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Aeneas Hunter
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 Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:23 am Post subject: |
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I started to post this in General Basketball Discussion, but that would have been a disaster.
| Quote: | Gov. Scott Walker proposed a plan Tuesday that calls for Wisconsin to help build a new basketball arena for the Milwaukee Bucks with $220 million in bonds that would be funded by projected growth in income taxes from NBA players.
The Republican governor said his "Pay Their Way" proposal would protect state taxpayers and keep the team in Milwaukee. A new arena in downtown Milwaukee could cost about $450 million to $500 million.
New owners bought the team last April and have promised to contribute $150 million toward the new arena. Former owner and ex-U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl has promised $100 million of his own money to help replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center, which was built in 1988.
Under what Walker called a "first-of-its-kind" plan, the more than $6.5 million that's collected from taxes on the salaries of the Bucks and visiting NBA players would continue to go to the state's general fund. Walker said that figure is expected to grow due to rising salaries and revenue from the NBA's TV contracts, so any money above $6.5 million would be used to pay off the bond by 2046.
"I think it's arguably the most fiscally conservative idea in the country for a professional sports team," Walker said at a Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce meeting. "We're having them pay their own way. It's not coming out of revenues from anywhere else. It's not coming from new taxes. It's keeping the foundation we have today." |
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12236514/plan-help-fund-milwaukee-bucks-new-arena-proposed-wisconsin-governor-scott-walker
This is one of the most ridiculous exercises in political double talk and fiscal tomfoolery that I've seen in a long time, and that's saying something. Here is what he is really trying to say:
1. If the Bucks leave Wisconsin, we lose the income tax revenue that comes from the salaries of Bucks players who live and play in Wisconsin, as well as the income tax revenue from visiting players.
2. That is $6.5M per year and it may go up due to the new TV contract.
3. If we build an arena and keep the Bucks in Wisconsin, we can use the tax revenue from the retained players to help pay off the bonds. So it winds up being a wash from a fiscal perspective.
4. See? I'm a GOP star! I'm giving "those people" their arena, but I'm making "them" pay for it. Let's skip over the fact that "they" wouldn't actually own the arena.
5. Nothing could ever go wrong with this. |
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ChefLinda
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| Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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| ^^^Helping big business and sticking it to the average taxpayer then pretending you aren't, is pretty much the definition of most GOP politicians. Hey, look over here while I pick your pocket! And while we're at it let's blame our economic problems on unionized working middle-income people including those bastard teachers earning $35,000 year! |
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:45 pm Post subject: |
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Right. This one just makes me shake my head. Walker wants to use public money to help a couple hedge fund guys get a new arena for the team they bought, so that they can make money and sell the team for a profit. So he's going to sell it to the public by acting like the NBA players are paying for it.
I'll be interested to see whether Walker gets any blow back for this. |
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lakersken80
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| Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| Just glad the citizens of LA don't buy into funding sports teams at taxpayers expense. These guys can easily make their money back especially in a big market, they don't need our help. |
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ribeye
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| Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 1:54 pm Post subject: |
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Nothing at all wrong with AH's current sub-topic regarding Scott Walker and his elitist values, but I wanted to shift this to another topic.
I wanted to see what the, typically, more liberal thinkers on this site think of Obama wanting to raise spending by 6.8%. Though progressive in thinking and a moderate liberal (though firmly anti-Republican), I am firmly against this.
Since 1982 when Reagan took office, the debt to GDP has more than tripled. Baby boomers have begun to retire. Existing debt and the interest on top of it (CBO projects that the interest, as a percentage of GDP, will be more than either Defense or non-defense spending by 2023) Then there is Social Security, which will eventually drain its trust fund. Then, THEN comes the big dog, Medicare spending and all the projected increases.
