Barack Obama's 'Ask Me Anything' Brings Down Reddit

[cybrcatter]

Articles referencing politics/politicians sure does attract the derp comments.

 

[misterawsome]

what are the odds the username PresidentObama was avalible.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]Hellbound[/nom]Its Obama, he chooses the questions asked.. Don't fool yourselves.. Mr. President.. With record job losses not seen since the great depression, current unemployment rate still hanging around 8.2%, National debt reaching a staggering 16 TRILLION..[/citation]
A) What as the GOP done for jobs? They have filibustered most DEM recovery plans. They have not produce a single real jobs bill yet... remember their 2010 campaign... "more jobs!" - what did they do? Abortion Abortion Abortion and light bulbs.

B) GOP turtle guy has publicly ON VIDEO said its their job to make the President a 1 term. Hmmm... I guess that pledge to the People of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICAN didn't mean shit to them, eh?

C) Deficit doesn't mean spending. Our spending is LOWER than it ever has been under Bush. Look up the chart on what made the deficit so high. #1 on the list... those Bush-Tax cuts the GOP is fighting to keep. Look up video of the GOP (McCain) saying that these tax-cuts are not paid for. When the USA goes to war (in the past) - taxes GO UP to pay for the war. Not the ones under Bush - money was borrowed (drum roll) by China.

Some examples: http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4c28e8027f8b9ad402570000/chart-of-the-day-bush-policies-deficits-june-2010.jpg
http://carpetbaggery.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/natl_debt_chart_2006.gif
http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/jamesfallows/DeficitChart2.jpg

The video for point B: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-A09a_gHJc

By all means, Hellbound - invalidate my points A B and C.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]kawininjazx[/nom]Hey Mr. Obama:Can you explain the hundreds of billions of our tax dollars going to failing green energy companies, many which have direct interests of many politicians?~~[/citation]
The govt has always given/loaned money to new technology... never heard of Military spending? I do some work in the OIL Industry. Guess what, OIL is not infinite. Wind and Solar *IS*.

D) Proof about the oil problem: Why would the oil companies drill OFF-SHORE if there is plenty of Oil in the ground? That is a big hint. Oil supply is depleting. Solar and Wind tech *IS* new and is expanding. Think the Oil & Coal infrastructure was instant? Solar/Wind farms don't cause any or very little pollution. They don't explode, they don't go BOOM and make hundreds of square miles uninhabitable because of radiation from a melt down. China is ahead of the game...

E) Think I'm joking? Even Saudi Arabia knows their oil has a limited future. But they have something not many countries have. Unusable land! So they are building a giant super solar collector to power Europe.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-10/saudi-arabia-plans-109-billion-boost-for-solar-power.html
http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/08/rafaa-bright-source-solar/

F) The USA has a problem sticking our dick into other peoples business. For the USA to have anything to do with Egyptian Politics is deadly. IT IS NOT OUR COUNTRY! How do you feel about OTHER countries telling US how to elect people? Oh yeah, we already do to some degree... bad... very bad.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]pacioli[/nom]The worse part is that with the situation as bad as it is in the U.S. he picked these fluffy questions out of the thousands that were asked of him...He thinks we are more interested in him being "a guy just like the rest of us" instead of being someone that can solve the important problems facing his constituents.This is why I don't respect politicians...[/citation] Yes... and no... who knows exactly. Has Mitt answered any SERIOUS questions?

We can't go into details about his BAIN company... but we are supposed to vote for him on his business record.

How about his time as governor of MASS? Nope, can't talk much about that... that would bring up Romneycare.

What about his taxes that everyone else releases 10+ years worth... Romney has only done 1 year. We already know he hides his money in the Cayman islands... but we are SUPPOSED to trust him?

The guy is a plastic robot... what he thinks is funny, is not. He insults people and does nothing. His Euro-trip was a complete farce. He even insulted his own with saying "those look like 7-11 cookies" from the town bakery he was stopping by. He looks like an idiot holding a Subway sand-which someone stuck in his hands. Its insulting "Get money from your parents to start a business and go to college". How many people here have/had parents who can give you a check for $50,000 or $200,000 to do such a thing without blinking?

