Our president is the head of state of the United States of America
Not some war lord!!
Big difference, our president is the head of state of a great nation of 300 million free people.
Not the narrow limited head of a military.
Geez, when did we become a nation with our head of state a "war lord"??????
Ariel -- Cost Education
So you are exposing the fact that salaries increased more than inflation. Wow. I hope you go to your employer first thing Monday and review your salary to make sure it never changes more than inflation. Obviously that would be very unfair if it did.
Of course it increased more than inflation! it would not be a raise if it did not. So you are exposing that they got a raise of less than 2% after inflation?
Precision
Terrence,
I am an editor at The News, and sometimes a journalism instructor at MSU (as well as one of the people who is helping to maintain your blog). Just wanted to make a quick point on precision.
Fannie and Freddie buy loans that lenders make. They don't make the loans themselves, and they only buy relatively safe ones. As I understand it, they did relax their standards some over the last few years, but they still had much higher standards than many (most?) of the predatory mortgage lenders, and Congress allowed them to relax those standards in the hopes that banks would give less affluent homeowners with stable finances the chance to own a home.
Your point about predatory lending is good, but saying that Fannie and Freddie were the predators is not accurate. Fannie and Freddie didn't buy the worst of the loans made by predatory lenders, and they weren't selling mortgages themselves. For people who know, this imprecise description of the problem throws the whole post into doubt, and for people who don't, it misinforms. Even in small opinion posts, you should aim to be precise and accurate in your statements. That is part of the value that journalists still need to bring to public discourse, even in blogs.
Jonathan Morgan
VP debate
Terrence,
Please look at McCains full voting record, he was for deregulation, S190 that McCain claims was his, is totally false. McCain didn't come on board till a full year after it was introduced and it was pretty much dead by than. It not did provide the oversight needed on Freddie and Fannie it really only set up a new board to privatize it.
The problem was not just with Freddie and Fannie, it was with the deregulation and the speculation done on the part of such entities of Countrywide, Leyman and even Sachs.
McCain is a deregulation guy all the way. I have not saved a penny on my phone or electric bills since all this deregulation occured, in fact its worse and the service has declined tremendously.
Bad Disney Movie?
Who did Palin have put in jail in Alaska, there was and still is a Federal Investigation on Vesco and bribes to politicians. Palin didn't have anything to do with that.
Bad Disney Movie?
That's great. Let's make urgent political decisions with the same mockery and disrespect that we see all over the television. Don't actually think about anything. Just pretend your clever and insult the other side.
I know one thing. Governor Palin had dishonest Republicans and Democrats put in jail for cheating the people. Barack Obama rolled over 100% of the time for the Daley Political Machine in Chicago. He could not wait to jump into bed with William Ayers and Tony Rezko and all of the others.
The election
I get it. We are having an economic downturn so let's all burden our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren with a trillion dollar "rescue" (that's today's name for it, I guess bailout was too accurate) and oh, let's say enough of this democracy stuff, let's vote for an ultra-liberal leftist with strong Marxist roots whose brownshirts roughed up Hillary's supporters during the caucuses. That'll solve America's problems alright.
Criticism
Terrence,
There has been plenty of criticism on Biden but that doesn't make Palin better.
The reason she is had a high popularity rating in Alaska is simple, she implemenated a windfall profits tax on the oil companies which gave each citizen in the state $3200. They pay more for their gas and home heating fuel there than we do. Now tell me, if we implementated that to the rest of the 49 states Bush would be the most popular President ever too.
Don't forget, McCain laughed when Ron Paul talked how we were headed for a financial crises, laughed. He was still repeating just 2weeks ago, the economy is strong. Yeah for a man living on his SS, his salary as a Senator with a great health plan, his wifes fortune what does he have to worry about?
Children in Politics
Emily - Geez, Emily, you're bitter about your parents letting you put a Bob Dole sticker on your wagon? You've got to be kidding, right? As a child whose entire well-being is the responsibility of your parents, you better believe that while you live under their protection, support, and roof, you belong to whatever political party they belong to. Only in America can an "adult" who still lives off the benevolence of her parents, as I believe you still do, lay claim to any political ideology. Until you really start playing the game, i.e. work every day, pay taxes and have sole responsibility for at least yourself, you have no standing to make up the rules. Beyond that, you seriously hold a grudge against the people that gave you everything you have in life, including, I'll bet, all or a good portion of the expensive education you are receiving at State, because you think they used you???? All I can say is you really have an over-inflated sense of self-worth and an underdeveloped sense of gratitude.
Hey Slimchance,
I definitely didn't mean to give the impression that I was ungrateful or snobbish- and won't lie to you, I'm financially dependent on my Grandparents for the education I'm recieving. I'm not sure that invalidates my viewpoints. I guess we're both thinking that kids don't have a place in politics- you're just including me in that subset since I'm not a fully independent and contributing member of society. I do (and have) worked one or sometimes two jobs for the last three or four years, so even though I get most taxes back, I should at least have a say in Social Security :). But I think I throw myself in a different category than small children because, albeit my lack of total independence, I do make an effort to be informed. I'm the kind of news addict that schedules vacations around Newsweek's double issues, and has the NPR widget on her computer. Promise.
