StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Are you conspicuously leaving revenues out of the equation, or simply saying "And don't forget about cuts" here? Honest question. Simon and I have already come to the conclusion that we need to mathematically optimize the tax base*, so I felt no reason to bring that up again. *Doing so wo...

No, early 2010, with Sen. Brown's election to the seat long held by that paragon of virtue , Teddy Kennedy. This was reinforced by the election results in 2010 when the GOP was in a bad place to take back the Senate (and failed to do so, but did increase the size of the caucus), but took back the h...

While money bills have to start in the House, it's stupid to say that they have "power of the purse" considering that whatever they pass still has to go through the Senate. It's a shared power, unlike the Senate's ability to stop appointments and directly kill treaties. But like the Sparta...

Of course the Republicans would impeach him, but impeachment is merely an accusation. It takes actual conviction by the Senate, which is much less likely, for it to have any real effect. Exactly. And I'm sure Obama will love a trial that is about whether or not he is allowed to not let the US go ba...

If it actually gets to the point that Boehner can't pass a debt limit raise with the help of the Dems, I fully expect Obama to say "Fuck it", invoke the 14th Amendment, and dare Republicans to impeach him for not letting the country default.

My bets on this whole fiasco? At this point I would not put it past the GOP to try and drag things out to upcoming debt ceiling talks, because hey Then they can hold TWO Hostages! I mean how many here think they are NOT going to try and demand concessions for the upcoming debt ceiling? After all we...

As far as apportioning blame, the pro-ACA party controls the House and the anti-ACA party controls the Senate. The two bodies are constitutionally designed to be equal in so far as approval for appropriations go. The fact that the ACA has been passed does not bind future Congress of different compo...

Looks like it was a woman (possibly with a child) who tried to get past one of the car barriers that surround the streets adjacent to the White House (I've heard Constitution AND Pennsylvania, not sure which). Secret Service approached, gunshots MAY have been fired at which point she tried to flee b...

Gunshots being reported on the Hill, Capitol currently in lockdown.

Negotiate? We're dealing with an administration that is closing a park that has not received federal funding in decades because it's on federal land , and is preventing DC from spending local funds to stay open - and has refused to pass a bill that would allow DC to do so. This is nothing more than...

Simon, I know I've told you this before, but BUDGETS CAN NOT BE FILLIBUSTERED. Budget resolutions [/b] can not be filibustered. However, other parts of what we'd call a budget do . To quote the liberal rag that is the Economist on the subject: Republicans have relentlessly harangued the Senate's De...

A budget would be a wonderful thing, though the problem is how far apart the two sides are starting. At the moment, given how the Republican budget looks, any debate is going to look a lot like this with less stock laughter:

There was a last-ditch attempt by more moderate Republicans to prevent the shut-down but they couldn't sway the nutjobs. That makes me wonder: could those moderate Republicans not simply have broken party rank? I'm not privy to the details of US governance but to me the sentiment that a small group...

A CR is not a budget. Do I agree with you that the Senate Democrats should have created a budget? Absolutely, though I can understand why Reid doesn't waste time on one, since that's exactly what it would be. Similarly, while it's nice that the Republicans have proposed a budget, their budget is so...

The only reason we are at this point is because the Senate refusted to offer a budget, or rather refused to negotiate on one just like they are refusing now. At some point Obama and Ried forgot or can't respect that they are only 2/3s of equation. The Republicans are not holding the government host...

It's not just that we are going into government shutdown, either. It's that we are going into government shutdown with these Republicans . If it were a different set of Republicans who were asking for something reachable and had shown a willingness to actually negotiate in good faith, I don't think ...

Also, it's not the first time the Government has been shut down. Last week NPR covered that it's been shut down 17 times in the last 37 years. When was the last time? When were most of those times, have they been happening uniformly about every two years, or were there a whole lot of them during a ...

Secondly, I recall Obama saying soldiers' pay will be delayed. They'll get their money in the end, but they better have some saved up and no big expenses until this is over. The House and Senate passed legislation that will not delay payments to uniformed military personnel, which Obama signed. Civ...

A lot of government employees and their families starving You mean their net yearly income might be reduced to something slightly closer to their private sector equivalents. That's completely the opposite of reality in the US. Civil service salaries have always been lower than the public sector. Th...

Was alright for a pilot. Gregg is still great as Coulson and definitely has more room to have fun as the character. He was easily the most consistently entertaining part of the show, playing a guy who has been around the block enough to smile and play along with the classic tropes. Agent Ward is kin...

Why do you think you need a weapon meant for Police use, citizen? Assuming it's not NRA-approved rhetorical question, yes, why would you need weapon meant for people who routinely expose themselves to trouble? Are you living in Syria or something? Humanity moved past hiding daggers in clothes and w...

This seems like something that was planned (Along with the Flash team apparently moving on). As for replacements, Jeff Parker is actually a damn good writer.

As long as they, you know, let him write.

I simply disagree with you on the quality of most of the books and how satisfactorily the Starfire issue was handled. I'm not at all impressed with World's Finest and Birds of Prey and they straight out fired Simone from Batgirl. The lynch mob forced them to reverse the firing, but that book is dec...

Starfire prompted a huge backlash and she was absolutely drawn as a pin up with super powers. She's always been a pin-up with superpowers. At least, in the comics. The whole problem was that was not the costume, but the stupid assumption that they had made her into some sex-bimbo who couldn't remem...

No, with ditching Rucka, almost firing Gail Simone, and the Catwoman and Starfire idiocy it appears DC just hates woman heroes. Those were brief spots from stupid stories (And with Starfire, having read the book, wasn't actually true). Considering how many female-lead titles they have, it's not tha...