Cable News Ratings for Thursday, December 27, 2012

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1. Jeff

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 5:37 AM

   @Bev AG, Arnold was a Republican and ran out State further into the ground and busniess over seas than Gray Davis.
   Gov. Jerry Brown is sloooooooooowly making ground. That’s a fact!

   Some Republican ideas should be embraced, like 1 or 2 ideas, because the GOP prove historically they cannot run a government, a war, etc.

2. cathy

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 8:50 AM

   Can you really call Arnold a Republican? Anyone who marries a Kennedy can’t be a true Republican. Also what party ran the Cal house and Senate. I don’t know enough about Cal to jump in.

   Here is what I see. Libs and progressives are complaining about capitalize saying it’s the reason when have the big difference between the rich and the poor, the have and the have nots. But the U.S. poor are rich to middle class compared to people in other countries. Libs and progressives believe that more government control will bring more money to the middle class and poor. Please let’s look it what happens when the government takes to help.

   The press loves to blame Bush for deregulating the banking system for all of our problems but this isn’t true. Carter did more deregulation then Bush. So, what caused the banking and housing crash? I do blame Bush for this and Clinton also. Clinton started the push to lower mortgage loan requirements, Bush continued with the plan and decreased loan requirements farther. It was governments involvement in housing and banking that caused our problems. It sounded like a good idea, lower mortgage loan requirements so all Americans can become homeowners. I don’t think Bush or Clinton thought that so many Americans would use these decreased requirements to get loans for homes they could not afford.
   Yes, the house crash was created by the average American lying about their income to get home loans. They bought homes based on their income going up and they kept refinancing and taking money out. Or they were getting mortgages with large balloon payments.
   Yes, the bankers jumped in and gave loans and refinanced loans they knew would likely go bad. There was greed by everyone. So, everything looked great for a time but we were living on tomorrows money. But then the balloon payments come due and everything started to fall.

3. AppleStinx

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:13 AM

   cathy wrote: “…I don’t know enough about Cal to jump in…”

   California liberals always find a republican to blame. Their catch-all target has been George W. Bush, but it could well be a republican janitor somewhere in Timbuktu. Our solution to be competitive with out-of-state merchants is to raise our sales taxes and then go after taxing purchases from out-of-state merchants (aka “level the playing field”).

4. RedBarSoup

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:15 AM

   Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) used his “Fox News Sunday” appearance to congratulate President Barack Obama on his impending victory in the so-called fiscal cliff negotiations, predicting that tax rates will go up on people making more than $400,000 or $500,000 as a result of the coming Senate deal.

   I love how the Republicans were able to up the income for when the taxes go up on people, and yet HE STILL says the president won. Typical GOP mentality: my way or the highway. If I don’t get everything I demand, then somehow I have lost. They made the President change the income bracket for when the taxes go up on them and somehow they “lost” and the President “won”, also good to know that it’s just a game.

5. Faith3

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:17 AM

   Good afternoon everyone,

   Since the subject of Switzerland and decentralization came up, I want to make mention that Switzerland runs many of their social services through communes voted on by the people of a community not CEOs and/or other such elites given their position by corrupt politicians. That is a BIG difference. Decentralization can either be very democratic in nature like seen in places like Switzerland or almost totalitarian in nature like places in the US (Chicago and Michigan) with no say from citizens. In otherwords, they control local populations instead of giving local populations any kind of sway which is the exact opposite side of the coin. People need to know this distinction.

6. Faith3

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:22 AM

   “But the U.S. poor are rich to middle class compared to people in other countries.”

   True not ‘rich’ but certainly not poverty stricken like in third world countries, but if certain politicians have their way, that will be no more. I guess it’s in vogue to rally race to the bottom policies when once the same party rallied ‘lifting all boats’. Strange switch but only from the extremist in the party.

7. Faith3

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:24 AM

   “It was governments involvement in housing and banking that caused our problems.”

   Even if CRA was nonexistent, the subprime laons are what melted the entire world wide economy.

8. Faith3

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:31 AM

   I wouldn’t really call him a “liberal”.

   http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/20/the-new-republican-tax-policy/

9. Matthew

   Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:32 AM

   What I Learned in the Poverty War

   Work, not welfare, uplifts the poor.

