Friday Digest
Joe Was the Only One Laughing
"If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet." --Proverbs 29:9
Joker Joe thought the whole night was hilariousConventional wisdom says that vice presidential debates don't move the needle in elections, and last night's debate was probably no exception. That said, Thursday night's debate couldn't have contrasted two more different candidates. Paul Ryan, the respectful, serious and earnest policy wonk, against Joe Biden, who behaved like a drunken clown and a jerk and paid due homage to the mascot of the Democrat Party -- the Jackass.
On substance, Ryan held his own against Vice President Chuckles, despite having to face a second debate opponent in "moderator" Martha Raddatz of ABC News. Yet on style, whether the subject was the terrorist attack on our Libyan embassy, the ailing economy or abortion, Biden smiled, laughed, sneered, rolled his eyes and strategically interrupted Ryan every time the congressman hit his stride on an answer. And if it wasn't Biden interrupting, it was Raddatz.
Biden is obviously a disciple of Saul Alinksy, who in his "Rules for Radicals," Rule No. 5, said, "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counterattack ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, who then react to your advantage." Clearly, the Obama team decided that the president's failure last week was that he was "too polite," and that Biden had to use ridicule to shore up their anxious base. The result was appalling, but then again, Biden has been rehearsing his socialist obfuscation and diversion in Washington for 40 years.
With that, here are a few high- and lowlights.
Libya: Biden blamed the intelligence community for the ever-changing story coming from the White House, and flat out lied when he claimed ignorance as a defense. "[W]e weren't told they wanted more security" at the embassy, he said.. But the bottom line is that the whole episode is, as Ryan responded, "indicative of a broader problem," and we're witnessing "the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy."
Iran: Biden made the ridiculous assertion that even though Iran has spent the last four years further developing fissile material for a nuclear weapon, "they have to be able to have something to put it in. There is no weapon that the Iranians have at this point." Well, building a bomb to "put it in" is the easy part. When the argument shifted to how the ayatollah sees it, Biden argued that the administration's "most crippling sanctions in the history of sanctions, period," have the Iranians looking at an "economy being crippled ... the currency going into the tank ... [and] the economy going into free fall." We wondered if he meant the Iran economy or the U.S. economy. Maybe the administration should ease up on sanctions here at home.
Economy: We have to give Raddatz props for asking Biden why White House projections of unemployment under 6 percent were so wrong, but Biden immediately defaulted to blaming Bush. He then berated Mitt Romney for wanting to "let Detroit go bankrupt," in contrast to the administration, which "rescued General Motors." What he neglected to mention was that Detroit did go bankrupt -- the White House just made sure the unions came out okay.
Biden then proceeded to the usual leftist class warfare, accusing Republicans of holding the middle class "hostage" to tax cuts "for the super wealthy." Yet tax policy should be about growth, not "fair shares" and "economic patriotism," as Barack Obama put it last week. As Ryan noted, "The economy is barely limping along. It's growing at 1.3 percent. That's slower than it grew last year and last year was slower than the year before." The Romney/Ryan tax cut plan -- a 20 percent cut across the board with reforms to deductions and credits -- is first and foremost a pro-growth plan. The so-called "cost" of cutting those taxes will be more than offset by economic growth. Ryan tried to note despite rude interruption that John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan did the same thing with great success, contrary to the leftist assertion that we "can't afford" it and that the Bush-era tax cuts caused the current deficits.
As for unemployment, the real (U-6) rate, which includes those who are underemployed and those who have become discouraged and simply given up looking for work, is reported as 14.7 percent but, as with U-3, is probably much higher. In addition, the real unemployed and underemployed ranks of Americans have swollen to more than 20 million, households considered impoverished have grown to one in six, and there are 47 million food stamp recipients -- up 50 percent since Obama's election. Obama has also amassed $5 trillion in new debt, and our national debt now totals $16 trillion, which for the first time in history now exceeds U.S. annual economic output. Finally, median household income has declined by $4,520 (8.2 percent) since Obama took office (that's the real "Obama tax"), energy prices have doubled because of Obama restrictions, and economic growth has slowed to an anemic 1.3 percent.
Biden made hay of Romney's statement about 47 percent not paying federal income taxes, but that created an opening for Ryan's best zinger of the night: "I think the vice president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way."
Medicare and Social Security: Ryan hit the most critical point, saying, "Medicare and Social Security are going bankrupt. These are indisputable facts." He noted that Democrats "got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, turning Medicare into a piggybank for ObamaCare," taking $716 billion from future Medicare outlays to make ObamaCare look less expensive, but in essence trying to spend the same dollar twice. Biden countered with the same lie about Ryan's "voucher" plan supposedly costing seniors $6,400 a year when it does nothing of the sort. Biden's real assertion is the same old canard that markets and competition don't work, only government does.
Taxes: This was largely covered under the economy section, but it was at this point that Ryan really nailed it: "[W]e think that government taking 28 percent of a family and business's income is enough. President Obama thinks that the government ought to be able to take as much as 44.8 percent of a small business's income." And, given that "[e]ight out of 10 businesses file their taxes as individuals, not as corporations," this is key.
Afghanistan: Ryan took issue with Obama's withdrawal deadline because "we don't want to lose the gains we've gotten. We want to make sure that the Taliban does not come back in and give al-Qa'ida a safe haven." That's exactly what's beginning to happen under the current commander in chief. Biden's reply was essentially that deadlines are good for cooperation. And, he noted, "I've been throughout that whole country, mostly in a helicopter, and sometimes in a vehicle." Well then, that settles it!
Religion and abortion: This is not the top issue for most voters, but the candidates' answers certainly were a window into their philosophies. While both men are Catholic, only one of them expressed genuine faith. Ryan noted that "reason and science" go hand in hand with his faith, saying that, when they saw the "seven-week ultrasound for our firstborn child, and we saw the heartbeat," it confirmed to him that "life begins at conception." Biden agreed, "Life begins at conception in the church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life." And yet somehow, in public policy, he's determined to protect not that innocent life but a woman's right to "control [her] body." His faith teaches that abortion is murder, yet he thinks it should be legal and funded by the federal government. The contradiction was stunning.
Biden also played fast and loose with verb tenses in claiming that Catholic institutions don't have to pay for contraception, per the ObamaCare mandate. They will next year. And Ryan responded with a simple question: If the administration is so great on religious liberty, "Why would they keep suing you?"
