March 12, 2009

"Americans Like Big Government: They just don't really know it yet."

That's the line.

And, of course, part of Big Government is to feed us that line. It's part of the scheme of getting us to like it. Sometimes government sounds like a creepy stalker....

223 comments:

1 – 200 of 223   Newer›   Newest»
ricpic said...

40% of GDP. Between federal, state and city taxes that's where we are. Right up there with Europe. Yeehah!

Unknown said...

The article fails to mention that the Columbus appearance was entirely manufactured. The Dem mayor wangled the dough out of the DOJ, and Obama got his photo op. The cadets however will be laid off at the end of the year when the grant runs out.

A Potemkin Police Department. Befitting a man with lots of tsars.

Anthony said...

Sometimes????

Paul said...

Yep. And the elites, who know what's best, must impose it on the benighted masses by any means possible. Even at gunpoint if that's what it takes. For their own good. The swine.

Gee do you think the framers were proponents of big government? No? Well they're just some dead white males. Time to bury their outdated ideas.

former law student said...

The headline and subhead have very little to do with the article, which I would title, "The Stork Does Not Bring Your Government Bailout."

MadisonMan said...

That's an interesting Label (not the Walter Shapiro one), and I wonder how often you'll use it.

Titusworkitworkitworkit said...

If government creeped around the corner and stalked me I would say no thanks government I am not interested. Now get off my runway. I am working here. This street isn't big enough for the two of us.

I'm Full of Soup said...

When the 1960's and 1970's liberals like this writer are dead and gone, we will next have to work on converting on the college grads from the last 20 years. Since they were brainwashed in college with all this social justice crap.

The coming taxpayer backlash will be nasty. I hope Obama learned how to surf in Hawaii cause a big wave is heading straight for him.

Greybeard said...

Do we learn from our mistakes?

Revenant said...

The argument presented by this article is so dippy that it almost takes my breath away. Federal government funds local spending, ergo Americans like big government?

Uh-huh.

And where does the federal government get that money from? Oh yeah, taxes levied on the American public. Without deficit spending it is impossible for the average state to get more money from the federal government than its citizens contributed in taxes. Ergo the average state would be better off if the federal government butted out and let the money stay in the state; the STATE can, if it wishes, levy taxes and spend the money.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Obama wants to take over late night comedy too?

KCFleming said...

"He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself.

He loved Big Brother."

knox said...

Gee do you think the framers were proponents of big government?

Yes, apparently they just didn't really know it.

KCFleming said...

"The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power. Not wealth or luxury or long life or happiness: only power, pure power. What pure power means you will understand presently. We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. ...The object of power is power."

garage mahal said...

It's laughable to think if modern day conservatives set up a new government from scratch somewhere that it would even remotely resemble anything our framers had in mind. Anyone that disagreed with them on protecting the 1st and 4th Amendments which were considered expendable the past 8 years were deemed moonbats and traitors.

traditionalguy said...

Big government works until its beneficiaries want to have private property in addition to the stipend sent to them by the State's Bureaucrats. Such nonsense comes from the memories of the silly old folks who pathetically think like Joe the ridiculus Plumber and other enemies of the Media. The People alone are now "entitled" to own the means of production of money (borrowing) and they alone shall now cause free money distribution without regard to working for it, just like the shameful Rich used to enjoy. Trust me, says Obamadoff, It's worked in Castro's people's paradise. And next the control over the production of Humanoids themselves will be in the party's hands too, says the Obama Genetic Experimentation Office. Then we will see who is the Real God.

Rich B said...

The phrase "Americans Like Big Government" treats "Americans" as if it were one entity. I think this is called the fallacy of composition. Surely, many Americans like big government because they do not directly pay for it, so anything they receive is a plus. Others depend directly on it for their livelihood (ethanol farmers). Others do not like it because its total cost in taxes is far higher than its benefits (including in cost, of course, diminished liberty).

Generally, when I hear someone saying "The American people want X", he or she is a liberal and wants his own preferences funded by someone else.

PS - I think there are legitimate functions for government - roads, courts, defense, for example - but such a government would be far smaller than the current one.

TMink said...

"Anyone that disagreed with them on protecting the 1st and 4th Amendments which were considered expendable the past 8 years were deemed moonbats and traitors."

Garage, you have your dates wrong. Projection is not just for theatres.

Trey

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

You know the big secret behind the drive thru is so people can secretly super-size..

I bet you didn’t know that ;)

stoqboy said...

That is the most muddled thinking I have come across in a long time. Mr. Shapiro describes the incompetence of previous efforts for public service jobs. He then goes on to argue that the federal government needs to put it self in position to take credit for the current effort. Mr Shapiro makes no argument that this effort will be any more successful and even points out how this effort is headed in the same direction as the previous programs. Paraphrasing Mr Shapiro: Previous efforts failed but the feds got no credit. Current efforts are repeating past mistakes but this time the feds need to make sure they get the credit. I'm amazed at the obtuseness.

Swifty Quick said...

With FDR and LBJ the Democrats set about testing Alexis de Tocqueville's prediction that the American experiment in democracy will last only until politicians figure it out that they can bribe the electorate with governmental largesse and/or cash payments. In the process FDR and LBJ did each manage to thereby deliver huge constituencies to the Democrats who have ever since slavishly voted Democrat. Carter tried to continue the tradition but failed. It's difficult to say whether that failure was because all the ore in that vein has petered out or because Carter was undone by his own ineptitude. Probably both. Obama seems intent to give it another go. I don't believe it's gonna work for him either.

rhhardin said...

Bush 43's comment long ago, defending his high government spending, was that the people appear to want it.

He didn't break it down by gender as I would have done instantly.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Only sometimes...?

former law student said...

Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. ...The object of power is power."

Yeah. Thank God Cheney is out of office for now.

bearbee said...

Yup, we sure like BIG government.

Cartoon needs an update but it really doesn't matter which a**hole party has control.

Roberto said...

Well, one thing is for sure: The Bush administration certainly liked BIG GOVERNMENT.

$2 trillion debt the day he arrived...$10 trillion today.

I suggest those who are so anti-government avoid Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Unemployment Benefits, all Veterans Administration Benefits, Mental Healthcare (especially relevant here), Child Welfare Programs, Educational Programs, Housing Programs, Worker's Compensation Benefits, etc., etc., etc.

C'mon...put your daily lives where your mouths are: GIVE UP EVERYTHING LISTED.

Hoosier Daddy said...

One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. ...The object of power is power."

FLS said - Yeah. Thank God Cheney is out of office for now.


I suppose if that had a grain of truth to it, Cheney would have simply suspended the elections and declared martial law.

