Puterbac News Network and Political Discussion Thread

[Johnette's Daddy]

I've always said you can't balance the budget unless you freeze defense and medicare/medicaid the next 10 years.

I'm pro-Navy (served 6 years) but I always thought a 600-ship goal - when there were only two hostile Navies on Earth (Russia and China) - was a bit much. My buddy retired from the USN last year. Served 6 of the last 8 years on station in war zones, earning combat pay . . . on a ship . . . against enemies that didn't have navies . . .

[Johnette's Daddy]

Stories like that traffic story are commonplace. We are Tennessee - the Great Tea Party Experiment. The only person keeping us from going full TP is our moderate GOP governor, and he's losing ground against his taliban legislature. Bills passed or being proposed will make us the gun-happiest state in the union. Guns in bars has sparked guns in businesses, parks, and schools. Conceal-carry rights superceding the right of propertyowners to prohibit guns. And we'll become a breakaway republic if the feds try to counter any of that. Then there's Don't Say Gay in schools and the rush to Creationalism and vouchers. Unemployment and welfare benfits tied to kid's grades. Abortion is barely legal and difficult to obtain. Drill this, frack that, and strip-mine as you please. Water quality to be measured by stench. Scrubbers - huh? - we have some of the worst air quality in the nation.

Yep, Tennessee. Where a sudafed purchase requires a background check, and it's illegal to buy wine where food is sold.

I've been trying for years to get my family to leave Memphis and move to Cali. "Memphis . . . at least we're not in Mississippi!"

[Professor Tiger]

Stories like that traffic story are commonplace. We are Tennessee - the Great Tea Party Experiment. The only person keeping us from going full TP is our moderate GOP governor, and he's losing ground against his taliban legislature. Bills passed or being proposed will make us the gun-happiest state in the union. Guns in bars has sparked guns in businesses, parks, and schools. Conceal-carry rights superceding the right of propertyowners to prohibit guns. And we'll become a breakaway republic if the feds try to counter any of that. Then there's Don't Say Gay in schools and the rush to Creationalism and vouchers. Unemployment and welfare benfits tied to kid's grades. Abortion is barely legal and difficult to obtain. Drill this, frack that, and strip-mine as you please. Water quality to be measured by stench. Scrubbers - huh? - we have some of the worst air quality in the nation.

Yep, Tennessee. Where a sudafed purchase requires a background check, and it's illegal to buy wine where food is sold.

""...said CALIFORNY is the place ya oughta be" so they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly...

Hills that is...

swimming pools...

movie stars...

[sardis]

Stories like that traffic story are commonplace. We are Tennessee - the Great Tea Party Experiment. The only person keeping us from going full TP is our moderate GOP governor, and he's losing ground against his taliban legislature. Bills passed or being proposed will make us the gun-happiest state in the union. Guns in bars has sparked guns in businesses, parks, and schools. Conceal-carry rights superceding the right of propertyowners to prohibit guns. And we'll become a breakaway republic if the feds try to counter any of that. Then there's Don't Say Gay in schools and the rush to Creationalism and vouchers. Unemployment and welfare benfits tied to kid's grades. Abortion is barely legal and difficult to obtain. Drill this, frack that, and strip-mine as you please. Water quality to be measured by stench. Scrubbers - huh? - we have some of the worst air quality in the nation.

Yep, Tennessee. Where a sudafed purchase requires a background check, and it's illegal to buy wine where food is sold.

I've been trying for years to get my family to leave Memphis and move to Cali. "Memphis . . . at least we're not in Mississippi!"

Looks like most people would disagree with you and tick.

http://www.newgeography.com/content/002 ... ance-south

[10ac]

Shhhh! That's all a lie! This is a terrible place.

[Johnette's Daddy]

Stories like that traffic story are commonplace. We are Tennessee - the Great Tea Party Experiment. The only person keeping us from going full TP is our moderate GOP governor, and he's losing ground against his taliban legislature. Bills passed or being proposed will make us the gun-happiest state in the union. Guns in bars has sparked guns in businesses, parks, and schools. Conceal-carry rights superceding the right of propertyowners to prohibit guns. And we'll become a breakaway republic if the feds try to counter any of that. Then there's Don't Say Gay in schools and the rush to Creationalism and vouchers. Unemployment and welfare benfits tied to kid's grades. Abortion is barely legal and difficult to obtain. Drill this, frack that, and strip-mine as you please. Water quality to be measured by stench. Scrubbers - huh? - we have some of the worst air quality in the nation.

