Obama's WaPo Op-Ed

[Winehole23]

Please find the SpursTalk commentary at: 'Obama is a liar' (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116035)

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The Action Americans Need (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR2009020403174.html?hpid=opinionsbox1)


By Barack Obama


Thursday, February 5, 2009



By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring.




What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis.


Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse it.


That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by businesses and consumers alike, and take steps to strengthen our country for years to come.


This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education. And it's a strategy that will be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability, so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent.


In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.


I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail.


Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now.


Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process.



Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years.



Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans.



And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway.



These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide.



So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time.



The writer is president of the United States.

[DarrinS]

Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now.




Yep. Still waiting.

[boutons_deux]

quit waiting.

We all know, the Repugs have plainly stated, they want Obama to fail, they want Americans in maximum pain, and will block any anti-cyclical proposals, while proposing nothing but pro-cyclical crap.

[Winehole23]

Yep. Still waiting.For what, the government to solve it for you?

[Winehole23]

you dummy

[101A]

Please find the SpursTalk commentary at: 'Obama is a liar' (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116035)

----------------------------------------------------------------

The Action Americans Need (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR2009020403174.html?hpid=opinionsbox1)


By Barack Obama


Thursday, February 5, 2009



By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring.




What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis.


Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse it.


That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by businesses and consumers alike, and take steps to strengthen our country for years to come.


This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education. And it's a strategy that will be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability, so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent.


In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.


I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail.


Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now.


Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process.



Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years.



Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans.



And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway.



These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide.



So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time.



The writer is president of the United States.

He put a lot of rope out there nearly three years ago; hung a lot of promise on the stimulus package: right there in print.

[Winehole23]

For sure, but I don't have to support Darrin's trite bs.

[boutons_deux]

"hung a lot of promise on the stimulus package"

several non-partisan studies have shown the stimulus saved or created several M jobs. So it succeeded as far as it went, which was not far enough. Should have been $2T or more, and a new WPA created.

Roubini, Krugman, Reich who all saw the bubble, and about the shithole "Correction" we are now in, all say the stimulus was way too small. They were right.

The Repugs will block anti-cyclical spending like new stimulus, doing spending cuts at fed and state levels that are all pro-cyclical making the Banksters' Great (Jobs) Depression worse, which is exactly the 2012 campaign strategy they want.

[101A]

"hung a lot of promise on the stimulus package"

several non-partisan studies have shown the stimulus saved or created several M jobs. So is succeeded as far as it went, which was not far enough. Should have been $2T or more, and a new WPA created.

Roubini, Krugman, Reich who all saw the bubble, and about the shithole "Correction" we are now in, all say the stimulus was way too small. They were right.

The Repugs will block anti-cyclical spending like new stimulus, doing spending cuts at fed and state levels that are all pro-cyclical making the Banksters' Great (Jobs) Depression worse, which is exactly the 2012 campaign strategy they want.

So, Obama sold a stimulus that was doomed to fail, being to small.

You, obviously were/are in favor of a much larger stimulus....but Obama has made that, for all intent and purpose, impossible. By his selling, and receiving a too small stimulus, he has poisoned the well toward any future stimulus. "That didn't work, so let's try in 300% larger!" Isn't selling in Peoria.

Are any of you Obama supporters willing to hold him accountable for not only failing, but making it nearly impossible for anyone to succeed - if massive deficit/stimulus spending IS the remedy? Shouldn't more Dems/Liberals be calling for him to step down - ala LBJ, and allow Hillary to rise?

[boutons_deux]

"Obama sold a stimulus that was doomed to fail, being to small."

it succeeded as far as it went.

too small the make a V-curve recover, so now all predictions say we are stuck an L-curve, a decade of recovery, like Japan's Lost Decade of the 1990s.

but I appreciate your persistence in spewing right wing propaganda.

Obama had trouble "selling". The Repugs, esp the filibustering bastards in the Senate, were and still are against that and ANY stimulus.

Note that the Repugs are screaming bloody murder than automatic-triggered cuts to MIC spending will cost millions of jobs, admitting that govt spending CAN AND DOES create and sustain jobs.

No modern President, except the corrupt, lying, filthy Repug Tricky Dick Nixon is gonna step down.

Your blaming Obama for being blocked at every turn from getting the economy hiring again, from killing MERS, from getting the lenders to write down troubled mortgages, including the gutting of ACA by the Repugs and health industry (eg, no public option even discussed) is nothing but propapanda. Obama created NONE of these disasters, Repugs have blocked and will blocked ANY Obama/Dem proposals.

