The YKR ("You're Kidding, Right?") File

Discussion in 'Politics' started by Tiassa, May 8, 2012.

  1. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    YKR: Congressman Rick Berg (R-ND) and the Minimum Wage

    First up, U.S. Representative Rick Berg, a North Dakota Republican who his leaving his seat in hopes of advancing to the United States Senate.

    Steve Benen provides the appropriate—read, "obvious"—commentary:

    Back in March, the three Republican U.S. Senate candidates in Missouri got together for a debate, and none of the three could accurately say what the minimum wage is. I figured, right about then, every campaign consultant for every Senate candidate would take their boss aside, say "Remember, if anyone asks, it's $7.25 an hour."

    Apparently, I assumed wrong.

    The narrative from Amanda Terkel, of Huffington Post:

    Rep. Rick Berg (R-N.D.), who is running for the state's open U.S. Senate seat, was caught off guard when approached by a voter who wanted to know the state's minimum wage.

    In the exchange, posted by the North Dakota Democratic Party, a young woman approaches Berg at a campaign event and asks him what the minimum wage is in the state.

    "Hmmm," Berg replies. He then points to someone standing nearby and says, "This guy would know."

    "I think it's probably seven something," he adds. "It depends -- they don’t have a minimum wage for waitresses in North Dakota."

    They then ask someone else. That person says it's the same as the federal minimum wage, and asks Berg, "You know what that is?"

    "Oh! Put it back on my shoulders!" the congressman jokingly replies.

    The minimum wage in North Dakota is $7.25 an hour, which is the same as the federal minimum wage.

    It's hard to say Benen doesn't have a point: After watching three Republicans vying for the nomination to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) all botched a straightforward question

    Three Missouri Republicans running to take on Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) in November were asked during a radio debate on KMOX what the federal minimum wage is and whether they would vote to increase it. None of the three knew what the minimum wage it, but all knew that they would vote against increasing it, regardless.

    Host Charlie Brennan asked the three candidates — businessman John Brunner, former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, and Rep. Todd Akin — “What is the federal minimum wage? Would you vote to increase it?” Here are their responses to the first question:

    BRENNAN: Okay, do you know what the minimum wage is?

    BRUNNER: No sir.

    BRENNAN: How about you Sarah Steelman?

    STEELMAN: Uh ... $7.50 an hour.

    BRENNAN: Do you know what the minimum wage is?

    AKIN: My guess is its somewhere in the 6 or 7, but I don’t know the exact number right now.​

    —why wouldn't campaign managers and strategists drill into their candidates the minimum wage and the reason to know what it is?

    The Republican Party is in disarray at the state level; there are several "orphan states" in which the state Republican Parties are enduring financial crises. In Minnesota, earlier this year, the state Republican Party found itself so deeply in the red that it could not pay its lease. Furthermore, the caucuses in some went over so badly as to send tremors through the state hierarchy. Legislative and policy catastrophes in others have the state party reeling.

    Still, though, the ripple effect should not be crippling the advice one gets from a seasoned campaign manager.

    This is basic stuff.

    Some might have chuckled, or perhaps even fell over laughing, at the Missouri debacle, but how is Berg's minimum wage moment even possible?

    I mean, you're kidding, right?
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Benen, Steve. "Dear candidates: learn the minimum wage". The Maddow Blog. May 7, 2012. MaddowBlog.MSNBC.MSN.com. May 7, 2012. http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/07/11583666-dear-candidates-learn-the-minimum-wage

    Terkel, Amanda. "Rick Berg, GOP Senate Candidate In North Dakota, Stumped On Minimum Wage". The Huffington Post. May 7, 2012. HuffingtonPost.com. May 7, 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...nate-north-dakota-minimum-wage_n_1497694.html

    Keyes, Scott. "All 3 Missouri GOP Senate Candidates Stumped When Asked To Identify The Minimum Wage". ThinkProgress. March 16, 2012. ThinkProgress.org. May 7, 2012. http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/16/446351/akin-steelman-brunner-minimum-wage/

    Martin, Jonathan and Alexander Burns. "'Orphan' state parties worry GOP". Politico. April 9, 2012. Politico.com. May 7, 2012. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0412/74944.html
     
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  3. Tiassa Let us not launch the boat ... Valued Senior Member

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    Back to the Future—Tea Party Activist Denounces Women's Suffrage

    YKR: Back to the Future—Tea Party Activist Denounces Women's Suffrage

    Even FOX News' Kirsten Powers figured it out:

    Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, a tea party activist that's appeared several times on Fox News, and founder of an organization where Sean Hannity serves as an advisory board member, said in a sermon recently published to YouTube that America's greatest mistake was allowing women the right to vote, adding that back in "the good old days, men knew that women are crazy and they knew how to deal with them."