In closing: Biden struck the pose of the used-car salesman trying to make a deal with a sucker: "Who you gonna trust, me or your lyin' eyes?" Ryan contrasted the two approaches, listing all of Obama's unkept promises, and saying, "The choice is clear: a stagnant economy that promotes more government dependency or a dynamic, growing economy that promotes opportunity and jobs. ... [W]e will not try to replace our founding principles. We will reapply our founding principles." That would indeed be an excellent place to start.
Quote of the Week
"On nearly every specific issue on which Mr. Biden attacked, he was demonstrably wrong. The Administration's Medicare actuary really does say that 15% of hospitals will take on operating deficits as a result of ObamaCare's cuts in payments to Medicare providers. The American Enterprise Institute study doesn't say that Mr. Romney's plan will raise taxes on the middle class, and Mr. Ryan's Medicare plan doesn't raise costs for seniors by $6,400. Mr. Biden never even tried to offer a second-term agenda. But this 90 minutes wasn't about an exchange of ideas or a debate over policies. It was a Democratic show of contempt for the opposition, an attempt to claim by repetitive assertion that Messrs. Ryan and Romney are radicals who want to destroy 'the middle class.' Mr. Ryan's cool under assault was a visual rebuttal of that claim, and we certainly know who looked more presidential." --The Wall Street Journal
On Cross-Examination
"A team of 19 Heritage [Foundation] experts cut through the malarkey and focused on [the] substance" of last night's debate. Read their outstanding analysis.
Open Query
"Vice President Biden is laughing. Are you?" --Republican National Committee ad
Government and Politics
Campaign Trail: Obama's Money Machine
A scandal is brewing over potential campaign-finance violations by the Obama campaign, but it's not getting much press coverage. A new report by the Government Accountability Institute (GAI) notes that the Obama campaign has extraordinarily lax online security that leaves it open to receiving foreign and fraudulent donations. The 108-page study points out that the official Obama campaign website requires a credit card security code to purchase merchandise but not to make a contribution. It also doesn't have a strong address verification system, which, like the security code, is a standard tool used in e-commerce.
The Federal Election Commission doesn't require candidates to maintain basic credit card security procedures for online transactions, nor does it require recipients to record and track donations under $200. The problem here is that without proper security protocols in place, there is no way to determine if candidates are accepting foreign donations, which is illegal. But one might easily believe that the Obama campaign deliberately shirked these online security protocols in order to accept illegal foreign donations.
For 10 months during this election cycle, the campaign's official website, BarackObama.com, received visitors redirected from a privately owned site, Obama.com. The latter URL was purchased in 2008 by businessman and Obama supporter Robert Roche, a China-based U.S. citizen with strong ties to several state-controlled financial institutions. The lax security procedures at BarackObama.com meant there was no way of knowing if any of the 68 percent of the foreign visitors to the Roche-owned site made illegal contributions to the president's campaign. But we do know that Obama has raised over $270 million in contributions under $200. And we also know that in his 2008 campaign Obama raised $335 million in contributions under $200 with a similar open-door contribution policy and overall lack of transparency.
Hope 'n' Change: Obama Campaign Pulls Down Offensive Flags
As noted in Mark Alexander's column, The ObamaNation Plantation, the Obama campaign store contained crudely painted American flags with the Obama seal taking the place of the stars. Called the "Our Stripes" collection, it now appears to have been pulled from the store. The links no longer work and we've been unable to locate the art on their site. Draw your own conclusions.
News From the Swamp: Senators Meet to Avoid Fiscal Cliff
A group of eight senators met this week to try to carve out a deal to prevent the country from going over a fiscal cliff that will hit taxpayers with a massively larger bill come January. The three-day meeting included four Republicans -- Saxby Chambliss (GA), Mike Crapo (ID), Tom Coburn (OK), Mike Johanns (NE) -- and four Democrats -- Michael Bennet (CO), Kent Conrad (ND), Dick Durbin (IL), Mark Warner (VA). Also in attendance was Alan Simpson, co-chair of the 2010 Simpson-Bowles debt reduction commission.
The three-day gathering was the latest in a series of failed attempts to come up with a workable plan to tackle the mounting federal debt, and the attendees aimed to come up with a framework for broader debate once the Senate reconvenes after the election. No details of the framework have emerged, but Washington's track record on the issue doesn't offer high hopes. Obama helped craft the Simpson-Bowles commission himself only to later reject the commission's findings. Since then Congress has repeatedly failed to devise a plan on which Republicans and Democrats can agree. If Congress does nothing, the ruinous tax increase will likely push the economy over a cliff and back into recession.
Another Voter ID Law Upheld, if Delayed
A three-judge panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, upheld South Carolina's voter ID law this week, the second defeat for proponents of voter fraud in as many weeks. Last week, Pennsylvania's law was upheld. The headlines for both rulings, however, blared that judges had "blocked" the laws. In reality, the judges acknowledged that the rulings were too close to the election to be reasonably enforced by then, and so deferred enforcement until next year. In neither case did the judges find fault with the laws themselves. The only victory the Obama Justice Department can claim in challenging these laws is that they successfully delayed them until after Barack Obama's re-election opportunity.
Voter fraud came into play again this week when Obama supporters were caught on camera offering aid to investigators pretending to be seeking to vote for Obama more than once. No wonder Democrats object to the supposedly "racist" hindrance of having to present a photo ID at the polls before voting.
Economy
Income Redistribution: Food Stamps Hit Another Peak
Lost in the hoopla about a deceptive employment report released last Friday was a cruel reminder that our economic recovery is far from complete -- the number of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients hit a record 46.68 million in July. Yes, one out of every seven Americans receives government help to buy food, at a monthly cost exceeding $6 billion. But hey, Obama cares.
While the USDA summary blamed the jump on weather-related issues in some parts of the country, the depressing fact is that the number of recipients has exceeded 46 million every month since last September, meaning that ever more people grow ever more dependent upon governmental assistance every day because their long-term employment prospects are bleak.
Few know more about lengthy stays on the unemployment line than the typical construction worker. Since construction employment peaked at 7.7 million in April 2006, the industry has shed more than two million jobs, with over one million of them during Obama's term alone. This despite the $833 billion "stimulus" that promised "shovel-ready" projects to recover 400,000 of those jobs.