Yep, Tennessee. Where a sudafed purchase requires a background check, and it's illegal to buy wine where food is sold.

I've been trying for years to get my family to leave Memphis and move to Cali. "Memphis . . . at least we're not in Mississippi!"

Looks like most people would disagree with you and tick.

http://www.newgeography.com/content/002 ... ance-south

Totally understandable. My parents retired to Memphis in the 80s mostly because of cost of living. They have a very comfortable lifestyle for 80 year olds who don't do much besides go to church and occasionally travel to see their kids. My sister moved there in the 90s because she was having a tough time making it as a single mom in Los Angeles (even though she was making 6 figures) - the same job was available in Memphis at the same pay and she has thrived. The house she owns would cost 3-4 times as much in LA and she was able to send her kids to good public schools rather than paying the outrageous cost of private schools out here.

Having said that, my sister, mom, nephews, their wives and children would all LOVE to move back to Los Angeles. They just can't afford it. Much of the migration to the south has been an economic one. It costs a boatload to do LA the "right way" and plenty of folks come out here, fail, and go back to Bugtussle with their tails between their legs. You gotta wear your big boy/girl pants to make it in the big city.

I've lived in Memphis, I've lived in Jacksonville, I've lived in Mobile, I've lived in Biloxi, I've lived in Port Arthur and I've lived in Nashville. Nice places, all of them. But if money is no object, then Los Angeles all the way!

[Toemeesleather]

plenty of folks come out here..


Talk about living in the past.....too bad 20 years worth of census data proves this totally false. The only growth in Kalifornia is taxes, regulation, unsustainable public sector jobs/retirements, and Mexicans/Central Americans.

[Toemeesleather]

But I will come back to visit Yosemite once more before I die.

[Jungle Rat]

Better get there soon then.

[bluetick]

I love my Tennessee. Mountains, lakes, beautiful women, and no state income tax. The tea party can't screw any of that up.

This thing with conceal carry trumping property rights is probably their last hurrah. Businessmen who helped usher the tea party here now realize the monster they've created. Can't ban weapons from being brought on your premises? Why have a Constitution at all if you can no longer decree that your property or business or school is gun-free?

I talked to an old gent at a get-together last night and he showed me his CCP card that was issued in '98 when he was around 70, so now he's in his mid-80s. He had some interesting things to say about race-mixing and government surveilance. He showed me the .38 S&W on his hip - he's never without it. Wears it everywhere, he said, even to church.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Despite problems, a revival in shipping on the Great Lakes is expected
Feb 2nd 2013 |From the print edition

WHEN spring arrives and the frozen shores of the Great Lakes are long thawed, the St Lawrence Seaway, North America’s liquid superhighway, should witness the greatest renewal of its shipping fleet in 30 years. Craig Middlebrook, the deputy administrator of the St Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (which operates and maintains the American portion of seaway) reckons about 30 new ships are being built to ply its waters.

One of the latest to be launched was the Federal Satsuki commissioned by the Fednav Group, based in Montreal. She set sail from Cleveland in December. Part of the reason for this fleet renewal is the removal of duty on Canadian flagships built abroad in places like China and Japan. Another is that currency fluctuations have made it cheaper to acquire new vessels.

Yet as Rod Jones, the CEO of CSL Group, a shipping firm, says, “we have been waiting for a buying opportunity.” And the reason that many other companies feel the same way is that there is a widely held view that the Great Lakes region is poised for long-term economic growth. The shipping companies want to be ready for it.

Mr Middlebrook says the rebirth of American heavy manufacturing, led by the automotive industry, has been a bright spot for shipping recently. Furthermore, in the long term, the development of shale gas and oil looks as though it will not only increase demand to move heavy extraction equipment into Great Lakes state but is expected to power a lot more economic growth in the region via lower energy costs. Wind is another growing power source in the Midwest, so components for the giant turbines used to harvest it are also a popular new cargo.

Both Canada and America are, at long last, investing heavily in the seaway, which is also boosting corporate confidence. However, another difficulty is arising. The future of the seaway crucially depends on the water levels in the lakes, and America’s drought last summer, among the worst on record, has lowered water-levels in Lake Michigan and Huron to near-record lows. This has meant that the ships that ply the lakes are not always able to carry full loads—which increases their costs.