[RandomGuy]

So, Obama sold a stimulus that was doomed to fail, being to small.

You, obviously were/are in favor of a much larger stimulus....but Obama has made that, for all intent and purpose, impossible. By his selling, and receiving a too small stimulus, he has poisoned the well toward any future stimulus. "That didn't work, so let's try in 300% larger!" Isn't selling in Peoria.

Are any of you Obama supporters willing to hold him accountable for not only failing, but making it nearly impossible for anyone to succeed - if massive deficit/stimulus spending IS the remedy? Shouldn't more Dems/Liberals be calling for him to step down - ala LBJ, and allow Hillary to rise?

It was thought too small at the time, but better than nothing, and what was possible, i.e. the art of politics.

Revised data showed that the decline was much larger than the data available at the time, meaning that the stimulus was far to small to do what it was intended to do.

Not sure I can fault the man for having bad data.

[SnakeBoy]

Not sure I can fault the man for having bad data.

You faulted Bush for the Iraq wmd data.

[RandomGuy]

You faulted Bush for the Iraq wmd data.

Most people, myself included, assumed he had WMD.

What the Bush administration did was take really weak-ass data and play it up to be far more than it was, even when there were some indications that it was absolutely false.

There is a huge difference between that case, and simply not having complete economic data on events until well after the fact.

Nice try, but no banana.

[boutons_deux]

You faulted Bush for the Iraq wmd data.

dubya and dickhead CREATED their own bad data

[johnsmith]

Most people, myself included, assumed he had WMD.

What the Bush administration did was take really weak-ass data and play it up to be far more than it was, even when there were some indications that it was absolutely false.

There is a huge difference between that case, and simply not having complete economic data on events until well after the fact.

Nice try, but no banana.

So making a decision that would effect the entire world economy without complete data is ok in your book.

Got it.

[ChumpDumper]

Considering hundreds of thousands weren't killed by the stimulus, it's apples and oranges.

[hater]

So making a decision that would effect the entire world economy without complete data is ok in your book.

Got it.

So he should have waited for the data while markets to go into the black hole.

Got it.

[johnsmith]

So he should have waited for the data while markets to go into the black hole.

Got it.

I said nothing of the sort.....I was simply clarifying what it appeared Randomguy was saying.

[DarrinS]

So making a decision that would effect the entire world economy without complete data is ok in your book.

Got it.

Hehe

[George Gervin's Afro]

So he should have waited for the data while markets to go into the black hole.

Got it.

he he

[FuzzyLumpkins]

So making a decision that would effect the entire world economy without complete data is ok in your book.

Got it.

This is another case of poor critical thinking.

RG said that Obama acted on the incorrect information.

Bush acted on intelligence that was not there.

These two are not analogous situations.

Its the difference between WC choosing a part because his checklist has it listed and it being wrong and WC choosing a part despite his checklist stating another and it being wrong.

Its the difference between getting bad information and ignoring information.

[Wild Cobra]

Fuzzy...

I see you can't stop thinking about me.

Are you a faggot? Is that your way of expressing love?

Sorry. I'm not interested.

[Winehole23]

well that's rather direct

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Fuzzy...

I see you can't stop thinking about me.

Are you a faggot? Is that your way of expressing love?

Sorry. I'm not interested.

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_li34qddmp51qzsyezo1_400.png

[Winehole23]

done to death here, fuzzy. please add a new meme

[FuzzyLumpkins]

done to death here, fuzzy. please add a new meme

Sorry, but the analogy was legitimate. The logic behind the statement I quoted was flawed and the analogy was apt. Maybe I should have done something about Darrin choosing a lie but WC is just too easy.

As an aside, letting off WC may not be in our best interest. I personally have found his attempts at trolling 'liberals' much more enjoyable than his typical blithe political stupidity.

[Winehole23]

you are not blithe, but I think I might actually prefer that

[johnsmith]

This is another case of poor critical thinking.

RG said that Obama acted on the incorrect information.

Bush acted on intelligence that was not there.

These two are not analogous situations.

Its the difference between WC choosing a part because his checklist has it listed and it being wrong and WC choosing a part despite his checklist stating another and it being wrong.

Its the difference between getting bad information and ignoring information.

Who said anything about an analogy? I certainly didn't. I was simply pointing out that RG said he was cool with Obama acting on incomplete data.

