnic candidate won handily.

Where a moderate progressive-moderate candidate ran against an extremist Conservative or Liberal candidate, the moderate won -- regardless of party.

Where a physically and facially attractive female candidate ran, she was sure to receive at least one public marriage proposal.

Where a physically and facially attractive male candidate ran, he was sure to get his posterior patted or pinched at least once during each appearance.

The remarkable thing -- as unaccustomed as most men are to having their behind beseiged in public, it is amazing how fast candidates adapt. Where a candidate would jump considerable early in the campaign, by election day, he would preserve his cool, smile a little broader and keep shaking hand.

Some lady wants to say hello in her own way, let her. She's probably going to vote the correct way.

Off Topic!

Who is going to Bison 2010? Got 4 hotel rooms last July 5th. Glad I did.

Wallis

Off Topic!

Went to Kentucky Oaks and Derby. Best deal ever. Anyone else ever been?

Off Topic!

Going to Kona (Big island Hawaii) end of month. Anybody else notice the volcano is getting more active? Posted on this blog about a year ago about how sun spot activity in the past has correlated with increased seismic and volcanic activity. Anybody remember those posts? With hindsight you can definitely say that that statement was correct.

Wallis

Off Topic!

Market is behaving like I thought it would. Might try to make new top (1247 S&P) before the end of year selloff occurs due to increased income taxes and capital gains taxes and dividend tax increase. I sold off 75% of my position last Thursday and Friday (week ago). Looking to get back in (if I can pick a bottom).

Off Topic!

Looking a buying real estate. Prices are finally coming down. Looking at Malibu, California and Houston area. Putting 25%-50% down. Using merrill lynch group for a Libor based note plus a small spread. Need Credit score about 750 to qualify. Right now interest only is Libor (0.3%) + 0.875 margin rate. Paying about 1.15%. Great deal. A million dollar mortgage is $995 a month interest only. You do need strong balance sheet and a lot of cash to qualify. If anybody is interested let me know.

I do think the fed will start raising rates Q4 of 2010 or Q1 of 2011. I think fed funds could be 2% Q3 2011. So your borrowing cost will increase as rates raise.

Wallis

Off Topic!

Still long Gold and Silver. I think that the United States is going to follow rest of world with debt crisis. I think that dollar will continue to slide long term and commodity inflation will happen.

Off Topic!!!!

My prediction of a major deepwater catastrophe has come true. I worked the deepwater in the mid 90's and was always afraid of this. I have talked to a few people about the details. Three events happened to cause this.

The first was about a 1 in a 1,000.

The second was about a 1 in a 1,000.

The third was about a 1 in 10,000.

For the three events to line up the way they did get you the 1 in a Billion event. It was a fluke.

But you know what? We have destroyed 2 space shuttles and we still go into space. When you push and push and push accidents happen.

How many of you guys push to the limit?

Mike,

Finally, a Tea Party victory in Utah.

With which they shot themselves in the foot.

Utah finally had a senator who could get something done for Utah and he wasn't partisan enough for the tiny minority which got control of their nominating convention. Hysterical.

------------------------------------------

"The Utah Republican Party Convention refused to nominate Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) for a fourth term Saturday, virtually ensuring that the candidate will be a self-described member of the "tea party." Bennett, who has been in office since 1993, told the Associated Press he has not ruled out a write-in campaign."

--------------------------

Here's predicting -- Bennett will go as a write-in and win by a landslide.

-------------------------------

To be fair though the vote in Utah was not by the people of Utah but selected delegates to a convention.

But I had long considered that if TEA Party candidates began losing they would just simply run as a third party candidate. I never expected that if an incumbent lost they would pull a Lieberman and leave their party to run. We have already seen Crist leave the Republican Party to run as an independent rather than lose his primary. Now it looks as if Bennett will run as a write-in. Honestly if he does I do believe, as Herndon does, that he will win in November as he is still very popular in the state. It's very hard to win as a write-in but if anyone can it would be Bennett. He did no lose the primary due to anger at him by the populace but rather anger at him from within the Republican Party elite in the state who for whatever reason have a convention instead of letting the people vote. It's an odd system.

As far as you sunspot activity theory that has already been thoroughly debunked by scientists that actually study earthquakes and volcanoes. Nothing that is going on now is uncommon from the past. Especially with earthquakes the main reason there seem to be more this year is because more have happened in populated areas. But as far as more happening scientists that actually study earthquakes have pointed out that this year's activity is not in any way out of line with year's past.

Wallis --

Having unloaded all our California real estate in '03 and '04, after 35 years in the market.

Hollywood stars in the high-end hills and beach markets are taking serious beatings right now on estates they bought anywhere from 20-to-two years back. Try $20-Million lost on one estate.

Southern California has hundreds of thousands of MacMansions which sold for $300,000 to $700,000 since 2000 -- foreclosed, boarded up and no market.

Northern California is darn near as bad. Entire subdivisions from Fresno north to Chico are empty.

The state has a worse than severe water shortage.

The only thing that is keeping any water flowing in Northern California are the federal rules for protecting fisheries. SoCal can't take all they want and they had managed to steal. So SoCal has a serious shortfall on California Aqueduct supplies, even though their demands have idled more than a half-million acres of productive Central Valley land.

Beautiful Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Carmel -- are frantically building a desalinization plant adjacent to the Salinas Valley's sewage outflow. Hyper expensive desalinization with an experimental plant design is the only way those glamour areas are going to have water.

They have been cut off from their only previous groundwater source because of drastic overdrafting and destruction of the Carmel River's valley.

So now they will be drinking, washing, bathing and doing laundry in the the agricultural Salinas Valley's recycled sewage.

I can see the stickers in Salinas Valley public restrooms now --"FLUSH OFTEN, PEBBLE BEACH AND CARMEL NEED WATER."

But the guy who bought my $750,000 custom home in '04 would be happy to sell it to you today for $250,000. Considering it cost less than $20,000 to build in '68 -- He overplayed his hand.

HOT TUB HEAVEN, Marin County, is tapped out and on near permanent water rationing.

The San Francisco Bay area is still in fairly decent shape because SF built Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite about 100 years ago. But -- there are major efforts to shut that off.Tear out the dam and return all of Yosemite to nature.

Oh yeah, Arizona now has the Central Arizona Project drawing their full entitlement from the Colorado River, which means that source has been seriously reduced for the Imperial and Coachella Valleys.

About the only place that hasn't seen a drastic change is Death Valley - There it is the same old, same old...Hotter and drier than Hades and less fun.

--------------------------------

Wallis -- If you are looking for fast real estate profits -- Look at North Carolina.

Item -- One five Executive Home Community with nine acres of common area, multiple putting greens, scads of other recreation facilities to be owned by the HOA -- and the builder is tapped out. [He built four houses before starting the common area amenities and landscaping. DUH!!]

Move in for $650,000 -- Finish interiors of two houses for about $160,000 -- sell three finished houses for about $340-$350,000 each. With a Fifth three-acre secluded lot to be built out with a $500,000 home for another $200,000 profit.

Complete the common area amenities for $110,000 in FIRST CLASS style, complete the two interiors, and sell three for about $1-Million.

Market the big lot and home at the same time within a $10,000 targeted marketing budget and realize another $200,000.

That's at least $350,000 net within 12 months in a growing market. The community is prime for split commutes to Chapel Hill (20 minutes S.E.) and Greensboro (25 minutes west).

There is no other offering even remotely similar in the two markets, which feature about 25 universities and colleges. (Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and Greensboro Campuses, NC-State, Central Carolina University, Shaw, Elon, Wake Forest, Davidson, Campbell, etc., etc.

Plus the Research Triangle Park with 125 companies and 40,000 workers.

The real estate market is strong with APPLE, GOOGLE, HONDA, etc. bringing plants.

Plus Northern SnowBird retirees and Florida's "Half-Backs" pouring into all areas of North Carolina and northern South Carolina.

You can start at Spartansburg, SC, up I-85 to the Virginia line, From Lumberton, NC a half hour south of Fayetteville up i-95 and I-40 out to Hickory --- then add the Asheville area and the mantra is steady growth.

Check the WSJ economic forecasts, U.S. Dept. of Commerce forecasts, U.S. Dept. of Labor Forecasts, Business Week, Forbes, etc. -- This region is predicted to be one of the three major economic growth areas.

Combines climate, land, great living, unsurpassed educational facilities, strong community college tech training programs which adapt to business needs overnight and a trained industrial workforce eager for jobs -- after seeing the furniture and textile industries move to China.

A huge percentage of those people have gone through retraining for high-tech jobs.

Put your money in California and some of the distressed Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Texas markets and sit on the real estate -- and sit and sit.

Buy right in North Carolina, sell right and repeat.

There are MacMansion foreclosures with sub-prime experience -- but buy right and put back on the market for a fast 20-25% profit on the 45-day turnover -- repeat six times annually -- comes out to 150 per cent gain. With the occasional home run.

You can get three properties with lease purchase buyers in place, investing $225,000 -- $2500-to- $3,000 monthly cash flow, and after 36 months complete sales for $100,000 each. That's about $80,000 cash flow, plus $300,000 at final close.

Beats buying and holding for four years without income.

The best profit of course, is in $500,000 near new MacMansions forclosed, at $175,000 to $240,000 -- selling immediately at $300,000.

Go in with an assignable contract, or title to be vested at close clause.

Close in ten days, by which time you have already sold for your profit.

You could buy and hold in California until they convert Mojave Valley dust to adequate water.

[I have a friend who contracted for ten REOs in one Northern California subdivision, where street barricades went up the week after his purchase. Now he has to have a police pass to visit his houses, since the entire 100% empty subdivision is blocked off. He'll happily offer you a deal on ten houses. Such a deal. Your money would be safe behind police barricades.]

Or you can come to a growing (not booming) economy and turn profits.

Mike,

Double check.

In all probability Utah's GOP convention was manned by people picked in the counties' caucuses, where anyone who attended could vote.

Dispatch ten carloads of Tea Party folks to each caucus and control the delegate selection to the state Convention.

Two carloads from Cache County, Two carloads from Box Elder, Two From Weber, Two from Salt Lake County, ad nauseum -- and you pick the majority of county delegates.

For Salt Lake and Weber, it might take 20 carloads.

All of 100-200 people can grab control of a state convention, before the first gavel.

I saw a single delegate to a state farm organization convention, trained in parliamentary procedure in 4-H and FFA, manipulate a confused chair and the entire convention into committing every dime of extra income for five years to a single project.

That one vote totally emasculated an entrenched group by denying them money to fund "ghost delegates" in future conventions.

Two years later, they were out of office.

Effectively applied, minority rules in "loosey goosey" situations.

Back in the 70s, a city got a $5-Million Federal Grant based upon upgrading the low-income section's infrastructure -- while planning to use it across town.

The grant rules required neighborhood meetings for selecting delegates to the citywide board empowered to allocate funds.

An active young adults group from the "barrio" packed every neighborhood meeting, picked every delegate and controlled the citywide board.

They started small, just enough to control the first neighborhood meeting, increasing attendance from waiting members as needed each night.

The city dads never knew what hit them.

Every federal dime went to the intended area.

The action involved about 60 young adults in a city of 130,000 people.

Mike,

Sorry for the delay replying, I don't know if edmund was spinning crap again or not, i generally don't read his posts.

You ask how one can spin numbers, are you serious? For one thing you can get numbers or a survey to report about anything you want. However, I was not referring to the numbers as invalid, merely the spin you put on them in reporting them. Let me try to break down what I see as spin and you can correct me if I'm wrong:

1. You compare the positive numbers comparing Capitalism and Progressive. Are Capitalism and Progressive the correct terms to compare or are you spinning and comparing apples to oranges. I stated earlier the appropriate comparison is Capitalism and Socialism, do you disagree?

2. There is no appropriate comparison or alternative for Progressive in the survey, not your spin, just pointing out a flaw in the survey. Your spin is faulty comparison, see point 1.

3. When one uses your reporting of the appropriate comparison (Soc. vs. Cap.) you trumpet that the NEGATIVE view of Socialism is "ONLY" 59% and that the POSITIVE of Capitalism is 52%. Once again a faulty comparison either stick with the positive or negative. When viewing the same attribute the picture you are presenting changes. To be fair and easily understood you should have either reported Capitalisms negative which is 37% or Socialism's postive which is 29%. It does have a different ring when you report that Socialism is viewed positively by only 29%.