But don't reality get in the way of your fantasy.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Hey, Michael, is there a way to opt out of all of that and stop funding it too?? Is there??

boldface said...

Michael, I'll be happy to give up all that stuff just as soon as the govt stops forcing me to give politicians my money so that they can use it on those programs.

Cedarford said...

The brainless Rightwing slogan that ALL Big Government is bad, bad, bad...wasn't even believed by Reagan. Reagan was a strong believer in Interstates, a large military, strong regulation against corruption, and certain aspects of the New Deal.

Then came Bush and the Neocons and Corporatists that perverted Reagan and Nixon and Ike and Taft's legacy of fiscal responsibility, Big gummint only when necessary for the good of the nation as a whole into wrecked markets, banks, 100,000s of thousands of earmarks, and a 3 trillion dollar spending spree and further concentration of wealth in the hands of the few. And 2 trillion in new IOUs to foreigners, plus what is later blamed on Republicans for trillions spent dealing with the economic catastrophe that started in the Bush Administration.

Obamite Left Wingers make the mirror mistake of the Right Wingers who pervert Reagan's philosophy.
They think ALL manifestations of Big Gummint are good, good, good!

They show signs of getting out of control, as the Bushies did.

I see no mandate for tripling electric bills, making gas and food 50% more expensive from a Big Gummint Carbon tax and 100s of billions into "green programs" never debated or factored into voting by the general public.

When did we vote that we would pay in taxes for new Big Gummint subsidizing people that bought homes they couldn't afford?

The Obamites have to watch that. It took 12 years of Republican blundering and favoring the rich over all Americans to drive them down to a small pocket of Religious fundamentalist states and a few tiny population states out West.

Shanna said...

C'mon...put your daily lives where your mouths are: GIVE UP EVERYTHING LISTED.

Dude, we’ve been over this. I am not ALLOWED to give up any of this (and I haven’t gotten anything out of most of it). If I could opt out of SS I would do it so fast your head would spin. So to you, the only option is to pay for all this shit and refuse to take it out of principal? Nope. Whenever I get to the point where I can take SS, it will be just getting some of my OWN MONEY back!

Well, one thing is for sure: The Bush administration certainly liked BIG GOVERNMENT.

Indeed. Which is why a ton of conservatives were not all that fond of the Bush administration! Just because we're not calling him Chimpy McBush Hitler doesn't mean we were happy with that aspect of his administration.

Peter V. Bella said...

“Anyone that disagreed with them on protecting the 1st and 4th Amendments which were considered expendable the past 8 years were deemed moonbats and traitors.”

Lest I remind you again; FDR, HST, JFK, RFK, and LBJ were the worst and most egregious serial violators of the Bill of Rights in the modern history of this country. All democrats, all liberals, and all God like Icons.

I hope the democrat black helicopters and swat teams do not get here before I escape.

Shanna said...

The brainless Rightwing slogan that ALL Big Government is bad, bad, bad...wasn't even believed by Reagan.

Most conservatives don’t have a problem with all government (hell, most libertarians don't even believe that), but they do want it to be SMALLER (not nonexistent). This is a straw-man.

Peter V. Bella said...

I suggest those who are so anti-government avoid… Blah blah blah.

You left out government grants- to universities and colleges, educational grants for higher education, research grants for just about everything, grants for various technological industries, grants for the arts, funding for various educational projects…

I guess all of these and more should also get off the government teat. Or are there certain worthwhile sacred cows that are untouchable?

KCFleming said...

Well shit, Michael the metastatic blog malignancy is back.

All reasonable conversation will now cease. Where can one find internet chemo, much as surgical excision is nigh impossible on blogger?

AlphaLiberal said...

Why the hate for government? How else can you have a democratic society if you don't have government?

Corporations are very anti-democratic and autocratic. They don't give a rats ass about any freedom, except their own. Take away government and that's pretty much what's left.

What will balance the power of corporations if not government?

The con vision for America amounts to a corporate feudal state.

Paul said...

You know if the good smart commenters on this blog (you know who you are) would treat the Michaels, DTLs, and Cederfords as the SOBs (scroll on by) they deserve to be it would keep the comments readable and informative to the thread's end. But you keep engaging and enabling them. Like a dog returning to his vomit.

Pity.

AlphaLiberal said...

In other news, Chuck Norris is flaunting his crazy and calling for al Qaeda-like cells across the country, Texas to secede from the union.

Chuck Norris hates America, apparently. He and Glenn Beck are openly calling for armed conflict.

Sore losers!

AlphaLiberal said...

Paul, did you notice how dumb your post was? You didn't cite one area of substance for the people you attack. All you did was attack.

They make coherent and often witty points, unlike you.

Pretty fricken typical from the intellectually bankrupt cons.

AlphaLiberal said...

For those losing hope, and others wanting to rekindle the patriotic fires of early America, I encourage you to join Fox News' Glenn Beck, me and millions of people across the country in the live telecast, "We Surround Them," on Friday afternoon (March 13 at 5 p.m. ET, 4 p.m. CT and 2 p.m. PST). Thousands of cell groups will be united around the country in solidarity over the concerns for our nation.

Chuck Norris and Glenn Beck, al Qaeda copycats.

garage mahal said...

Cell groups? LOL. I can't stop laughing. That's GOLD.

Synova said...

Chuck Norris and Glenn Beck, al Qaeda copycats.

Yeah. I can see that.

What with kidnappings, head sawings off for video propaganda, blowing up children and religious buildings and executing citizens for moral failing.

Just exactly like al Qaeda.

You are so dang smart!

dbp said...

Michael said...
Well, one thing is for sure: The Bush administration certainly liked BIG GOVERNMENT.

$2 trillion debt the day he arrived...$10 trillion today.

Not according to the treasury dept:

As of:
09/30/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86

Link

Only off by three-fold and it took me about 10 seconds to find this.

Roberto said...

ElcubanitoKC said..."Hey, Michael, is there a way to opt out of all of that and stop funding it too?? Is there??"

Absolutely.

Become an Independent Contractor, pay nothing into Social Security, and then refuse to accept any co-pay or full pay options for Medicaid, etc.

Pay for everything right out of your pocket.

*But we BOTH know that's not going to happen. Bitching about "government" or "socialism" stops the minute you're in need.

Revenant said...

How else can you have a democratic society if you don't have government?

Having a democratic society without a government is easy. In the absence of an accepted power structure with some people at the top to give orders, humans resolve issues by building a popular consensus.

What's hard is having a democratic society without a government growing out of it. People naturally build a social hierarchy if not actively discouraged from doing so.

traditionalguy said...

