TBD on Ning

going along with that commentary about the bush and etc....

and this is from forbes.....not a fan of obama by any means

Rick Ungar, Contributor

I write from the left on politics and policy.

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Op/Ed

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5/24/2012 @ 6:33PM |2,301,379 views

Who Is The Smallest Government Spender Since Eisenhower? Would You Believe It's Barack Obama?

2,446 comments, 420 called-out

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It’s enough to make even the most ardent Obama cynic scratch his head in confusion.

Amidst all the cries of Barack Obama being the most prolific big government spender the nation has ever suffered, Marketwatch is reporting that our president has actually been tighter with a buck than any United States president since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Who knew?

Yep, Obama's a Big Spender...Just Like His Predecessors

Capital Flows Contributor

Check out the chart –

So, how have the Republicans managed to persuade Americans to buy into the whole “Obama as big spender” narrative?

It might have something to do with the first year of the Obama presidency where the federal budget increased a whopping 17.9% —going from $2.98 trillion to $3.52 trillion. I’ll bet you think that this is the result of the Obama sponsored stimulus plan that is so frequently vilified by the conservatives…but you would be wrong.

The first year of any incoming president term is saddled—for better or for worse—with the budget set by the president whom immediately precedes the new occupant of the White House. Indeed, not only was the 2009 budget the property of George W. Bush—and passed by the 2008 Congress—it was in effect four months before Barack Obama took the oath of office.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/05/24/who-is-the-smalles...

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lifesighs on April 18, 2013 at 1:01pm

Doesn't matter what the facts are, the people who say this stuff about Obama won't believe you. Facts don't mean anything to them. They are not interested in truth.

Permalink Reply by P.A. on April 18, 2013 at 1:59pm

Conservatives have convinced themselves that only they can govern in spite of the fact that whenever they are in power things fall about. When Democrats take over they will not accept them as legitimate. Look how they treated Carter and Clinton. They spent about $80 million trying to dig up dirt to no avail. The only criminal in that investigation was Kenneth Starr and the people who backed him. Now they do the same to Obama.

Permalink Reply by frenchy on April 18, 2013 at 2:34pm

well i try to see the good on both sides ..but sometimes its hard to .. i do think that the gubment needs to find a way to do more with the money they get .. the reps ain't wrong about that .. but we also have to find a way to give everybody in this country a fair shake at the necessities .. food, clothes, a warm dry place to sleep , health care when we need it .. i have no argument from the dems on that score at all .. but somehow i think they can spend their money better if they wanted to and accomplish the same things ..i think there's a lot of waste goin in the gubment and sometimes they're penny wise and pound foolish .. if i can balance my budget and believe me if you saw the kinda money i make sometimes you'd laugh then why can't they ?? arent they supposed to be appointin the best minds for these problems ?? if you worked at walmart and didn't get the job they hired you for done would they keep you around cause you dressed nice ?? or because you had a nice smile ?? a big part of our problem is the gubments too damm big so nobody ever gets held accountable . and that starts at the city level and goes right on up to the county to the state to the federal .. but i think the federal is the worst offenders of all .. somebody should go down there to washington and slap some sense into them bastards .. no milk and cookies for you and you go to bed without supper tonite .. somethin .. anything .. just to shake em up .. we need congressmen who will work together .. the greek word for politics means compromise .. i think in order to drive a car you should have a license so you don't crash up and hurt somebody .. to run for congress you should have to have a degree in politcal science for the same reason .. and use this congress we had for the last 4 years as an example in class of what not to do .. i dunno .. anybody have anything to add ?? oh yeah .. keep their private lives out of politics .. if they ain't breakin the law its nobodys business who you're screwin around with .. thats between you and your spouse .. not the nation ..

Permalink Reply by Shadowman on April 18, 2013 at 2:47pm

It is about who can master the perception of things. For example, Reagan was a wild spender and grew the debt like crazy but when he went out he preached frugality and thrift. It is hard to explain why people believed him but psychologically they probably wanted to. When Reagan grew the bureaucracy and government like crazy while preaching small government, people believed him and saw the crazy people he dumped in the streets as proof of budget cuts. But then I think Reagan was a bit confused and did not see the contradictions himself or maybe he thought lying was like acting, not a moral issue.