Instead, we've seen more and more once-proud workers forced onto food stamp rolls by the sheer necessity of needing to somehow feed a family. All Democrats seem to have stimulated is the caseload of thousands of government employees needed to continue refilling those electronic benefit transfer cards, month after agonizing month.
Picking -- and Creating -- the Losers
The $90 billion in "stimulus" debt spent on green energy was intended to jumpstart an industry the Obama administration wagered would be the wave of the future. But they failed to take a key aspect of the energy industry into account, as natural gas prices plunged thanks to new technology for extraction. That drop in natural gas prices has eased demand for coal, but Barack Obama's pledge to make electricity more expensive is assisted by regulations that might force the closing of coal-fired plants accounting for a quarter of coal's power production share. A study by energy industry experts calculated that utilities would need between $126 and $144 billion to retrofit and replace all that coal capacity.
The government won't help utilities invest in fossil fuels, but they're only too happy to support those who waste government subsidies with impunity. After the well-publicized failures of Solyndra, Ener1, and other "green energy" companies, two more companies are on the ropes after receiving millions. Abound Solar, recipient of $68 million (of about $370 million promised), filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. That's hardly news except that Abound has also skipped out on nearly $2 million in unpaid property taxes and sold a product described as "working well unless the sun hit it." Abound's panels have an annoying tendency to underperform or even catch fire if the sun hits them.
In another success story, the future battery maker for the Chevy Volt has placed its employees on rotating furloughs due to a lack of demand. Compact Power, whose plant was built with $150 million in federal funds, hasn't yet made a single battery for the Volt or a planned electric Ford Focus. But the lack of Volt sales has created a ripple effect at the Michigan plant that's supposed to begin producing the batteries for it next year. The Volt's batteries are currently made by a plant in South Korea, hardly a hotbed of American jobs.
Security
Department of Military Readiness: Romney's Foreign Policy Foray
Barack Obama's foreign policy took a solid flogging this week at the hands of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, just in time for his senior accomplice, vice president Joe Biden, to defend it against vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan in round two of the debates. Romney pointed out the long trail of foreign policy missteps and humiliations inflicted by Team Hope 'n' Change. Among them: the blatant snubbing of our otherwise-close ally, Israel; the grave threat of allowing Iran's nuclear ambitions to continue to develop; the stiff finger we gave to the millions who filled the streets of Iran in 2009 demanding freedom from an oppressive government; the dramatic cuts in our defense, leaving the U.S. in a weaker position to defend its vital interests abroad; and, most recently, the passive stance on the terrorist attacks on our embassies in the Middle East, culminating in deaths of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador in Libya. While Obamaphiles drag the same tattered suit out of the closet, repeating, "The tide of war is receding," the rest of the planet realizes the tide is not receding -- it's regrouping.
Romney apparently "gets" the threat from that tide, noting the substantial difference between administrations of the past and this one. Highlighting the critical role leadership plays in foreign affairs, Romney stated, "It is the responsibility of our president to use America's great power to shape history -- not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events." Driving the point home, Romney said, "I know the president hopes for a safer, freer and a more prosperous Middle East allied with the United States. I share this hope. But hope is not a strategy." Likewise, while killing Osama bin Laden was a credit-worthy achievement, it, too, doesn't amount to a coherent foreign policy. The threat from al-Qa'ida remains. Nor does a "run-for-the-exits" political move amount to a strategy.
How does Governor Romney propose to undo this mess? Simple: Leadership. Specifically, Romney outlined key pieces of his foreign policy that differed from the status quo. These include beefing up defense so that our words can be "backed up by deeds"; putting rogue nations like Iran on notice that the days of attempting to acquire "the bomb" are over through more stringent sanctions and, if necessary, actions; reaffirming ties with Israel and other Gulf "partners" by employing the old Arabian adage, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"; reforming foreign assistance to bolster freedom, free enterprise and rule-of-law governance among nations we help; and championing free trade as a strategic tool of freedom, generally. Regarding this last point, Romney noted that Obama hasn't signed a single new free-trade agreement during his tenure.
At least the military appreciates Romney's straight-shooting approach. In a recent poll by the Military Times, former and current U.S. military personnel favor Romney over Obama by more than two-to-one, with character and economy handily besting other considerations, including national security, as factors. While we are not so naïve to presume that foreign policy is the pivotal issue in this election -- either for former or current military members or for the rest of America -- it's certainly at least one among many important reasons why the Dear Leader must be ousted in November. No less than the fate of the nation hangs in the balance.
Warfront With Jihadistan: Changing the Tune Yet Again
Since the attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Tunisia on and around the anniversary of 9/11, we have chronicled the ever-changing story of the Obama administration. This week, the State Department claimed that it was "not our conclusion" that the protest and ensuing murders in Benghazi were caused by the anti-Islam movie trailer on YouTube. Yet White House officials, including Barack Obama himself in his shameful UN speech and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, repeatedly blamed the violence on the video. Now State wants us to believe that they never believed what they continued to say.
Not only didn't they believe their own spin, but the State Department also now says there wasn't a protest at all. The murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens, two former Navy SEALs and another security officer was simply the deliberate work of al-Qa'ida terrorists. This is finally a credible story, but why did it take a month for them to admit it?
In related news, Obama bragged while on the campaign trail of his foreign-policy promises kept. "Now, four years ago, I made a few commitments to you," said Obama. "I told you I'd end the war in Iraq, and I did. I said I'd end the war in Afghanistan, and we are. I said we'd refocus on the people who actually attacked us on 9/11 -- and today, al-Qa'ida is on its heels and Osama bin Laden is no more."
His claims are full of holes. If al-Qa'ida successfully executed an attack on our embassies on the anniversary of their most successful terrorist attack, how exactly are they "on their heels"? They also killed a security official at the embassy in Yemen Thursday.
Furthermore, reports the Associated Press, "Al-Qaida is rebuilding in Iraq and has set up training camps for insurgents in the nation's western deserts as the extremist group seizes on regional instability and government security failures to regain strength, officials say. Iraq has seen a jump in al-Qaida attacks over the last 10 weeks, and officials believe most of the fighters are former prisoners who have either escaped from jail or were released by Iraqi authorities for lack of evidence after the U.S. military withdrawal last December."
It's almost as if the commander in chief doesn't want to lead the world's only super power.
Immigration Front: Border Patrol Agent Update
Last week, we noted that U.S. Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie was killed in the line of duty, and we pondered if there was a connection with Fast and Furious. Tragically, however, it turns out that Ivie was killed by friendly fire.