[spursncowboys]

fuzzymath.

[boutons_deux]

Here are the public sector jobs municipal and state govt protected with stimulus funds.

As Public Sector Sheds Jobs, Blacks Are Hit Hardest



http://www.truth-out.org/print/9745

As for USPS, Congress has tied USPS' hands badly, like forcing it to pay forward pension funds, etc, that is driving it to bankruptcy.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Who said anything about an analogy? I certainly didn't. I was simply pointing out that RG said he was cool with Obama acting on incomplete data.

Reading comprehension is poor as well. Try reading the post RG posted that you responded to and think about how what you said relates. If you still have trouble figuring it out I will go point by point.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

fuzzymath.

Where is the logical inconsistency or are you just using the old routine of blanket statement to confirm bias rather then thinking things through?

[johnsmith]

Not sure I can fault the man for having bad data.

Sorry Fuzzy, I'll be sure to quote everything in the thread for you since you only take things one post at a time.

I was also unaware you would get so hurt over all of this.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Most people, myself included, assumed he had WMD.

What the Bush administration did was take really weak-ass data and play it up to be far more than it was, even when there were some indications that it was absolutely false.

There is a huge difference between that case, and simply not having complete economic data on events until well after the fact.

Nice try, but no banana.


So making a decision that would effect the entire world economy without complete data is ok in your book.

Got it.


Sorry Fuzzy, I'll be sure to quote everything in the thread for you since you only take things one post at a time.

I was also unaware you would get so hurt over all of this.

I am hostile to dishonesty and stupidity. Deal with it.

I take you quoting something means that your post is in response to that quoted post. Thats what I do when I quote a post. Now you are claiming that is not what you do.

We can argue about the meanings of the word incomplete versus incorrect now if you would like because that is the crux of your disconnect.

[Agloco]

fuzzymath.

http://library.thinkquest.org/29483/fuzzy_math.shtml



Fuzzy math differs from conventional math primarily in the area of set theory. For example in a conventional AND statement both statements must be true for the statement to be true. However, in fuzzy logic statements are not always true or false, they merely have varying levels of confidence. The table below exibits the differences in how an AND statement is applied in conventional and fuzzy systems. As can clearly be seen the AND statement in a fuzzy system is merely the minimum confidence value of the two values.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_mathematics


Fuzzy mathematics forms a branch of mathematics related to fuzzy set theory and fuzzy logic. It started in 1965 after the publication of Lotfi Asker Zadeh's seminal work Fuzzy sets. [1] A fuzzy subset A of a set X is a function A:X→L, where L is the interval [0,1]. This function is also called a membership function. A membership function is a generalization of a characteristic function or an indicatorfunction of a subset defined for L = {0,1}. More generally, one can use a complete lattice L in a definition of a fuzzy subset A . [2]The evolution of the fuzzification of mathematical concepts can be broken down into three stages: [3]

1. straightforward fuzzification during the sixties andseventies, 2. the explosion of the possible choices in the generalization process during the eighties, 3. the standardization, axiomatizationandL-fuzzification inthe nineties.

Usually, a fuzzification of mathematical concepts is based on a generalization of these concepts from characteristic functions to membership functions. Let A and B be two fuzzy subsets of X. Intersection A ∩ B and union A ∪ B are defined as follows: (A ∩ B)(x) = min(A(x),B(x)), (A ∪ B)(x) = max(A(x),B(x)) for all x ∈ X.

Instead of min and max one can use t-norm and t-conorm, respectively , [4] for example, min(a,b) can be replaced by multiplication ab. A straightforward fuzzification is usually based on min and max operations because in this case more properties of traditional mathematics can be extended to the fuzzy case.

A very important generalization principle used in fuzzification of algebraic operations is a closure property. Let * be a binary operation on X. The closure property for a fuzzy subset A of X is that for all x,y ∈ X, A(x*y) ≥ min(A(x),B(x)). Let (G,*) be a group and A a fuzzy subset of G. Then A is a fuzzy subgroup of G if for all x,y

in G, A(x*y −1 ) ≥ min(A(x),A(y −1 )).

A similar generalization principle is used, for example, for fuzzification of the transitivity property. Let R be a fuzzy relation in X, i.e. R is a fuzzy subset of X×X. Then R is transitive ifforall x,y,z in X, R(x,z) ≥ min(R(x,y),R(y,z)).

[Agloco]

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.....