Anonymous wrote:

"Nobody wants to punish success in America," Obama said. "What’s great about this country is our belief that anyone can make it and everybody should be able to try--the idea that any one of us can open a business or have an idea and make us millionaires or billionaires. This is the land of opportunity. That’s great. All I’m saying is that those who have done well, including me, should pay our fair share in taxes to contribute to the nation that made our success possible."

"This is not class warfare. It’s math," Obama said. "The money is going to have to come from someplace."

He's mad! - drunk with power and Marxist philosophy! Kill him before he kills us - it's self defense!

BTW, when he said that last line, I moved him a point toward "fool" on the fool/knave question. Always a good idea to repeat and legitimize ridiculous allegations.

Anonymous wrote:Ted and his house of cards, I mean AOL. One lucky sob!

Funny, in 1995 my company was telling them that they needed to start moving their content to the Internet and pursue an internet content model or they would be screwed. They went on and on about their special community.

Ted and his house of cards, I mean AOL. One lucky sob!

I wonder how he would have done in Greece?

Imagine what we could do if we could bottle his sex appeal - world peace, perhaps?

Anonymous wrote: I’ve got a few questions for Leonsis.

1. We had steeply progressive taxation in this country from World War I until the late ’80s. In that period, the US economy became the most powerful in the world and the American middle class grew like none other in history. Was that “class warfare”?

2. Taxes are at historic lows for the top 1% and total tax levels are also at historic lows at a time when the country is facing a decaying infrastructure, closing schools and record numbers of American children are surviving on food stamps. Is that a problem?

3. The concentration of wealth at the top in this country hasn’t been this pronounced since the 1920s. Is that a problem? What should be done it?

4. Studies show that Americans favor a much more equitable a distribution of wealth — akin to a country like Sweden. Is this belief rooted in resentment or “class warfare”?

(http://firedoglake.com/2011/09/27/billionaire-owner-of-washington-wizards-wants-obama-to-stop-calling-him-rich/)

Anonymous wrote:My take is that Ted is ok with paying his fair share of taxes, but wants govt to be more efficient and he wants the Dems to cut down on the rich bashing. He thinks that the rich are not the enemy - they should be held up as success stories.

Well let's see what Obama has said about them:

"Nobody wants to punish success in America," Obama said. "What’s great about this country is our belief that anyone can make it and everybody should be able to try--the idea that any one of us can open a business or have an idea and make us millionaires or billionaires. This is the land of opportunity. That’s great. All I’m saying is that those who have done well, including me, should pay our fair share in taxes to contribute to the nation that made our success possible."

"This is not class warfare. It’s math," Obama said. "The money is going to have to come from someplace."

Anonymous wrote:My take is that Ted is ok with paying his fair share of taxes, but wants govt to be more efficient and he wants the Dems to cut down on the rich bashing. He thinks that the rich are not the enemy - they should be held up as success stories.

Yes. I think you are right. He wants Obama to be nice and polite, and not try to use the people's emotions for political ends. And I suppose he believes that if the President behaves in this civilized fashion, his opponents will also.

Or maybe nobody that stupid could be as successful as he is, and he's flipped to the GOP because even if they fuck up the country, they'll help him get even richer.

My take is that Ted is ok with paying his fair share of taxes, but wants govt to be more efficient and he wants the Dems to cut down on the rich bashing. He thinks that the rich are not the enemy - they should be held up as success stories.

Anonymous wrote: I’ve got a few questions for Leonsis.

I'll try to answer for him.

Anonymous wrote:1. We had steeply progressive taxation in this country from World War I until the late ’80s. In that period, the US economy became the most powerful in the world and the American middle class grew like none other in history. Was that “class warfare”?

Instituting the taxes wasn't, but talking about the need for them was. It created tension.

Anonymous wrote:2. Taxes are at historic lows for the top 1% and total tax levels are also at historic lows at a time when the country is facing a decaying infrastructure, closing schools and record numbers of American children are surviving on food stamps. Is that a problem?