According to the Associated Press, "The head of the U.S. Border Patrol agents' union says the agent killed last week in a shooting in southern Arizona apparently opened fire on two colleagues thinking they were armed smugglers and was killed when they returned fire." He died at the scene. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ivie's wife and two children.
United States Navy Birthday
On Oct. 13, 1775, the U.S. Navy was born when the Continental Congress authorized the arming of two sailing vessels with 80 men and 10 carriage guns in order to intercept British supply and munitions transports. The Declaration of Independence came nine months later, followed by the creation of the Department of the Navy in 1798. Today, our Navy is the most powerful in the world. We at The Patriot Post offer our thanks to all our sailors for a job well done and wish you a Happy 237th Birthday! God bless you and your families.
Please visit The Patriot Post Shop for a great selection of items bearing the Navy's insignia.
Culture
Second Amendment: The Chicago Way
Crime is up in Chicago this year (and not just due to the Obama campaign), with murders increasing a staggering 25 percent from last year's already incredibly high body count. The city and surrounding Cook County have over 9,00 inmates, almost the local jail's capacity of 10,155. Throw in street gangs, drug use, high-school dropouts, and it's obvious what needs to be done in Chicago: Tax guns and ammunition. Because all gangsters will pay taxes when they buy their legal guns and ammo.
Once again blaming inanimate objects instead of criminals, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle wants to impose a "violence tax" on guns and ammunition sold in the city and suburbs. "If we were to pursue a tax on something like guns and ammo ... it is consistent with our commitment to pursuing violence reduction in the city and in the county," Kurt Summers, Preckwinkle's chief of staff, said, adding that the idea is to reduce the number of guns in circulation. Left unexplained, of course, was how removing objects that don't commit violence will reduce violence, but leftist logic has always been sketchy. We propose a violence tax on the perps illegally using firearms to commit violent crime. Say, 20 to 30?
Gun rights proponents rightfully vow to fight Preckwinkle's tax idea. "This is just another example of the blame game. ... [T]hey want to make legal gun owners -- guys like me -- the scapegoat," said Todd Vandermyde, an NRA lobbyist who works in Springfield. He said this is an unfair tax on a constitutional right that will mostly hurt the poor.
Two bills in the Illinois legislature would create an explicit tax on ammunition, but both bills are currently parked in the House Rules Committee. These types of tax attacks on constitutional rights have been tried before and been successfully defeated. Let's hope these two bills share the same fate.
Leftists Use Science to Justify Trampling Religious Liberty
Four hundred years after the Pilgrims journeyed to the New World in search of religious liberty, the president of this New World has been waging war against that religious liberty. Last week on the campaign trail, Barack Obama boasted of ObamaCare's mandate that employers purchase insurance to cover contraception, including abortifacients: "I don't think a college student ... should have to choose between textbooks or the preventive care that she needs. That's why we passed this law. And I am proud of it."
He claims to allow exemptions for religious organizations, but even this flies in the face of liberty by relegating religious practice to the realm of "tolerated" rather than "free." And in order to receive an exemption, an organization must meet Obama's criteria of "religious," which apparently a Bible publisher does not. Tyndale House Publishers, the Christian publisher named after William Tyndale, who was strangled and burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the Bible into English, sued the government over the mandate. If a Bible publisher isn't religious, we're not sure what is. Of course, if Tyndale set up shop in a government park or building, we imagine the administration would sing a different tune.
Supporting Obama's war on religion, a new study found that free birth control results in significantly lower abortion and teen-birth rates. The study tracked 9,000 St. Louis women from 2008 to 2010 and concluded that, when unhindered by costs, women select more effective contraceptives -- namely, implanted devices -- over birth-control pills, thereby reducing the rate of pregnancy. Predictably, the authors claim that this proves ObamaCare's contraception mandate works. What these results fail to address, however, are the myriad consequences of promiscuous sexual activity: STDs, emotional distress, family breakdown -- the list goes on. The truth is that there is something that neutralizes all of these plus unintended pregnancies and works 100 percent of the time. It's called abstinence. But to say so is akin to splashing leftists with holy water.
Faith and Family: Protestants Now a Minority
The U.S. made history this year. For the first time ever, Protestants represented less than half the population. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports that just 48 percent of Americans can be classified as Protestant. For the first time, no Protestants hold seats on the Supreme Court, and the GOP presidential ticket has no Protestants. Much of the change is due to the growth of nondenominational churches, which aren't classified as Protestant, as well as a sharp increase in those who claim no religion at all.
The study seems to be another indicator that we are becoming ever more like Western Europe -- a post-Christian nation saddled with a massive debt-financed welfare state because the church is largely absent. The non-religious tend to vote Democrat at least as heavily as Evangelical Christians vote Republican, and the latter seems to be a shrinking population. We would note that the GOP has largely failed to make the case that smaller government benefits people of all stripes and religious backgrounds, and that one need not embrace religion to support and defend our Constitution. But if the trend continues -- not to mention the trend of minorities voting Democrat -- the GOP could be in serious electoral jeopardy.
And Last...
Are you planning to carve a pumpkin for Halloween but unsure what design to carve? Well, you're in luck, because Obama's Energy Department has some helpful suggestions. "Green energy is going orange for Halloween," reports CNS News, "as the U.S. Energy Department offers downloadable pumpkin-carving patterns on its website. The 'Energy-ween' designs include a windmill, solar panel, and compact fluorescent light bulb." Those may not be the brightest ideas, but on the other hand, the sheer quantity of taxpayer money wasted on these projects is pretty scary. Perhaps we should just cut right to the chase and carve the scariest Jack-o-lantern of all: One that says, "$16,000,000,000,000."
Semper Vigilo, Fortis, Paratus et Fidelis!
Nate Jackson for The Patriot Post Editorial Team
347 Comments
JohnB in Illinois
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 11:46 AM
Biden's contemptuousness and juvenile conduct had all the class of an Occupy Wall Street protester. Had the debate continued for another hour or so, Martha Raddatz would have had to consider whether or not she should stop him from relieving himself on the table while Ryan was talking.
STAN GORALSKI in MC KINNEY, TEXAS
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 3:29 PM
JOE IS, WAS AND ALWAYS BE A HORSE'S ASS. I KNEW HIM IN HIGH SCHOOL WHERE HE WAS THE BIG MAN ON CAMPUS. HE HASN'T CHANGED. GOD SAVE US FROM JOE BIDEN AND HIS BUDDY BO.
