great the president is spending my money watching in person

[baseline bum]

Laura and Barbara Bush were much more frugal than Mic e when it comes to clothes - Agreed on Nancy Reagan who also spend a fortune on clothes. However, with Mic e's love of designer frocks and the need to wear something new every day, just goes to show where her real priorities lie. Even the Duchess is seen wearing some of the same clothes more than once (or several times).

But Mic e is more frugal on mowing people down with her car tbh.

[cheguevara]

There's nothing ignorant or wrong about my statements, my friend. I lived seven years in Ukraine (Kharkov) and was just in Eastern Ukraine for two months returning to Riga only 2 weeks ago, and have seen the situation personally as well as spoke with people on both sides regularly (though you can find very few on the pro-Russian side, they have less than 5% support nation wide. Even in the east it is less than 15%. You may disagree with me, but there is nothing ignorant in my views.

I meant the ignorance of the average poster here. not you. I am pretty sure it will be hard to find pro-Russians among Ukranian populations with a civil war going on. Even 15% is pretty high, especially since Ukranian goverment was sending their military against those 15%.

You are correct that Yanukovych, opposing an agreement that would lead Ukraine closer to the EU, vetoed a bill the majority of Ukrainians supported. (Most Ukrainians desire a path towards the European Union, and do not wish to remain in Russia's orbit.)

Yanukovych rejected the EU deal because it was going to cost Ukraine $160 billion and spell their economic doom. Regardless that did not give a group of people right to violently remove the democratically elected president. Usually when a coup happens the US is first to call for the legal government to remain in place. This time, US was dead silent.

The mass protests against him were genuine, and were not, as Russia's state-run media proclaimed, instigated by the CIA or similar American/Western groups. In fact, it was Putin who sent snipers to kill protesters. When things got out of control, Yanukovych fled to Russia (where he remains last I checked).

The protests might have started as geniune but the US and West jumped in and helped out to perform the coup. This is already been proven. there are even intercepted phone calls between Victoria Nuland (US Euro Secretary or State) and Geoffrey Pyatt (then US Ambassador to Ukraine). Please listen and you can't really dispute this:



Obama has also recently acknowledged US was behind the coup:


Nobody knows who really the snipers were working for. It has not been proven they were Russian. (they were conveniently wearing Russian clothing. Do you really believe they are that stupid?)

These later "mass protests" in support of the ousted

[COLOR=#252525][FONT=sans-serif]Yanukovych were works of fiction. I was there on the main square in Russian-speaking Kharkov 50 kilometers from the Russian border . We are taking about two dozen people protesting his ouster in a city of 1.5 million and an oblast of 2 million. Hardly mass, not when compared to the pro-Ukrainian groups who had supporters in the hundreds on that square. The "Ukrainian" man who turned out to be a Russian operative from St. Petersburg, climbed the city administrative building and planted a Russian flag. And, I like others, observed how these staged rallies of a couple dozen people were portrayed in the Russia media (which you can get on tv in Kharkov) as a "mass rally. It's a lie. It One that nobody actually in the fray believes. And few outside of Russia, or radically left groups believe.

The number of ppl don't matter. What matters is the response of the government and military.

An example is the fire in Odessa where 30 Russians were burned alive surrounded by pro-Ukranian armed men:


There was going to be a brutal mass murder had Russia not intervened.

[cheguevara]

LMAO US wanted to put Klitcho in charge pathetic

oh and the " the EU"

LOL got grilled for that

[ChumpDumper]

Doesn't really matter - spending such enormous sums on clothes goes to a person's character - why not use half of that amount to make life easier for others.

Why do you spend so much on clothes? On anything? Couldn't you spend half of whatever you spend to make life easier for others?

Laura and Barbara Bush were much more frugal than Mic e when it comes to clothes - Agreed on Nancy Reagan who also spend a fortune on clothes. However, with Mic e's love of designer frocks and the need to wear something new every day, just goes to show where her real priorities lie. Even the Duchess is seen wearing some of the same clothes more than once (or several times).

I'm calling bull . You'll have to produce the amount each First Lady spent on clothes to be able to make that comparison.

I'll wait for your totals for each.

[urunobili]

300k just for Air Force one to leave the ground TBH

[SequSpur]

special needs people don't pay taxes Ducks... WADA

[BillMc]

I meant the ignorance of the average poster here. not you. I am pretty sure it will be hard to find pro-Russians among Ukranian populations with a civil war going on. Even 15% is pretty high, especially since Ukranian goverment was sending their military against those 15%.



Yanukovych rejected the EU deal because it was going to cost Ukraine $160 billion and spell their economic doom. Regardless that did not give a group of people right to violently remove the democratically elected president. Usually when a coup happens the US is first to call for the legal government to remain in place. This time, US was dead silent.