Perhaps I was a bit harsh in calling your reporting Spin, the more I think about it, I don't imagine you think too hard before you type. It may just be indicative of your inherent bias and lack of ability to treat a subject fairly that is on display. Which would you prefer?

Any attempt to trash me right SW?

You said that "I don't know if edmund was spinning crap again or not, i generally don't read his posts."

We all know that is bull as you have stated in that past that you do in fact read edmunds posts and from time to time agree with him. So which is it? You can't do both at the same time. That's your own point

Do you hate debate and conversation so much that anytime someone questions you, you devolve into name calling and questioning of intelligence? One would think that as much as you decry me and others from doing it you would stay away from it and yet most of your posts a sprinkled with that which you decry. Sound familiar? It should, you make the same claims everytime you post and yet you don't stay away from it. Sure you spin and change the meaning of what you have said so that you can declare yourself above the fray, but you don't.

I believe that if you read my original blog and my post (which I honestly think you don't, I believe you think you have a point and it really does not matter what I post you will say it anyways) that I never attempted to spin progressive and progressive, I simply (let me make this clear for the third time, since apparently you are not getting it) FOUND IT INTERESTING that progressive had a higher positive number than capitalism. Those numbers fly in the face of the TEA Parties who put capitalism above all and have for two years and yet despite how large they claim their numbers to be and how they are representative of America, in this particular poll capitalism comes in 6th on the positive scale, beating out only libertarian, socialism and militia. Do you understand now? Do you get it? There was no spin, there wasn't even a comparison though you are trying your hardest to convince yourself there was. It was a simple point.

But fine if you just have to have a comparison let's look at socialism and capitalism. It is still interesting that after two years of being preached to about how bad socialism is (though the people doing the preaching don't have the first clue as to what socialism is since they have interchanged it with sovietism, faschism, and nazism) it's negativity rating was only at 59%. Capitalism, which we have heard for two years now is the only system that truly works has a negativity rating of 37%. Here's the comparison. For all the bad we have heard about socialism and all the good we have heard about capitalism you would think those numbers would be much higher in one case, much lower in one case.

This leads me to wonder, is the TEA Party as representative of "true" America as they claim to be?

I would agree with your comments but you have yourself biased your points by the claim that I was spinning, which I deny that I was. You base your entire argument on the faulty logic that I was spinning the numbers and it biased your own points. I never once said that the proper comparison was socialism and capitalism, but since the pollsters themselves made the comparison from the outset, for me to then make the comparison again would have been redundant.

But in the end you are going to believe what you want to believe which you are really good at in spit of facts. I wasn't spinning numbers just making a simply observation. I'm sorry if that observation made you uncomfortable.

Mike,

I thought you wanted to make people uncomfortable, I thought that was the whole point here.

I didn't mistate my reading of edmunds posts. I generally don't read them, but sometimes he makes valid points. In this I treat him much the same way as HerndonHank, I generally don't read his post but sometimes he makes valid points. Generally and never are two different things.

If you read my last response I gave room to admitting error on my accusation of spin. I am willing to believe you didn't intentionally spin the information, just that you are so biased you don't know when you are slanted in your reporting.

"I would agree with your comments but you have yourself biased your points by the claim that I was spinning, which I deny that I was."

So do I read this right? You would agree with my points except I disagreed with you so it makes my points invalid? Of course my points are biased, they are my opinion, but at least I included the applicable information for comparison. I just felt your faulty comparisons were misleading.

I realize you never implied or said that socialism and capitalism is a more appropriate comparison, that is in fact one of the main reasons I see your reporting as spin. When you compare progressive and capitalism you are making a bad comparison, I really don't know why you can't see this, I thought you were smarter than that.

I'm not trashing your opinion, merely your tactics. It's fine if you are happy with a 29% positive response for Socialism. But I think you should try to be more fair when presenting information like you said you were trying to do a few blogs ago.

If I may respond to pondering of the TEA Party. If you are only now wondering if they are representative of America you are more of a fool than I ever thought. I'd imagine they are representative of about 10-15% of America if that many. However, because they don't represent me is no reason for me to mock them repeatedly.

What facts am I ignoring here Mike, you seem to often call me a liar, misinformed, and a denier without ever backing it up. I ask you direct questions which you seldom answer and frequently end your responses to me with vague insults unsubstantiated slanders.

