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Republican Rick Santorum Blames Mass Shootings on Single Mothers

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  hal-a-lujah  •  7 years ago  •  396 comments

Republican Rick Santorum Blames Mass Shootings on Single Mothers

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On CNN’s State Of The Union this morning, Republican Rick Santorum argued that guns weren’t really the problem when it came to school shootings. The problem was the lack of a father figure in shooters’ lives. 

Gun control is a debate that we need to have. But another debate we need to have is something that’s also common in these shootings, the fact that these kids come from broken homes without dads. And that is not something we’re talking about and that is the commonality… We want to talk about things we can work together on? How about working together to try to see what we can do to try to get more dads involved…

Republicans will say anything to avoid discussing guns, won’t they?

The reason the shooter in Parkland, Florida didn’t have a father in his life is not because the man abandoned his family. It’s because he died in 2004. So I guess Santorum wants bipartisan support on a bill that will legalize immortality. (The shooter’s mother died this past November.)

Both shooters at Columbine came from two-parent households as well. And plenty of kids — dare I say damn near all of them — who grow up without a father aren’t murdering innocent people. It’s almost like there’s another factor that Santorum simply ignores…

And if Santorum’s concern is someone coming from a broken home, you’d think he would get behind same-sex parents who want to adopt children, or making free contraception widely available, or preventing those children from ever having access to guns since he thinks they’re not stable enough to handle them.

You can guess where he stands on all of those issues. You’d be right.


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Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
1  seeder  Hal A. Lujah    7 years ago

Just think how successful we could be on the mass shooting problem if we outlawed being a widow parent, or a divorcee parent.  Apparently there is no bottom to the stupidity of the hard right.

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
1.1  Greg Jones  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @1    7 years ago
Apparently there is no bottom to the stupidity of the hard right.

Exceeded only by stupidity of the hard left. They honestly believe that passing a few more laws will end gun violence. chuckle

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
1.1.1  Krishna  replied to  Greg Jones @1.1    7 years ago
Exceeded only by stupidity of the hard left. They honestly believe that passing a few more laws will end gun violence

Meh.

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
1.1.2  seeder  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Greg Jones @1.1    7 years ago

They honestly believe that passing a few more laws will end gun violence.

Lol.  Who is “they”?  I have yet it my entire life time heard someone “honestly believe” that gun violence in the US can be eliminated.  Thanks for demonstrating the shallowness of the hard right thought process.  Perhaps you should learn how to listen.

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
1.1.6  arkpdx  replied to    7 years ago
electing Drumpf

Electing who?  What country are you in? I can find no country where anyone by that name has won a major election. 

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
1.1.7  epistte  replied to  arkpdx @1.1.6    7 years ago

Drumpf  was a classmate of Barry Soetoro.

 
 
 
Jeremy Retired in NC
Professor Expert
1.1.9  Jeremy Retired in NC  replied to  Texan1211 @1.1.8    7 years ago

What do you expect from a group of so called "adults" who have been in one hell of a temper tantrum for over a year.  

 
 
 
Jeremy Retired in NC
Professor Expert
1.1.10  Jeremy Retired in NC  replied to  Greg Jones @1.1    7 years ago
They honestly believe that passing a few more laws will end gun violence.

Don't forget a few "Gun Free Zone" signs.  

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
1.1.12  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @1.1.8    7 years ago

Drumpf is not a fake name. It was the original German spelling of the family name.  The surname of incoming immigrants was commonly anglicised at Ellis Island.

The surname of Donald Trump's family was originally "Drumpf."

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
1.1.14  arkpdx  replied to  epistte @1.1.12    7 years ago

Do show documentation that Donald J. Trump,  the current potus, has ever used that name. Not his grandfather, not his uncle, not his cousin, not some distant relative in Germany but POTUS himself. 

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
1.1.16  arkpdx  replied to  Texan1211 @1.1.15    7 years ago

The thing is they always got real upset when any one called Obama bArack HUSIEN Obama. His actual name. Go figure. 

 
 
 
Randy
Sophomore Quiet
1.1.18  Randy  replied to  arkpdx @1.1.16    7 years ago

You misspelled it. However he was never ashamed of his middle name and when he was the President I always typed it out as The President of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama. I never got angry with anyone who used his middle name as he joked about it, so I never saw the point.

And actually Donald Trump's Grandfather was named Fredrich Drumpf. He actually kept the name for awhile after he moved to America. It's controversial about when he changed it especially since he went back to Germany for awhile. When Donald's father died his father in the obituary in one NY paper was said to be Fredrich Drumpf, so it's possible his Grandfather kept the same name throughout his life and he m]named Donald's father with the new family name.

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
1.1.19  Krishna  replied to  Release The Kraken @1.1.3    7 years ago
Bah............

For some strange reason I haven't yet been able to figure out, Meh is effective used in that way, but Bah, at least in that context, isn't. (BTW Feh is also sometimes effective-- but you have to be careful as to how you use it-- its not nearly as versatile as Meh). 

From one serious student of the gentlemanly art of trolling to another :-)

 
 
 
Randy
Sophomore Quiet
1.1.20  Randy  replied to  Krishna @1.1.19    7 years ago

I have always liked to throw in a Feh once in while as it's so unexpected since it's so little used. It's strength comes from it's small amount of usage, IMHO.

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
1.1.21  arkpdx  replied to  Randy @1.1.18    7 years ago

So I can't spell sue me. I never said Obama was ashamed of his middle name. I did say there were liberals who got pissed if you did and to the best of my knowledge I never accused you of being one of them. 

I also said I didn't care if his grandfather  or anyone else used the name Drumpf .I said Donald J .Trump, the current POTUS, has never used that name in 70+ years on this Earth. 

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
1.2  Rmando  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @1    7 years ago

Or you could just not have programs that encourage single moms to keep having kids and getting rewarded in free stuff.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
1.2.1  epistte  replied to  Rmando @1.2    7 years ago
Or you could just not have programs that encourage single moms to keep having kids and getting rewarded in free stuff.

That supposed free stuff is to raise the children.

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Expert
1.2.3  Tessylo  replied to  Rmando @1.2    7 years ago
'Or you could just not have programs that encourage single moms to keep having kids and getting rewarded in free stuff.'

Proof?  There's caps on welfare and you can't just keep having kids and expect to keep getting 'rewarded in free stuff'

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
1.2.4  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.2    7 years ago
The free stuff is to help someone who truly needs it--not encouraging them to have yet more kids that can't take care of.

The kids need that assistance to have a chance at a decent life, or would prefer to punish the children?  We could prevent those births with subsidized birth control and education, but you also oppose that policy in favor of a religious-based policy of teaching abstinence, that doesn't work.

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
1.2.5  Rmando  replied to  Tessylo @1.2.3    7 years ago

The caps on welfare don't kick in until there have been multiple children. Making welfare less attractive would go a long way  to discourage people from creating kids they don't want.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
1.2.7  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.6    7 years ago
I oppose it because responsible fucking ADULTS should be able to pay their OWN way in life.

That doesn't work in reality. Where is your morality for others?  Should the sick and poor children just go off and die quietly for your benefit? Why can't you learn both the basics of human biology/sexuality and macroeconomics? YouTube makes it very easy.

How many minimum wage jobs is a person supposed to work so a corporation can make record profits?  When people earn minimum wages that are less than the living or poverty line then we as a society are subsidized the corporation's profits by letting them pay less.

 
 
 
Unchained
Freshman Silent
1.2.9  Unchained  replied to  Rmando @1.2    7 years ago
Or you could just not have programs that encourage single moms to keep having kids and getting rewarded in free stuff.

Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

 
 
 
Unchained
Freshman Silent
1.2.10  Unchained  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.2    7 years ago
The free stuff is to help someone who truly needs it--not encouraging them to have yet more kids that can't take care of.

Are you pro-life or pro-choice?

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.2.12  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.11    7 years ago
If that means paying for your own freaking birth control (which insurance usually covers) or paying for your own abortions, too bad.

Most policies didn't cover it before the ACA's requirement to do so.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.2.14  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.13    7 years ago
of course, people too irresponsible to pay for their own birth control MIGHT also be too irresponsible to have insurance.

Thanks, that's yet another good argument to keep the ACA rather than unwinding it like Trump and the GOP are trying to do.    A real shame that Trump's tax cut for the rich also repealed the health coverage mandate.    So now there will be even more poor folks having kids they can't afford, and red states simply don't have the common sense to do what Colorado did.

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
1.2.15  arkpdx  replied to  Skrekk @1.2.14    7 years ago
that's yet another good argument to keep the ACA

Why am I not surprised that a liberal thinks it is a good idea to reward the irresponsible. Of course knowing how most believe that they should not be held accountable for just about anything and how they think that the rest if us should be willing to support them, it is no surprise

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
1.2.17  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.16    7 years ago
And just because you are poor doesn't mean you are stupid. Poor people with their priorities in order mange to raise their kids just fine. Which includes feeding them and getting them medical care.

These "poor people" you seem to know so well--how do they pay for their medical care? With chickens? Do they barter with food stores for groceries? 

You realize that the PPACA was the very first time in our history that the federal government forced its citizens to purchase a product from a private company?

Again, no one was forced to buy anything.  Everyone was free to go without insurance with the understanding that they would be taxed for that choice.  This makes perfect sense and is also just:  people who are un- or underinsured end up piling up huge debts to public and private entities that they can never repay if they become seriously ill or injured.  But your claim is also just plain false.  The ADA (passed and signed into law in 1990 under republican President and with overwhelming yes votes in both houses) had requirements that were implemented over time for companies in businesses involving the public to make sure this their businesses provided access for people with disabilities.  That required the "purchase" of services from private contractors to make structural changes to huge numbers of offices and stores.  I'm sure there are plenty of other situations where adhering to government regulations "forces" individuals and companies to purchase services from private companies.  In fact, legions of lawyers and accounts probably depend on that source of income. 

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.2.19  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.16    7 years ago
Personally, I think the govt. should stay out of the health insurance business.

The state governments were already regulating the health insurance biz although in the case of your state it was minimally so, much like the lack of zoning which allowed a school and nursing home in TX to be built right next to a massive ANFO bomb.    All the ACA really does is apply a common minimum standard but your state is free to increase that standard.

.

You realize that the PPACA was the very first time in our history that the federal government forced its citizens to purchase a product from a private company? What's next time going to be like? Will the govt. bail some other company out (like GM, for example) and then force people to purchase a car from GM?

Actually you don't actually have to buy health insurance from anyone, much less from any particular company.

.

And just because you are poor doesn't mean you are stupid. Poor people with their priorities in order mange to raise their kids just fine. Which includes feeding them and getting them medical care.

So.......are you once again whining about the ACA's requirement that even the poor be responsible enough to either have coverage or pay a tax to help cover the public cost burden of providing their health care?     I can't figure out whether you're for personal responsibility or vehemently opposed to it, even when that coverage mandate came from a conservative proposal.

And of course thanks to Trump and the GOP that coverage mandate is gone.....because conservatives don't really believe in personal responsibility.    Those costs now become a public burden and increase everyone's premiums.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.2.20  Skrekk  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @1.2.17    7 years ago
These "poor people" you seem to know so well--how do they pay for their medical care? With chickens?

I loved that particular suggestion.   Only one of the loonier and clueless Republicans could come up with that one......barter with fowl for your MRIs and cancer treatment.    That's why I keep a stock of live chickens in the closet just in case I have an accident and need major surgery.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
1.2.22  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.21    7 years ago
I mean Medicaid, Medicare, the PPACA.

IOW, any program that helps people afford or even get any health care.  I don't think you answered my question earlier as to how those hard working resourceful poor people or the elderly who've worked all their lives you lauded were going to pay their doctor and hospital bills if they get sick or injured.  You sure as hell aint gonna do it for them. 

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
1.2.24  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Texan1211 @1.2.23    7 years ago

And you're against those programs.  You seem to be "a bit" confused.  laughing dude

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
1.2.26  Krishna  replied to  Rmando @1.2    7 years ago
Or you could just not have programs that encourage single moms to keep having kids and getting rewarded in free stuff.

Damn Socialists-- they're  everywhere!

They're all over the place I tell you!

Oh the horror-- when will it ever end??? Angry

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
1.2.27  Rmando  replied to  Krishna @1.2.26    7 years ago

That is no joke. The left has done nothing but incentivize poverty. There is no goal towards being self sufficient. Anyone who can't get by should get the bare minimum, nothing more. Otherwise you'll have what we have now- multi generational takers trapped in liberal dystopias.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.3  Skrekk  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @1    7 years ago

We wouldn't have this problem if we followed biblical sharia laws and required widows to marry the brother of their deceased husband or marry their rapist.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.3.1  Skrekk  replied to  Skrekk @1.3    7 years ago

Until last month Floriduh did it right by enforcing biblical sharia laws which require a rape victim to marry their rapist, no matter how young the victim.

A South Florida lawmaker who opposes a bill to ban child marriage said Thursday that the current law allowing child rapists to marry girls they impregnate is well-crafted.

Republican Rep. George Moraitis voted against a bill that would ban child marriages with the exception of some 16- and 17-year-olds when a pregnancy is involved. He cited a legislative staff analysis showing that between 2012 and 2016 only one 13-year-old was allowed to marry and said he encourages pregnant "women" to get married.

"The current law is ... very good, in my opinion, a very carefully crafted balance," said Moraitis, who is the new chairman of the Broward Republican Party

.

One of these wanton hussies arrogantly objected to Floriduh's sensible child marriage statute, and whined that she was forced to marry her rapist when she was 11.

(TALLAHASSEE, Fla.) — A woman who was forced to marry her rapist when she was 11 helped inspire the Florida Senate to unanimously pass a bill Wednesday that would end child marriage in the state.

Sherry Johnson sat in the public gallery as several senators talked about her story and thanked her for pushing for the bill that would prohibit anyone under 18 from getting married under any circumstance. Johnson, 58, was first raped by a church deacon when she was 9, she gave birth at 10 and was forced to marry at 11. Johnson said her church pressured her mother to consent to the marriage and a judge eventually approved it.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
1.3.2  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Skrekk @1.3.1    7 years ago
Our rightwing, fundamentalist bible-thumping god-botherers are our own domestic "shariaists."  And what a plague of dunces, nutcases and weirdos they are.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.4  Vic Eldred  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @1    7 years ago

Even Barak Obama recently said that broken families are a part of the equation with troubled kids. There is no mystery here and Santorum get's to have an opinion too, just like the people we have heard so much from:

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David Hogg who now say's he can understand why cops wouldnt go up against a big bad AR-15. Talk about misguided!

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
1.4.1  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Vic Eldred @1.4    7 years ago
David Hogg who now say's he can understand why cops wouldnt go up against a big bad AR-15. Talk about misguided!

It might take someone who's been the immediate target of someone firing an AR-15 to be able to really understand that, vickie.  How many times has that happened to you?   I wonder what our soldiers would do if all they were handed was a pistol and then sent out to fight against assault rifles. 

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.4.2  Skrekk  replied to  Vic Eldred @1.4    7 years ago
Even Barak Obama recently said that broken families are a part of the equation with troubled kids.

Are you talking about his comment many years ago that he wished he had known his father better?

That had nothing to do with guns or school shootings, and I really doubt Obama would ever want you to speak for him.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.4.3  Vic Eldred  replied to  Skrekk @1.4.2    7 years ago

I'm talking about the speech he made in Chicago, 2008, which you may also be referring to:

“Too many fathers are MIA, too many fathers are AWOL, missing from too many lives and too many homes,” Obama said to approving murmurs from the audience. “They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it.”

I'm not interested in the part about his own father

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.4.4  Vic Eldred  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @1.4.1    7 years ago

You mean it gave him instant political & social wisdom? I don't grant that to high school kids.

I want to see if he returns to school tomorrow.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
1.4.5  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Vic Eldred @1.4.4    7 years ago
I don't grant that to high school kids.

I'm sure that will be devastating news to them.  There sure has been a lot of hate directed at this particular student.  Is it because he's so articulate and well-informed and he's actually been through something that his haters never have?  You wouldn't happen to know anyone of his haters that would be sending him death threats, would you, vickie?

MSD Students Death Threats

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.4.6  Vic Eldred  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @1.4.5    7 years ago

To disagree with this kid implies hate?

Don't you ever stop trying to destroy the character of everyone who disagree's with you?

BTW, I'm in favor of banning assault weapons, but I'm totally against the methods being used here.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
1.4.7  Skrekk  replied to  Vic Eldred @1.4.3    7 years ago
I'm talking about the speech he made in Chicago, 2008

Ah.....you're talking about his Father's Day speech to his predominantly black church about family structure problems in the black community, something which is closely tied to racial injustice in our legal system and domestic violence problems.

That speech had nothing whatsoever to do with guns or school shootings, and besides which the school shooters are predominantly white (even white supremacist like Cruz) and have intact families.

As I said I really doubt Obama would ever want you to speak for him much less misappropriate his words for your purposes.

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.4.8  Vic Eldred  replied to  Skrekk @1.4.7    7 years ago

I left you his words. It certainly has had a devastating effect on the black community - the Moynihan Report proved that - but it also has had devastating effects on the greater society as well. So to my original point - Santorum is only saying what others before him have rightly pointed out.

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
1.6  Krishna  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @1    7 years ago
Just think how successful we could be on the mass shooting problem if we outlawed being a widow parent, or a divorcee parent.

No need to do that-- just give them all guns. The more people that possess guns, the less gun violence we will have! (And not only parents-- kids need to be armed as well)

(Logical, eh? Laugh )

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
3  Rmando    7 years ago

That makes a lot more sense than blaming pro Constitution groups like the NRA. I don't know about mass shooters but there are plenty of gang bangers that would've been alive and not shooting each other if they'd had stable families at home.

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
3.1  Trout Giggles  replied to  Rmando @3    7 years ago

So how does Santorum gonna make fathers stay at home and raise their children?

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
3.1.1  Rmando  replied to  Trout Giggles @3.1    7 years ago

They wouldn't be fathers in the first place if the mothers had not had their kids. And there wouldn't be so many kids if liberal welfare programs hadn't made living on govt assistance so easy and long term with no incentive to get off it.

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
3.1.2  Trout Giggles  replied to  Rmando @3.1.1    7 years ago

So you're advocating for abortion now?

Good for you!

 
 
 
SteevieGee
Professor Silent
3.1.3  SteevieGee  replied to  Rmando @3.1.1    7 years ago

So... Liberal welfare programs like free and low cost contraceptives or, perhaps, not having to travel half way across the state for reproductive health care?

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Guide
3.1.5  MrFrost  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.4    7 years ago

Why should i have to pay for trumps weekly golf trips?

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
3.1.6  Rmando  replied to  SteevieGee @3.1.3    7 years ago

I wish more people would take advantage of the subsided birth control. But if someone wants another kid to get that extra food stamp money or upgrade to a bigger Section 8 apartment all the birth control in the world will do no good.

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Expert
3.1.8  Tessylo  replied to  Trout Giggles @3.1    7 years ago

Did you hear how Santorum's wife had an abortion - by the doctor that his wife previously had an affair with?

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
3.1.13  Trout Giggles  replied to  Kathleen @3.1.12    7 years ago

And they still don't pay

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
3.1.14  Paula Bartholomew  replied to  Rmando @3.1.1    7 years ago

They wouldn't be fathers in the first place if the mothers had not had their kids

The mothers did not climb on top of themselves and get themselves pregnant.  Some men should just keep it in their pants to begin with.

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
3.1.15  Jasper2529  replied to  MrFrost @3.1.5    7 years ago
Why should i have to pay for trumps weekly golf trips?

We all paid for Obama's golf trips so why are you complaining about Trump's?

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
3.1.16  arkpdx  replied to  Paula Bartholomew @3.1.14    7 years ago
Some men should just keep it in their pants to begin with.

Some women need to keep their panties on an their legs together. 

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
3.1.17  Jasper2529  replied to  Tessylo @3.1.8    7 years ago
Did you hear how Santorum's wife had an abortion - by the doctor that his wife previously had an affair with?

Please stop spreading rumors, Tessy.  Most people make use of the Internet to learn facts so they can avoid posting debunked rumors.

An award-winning biographer of President Bill Clinton said the former president suspected that Republican Rick Santorum and his wife decided to have an abortion and have been lying for decades about the death of one of their children, according to audio recordings obtained by the Washington Free Beacon .

Clinton made the "cryptic comment" on May 26, 1997, to Taylor Branch, a longtime Clinton friend who conducted interviews with the president during his time in the White House and wrote a book based on them. After each interview concluded, Branch recounted what Clinton said into a tape recorder. [Listen to recording]

The rumors that Karen Santorum had an abortion have long floated around the Internet, but they came to a peak during the 2012 Republican primary when Rick Santorum began to gain momentum.

Stories incorrectly stated that the Santorums decided to induce labor in hopes that it would save Karen Santorum’s life, even though that never happened.

Salon ‘s Irin Carmon , an openly pro-choice liberal journalist, shut the door on that iteration of Santorum abortion-trutherism by talking to medical experts that explained to her the complications that led to the baby’s death. Carmon explained the false reporting was a "medical misunderstanding" of what an abortion truly was.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.18  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.4    7 years ago
Why should we have to pay for others' contraceptives?

Do you not understand what being a member of a very interconnected society means? This is what our tax dollars are meant to be used for.

The use of contraceptives prevents unwanted children or didn't you take sex education? Teaching abstinence doesn't work.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.19  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.10    7 years ago
How much do you personally pay towards his trips?

Did you forget that the VA is paid for by taxpayer dollars?

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
3.1.20  Trout Giggles  replied to    7 years ago

Then stop complaining about paying for more kids on SNAP and TANF if you don't want them to have free or subsidized contraceptive care

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
3.1.22  Trout Giggles  replied to  arkpdx @3.1.16    7 years ago

I hope the next time you want sex, your partner says "Not tonite, dear, I'm keeping my panties on and my legs crossed"

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.23  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.10    7 years ago
How much do you personally pay towards his trips?

Do you not understand how tax dollars are spent?

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
3.1.26  seeder  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Kathleen @3.1.12    7 years ago

Sometimes the "daddys"'skip out...