Permalink Reply by blithe spirit on April 18, 2013 at 4:34pm

There facts and there are lies and yes statistics can be used to to present facts and to lie, but having said that, it doesn't excuse any one to throw our hands up and not try to find the facts and throw away the lies. You have to vet your sources. For those who haven't ever had to use the internet to research, it's sort of like a seek and she will find kind of thing. There are reputable sources for lots of information if you are willing to search for it.

Those who rely on the popular media get what they get...its about a popularity contest and what do you like to hear and we will strech most anything to get the rating and the money. The media deliberately exploits their viewership and their readership to create controversy and cause confusion and fear of the unknown. They play to bumpersticker small minded politics.

We are the sages of our time...the seniors...the ones who have the background knowledge to be able to explain the nuances of the political scene. We owe the younger generation to be as smart as we can be able to sift through the bull shit and come up with answers.

It's not about being fair and balanced...it's about being truthful with the public and not slanting the information to fit an agenda. The agenda is not the problem its the lie used to promote it.

Permalink Reply by blithe spirit on April 18, 2013 at 6:22pm

You may already be familiar with this blogger, but I thought you might be interested in what he has to say about the media, so I'll share this link...he is commenting about the Boston bombings.

and just to be clear..it's an opinion piece only... but for now is the most factual information that is out there...

http://www.stonekettle.com/

Permalink Reply by blithe spirit on April 18, 2013 at 6:32pm

we are all opinionanted people...thats a good thing... means we are thinking and sorting the bullshit out a piece at a time.

Permalink Reply by Shadowman on April 18, 2013 at 7:04pm

Blithe, do you mean to say you don't see the Alex Jones character as a beacon of truth in the world? ;-)

Permalink Reply by ProblemAgain on April 18, 2013 at 7:34pm

Alex Jones raises ‘false flag’ conspiracy after Boston Marathon bombings

http://media.zenfs.com/208/2011/06/21/blogger-stableford-40_041211.jpg" alt="" title="" class="author-image" height="40" width="40"/>

By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo! News | The Lookout – Tue, Apr 16, 2013

http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/thelookout/alex-jones-false-flag.jpg" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-43015" title="Alex Jones, left; a scene from "Family Guy" (InfoWars.com/Fox)" alt="" height="207" width="310"/>Alex Jones, left; a scene from "Family Guy" (InfoWars.com/Fox)

While the country was trying to process the terror as it unfolded at the Boston Marathon on Monday, Alex Jones, a right-wing radio host, took to Twitter to express his sympathy for the victims—and to claim that the attack was part of a government conspiracy.

"Our hearts go out to those that are hurt or killed," Jones wrote. "But this thing stinks to high heaven #falseflag."

The "false flag" attack Jones was referring to is a term that originated during naval warfare. "For centuries, ships have sailed under a flag identifying their nationality," The Atlantic Wire noted. "During times of war, ships would sometimes change the national flag they flew in order to fool other vessels that they sought to attack or escape from. They would fly, in other words, a 'false flag.'"

Jones suggested that the FBI orchestrated the bombings under the false flag of a terrorist organization in order to justify expanded security powers. The Boston attack, he theorized, was staged by the U.S. government to extend the reach of both the Dept. of Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration.

"Just wait folks," the 39-year-old Texan wrote. "#TSA groping you at sporting events coming soon."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/false-flag-alex-jones-boston-ma...

Permalink Reply by Lifesighs on April 18, 2013 at 6:42pm

Obama is not my favorite person at the moment, his idea of cutting the cost of living from Social Security makes me furious however I am so damned tired of seeing idiotic things from birthers and some of the hate stuff that a member of this group posts on FB.

If Hillary had run against Obama, I would have voted for her but to go with that guy who was going to do more for the rich and greedy just wasn't on. I can be more than conservative when it comes to budget, social programs are another whole ball game, people first for me always.