"Whenever I type, points are made. WHENEVER.

-- Posted by edmundburke on Sun, May 9, 2010."

Eduardo --

Unfortunately, adding new points to your scalp, or sharpening the plentiful inventory already in place is not logical, fact-based discussion.

"Sedation nurse, stat!!!!!!-Posted by edmundburke"

"Liberals support the illegal alien criminals right to our free health care and the right to wave their countries flag in our face on our soil while supporting the expulsion of American students wearing our flag on our soil. But what can you expect from a group that supports the slaughter of innocents and does not support the death penalty for mass murderers,---- Posted by edmundburke on Fri, May 7, 2010"

Eduardo,

In your mental state, you regard your entries quoted above as logical, fact-based claims.

Show me the Tea Party members fighting for the end of genocide in Darfur, or who stood up to denounce IdiAmin, Pol Pot or any other despotic government in your lifetime. Or does it not qualify for mass murder, unless the exact issue lacks high standing on your political agenda.

When you are backed into a corner, with no rational points to state or defend your positions, you invariably relapse into name-calling, perceived insults and denigration of all who disagree with your essentially uninformed opinions.

Many of us on here have waited for months for Backassward Hank, edmundburke and a couple of other extreme neo-cons to present a positive, forward-looking proposal. So much for hope and change in your psyche.

Let me see if I got this straight, you left room to be wrong but since you aren't wrong ... in other words as I said previously you can never be wrong because you change the meaning of what you say in order to always (in your mind) be right. He SW how about you fix your problems with bias and spin before you decide to fix and criticize others.

"I realize you never implied or said that socialism and capitalism is a more appropriate comparison, that is in fact one of the main reasons I see your reporting as spin. When you compare progressive and capitalism you are making a bad comparison, I really don't know why you can't see this, I thought you were smarter than that."

So it is obvious that you made your mind up about what I actually said an are now spinning it into something I never said. "I simply FOUND IT INTERESTING that progressive had a higher positive number than capitalism"

Missed this earlier:

"However, because they don't represent me is no reason for me to mock them repeatedly."

Then why do you repeatedly mock anything liberal? If I am so wrong in mocking the TEA Parties (just to be clear despite all the denying here the term teabaggers for use with the TEA Party people did originate within the TEA Party itself not on MSNBC. In fact if you want a source for where teabagger was first on cable tv it was on Fox News when a couple of Senators, who support the TEA Party, went on Fox News and prominently held to two bags on either side of their heads and proudly proclaimed that they were ready to teabag, anyways) because they don't represent me than how in your mind is it perfectly fine to mock liberals that don't represent you. Gotta hate that hypocritical thing and forgetting what you have said in the past.

NOW LOOKY HERE WHAT I FOUND.

"Asked Questions

How does the caucus/convention system work?

The Utah Republican caucus/convention system works like this: Every even-numbered year, voters in their geographical area (called a precinct) meet in a precinct caucus to elect delegates to represent them at the state Republican nominating convention.

What is a delegate?

A delegate is the representative of a precinct (a geographical division that represents approximately 1,000 voters).

Each precinct is guaranteed at least two county delegates and one state delegate. The number of delegates allocated to each precinct varies, depending on the aggregate number of votes cast in that precinct in the last presidential election for the offices of governor, attorney general, state auditor, and state treasurer. Precincts that have thereby shown greater Republican "strength" are rewarded with a greater number of delegates. The number of county delegates allocated to a precinct is generally larger than the number of state delegates. Typical numbers are two to three state and four to six county delegates per precinct.

At the state nominating convention, the delegates vote for their preferred candidates in races for elected public office where more than one Republican candidate has filed, and nominate by acclamation those candidates who are unopposed within the party. In a contested election, a candidate who receives 60% of the delegates' votes becomes the party's nominee and is thereby able to avoid a primary election. If no candidate in a contested race receives 60%, the two top vote-getters then face each other in the primary election and the one receiving a majority of the votes of registered Republicans in the general public becomes the party's nominee for the general election.

How can I become a delegate?

To become a delegate you will need to rally support in your neighborhood precinct and make sure your supporters join you at your precinct meeting on March 23, 2010 to vote for you to represent them as a delegate.