When my oldest was two, and my youngest was six months old, my wife (now exwife obviously) packed the car with her underage boyfriend and our dog, and left us to go follow the Grateful Dead.  I get really sick of hearing about absent daddies.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
3.1.27  Skrekk  replied to    7 years ago
Free or low cost contraceptives for welfare recipients?  Nooooo.................taxpayers should not have to pay for freeloaders to get laid.

I agree with you - the state should be encouraging impoverished people to have more kids.   How else are we going to maintain a sufficient underclass to serve the wealthy elite, much less to flip burgers for the rest of us?     Generational poverty is the only way to accomplish the important goals which you and I share.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.29  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.24    7 years ago
Sure I do. Obviously the person I responded to doesn't.

We are paying for Trump's golf trips with tax dollars, or didn't Fox News mention that fact to you? Flying Air Force One and the cost of security isn't paid for by Trump or a PAC

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.30  epistte  replied to  arkpdx @3.1.16    7 years ago
Some women need to keep their panties on an their legs together.

Why do you get to make that decision for others? Is that because you are a male or is this a benefit of being a Republican?

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3.1.31  charger 383  replied to    7 years ago

why are you against cost effective solutions?

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
3.1.34  seeder  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  charger 383 @3.1.31    7 years ago

Because he doesn’t want to be responsible for even one penny of a solution.  It’s the Libertarian way.

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
3.1.35  arkpdx  replied to  epistte @3.1.30    7 years ago
Why do you get to make that decision for others?

You didn't seem to mind someone making that same decision for men. 

 
 
 
Jasper2529
Professor Quiet
3.1.36  Jasper2529  replied to  epistte @3.1.29    7 years ago
We are paying for Trump's golf trips with tax dollars, or didn't Fox News mention that fact to you? Flying Air Force One and the cost of security isn't paid for by Trump or a PAC

Substitute Trump's name and insert the names of as many previous presidents as one wishes.

Maybe we should keep all presidents and their families locked up in the WH during their tenure so they can't go anywhere and can't spend taxpayer money on leisure activities and business trips! ROFL!

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
3.1.37  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.33    7 years ago
Find something new to bitch about, this one is getting old.

The rightwing, of which you are obviously a member, never stopped bitching about Obama's rare trips home to Hawaii or to Martha's Vineyard for holidays.   Shitbag® gets a taxpayer funded golf trip to Mar-a-Lago almost every weekend.  He's set an all-time record for rounds of golf after telling you that he'd be working to hard to play much golf when he was running.

Grammar point:  You still persist in using a comma where a period is needed. 

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.39  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.32    7 years ago
I never said one word about abstaining. Funding others isn't my responsibility. I don't expect anyone to pay my bills, and would hope adults can support themselves.

Despite what conservatives appear to believe are all part of a very interconnected society and must enact and support policies that are for the best of all of us, even if you may disagree.  We spend our tax dollars on pragmatic policies that are proven to work to solve the problems of a society even if you do not get a direct benefit from them or disagree with them. 

If you cant pay your bills then we must help you get the basics of life. Hope and prayer don't solve problems and neither does ignoring the problem.

Abstinence doesn't work to prevent pregnancy because it ignores a very basic fact of biology. Sex feels good and we are created to breed and reproduce the species.

It is far cheaper to prevent pregnancy with free or reduced cost birth control and accurate sex education than it is to care for a child that cant be supported for 18+ years. The fact that the Earth is currently overpopulated also seems to be lost on you. Humans are quickly becoming a pest species.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.40  epistte  replied to  arkpdx @3.1.35    7 years ago
You didn't seem to mind someone making that same decision for men.

When exactly did I do that? 

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.41  epistte  replied to  Skrekk @3.1.27    7 years ago
How else are we going to maintain a sufficient underclass to serve the wealthy elite, much less to flip burgers for the rest of us?

Johnathon Swift agrees with your modest proposal.

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
3.1.44  arkpdx  replied to  epistte @3.1.40    7 years ago

You didn't object when someone said men should keep their pants on which was the comment I originally responded to. 

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.45  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.33    7 years ago
Find something new to bitch about, this one is getting old.

Is that what you said the times Obama went golfing at Andrews AFB?  Your partisan hypocrisy is showing.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.46  epistte  replied to  arkpdx @3.1.44    7 years ago
You didn't object when someone said men should keep their pants on which was the comment I originally responded to.

You have got to be kidding. The fact that I didn't comment in your mind means that I am making a positive claim. Your logic is laughable.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3.1.47  charger 383  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.42    7 years ago
but am offended at having to help people who don't try to help themselves.

But what are we going to do with them?   Birth control and abortion might reduce future costs and having even more people who don't try to help themselfs

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3.1.48  charger 383  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @3.1.34    7 years ago

If you don't like dandelions in your yard you don't let them go to seed

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
3.1.51  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.42    7 years ago
I am all for anything saving me tax money.

And yet like most conservatives you don't seem to understand that free birth control saves the taxpayers lots of money and reduces the abortion rate.

The Colorado Family Planning Initiative drove a 50 percent reduction in teen births and abortions, avoided nearly $70 million in public assistance costs and empowered thousands of young women to make their own choices on when or whether to start a family.

Thanks in large part to the Colorado Family Planning Initiative: 
  • Teen birth rate was nearly cut in half.
  • Teen abortion rate was nearly cut in half.
  • Births to women without a high school education fell 38 percent.
  • Second and higher order births to teens were cut by 57 percent.
  • Birth rate among young women ages 20-24 was cut by 20 percent.
  • Average age of first birth increased by 1.2 years among all women.
  • Rapid repeat births declined by 12 percent among all women.
  • Costs avoided: $66.1-$69.6 millio

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3.1.55  charger 383  replied to  epistte @3.1.39    7 years ago
      "Earth is currently overpopulated"
That is biggest problem facing us and costs of education and birth control now will be very small compared to later costs 
 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
3.1.56  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.54    7 years ago
personally, I am hoping for a medical breakthrough where a woman's tubes can be tied and then the procedure reversed later on.

No need to wait since that's essentially what Colorado did - the state paid for (low or no-cost) long acting but reversible contraception for all low-income women statewide and saved a ton of money by doing that.

But you apparently would prefer that didn't happen because "responsible fucking ADULTS should be able to pay their OWN way in life".....despite the fact that it actually saves you and other taxpayers money in the short term and long term.     That's the moralizing and shortsightedness which is the hallmark of the modern conservative.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
3.1.58  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.57    7 years ago

if you don't agree that responsible adults should pay their own way, then YOU pay for them.

the fact that they have to get taxpayers to pay it FOR them is ridiculous.

I don't think ANYONE should have kids they can't support.

That's some serious lack of comprehension and/or cognitive dissonance there given that the program helped low-income women avoid having kids they didn't want.    Plus it saved the state money.    Only a true conservative would object to a win-win.

The funniest part is that you're condemning these women because they're poor and calling them irresponsible, despite the fact that they chose to use a long-acting contraceptive in order to avoid having kids they didn't want and couldn't afford.   Sounds like they're really the responsible ones, not you.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3.1.60  charger 383  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.54    7 years ago
medical breakthrough where a woman's tubes can be tied and then the procedure reversed later on.

are you willing to support tax money going to this?

 
 
 
Hal A. Lujah
Professor Guide
3.1.62  seeder  Hal A. Lujah  replied to  Kathleen @3.1.50    7 years ago

You have to admit. It's mostly men that take off. That's pretty bad... What the heck kind of a person did you marry?

