Good News.

I find it amazing with news like this, people still cannot admit that the administration must be doing something right. The Clinton Administration was given many kudo's for a great economy and here, we have one that appears to be out performing it...and...not a kind word or positive statement.

Must really suck to not be able to enjoy good news because you would have to say something nice about the opposition.


Edit: Seraph, [img]smile.gif[/img] I admit, I should have said Killed. Ok? make ya happy?

[ 12-19-2003, 11:39 AM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[Rokenn]

Originally posted by MagiK: I find it amazing with news like this, people still cannot admit that the administration must be doing something right. The Clinton Administration was given many kudo's for a great economy and here, we have one that appears to be out performing it...and...not a kind word or positive statement. Must really suck to not be able to enjoy good news because you would have to say something nice about the opposition.

But Magik I thought you always said Clinton had nothing to do with the economy in the 90's, so by extension Bush should have nothing to do with this boomlet [img]tongue.gif[/img]


BTW welcome back [img]graemlins/cheers.gif[/img]

Originally posted by Rokenn: But Magik I thought you always said Clinton had nothing to do with the economy in the 90's, so by extension Bush should have nothing to do with this boomlet [img]tongue.gif[/img] BTW welcome back [img]graemlins/cheers.gif[/img]

Quite right, I did say Clinton by himself didn't I said it was the Congress and the President together with the Fed. [img]smile.gif[/img] and nothing I have said here contradicts that or in any way is hypocritical, I am merely trying to get the libs to be consistant in their rhetoric.

By the way...I didn't say Bush did it all... I said "The administration must be doing somethig right" Administration consisting of the President, Congress and the Fed. Why do I have to keep telling people to look at what I wrote? Ahh well must be the same reason I thought Donut had used the word Hate.

Thanks for the welcome back [img]graemlins/cheers.gif[/img]

[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by Seraph: quote: Originally posted by MagiK: As for not knowing what a casualty is...having been one...I think I know.

Well then, I eagerly await a source that shows there have only been 500 casualties in Iraq war, and that the Pentagon, and the major news outlets were mistaken in their claims. As by your own admission you know the definition I can only assume that you are privy to some information that I currently do not know about, and I can only hope that you will share this knowledge with us so that we can all be enriched by it. If not, then I would recommend that next time you think about accusing someone of being a liar you make a more careful assessment of all the relevant facts. [/QUOTE]Seraph - while it may not be technically accurate, I think it is fair to say that most people in the general population would associate "casualties of war" interchangeably with "number of deaths" rather than the broader definition you provided. IF you look at it from that standpoint, then MagiK's statistic of fewer than 500 is accurate, as your own information listed the number of deaths at 460.

If - however - you insist on using the broader term exclusively, you still only gain a partial victory. Yes, the number of 500 is incorrect in that circumstance...but if you compare the "total casualties" of Gulf War 2 to the "total casualties" of every other international war the U.S. has participated in, I feel certain you will find that 2800 IS (indeed) a record low...which was the original assertion made by MagiK.

Now that we have thoroughly nitpicked that point, I agree that we should try to get back on topic and focus on the original topic of this thread....which was supposed to be Good News.

Perhaps some of our non-American members could provide examples of Good News from their countries, so that we could more accurately represent the international flavor that IW consists of.

[Link]

Welcome back MagiK! I suspected it was you, but never really saw you actually leaving here. Dunno why.

I think most people have 'something' against Bush's politics because they believe he got in the seat unfairly at the start. I've heard numerous people in the Netherlands say that with capturing Saddam 'Bush might have saved his election'.. figures where that idea came from.

I think you made a very decent post by pointing some positive things about the Bush campaign but I don't agree with your 17th point, the one saying "It has been more than 2 years since 9/11/01 and not a single repeat has even come close, despite many threats by Osama Bin Laden and other A.Q. persons. Obviously a good job is being done by the current administration and the federal people involved." Why is this so special? It was always said that the 9/11 attacks were of a totally different caliber than any other terrorist attack before that. Of course there hasn't been such an attack ever since! Although the casualties were far less, you seem to forget the 'Bali Bombing' in October 2002 when 183 people lost their lives in a single bomb attack. That's a pretty heavy terrorist attack I might say.

[Timber Loftis]

Technically, MagiK, "Administration" is the executive branch -- the president, cabinet, agencies, and all other parts of this mammoth branch of gummint that started out as a set of 8 or 10 people. A fine nit to pick, and I know what you meant.

And, as for good news.....
[img]graemlins/shine.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/shine.gif[/img]
Not liking Bush is no reason for me to cut my nose off to spite my face. I'll take good news whoever the bearer be.