Why Run as a Delegate?

Because the delegates are the ones who determine who the party's candidates will be in the primary election. They have a tremendous amount of power. They serve as gatekeepers to make sure that only certain types of candidates are presented to the public, by the party, to vote on."

UTAH'S new GOP state convention delegate system took a little more trouble for the Baggy Tea Locks to rig.They had to get enough people to the precincts in selected counties to control selection of those delegates, then to the county conventions where they had the precinct delegate count under control.

Still boils down to a handful of people controlling the caucus political structure.

We all know what happens when edmund is proven wrong. He changes topics or just tweaks what he has said so he can longer be wrong, or in most cases denies that he is wrong.

I asked the question a year ago what would happen if those that were opposed to the stimulus were proven wrong. Well, they have been proven wrong, the stimulus is working, and even Republican Congressmen who opposed and voted against the stimulus are taking credit for it now. But on here at least they continue claiming that the stimulus hasn't worked, that the highest number of job claims in four years doesn't matter because the jobless rate is still high (or they claim that the numbers are so high because of Census workers, which has been debunked).

So, if Greece pulls out of the mess they are in and worse if European countries help them pull out of the mess and are no worse for it, don't expect edmund to ever admit that he was wrong. Expect him either to just drop it all together, claim that he never claimed what he claimed, or make an assertion that Greece hasn't truly pulled out of the mess by sighting something that is trivial that has no greater impact than that which is in his mind.

edmund you might want to check before you spout off again the bailouts were separate bills from the stimulus, but good try anyways.

You do of course realize (more than likely not) that the whole too big to fail mantra was created by the conservatives in Congress and in fact the Republicans and conservative Democrats in Congress just recently defeated a bill that would have gotten rid of that whole too big to fail provision.

This isn't a liberal agenda but a conservative. But of course being the consummate conservative you already knew that didn't you.

NOTICE that as soon as he was proven wrong (again) he left the Greece discussion behind and moved onto stimulus.

Still haven't heard any predictions on November edmund other than watch and learn.

We can read and comprehend fully but big gains is pretty open ended. What numbers are you predicting. Conservatives can have huge gains but still be a minority in Congress. Why don't you give some numbers?

Anyone else ever get the feeling that edmund is the conservative version of the boy who cried wolf.

Eduardo's been sabotaged again,

The EC nations have put together a help program for Greece which requires the Greek government to follow severe austerity programs.

Their seriously corrupt politicians, in large part a heritage from the Nazi occupation, had provided such goodies as great retirement benefits for all government employees.

A retired postal worker with 25 years service, receiving 80% of the highest pay at the end of active work -- or about $50K annually in a country with an average earned income of less than $20,000. The ones getting squeezed in current active salary and retirement were the ones rioting.

Hey, let the government tell you that you are taking a 50% hit in current income and your SSI will be cut 50% when you do retire.

See if you just smile and say -- "My that smarts a little."

But Eduardo, the richer EC nations had no choice, allowing Greece to go under was about like allowing the banks and auto industry to go under in the U.S.

The EC's problem. They have a tier of northern wealthy nations with sober, relatively conservative governments.

Then they have added a tier of Mediterranean nations, relatively poorer, always with wild politics and political uproar and less than competent fiscal management.

Spain has a different problem from Greece. After decades of Dictator Franco, they now have a progressive government attempting to build a modern nation, improve education, build roads and furnish other needs -- beyond the ability of the depressed economy to support.

Portugal is in trouble simply because tourism tanked. Of course, that is a problem shared by the entire Med coastal region. No Americans and virtually no Europeans are vacationing in the "Med."

If the BP oil slick hits the Redneck Riveria and the Louisiana/Mississippi Delta, then coats east and west Florida beaches -- Guess what states are going to be in serious trouble.

Florida retirees were playing the "Half Back" game and moving Half Way Back toward the frozen north into the Carolinas before the oil spill -- it appears the hill folks better get ready for more neighbors.

Eduardo,

Attempting to hurl doctrinaire "merde" against every situation and turn it into a huge NeoCon argument is doomed to failure as an argument.

Just as claiming the Utah GOP convention proves massive Tea Bag influence in conservative Utah.

What that convention proves is that all "caucus" states need to get their systems in order and set rules to prevent small, active extremist groups from taking over a state convention.