Walter in San Diego,CA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Proverbs 29:9 Hey, Joe maybe you should read this one. Might give you some insight to your behavior. And since when ,in your religious philosophy, is a non Christian unborn child less valuable than a Christian unborn. Maybe you should get out that dust covered thingy they call The Holy Bible and see what Jesus tells us. Just sayin' Joe!
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:37 PM
The Bible is just a story, you might as well read the Epic of Gilgamesh.
Diane in Tx
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:26 PM
Actually, the Bible is God's word written in a way to make it easier to understand. Proverbs is a book of truisms to help people with everyday life such as: 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. You do prove the point of many of the commenters here, with your snide little remarks and comments. "If you don't have a record to run on, insult and demagogue your opponent." I do know I haven't seen much commenting by you before today, so Ryan must've done really well in your eyes, for you to have made so many little remarks trying to bring him down in our eyes.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 4:21 PM
Not sure who I have insulted just trying to bring some Enlightenment to the group.
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 4:55 PM
I see alot of Bible thumping, now let's do some Bible reading. As for it being a story, this up to the individual. What I think he's referring to is Bible difficulties. My fav is King David. I Cron 2o:4 and 2nd Sam 24:1. they both refer to the same event yet we have Satan moved David and God moved David. I can move on to over 15,00 of them. Read it for substance not to make a political point like God is with our party. God is with the individual and what they believe. Hence working out your salvation daily with much fear and trembling. Gov Perry did the correct thing when he had a day or prayer. gov Perry showed true leadership. It was the religious community whop had there own agenda that let both the governor and the people down by politicizing own agenda.
You want to do something worthwhile, if medically possible, fast and pray for the country. Fast andf pray as a group.
MNIce in Minnesota
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 11:56 PM
This is not so hard to resolve if one is familiar with Job 1. Satan is described in the bible as the Accuser, always seeking something against man to bring before the throne of God. In the incident described in I Chronicles 21 and 2 Samuel 24, Satan successfully brought a charge against Israel, so God permitted him to tempt David to the sin of enumerating the people (which God prohibited in the Law of Moses because it would lead the rulers to pride in the power of the military rather than humble trust in God). The later I Chronicles account describes how the temptation was brought to David that judgment might be brought against Israel for whatever it was that angered the Lord. Note that David had a chance to resist the temptation when Joab - not at all known for being a godly man - protested the order, knowing full well that it was wrong and even pointed to why God forbade a census.
redman in Fayette'Nam, TN
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 8:28 PM
You can't do that unless you have light. Read the good post and learn. We are the Enlightened ones. Not the libtard closed minded childish sfatements you write. Most here have read what I founders read or wrote. They expected the states to take care of the citizens and the republican government to do the rest. If you cannot understand this, you are not Enlightened and therefore the problem.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 8:43 PM
How does your statement have remotely anything to do with the discussion of Genesis and the Bible?
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 11:25 PM
You are so easy to prove my case. We are the enlighten ones. We are, really? By saying you are enlighten shows you live in ignorance. The Pharisees believed they were enlighten (And they were also political). Since you are so enlightened, Any seminary student will tell you about early church communism. the rich, the poor, everyone put into the communal pot and each took according to there needs. Check and mate.
I am enlighten, Founding fathers, most were Masons, some were atheists, a few Christians. It was a melting pot of ideals.
MNIce in Minnesota
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 12:27 AM
Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." I don't see that in your reviling someone's comment as "libtard closed minded childish statements."
I often disagree with R K Sprau, but he is right on the mark in his call for prayer for the nation. With that, we also need to put our faith into action. The founders did not expect the states to take care of the citizens as you aver. They expected the citizens to take care of themselves and their neighbors who needed help. The states were expected to protect the rights of the people through "a republican form of government."
If you have a neighbor who is struggling financially because of loss of employment, do what you can to help, whether it be a gift certificate for gas or groceries, or lending your skills to helping him maintain his property so he doesn't have to pay so much for repairs. Keep an eye out for job opportunities to pass on; most will appreciate it. If a neighbor is poor due to a lack of life skills, befriend the neighbor and show him by example how to manage his affairs more effectively (not by being a busybody, but by tactfully pointing out what you know works for you as the occasion arises). And along the way, use opportunities to spread the Gospel of Christ - this is the most valuable gift you can give.
As for the unbelievers who read this, know that it is the abandonment of the Gospel and its motivation to good works that has led to the rise of the Welfare State and its demand to be feared, loved and trusted above all things. If you do not understand how the Gospel motivates through love and not fear, you do not understand the Gospel and are in no intellectual position to criticize it. For since Christ has in love freed us from the bondage of the Law and its slavery to works, we are free to serve others in loving and thankful response without fear. (By contrast, the Welfare State imposes service through fear - I only need the letters "IRS" to explain how.)
RK Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 6:11 AM
A true person of action and deed.
I often disagree with Gv Perry but when those whoa re elected over us calls for a time of prayer...it is up to us (Medically possible) to band together despite of the differences and follow gods will. and not ours. In this, this is what we need in the W.H.
Logjohn in Mrytle Beach S.C.
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 2:50 PM
All of you people who comment , will not stay on the subject , you turn this opportunity to make a statement , and turn it into your personal soapbox .We're not discussing the Bible , stay focused here, have you ever heard of seperation of church and state . I guess not .
David Thompson in Bellville, TX
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 4:25 PM
Diane, I don't think you'll find anywhere in the word of God (yours or mine) that we should take money from our neighbor to give to the poor.
Daniel Najimian in Orrville, OH
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:30 PM
Really? Whoever composed the Epic of Gilgamesh was drawing from pagan legends that reflected a fallen, perverted version of the true biblical flood. Jesus believed that the entire Bible (including Genesis) was true and accurate. Unlike the composer of the Gilgamesh Epic, Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead, proving his Divine nature, and complete authority to make such claims.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 4:19 PM
The Epic of Gilgamesh was written well before the Bible, as was Zoroastrianism philosophies, both which Christianity borrowed for their Creation myth.
D-Mak in Dallas
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:56 PM
Yeah, the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Zoroastrian creation story pre-date the Bible. SO WHAT?! Did it ever occur to you that there are valuble lessons to learn in those stories or that maybe the Bible uses parts of them as parables. Perhaps they were divinely inspired prior to the Bible to pave the way for our belief. Get off your quasi-intellectual high horse.
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 11:27 PM
Early church founders called it Divine Mimicry. In other words Satan knew what was going to happen so he created a fake happenstance so by your argument the Bible is based on a lie.Try again.
MNIce in Minnesota
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 12:42 AM
Christianity could not have "borrowed" from the Babylonian myth since Genesis was written centuries before Christ. The Epic of Gilgamesh has obvious fictional components; its watercraft if totally impractical. The ark Noah built, on the other hand, is based on sound engineering principles. The record of the Flood described in Genesis explains the geological and fossil data we have today without straining either physical laws or mathematical probability - but accepting Genesis as history demands giving up the unprovable presupposition that all things must occur by completely naturalistic processes.
It is not unheard of for a fictionalized account of an event to be published before the historically accurate record is made known. We saw it happen in the last several weeks with the State Department's stories about the Benghazi embassy attack. Even if the Epic of Gilgamesh predates the publication of Genesis, that does not prove it was a source text.
Mike W in MI
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 8:21 AM
Not sure where to begin. The Gilgamesh epic was written at a minimum of 1000 years before Moses possibly wrote Gensis down. That is a fact. The ark of the scope needed to save all the animals has been shown to not be possible, for one since wood was not readily available near Moses and his geographical location. Floods occurred all the time in this part of the world due to the Tigirs and Euphrstes rivers. It was a part of their culture. It's like somebody discovering the movie Star Wars and thinking that the force exists and we could travel in hyperspace.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 4:40 PM
And remember the proverbial flood was important to them. They experienced flooding every year along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It sustained there life and well as took it away.
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:01 PM
As a religious Historian, I take exception. Gilgamesh predates the Bible by several thousand years. As for death and resurrection. they early church was split on this. It's called Divine Mimicry. (early church Doctrine) Justin M stated it, as for Jesus being raised from the dead, you have Hercules...he went on to say (And we both worship them the same. Justin clearly believed a real individual who legend turned into a semi God, was real as a divine being and the stories about him were also true. I can name no less than 36 other people who claimed they were crucified, note crucified, buried, rose on the 3rd day, appeared to there dsicpl..and now sits on the r hand of God. 36 of them. TO say divinity, I give you a choice, which divinity or is it Divine Mimicry prior to J'shua Ben Josef. Here again we believe, this is fine but fast and pray.
M Rick Timms, MD in Georgia
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 10:31 PM
Jesus demonstrated his divinity by living his human (just like us) life in perfect accordance with the will of God, even in the face of free will. That is the reason that those how attempt to demean and deny the dueal nature of Christ as human and divine, work so hard to attack the behaviour of the man Jesus.
Joe Biden is an arrogant ass. Google "the most arrogant man in the world" for a great laugh.
Steven Glass in Brownsburg, Indiana
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Joe clearly lost this debate and shows America that he certainly cannot be trusted in the position he has and God forbid as president! Ryan won this debate and was able to clearly enunciate the Conservative side to Americans everywhere without the filter of a liberal media. Yea for our side! Please remember to VOTE on November 6 as a no vote or a vote for the "other" candidate is a vote for Obama.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:38 PM
You are kidding right? I didn't hear one clear answers. Even when pressed by the moderator he would give no specifics.
Jayve in ABQ, NM
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:09 PM
How could he give an answer when both Biteme and Rat-its interrupted him every time. Vote for Obammy/Biteme all you want. It's a fools errand to try and convince us here otherwise.
Rod in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 3:23 PM
Concur. As one article observed, there was a stark contrast between the articulate, accurate, respectful Ryan and the arrogant, idiotic, clownish Biden. But when a neanderthal like Biden won't let Ryan finish making a point and then respond with a well articulated, factual reply, well.... Let's hope the elctorate see Joe Biteme for what he is: A clownish, embarrasment and charleton (sp).
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:04 PM
I think of several time he could've answered. he was pressed at least 2x, what tax deductions, what loopholes, how does the math work. No reply. It is right back to elect us and trust us but no specifics.
Jayve in ABQ, NM
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Kind of like Obama/Biden/Reid/Pelosi eh? Soak the rich, more government spending, more unemployment checks and that's how we save the economy!!!
Robert Grant in SE AZ
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 7:05 PM
Sprau, which "he" are you referring to? If your point at Ryan, you were not paying attention. He was constantly interrupted, more by the so called moderator, than Biden. But Joe did his share of contemptuous commenting. A complete jerk! There was once or twice I held my breath thinking that woman was going to run up and kiss ol' Joe. What a travesty! No less than one would expect, one witless leftist supporting an even more witless one!
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 11:32 PM
True, still he had his chance to speak. All I am reading is FOX speaking points. Look at how bad he was treated, never mind Mitt did the same thing and he was in charge. Go back and gauge both sides of the argument and quit playing the victim card. Give a speech and lay out the plan for all to hear. If we don't fix this, there will be no middle class, Mitts plan, "Let them go to the emergency room. Fine, my insurance gets jacked up to pay for them who don't have insurance. Nice try but the rich pays less than half of what I do so I have no symphony for those who pay less taxes than I do.
Jack Murphy in Brownsburg
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 6:11 PM
I heard one clear answer from Chompers McPlug and that was “I was there, I voted against them,I said, no, we can’t afford that.” when talking about the votes to authorize the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Only problem was Chompers McPlug voted for both wars. You can easily go check the congressional record as I have. He's a lying, snide, worthless excuse for a man.
Son of Liberty in Colorado
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 7:08 PM
Mike W - clearly you are drinking the liberal Koolaid by the gallon. If you watched the debate you would've been able to see that just about the time Ryan started to get to the meat of his answer, he was interuppted by Joe "The Blowhard Assclown " Biden or by the moderator. He never did get a chance to fully answer any question. Please, get a clue and grow a brain.
Lucy in Glendale
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 7:34 PM
You mean when he was in the middle of offering his views, the moderator conveniently interrupted him to move on and give her pal Joey, what amounted to a suplus of time (smirks and all.) Paul Ryan, showed true Statesmanship by deference to his "elder", who was behaving like a drunk and had to be humored before he erupted to a brawl.
Dan S in Rochester, MN
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:25 PM
When the comparison of producers versus consumers, the 47%, is mentioned, Biden frequently gets exercised and indignantly retorts in effect “they are talking about my parents”. Well, the dufuss’ father died in 2006 and his mom passed in 2009. More emotional sophistry. I continually waver between embarrassment and abject disgust re: this POTUS and the VP.
