General Dynamics buying congress!

[eddie]

I haven't seen a bigger load of BS concerning Congress and lobbiests. Big business is running congress now and will be for years to come! Wonder what our Founding Fathers would think of this nonsense!?!

http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/28/12991946-the-m1-abrams-the-army-tank-that-could-not-be-stopped?lite&__utma=238145375.259878669.1342402079.1343744959.1 343755037.89&__utmb=238145375.2.10.1343755037&__utmc=238145375&__utmx=-&__utmz=238145375.1343755037.89.5.utmcsr=msn.com|ut mccn=(referral)|utmcmd=referral|utmcct=/&__utmv=238145375.|8=Earned%20By=msnbc%7Cus%20news= 1^12=Landing%20Content=Mixed=1^13=Landing%20Hostna me=www.msnbc.msn.com=1^30=Visit%20Type%20to%20Cont ent=Internal%20to%20Mixed=1&__utmk=165300604

[Sailor Steve]

I'd say you don't know much about the Founding Fathers. There were a lot more than just the 'Big Six', and even they had their share of skullduggery, bribery and scandal. Every time someone brings up how bad politics are in America "these days", I feel forced to remind them that things haven't changed at all.

[Betonov]

I'd say you don't know much about the Founding Fathers. There were a lot more than just the 'Big Six', and even they had their share of skullduggery, bribery and scandal.

Gaining independence requires a lot of back-door dealings. Takes people that know their way around skullduggery, bribery and scandal to pull something this big.

[Sailor Steve]

Gaining independence requires a lot of back-door dealings. Takes people that know their way around skullduggery, bribery and scandal to pull something this big.
What I'm talking about came long after independence. The first administrations had lies, sex scandals, banking scandals, cabinet members plotting against each other and their president, presidential violations of constitutional ethics, bitter recriminations against respected heads of state, and personal animosities that led to persecutions and even respected gentlemen of state killing each other.

It wasn't pretty.

[Ducimus]

Big business is running congress now and will be for years to come!

http://www.oldnewspublishing.com/samp2.jpg

[TLAM Strike]

“We don’t believe we’ll ever see a straight conventional conflict again in the future.”

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/6888/fengtao898837261.jpg

No we will never have to fight a conventional ground war.

Nor will we ever have to engage in a dogfight.

Nor combat an enemy submarine.

Never will there be a blue water carrier duel.

Fighting bearded men hiding in caves will be the one and only form of combat now and for the remainder of the century.

What happened to the Cold War mentality of when you buy a weapon and never have use it, you got your money's worth? :hmm2:

Every time someone brings up how bad politics are in America "these days", I feel forced to remind them that things haven't changed at all.

I say they have improved a little...

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2484/hamiltonburrduel.jpg

[Betonov]

It wasn't pretty.

Politics as usual in the 18th century. I actualy miss those times, when politicians wacked eachoter like mobsters. Slovenia would be a superpower today if the MPs would start killing eachother off

[Ducimus]

I say they have improved a little...

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/2484/hamiltonburrduel.jpg

Honestly, I'd say bringing back dueling amongst politicians would be an improvement.

[vienna]

Honestly, I'd say bringing back dueling amongst politicians would be an improvement.


It would thin out the herd, certainly...

I would like to see the idea expanded to include political pundits and other like loudmouths; imagine the line to get a shot at Limbaugh... :hmmm:

...

[Takeda Shingen]

What happened to the Cold War mentality of when you buy a weapon and never have use it, you got your money's worth? :hmm2:

It drove us to bankruptcy.

[eddie]

What irks me is that the Army says it doesn't need something and a Defense Contractor tells them that they do. Then bribes congress to back them up! The tail is wagging the dog!

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

What irks me is that the Army says it doesn't need something and a Defense Contractor tells them that they do. Then bribes congress to back them up! The tail is wagging the dog!I have understood that more important issue is defence contractors tactic of dividing work around the USA. Especially in case of bigger programs they try to distribute jobs to as many congressional district as possible to make axing it politically difficult.

[mookiemookie]

Wonder what our Founding Fathers would think of this nonsense!?!

A better question would be to wonder what this man thinks of it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Dwight_D._Eisenhower,_official_photo_portrait,_May _29,_1959.jpg/220px-Dwight_D._Eisenhower,_official_photo_portrait,_May _29,_1959.jpg

[Takeda Shingen]

Ike

One of the last true conservatives. How things have changed since then.

[Platapus]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Dwight_D._Eisenhower,_official_photo_portrait,_May _29,_1959.jpg/220px-Dwight_D._Eisenhower,_official_photo_portrait,_May _29,_1959.jpg

I like him.

[Sailor Steve]

That's a good question. His second term ended when I was ten years old, and I remember him well. In December 1960 my dad took me on a trip to D.C. We took a White House tour and he actually came out into the hall and waved at our tour group.

[CCIP]

That's a good question. His second term ended when I was ten years old, and I remember him well. In December 1960 my dad took me on a trip to D.C. We took a White House tour and he actually came out into the hall and waved at our tour group.

And next week on PBS - a new British documentary featuring Sailor Steve:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p301/myspb2006/stuff/200px-Walkingwithdinosdvdcover.jpg

:D


I jest - that must be a really cool memory to be able to share! :up:

[kraznyi_oktjabr]

And next week on PBS - a new British documentary featuring Sailor Steve:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p301/myspb2006/stuff/200px-Walkingwithdinosdvdcover.jpg

:D


I jest - that must be a really cool memory to be able to share! :up::har: Nice!

[Platapus]

One of the more serious mistakes our fore fathers made, in forming this country, was believing that the worst thing congress could do is pass an unjust or just plain lousy law.

This is why we have a pretty good system of checks and balances concerning legislation. The Executive Branch's concerns of a law must be addressed by congress before it becomes a law. At the same time congress, by ganging up, can override the Executive Branch veto. At any time the law results in any problems, it is evaluated by the Supreme Court. All in all a pretty good system.

However, the fore fathers exhibited some short sighted lack of judgement. The worst thing congress can do is spend money. Unfortunately, there are no external checks and balances to govern this power. All the checks and balances are internal. In congress we have one governmental body with the authority to not only collect money but to spend it. And this is one power that congress, regardless of political party, has used and used often.

Can we change this? Well again, the writers of the constitution were a little short sighted. One small phrase in Article 1 section 5. Nine little words....

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings...

We have one governmental body that is exclusively in charge of making its own rules.

So the body that has the authority to collect taxes and spend money with no external oversight is the only body that can change the rules about oversight. What are the chances of that happening?

I do wish the fore fathers could have looked beyond being only worried about "bad laws".

People banter the phrase "out of control spending" like it was some accident or disaster. There is no such thing as out of control spending in congress. They are very much in control. In fact, they are the only ones in control.

And "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity" gave congress this power. Or more accurately, we were told we did by the fore fathers.

[nikimcbee]

And next week on PBS - a new British documentary featuring Sailor Steve:

http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p301/myspb2006/stuff/200px-Walkingwithdinosdvdcover.jpg

:D


I jest - that must be a really cool memory to be able to share! :up:

Now that is the funny post of the year.:har::har::har: