Food for Thought

lollsie21 · #1 10-22-2008, 10:30 AM

George Bush has been in office for 7 1/2 years. For the first six the economy was fine. A little over one year ago:

Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high.
Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon.
The unemployment rate was 4.5%.
The DOW JONES hit a record high - near 14,000.
Americans were buying new cars, taking cruises, and living large!

In 2006 America voted in a Democratic Congress. Under this new Congress with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed in charge of the purse strings:

Consumer confidence has plummeted.
Gasoline reached $4.50-$5.00 a gallon.
Unemployment is up to 5.5% (a 10% increase) and rising.
Americans have seen their home equity drop by $12 TRILLION and dropping.
3-5% of American homes are in foreclosure.
THE DOW has lost 6,000 points, the most EVER.
TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE EVAPORATED FROM PORTFOLIOS!

YES, IN 2006 AMERICA VOTED FOR CHANGE... AND WE SURE GOT IT!....

__________________
"For now, we have a new president-elect. In the spirit of reaching across the aisle, we owe it to the Democrats to show their president the exact same kind of respect and loyalty that they have shown our recent Republican president." - Ann Coulter

Bada Bing · #2 10-22-2008, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lollsie21

George Bush has been in office for 7 1/2 years. For the first six the economy was fine. A little over one year ago:

Consumer confidence stood at a 2 1/2 year high.
Regular gasoline sold for $2.19 a gallon.
The unemployment rate was 4.5%.
The DOW JONES hit a record high - near 14,000.
Americans were buying new cars, taking cruises, and living large!

In 2006 America voted in a Democratic Congress. Under this new Congress with Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed in charge of the purse strings:

Consumer confidence has plummeted.
Gasoline reached $4.50-$5.00 a gallon.
Unemployment is up to 5.5% (a 10% increase) and rising.
Americans have seen their home equity drop by $12 TRILLION and dropping.
3-5% of American homes are in foreclosure.
THE DOW has lost 6,000 points, the most EVER.
TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE EVAPORATED FROM PORTFOLIOS!

YES, IN 2006 AMERICA VOTED FOR CHANGE... AND WE SURE GOT IT!....

Nice effort...

snopes.com: Voting for Change

lollsie21 · #3 10-22-2008, 11:07 AM

I think it's funny that people are naive enough to believe that one year isn't enough time for Congress (or the Senate) to have either a negative or positive impact on the government.

It's just not true.

When Reagan was president, the Dems controlled the House AND the Senate. But he didn't let that stop him. If he wanted something done, he would call a press conference, tell the American people what he was trying to do and who was stopping it from happening. He would then tell the American people (who wanted what he was trying to pass to go through) to call their Congressmen, and call their Senators to make it happen.

And you know what? THEY MADE IT HAPPEN. All within a 1-6 DAY period.

So please come at with me something different than the tired, old, they couldn't damage the economy in just one year. Because if they had done something positive, y'all would be real quick to grab the credit for that.

Jessica · #4 10-22-2008, 11:15 AM

Whoever composed this grocery list of bad deeds lacks a basic understanding of… well, pretty much everything. To begin with, it’s based on a fallacy. The Senate is not “Democratic,” but rather stands at a 49/49 split between Dems and Repubs with 2 Independents. The House of Representatives does have a Democratic majority, but I don’t think anyone with the slightest notion of how the political process in America works honestly believes that the House of Representatives, working against an even shot Senate and a Republican presidency could possibly have enough knowledge, power, or wherewithal to create such cataclysmic circumstances in such a short time. And it the House does have that kind of powers, then we’re in a whole hell of a pickle, because there are some complete morons with a hand in that cookie jar.
Therefore, the entire piece is based on a rather self-defeating premise of circular logic. John Locke is rolling over in his grave right now.

__________________
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
--Eleanor Roosevelt

Bada Bing · #5 10-22-2008, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lollsie21

I think it's funny that people are naive enough to believe that one year isn't enough time for Congress (or the Senate) to have either a negative or positive impact on the government.

It's just not true.

When Reagan was president, the Dems controlled the House AND the Senate. But he didn't let that stop him. If he wanted something done, he would call a press conference, tell the American people what he was trying to do and who was stopping it from happening. He would then tell the American people (who wanted what he was trying to pass to go through) to call their Congressmen, and call their Senators to make it happen.

And you know what? THEY MADE IT HAPPEN. All within a 1-6 DAY period.

So please come at with me something different than the tired, old, they couldn't damage the economy in just one year. Because if they had done something positive, y'all would be real quick to grab the credit for that.

I wish life were as easy as reading a few chain e-mails to sort through the
complex amount of information in the world. However I find that these
kinds of messages tend to add to the contention and discord around this place,
which is something I thought a lot of us agreed we needed to stop doing.

Since it was blatantly false (if not misleading) information,
I felt the need to set the record straight. I’m not
trying to take the opposite position of you just for shits and giggles.
But one thing I usually respond to is information that is questionable, no matter what the party affiliation.
By all means, believe Congress created the whole problem if you want, and keep sharing this chain
e-mail with friends and family. No skin off my back. All I wanted to do was give some perspective to what you posted.

ss0847 · #6 10-22-2008, 11:47 AM

regardless of what's true and what's false....bing I do applaud your response...

does it really matter? like bing has said before the next president is being handed a shit sandwich...

fact of the matter is...you can pass the blame on democrats and republicans all you like...however at the end of the day...your still paying higher fuel costs...your job is much less secure then it has been in previous years...your home's value is plumetting...if you think either candidate is going to come in and make immediate changes...I think your in for a wake up call...my philosophy is...who cares who is president...cause were all gonna get screwed anyway no matter how you look at it

a wise man once told me

'why worry about things that are out of your control'

I think that really applies here...

we all get heated and sometimes lose friends over these 'debates'...you can't control anything so why bother? why not just be happy with what you do have in life while you still have it?

-ss

Bada Bing · #7 10-22-2008, 12:37 PM

The naive people over at FactCheck.org had this to say about the
chain e-mail.

(posted, again, just to add some perspective)

FactCheck.org: Did electing a Democratic Congress in 2006 really lead to increased unemployment, higher gas prices and more home foreclosures?

For those that have minds that grow tired of excessive reading
of facts without the use of bullet points, please skip the link.

Jessica · #8 10-22-2008, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bada Bing

The naive people over at FactCheck.org had this to say about the
chain e-mail.

(posted, again, just to add some perspective)

FactCheck.org: Did electing a Democratic Congress in 2006 really lead to increased unemployment, higher gas prices and more home foreclosures?

For those that have minds that grow tired of excessive reading
of facts without the use of bullet points, please skip the link.

I swear, I hadn't even seen that link when I posted my whole logical fallacy bit. I was just showing off my bourgeois liberal arts education.

Food for Thought

Government & Politics