Joel Sears in York PA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:27 PM
Biden's behavior was reprehensible and totally predictable. Worse than the heel prints on his tongue from a career of gaffes and "misspeaks" were his condescending attitude and fractured interpretation of the truth. If you want to know about our "success" in Afghanistan and Iraq, ask the generals who BEGGED this administration not to announce a date certain for withdrawing our troops.
Lucy in Glendale
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 7:39 PM
YOU ARE RIGHT! Even in Football, a mere game, plays are never lauded to the other team's coaches and athletic directors, to the extent they take precautions to hide their lips to avoid being read by the opposing team's coordinators War is no game!
Marth Barnett in Byhalia, Mississippi
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:27 PM
Our newspaper this morning pointed out that Obama stimulus did NOT rescue GE. Bush did that. I would like to know more about this and why it hasn't been brought out by Romney or Ryhan.
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:07 PM
Easy. They have taken a position that stimulus is bad therefore the president is bad. One cannot be connect to it in any fashion. To bad Ryan admitted to applying for the stimulus money 2x.
Robert Grant in SE AZ
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 7:12 PM
Sprau, I was seriously impressed by your lucid and well researched remarks regarding religion, the Bible, etc. Then you post an asinine comment like this! Easy? Your concept is ludicrous!
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 8:24 PM
Why is it ludicrous?
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 11:34 PM
As a Historical Theologian, I might know a little to much about religious values and history and not enough about politics.
Lucy in Glendale
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 7:42 PM
Ryan, as a Senator looking out for his constiuents would have been lax is not applying for "free" stimulus money if it was being offered for the taking.
desert in az
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:28 PM
Obiden just proved further what a lying , inept buffoon he is! He was scared to death Ryan was going to make some points...so the buffoon, laughed, interrupted, was unbelievably rude, wisecracked and otherwise made a complete fool of himself!
Omar in Cleveland, Ohio
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:09 PM
desert, I agree. Biden was trying an intimidation tactic and it backfired. I will say that I don't think I could have remained as cool as Ryan did. I would have called Biden on his laughter, smirks, etc. If you look at the entire Obama Campaign, their approach has been to throw everything out there including accusing someone of being a felon, killing people, and out and out lying. I think the American public is starting to see the Obama Administration get caught in the tangled web they have weaved all by themselves. Like Ryan said, he and Romney have a plan, may not be perfect, but Obama and Biden have nothing but speeches!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lucy in Glendale
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 7:47 PM
I hesitate to criticize a "kindred spirit", but Obiden has not earned the "O" prefacing his name. He may have a job as spokesman for Polident Grip, however, after this last term in office. I take precautions smiling that broadly and I don't have false teeth, yet.
Mr Keith O. White in Casper
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Biden won the braying jackass hands down. That shows just how out of touch the current administration is on almost all subjects.Our country desurves better than we have now!
June9245 in Banning, CA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:32 PM
Joe lost the same as his boss, no surprise to anyone with a brain. At this point only a moron would claim otherwise.
Omar in Cleveland, Ohio
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:11 PM
June 9245, Yes, and most of them work for MSNBC and the Obama Campaign!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ready4AChange in Illinois
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:40 PM
Or, they are sitting at the freebie table banging their forks and spoons wondering when food train will deliver their next meal!
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:40 PM
Take emotion out of it. Biden wins with substance in a landslide.
Jayve in ABQ, NM
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:12 PM
All Biden had was emotion. A flailing 6 year old emotion. Biden and substance is not ever used in the same sentance because it does not exist.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 8:37 PM
I should have said take your emotion out of it. I appreciated the fact that Biden was passionate and emotional. It makes him more human. Could be have been more polite, yes, Ryan also did some interrupting as well.
Lucy in Glendale
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 7:51 PM
Yes, even with his good manners and knowledge of the rules for a debate, even he once may have tried to draw attention to the moderator to lack of fairness. He didn't go in expecting to mud wrestle.
Joel Sears in York PA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:37 PM
Substance like: "All they need is a fair shot"- one of the most overused and unspecific catch-phrases of the entire O/B playbook.
Jiggs in Millen, GA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:33 PM
Once again, good ole Joe to the rescue. What I enjoyed most about his performance was his body language - the rolling of the eyes, the throwing of hands in the air, the laughing, the smirks, and chuckles. This is just what we need in a VP, a Good Humor Man. Doesn't matter to me how they try to spin it, it's the same old LIAR. LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE, routine wherein Bush takes the heat, and "It's not our fault." We have a couple of losers in that great vaudeville act known as Obama and Biden with "Come on, let's all be happy." If y'all want Bozos in the White House, vote for them again. You can't lose, because you'll get what you deserve, but the rest of us will take the rap. And, also, if there has to be a debate get an Independent Moderator. No Liberals need apply.
Jim in Alabama
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 3:15 PM
I wish Ryan had stopped Joker Joe in his tracks when he started lying about the alleged Intel failure in Libya, with a few simple questions. "Can we just clarify something here Mr Vice President? If neither you or the President were informed that this was a highly organized, preplanned terrorist attack, when we now have testimony before Congress, that this fact was known within 24 hours, and both of you were left, along with the Secretary of State, to make fools of yourselves, for two weeks, telling the world that this was a spontaneous eruption provoked by an obscure movie trailer, we would like to ask if you know exactly who in the Intel community was responsible for this outrageous failure to communicate and when exactly will they be fired? And, if indeed you were not informed that the Ambassador and others on his staff had been begging the State Department for a minimal security detail, because there were warnings of an impending attack, will anyone be prosecuted for negligence leading to the deaths of our diplomats or was this simply information that was not addressed because the Commander-in-Chief has failed to attend 60% of his Intelligence Briefings?"
desert in az
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:33 PM
These dumocrats are INSANE...why on earth do people continue to vote for them?
Rod in USA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:41 PM
Bribed with "free" money and "free" stuff. Un-educated by our failure of a dchool system, they fail to understand the nature of the system. "We are entitled to more free stuff".
cynthia casanova in illinois
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Rod I agree with you. I remember as a kid the saying "Beggers can't be choosers" so why is it the beggers still have something to say about our Country?