Many of the companies can still hedge their bets; for example, they can relatively easily retire their older ships if the demand they expect fails to materialise. But Marc Gagnon, of the Fednav Group, says that his company is definitely expanding because it has confidence in the bright future of shipping on the Great Lakes.

http://www.economist.com/news/united-st ... pping-news

[Johnette's Daddy]

plenty of folks come out here..


Talk about living in the past.....too bad 20 years worth of census data proves this totally false. The only growth in Kalifornia is taxes, regulation, unsustainable public sector jobs/retirements, and Mexicans/Central Americans.

Don't let facts get in the way:

http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local ... 14961.html

According to the Census Bureau, 468,428 people have moved to California from other states and 269,772 have moved to the state from other countries.

You can read the article, but basically while 58,000 Californians moved to Texas, 37,000 Texans moved to California, 40,000 went to Nevada - but 36,000 came in from Nevada. 49,000 went to Arizona and 36,000 escaped from Arizona.

The pattern shows older people "retiring back home" or people leaving because they cannot afford it out here. But young people looking for opportunity don't go to Austin or Scottsdale or Huntsville, they go to San Jose, San Diego and Los Angeles.

I cannot find the study now, but one demographer tracked divorce as a huge factor in emigration from California, particularly among high earners, which makes sense. If you lose a chunk of assets, it stands to reason that you'd go somewhere where you can husband your remaining resources better.

[Professor Tiger]

Speaking of Tennessee, it is high time they give their water back to its rightful owner, the state of Georgia.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/02 ... see-river/

It's bad enough that Alabama tried to steal our water until cooler heads and wiser minds prevailed.

[10ac]

Maybe if they give us back the "General" which they "borrowed" a couple of decades ago, we could discuss it.

[sardis]

Of course CNN covers a liberal DC protest that was about one tenth the size of the right to life protest last month...

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/17/us/climat ... 3_featured

[bluetick]

Good find, sardis.

Heh- reading the comments, a bunch of complaints that cnn didn't give the story front-page treatment.

[Professor Tiger]

As a Ron Paul voter, I am pleased to see this:

Rand Paul Calls for New Populist Libertarianism

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articl ... 17057.html

Excerpts:

With his father now 77 and out of Congress, the libertarian torch has passed to the Kentucky senator, who makes no secret of his interest in running for the Republican nomination in 2016.

Paul: “The Republican party needs a good healthy dose of libertarianism and we also need to figure out something new, because what’s going on is not working.”

By contrast, Paul’s formula is a clear shift to “a less aggressive foreign policy, a little more toleration of individual characteristics, toleration of immigration and a less draconian approach to non-violent crime like drug usage”.

Paul said Mitt Romney had lost to Obama partly for not being able to connect with American populism and Republicans need to be able to “express that a bunch of rich bankers on Wall Street should not be getting bonuses on the backs of the middle class”.

Republicans had to persuade voters that “smaller government, lower taxes and less regulation” balance budgets and that school choice benefits the poor and minorities — both largely ignored by the party.

[10ac]

To put that in perspective, during the height of active battle operations in Iraq, US soldiers used 5.5 million rounds of ammunition a month. Extrapolating the figures, the DHS has purchased enough bullets over the last 10 months to wage a full scale war for almost 30 years.

[10ac]

DHS Purchases 21.6 Million More Rounds of Ammunition

To put that in perspective, during the height of active battle operations in Iraq, US soldiers used 5.5 million rounds of ammunition a month. Extrapolating the figures, the DHS has purchased enough bullets over the last 10 months to wage a full scale war for almost 30 years.

http://www.infowars.com/dhs-purchases-2 ... mmunition/

[Dr. Strangelove]

That water dispute will become more common across the Sun Belt in the next 30 years. Part of why I think the rapid growth down South cannot continue indefinitely.

With population growth and urbanization comes a rise in property values and the cost of living. That's basically inevitable. The system of low taxation and minimal govt infrastructure, which made the South attractive to business in the first place, will come under increasing strain.

We're already reaching a point where there may be too many people, not enough jobs, in many southern states. Texas is doing very well but the Southeast has many states that have unemployment rates worse than the national average (Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and North Carolina)

http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm