A clear example of politician-double-speak: when Obama says he isn't going to raise taxes on anymone making less than $250K, he's not telling you that the utility companies will jack your rates up to a European socialized-country level.
From Larry Kudlow at National Review:
"Study after study over the past several decades has shown how countries that spend more produce less, while nations that tax less produce more. Obama is doing it wrong on both counts.
"And as far as middle-class tax cuts are concerned, Obama’s cap-and-trade program will be a huge tax increase on all blue-collar workers, including unionized workers. Industrial production is plunging, and new carbon taxes will prevent production from ever recovering. While the country wants more fuel and power, cap-and-trade will deliver less."
I mean, when he imposes his "cap and trade" system on us, you think oil companies aren't going to pass this along to us? After all, he promised to "bankrupt" the coal industry, and by golly, he's going to do it.
Basically, this cap and trade system will require companies to buy credits if they exceed greenhouse gas limits. As Sara Goss points out in American Thinker, "companies don't absorb costs, they pass them on to the consumer." Utility bills will double, or even triple.
From the Shreveport Times:
To raise about $30 billion over 10 years to pay for other priorities, Obama wants to impose a new excise tax on offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, cut tax breaks and increase royalties.
Independent Petroleum Association of America President Barry Russell said Obama "delivered a devastating blow to the American oil and natural gas industry today."
"Ninety percent of the oil and natural gas wells developed in the United States are done by small, independent businesses — not so-called 'Big Oil' — so tax increases hurt these companies most," Russell said. "This budget hurts our ability to be competitive with other nations in the growing world energy marketplace."
Russell said the budget proposals, coupled with the administration's recent move to delay a five-year plan that would determine the sites of the next offshore lease sales, "is not welcome news, especially for the majority of Americans who favor increased American oil and natural gas production."
Off-shore drilling is a high-risk enterprise and to remove all incentive further increases the cost of production.
Obama wants us to resort more to "green energy" - I get that. But it's not in place yet. Start-up is expensive. It's not proven it works. If he wants to develop these things, fine, but why, especially during a recession, would you kill any more industry than we already have? Or deny and penalize a technology that we know works? I don't think he'll offer a bailout to the coal industry so they can buy their cap and trade permits.
We must have a reliable energy supply. Windmills aren't it. Energy producers get slammed in the new Obama budget proposal. The result will be "lower energy production or increased cost to the consumers."
As the wife of an engineer in the evil oil drilling biz, I appreciate your common sense approach to oil and gas drilling. Wait until the Gorebots realize there is no production of solar panels w/o oil and no way to run the wind machines w/o natural gas. How about production of the 'alternative' batteries? Idiots.
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteHow negative of you. Don't you realize you're negative? Jeez, with your attitude, nothing will ever get done in this country.
Just remember "Hope" and "Change" and "Yes We Can." That's the attitude we should have.
You don't need any substance, just a winning attitude.
Yes, we can go green and put up windmills, and they should go up near Washington D.C. There's enough air being blown around there to hit full production.
Also, Karen, don't know the Gorebots. Remember he invented the internet, so I'm sure he'll come up with some sort of solution.
So, please don't be a short-sighted conservative. Put your head in the clouds with us. After all, it's better than reality.
OK, this may be the last political comment I ever leave on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI haven't posted on a political comment in a long time. Actually, your pal Sarah made me stop with her tacky, mocking comment a few weeks ago. I saw your comment that you hope that other Anonymous wasn't a family member, so I'm making sure you know it's not me. I know it's not Nene, either. I haven't posted b/c it's the mocking comments from your pal Sarah and this "Not the Other Anonymous" that show me there's no point arguing the other side on this blog because every time we do we get bashed or ridiculed either by your other readers or in your Twitter (like the post saying liberals are just trying to make themselves feel superior or you don't understand why people read when they disagree--well, I disagree with most things I read here so yeah, I still check out the blog b/c you're my mom and I support your blog but I quit commenting b/c I just don't feel my comments are very welcome on here.).
This post from "Not the Other Anonymous" is the second immature, non-constructive comment I've seen from readers mocking the left's support of our new president. If empty arguments like that are considered valid arguments, there's just no point in me making any contributions here. That's why I've been silent. I just feel if you're not a Conservative and you put up any kind of debate on this blog, then you get flat-out made fun of. I liked the days when people actually debated on this blog. It helped me see the other side. But that just doesn't seem to happen that often anymore.
And I'm fully aware some of the Democrats who have commented on this blog are not very friendly, but I've also seen MY EXACT comments mocked almost word-for-word by people, like Sarah. And I see this "Not the Other Anonymous" doing the same thing. So when the readers on here, from both sides, want to engage in a real debate with valid points (b/c as much as I know you hate Anonymous, at least he/she is backing up his arguments--whether you agree with them or not) and not throw up comments that contribute nothing to the post other than making fun of the left, then maybe I'll contribute again. I want to be a part of this blog, but I can't do it when we are made fun of. There's a big difference between Anonymous saying you are confusing the issue and Sarah or this other person flat-out mocking the other point of view. I've seen that on here time and time again. So clearly, this isn't a place I feel welcome to contribute my thoughts because I don't think they are accepted. You kind of made that clear when you said, "Why do you read when you disagree with everything I say?" It just seems only Conservatives are welcome to make arguments.