I think ‘mostly’ is an over statement.  I married the girl who I dated for ten years.  She was a good wife and a good mom - nobody saw it coming.  As my gay neighbor had put it, “it’s like she threw her muffin pan in the air and disappeared.”

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
3.1.63  Dean Moriarty  replied to  Hal A. Lujah @3.1.62    7 years ago

If it was any other band I wouldn’t understand. Ganja

 
 
 
SteevieGee
Professor Silent
3.1.65  SteevieGee  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.4    7 years ago
Why should we have to pay for others' contraceptives?

Maybe because it's cheaper than paying for their children.

 
 
 
SteevieGee
Professor Silent
3.1.66  SteevieGee  replied to    7 years ago

It would be a shame if your VA hospital was closed because the hallways were too narrow.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
3.1.69  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Rmando @3.1.1    7 years ago
They wouldn't be fathers in the first place if the mothers had not had their kids.

Every time I see the latest sordid, tawdry sex scandal, I'll be comforted knowing that I'll always have that to throw back into the face of sanctimonious garbage like that. 

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
3.1.70  Split Personality  replied to  Tessylo @3.1.8    7 years ago

Close but in a different sort of way...

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
3.1.71  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.68    7 years ago
Why should we as taxpayers have to pay for their contraceptives OR their children?

Because we are an interconnected society and we cannot do just what is in our own short-term best interest. If you are out of work there might be a way for your house payment to be made as a way to keep you in your home.

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3.1.73  charger 383  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.4    7 years ago
Why are they owed anything?

Consider it a small  investment to keep future costs and problems lower,  Like giving a company a tax break to add jobs  

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
3.1.74  charger 383  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.68    7 years ago
Why should we as taxpayers have to pay for their contraceptives OR their children?

It is just like building a wall only in smaller pieces, and I support both

 
 
 
SteevieGee
Professor Silent
3.1.75  SteevieGee  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.68    7 years ago

The point is that poor people have sex.  Poor people have always had sex.  Poor people will continue to have sex.  Poor people, like everybody else, are biologically programed  to want to have sex.  Preventing pregnancy is vastly more desirable than having unwanted children or abortion.  They will NOT abstain.

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
3.1.76  Paula Bartholomew  replied to  arkpdx @3.1.16    7 years ago

That too.

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Guide
3.1.77  MrFrost  replied to  Texan1211 @3.1.10    7 years ago

How much do you personally pay for other people's contraceptives? I bet it's a LOT less than trumps golf trips! 

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
3.3  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Rmando @3    7 years ago
I don't know about mass shooters but there are plenty of gang bangers that would've been alive and not shooting each other if they'd had stable families at home.

Most of the mass killers came from what were considered stable, middle class (and overwhelmingly white) homes.  It's always telling that you lot are so fixated on the killings by gangs and minorities and seem uninterested in the profiles of the most prolific murderers. 

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
3.3.1  Rmando  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @3.3    7 years ago

There were 97 mass shootings from 1982 to this year according to this link. 56 were done by whites, 16 done by blacks, 7 apiece done by Hispanics and Asians, etc... 

Anymore misconceptions you need me to clarify?

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
3.3.2  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Rmando @3.3.1    7 years ago
Anymore misconceptions you need me to clarify?

No, you've done a great job of illustrating my point:  Whites 3.5x greater than blacks and 8x than hispanics and asians.  I didn't even think it was that overwhelmingly white.

 
 
 
Rmando
Sophomore Silent
3.3.4  Rmando  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @3.3.2    7 years ago

And how do those numbers match up with national demographics? Right off the bat I can tell that 16 out of 97 is a lot more than the 13% of the black population. The numbers of the other groups appear out of whack too. Barely more than half of the shooters being white for a group that makes up the majority of the country is an underrepresentation. 

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
3.3.5  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Texan1211 @3.3.3    7 years ago
So "MOST" to you doesn't mean the majority?

No, it means the preponderance. 

 
 
 
Krishna
Professor Expert
3.4  Krishna  replied to  Rmando @3    7 years ago
there are plenty of gang bangers that would've been alive and not shooting each other if they'd had stable families at home.

If.

Reminds me of an olde saying:

If my grandmother had a wheel and two handles she's be a wheelbarrow!

If, if, if....

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
4  charger 383    7 years ago

And yet, he is against abortion which reduces what he says is a problem

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Expert
4.1  Tessylo  replied to  charger 383 @4    7 years ago

Did you hear how Santorum's wife had an abortion - by the doctor that his wife previously had an affair with?

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Expert
4.1.3  Tessylo  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.2    7 years ago

Yes, she did have an abortion - by the doctor she had an affair with previously.  

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.5  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.2    7 years ago
Jan 6, 2012 - Ever since Rick Santorum came microscopically close to winning the Iowa caucus, the Internet has been aflutter with the contention that he is a hypocrite on late abortions, because his wife allegedly had one. When Karen Santorum was close to death due to an infection, it is said, the author of the so-called ...

Why didn't she die like  Republicans want other women to do when they oppose abortions, even to save the life of the mother or in case of rape and incest.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.7  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.6    7 years ago
What does her husband's views have to do with her anyways? If she DID have an abortion, why on earth would you care?

I don't like hypocrites, religious, political or otherwise. Don't support policies that you don't want to be held to.

She had a medical procedure that led to the death of the fetus.

After rumors spread in Pennsylvania that Karen Santorum had an abortion, the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to the Santorums for a story that has served as the main source for the recent chatter. In the 19th week of pregnancy, the paper reported, "a radiologist told them that the fetus Karen was carrying had a fatal defect and was going to die." They opted for a "bladder shunt" surgery that led to an intrauterine infection and a high fever. The Santorums were told that "unless the source of the infection, the fetus, was removed from Karen's body, she would likely die."

The confusion partly stems from the following sentence: "Once they agreed to use antibiotics, they believed they were committing to delivery of the fetus, which they knew would most likely not survive outside the womb." Santorum did go into labor, and Gabriel Michael Santorum died within a couple of hours.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
4.1.8  lady in black  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.6    7 years ago

The hypocrisy....it's fine for my wife to get an abortion but all you other women are murderers and go pound salt.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
4.1.9  lady in black  replied to  epistte @4.1.5    7 years ago

Because it was okay for her but not for the rest of us.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
4.1.10  Skrekk  replied to  epistte @4.1.7    7 years ago
In the 19th week of pregnancy, the paper reported, "a radiologist told them that the fetus Karen was carrying had a fatal defect and was going to die." They opted for a "bladder shunt" surgery that led to an intrauterine infection and a high fever. The Santorums were told that "unless the source of the infection, the fetus, was removed from Karen's body, she would likely die."

If Karen had lived in Ireland she'd be dead by now since that country strictly enforces their cult's anti-abortion sharia laws.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
4.1.13  lady in black  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.12    7 years ago

Um, yes she did.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.15  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.11    7 years ago
You opposed tax cuts, so will you be paying the old, higher rate or just what you are legally obligated to pay?

I don't mind paying higher taxes if the money is to be used for policies that benefit all of the country. You obviously do not understand macroeconomics.   Tax cuts are the junk food and candy of politics and economics. See Kansas, Oklahoma, and Ohio.

 
 
 
arkpdx
Professor Quiet
4.1.16  arkpdx  replied to  epistte @4.1.15    7 years ago
I don't mind paying higher taxes

Then I am sure you do not take all those nasty deductions you might be eligible for and just pay what ever the government tells you right? 