Michael Fertich in Jetersville
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:31 PM
THEY HAVE BEEN DRINKING THE KOOL-AID NOW FOR 4 YEARS NOW! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:41 PM
Because your side doesn't care economically about the middle class.
rab in jo, mo
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:21 PM
Troll!
And oblablah/biden do? One of the few moments of truth-telling by Biden is when he stated that the "middle class has been buried the past 4 years". Four more years of inept economic bumbling (or blatant Marxism) will make the "middle class" extinct. (Even the concept of "classes" is Marxist.) What will you do when our economy collapses for good? Do you really think your messiah Obama will save you?
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 4:37 PM
The economy is not going to collapse. Stop your fear mongering. When GDP reaches about 150 percent of debt then I will be worried. It was about that at the GD and then agin after WWII and we recovered from both of those.
Lucy in Glendale
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 7:54 PM
We recovered because EVERYONE was pulling theirown weight and we had a Unified country with allegiance to OUR flag.
Joel Sears in York PA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:42 PM
Mike W - this is a long read, but well worth it if you really want to LEARN something about economics and tax policy.
http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ir_22.htm
Robert Grant in SE AZ
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 7:21 PM
Joel, my impression is that Mike W is simply agitating here. The comment regarding GNP and Debt is garbled. He seems intelligent, and that belies the comments he is making.
jksisco in irvine, ca
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 2:49 PM
I can only imagine how proud you must be. Rooting for a Communist and a Buffoon. Every leftie falls back to the same tired retort: no specifics! Please site one source where Obama or Biden have laid out any specifics for the next four years, other than raising taxes. How are they going to pay down the national debt? How much in Obamacare taxes will the middle-class pay, and how does that line up with Obama's promise not to raise taxes on those household earning less than $250,000?
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 4:22 PM
The communist argument is old and for the uneducated.
Jayve in ABQ, NM
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:04 PM
If it walks like a duck....... Alas, no one can make the blind see.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 8:40 PM
I have asked many of my ultra conservative friends to define how Obama is a socialist/communist and none can give me three explicit examples. Can you?
Jayve in ABQ, NM
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 9:33 PM
Of course, I can name more than three. Redistribution from the haves to the have nots through force of law, class warfare, governmental takeover of health, governmental takeover of private ownership i.e. GM, willful inflation of the currency, control of energy, etc., etc., etc...
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 10:00 PM
Your first one as written is not true without statistical evidence or legislative law.
Jayve in ABQ, NM
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 10:16 PM
Hahaha nice, and you are a fountain of statistics. Spare me the quirky rebuttal. As you accuse everyone here, you hold no water.
MNIce in Minnesota
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 12:55 AM
Here you go: USC Title 26, Subtitle A (the taking) and USC Title 7, Chapter 51 (one example of the giving).
Lucy in Glendale
Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 8:07 PM
Yes. (1) Like the Soviet Union and all the communistic satellites, He believes Government should take over "control" all facets of peoples' lives, (2) he discourages "free enterprise", and his governing (executive order), has proved he plans to weaken our Constitution by slowly eroding the functions of the other two branches, Congress and the Supreme Court. Need I go on?
D-Mak in Dallas
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:19 PM
You're a fool Mike. All you do is drop quick little blurbs obfuscated in vagary. If I choose to believe in God then shut your mouth. I don't go around berating Atheist that they must believe what I believe, trying to evangelize everyone. I keep my belief to myself to why don't you keep yours to yourself. I was a Catholic theology major in college so stop misunderstanding the Bible intentionally you hack.
Mike W in MI
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 8:00 PM
Most excellent I wish more chose to do as you.
Becky Anderson in Winston Salem, NC
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:35 PM
In these gravest of times, the Vice President appeared to not take seriously any issue and was an embarrassment. Paul Ryan has viable ideas for solving huge problems in America and Biden barely gave him a chance to fully answer or explain any of them.
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 5:09 PM
Ryan and Romney should give a speech and lay it out, wait that's what the convention was for.
Lonny McClung in Phoenix AZ
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Biden laughed off the time line for Iran nuke by indicatiing they have no way to deliver. Wrong.. How about a suitcase in downtown Tel Aviv or NYC by someone wanting those 72 Virgins?
R.K. Sprau in L.C. N.M.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 11:41 PM
Here's a better one. there are over 15 suitcase size nuclear weapons that are not accounted for and by last intelligence, on American soil in the 70's. I do not deny they have a misplaced zeal and want the entire world to believe in Musilism. Strange, so do the Christians (See great Commission). It is to late to strike a fair balance so let's see what the future will hold.
MNIce in Minnesota
Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 1:01 AM
Iran has been busy working on matching warhead designs to their ballistic missiles. If Pakistan can do it, Iran with its much greater resources can also. Iran has scientists and engineers educated in universities in the United States and Europe. I know - several were my classmates in Nuclear Physics. It is foolish to underestimate one's opponent.
L Rader in Elk Grove, CA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:38 PM
Biden is a disrespectful scumbag who thinks the state of our economy and weak foreign policies established by "King Obama" are funny! Obama is the joke. He bows down to the Muslims and makes excuses for this great country. He would have us all facing the east. They both need to be seeing the high road by way of being defeated in November and replacing them with Romney and Ryan, men of honor, respect, and patriotism. Enough of sending our money to rebuild mosques in foreign countries and providing financial support (our tax dollars) to those who would disrespect our flag while murdering in the name of a religion that promotes violence, not peace. Enough of apologizing for the American way of life as contained in our Constitution, to include free speech, that has been bought and paid for by the blood and lives of many of our fighting men and women since the establishment of this great nation. Enough of blaming Bush while the real problem has been four years of endless campaigning and speeches with no substance by someone who must have a teleprompter to communicate. Enough of Obama sending this country into a downward spiral by adding more to the deficit than all the other presidents combined. Enough of his circumventing the Constitution with presidential directives. Obama and all his lackeys need to go!! Get out and vote these destroyers of America out of office and save this country. I am a Vietnam veteran and retired law enforcement officer and I support this message!!
terry in fl.
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 12:39 PM
With Ryan's best zinger; "I think the vice-president very well knows that sometimes the words don't come out of your mouth the right way." Did anybody hear his response? "But I MEAN what I say." Why isn't anyone jumping all over that? Followed by some of his best Bloopers.
Sidney Q. Carriere in Harvey, LA
Friday, October 12, 2012 at 1:15 PM
And Ryan should have added, "And sometimes the words aren't even yours. Who have you plagiarized this time?"