I'm not responsible for what comments people leave on here - I mean, I could delete them but I've only done that once and that was when I got angry over being called ignorant. I probably should have let it stand. Maybe I am.
ReplyDeleteI got accused of censorship after that deletion, and he was right, so I haven't deleted anything else.
I'm all for debate and I miss the days of debate too, but my problem with Anon is that so far I've been called childish, ignorant, confused, immature, selfish, close-minded and lacking in common sense among other things. Personal attacks are not debates. I can't figure out why he reads if he thinks so little of my opinions. I mean, I hate the Daily Kos so ... I don't read it.
I understand you have to read "the other side" in order to be informed, to debate, to not be close-minded. Fine. And believe it or not, I do that. I may not always write about it, but I do.
Anon may be putting up fact in support of his point of view but it's lost in the 'oh you're so close-minded' and 'what an ignorant point-of-view' and 'how childish' comments he buries them in.
It just seems like all he reads this blog for is to attack me rather than to debate me which was the point I was trying to make. I quit responding to him for a while and I got drawn back in the other night. I shouldn't have.
I agree. Anonymous's arguments get overshadowed by the "you're delusional" comments. I completely agree comments like that aren't necessary, which is why I said both sides need to quit getting tacky. And I understand you can't control the comments people leave, but it's frustrating when you put up a "be nice" policy and that doesn't seem to apply to the Conservatives. I'm just explaining to you that it's not me hiding behind "Anonymous" and why I can't contribute here. It makes me insane to leave a comment and then come back to find mockery as a response. I've seen comment after comment on here criticizing liberals for empty arguments, but the conservatives are doing it, too, so it's just extremely frustrating.
ReplyDeleteLike I said, I read your blog every day and consider what you have to say; I just can't participate in the discussion. Plus, you and I disagree on pretty much every issue, which is fine. So usually I just don't see the point in commenting because nothing I say will change your mind.
I know it isn't you hiding behind Anonymous! If I thought it was I wouldn't have said my (catty) comment about I hope we aren't related.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay that we disagree, of course! I don't try to change your mind and the reason is because I know that you have studied your issues and made your choices based on your research. You're informed.
There are lots of people, and I'm not referring to anyone in particular, that are not informed but that just blather on 'talking points.'
My positions are derived from what I've seen over my lifetime, the conservative influences of my father, and my own beliefs and values.
The point is, and this came up when we were all debating on here during the election, there is a positive and respectful way to have discussion and even though it is difficult to not criticize the person when you are criticizing their opinion, it is the only way.
I was watching some of the Sunday talk shows this morning and of course they always pit two opposing sides against each other. Karl Rove was on one show with a woman I wasn't familiar with - Katrina somebody. You could see that he disagreed strongly with her on many issues and at one point he got a little snarky with her about not reading something before she criticized it. It was not effective. I felt myself lose a little interest in the discussion at that point.
Sort of like when Anon gets snarky with me, I have to quit reading the rest of his post.
Anyway, while we disagree on politics we DO agree on the fact that everybody just needs to be positive and respectful.
I could enable the comment moderation thing but that's just the same as deleting comments, isn't it?
Geez, i didn't realize my comments had taken on a life of their own!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, i mean NO disrespect in my comments to anyone on this blog. Similar to Nikki's comments, when i read this blog i consistently hear mocking comments of liberals, so i assume that i'm not offending anyone here with snarky or edgy comments about conservatives. I apologize if i've offended, that's never been the intention. I do, however, assume that if anyone is posting hardline opinions (either left or right), they should be ready and willing to have their opinions called-out, discussed, dissected, and criticized. That's debate, it's not personal.
We're all Americans, and in the end, we all love this country and desire its prosperity. We should ALL be able to agree upon that. Everything else is just policy debate. So, all comments should be viewed in that context.
That being said, Pat, i continue to read your blog on occasion because your posts are not JUST rants, they begin with factual conservative viewpoints, which i'm interested in hearing. I believe, they often devolve into simple Obama/liberal bashing, but assume that's just your visceral response to a story/policy. I assume, there's a deeper belief which you hold - THAT's what i debate.
I simply wish that everyone on this blog would give Obama an honest shot at fixing this mess. We can debate who caused this mess, but it CERTAINLY wasn't him. So, give him a chance at fixing OTHER people's mess before attempting to tear him down. I also wish, and this may be asking alot, that regular posters to this blog would be more honest in their opinion of Bush. I don't think that EVERYTHING we're experiencing is Bush's fault, but the absence of criticism of his policies over the past eight years seems disingenuous considering that one can read DAILY criticisms of Obama's policies before they've even been implemented. Feel free to blame our current condition on Pelosi and Frank (both of whom i don't care for), but they've only been around for 2 of the last 8 years. Prior to that, we had 6 years of Republican control of congress and 8 years of conservative executive control. So whom should we be critiquing right now? Obama, or the policies which have led us here? If nothing else, we have living proof that SOME of Bush's policies were failures. Obama's policies, we have to wait and see.