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.17  epistte  replied to  arkpdx @4.1.16    7 years ago
Then I am sure you do not take all those nasty deductions you might be eligible for and just pay what ever the government tells you right?

Don't be obtuse. The current tax income is not being used to benefit most Americans.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.19  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.18    7 years ago
Just as long as you don't take advantage of the Trump tax cuts. Wouldn't want you being hypocritical, now would we?

Why do you continue to ignore the fact that the money isn't going to projects that help the American public as a majority? Trump's infrastructure policy is a joke that doesn't solve the problem of funding. 

Where is universal healthcare, college funding for all people, lifelong learning, green energy, A infrastructure plan that doesn't induce laughter and many other ideas? Soon we will have more people than jobs so we must consider universal basic income.  

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
4.1.21  lady in black  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.20    7 years ago

Tell me about the woman whose tax cut amounted to $1.50 a week.....tax cuts were for the rich, the rest of us got the shaft.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.27  epistte  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.23    7 years ago
I suggest you contact the Oracle of Omaha and have him leave his tax savings to my favorite charity.

Buffet supports a higher tax rate. He obviously understands macroeconomics and morality.Why would Buffet give you his wealth when he isn't willing it to his own kids and grandchildren?

Warren Buffett, the world’s second-richest man, has hit out at the tax reform plan put forward by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, saying, “I don’t need a tax cut.” The investor, who is worth $75 billion, has often railed against rising inequality in the United States.
 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
4.1.28  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.20    7 years ago
Not going to happen. We can't afford to pay people to do nothing.

It's probably not going to happen here while the regressives are in charge, but more enlightened and advanced countries are already experimenting with a Universal Basic Income.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.35  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.31    7 years ago

We both know that after a short period of time, if not at the outset, liberals will want to make it means-tested. Which means it is merely a welfare program paid for by others with better earnings or better financial-decision-making.

and

Will it be truly universal basic income, or will they exclude people with more money?

When do you plan to illustrate a basic understanding of the concept of economics? Economics is the exchange of money in a society, so the rich do not need more money to spend. The fact that they have as much as they do is the problem that must be addressed so as to balance the scales so the systems work again. Our economy is based on consumer spending but they don't have the money to spend to drive the economy.  The poor, retired and middle class do not have the money to spend so to prime the economic pump, we give it to them as a way to make the economy work. Wealth always trickles up so the rich are not in danger. 

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
4.1.40  Dean Moriarty  replied to  epistte @4.1.35    7 years ago

The economy is doing fine.  In fact the Feds are raising interest rates because they are concerned it needs to be slowed to prevent inflation. 

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.41  TᵢG  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.39    7 years ago
Many Americans prefer to EARN what we get.

Would it be good if the middle class (on down) earned more through higher wages?

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
4.1.42  Dean Moriarty  replied to  TᵢG @4.1.41    7 years ago

Why so we would be less competitive in the global marketplace? Let the free market set the wages. 

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.44  TᵢG  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.43    7 years ago
just because you earn more doesn't necessarily mean you have more.

Of course.

But the question still stands.   As a general principle do you think it best for the economic health of the nation if middle-class on down had higher wages - were paid more money for the work they do?

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.45  TᵢG  replied to  Dean Moriarty @4.1.42    7 years ago
Why so we would be less competitive in the global marketplace? Let the free market set the wages.

Would you then support lowering domestic wages so as to compete with international workers?   That would very much be the free wage market at play. 

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
4.1.50  lennylynx  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.48    7 years ago

If earning as much as you possibly can involves oppressing other people and treating them unfairly, then YES, I DO have a problem with you earning the money

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.51  TᵢG  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.46    7 years ago
Did you mean Earn or did you just mean get paid more?

Earn (in principle).   But the effect of my question is that middle-class on down would be paid more.

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.53  TᵢG  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.48    7 years ago
Is there anybody arguing that people shouldn’t Earn as much as they possibly can?

I don't know.  That is why I am asking my questions - to see what people are actually thinking.

Note my question goes beyond individuals earning as much as they can.   The question is about the economy in general.   The effect of more earned money in the hands of the middle and lower classes who will in turn spend that money as consumers.   Handing out money would not / does not work.    My question is about people with jobs earning more for their efforts (productive contributions) and thus having more (albeit incrementally) control of the economy.

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.54  TᵢG  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.49    7 years ago

Handing out money in general is a bad idea.   So my question has nothing to do with universal basic income.   UBI is a topic on its own and qualifications need to be established to engage in such a discussion.  But that has nothing to do with my question.

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.55  TᵢG  replied to  lennylynx @4.1.50    7 years ago
If earning as much as you possibly can involves oppressing other people and treating them unfairly, then YES, I DO have a problem with you earning the money

Interesting qualification.   But my question did not include that.   (I am well beyond middle class so this is not a question for myself.)

But given your qualification, the early industrial age was a time when owners oppressed workers as you describe so as to make more money.   I presume you consider that bad.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.56  epistte  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.36    7 years ago
I thought you would at least try cover that up with some sociaist camouflage.

Why would I try to hide the fact that I support socialist economic policies?

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
4.1.58  Dean Moriarty  replied to  TᵢG @4.1.45    7 years ago

I support letting the market set the wages. If a supplier can deliver a good or service for less than another and it is of equal quality and delivered on time buy the cheaper of the two. I believe the market should set the wages not the government artificially inflating the cost of goods and services. 

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
4.1.61  Dean Moriarty  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.60    7 years ago

We can see what happens when the union goons raise their clubs and demand to be paid more than they are worth and price themselves out of the global market and lose their jobs to foreign competition. 

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.62  epistte  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.57    7 years ago
I’m still waiting for you to send me that check to improve your life.

SAY WHUT?

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.63  TᵢG  replied to  Dean Moriarty @4.1.58    7 years ago
I support letting the market set the wages. If a supplier can deliver a good or service for less than another and it is of equal quality and delivered on time buy the cheaper of the two. I believe the market should set the wages not the government artificially inflating the cost of goods and services.

I understand, that is why I asked the question.   If the market truly set wages, domestic wages would go lower.   Companies can (and do) tap into cheaper labor markets internationally for the very reasons you suggest - they can get the same work for less money.   

A competitive free market setting prices is IMO the best mechanism we have to ensure products and services meet the demand and at fair prices.  The wage market, however, is a very different thing entirely.   Many US workers (again, talking middle class on down) can (and are) replaced by cheaper labor; a laissez faire labor market would have the effect of lowering their wages.    I question whether you truly support that.


That said, the above is now what I was asking.   My original question was in principle.   Given the domestic middle to lower classes comprise the bulk of the consumer base, would it be good for them to earn more money (since they invariably would turn around and spend it)?

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.64  TᵢG  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.59    7 years ago

Put forth something other than snark if you wish to be taken seriously.

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
4.1.67  Dean Moriarty  replied to  TᵢG @4.1.63    7 years ago

I believe in the free market setting the wage. Our population in this country has doubled in the last fifty years and that is part of the reason middle class and lower class workers have not seen big increases in their earnings. Supply and demand the supply of workers has increased while technological advancements have decreased the need for more lower class workers. We are also competing against countries that didn’t have the ability to complete in the past. I have no problem with that. I’m fine with our current three percent growth in the economy. 

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.68  TᵢG  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.65    7 years ago
with less sophisticated folks

Who might those be?

 
 
 
TᵢG
Professor Principal
4.1.69  TᵢG  replied to  Dean Moriarty @4.1.67    7 years ago
I believe in the free market setting the wage.