If my math is right when 51% votes for socialism is counted. then the other 49% must line up and turn in all that formerly private property. What more could one want? The day that everyone stops real working and starts to showup for a guaranteed check for pretend working, then we will move on to culling the numbers living off that FUBAR economy. We must start with rationing Health Care. Keeping old people living just drives up the numbers of young humans that must be culled to meet required depopulation. I believe we have enough Nazi German know how still in our archives to get this plan going efficiently. After all there is a crisis.

veni vidi vici said...

The phrase "Americans Like Big Government" treats "Americans" as if it were one entity. I think this is called the fallacy of composting.

Which is to say, it's just another example of our leaders' bias towards drizzing pungent clumps of bullshit from their lips upon the admiring crowds below.

Roberto said...

dpb: As of: 09/30/2000 $5,674,178,209,886.86

The Intragovernmental Holdings debt in 2000 was 2.269 trillion.

The Public Debt was 3.405 trillion

When he left office the total was only...about 10 trillion.

Feel better?

dbp said...

Include a link and get my initials in the right order and I might.

holdfast said...

C4 - The Bushies (or some of them) might have SAID that big government is bad, but when did they ever actually cut it? - rather I recall the radical increase in Fed education spending and new Medicare Part D (both of which are actually somewhat worthy, unlike the Porkuluous Bill). As you would know if you stopped using Neocon as just another synonym for "dirty Jew", the Neo were originally Marxists and not opposed to domestic spending - they are just supposed to be foreign affairs hawks/warmongers.

I'm Full of Soup said...

According to Michael aka Lucy, independent contractors (i.e small business self-employed) don't have to pay social security taxes.

Is this a new law just enacted by Obama? Cause its news to me.

Roberto said...

Dickweed Blowhard Penis:

United States Total Debt (Split)
End of fiscal year Intragovernmental Holdings Debt Held by the Public
1999 2.020 trillion 3.636 trillion
2000 2.269 trillion 3.405 trillion
2001 2.468 trillion 3.339 trillion
2002 2.675 trillion 3.553 trillion
2003 2.859 trillion 3.924 trillion
2004 3.072 trillion 4.307 trillion
2005 3.331 trillion 4.601 trillion
2006 3.664 trillion 4.843 trillion
2007 3.958 trillion 5.049 trillion
2008 4.216 trillion 5.809 trillion
2009* est 5.900 trillion 6.400 trillion

Roberto said...

AJ - Many do not contribute.

Why not throw together a posse and hunt them down?

Again: If YOU don't want Medicaid, Medicare, etc...turn it down.

*By the way...how old are you...12?

Paul said...

"Paul, did you notice how dumb your post was? You didn't cite one area of substance for the people you attack. All you did was attack.

They make coherent and often witty points, unlike you.

Pretty fricken typical from the intellectually bankrupt cons."

You are stupid enough not to grasp that, a)there is no need to cite specific "areas of substance" to attack. We all have seen the incoherent hate filled screeds of the aforementioned trolls. None of us need specific examples.
And, b)no. They are neither witty nor coherent. They are fools and irritating presences. Just like you.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Lucy:

You have never been so wrong about who must pay soc sec taxes. You don't know what the hell you are talking about.

Roberto said...

I find the bitching and whining via the wingnuts here to be unpatriotic and disgusting.

You're the same assholes who supported George W. Bush for eight long years...as he destroyed our economy, our stature in the world, lost over 4,000 American lives in Iraq, and left over 30,000 wounded.

Obama's been in office for less than 2 months and all you do is bitch, bitch, bitch.

*Oh, and by the way the market's UP over 500 over the past 3 days.

dbp said...

@Michael:
The Intragovernmental Holdings debt in 2000 was 2.269 trillion.

The Public Debt was 3.405 trillion

When he left office the total was only...about 10 trillion.

So why leave out the public debt in 2000? Alternatively, why then include it in 2008? Your Intragovernmental holdings in Jan 2008 is only 4,081,894,247,586.11

So, no. Not happy with the fake claim that debt went from 2 to 10 trillion.

Anonymous said...

If Chuck Norris really hated America, America wouldn't still be around to hear about it.

thesixthmoon said...

The market turned and started to go up as soon as the Obama facade started publicly cracking in earnest. If he continues to lose political support -- the market will keep going.

Roberto said...

Dickweed Blowhard Penis:

I think I said you were right.

Like I said: Quit BITCHING.

*Oh, and can I assume you're happy Bush left only a 10 trillion dollar debt?

Henry said...

The sidebars to Shapiro's article tell a story:

Let's leave ideology aside for a moment: Is Congress even equipped to handle Obama's ambitious agenda? [Norman Ornstein]

Obama, Don't Listen To The Naysayers--Now Is The Time To Push Through All The Items On Your Agenda [Jonathan Cohn]

So much unrequited love. Someone should write a sonnet.

Jason (the commenter) said...

From the article : Fate and a discredited economy have granted Obama a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform public attitudes about the role and the competence of the federal government.

I stopped being worried as soon as I saw the word "competence." That's one thing Obama hasn't been able to show.

And what a rambling article!

Roberto said...

bill said..."The market turned and started to go up as soon as the Obama facade started publicly cracking in earnest. If he continues to lose political support -- the market will keep going."

Yeah, that's it. The market is going UP...because Obama is losing "political support."

*You must mean, except for this

GALLUP - "Obama’s 67% approval rating on the stimulus is more than twice that of Republicans"

The American public gives President Barack Obama a strong 67% approval rating for the way in which he is handling the government's efforts to pass an economic stimulus bill.

DUH.

Joe said...

Why shouldn't Texas split from the US? For that matter why shouldn't the Rocky Mountain states do the same? (Not that it would matter, mind you; it would only be a matter of time before politicians recreated the same mess.)

Roberto said...

Jason the Moron: "I stopped being worried as soon as I saw the word "competence." That's one thing Obama hasn't been able to show."

Yeah, except for becoming a Constitutional Law Professor, U.S. Senator and President of the United States.

Truly a lack of "competence."

*C'mon...you're not really this dumb or you?

dbp said...

@Michael, I think I said you were right.

It wasn't obvious, but I will take a better late than never outlook.

Joe said...

Make up your mind Michael; you keep saying 10 trillion and then publish a list which belies that.

Also note that some of us conservatives didn't support George Bush's domestic policy at all and were exactly thrilled with his foreign policy, but we did know it was a hell of a lot better than the alternative. (Had the Democrats offered up someone who wasn't a complete swine in 2004, I probably would have held my nose and voted for them.)

Joe said...

Michael, getting elected is not a sign of competence. Orin Hatch proves that.

Jason said...

Any chicken-peckered moron suggesting that people should become independent contractors so they don't have to pay Social Security taxes ought to be bitch-slapped upside the head so hard his children will be born bruised.

If someone swaps a W-2 job for a 1099 as an independent contractor, his Social Security taxes DOUBLE, and it's a crime to avoid them.

Plus, you get the pleasure of filing returns four times a year instead of just once a year.

Anyone who says you can skip SS taxes by becoming an independent contractor is a first-class moron talking out of his ass.

In this case, it's Michael. But I repeat myself.

Henry said...

Americans may not know that they like Big Government, but everyone likes a free lunch.

This way to egress -->.

Roberto said...

Joe said..."Michael, getting elected is not a sign of competence. Orin Hatch proves that."

I'm not a big fan of Hatch, but he gets re-elected so maybe the people he serves think otherwise.

As for your snarky comment regarding the debt: I don't have the exact fucking number, but you can bet your right wing ass it's one hell of a lot more than what it was when Georgie came into office...and that's what called "incompetence."

Just review many of the articles that have appeared recently via Presidential historians...and oh, remember his sparking "approval" rating...what was it...25-30%??

Palladian said...

You know, it's starting not to be worth it to comment here. It's been a good run but one's voice does get a bit hoarse shouting above the noise. I'll comment from time to time I'm sure, and I'll certainly continue to read Althouse's posts, but if I seem scarce otherwise you'll know why. The cost/benefit ratio of doing the comments section is getting too far out of balance.

Rejoice, Dr Strangeloaf and Mr Olson, you've won!

Roberto said...

Jason said..."Any chicken-peckered moron suggesting that people should become independent contractors so they don't have to pay Social Security taxes..."

That's not what I said, asshole.

I said many do NOT contribute.

Reading comprehension a negative in your family?

Roberto said...

Palladian said..."You know, it's starting not to be worth it to comment here."

Then don't,

Get back to that Big Mac and see if you can stiff anybody with what you call "art."

Henry said...

Palladian, I hear you.

Roberto said...

Henry said..."Palladian, I love you."

Anonymous said...

"You know, it's starting not to be worth it to comment here. It's been a good run but one's voice does get a bit hoarse shouting above the noise. I'll comment from time to time I'm sure, and I'll certainly continue to read Althouse's posts, but if I seem scarce otherwise you'll know why. The cost/benefit ratio of doing the comments section is getting too far out of balance.

Rejoice, Dr Strangeloaf and Mr Olson, you've won!"


That makes two of us.

KCFleming said...

@Palladian: Hear, hear.

The tragedy of the commons, in blog form.

The Dude said...

Lil Mikey wrote:

*C'mon...you're not really this dumb or you?

You undercut your own comment with writing like that.

Your intelligence is surpassed only by your sparkling writing style.

Blast away quickly little fellow, mommy will be home soon, and she will want her computer back.

Anonymous said...

@ Palladian and Pogo - I delurked to start commenting here because of a few really fun threads, and now I don't want to comment so much, anymore, because of the noise. Oh, well, blog commenting always waxes and wanes with me.

(I think I'll stick mostly to the non-political posts. They tend not to get so heated).

holdfast said...

"Anyone who says you can skip SS taxes by becoming an independent contractor is a first-class moron talking out of his ass." or the Secretary of the Treasury.

There, fixed it for you.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
exhelodrvr1 said...

Do people still admit having voted for Obama?

DaLawGiver said...

Chuck Norris invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Henry;

I always liked that story "This Way to the Egress"!.

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

STFU, Michael, even independent contractors have to pay SS and income taxes that pay for those programs. Idiot

DaLawGiver said...

When an episode of Walker Texas Ranger was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.

Anonymous said...

Palladian -- Let's go on strike. Let's John Galt on Althouse.

DaLawGiver said...

Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

DaLawGiver said...

Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.

Hoosier Daddy said...

You know, it's starting not to be worth it to comment here. It's been a good run but one's voice does get a bit hoarse shouting above the noise. I'll comment from time to time I'm sure, and I'll certainly continue to read Althouse's posts, but if I seem scarce otherwise you'll know why. The cost/benefit ratio of doing the comments section is getting too far out of balance.

Amen Palladian. I'm coming to the same conclusion as well.

knox said...

Palladian, I have been feeling the same way for quite a while now.

TMink said...

Michael wrote: "Well, one thing is for sure: The Bush administration certainly liked BIG GOVERNMENT."

Damn straight he did. That is the reason I quit the Republicans.

Trey

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Palladian, dearest, I have been doing that already.

J. Cricket said...

And the "free market" is a creepy criminal who robs you blind and laughs all the way to the bank.

Henry said...

A.J., yup, it seems to me that's where we're heading.

TMink said...

I love Palladian, I learn a lot from him. Ditto Pogo and Rev and Simon and others whom I am forgetting.

You got a problem with that Michael?

Trey

Trooper York said...

Hey I know I place where they have cool pastry polls and Stella Stevens being stripped by Dean Martin.

And free tags for everyone. No execptions.

Anonymous said...

Let's strike! Then, to the extent we visit, it will only be to picket. We can make signs. Mine will be:

QUALITY COMMENTERS STAND TOGETHER
FOR A TROLL-FREE AMERICA
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

I'm Full of Soup said...

Seven:

So when you did leave a comment, it would have to be stuff like E=mc2 or really hard words to spell like anti-disestablishmentarianism.

Anonymous said...

I'm telling you, AJ: this would work. I just googled picket signs and there are tons of great ideas to riff on.

Plus, I doubt anyone's ever done this before. We'd be famous, even though no one knows who we are.

Anonymous said...

Americans have no choice but to love big government. Thousands every day are being placed on the government "give me" registry. There is no way these folks will vote for a conservative and give up their free money. Our opportunity to respond effectively, passed by us during the Republican primaries. God help us!

Dust Bunny Queen said...

Become an Independent Contractor, pay nothing into Social Security

Ummm.... yeah.... like that is actually an option.

More like, become an independent contractor and pay both sides of the equation for SS and Medicare. The employer's contribution and the employee's. Since you are considered both by the IRS, we/I get the privilege of paying double.

12.4 social security
2.9 medicare
15.3% taxes...like it or not.

At least I don't have to pay unemployment taxes,. However, if I'm unemployed, it is just tough shit. No unemployment compensation for me. It is hard to convince the State that I have laid myself off from my business. It don't work that way.

Try again.

Shanna said...

Also note that some of us conservatives didn't support George Bush's domestic policy at all and were exactly thrilled with his foreign policy, but we did know it was a hell of a lot better than the alternative.

Exactly. Take your medicare part D example. I didn’t like Bush’s position and I looked at the democrats and they were complaining because it DIDN’T SPEND ENOUGH MONEY!!!!
I mean, come on.

If someone swaps a W-2 job for a 1099 as an independent contractor, his Social Security taxes DOUBLE, and it's a crime to avoid them.