Utah's GOP left the barn door open and the horse, cow, six pigs and all the poultry got stolen -- meaning a senior, effective and Utah Conservative incumbent now has to organize an effective write-in campaign, because a few hundred (at best) Baggers gained control via organizing GOP county delegate selections.

Folks in Utah cannot answer if ANY county caucuses required proof of county voter registration for people to vote in the county.

If them what is there can't say positively that outsiders could not have voted in their county sessions -- then it is fairly certain carloads of Baggers circulated the Salt Lake Valley and voted in every county for Bagger candidates.

And before you accuse me of disrespect toward Baggers -- They are showing disrespect for this nation, the Constitution and the laws every day, in every way they can develop.

With that, just as with the KKK, the 1941 German-

American Bund, the White Citizens Councils,the original DixieCrats, the SLA, the now-defunct U.S. Communist Party and radical extremists of any persuasion -- I don't have to respect them.

Respect our country, our democratic election principles, our laws and the basic spirit of fair play and inter-political discourse -- and get respect in return.

Disrespect all of the above -- I don't have to respect you -- and I **** well will not.

Another reversal of previous claims yet again edmund. You were predicting a complete takeover of the 2010 mid term election, now you are only calling for large gains, but not even a majority and now calling for a total takeover in 2012.

Just to go ahead and prove that very early prediction completely wrong. No party has ever nor will ever completely takeover Washington. The electorate is much smarter than you given them credit for. At least at this point in time no Republican or conservative has shown that they can be the leader and nominee in 2012 that will have enough broad appeal to win a national election.

Once again pressed on his predictions for November and after tamping down his earlier prediction for 100% takeover in the fall copypasterburke changes focus again.

Part two of the retraction, full denial.

So let me get this straight copyandpasterburke. You have completely ruled out anything for 2010. You have got to be the worst backtracker of all time.

Even at their height in the 2000s Republicans never reached the mystical 60 vote threshhold. Nothing they are saying or doing today will get them close to it for years to come.

The only people spending money on things we can't afford seem to be the Republican Party who spends voter money on lesbian bondage clubs, not to mention Rubio who spent 1000s of dollars of taxpayer money for personal use, oh and don't forget one of your heroes Sarah Palin who did the same thing.

I am still confused of this liberal democrat party in which you speak of.

Just to be sure over the last year copyandpasterburke has gone from in 2010 100% gain (though I believe he said this in jest and is probably why now he denies ever saying it), to a majority in both houses, to large number, to significant number, and now today no mention of 2010.

He's already started to focus on 2012. It must be real hard to direct anger when you don't even know what year to direct it at.

Asked and answered. posted by copyandpasterburke. This is his way of acknowledging that he has already given up on the 2010 race and is solely focused on the 2012 race. Wow, given up and the primaries aren't even over yet.

And wow another copy paste by copypasterburke on two blogs that have nothing to do with each other from a biased website that only gives one side of the story.

That's about the response I would expect out of you copyandpasterburke

Mike,

Sure as cows have legs and four hand warmers, The Tea Leaf Readers will be claiming they beat a Democrat in West Virginia.

Wrong.

A better Democrat who does not have an attitude of entitlement toward his office andhas not skated the ehtics line for years -- beat a long term incumbent.

Reality, Democratic Party voters routinely end incumbents' careers in open elections.

Back in '68, they ousted a worthless GOP congressman's paid vacation in D.C. by replacing him with a newly-minted Democrat named Panetta -- despite frantic party-line support for the incumbent from all the major business and money interests around the Monterey Bay region district.

The voters knew what they had was not getting the job done, so they made a change.

Acceptable regard for tea leaves had nothing to do with the West Virginia election.

Frankly, in most of those hard-scrabble West Virginia mining communities, a Tea Party demonstration, complete with swinging Tea Bags, would no respect whatsoever.

The operative factor -- Free and open elections.

Not small, near secret and easily controlled insider sessions where local delegates to a closed state convention are selected.

When Senator Bennett recovers from the shock of seeing the 2010 convention of the party he has served so long and honorably be taken over by a mob of extremists -- expect one fine write-in campaign.

And expect a bunch of votes for the Democratic campaign if Bennett decides to hang it up.