If the US is to increase spending, it MUST be for infrastructure projects so that if we leave subsequent generations debt, we leave them with something more than failed foreign policy fiascos.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/obama-sequestration-budget-2016_n_6567816.html
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 2:54 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm a fiscal conservative, so I should be opposed to it. Honestly, though, I don't take it any more seriously than a lot of the junk coming out of the House these days. It's just empty political posturing. |
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DuncanIdaho
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| Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2015 9:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Aeneas Hunter wrote: | | I'm a fiscal conservative, so I should be opposed to it. Honestly, though, I don't take it any more seriously than a lot of the junk coming out of the House these days. It's just empty political posturing. |
Yeah. Pretty much nothing is going to get done for the next two years. There will be stupid bills out of the house and senate to prepare guys for presidential runs, and Obama will veto pretty liberally. |
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ContagiousInspiration
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| Posted: Sat Jan 31, 2015 1:58 am Post subject: |
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We need to increase war spending and send out more free foreign aid
We need to take down ISIS since we gave them blackhawk helicopters and abrahms tanks and such
We should also keep fighting in Syria |
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tlim
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| Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:05 am Post subject: |
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So if I'm an employer of a large corporation, according to Walker, you can "pay your way" by taking the income taxes of the employees to fund what you need.
So for a place like Googleplex, all of it could be paid for by the state by applying the $15k per employee for state taxes per year. So applying that logic to companies in general, all buildings should be essentially free for all businesses?
The logic of the GOP and their biases sicken me. Do this stuff for the top 0.1 % and claim that they pay their way. For everyone else, STFU. |
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Wilt
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| Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 12:16 pm Post subject: |
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Seems that Walker has been surging in the last couple weeks. His speech was well received in Iowa, and he's looking good in polls.
Looks like Jeb will have most of the moneyed interests behind him, at least in the outset. Which might eliminate Christie early in the primary as the "establishment candidate," particularly if he doesn't do well in NH.
If Walker wins Iowa, that will eliminate Huckabee and Santorum (assuming the latter will run, which is not clear). Walker wants to establish himself as THE conservative candidate, without sounding crazy.
That leaves us with Cruz and Rand Paul as two candidates that might compete for a while even if they keep losing.
After the first couple caucuses and primaries, chances are good we'll be left with Walker, Jeb, Cruz, and Paul. Walker has executive and conservative credentials. Jeb has the establishment behind him. Cruz is the populist Tea Partier. Paul is the libertarian.
My money is on Walker, as Jeb's stance on immigration might be too much to overcome, unless he quickly evolves on it.
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tlim
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 6:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Eh, it's Kansas. I'm not sure they can even afford books in their schools. |
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Aeneas Hunter
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KobeRe-Loaded
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| Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 9:45 am Post subject: |
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Really enjoyed Bibi's speech, the way the senate was clapping ... sure looked like a President we could get behind.
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Wilt
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| Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 10:42 am Post subject: |
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So David Petraeus will plead guilty for disclosing classified information to his mistress. Amazingly, it's just a misdemeanor. Two years probation and a fine. 
Btw, remember that MoveOn.Org ad that called him "General Betray Us" a few years ago? They received so much criticism for that. They turned out to be correct. 
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focus
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| Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:03 pm Post subject: |
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| KobeRe-Loaded wrote: | | Really enjoyed Bibi's speech, the way the senate was clapping ... sure looked like a President we could get behind. |
https://vine.co/v/OQYtm2rPbHM |
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focus
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| Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Wilt wrote: | So David Petraeus will plead guilty for disclosing classified information to his mistress. Amazingly, it's just a misdemeanor. Two years probation and a fine.
Btw, remember that MoveOn.Org ad that called him "General Betray Us" a few years ago? They received so much criticism for that. They turned out to be correct. |
Wish that was at all funny. Disclose classified info to mistress if you're a general and it's a misdemeanor? Good example for non-generals. |
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Dominator
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| Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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| KobeRe-Loaded wrote: | | Really enjoyed Bibi's speech, the way the senate was clapping ... sure looked like a President we could get behind. |
You can get behind him, just move to Israel. |
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ribeye
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:06 am Post subject: |
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| Dominator wrote: | | KobeRe-Loaded wrote: | | Really enjoyed Bibi's speech, the way the senate was clapping ... sure looked like a President we could get behind. |
You can get behind him, just move to Israel. |
If only Republicans liked their country as much as their party, maybe the Potus (as in United States) would receive such applause.