Yep. Psst, remember the Geithner not paying his taxes scandal? It was about this.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Seven;

I agree we could have some fun with it.

Shoot if Congress passes EFCA, we'd become members of a union without even knowing it.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The cost/benefit ratio of doing the comments section is getting too far out of balance.

Ditto. Too bad the Althouse blog was fun for a while and had commentors worth reading and responding to.

Now it is all about poop, gay sex and Lucy spewing spittle all over the place.

It was a nice blog while it lasted.

Anonymous said...

All I'm saying is that I don't want this place to lose people like Palladian. The trolling is a serious problem here, as it is everywhere. I think the difference at Althouse is that there is such a great group of core people I love to read. Trolls come occasionally, but they leave, so it's okay.

Sadly, this one troll has stuck around mercilessly. He's got to go.

I stress here that is wholly nonpartisan. Even the lefties I generally abhor -- Alpha, Fred, etc. -- they add invaluably to the discussion.

THE TROLL HAS GOT TO GO
UNITED WE STAND!
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

Steve M. Galbraith said...

What did Tocqueville call it? "Bland despotism"? Democracy as a tutelary power turning citizens into children, utterly dependent on the state?

Yeah, he was just a wingnut.

The very same people who warned us of the dangers of allowing the government to listen in to phone calls between AQ and those in America are now telling us that the government won't abuse this tremendous expansion of state power and reach.

Apparently, those running government will misuse phone taps but not misuse the other powers we give them.

TitusJusthadAconferenceCallonWebEx said...

I completely agree with Palladian, Knox, and everyone as to the commenting here. I will join in the virtual protest.

Henry said...

Of course they won't. They have high approval ratings!

Shanna said...

If only some people could refrain from posting the same drivel 5-30 times in a row it would be easier to ignore.

Anonymous said...

Even Titus! Especially Titus. I love Titus. So many people here wail with their own kind of performance art. It's fun. It doesn't ruin threads. It totally enhances them.

THE TROLL HAS GOT TO TO
I STAND ERECT WITH TITUS!
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

I'm Full of Soup said...

I agree wholeheartedly. Palladian is a Top 5 of the best alltime commenters IMO. It is a real shame if he stayed away.

TitusJusthadAconferenceCallonWebEx said...

Everyone stand ERECT with me!!!

I love that slogan.

Stand Erect With Titus!!!!

Trooper York said...

Maybe if you left out cookies and 12 year old single malt and naked Latino boys he would visit.

You know like Santa Claus.

TitusJusthadAconferenceCallonWebEx said...

Trooper you are fucking hilarious.

Anonymous said...

We'll have all that on the picket lines.

Revenant said...

The cost/benefit ratio of doing the comments section is getting too far out of balance.

Simply ignore any posts by people you don't like or by people who are responding to them. It is a little bit inconvenient, but easy enough to do.

Anonymous said...

Rev -- That's true. But people have been saying that for a long time. Ergo, it must not the greatest solution.

At the end of the day, people want their posts read. And they want the threads uncluttered with crap.

Plus, striking is more fun.

Trooper York said...

Did somebody just say something?

Roberto said...

Do you idiots realize you've been discussing how horrible it is that I post here (40 comments??)...for over 30 minutes since I even posted a comment?

If discourse and discussion is so fucking important to you fools...why are you just blathering on about ME?

It's like a group of little kids on a playground and most of you sound really silly.

Freeman Hunt said...

Now why would we all want to leave when there's at least one troll who gives us all the opportunity to address dinosaurs on any given thread? I, for one, am grateful for these dinosaur discussion openings.

Seriously though, look how many people just said it was getting too tough to comment here--all of them great commenters. That's a lot of great commenters, and that's just on this thread, so the place can't be too infested.

Think of it as Cheers (adapted to all our likings), where everyone knows your name, but there's one broken bathroom and a guy in the corner with Tourette Syndrome. That's not too bad.

Anonymous said...

I'd leave that bar. We'd go somewhere else, just you and me, Freeman. And your husband, natch.

Trooper York said...

You are just making excuses because you hate Stella Stevens.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Jim Eisenreich had Tourette's syndrome. When he was traded to the Phillies, John Kruk sat next to him in the locker room and just stared at him intently.

Finally Eisenreich got pissed and asked Kruk why he was staring at him. Kruk replied "I heard you were crazy and did not want to miss it when you do something crazy".

Trooper York said...

I thought he was staring at him to see if he dropped his hot dog so he could steal it from him?

veni vidi vici said...

I'm with Palladian. In fact, I made a similar comment a week or so ago on here in a similarly bile-ridden thread replete with foul-mouthery coming from the two usual suspects.

I'd been away because it was a real drag to see these idiots come and repeatedly pinch a loaf on the community table, and since there appears to be no sign of abatement of such behavior, there's a diminishing interest in having to fight through the offal just to get to the morsels of decent conversation that were formerly far greater in proportion to the dross.

Oh well, fun while it lasted and all that. Everything that rises must converge, etc. See the fish below the ice, sometimes. And so on.

veni vidi vici said...

Titus isn't one of the "two usual suspects", incidentally. I take his contributions in the spirit in which they were delivered, and enjoy them for that.

Anonymous said...

Yes:

there's a diminishing interest in having to fight through the offal just to get to the morsels of decent conversation that were formerly far greater

Here's what the rule should be:

1. We all know trollery when we see it.

2. Extensive trollery or extensive use of the words fuck and shit and piss and asshole and etc. over a period of time are grounds for dismissal.

Roberto said...

veni vidi vici said..."I'd been away because it was a real drag to see these idiots come and repeatedly pinch a loaf on the community table..."

So you just decided to stop by and "pinch" one yourself?

You're all full of shit.

Anonymous said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

FREE YOUNG LATINOS -->

Anonymous said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

*I have made a protest puppet, btw. A big giant puppet protest head.

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

Big Mike said...

@Little Mike, get a grip. Sit down, relax, think soothing thoughts. Imagine a US where the government takes 110% of your earnings to fund big government. Happy now?

Going back to one of your earlier posts, Little Mike, being a constitutional law professor is certainly no indicator of intelligence. Joe Biden teaches constitutional law, and he thought Article 1 establishes the Executive branch. Heck, anybody can be a constitutional law professor. Why even Ann Althouse is ...

Oops. JUST JOKING, Professor. Sorry!!! :-D

I read Shapiro's article. In fact, I read it twice and both times thought it was intended to be tongue in cheek. You mean he actually meant it?

