JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- FT English Teachers for Kids - Osaka
- Kohgakusha Co., Ltd. （株式会社興学社）, Osaka
- Salary: ¥255,000 ~ ¥275,000 / Month Travel Expenses, Encouragement of Japanese learning*
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- Translator
- ZAIHON, Inc. (日本財務翻訳株式会社), Tokyo
- Salary: ¥6.0M / Year Negotiable
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Simon_Foston
To me, it sounds more like Biden was talking about the kinds of problems Obama will have to face rather than the way he will handle them. But won't McCain have to deal with the exact same problems if he gets elected?
Posted in: In swing states, McCain and Obama spar over taxes
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Simon_Foston
That is basically the philosophy that Republicans, conservatives and this administration have continually advocated, right? I know perfectly well that under Bush the government has kept expanding and spending has mushroomed. I also know that American courts are a lot tougher on corporate fraud than our British ones (there's a reason so many international companies like to do business in Britain). Nevertheless people like Richard Fuld were allowed to earn something like half a billion dollars for the decade or more that they were driving the US and global economies straight into the wall. You call that regulation?
Posted in: In swing states, McCain and Obama spar over taxes
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Simon_Foston
I don't have a lot of time for people "telling" me who's right and who isn't. Another reason I'll take Powell's opinion over yours any day. I don't have a lot of time either for an unpredictable, bad-tempered old man who lets a dirty campaign be waged in his name by the same people who screwed him over in 2000, chooses a Christian fundamentalist demogogue as his running mate and generally doesn't strike me as having many good ideas for promoting world peace and ending the financial crisis. But that doesn't answer your question.
I think Obama is the better choice because he was right to oppose the Iraq War and his ideas about troop withdrawals are actually being taken onboard. He is right to suggest some sort of dialogue with enemies of America, because America simply could not commit itself to another military operation like the one in Iraq. After all, successive administrations maintained relations with the Soviets and Chinese during the Cold War, and President Reagan's diplomacy arguably ended it.
I also agree in principle with tax cuts for the badly off and increases for the wealthy. Small government, light regulation and letting the banks and big businesses do as they please has not worked, and the amount of cash that banking and business executives have been able to leech out of the economy is disgusting. They screwed up and they deserve to be made to pay for it. Socialist? I don't care.
As for McCain, he's done some good things. He's done his bit to clean up Washington and he's often chosen his principles over his party, but his time has been and gone. In 2000 he could have been elected as a president who would have served his country with honour and distinction. As it is, his principles haven't done anyone much good in the last eight years. McCain himself has tacitly admitted that he's running against the record of the incumbent. Notice how they don't do any campaigning together and wondered why that is? He has nevertheless been using the same campaign strategies as President Bush and seems set to follow the same policies that I think have failed catastrophically.
Now kindly don't tell me what to think again, please.
Posted in: In swing states, McCain and Obama spar over taxes
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Simon_Foston
Applying the same logic, by the way, if someone like Wesley Clark said he was voting for McCain, I'd seriously ask myself how the Democrats could be screwing up so badly.
Posted in: In swing states, McCain and Obama spar over taxes
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Simon_Foston
Nope. I'm saying I'm more inclined to listen to his opinion than yours.
Posted in: In swing states, McCain and Obama spar over taxes
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Simon_Foston
I just find the opinion of a retired 5 star general, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State who actually knows both candidates a bit more compelling than yours, unless you have as much first hand knowledge and experience as Colin Powell.
Posted in: In swing states, McCain and Obama spar over taxes
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Simon_Foston
It wouldn't make any difference. He could say he was endorsing Karl Marx and no one would care.
Posted in: Obama revels in Powell endorsement, cash mountain
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Simon_Foston
I think he was more stupid, reckless and deluded than that. He was so certain that war was the right thing to do that he convinced himself that the WMD stories were true and declared war genuinely believing they'd find stockpiles of weapons and conclusive proof that Saddam was involved in 911.