Like most Americans, I strongly support Israel, but this worship of Natanyahu, who, we must not forget, was a strong advocate for the Iraq War that broke Iraq, but also gave Iran more power and control in the country. THAT didn't work out. Not even a little.
He said previously that Iran was months away from nuclear capability yet he now said we should stop negotiations and let sanctions play out.
Huh???
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ribeye
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:11 am Post subject: |
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I've always been ambivalent on Snowden's actions, but have started to move towards seeing his actions as more to the good than to the bad. Do we know if any of the revelations really hurt US security?
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Aeneas Hunter
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 8:00 am Post subject: |
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| ribeye wrote: | | I've always been ambivalent on Snowden's actions, but have started to move towards seeing his actions as more to the good than to the bad. Do we know if any of the revelations really hurt US security? |
I don't know about security per se, but there isn't any doubt that his revelations have caused great damage to us at the diplomatic level. The government says that he harmed our intelligence capabilities and undermined our security, but you would expect the government to say that. I expect that there is some truth in it, but it's hard to say how much.
As for whether the good outweighs the bad, I think it's a false choice. In order to achieve the "good," he didn't need to hand over a vast amount of classified information to the media and Putin. If he had just been a whistleblower with some selected documents to support his allegations about spying against American citizens, it would be a different matter. But where is the "good" in exposing our intelligence activities against foreign countries? In my book (if not the letter of the law), that's treason. |
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ribeye
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 10:06 am Post subject: |
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| Aeneas Hunter wrote: | | ribeye wrote: | | I've always been ambivalent on Snowden's actions, but have started to move towards seeing his actions as more to the good than to the bad. Do we know if any of the revelations really hurt US security? |
I don't know about security per se, but there isn't any doubt that his revelations have caused great damage to us at the diplomatic level. The government says that he harmed our intelligence capabilities and undermined our security, but you would expect the government to say that. I expect that there is some truth in it, but it's hard to say how much.
As for whether the good outweighs the bad, I think it's a false choice. In order to achieve the "good," he didn't need to hand over a vast amount of classified information to the media and Putin. If he had just been a whistleblower with some selected documents to support his allegations about spying against American citizens, it would be a different matter. But where is the "good" in exposing our intelligence activities against foreign countries? In my book (if not the letter of the law), that's treason. |
Was it Snowden or was it Assange (whom I do see differently than Snowden) who released the State Department emails? I seem to remember Assange saying something to the effect of, oh well.
I would also have a problem if Snowden turned the information over to Russia, even if they are (or were) not considered an enemy of the US, but I don't know if that is known one way or the other.
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Wilt
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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| focus wrote: | | Wilt wrote: | So David Petraeus will plead guilty for disclosing classified information to his mistress. Amazingly, it's just a misdemeanor. Two years probation and a fine.
Btw, remember that MoveOn.Org ad that called him "General Betray Us" a few years ago? They received so much criticism for that. They turned out to be correct. |
Wish that was at all funny. Disclose classified info to mistress if you're a general and it's a misdemeanor? Good example for non-generals. |
My laughter came mostly from disgust, as opposed to not realizing the seriousness of this.
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Christopher C
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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| ribeye wrote: | | I would also have a problem if Snowden turned the information over to Russia, even if they are (or were) not considered an enemy of the US, but I don't know if that is known one way or the other. |
There is no evidence of that, it's just Aeneas Hunter talking out of his ass. |
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Omar Little
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| Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2015 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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| KobeRe-Loaded wrote: | | Really enjoyed Bibi's speech, the way the senate was clapping ... sure looked like a President we could get behind. |
We being the people like him, who use a targeted enemy and a hardline opposition to actually solving problems as a way to perpetuate power?
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