Californians fires

[Taso]

The general welfare, ie, the well being of the general population, not the peoples of california.

[adanthar]

[ QUOTE ]
The general welfare, ie, the well being of the general population, not the peoples of california.

[/ QUOTE ]

I disagree with the "everybody or nobody" inference. Here's the full text:

[ QUOTE ]
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.

[/ QUOTE ]

Note the conspicuous exclusion of taxes from the requirement of uniformity. It seems very plain that Congress can set taxes at different rates for different places, favoring one area over another, so long as it is for the general welfare. Unless somebody wants to argue that disaster relief does not benefit the US at large - and such an argument would have to be made on economic grounds - it's clearly covered.

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
As I watch the news, here, in Australia, my thought go to all those people that have lost their houses and possessions (and some indeed their lives or loved ones lives) in California those past days.

I was disturbed by also being forced to watch President Bush promise (another promisee, another lie) those Californians that they will not be forgotten in Washington and that help was forthcoming.

Assuming that President Bush was not lying, a big ask, I understand, what would make those Californians different from the many from New Orleans that are still waiting, regardless of even the international support and donations that that catastrophe generated?

[/ QUOTE ]


the only reason for a post like this is to inflame. why does this guy get a pass, continually?? what a joke. what vested interest does he have in any conversation regarding an American tradgedy? uh. yeah. none.

so eeeeeeeeeeeeeeasy to sit a world away and hurl inflammatory, ridiculous statements at those incompetent, corrupt Americans.

i mean how old does this get?? mission accomplished in my case, i guess. you have managed to raise my blood pressure a bit. which is your only point in every post that you bless upon this forum.

well done.

[/ QUOTE ]

Besides my sympathy to those who lost big in the Californians fires, another reason for this post of mine and not all my posts, is to support the large majority of US citizens that are inflamed by the actions of the current administration and to show that there is a lot of support for their view in the rest of the world.

My vested interest in US politics is that US politics engage in activities well outside of US boundaries and that this administration especially seems to set itself as moral arbiter to the rest of the world.

The very unfortunate situation is that I can't find another as inept administration in US history. And it affects people way beyond US boundaries, altough like it still does affect New Orleans citizen it will affect those in California for some time to come. Ineptitude is not a very easy thing to redress.

I am not saying Bush is totally inept. I mean, I think he may make a good ranch hand, a cow boy. But as a head of state and commander in chief, his failings have been too important and too obviously so, to give the dude any breathing space, Bush and the republicans must loose the next election for the rest of the world to be able to breathe a little more freely.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to reply to your post and make my point once more! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Taso]

I think Bush is going to win the 2008 election, sorry midge.

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
I think Bush is going to win the 2008 election, sorry midge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Great Taso, I'll give you any odds that he won't. I'll simply hope that the republicans won't! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Taso]

twenty to one?

[MidGe]

sure... how much are you prepared to stake. You have been kind to me, asking only 20:1, it would take a constitutional move to make Bush eligible! If that was at worse odds that 20:1 I fear for the whole world! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[tomdemaine]

[ QUOTE ]
twenty to one?

[/ QUOTE ]

[Taso]

haha, those cat things always make me giggle with glee.

[EN09]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Because the guy who wrote it said it doesn't?

[/ QUOTE ]

Many of those who wrote it certainly did; many others disagreed. The plain text, however, is pretty clear cut; Congress a)can regulate taxes for b)general welfare. As I said, it's been ignored in favor of the commerce clause for nutty historical reasons, but the text is very very clear on this.

[ QUOTE ]
and here i thought cali was burning from the hand of God.

the most unfortunate part of this whole thing is many will once again migrate into our area and commence their attempts at turning our Red State into a Blue. they did after the earthquakes back around '89 and they'll come again. we hate'em.

it'll be Brokeback Mountain all over again... dudes holding hands and swapping spit on the street corners, liberal professors and abortion lovers and yet more coffee shops.

[/ QUOTE ]

Who cares about the dead people and thousands of burned houses; the most unfortunate part of this whole thing is that you get to see two guys holding hands. What a disaster this must be for you [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

that ain't the half that's bad. those fleeing cali for tax reasons and for raising their kids in a better environment are moving to and buying up the mountains in our area. then they protest hunting and don't want to allow people access to the public lands behind them which they locked up to keep us out and their "wilderness" pristine. like the wilderness becomes theirs once they register as democrat in the County. then they come to town with their "petitions" to thwart economic development because they "left the big city and want to keep life simple here" and don't want an industry moving in to spoil their view. then they desire a bistro on main street and get a cilinary friend or two to move in behind them to open one up, and within two years of that we have a starbucks in town.

i'm all for cali staying green believe me, and the mountains here staying free. we have fires all the time but don't sweat it. in fact i drove through one today in Sundance, WY and we don't move to your neighborhood forcing our views and lifestyles onto your main streets.

now i hear there is a 5.6 quake in nocal. nocal i can live with. they do their thing and leave it at that. we do our thing and leave it as such as well.

i think it's ironic that a State and populace that despises the military and National Guard as much as they do publicly now cry out for the National Guard to "help" them.

carpe diem.

EN