Posted in: Obama revels in Powell endorsement, cash mountain
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Simon_Foston
Coulrophobic said:
It doesn't look as if he minds it that much, judging by his decision to endorse Obama anyway.
Sarge said:
Looks like you've almost done it for him.
Posted in: Obama revels in Powell endorsement, cash mountain
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Simon_Foston
P.S. I ask because it's been reported that the company Mr. Wurzelbacher wants to buy only earns about $100,000 a year (MSNBC) and Bloomberg News noted that even if Newell Plumbing did make $250,000 or more after all the necessary expenses had been deducted, he would be left with about $150,000 in taxable income.
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
Now here's where I admit I need something to be clarified. Is the idea to impose the extra tax on the business he owns or the money that he's personally taking home from it?
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
Indeed not. Neither is he going to have trouble paying for health insurance, his kids' college fees or just about anything else he wants if he's earning that kind of money. But it sounds like he'll need it for all those back taxes he owes.
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
Well, what did he actually do to stop this from happening? It's not as if he had much trouble getting other parts of his policy agenda through Congress, like all those tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. Some Democrats even voted for them. I'm aware that the administration wanted to introduce tighter regulation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2003 but appears to have given up in the face of Democratic opposition. Don't know what difference it would have made to what all those banks were doing, but it doesn't sound like a bad idea. Why didn't they fight harder for it?
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
Let's see. White House and both Houses of Congress under the control of one party, and the opposition can still stop the President from enacting the policies he wants to? I thought this was the President who said he had political capital and intended to spend it. I also thought Bush was still in a strong enough position to block legislation the Democratic majority in Congress want to enact. Am I missing something fundamental?
(shrug) If you like. Does it actually matter?
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
So you think it would be a good idea for the executive branch to have the power to expel from Congress democratically-elected members of the legislative branch? Never mind about Obama and his socialist policies, that's the kind of thing they do in places like Zimbabwe.
Anyway, are you ever going to acknowledge the fact that from 2003 until 2006 it was virtually impossible for the Democrats in Congress to stop anything that the President wanted to do? George W. Bush could have reformed the system any way he liked.
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
First, I haven't actually said what my opinions are on that topic.
Second, you can't seem to let that "it's all the Democrats' fault" thing go and you have no comeback to numerous people who have pointed out that while the Republicans controlled the White House and Congress they neither foresaw or did anything to prevent the impending crisis. I do recall numerous reassurances from President Bush about how strong the economy was though, and I understand McCain is going to keep all those tax cuts for the rich in place. Following the policies of an incompetent who let the financial crisis happen (although I agree its causes predate his administration) looks pretty stupid to me.
Tax cuts for the working and middle classes make more sense to me. As for the rich, they can afford to pay more and some of those Wall Street bankers walking away from collapsed banks with huge bonuses arguably deserve to.
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
Well put-together, wasn't it? GoodDonkey, I really would be laughing at you if you were a Republican supporter and you thought it was something you could have a go at Obama with. That would just be hilarious.
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
You are aware, aren't you, that the whole report is a joke?
Posted in: McCain criticizes Obama's promise of tax cuts
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Simon_Foston
I can't imagine her getting through all that by herself. But if it was her own money, who cares? Anyway, what do you think Cindy McCain orders up from room service? Cheese on toast?
Posted in: McCain, Obama get tough, personal in final debate
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Simon_Foston
A sycophantic press that includes Rush Limbaugh, William Kristol, Bill O'Reilly, Jonah Goldberg, Cal Thomas, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, FOX News, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Times and The Washington Post (I hear it doesn't have such a liberal reputation these days)? Why don't you take a look at a few newspapers instead of just whining about how biased they are? There are plenty of writers and editors out there ready to criticize Obama. Or is it just easier to deny reality and blame someone else for Republican screw-ups?
Posted in: McCain steps up attacks on Obama over ties to Ayers