Spoken like a true liberal

Good article by Ms. Parker. She's right. You don't get balance by pandering to your extreme political base, whether it be liberal or conservative. The most partisan and routinely divisive comments and viewpoints regularly come from "conservative" sources, here and just about everywhere, however.
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I think it's important to note that there is very little middle ground on core issues, from taxes to abortion. I don't hold out much hope that a sane dialogue will ever be achieved.

We have seen what the Harvard / Ivy League educated elitists have done. The have wrecked our nation.

I am ready to elect plain old ordinary folks with common sense and a real purpose.

Then we need to get rid of those wackos in our media like Chris Mathews. He's a joke not worth his pay.

Just ask Obama how many states he is in charge of? Just goes to show both sides are equally ignorant!

jaf2....oh no you didn't?! I can't wait for the next family reunion... <smirk>

Ezoner: I couldn't agree more. When Mr. Harvard grad Community Organizer needs to figure out how to create jobs & jump start the economy, being he can't quite figure it out on his own - which is really surprising being he's so educated, what's he do? Think back to all that useful stuff he was "taught" at his Ivy League school - No, he calls two college dropouts Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates for advice.

Dems are so stupid... book smarts does not equate to common sense and management ---- keep analysing those theories...... you can make an equation say what ever you want.... even the Titanic sank .....

FDR, 1936:
"It was natural and perhaps human that the privileged princes of these new economic dynasties, thirsting for power, reached out for control over government itself."
"Throughout the nation, opportunity was limited by monopoly. Individual initiative was crushed in the cogs of a great machine. The field open for free business was more and more restricted. Private enterprise, indeed, became too private. It became privileged enterprise, not free enterprise."
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Me, today: The problems of this country are systemic and run very deep. We keep trying to find quick fixes and scapegoats when only a long-term, system-wide solution will fix it, and not just continue to kick the can down the road. Monopolies are limiting the ability of small businesses, global competition is changing the wage base, climate change is wreaking havoc and costing money and lives, and the list goes on. We need a new "New Deal" of some sort to attack all these issues at once or things will keep deteriorating.

Seems to me if all you Democrats were so smart you would have built your own safety nets and done more intelligent things with your money, and not have to beg the "stupid" rich people for theirs. Take your smarts to the poor house. We care less and less.

factsplease: Where do you suppose this disposable income comes from - welfare checks?
Suppose your business flourishes this year and all these people show up to you with fists full of cash ready to spend on your incredible product (whatever it may be) you and your staff are so overworked you determine you need to hire more help - business is booming BUT you just jumped into a higher tax bracket and every time you turn around there is a new regulation (which also costs you money both directly & indirectly) You crunch the numbers and determine that with the higher taxes, additional Unemployment Comp, Insurance, overhead etc.(not to mention Obama care that nobody can give a straight answer as to what will cost employers) that you will make just about exactly the same margins with x number of additional employees as you currently have I ask you this: Will YOU hire more employees and take the risk of loosing everything or will you stockpile some away for when you might need it later and ride out this economy. If your honest its the later - your in business to make money NOT be a job provider & shuffle cash around.

Is that a rhetorical question you started with? If not - YES - they are stupid. For example, going from city to city to discuss the need for his Path To Prosperity a certain guy in congress continues to enjoy a life that most working people can only dream about. His net worth is around 2.4 million which is not bad for having a base salary of $174,000 PlUS per year. It would be nice to see this guy to meet with local educators since he did vote yes on prohibiting job discrimination.

"I am confused by people answering Diogenes when I don't see any posts here by Diogenes...were they completely removed (as opposed to Sarah's just showing they were removed)?"--JoyM 9/19@ 10:19am

There have been several similar trolls on this site that have had the same thing happen. There are a couple of them here as of now. They are most likely on the payroll of an organisation like "Americans For Prosperity" or some other corporate owned front.

This is going on across the country, it is an attempt to influence opinion through this radical trolling. It does indeed attract some followers, including the simple-minded, the neer-do-wells, and those who are looking for scapegoats for whatever social problem they are personally experiencing.

This is an attempt by the corporate rich and the ultra wealthy to influence public opinion, to pit working class Americans against their own kind, to divide and conquer. It works, the dumbing down of Americans that has taken place has made it easier. These types of movements often attract the dregs of society, the stupid, and the disaffected elements of society. Unfortunately, this plays well for the two party political system that the USA is afflicted with.

factsplease:
Yes, your comment is very much accurate. All you need to do is look at any fortune 500 companies balance sheet. Most all are showing RECORD profits, quarter after quarter. NOT because you have a flourishing economy-demand for their product, but because $$$$ is being funneled to them in MASS via fed policy. What you have right now, is trickle down economics, to the HIGHEST degree ever seen. The fed is POURING $$$$ into the system ($$$ that they create from thin air) and it simply finds it's way on corporate balance sheets, and they simply HOARD the free $$$. This should not be a hard concept to understand, but it apparently is for many.