As far as Big Government is concerned, I'm probably like most citizens. I'm for it when I need the services, and against it when I stare at the number I've just written on my tax form. I calculate that over a long and interesting career I've paid over a quarter million $$$ just into Social Security, and if I retire in a few years and live to 100 I don't think I'll get back the amount I'd have gotten if I'd been able to invest that money as I went along. (Yes, even given the current down stock market.) So is Social Security good for me? Or not so good?

If the Obama administration goes to means testing for Social Security -- which some are arguing for -- then I guess I'll have to keep working until I drop dead at my desk or get jumped in a dark hallway by a bunch of Millenials who covet my job. I'm a good 100 lbs over my best fighting weight and have two gimpy knees and two shot rotator cuffs, so if they come at me in a group of four or more I'm probably doomed.

Getting back to Big Government, I view the coming health care "reform" with some trepidation. In the cases of Britain and Canada the systems' costs are kept down by, effectively, rationing health care to the aged and the remotely located. No one seems to want to talk about that here in the US. Well, my own parents are deceased and my mother-in-law doesn't much like me, so rationing by age won't be an issue for me for, gee, ten years?

I was definitely for George Bush's NCLB. I didn't demonstrate for civil rights back in the 1960's just to see black people in the inner cities demonstrably worse off today than then. Yes, yes, I know that the current President is black. That isn't exactly news. But inner city black schools were better back then, despite Jim Crow, than they are today. Yet in the 21st century education is more important than ever. I'd like to see the Obama girls in a normal DC public school and Michele Obama show up with her arm around Michele Rhee, but it won't happen, and inner city education will only get worse. I could weep, but I see from the comments yesterday about Bush 41 that I yield up my manhood to cry in public.

Of course anybody who really thinks a guy crying in public is a sissy is welcome to drop by and tell me so to my face. We'll do this Chuck Norris style. One of you will get the sh*t kicked out of him while the others stand around and watch, then the next guy will try to fight me, and so forth. I think Chuck's record is 11.

Two final thoughts about Big Government concern regulatory agencies. The first is that agencies tend to hire people from urban and suburban backgrounds, so the regulations they write seem utterly ignorant to people living in rural and remote areas because, well, the people who wrote them really are ignorant and close-minded.

Also, back in the Carter era and before there were people deliberately writing obscure regulations. The game was to leave the agency after a few years for a lucrative position as a consultant explaining the regulations to industry. I thought this was a modern urban legend or sorts until I bumped into a couple of these characters in early 1981 bemoaning that Reagan had closed off that door through deregulation. (Later regulations to close the "revolving door" also helped.)

So Big Government, good or bad? As Barack Obama famously said, if it works then it's good no matter what the size. Is he right? Or does a point come when we are paying too much, even for a good thing? I won't pay Cadillac prices for cheap Chevy Aveo, even if all I need is to get from one place to the next. Moreover, is there anything in his performance so far that suggests Obama can make government "work." For that matter, have we even reached any sort of agreement as to what it means for government to "work"?

knox said...

For my part, I don't mind Titus' comments. They took some getting used to, admittedly. *hugs, titus* But the whole Michael thing has become intolerable. It's not so easy to just skip over his comments... there are inevitably myriad replies and back-and-forths. It's like TV with commercials distributed randomly throughout the show, and you have to constantly search for anything relevant.

Issob Morocco said...

Michael staggered through the muddy fields, at once emboldened and defeated. "Why don't they just see how they are so wrong and I am so right?". "I have tried sarcasm, pathos, statistics, rude and crass personal ad hominem attacks, but they don't see.", he said to himself as he rose over the esker and spotted the village as dusk creeped forward.

"There he is!", cried Michael's neighbor, Alpha Liberal, the Colly Cibber of the Village. The denizens turned from the village green and rushed to the rough hewn stone walls surrounding the village to get a better view of their missing hero.

"Please promise us you shall never leave us, ever again.", said little Aisha Moxie, the spritely young lass, mud caking her hands and face, tugging at Michael's pant leg. "We don't like how you get when you travel to the Althouse."

Michael looked down, not sure how to answer the innocent child's query, torn by his love of his village and his hatred of those who did not accept him and his wisdom.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Seven:

Ask Althouse to make up some cool shirts and hats. And we need a theme song too...you know along the lines of "Look for the union label when you are blogging or just spouting off. Always think two times before you curse cause it might be someone's mother reading what you wrote, etc etc".

Roberto said...

Why do you people continue talking about ME...if it's all soooooooooo horrible?

Why aren't you discussing something of substance?

Let's guess: Nobody knows anything about anything?

And I love this: Big Mike: "...being a constitutional law professor is certainly no indicator of intelligence."

Ain't that the truth?

Anonymous said...

OUR DEMANDS:

1. NO MORE TROLLS

2. COOL T-SHIRTS, HATS, AND VISORS

3. FRESH YOUNG LATINOS

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

Joe said...

Why do you think we're talking about you Michael?

JSF said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
garage mahal said...

I leave plenty of steamers yet I never get called out. I love it.

JSF said...

Seven and Titus,

I am proud to stand with you.

JSF said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeremy said...

Seven and Titus,

I am proud to stand behind you.

Bend over.

Roberto said...

Joe said..."Why do you think we're talking about you Michael?"

It's not a question of "why."

It's a question of who gives a flying fuck?

Just read the comments, basically bitching and whining and crying about ME...over and over again...as if by sucking up to each other you make more sense.

You sound like little children.

garage mahal said...

Whoever is name stealing needs to get kicked in the balls hard.

JSF said...

Note: Michael asked me to stand by his issues yesterday...I declined.

What is it that lawyers say, "When you can't win the arguement, pound the table,"

Michael, in stealing my identity, is trying to pound the table.

Michael loves to Hate anyone who does not think like he does.

Unknown said...

Wherein Michael admits to his lack of substance:

"Why do you people continue talking about ME...if it's all soooooooooo horrible?

Why aren't you discussing something of substance?"

Big Mike said...

You sound like little children.. Umm, why do you think I called you "Little Mike"?

Better thicken up your skin or go post elsewhere. The anonymity that this forum provides is good, but what if someone you are lambasting turns out to be your boss -- and figures out who you are?

Roberto said...

Big Whatever: "what if someone you are lambasting turns out to be your boss..."

I don't have a boss unless you count my wife. I own my own company.

Sorry.

Paul said...

"I leave plenty of steamers yet I never get called out. I love it."

Ahh you're just a garden variety eejit. Relatively tolerable.

But Michael and DTL represent the pinnacle of an ugly, psychotic, and poisonous personality. Without the anonymity of the internet they would be beaten to a pulp. Or more likely keep their opinions to their cowardly selves.

Roberto said...

Marcia said...""Why do you people continue talking about ME...if it's all soooooooooo horrible? Why aren't you discussing something of substance?"

I never said I was "something of substance."