   This entire argument collapses on itself on the basis of two major things: The last 30 years of wage stagnation, as well as health insurance premium growth over the same period. As the power of labor has declined, predictably, so has the value of labor. Do you not find it problematic that a lot of the ‘working poor’ are employed, but still qualify for things like SNAP and TANF, in the wealthiest nation on Earth?

   I’ve said it here previously, but I’d be perfectly fine with eliminating the social safety nets (for all save the elderly or disabled) completely, and giving those savings to corporations (and personal income for s-corp owners) as tax cuts, under the condition that we implement both a hike in the minimum wage, and mandate employer-provided health insurance. In other words, “Heres your tax cuts, but rather than just take you at your word that there will be trickle down, we’ll write the trickle down into law.”

   …

   When you think of our modern job market, how many people under the age of 45, both skilled and unskilled, do you suppose are thinking to themselves, “This is where I’d like to work for the rest of my life.” A small amount, I’d imagine; mostly those that have been lucky enough to find work in their chosen field. This, IMHO, is a problem. I raise this point because I was reading an article the other day about Costco, and how well they take care of even bottom rung employees like cashiers, such that people working in such positions envision working there until retirement.

   Now, in our modern culture, I think this is the kind of sentiment that would almost be frowned upon, the idea that someone would be content to be a cashier, a receptionist, middle management, whatever; it’s a part of the whole “we’re a country of millionaires, and soon to be millionaires” mentality. I’m sure you know better, though d.d.

   Not everyone is talented, not everyone is a special little snowflake, and for some people, low skilled labor is as high as their own abilities will allow them to rise; hell, for some skilled college graduates, even competence isn’t necessarily enough to guarantee a good job. Given those circumstances, shouldn’t a full time employee, no matter what they’re doing, have an expectation of a decent wage, health insurance, and a retirement package?

10. Ratboy

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:41 AM

    THIS is the respect he shows for 4 DEAD Americans, “SLOPPINESS”???? And we are supposed to respect him as our leadere and commander in chief!! NOPE! AINT happenining!!

    Obama Blames Benghazi Attack on ‘Sloppiness,’ Says Investigation Turned Up ‘Some Very Good Leads’

    President Barack Obama blamed the terror attack three months ago in Benghazi, Libya on “sloppiness,” and said “we have some very good leads” after the long investigation:

    “When you read the report, and it confirms what we had already seen based on some of our internal reviews, there was just some sloppiness, not intentional, in terms of how we secure embassies in areas where you essentially don’t have governments that have a lot of capacity to protect those embassies,” said Obama this morning on NBC. “So we’re doing a thorough renew. not only will we implement all the recommendations that were made, but we’ll try to do more than that. You know, with respect to who carried it out, that’s an ongoing investigation. The FBI has sent individuals to Libya repeatedly. We have some very good leads.”

    Four Americans, including an ambassador were murdered in the 9/11 terror attack earlier this year.

11. Matthew

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:44 AM

    “I guess it’s in vogue to rally race to the bottom policies when once the same party rallied ‘lifting all boats’.”
    _______________

    This trend isn’t going to reverse so long as the people being hurt the most by the race to the bottom are, themselves, contributing to the mentality that’s allowing it to happen. How far we’ve declined from the days where organizers died on behalf of things like an 8 hour work day, in some cases entire families were murdered by hired thugs (and the state was frequently complicit, such as when Harding was in office). People risked all for the sake of principle; now, the working class are all too willing to malign their fellow workers who’d dare to organize, while simultaneously fellating the oligarchy for being such Good And Noble Job Creators, and Please Sir Don’t Fire Me, Please Sir Don’t Outsource My Job, Oh Please Sir, Have Another Tax Cut, Sir. WRETCHED.

12. d.d.

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:53 AM

    @d.d. What I Learned in the Poverty War

    Work, not welfare, uplifts the poor

    I knew that would draw you out Matthew. “Given those circumstances, shouldn’t a full time employee, no matter what they’re doing, have an expectation of a decent wage, health insurance, and a retirement package?”

    In a perfect world , yes, they should. That’s an area you can use your talent & intelligence toward achieving results , Matthew.

    ———–

    Faith3,

    You printed that excellent link on our site way back , Bloomberg’s acquiring through the Freedom of Information Act after the Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret.

    Did you see this ?

    Countrywide VIP loans probe ends with no action

    The House Ethics Committee said Thursday it found no violation among House members whose mortgage loans went through the VIP section of the former Countrywide Financial, the company whose subprime loans helped cause the foreclosure crisis.