Understood and I agree with the market being the dominant (but not exclusive) driver for wages (at present), but our domestic wage market is not truly a free market.  As noted in my prior comment, if we had a laissez-faire wage market in the USA, many middle-down wages would be lower simply because businesses can get the same work for less money elsewhere.

Note:  this was not the question I asked.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
4.1.71  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.6    7 years ago
If she DID have an abortion, why on earth would you care?

Oh, it's just a little matter of Rickie's massive sanctimony (and it seems you approve of it) on this subject.  That's all.  Oh, there are no "ifs" about it:

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.73  epistte  replied to  Have Opinion Will Travel @4.1.66    7 years ago
That's right. Oh no, don't tell me you don't actually believe what you say.

How exactly does sending a check directly to you improve my life? Where do you get this nonsense?

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.74  epistte  replied to  Dean Moriarty @4.1.67    7 years ago
I believe in the free market setting the wage. Our population in this country has doubled in the last fifty years and that is part of the reason middle class and lower class workers have not seen big increases in their earnings.

How would the allowing the free market determines wages increase those stagnant wages?  The free market wants to get rid of the minimum wage because it cuts into the owner's profits, so how would that create higher wages? Your boss would love to pay you the same wages that they pay in India, China, Pakistan and Vietnam if they could but that isn't in your benefit. 

Do I need to explain how capitalism works and its goals?

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
4.1.75  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @4.1.70    7 years ago
The same Warren Buffett whose companies fought the IRS tooth-and-nail over payment of taxes? THAT Warren Buffett?

Do I need to explain that a corporation is not the same as the majority shareholder or the owner?

(shrekk knows what I want to say............)

JFCoaS!

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Expert
4.1.76  Sparty On  replied to  epistte @4.1.74    7 years ago
Do I need to explain how capitalism works and its goals?

Yes, I for one would really like to hear you explain capitalism.    Maybe i’ve been doing it wrong for the last 40 years.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
5  lady in black    7 years ago

He is a fucking dirt bag.  Um, the Parkland shooter's father DIED, not like his mother was single on purpose.  

 
 
 
Trout Giggles
Professor Principal
5.1  Trout Giggles  replied to  lady in black @5    7 years ago

This is so off-topic...but your dog looks like she's buried in snow. I just realized that it's a photo of her on the bed.

 
 
 
TTGA
Professor Silent
5.1.1  TTGA  replied to  Trout Giggles @5.1    7 years ago
but your dog looks like she's buried in snow

I thought the same thing, that she was fighting her way through the snow.  Turns out that fighting through snow and total relaxation look pretty much alike.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
5.1.3  lady in black  replied to  Trout Giggles @5.1    7 years ago

He's laying on my bed.....lolololol.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
5.2  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  lady in black @5    7 years ago
Um, the Parkland shooter's father DIED, not like his mother was single on purpose.

And then she died just a few months ago.  What terrible parents* they were to go off an die. 

*Cruz was adopted, so maybe that's what did it./s

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
5.2.1  lady in black  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @5.2    7 years ago

So sick of bashing single moms, do some deserve it, probably but to lump ALL single moms to denigrate them is what republicans do best.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
5.2.3  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Release The Kraken @5.2.2    7 years ago

I've got to believe, in your case, the Sm stands for Smurfs. 

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
5.2.4  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  lady in black @5.2.1    7 years ago
So sick of bashing single moms

It's called "punching down," and  it's the mainstay of rightwingers.  Pick a segment of society that they consider "beneath" them (which is also hilarious in a bent sort of way) and constantly heap scorn on them.  It's the basics of bullying:  weak cowards picking  defenseless victims.

 
 
 
MrFrost
Professor Guide
5.2.5  MrFrost  replied to  Release The Kraken @5.2.2    7 years ago

So using an avatar that is your anal sex toy is ok, but bouncing boobs... Nope, can't have it. SMH. 

 
 
 
Transyferous Rex
Freshman Quiet
7  Transyferous Rex    7 years ago
President Barack Obama acknowledged on Friday that he wished his father had been a bigger part of his life as he argued that stronger families are just as important as gun control in reducing crime and violence in poverty-stricken neighborhoods.

Santorum opened, stating that gun control is a debate we need to have. Different topic than Obama was discussing, perhaps, but the issue is still gun violence. Instead of making absurd quips regarding legislation on immortality, or pointing to someone's position on abortion,  let's talk about the underlying issues too. A gun ban, without such discussion, isn't going to get to the heart of the matter. Take away the gun, and the problem isn't resolved. I didn't agree with Obama on many issues, but at least he had the gumption to look deeper than the tool used by a person. 

 
 
 
Colour Me Free
Senior Quiet
7.1  Colour Me Free  replied to  Transyferous Rex @7    7 years ago

Thanks for the link T Rex..

It has sadly been my experience that a discussion/talk cannot take place without first having something to blame and that life is very black, white and one sided - compromise is now a bad word.  (So I guess that is not much of a discussion/talk)

Seems that guns are to blame and mental illness is the underlying 'problem' ... even though less than 1% of annual mass shootings are done by mentally ill individuals.  To say there may be other contributing factors makes one 'stupid'? .. or so I have read.

Hope your Monday is a good one...

 
 
 
Transyferous Rex
Freshman Quiet
7.1.1  Transyferous Rex  replied to  Colour Me Free @7.1    7 years ago

Thanks. It was a great Monday. Basketball season officially ended for my family. On to the best time of the year.

Communication? Discussion? Ha. 

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
7.2  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Transyferous Rex @7    7 years ago
the tool used by a person.

But there is a particular preferred "tool" so it's not irrelevant.  I can only think of one example in the last, say dozen, mass killings where the murderer used a pistol (Charlotte, SC church shooting). 

 
 
 
Transyferous Rex
Freshman Quiet
7.2.1  Transyferous Rex  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @7.2    7 years ago

There is, and its still not an AR-15, or similar type of semi-auto rifle. 

Link to a Mother Jones spread sheet, listing mass shootings from 1982 to 2018. Numbers include the high profile, public shootings. It doesn't appear to include other "mass" shootings like familicide or the like. Per the information, which appears to be a good comprehensive list, over the 36 years span, 26% of the shooters brought some form of a semi-auto rifle akin to an AR, AK, etc. In 90%, some other type of weapon was used or brought. There is a bit of overlap. In 20% of these, the shooter had both an AR/AK/MAK etc. and a handgun, shotgun, or some other firearm. 

26%, by no stretch, supports an assertion that an AR type rifle is the weapon of choice. Clearly not the weapon of choice in 74% of the incidents. However, let's not fail to recognize the glaring fact here. Of the 97 events, there were only 8 instances in which the shooter carried only an AR, AK, or similar type of firearm. That's roughly 8.25%. Forget a ban, let's pretend that an AR, or similar type rifles, did not exist. You might be able to say that 8 of these events would not have occurred. I think that would be more of a stretch than saying that all would have occurred anyway.

Bottom line, take away the AR, you haven't done anything to resolve the problem. There's an old saying (that I got banned from another site for using)...don't piss down my back and tell me its raining. That's what's going on here. If the left wants a discussion, then they need to get off of the high horse and discuss reality, not some work of fiction. 

 
 
 
Sparty On
Professor Expert
7.2.2  Sparty On  replied to  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו @7.2    7 years ago

And yet the fact remains, a significant majority of gun homicides in the US are by handgun and nearly 80%  of those are gang related.

A very inconvenient truth for many on the left.    Present company included.