I'm just wondering why, if I'm such a horrible person...you people waste your time commenting about me.

But, here YOU are once again...posting something about...ME.

Are you daft?

Roberto said...

Paul - "But Michael and DTL represent the pinnacle of an ugly, psychotic, and poisonous personality."

Right.

Talking about steaming piles of shit is regarded as intellectual discourse.

Paul, you're just another right wing suckass trying stay in the good graces of the "pack."

Roberto said...

JSF said..."Note: Michael asked me to stand by his issues yesterday...I declined."

I did?

*Are you done with Titus and Seven?

Roberto said...

JSF - "Michael loves to Hate anyone who does not think like he does."

Where have read a single comment where I say I "hate" anybody?

Hate is an terribly overused term and is really just a form of laziness.

I'm not lazy and I've never said I hated anybody.

*I do think you're pretty much of a weenie though.

Roberto said...

Sorry: "Where have you ever read a single comment where I say I "hate" anybody?"

My bad.

Sofa King said...

I'm not lazy and I've never said I hated anybody

No, you've only said such kind, respectful things as "go kill yourself." A real bundle of sunshine, you are.

Big Mike said...

@Michael, I find it hard to accept your assertion that you run your own business. Most businessmen I know are not in favor of big, intrusive, government since big, intrusive, government makes it harder to make payroll. They tend towards being Republicans (though not necessarily fans of George W. Bush) or Independents because Republicans treat business owners with benign neglect and Democrats treat them as the enemy. (At least until the business owners are successful enough to become limousine liberals -- is that what happened to you?)

Anyway, just change the paradigm slightly. Suppose the person you are lambasting is your best customer?

KCFleming said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

Dust Bunny Queen said...

I don't have a boss unless you count my wife. I own my own company.

I hope you don't prepare your own tax returns then, since you seem to be under the impression that you don't have to pay Social Security or Medicare taxes.

Steve M. Galbraith said...

I hope you don't prepare your own tax returns then, since you seem to be under the impression that you don't have to pay Social Security or Medicare taxes.

Private contractors (self-employed?) don't have to pay FICA taxes?

Well, I guess if they don't care about going to jail for tax evasion, they don't have to.

Peter V. Bella said...

We also want black nylon jackets with the Union logo embroidered on them. Aluminum baseball bats and blackbaseball caps with the union logo.

We can go out and bust effin heads. We could break bones. We could make people beg for death and being the cruel merciless union thugs that we are, we will refuse to kill them.

Let somebody try and cross our picket lines. We will f@#k them up so their mothers would not recognize them. As to the trolls; ba da bing! Trunk music for all of them.

Hey, I'm from Chicago. That is what unions do here. That is all they are good for too- crackin effin heads.

traditionalguy said...

Do we get free Cafe Mochas at Starbucks in the Stimulus package? I would like three months off like teachers get, too. And what about Socializing the NFL? Good football games paid for by Obama and Pelosi's hard work would cheer up the One Hundred Million unemployed. Then the players should donate their services or work for Fifty thousand a season like the MD's will have to do. It's only 6 months a year in the NFL season,you know, but the Congress can pass a continuing play resolution.Socialism planning is FUN! But I expect the Bears or the Forty-niners will get all the Earmarked good players.

Peter V. Bella said...

traditionalguy,

Let's include baseball too. They have to play all year, even in the rain and snow. There will be quarterly world series. The fans could get concession stamps from the government for hot dogs, beer, and all the other goodies.

I think as part of the stimulus we should all get meal books. We can go to any restaurant we want and pay for our meals with a coupon. The restaurant is reimbursed by the government- maybe three to six months later. You know how the government is when paying bills.

Do not forget rent and mortgage subsidies. The government should pay for fifty percent of all rent and should provide the twenty percent down payment to all home buyers.

If you want to buy a car, there should be a car subsidy too; in the neighborhood of half the msrp.

Hey, this living off the government teat looks pretty good. Maybe the government can nationalize all businesses and give everyone a government job- one hundred percent employment- no work, no pay, you starve.

Maybe those Ruskies had something going there afterall and we missed it.

buster said...

Big Mike said:

"I see from the comments
yesterday about Bush 41
that I yield up my
manhood to cry in
public."

section9 said...

An Obamist Brownshirt wrote:

I find the bitching and whining via the wingnuts here to be unpatriotic and disgusting.


Two words: Fuck You.

Nobody cares what you find "unpatriotic". You're nothing but a Regime Propagandist and a butt boy. You don't get to define what patriotism is. If you'll recall, a year ago, your kind were the first to say, "dissent is patriotic".

What happened to that?

Oh, that's right. Your side got power. Now you're nothing but a Regime stooge and a troll, to boot.

Fuck You.

buster said...

Big Mike said:

"I see from the comments
yesterday about Bush 41
that I yield up my
manhood to cry in
public."

Can't agree with those
comments. Think of Achilles
weeping over the body of
Patroclus.

Unknown said...

Ah, the cowardly pedant.

"I have called you loathsome names and besmirched your person, but I didn't say that. I have wished death on you and yours, but I didn't say that. I have spoken close to, danced all around and said many things analogous to - but did not say that.

"Therefore, I am not what you say."

traditionalguy said...

Peter V Bella...The new Nationalized League will be forced to use female managers;but if they get catty over bad balls and strikes calls, the Umpires may eject them for PMS for up to three days. Then Barney Frank can be named the new Commissioner in charge of hiring ball boys.Jimmy Carter will get the Peanut sales concession, and the hot dogs must be Chicago dogs.Socialism planning is FUN!

Jason (the commenter) said...

Titus : I completely agree with Palladian, Knox, and everyone as to the commenting here. I will join in the virtual protest.

Big shock, Titus AND Palladian wont be posting at the same time.

Unknown said...

"I'm just wondering why, if I'm such a horrible person...you people waste your time commenting about me."

There's nothing inconsistent about that.

After all, you comment about Bush 43 a lot, and I don't believe you hold him in much esteem.

Methadras said...

Governments perpetual incrementalism has been at the forefront of this ninja style stealth over the last 7 decades. And with Democrats mostly at the helm, I lay this almost exclusively at their doorstep.

Anonymous said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

Methadras said...

Michael said...

My bad.


The culmination of your entire tenure here at Althouse. Simpleton.

Jason (the commenter) said...

B.F. : There is no way these folks will vote for a conservative and give up their free money. Our opportunity to respond effectively, passed by us during the Republican primaries.

Much more of the economy has been under government control in the past than it is now, and we still managed to change all of that. Things go back and forth, the point is to not stop fighting and to keep publicly proclaiming your ideas. Provide a valid alternative to the insanity. Don't be a Palladian/Titus, or a Seven Nachos, or a JSF. Keep speaking.