    No surprises here.

    —————–

    Something to keep in mind. I’ve stopped to help accident victims. One was bleeding pretty badly. There is a whole new set of rules now.

    First responders ‘at risk of electrocution from hybrid and electric cars after serious accidents’

    SAE International said in a report that hybrid and electric cars need industry-wide identification that first responders can use

    After an accident, hybrid cars can be extremely dangerous to rescue workers because of increased battery size combined with electricity

13. BevAG

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:54 AM

    @Jeff @Bev AG, Arnold was a Republican and ran out State further into the ground and busniess over seas than Gray Davis.
    Gov. Jerry Brown is sloooooooooowly making ground. That’s a fact!

    Some Republican ideas should be embraced, like 1 or 2 ideas, because the GOP prove historically they cannot run a government, a war, etc.
    _________________________________________________

    Jeff, for 42 years California has had a majority of Democrats in the Senate and a majority of Democrats in the House except for one of those 42 years. Governors have switched between Reps and Dems. But Reps were irrelevant because they never had a majority. It’s the Democrats that have ruined the State of California.

    Now California has a super majority of Democrats. Jerry Brown is ready to bankrupt our state just like he did the last time he was Governor.

14. Faith3

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 9:54 AM

    Matthew,

    I agree. At one time working class people were willing to fight so they could support themselves and a family but no more. The policies of resentment is being fueled by a few elites. They rally working and middle class people within their very own economic group against each other. The old divide and conquer deal. Truly sad indeed but it seems to work.

15. Faith3

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 10:04 AM

    d.d,

    No, I hadn’t read about that yet but thanks for mentioning it. I just linked to a story.

    What I find truly sad is that we have opened the door to even further corrupt our system.

16. usa8888

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 10:30 AM

    This just in from NBC NEWS (Fox has nothing on this yet): What’s holding up the fiscal cliff deal is the House right wing radicals’ insistence that there be no tax rate increases for the super rich. The right wing radicals in the House are being held hostage by the anachronistic thinking of Grover Norquist and other greedy wealthy people. Many wealthy people have no problem in paying a little more (given their altruistic orientation and the fact the their tax rates are at 60 year lows); but the right wing wealthy are blinded by their intense greed and blind allegiance to the out-of-touch Norquist. We will wait for the moderates in the GOP to bring the right wing radicals to their senses or vote their own conscience and disregarding the right wing kooks.

17. Doug Z

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 10:35 AM

    Jeff

    You said Gov. Gray out was a good governor? Is the state of California is doing just wonderful is it. Manufacturing businesses are running! Even Gov. Arnold a so-called Republican ,is the biggest liberal in the country. It takes a long time to kill a great state, but it is happening. It took a long time to destroy Detroit. But it’s not dead yet, just barely alive.

18. BevAG

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 10:39 AM

    I want no tax hikes an anyone until the government stops wasteful spending.

    The wealthy that want to pay more taxes are welcome to do it. When they fill out their tax forms, there is another form that you can fill out that allows you to pay more. Since they have such altruistic orientation, they should be knocking down the government’s door to send them a check. (The form was offered to Warren Buffet. He wouldn’t take it. You know, Warren Buffet who said he was paying more taxes than his secretary; only he wasn’t telling you that his secretary makes $400,000 a year. Obama and Buffet wanted everyone to believe he was talking about a secretary that makes like $30,000 a year).

19. Doug Z

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 10:44 AM

    usa8888

    Of course, the left wing wealthy, trust fund puppies like the Kennedys, Rockefellers, DuPont’s, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi, and most the rest did not earn their money. In fact, John Kerry’s family is from the legendary Forbes family unrelated to Steve Forbes. His family was royalty, the first governor of the Massachusetts, ran opium to China and are one of the richest private trust funds in the world.

    The Democrats did not work for their money. It is all inherited, they are trust fund puppies. Of course we know about your Hollywood and rockstar Democrats. They have callouses on their hands don’t they.

20. usa8888

    Posted December 30, 2012 at 10:46 AM

    If Bev had only the slightest knowledge of economics, she would know that the government is NOT spending wastefully. In fact, the government MUST spend to get out of a bad recession. The right, however, doesn’t understand this and even insists we spend too much on defense (more than the Pentagon generals want). Bev–if you are in California, there are many universities you could enroll to being you up to speed.