 
 
 
Fitbuddy
Freshman Silent
8  Fitbuddy    7 years ago

Just when I think Conservatives cannot make themselves look any worse, they do it again and again. 

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
8.1  Skrekk  replied to  Fitbuddy @8    7 years ago

It must in part be contagious.....everyone who attends CPAC comes out dumber.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
8.1.2  Skrekk  replied to  Release The Kraken @8.1.1    7 years ago
I just go because the conservative women are total sex freaks.

Given what conservative men are like I can see why those women are desperate.

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
8.2  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  Fitbuddy @8    7 years ago
Just when I think Conservatives cannot make themselves look any worse, they do it again and again.

I've been going at them for years and it's always been thus:    They can always sink lower. 

 
 
 
Dean Moriarty
Professor Quiet
10  Dean Moriarty    7 years ago

This is almost as bad as Clapton claiming motherless children have a harder time. 

 
 
 
luther28
Sophomore Silent
11  luther28    7 years ago

Santorum?

When did he crawl off the ash heap of history? No one listened to him when he was somewhat relevant (if ever) why begin now.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
11.1  lady in black  replied to  luther28 @11    7 years ago

Because he is doing what repubs/conservatives do best.....denigrate women.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
11.1.1  epistte  replied to  lady in black @11.1    7 years ago

Roy Moore is back in the news and endorsed another sexist trogolydte.

Those who have been missing Judge Roy Moore’s bizarre religiopolitical stylings will be cheered to see him back in the news. The theocrat who managed to lose a Senate special election in one of the reddest precincts of the Bible Belt is offering his dubious blessing to Courtland Sykes, an obscure, parachuted-in-from-nowhere Senate candidate in Missouri who made his own news last month with a statement chock-full of insults to feminists — or as he called them, “nail-biting, manophobic hell-bent feminist she devils” with “nasty, snake-filled” minds.

Moore’s outstretched hand to a fellow wing nut is not as fortuitous as it might sound. Press accounts from Moore’s bitter election night in December quoted Sykes (and his fiancée, a right-wing social-media presence named Chanel Rion, who called Moore’s sexual-misconduct accusers “floozies”) as among the faithful who were blasting “Establishment Republicans” for Doug Jones’s win.

So the judge had reason to think of Sykes as “a man of impeccable character, courage and Christian faith,” as he called him in his endorsement statement.

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
11.1.2  lady in black  replied to  epistte @11.1.1    7 years ago

Denigrate women, that's the repub/conservative way.  Anyone that defends Moore needs help

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
11.1.3  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  lady in black @11.1.2    7 years ago
Anyone that defends Moore needs help

Beginning with several swift kicks applied to the buttocks to get his attention.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
11.1.4  epistte  replied to  lady in black @11.1.2    7 years ago
Denigrate women, that's the repub/conservative way.

Why is it that conservatives believe that a 15-year-old is old enough to have a consensual relationship with Roy Moore but not old enough to have an opinion on public policy?

 
 
 
lady in black
Professor Quiet
11.1.5  lady in black  replied to  epistte @11.1.4    7 years ago

Because then they can blame her and not Moore for his actions.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
11.1.7  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @11.1.6    7 years ago
Why do liberals believe that a 15-year old can make a decision about having an abortion without parental consent, but are incapable of making relationship decisions?

She has the right to control her own body. Why do you care?

 You missed the point and probably did it intentionally. The question wasn't about her making relationship decisions but the fact that Roy Moore was dating underage girls when he was over the age of 30. 

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
11.1.9  Skrekk  replied to  Texan1211 @11.1.8    7 years ago
So if a girl can decide to get an abortion at 15, why wouldn't she be allowed to make her own decision regarding who she dates?

Heck.....until a few weeks ago Floriduh allowed courts and parents to determine who their minor children should be forced to marry.    At the very least those children should be allowed sovereignty over their own wombs.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
11.1.10  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @11.1.8    7 years ago
So if a girl can decide to get an abortion at 15, why wouldn't she be allowed to make her own decision regarding who she dates?

Get this concept through your head! The teen girls were creeped out by Roy Moore's advances at the mall and elsewhere. Moore was the aggressor and defended the fact that he was pursuing teens when he was 30. 

IHSP!

 
 
 
charger 383
Professor Silent
11.1.12  charger 383  replied to  Skrekk @11.1.9    7 years ago

you lose a lot of credibility and respect with silly deliberate misspellings and I do agree with you on many things

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
11.1.13  Skrekk  replied to  charger 383 @11.1.12    7 years ago

It's very intentional given how much time I spend in Pensacola.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
11.1.14  epistte  replied to  Texan1211 @11.1.11    7 years ago
What the hell does Roy Moore have to do with it?

Is this your best attempt to save face when your argument goes to hell?

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Expert
11.1.17  Tessylo  replied to  NORMAN-D @11.1.16    7 years ago
'Get off this noise.'

Huh?

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
11.1.20  epistte  replied to  NORMAN-D @11.1.15    7 years ago
Does this exclude....INTELLEGENT SEX?

Is that like Tantric sex?

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
11.1.21  epistte  replied to  NORMAN-D @11.1.16    7 years ago
So....Fucking sue him.

Why do you have a problem with me pointing out the GOP hypocrisy about Roy Moore and other perverts?  It seems that you agree with Roy Moore. 

 
 
 
Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו
Junior Quiet
11.2  Atheist יוחנן בן אברהם אבינו  replied to  luther28 @11    7 years ago
When did he crawl off the ash heap of history?

Oh, he's still there.  And he aint goin' anywhere else, either.

 
 
 
Tessylo
Professor Expert
11.2.2  Tessylo  replied to  NORMAN-D @11.2.1    7 years ago

crazy  What the hell are the feceis of history?

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
11.2.3  Paula Bartholomew  replied to  NORMAN-D @11.2.1    7 years ago

feceis? 

Try spell check.  It will do you good.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
12  Skrekk    7 years ago

I'm sure that Rick "frothy mixture" Santorum could get behind the AFA's claim that posting a sign in schools stating "You shall not murder" will eliminate these violent massacres.

Simple solutions for truly simple minds.

 
 
 
epistte
Junior Participates
12.1  epistte  replied to  Skrekk @12    7 years ago

Apparently religious beliefs prevent gunfire, except in churches...

Every Florida school and administrative building will be required to display "In God We Trust," according to a bill passed by the Florida House on Wednesday — the same day school shooting survivors marched on the state's Capitol

The bill states the phrase must be displayed in "a conspicuous place."

State Rep. Kimberly Daniels, a Jacksonville Democrat and sponsor of the bill, said the request could be as simple as adding "In God We Trust" to a poster. 

Daniels, who also runs a ministry, referenced the Parkland school shooting that left 17 dead in her closing speech on the House floor, saying students need God now more than ever.

"When we remove God," she said, "we remove hope."

Can someone please explain how the secular government removed the presence of an omnipotent and omniscient god, despite the First Amendment Free Exercise clause that permits students to voluntarily pray. I wasn't aware of an atheist Faraday cage around public schools.

 
 
 
Skrekk
Sophomore Participates
12.1.1  Skrekk  replied to  epistte @12.1    7 years ago

I suspect that Floriduh law will get struck down as an Establishment violation, but it is interesting that the Great Sky Fairy hasn't chosen to stop these massacres or even bother to call the cops shortly beforehand.    "Officer Friendly, this is Allah.   One of your charges is about to go ballistic...."

 
 
 
lennylynx
Sophomore Quiet
15  lennylynx    7 years ago

Rick probably dreams of santorum, but doesn't dare go there! Happy

 
 

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