Yeah, THOSE things are EASY when you are born into money. Unlike us working middle class - we HAVE to work to make a living.

 

[rickl7069]

[citation][nom]kinggraves[/nom]What? Do you guys mean to tell me that Obama intentionally picked easy questions that would look favorable to him rather than taking on tough issues?!I guess you've never seen any sort of political debate ever at any point by any candidate, because they all do that. Red or Blue, neither care about you. If you actually did tell the truth about your beliefs, you'd get labeled a "loony" by the media and popular opinion. I guess it is pretty crazy for a politician to be direct and honest, isn't it?[/citation]

Not true. Most Libertarian candidates would dig right into the tough questions because the honestly believe that they have the best answers and I agree with most of them. While most Republicans or Democrats are in politics for the money or power, most Libertarians are in it because they ACTUALLY want to restore our personal and economic freedoms. All of this is a generalization - there are, of course, exceptions.

 

[senshu]

[citation][nom]belardo[/nom] Hellbound - invalidate my points A B and C.[/citation]

They were so wrong as to be not worth responding to. I'd frankly be shocked if anyone takes the time to try and educate you, as it would clearly be time wasted.

 

[rickl7069]

To Belardo:

I know it's a waste of breath, but I really must reply and where do I start?
Let's start with Romney. First, I am a Libertarian and I don't like Romney, he is not good for Liberty or any more dedicated to the Constitution than Obama is and I could give very long, highly educated reasoning for my position. However, Let's address your points, I can't stand for you not to like him for such, well, untrue reason. You suggest we can't get details on his Bain company. Bain is publicly traded and every detail you could possibly imagine is public, what do you want to know? You suggest that "hiding" money in the Cayman islands is somehow wrong. If you had millions and didn't hide and diversify your money, you would be a fool, everyone does - the Cayman Islands is a good place to invest for numerous, easily researched reasons and there probably aren't many multi-millionaires that don't. You suggest we can't talk about Texas because of Romneycare. Wrong, we do and we don't like it any more than we like Obamacare. Your last point on Romney I can go with, he is a snob - but, so is Obama.
Does Romney lie? Well, of course he does and so does Obama. They are both full of crap and neither one would have a problem with using our Constitution to clean their toilets.
You say oil is not infinite. Correct, you are talking about peak oil and no one with a brain disagrees that it is a limited resource. However, those of us who truly understand capitalism know that it is not a problem that government needs to solve. Green research is a waste of money by the taxpayers right now because there is still enough oil for at least a hundred years and new methods of extraction during that time WILL further increase that time frame and due to the PRESENT abundance, therefore oil is cheaper than green and will remain the energy source of choice for quite some time. However, as the oil supply dwindles, the price will rise due to supply and demand which will eventually create the profit motive necessary for companies to invest in and supply new sources of energy. Amazingly, all of this will happen without government intervention. THE reason for offshore drilling is because it is, for the moment a cheaper, more viable, more reliable source than wind or solar. Have no fear, though, that will change eventually - all without the government stealing my money to pay for something that we do NOT want right now - wind and solar is NOT in demand, oil is.
I could on and on, but that's enough.

 

[outlw6669]

[citation][nom]cybrcatter[/nom]Articles referencing politics/politicians sure does attract the derp comments.[/citation]
Indeed; nothing brings out the stupid like a political discussion.

 

[pacioli]

[citation][nom]belardo[/nom]Yes... and no... who knows exactly. Has Mitt answered any SERIOUS questions?We can't go into details about his BAIN company... but we are supposed to vote for him on his business record.How about his time as governor of MASS? Nope, can't talk much about that... that would bring up Romneycare.What about his taxes that everyone else releases 10+ years worth... Romney has only done 1 year. We already know he hides his money in the Cayman islands... but we are SUPPOSED to trust him?The guy is a plastic robot... what he thinks is funny, is not. He insults people and does nothing. His Euro-trip was a complete farce. He even insulted his own with saying "those look like 7-11 cookies" from the town bakery he was stopping by. He looks like an idiot holding a Subway sand-which someone stuck in his hands. Its insulting "Get money from your parents to start a business and go to college". How many people here have/had parents who can give you a check for $50,000 or $200,000 to do such a thing without blinking?Yeah, THOSE things are EASY when you are born into money. Unlike us working middle class - we HAVE to work to make a living.[/citation]

Here is my point... Politicians suck! The citizens of the U.S. get to choose between one personality cult or the other... Neither will tell us their intentions... Instead they act like they are some sort of celebrity and we want to know about moronic facts about them instead of what they plan to do about issues...
Even when Obama was asked about harder questions like student loans and small businesses he gave no solutions, he merely tried to comfort the question asker. We don't need to be comforted. We need a stronger economy and a plan to get it. What is the plan? Who has the plan? No one will tell me...
You automatically assume my criticism of a person's actions indicate my allegiance to the opposite side of the coin. Well guess what... I am registered as an independant voter! It's hilarious how instead of addressing my criticism of Obama's superficiality, you start to attack Romney's superficial nature. Are you really worried about how nice someone is, If they go to 7-11 and Subway?
IMO, Bush did a terrible job at fiscally running the country and as far as I see it Obama has followed his fiscal policies nearly exactly.
I can separate an emotional attachment to a party line from reality.
One person has nothing to do with the choices another person makes. If you make your decisions based on what your party allegiance tells you... in effect you are blinded by your party line!
Demonizing those you perceive to be your enemy is an old technique. Hitler did that to push his Socialist agenda. First he started small and demonized Jehovah's Witnesses then moved on to bigger fish the Roma(gypsies), Pollacks, and Jews. Because I can think for myself, instead of what a party tells me I can recognize all that garbage/nonsense and ignore it.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]senshu[/nom]They were so wrong as to be not worth responding to. I'd frankly be shocked if anyone takes the time to try and educate you, as it would clearly be time wasted.[/citation] Hence, you proved the point. Your beliefs are not the same as Truth. It would be like a fan boy saying "Apple created the GUI" - when its not true and easy to prove. Yes, Apple made the first user-consumer friendly GUI. When something is incorrect or in error, it IS NOT A FACT. When something is an opinion, it is an opinion.

I for one, prefer to have a balanced govt of REAL DEMS AND REPUBs. Having opinions is fine and healthy. Making up BS like Birth Certificate, the deficit, Medicare, the Work for Welfare (which Romney asked for when he was gov.) or using a Quote against Obama which was in fact Obama quoting McCain... are just that, childish lies.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]pacioli[/nom]It's hilarious how instead of addressing my criticism of Obama's superficiality, you start to attack Romney's superficial nature. Are you really worried about how nice someone is, If they go to 7-11 and Subway?[/citation] Didn't know you can register as an independent... I'll never register with any party. I attacked Romeny's cookies 7-11 comment because of his character... he has no emotional respect for others, even if they are dirt poor by your standards. It like when you see a fat person in public do you (A) mind your own business or (B) say "hay fatso!".

I am not defending Obama on the fluff questions... it was light-weight stuff which is why I went with light-weight Romney stuff. Things like Making millions and hiding your money in the Cayman Islands is major. Nobody or company has ANY business being in the Cayman Islands. Its a scam location, nothing more. Like where I live near Dallas - its mostly a DRY area (no hard booze) - but there is the small town of 2-3 city blocks which has 3 liquor stores. It provides booze for 4 cities... serving no other purpose. Its not out in the boonies or anything odd... you wouldn't know you were technically IN another city unless someone told you.

The USA has may problems in our govt. without any simple way to fix it. Well, there are SOME simple ways - but that cannot happen unless voted for by..... (drum roll) the Congress/Senate.

To truly FIX our govt - which is supposed to be BY the PEOPLE for The PEOPLE:

1 - Corporations ARE not people! (They cannot die or give birth to people)

2 - No more campaign donations to anyone specific, ever again (From city counsel-man to President)

3 - Qualified people running for an office can get a shared amount of campaign money. IE: They get signatures and file the proper paper work on their own and/or with volunteers.