The protests might have started as geniune but the US and West jumped in and helped out to perform the coup. This is already been proven. there are even intercepted phone calls between Victoria Nuland (US Euro Secretary or State) and Geoffrey Pyatt (then US Ambassador to Ukraine). Please listen and you can't really dispute this:



Obama has also recently acknowledged US was behind the coup:


Nobody knows who really the snipers were working for. It has not been proven they were Russian. (they were conveniently wearing Russian clothing. Do you really believe they are that stupid?)



The number of ppl don't matter. What matters is the response of the government and military.

An example is the fire in Odessa where 30 Russians were burned alive surrounded by pro-Ukranian armed men:


There was going to be a brutal mass murder had Russia not intervened.

Look, I don't have time or interest in going though and debating each point you made, we can both cite source after source and waste each other's time, though you final conclusion "brutal mass murder had Russia not intervened" is something I can't agree with. I lived there I know these people and I've seen it on the ground. I was there during most of the events. That's Russian propaganda pure and simple that they are "rescuing" Ukrainian people from the west/fascists/whatever. In fact they are killing them. The Ukrainian people know this. I am sorry you don't believe.

I've Russian friends too, (I lived in Moscow for a year and half, though before these events) so I don't say these things flippantly about Russia by the way.

[Mikeanaro]

Russia is full of, they need money thats for sure.

[Spurminator]

ducks seems like he'd be super fun at parties.

[cheguevara]

Look, I don't have time or interest in going though and debating each point you made, we can both cite source after source and waste each other's time, though you final conclusion "brutal mass murder had Russia not intervened" is something I can't agree with. I lived there I know these people and I've seen it on the ground. I was there during most of the events. That's Russian propaganda pure and simple that they are "rescuing" Ukrainian people from the west/fascists/whatever. In fact they are killing them. The Ukrainian people know this. I am sorry you don't believe.

I've Russian friends too, (I lived in Moscow for a year and half, though before these events) so I don't say these things flippantly about Russia by the way.

I am pretty sure you are not in the frontlines of the war so I am sure you have not seen much of what is really going on. There is also no doubt that there is much of the Ukranian and US propaganda machine going on.

But let's just agree to disagree. Also let's agree that hopefully a peaceful solution will be reached soon

Go Spurs go

[DarrinS]

This should be downstairs in the Political bucket.

[ducks]

special needs people don't pay taxes Ducks... WADA

You would know

[Chucho]

Some of you tools aren't even fit to discuss basketball. What the makes you qualified to even spout off on politics.

And LMAO at everyone who calls someone who disagrees with Obama a Republican. Tools, tools, tools.

Just learn the correlation between the deficit being the highest it's ever been, especially in a "recovery" and lack of true measureable growth. Even in a recession, there was more measurable growth and more people working under the Bush Administration. Bush had a war on his hands, Obama is flat out spending for the sake of spending.

He has gotten everyone health insurance. Joy! Except the costs of health care (there's a MAJOR difference, boyos) has shot up exponentially since forcing health insurance on everyone. He did more damage to the system and pocketed heavily with his insurance interests as he did with his real estate speculation as the bubble burst and as he has down with BOA.

He bailed out Bank of America for BILLIONS. Since then, the bank has has profits exceeding 3 billion EVERY year since 2011. How much has been paid back? $0. How many times has the President asked for even a penny? 0. How many times has he put the squeeze on the Fed to put the squeeze on BOA? O.

This clown is bad. Bad. Bad. Don't be fooled into siding with a Party and being right and wrong. We're in this situation because as a society, we are dumb as and no one has any balls to standup. , in the 60s, mother ers did about it.

That's why its so easy for them to keep ting on us, because they can. Plain and simple.

[dabom]

Can someone enlighten me on how medicare was criticized and how the old repubs can't stop loving it now?

[dabom]

People actually think the deficit will ever be payed off? It's an american deficit with most of the money owed to rich american people who we will never know. They could theoretically wipe if off if they wanted it.

[Chucho]

No they cant. And no, it's not all "rich American people" who we will never know.

[dabom]

What do suggest we as an american people do when we are presented with a repub and democrat president? Not vote at all?

[dabom]

I'm getting deficit and national debt mixed here. We will never pay off the national debt.

[dabom]

And some debt is good debt that will never be gone between countries. Just how the world works.

[spurraider21]

This partisan thread has nothing on the Jimmer thread.... pick it up...

romney is mormon, we should bring him in

[BillMc]

I am pretty sure you are not in the frontlines of the war so I am sure you have not seen much of what is really going on. There is also no doubt that there is much of the Ukranian and US propaganda machine going on.

But let's just agree to disagree. Also let's agree that hopefully a peaceful solution will be reached soon

Go Spurs go

I've seen a lot but, of course, not everything. But yes, I can agree let us hope their is a peaceful solution soon.

And certainly "Go Spurs Go!"

[Embedded]

lol grown men talking about the First Lady's dresses.

Hahahahahaha! Haters gotta hate. Yeah, the wife of the most powerful man on planet earth is supposed to be wearing tunics from Target and dresses from Wal-Mart. Go on, Mic e Obama, Miss First Lady, wit' yo' bad self. Take a first lady in a moving motorcade emergency dump in a Louis Vuitton purse and throw it on mbass's lawn, please, ma'am. Oh, and tidy your lady bits with a Gucci Scarf, and throw that, too. Negro will be auctioning that at his next weekly yard sale along with his used lawnmower blade and lava lamp.

[hater]

Whats funny to me is the debt ceiling "debate". Like its a ing mistery whether the debt ceiling will be raised or not

Newsflash. The ceiling will ALWAYS be raised. There is nothing anyone can do. And no. Nobody is cutting spending

Cutting spending is a myth the repugs use to get votes. That's not happening.

Of course that is until our currency dies. Then then we get bailed out by the IMF and its game over

[rmt]

ACA doesn't set insurance, doctor, drug, health care prices, the insurance companies do. You don't have clue who is the culprit.

btw, it was the Repugs who REGULATED that govt can't negotiate prices with BigPharma and BigMedicalDevice, so American pay 3x more than other countries.

btw, it was Repugs who created the insurance corporation welfare of Medicare Advantage, which costs taxpayers about 12% vs regular Advantage.

The ones to benefit from this bill are the politicians (who have exempted themselves), the health insurance companies, the now-merging medical/hospital conglomerates, Big Pharma and those getting subsidies or Medicaid. The rest of us (the 85% of us with employer-sponsored health insurance and doctors - because of all the extra regulations/electronic records) got shafted. What do you expect to happen to premiums, deductibles, co-payments and provider networks if every policy (as MANDATED by ACA) must have these 10 essential benefits. All men, children, post-menopausal woman's policy covers maternity benefits, birth control pills, etc. - covering unnecessary benefits.

IMO, a better solution is to couple cheap catastrophic insurance (major accident/cancer, etc.) with HSA (Health Savings Account - tax free accounts) from the minute you're born which can be used by all relatives (or whoever you choose) and which can be passed on to whoever when you die (this part will also encourage you to not try to extend your life unnecessarily). Tort reform (loser pays will eliminate frivolous lawsuits), allowing insurance across state lines (like Geico, Progressive), post prices so that we can comparison shop - look at lasik surgery - compe ion brings down prices.

I cannot afford $1610 per month on health insurance (that's more than my mortgage). I've joined Christian Healthcare Ministries ($150 per month/adult - they pay for any "incident" over $500 and $150/month to cover ALL my children - can go to any doctor/hospital) and am now paying cash for preventive screenings. Do you know what a diagnostic (higher than the normal screening) mammogram and breast ultrasound (bilateral) cost paying cash? $80 each - I was astounded - just a little shopping around and the word "cash" - that's the true cost of mammograms/ultrasounds - not the inflated amount charged to insurance companies. Last year, another women's center charged me $274 MORE for the diagnostic (instead of the allotted screening) mammogram with insurance - what a rip off - but I paid it because I didn't know better or how much the insurance company paid for the screening mammogram.

The homeless and indigent's HSA can be funded with what goes to Medicaid/CHP (the children's program). Instead of subsidies, give the states block funds and allow each state to do what is best for them - hopefully people get tax credits based on age (not income - so there is no dis-incentive to work) - the older you are, the higher (usually) are your health costs, the more help you get to offset costs.

Drugs and medical devices are much more difficult problem. If you cap prices, that de-incentivizes the profit motive to research and discover new drugs/devices. USA subsidizes the rest of the world who just copy our drugs/devices. I have a friend who buys her entire year's prescriptions in Taiwan when she visits in the summer.

In its present state, I believe that the ACA will collapse on its own. It will soon be unaffordable for most people - who will drop coverage further driving up the price of healthcare for others. And even though, I bi*** and gripe about Obamacare, what scares me most are the debt/spending (mortgaging our kids' future) and Iran deal - these people want death to America and they will stop at nothing to get rid of us - scary.

[rmt]

Regarding the whole Russia thing - IMO, USA should frack/drill to become energy independent and sell oil - this solves a lot of problems - first, USA will not be so vested in what happens in the Middle East. Secondly, we can sell oil to Europe - lessening their dependency on Russia oil. Third, this hurts Russia financially if Europe buys from us instead of them - where is Putin going to get his money to invade/bomb Ukraine/Syria? Fourth, this creates JOBS for us. So why aren't we doing this? Because of this damned FEAR of climate change - that we are sitting on top of all this untapped energy doing nothing while there are all these Russia/Middle East/US economic problems is stupid.