YouTube – Debt Limit Voting Fail by “the adults”.
This is almost getting funny. The Republicans are like some kids running around with a loaded gun threatening to shoot themselves in the face. The Dems just seems afraid they’ll miss and kill everyone else (Dems included).
I was wandering through the new flicks on Netflix this weekend when I ran into this listing.
Based on a Japanese folk legend that echoes the tale of Robin Hood, this ninja thriller follows the exploits of Goemon Ishikawa (Yôsuke Eguchi), who leaves his fighting clan after its chief is murdered and uses his skills as a thief to help the poor. But after learning the identity of his leader’s killer — the traitorous XXXXXXX (Eiji Okuda) — Goemon sets out on a bloody path of vengeance, joined by his loyal friend, XXXXXXX (Takao Ôsawa)
[note: I XXX’ed a couple spoilers there.] If you have a Netflix account, or want to sign up for the free trial, you can do so here and watch the movie.
So…why this movie review and a blatant advertisement for Netflix? Umm, this movie is the most ninja thing I’ve ever seen. For someone who thought the concept of a Robot Pirate Ninja was pretty cool, seeing a movie about a Pirate Ninja is a welcome experience. Double that with the knowledge that they nailed the general attitude (as evidence by the titular character) and dedication one must have for this kind of work, and this movie is already nearing the limits of potential awesomeness.
Tell that whole story over a backdrop of action and effects that brings to mind both Dragonball Z and 300, and you’ve got a winner in my book. An epic one. There were probably five or six scenes in this movie where the only appropriate response is, “Oh wow, that’s sooo ninja.”
So if you enjoy watching ninjas wreck shit on screen, and have been waiting for a (mostly) live action feature focused one how totally freakin’ ninja one guy can be, Goemon is the flick for you.
It’s not very easy to find. He writes these long, number and ratio laden whine-rants, usually serving as an obscure rationalization for whatever the Republicans are doing/against what the Democrats are doing.
In this case it’s against the idea, NAY, AGAINST THE VERY NOTION, that a government might be able to raise taxes to pay down its debts and obligations. For those that are unaware, it’s much harder for conversative commentators to do this in 2011, as we have faced pretty much the same scenario in the past, did the right thing, and it paid off handsomely.[1]
That’s the one (kinda) honest line in this piece ‘o shilling shite.
It’s true that the economy was able to absorb the Bush 41 and Clinton tax hikes and still grow at a very rapid pace. But what the soak-the-rich lobby ignores is how different the world is today versus the early 1990s. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, over the past two decades the average highest tax rate among the 20 major industrial nations has fallen to about 45%. Yet the highest U.S. tax rate would rise to more than 48% under the Obama/Democratic tax hikes.
Yes, we were able to “absorb” tax rates which actually paid for government and balanced the budget (and led to the strongest economy is ages…again…why are you against *that*?). But that 3% difference, on the top, would apply only to those with an *annual income* of over a million dollars.
Someone has to pay for the Bush tax cuts which went largely to the same people. I alwasy thought it was fair that people pay for what they get, no matter how many politicians or newspapers you buy.
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Note, for those unfamiliar with the “work” of Stephen Moore, here’s pretty much all you need to know…he wrote an article making the “serious” argument that this title is accurate, “‘Atlas Shrugged’: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years.”
It starts with this line…”Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read “Atlas Shrugged” a “virgin.””
Hmmm, as someone who read Atlast Shrugged in their teens, I can certainly see how someone who waits to read it in their 30’s would give it WAAAAAY more weight than it warrants. Some things it’s best just to get out of the way early, especially if you want to be an expert in the field.
[1] A banking crisis created by deregulation following massive tax cuts (Thanks Ronnie!) hammered the economy leading to the obvious necessity to restore tax rates and reign in savings and loans (Thanks George 1). This led to massive job growth and a balanced budget. Read up on the 90’s, good times. Our Presidents used to get “rewards” for doing such a great job.
Robot Pirate Ninja 