4 - Two-Term Limits for EVERYONE, period - if you are voted into a position, you can only do it twice... and work for 8 years. (You can have 2 terms in congress, 2 terms in the Senate, etc)

5 - No secret meetings with ANY lobbyist (they are useful for being a voice, but most of what they do is make secret deals and exchange money/gifts), the meetings must be recorded for open record - like it is for the Courts.

6 - After leaving office, you CANNOT be a lobbyist.

7 - When you leave office, you DON'T get medicare. Either give it to ALL of us, or don't just keep it for yourselves. tsk tsk, our govt. doesn't mind using Social medical services.

When our representatives are NOT spending 70% of their time fund-raising and campaigning for their next 2nd~6th terms, do you know what we get? A govt which is NOT being bought or controlled by companies. They are spending their TIME working for us, the people of the USA, as it should be.

When you give me $10 million, $100 million - there is going to be a favor asked, a law passed or a bill put into place that makes your "donation" into the election process an "investment" which makes you money.

But, this would require our current govt to agree to this. Sound like a good idea?

 

[belardo]

@ rickl7069 : First, I actually up-rated you on your response. What you said, is opinion - I don't think you are entirely correct with what you had to say, some of it is wrong or needs a bit of tweaking... but you are not lying about what you are saying.

Romney isn't good, as you say. He'll say whatever he need to say at the moment. In a 2002 video, he said "I will always be on the side of women's rights to choose" (abortion) - 2012 "I'm against abortion no matter what, rape, incest, possible death of the mother" - these are facts that are easy to prove.

Other facts:
- Birth Control pills are not always used for birth control (Even lesbians use it for other medical issues).

- Abortion is a national right, being taken away. Abortions have been going on for thousands of years. In the 60s, thousands of women were dying each year from back alley abortions... Sorry, I'd rather have a living teenage girl than a raped and left dead one by some creep in a motel... or coming home to find my 15yr old daughter with a coat-hanger sticking out of her vagina in a pool of her own blood. Even in Texas, back-alley abortions are on the rise (they are going to Mexico). Abortions are not cheap, not fun, not easy and not healthy. Yet my EX had one... she can't have kids, she wouldn't survive. But by the GOP standard, they want to regulate (through religious beliefs - a NO NO in the govt) peoples sex lives. Telling women to keep their legs closed is like telling guys to not jerk-off. Guess who loses first on that race?

- Most abortions happen in the first trimester. Late term ones are for medical reasons. (ie: the baby was wanted) - but due to problems, an abortion is needed. Like the creeps screaming at a women who is getting an abortion for her already dead child, already in tears. So these people need to mind their own damn business. If they believe in their God's way crap, then let it be between God and the patient... I think God can handle his own battles.

- Removal of social systems and education: In the old days, the rich like Romney's always had access to abortions... they'd go on "vacation" to Europe. Yet these same people are cutting single-mother programs, education, food-stamps, etc... but want to force people to have children they may not be able to affords to take care of OR capable of caring for emotionally. A $500 abortion is a lot cheaper than $700~1000 a month per child the state pays for the kid. THAT is a Conservative way to think...

And of course $50 month (or less or free) for birth control pills is even cheaper and reduces abortions... yet the GOP wants to MAKE the PILL ILLEGAL.

- What we spend in military is more than the next 11+ countries put together and most of them are our allies... Money spent for education has a bigger return than buying a useless $200million fighter jet that doesn't fly. We are a global economy... to attack the USA is not good for anyone. We can F-k anyone up with the push of a button. McCain, Romney and GOP are already drooling to attack Iran... because Iraq worked out so well for us, costing us trillions. If Iran drops a nuke (Yes, they are a terrorist controlled country) - they will be leveled in 30 minutes from our subs.

Yes, everyone lies... including you, me... up to a point. So I say, go with the best out of the bunch.

About Oil : We have already peaked. Costs of oil has been high since 2004. It will only get higher. But there are other costs to OIL we are paying for. Pollution and military. *IF or WHEN* the USA gets off our dependence on foreign oil (The middle east) - then we don't give a shit what they do over there. They'll always have wars with each other. Just being human. We can't stop the in-fighting in Iraq or Afghanistan... other than almost taking out the Taliban and killing OBL, its been a waste of our resources. Its their countries to run into the ground, let them be. The smarter countries do better - such as the UAE... others are chaos (Somalia, Afghan). Sorry, if anyone wants the USA to be the world police, they need to START PAYING for it. But its us, the American people who do.