[Rokenn]

These are all indeed items of good news, but many have nothing to do with the current administration, as much as Magik would like us to think [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Originally posted by MagiK: ;D Good News New Single Family housing starts are at a historic all time high. This is being fueled by Alan Greenspan and the Fed pushing intertest rates to record lows Inflation is at a record low. Again the Greenspan has managed this keeping us on the ragged edge between inflation and deflation Interest rates are at a 38 year low. Greenspan again Consumer Price Index is down for the entire year (meaning the price we pay for goods and services is lower). This is actually NOT good news surprisingly as it signal deflation which if not checked can cause a downward spiral into more serious economic conditions GDP is up (meaning we are producing more). Being fueled in a large part by record low home intest rates that prompting people to pull tens of thousands of equity out of their homes for home improvements, vacations, new cars etc.. Corporate Earnings (for both large and small cap. types) is up 30%. (Corporations aren’t just giant organizations, there are many small organizations that incorporate, as well as individuals). see above The S&P is up 23 percent on the year The S&P industrials sub-index has gained nearly 10 percent just since September. (Illustrating the renaissance in American business investment and production.) Since August, industrial production has grown at an outsized 7.8 percent annual rate. Computer and office equipment has surged 32.6 percent. This is being fueled by the need to replace aging computer infrastructure. Servers and workstations snapped up for pennies on the dollar during the dot bust era are now needing replacement. The high-tech index of computers, communications equipment, and semiconductors has exploded at a 50.7 percent annual pace. Did someone say capital expenditures? See above America's businesses are producing at a torrid 8 percent rate without generating any inflation. While still not producing even of fraction of the jobs last over the last 3 years Corporate Hiring is up, and reports say that it will jump markedly in January. Jobs have increased by any where from 100,000 to 300,000 depending on the source. Unemployment is at 6% and falling (with 3% being completely un-employable this means only 3 in 100 employable people are out of work). (compared to double digits in many nations and to the US during the Carter Administration). The DOW is over 10k and climbing. (contrary to uninformed opinions the stock market is important to normal people for many reasons. A climbing DOW is a major index companies use to decide to expand their business and hire more workers. Over 49% of workers in the US have holdings in the stock market via 401k, 403b, IRA and other retirement vehicles. It has been more than 2 years since 9/11/01 and not a single repeat has even come close, despite many threats by Osama Bin Laden and other A.Q. persons. Obviously a good job is being done by the current administration and the federal people involved. For the entire eight years of the previous administration there where no 9/11 style attacks, also they stopped several attacks that would have had a big impact during that time. The Iraq war was concluded with a record low number of casualties. Most of the High Priority targets of interest have been captured or killed. The effectiveness of Iraqi hardliner fanatics has dropped, and despite pin prick attacks success in rebuilding Iraq is going well. The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC opinion survey shows that a solid majority of Americans — 62 percent to 32 percent — believe the war in Iraq has made the U.S. safer and more secure. France and Germany have both announced that they will be forgiving, in part at least Iraq’s debt. All in all right now, it is sweet to be an American.

Well it's always been pretty sweet to be an American and as much as I disagree with Bush and his cronies and still proud to be one [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Timber Loftis]

Alan Greenspan is part of "The Administration."

Good point on deflation concerns.

Jobs tend to follow the production figures... they should come along over the next few months. But, yes, we still need to climb back out of the hole job-wise.

And, the profligate spending of this President can ultimately doom that. The Economist has a good cartoon of Uncle Sam climbing out of the economic hole, with the large Rock labelled "Deficit" falling right at him. Say what you will about good news, but our out-of-control spending could end it in the near, or distant, future.

Look, as with Clinton, whether or not the president creates the wave of good economy, being able to not screw it up and simply ride it is good enough for me. Let's see how Bush does. Rule # 1 -- quit spending. Isn't that the first rule of holes?

[ 12-19-2003, 12:14 PM: Message edited by: Timber Loftis ]

Originally posted by Link: I think most people have 'something' against Bush's politics because they believe he got in the seat unfairly at the start. I've heard numerous people in the Netherlands say that with capturing Saddam 'Bush might have saved his election'.. figures where that idea came from. Although the casualties were far less, you seem to forget the 'Bali Bombing' in October 2002 when 183 people lost their lives in a single bomb attack. That's a pretty heavy terrorist attack I might say.

Hi there Link, Thansk for the Welcome. [img]graemlins/cheers.gif[/img]

Our difference here is that I am saying that there have been nearly 3200 "credible threats" made on targets in the US (FBI is the source of that number) and not a single one has succeeded in the US I was not speaking for world wide events, since the US ability to controll events in other nations is obviously limited at best. We have been successful at stoping the threats on our home soil. Doesn't mean we don't have more work to do or that other nations don't.

Altho conspiracy theorists are speculating our NE Power outage was an act of terrorism, there is no public proof as yet to indicate that.

Hopefully some day terrorists everywhere will be caught before they do anything bad...but we started cleaning up our own back yard...it isn't safe yet...but it is safer.

Originally posted by Timber Loftis: Technically, MagiK, "Administration" is the executive branch -- the president, cabinet, agencies, and all other parts of this mammoth branch of gummint that started out as a set of 8 or 10 people. A fine nit to pick, and I know what you meant. And, as for good news..... [img]graemlins/shine.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/shine.gif[/img] Not liking Bush is no reason for me to cut my nose off to spite my face. I'll take good news whoever the bearer be.

Now now TL, that may be YOUR definition but when I used it I specified which groups I was lumping into it. It may not be technically correct, however it is what I am talking about and I listed the groups I meant by it.