After all, he can now retire with full Senate pension, medical benefits, etc.

copyandpasterburke of course there won't be any liberal Democrat party members in Washington in November there aren't even any there now, they are all in England.

As for West Virginia all that happened there was people getting rid of corrupt politician. All you are seeing around the country is anger at incumbents (which is what I said months ago) not anger at Democrats or liberals. But I know, I know watch and learn.

Care to make a prediction, yet, or are you still pointing to 2012.

I was specifically meaning number predictions. I gave some and I believe you gave some as well Senior, I think. copyandpasterburke started this whole prediction thing and I want to see some numbers from him.

Hmm I wonder what webpage copyandpasterburke lifted that post from, but what it has to do with anything is beyond me.

I still think it's funny as hell that anyone could ever confuse Bill Clinton as a liberal while he was in the White House. Talk about delusions of grandeur.

Swing and a miss copyandpasterburke, swing and a miss.

"Whether it has happened in the past is irrelevant." This why you and others like you continue to fail. Those who forget the past are damned to repeat it. Oh and the only reason you say it is irrelevant is because you know that the answer is that it has never happened.

copyandposterburke doesn't have time to actually read the articles and blogs that he posts on here he just reads the title and figures it's going to prove him right so he posts it.

Even if you are right copyandpasterburke about spending and regulations it was regulations that got us in the current mess we are in not spending. We have had huge deficits before without going into a recession. Jamie Galbraith, an economist, says that the deficit does not matter that it is just a political ploy to scare voters (and boy has it done a doozy on you).

I don't know though, between copyandpasterburke and an economist, I think I'll take the economist.

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2010/02/we-need-jobs-not-defici...

Hot doggies, Azzarony had the answer.

Get a national wide boycott going against the state.

Send all the snowbirds to North Carolina.

Eliminate all the potential jobs for illegals down in the desert and that stops the undocumented workers from crossing into Azzarony.

Their problem is solved.

Of course, they are also "broker" than usual, but what the heck, they no longer have a problem with illegals.

Of course, they may soon be fondly remembering the glorious days of "wetbacks."

But their illegals problem is solved.

At least in tonight's primaries the anger still hasn't shown up. There is no intensity gap between Democrats and Republicans. The special election in Pennsylvannia to replace Murtha stayed blue. Once again, it's looking more and more like a typical mid-term election. The majority party will lose some seats but not the majority itself.

I'm sure they will attempt to claim some victory with Rand Paul winning with the help of the TEA Party against McConnell's personal pick in the primary in Kentucky. But here's the problem for them. They did nothing more than beat another Republican in Kentucky and IF they win in November they are replacing ANOTHER Republican gaining nothing.

They already have. They are even trying to say (Fox News) that the Democrat winning was somehow a win for the TEA Party. Anything for spin.

Still waiting for half governor Palin to release a statement saying that it wasn't really a loss because the real race is in November.

Think about it all the special elections in Congress over the last year have been won by Democrats except for one and that was thanks to Independents not Republicans.

This year is going to be anger at the incumbents. The only incumbents that have lost are Republicans (say what you will about Specter he was a Republican and the only reason he switched parties is because he thought he could win easily in the Democratic primary. Whoops).

Of course I hope one Democrat incumbent loses and that's Lincoln of Arkansas.

I find it very interesting and telling that after all the times us liberals have been scolded about how we are destroying the country and that 2010 is going to be the year that all turns around, and yet as primary after primary comes and goes it is the Republican incumbents being voted out not the Democratic ones.

On this board at least those crowing about the coming conservative revolution (again) have gone silent. I know it's not because they haven't seen the new posts. There are several on here that watch the posts on a daily basis.

I guess Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and Fox News are not giving marching orders today about what to say.

I noticed that Fox News new pet project Rand Paul has already gotten into hot water after saying that he felt that the Civil Rights Act should be rescinded. Tried to pull back from it, then went after the disabilities act claiming it was unfair for a buisness that had two floors having to put an expensive elevator in for someone with a disability. The only problem is the act clearly stated that such a business didn't have to put in the elevator.

Just like his dad, decent on one issue, horrible on the reast.

Yeah I particularily loved him calling Obama unAmerican for criticizing a British company. The Paul World is truly an interesting place.