I'd rather own an American car that gets its power from solar and wind energy from OUR country than a Japanese car with Arab oil which in turns pollutes my air, soil and water.

- Oil : Drill baby Drill... the oil we drill here isn't ours. Oil is traded on a global scale. When BP drills in OUR GULF, its not our oil. It doesn't go to the USA. Oil production is high in the USA, but how are our prices? The oil is sold to China... we are exporting OIL. Oil companies are here to make money, so selling more oil to China makes them more money than selling it to us and keeps the prices nice and high.

Green research is a waste of money by the taxpayers right now because there is still enough oil for at least a hundred years

A) Yet the US Govt gives the oil company $4 billion in tax breaks a year... how much did Exxon pay? Exxon made about $45+ billion in 2011 alone. I don't think they need any tax breaks.

B) Green tech creates jobs... some investments don't work... some does. China and Arabs are investing in the future... stop thinking 2 or 5 years into the future. I have to think about my grandchildren... I happen to want them to live in a world that is not toxic.

C) Oil companies donate $7k to DEM congress/senators for every $270K they give to GOP congress/senators. Why? DEMS want to cut off the tax breaks and the loop holes... which costs YOU and ME money.

D) we don't have a military need for our own Solar and wind power systems... unlike oil. So no, OIL is not cheaper.

E) We can't wait to use up oil and then work to resolve the problem. When gas is $15 a gallon is a good time to work on Solar power? If every home can have a $10,000 Solar collector and storage system (we don't at this time) that powers the home and charges the car - that would be cheaper than buy gas and coal and not create much pollution - other than making the devices. We need the oil for other things... lubrication, powering our airplanes and rockets. An electric passenger jet plane is not possible anytime soon... unless the weight of the batteries can be reduce to 1/2 as that of fuel. (Passenger planes need to lander lighter than take off)

THE reason for offshore drilling is...ble, more reliable source than wind or solar. Part of this statement is almost true, most of it is laughable.

Explain how the power of the SUN is LESS reliable than oil? Mankind will be long gone and the SUN will till be shining. No, off-shore OIL drilling costs are very expensive. I *DO* some work for an oil company. Land drilling is $10~20k a day - off shore is $200+ a day. The deeper the water, the more it costs. Why do you THINK they are drilling deeper and deeper each year?! Think they do that for fun? Yeah, lets drill in the OCEAN because land-drilling is for boring people. Oil in the ground could be good for tectonic plates (lubrication) - the Fracking in Texas has likely caused some earthquakes.

When you BUILD a windmill, its built... it'll require some maintenance... as does EVERYTHING else. But its not $1000 a day to work on a windmill or a solar collector.

The amount of sunlight that lands on the earth in a single hour, if could be captured - could power the planet for a year! We'd only need to be able to capture 1/1000ths of that to rid ourselves of oil dependency. Then our oil supplies can last 300~500+ years... for airplanes and space-crafts.

wind and solar is NOT in demand, oil is.

Why do you want oil? Its business and a current requirement for our planet to function... but its not something most people want. Its nasty and not good for you... its quite toxic. Yet its also used in food (red dye #40) - look at whatever red food you eat... you're eating oil. (Cherries, apples too since they are sprayed RED for that extra perfect RED color) drinks, candy, etc.

Why DO YOU want oil? So are you telling me if it costs you $2500 a year to drive your car on gas vs $250 a year with an electric car (because your home has solar power - the $$$ is from non-home power sources), you would choose gas?! In various cities (NOT the USA) - they are starting to design and built parking re-charging stations and solar-powered parking/charging stations.

So imagine this: part of your home has a solar collector, all your windows have Solar collectors (this is real tech) - an Electric car typically has a 80 mile range... fine for the city. {Chevy's Volt solves the problem of long-distance driving... its like a diesel electric train. The motors are electric, not combustion... but the combustion generators make electricity to turn the wheels.} So you drive to work (10~30 miles each way) - you park your car outside... but the parking spot is covered... on top of the cover is a solar panel collector. Depending on the standards, you plug in our car or there is a plate under the car that recharges wireless. (Like some of our cell phones). Maybe you pay $1~2 a day for the parking and the charge. Many parking spots have enough space for a solar collector to charge a car. If you work for 8 hours, your car will be fully charged... (10hours for a full charge 120v or 4hrs with 240v)... But if you drive an avg of 30~50miles a day, a nightly charge at home is all you need (from your stored power from your own solar collectors).

There is MONEY to be made in this... What are the pros: less pollution, better health, less noise and long term benefits of all.

Remember how much it costs for a personal computer back in 1986? Here is an example:
$5000~8000 bought you a Mac II or an IBM PC with 256 colors. An Amiga 1000 was $1200 with just a 7mhz CPU, 512K (K!) of RAM and floppy drive. No modem, no NIC. $1000 gave you 1MB (MB!!) of RAM upgrade. A HD was a $1000~2000 option... 20mb or so. No monitor included ($300 for a 13" POS)

The year 2012. $400 buys you notebook with a 3ghz dual core CPU, 4GB of RAM (400MB), 500GB HD, 15~17" LCD screen, wireless networking, a DVD-drive and burner.

Technology changes... Gas/Oil has its limits. And solar and Wind power technology improves YEARLY.

I'm thinking 40 years from now... the future of our planet. Not my wallet today... or giving some multi-millionaire a tax break in the hopes that some of his money will rain down on me out of the goodness of his heart.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]pacioli[/nom]Here is my point... Politicians suck! The citizens of the U.S. get to choose between one personality cult or the other... Neither will tell us their intentions... Instead they act like they are some sort of celebrity and we want to know about moronic facts about them instead of what they plan to do about issues...[/citation] You get 100% agreement from me on that one.

 

[belardo]

PROBLEM CORRECTION: A quote didn't make it above (no edit tools) which referrs to a statement that didn't get quoted:
[citation][nom]rickl7069[/nom]THE reason for offshore drilling is because it is, for the moment a cheaper, more viable, more reliable source than wind or solar.[/citation]
Part of this statement is almost true, most of it is laughable.

Explain how the power of the SUN is LESS reliable than oil? Mankind will be long gone and the SUN will till be shining. No, off-shore OIL drilling costs are very expensive. I *DO* some work for an oil company. Land drilling is $10~20k a day - off shore is $200+ a day. The deeper the water, the more it costs. Why do you THINK they are drilling deeper and deeper each year?! Think they do that for fun? Yeah, lets drill in the OCEAN because land-drilling is for boring people. Oil in the ground could be good for tectonic plates (lubrication) - the Fracking in Texas has likely caused some earthquakes.

When you BUILD a windmill, its built... it'll require some maintenance... as does EVERYTHING else. But its not $1000 a day to work on a windmill or a solar collector.

The amount of sunlight that lands on the earth in a single hour, if could be captured - could power the planet for a year! We'd only need to be able to capture 1/1000ths of that to rid ourselves of oil dependency. Then our oil supplies can last 300~500+ years... for airplanes and space-crafts.

(Go back up to the original post by me) - sorry.

 

[belardo]

DOH! Missed a typo:
Land drilling is $10~20k a day - off shore is $200K+ a day. The deeper the water, the more it costs.

Eventually, it could go to $400,000 a day.

*One of the big reasons for the BP blowup & spill in OUR gulf was because BP wanted to save 1-2 days of work, so they rushed the job.

*The oil industry as a whole, pay for lower safety standards... for the workers and the environment.
*Other than Apple, the TOP profitable companies in the world are OIL related... they are not suffering. Nobody is going hungry. nobody is NOT being hired. If there is oil to be drilled, they'll hire whoever they need.

 

[hoof_hearted]

Democrat = Government get to rape you.
Republican = Corporations get to rape you.

Great choice.

 

[pacioli]

[citation][nom]belardo[/nom]Didn't know you can register as an independent...[/citation]
When you register to vote you register as a member of a party... if you choose to not register as a member of a particular party you register as "Independent"
Have you ever voted or registered to vote?