And if people do nothing but scream at you, keep your senses and ignore them. They are screaming for attention and so you don't get heard. If you shut up or scream back they win.

KCFleming said...

"If you shut up or scream back they win."

Then they win.

It's like ignoring grafitti. When the amount gets excessive, the bad drives out the good. It's like saying, 'Don't mind the turds, the punch is still fine!'

Big Mike said...

@buster, I was being ironic. The press spent a lot of time trying to paint Bush 41 as effete, when in fact he had been a war hero and oil field wildcatter, not to mention man enough for the formidable Barbara Bush.

As for myself, I've had tears flowing out of my eyes at the sheer frustration that there was someone whose ass needed kicking and I'm at least a century too late for "he needed killing" to be a legitimate defense.

KCFleming said...

Point is, the only successful way to deal with people with personality disorders is consequences that actually happen.

Absent that, their behavior expands. It's a bore when every decent thread gets highjacked and becomes another discussion about Dr. Strangeloaf or that cancer, Michael.

I don't get the point behind tolerating the intolerant.

I'm Full of Soup said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 6 & 7/8ths

former law student said...

The teachers' summer is only ten weeks, not the thirteen that "three months" implies.

And using tax money to subidize car production would indeed be ridiculous, if we did not for example, give farmers tax money to subsidize grain production.

Anonymous said...

Pogo -- I disagree. Titus can be annoying to me sometimes, but I am sure that I am annoying to people sometimes and Titus is sometimes totally hilarious.

This Michael troll is just a troll. He brings nothing remotely interesting or useful to the conversation. It is time for him and all of his pseudonyms and name stealing to go.

It's the difference between Playboy and Penthouse, and Oui, and Oui and Mules Fuck Humans Magazine. It's very qualitative and very real.

I think Althouse needs to draw the line at Oui.

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

TMink said...

"Point is, the only successful way to deal with people with personality disorders is consequences that actually happen."

And even then it is iffy, cause, they have personality disorders! They also have children. I call that job security.

Trey

Anonymous said...

FLS -- We subsidize farmers to keep food cheap and them in business so fields don't lie fallow. It is bad policy but it's defensible because people need food every day, a few times a day. They don't need new cars at all.

Peter V. Bella said...

traditionalguy,
TV and Radio stations could be nationalized and comercial free. Only state authorized politically correct and revisionist programing will be allowed. The news will only contain items that the One deems appropriate; news about him. Once a day he will deliver a messianic pep talk to the proletariat. Every hour, Kumbayah, the new national anthem will be played.

The new green initiatives will outlaw toilets in favor of composting outhouses. Water usage will be restricted and bathing will only be allowed once a week, laundry once a month, and all cooking and drinking water will be metered and rationed.

Entertainment will be provided by the GPBS. It will consist of patriotic songs and dances by the Peoples Players. Of course there will be daily tributes to the one. All opinion and editorial content will be provided by Olbermann, Stewart, Colbert, and Moyers. Critics of the Government will be banished to Muncie, Indiana to a life of hard labor in the refurbished Studebaker Plant.
Yeah, this is fun.

Anonymous said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101


Also, I demand that Althouse provide scholarships to the comments section for Gazan victims of Israel's agresssion.

I think that simply ignoring certain vermin would be more effective, the trolls need attention like a normal person needs oxygen.

Peter V. Bella said...

HEY HO HO...

Are we allowed to say ho?

Anonymous said...

Henry -- The problem is that someone will always give oxygen. And I speak as someone who has given way too much oxygen.

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

Peter V. Bella said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

International Blog Commentators of Althouse unite! Free us from the trolls and the identity thieves. It is time to take to the streets of the blogosphere and get our fair share. By brick, by bat, by fire, by speech, and by the fbomb. We shall overcome. In unity there is strength. Unite!!

Anonymous said...

We have nothing to lose but our chains.

KCFleming said...

7M,
You are correct. I don't dislike Titus; I'm neutral.

But Michael/Lucky is vile.

Peter V. Bella said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

...Gazan victims of Israel's agresssion.

There are no such "victims"!!!!!!!!
That is just part of the VLWC to promote anti-semitism in this country and eventually reinstate hatred of the Jewish people. The new Administration is full of people who consider the Pallestinian terrorists as legitimate NGOs to be appeased at all costs and who support their goals.

Peter V. Bella said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101


Solidarity forever, solidarity forever...!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh you can't fool me I'm stickin with the union, I'm stickin with the union, I'm stickin with the union. No you can't fool me I'm stickin with the union, I'm stickin with the union til the day I die."

Peter V. Bella said...

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

This is the enemy. THIS IS WHY WE FIGHT!!!!

Henry said...

This post has been heading the blog since when, 10:04 AM?

GREAT, now Althouse is on strike.

Where is the purple solidarity café?

Big Mike said...

Breaking news!!!

According to Barack Obama the economic crisis isn't so bad after all.

I wasn't really worried until I read that.

It's late and I'm going to try to sleep.

traditionalguy said...

Peter... At the new Nationalized Public Radio, will they allow Rush Limbaugh to submit stories so long as he learns to talk in a slow, childlike wonder about the Obama Regime's accomplishments? Eventually Rush could do a series with co-anchoresse Althouse in which they take turns reading poetry approved by Camille Paglia, followed by a lively reading with dramatic effect of the unanimous Supreme Court decisions of the week, called The Packed Poobahs of the Potomac.

Anonymous said...

WHAT DO WE WANT?

TROLL-FREE THREADS! BETTER WAGES AND FREE VISORS!! SMOOTH, SEXY LATINOS!!!

WHEN DO WE WANT IT?

NOW!!!!!

Peter V. Bella said...

traditionalguy,
Rush will be sent to the Gulag at Gitmo, renamed the peoples re-education camp. He will be one of the many victims of the inquisition- a politically liberal coorect term for torture. He will be joined there by Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Karl Rove and other enemies of the state. They will be held- without charges or legal representation until a secret Administration Tribunal can hear their charges. This will take place when Bill Clinton is appointed as the high lord and executioner of dissidents.

Viva La Ratsos!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter V. Bella said...

I heard Obama on the radio today. According to the Messiah, the only real way to prosperity and wealth will be through health care reform and green technology. Real Estate, manufacturing, business and business development, and other traditional methods of wealth creation and investments are not real and create a false sense of prosperity.

People, we are in big big trouble. Oh, and he must have been reading the speech because it was free from ehs, ahs, huhs, ems, and ers.

HEY HEY HO HO
ALTHOUSE TROLLS HAVE GOT TO GO
ALTHOUSE LOCAL 101

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

yea 200.

Wait.. I take back.. is this a revolution?

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