Oh, great - blame that on me too. I understand exactly what you're insinuating here; it's offensive and downright disgusting. My word! - children may read this!

Anonymous wrote:3. The concentration of wealth at the top in this country hasn’t been this pronounced since the 1920s. Is that a problem? What should be done it?

I got where I am solely through my own efforts. You may not know this, but I was left in a bus station bathroom as a newborn. I started out passing out towels for breast milk, and by the age of three I owned my own cleaning service. If I could pull myself up, so can others; a little hardship builds moral character. Moreover, fuck the poor.

Anonymous wrote:4. Studies show that Americans favor a much more equitable a distribution of wealth — akin to a country like Sweden. Is this belief rooted in resentment or “class warfare”?

Everyone knows that peer-reviewed studies by professors at the top university in this country can be made to say anything. And if there's a grain of truth in it, it's just a regrettable product of the lamestream media's propaganda campaign, from which only the 40% of people who rely on Fox News are spared.

I think where American conservativism went wrong is that it turned away from ideas, and embraced a cult of personality: starting with Reagan, and devolving from there. What once was a political philosophy has become a clutch of social resentments in search of a rationale.

There simply is no analogue on the Left, where ideas still rule the day.

"Ideas still rull the day", well certainly not results unless you live around here...

Obama is not making things more fair he is doing the opposite. Minorities are worse off than ever. The economy is in horrible shape everywhere in the country but here in the DC area. Ask yourself why, unemployment here in the suburbs of DC is 4% while in the rest of the country it is over 9%. Ask yourself why the three wealthiest counties in the US are the City of Falls Church, Loudoun and Fairfax. Ask yourself why your rich neighbors all drive BMWs and Mercedes while the rest of the country can't afford to pay for gas. Unions, government employees and crony businesses like Solyandra, they are the only ones benefiting from Obama.

Oh, one last thing: The reason we instituted things like social insurance, progressive taxation, etc... in this country was to prevent the 99% from coming after the 1% with pitchforks. We can practice redistribution of wealth through taxation, or we can do it the hard way.

I’ve got a few questions for Leonsis.

1. We had steeply progressive taxation in this country from World War I until the late ’80s. In that period, the US economy became the most powerful in the world and the American middle class grew like none other in history. Was that “class warfare”?

2. Taxes are at historic lows for the top 1% and total tax levels are also at historic lows at a time when the country is facing a decaying infrastructure, closing schools and record numbers of American children are surviving on food stamps. Is that a problem?

3. The concentration of wealth at the top in this country hasn’t been this pronounced since the 1920s. Is that a problem? What should be done it?

4. Studies show that Americans favor a much more equitable a distribution of wealth — akin to a country like Sweden. Is this belief rooted in resentment or “class warfare”?

(http://firedoglake.com/2011/09/27/billionaire-owner-of-washington-wizards-wants-obama-to-stop-calling-him-rich/)

This is especially rich given that 99.99% of the *reason* anyone is rich in this country is infrastructure. Don't want to pay taxes? Fine. Drop the money off on your way out the door, and start over in Gabon. I'm sure you'll easily replicate your success with nothing but the sweat of your brow and sticktoitiveness.

Support for progressive taxation is pretty much a litmus test for patriotism among the wealthy.

Anonymous wrote:The main point that the OP is making is that is that Obama's policies are bad for the economy and are not helping.

No it wasn't. The linked piece was about how the Dems ("many" of them, who remained nameless) should stop the (undefined and unquoted) class warfare of blaming stuff on rich people, who got all they have through hard work, gumption, daring, moxie, and sticktoitiveness. (How do we know? - why, just ask one!)

I think where American conservativism went wrong is that it turned away from ideas, and embraced a cult of personality: starting with Reagan, and devolving from there. What once was a political philosophy has become a clutch of social resentments in search of a rationale.

There simply is no analogue on the Left, where ideas still rule the day.