Couldn't have happened to better guy. He was on for a whole month and isuspect will return In a new name. He does't get paid if he doesn't blog. Even the Koch brothers have employee standards.

I am tired of both party's, one is far right and the other far right light. Are there no Franklin Roosevelt type leaders left who think about the common man instead of their corporate masters, or is it Foxes phonies and spineless corporate yes men from now on? We need leaders who are thinking of the people first.We also need term limits. No one needs to be a life time office holder that just leads to gridlock. I say two terms and then you have to get a real job. Then maybe, just maybe, we get some real reform done.

I am confused by people answering Diogenes when I don't see any posts here by Diogenes...were they completely removed (as opposed to Sarah's just showing they were removed)?

Kathleen is right. A balance of government and individualism works best. Can't have extremes, and righties want things so laissez faire, they don't realize how expensive it is. The two wars we are/were in were so expensive because the military isn't feeding itself, but paying private, expensive businesses to do so at a much higher cost.
I'm a Liberal, and KNOW government can't solve all problems, as well as the private sector.

"but we NEED people of wealth and pools of capital to create jobs and economic activity."
THIS IS NOT TRUE! As a business owner, I NEED my customers (who are not billionaires) to have disposable income to SPEND! This "job creator" myth has got to STOP!!! The wealthy have been stockpiling their money for years, allowing them to stockpile even more money DOES NOT CREATE JOBS!!!! DEMAND for goods and services CREATES JOBS!!! Paul Ryan needs to figure this out. What would open the GM plant??? Tax breaks for the wealthy??? NO!!! DEMAND for more and more GM cars...and I promise, that demand will not come from the so-called "job creators"!

The real story is how the "front runners" just suddenly emerge, and now low and behold, it's a two man race (almost a one man race the way Fox..The GOP headquarters is acting), and the media covers NO OTHERS. Perry was the hand picked man by the GOP hierarchy. I called him to be the nominee months ago, before he even declared his entrance. I have not checked, but does anyone know if Perry was a member of Skull and Bones (Bush was of course a member), or the Illuminati? That would come as no surprise. These guys just don't "suddenly" become the front runner by mere chance! This has all been planned out well in advance.

Diogenes, anyone who actually watches Jon Stewart, presumably not including you, knows that he "skewers" the left as much as the right. I guess you're spending too much time in that barrel.

I like Parker's columns as she is one of the few members of the press who is pretty balanced. Now, if we could only find some political candidates who are more centrist and balanced. Poll after poll shows that the populace in this country is "center right" politically. We know we need government, but only for limited things, not to rule our lives. We need to encourage individual responsibility, not government reliance. All tax payers (regardless of income level) need to pay a fair share, but we NEED people of wealth and pools of capital to create jobs and economic activity. Seems pretty simple. Both political parties need to stop vilifying each other and get out of the way!

" Bush first initiated the stimulus loan to Solynra"
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LOL, yet no money was loaned during that time.

Dio...are you aware that George Bush first initiated the stimulus loan to Solynra.Obama completed it, a little too hasty IMO. I guess this "scandal" is about even with Bush and Cheyney's WMD's. Another thing...it is not a regime, it is called an Administration. President Obama is not a dunce, he is a Constitutional law professor. Why is it that Rush, Hannity and yourself (with no originality, I might add) refer to the President as the Anointed One. Are you afraid of something? If you are a Christian, like the two afore mentioned hypocrits above, seems to me that smacks of blasphemy. As far a being a pathectic loser...look in the mirror. When accusing the President of the United States of being corrupt please provide examples. I believe if that were the true there would be an investigation, which there is not, and the Republicans would be having an orgasm over it, so I think your the one talking BS. I am not pleased with President Obama at all but I respect the office he holds. I just wish he would get a spine.

Could we also have a story that will feature PAUL RYAN explaining to ALL of us in Janesville & the U.S. his "CLASS WARFARE" with millionaire tax plan comment to the hard working middle class people of the U.S. Shame on Paul Ryan for being more concerned about the rich wealthy people than most other people. The wealthy need to pay the same rate as the middle income taxpayer.

Regarding Gov. Rick Perry bragging about being in the TOP TEN of his graduating class. That is nothing because we have a governor that is a college dropout. Sure would be nice to have a story on the real circumstances he left Marquette and the student presidential election that he lost at Marquette & what happened according to the Marquette Tribune newspaper with the election - the facts are - lets just say - murky.

it helps that they are perfectly comfortable lying also.