But I definitely see where you're coming from- my parents paid for that computer. However, there isn't any grudge-holding, my parents and I have an awesome relationship, are all independent voters that like to discuss politics even when we differ, and still own the stickered wagon. Have a good one, and thanks for commenting!
re: Religion and Politics
Jessica Ceh wrote in part "Of course Obama and McCain's different views on such touchy subjects like abortion and stem-cell research will affect who is going to vote for them, but how much so?�"
Ms Ceh. Senator Obama and Senator McCain's position on Embryonic stem cell research are nearly identical.
Senator McCain supports Embryonic stem cell research, in opposition to the GOP platform.
Senator Obama is running a misleading ad on this subject in Michigan and to date has not pulled the ad
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"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it nothing can succeed."
A. Lincoln
Russia
I think Obama is doing a good job of taking advantage of the question about Russia and Georgia here to assert his authority on foreign affairs. He presents a strong opinion on an issue that many Americans have seen as his weakness. On the other hand, McCain also takes advantage by leading off his statement by describing Obama as "naive" and "inexperienced." It will be interesting to see who viewers perceive to have come out on top of this issue after the debate is over.
re: Women should exercise their right to vote
Lauren Wood wrote in part "All you women out there- make sure to vote on November 4th. Make the suffragettes proud."
I would encourage all eligible voters to go one step farther..do some real research and become educated voters.
Beware of campaign ads, blogs, and look at candidates voting records, proposals, etc...
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""There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law."
A.Lincoln
re: We're Swingers
Emily Lawler wrote in part "guess I don't understand how Michigan got so Purple. The economy is screwed up, but McCain professes a lack of economic knowledge, and Republican tax structure doesn't exactly benefit the blue-collar type jobs that are being eliminated. So I'm not sure why the economy would turn Michigan purple."
Ms Lawler..Its fine to be a Obama Supporter, but please try to educate yourself on the subjects beyond the talking points.
For example..what is the real relationship between tax structure and "blue collar job creation"? A recent example may be found in the revision to the state tax code to encourage the movie industry to film in Michigan. Do you think taxes were increased, or decreased, to provide incentive for film makers?
On a related note..the net effect of "Bush's tax cuts for the rich" is that the "rich" (upper 1%) pay more in Federal income taxes, and in % of the total federal income tax then they did before the tax cut was passed (2000)
If you care to see the data, review my political blog comments from yesterday. The data debunks the urban legend that the rich are paying less.
Senator Obama has less economic related experience than Senator McCain. Senator McCain is confident enough to admit that he's not a expert in everything.
Support the candidate of your choice, but keep digging deeper than the campaign ads, hype, and spin. A good journalist should be striving for facts and accuracy.(imo)
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It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.
Thomas Jefferson
re: The Candidates and the Financial Crisis
Mallory McKnight wrote in part "The failure of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae closely followed by the stock market crash early last week will have huge effects on the economy for a long time after the dust has settled."
One small point of clarification. As you know the stock ended the week with a modest decline, not a crash. It was a bumpy ride in the market, but due to the Feds bailout of AIG, it recovered most of its losses
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To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
Thomas Jefferson
re: Did He
Alish Green wrote in part "Did McCain admit that the Iraq war was about oil?"
Ms Green..Oil was a key factor in Gulf War I. Google a bit of history (you were a infant at the time), Saddam was in a position to assume control a significant part of the world oil supplies
Gulf War II was less about oil, but it is factor. Gulf War II was more about Saddam's non compliance with the cease fire after Gulf War I than securing energy supply for the world (the EU gets more if its oil from the region than the US)
The dirty little secret is that the world needs oil to maintain its standard of living..period. When that supply is threatened, the world will react.
Look around the world..why does the world care about the political situation in the Middle east and not the atrocities in Sudan? Why does the world react to Russia invading Georgia, but no news of the unrest in Kenya? The answer is very simple.
Senator McCain has a serious energy plan that includes non PC elements (ie Nuclear power). Senator Obama's plan will not result in energy independence as it leaves viable alternatives off the table.
Carefully edited sound bites on from a talking head with a admitted bias towards Senator Obama are not a good basis for evaluating candidates (imo)positions.http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1969764/posts
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I never learned from a man who agreed with me.
Robert A. Heinlein
Thank you for your comment.
Actually, I agree with you.
I definitely agree that a sound bite from a biased talking head is not a good basis for evaluating a candidate. I think the clip is interesting because McCain usually supports the Iraq war on the reasoning of defeating terrorism. It was interesting to finally hear him (indirectly) say that oil was a factor.
I am curious as to which energy alternatives you feel Obama has left off the table. Obama is not against nuclear power, but he does want to make it safer: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/19/fact-check-is-obama-against-nuclear-power/
In comparing Obama and McCain's energy plans, I feel that Obama's plan is the one that can shatter the sad truth of the dirty little oil secret (though I'm not sure it's so secret) and bring us into energy independence.
-Alisha Green