    In the video, published to YouTube in March, Peterson explains that he believes women simply can't handle "anything," and that in his experience, "You walk up to them with a issue, they freak out right away. They go nuts. They get mad. They get upset, just like that. They have no patience because it's not in their nature. They don't have love. They don't have love."

    ite his statements being online for more than a month, Hannity welcomed Peterson on his show last Tuesday to castigate the Obama administration over "taking credit" for the Osama bin Laden assassination — but the segment didn't exactly go as planned ....

    .... At roughly 8:30 into his 12-minute sermon, he doubles down, amazingly, saying that he believes America went wrong when it gave women the right to vote.

    "I think that one of the greatest mistakes America made was to allow women the opportunity to vote," Peterson says. "We should've never turned this over to women. And these women are voting in the wrong people. They're voting in people who are evil who agrees with them who're gonna take us down this pathway of destruction."

    "And this probably was the reason they didn't allow women to vote when men were men. Because men in the good old days understood the nature of the woman," he adds. "They were not afraid to deal with it. And they understood that, you let them take over, this is what would happen" ....

    .... Speaking to Peterson on May 1, Powers protested his appearance on Hannity's show, explaining that she was "hijacking" it because "I didn't know I was going to be on with him." She then accused him of "using God's word to teach misogyny."

    "I don't know if you noticed or not, but the liberal Democrat womens are calling themselves whores," Peterson replied. "They came out with their so called group of women who are within the Democrat party, and they are admitting that they're whores and they are saying that they are proud of it. I'm okay with that, I just don't want to pay for it."

    "I have a responsibility to tell the truth," he added "You're on the side of lies. Why shouldn't I be on the side of truth? And it's the truth that's gonna make us free. Somebody gotta tell the truth, so I'm going to tell the truth."


    (Webster)

    This must be a joke, right?

    I mean, really. Seriously, Tea Party? Rev. Peterson?

    You're kidding, right?
    ____________________

    Notes:

    Webster, Stephen C. "Fox News guest laments 'mistake' of letting women vote". The Raw Story. May 7, 2012. RawStory.com. May 8, 2012.http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/05/07/fox-news-contributor-laments-mistake-of-letting-women-vote/
     
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  5. joepistole Deacon Blues Valued Senior Member

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    Last edited: May 11, 2012
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  7. Billy T Use Sugar Cane Alcohol car Fuel Valued Senior Member

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    A YKR News Flash: Creditors of Greece, in consideration of it being the birthplace of democracy, etc. have just announced that ALL of Greece´s debts have been cancelled.
    Well not ALL - just some:

    “…eligible borrowers could get as much as $150,000 knocked off the balance of their mortgages. It is all part of the $25 billion settlement reached this year between federal and state agencies and the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers over fraudulent foreclosure document processing (so-called “robo-signing”).

    In order to be eligible, a borrower must be 60 days late on the mortgage payment as of Jan. 31, 2012 {and “underwater” with} the borrower’s loan must either be owned by Bank of America or serviced by Bank of America for an investor who is allowing the modifications.

    {Billy T insert: No news yet as to how the other four large mortgage granters will be punished for their criminal activities.}

    In order to qualify for the modification, the borrower must answer the letter with full documentation of income, showing that under the terms of the modification they can still make the monthly payment. A borrower with no income would therefore not qualify. A borrower’s current monthly payment must be more than 25 percent of gross income, and the borrower must show they are unable to afford that. …

    If the borrower qualifies, Bank of America will bring the monthly mortgage payment down to 25 percent of the borrower’s gross income. That could mean principal forgiveness well over $100,000, as there is no limit to the amount of the mortgage. If enough borrowers respond, it could cost Bank of America far more than the $11 billion committed to in the settlement ..."

    From: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bank-of-america-offers-principal-reductions-to-200-000-homeowners.html

    And of course loan principle reduction are just in the US, not for Greece and then not for love of democracy or sense of compassion, etc. - They are the settlement / punishment reached for the criminal acts BoA committed. Yes it is an illegal act to transfer a mortgage without paying the fee to record it in the local county records, etc. And it is illegal to certify that ownership paper, etc. have been checked, etc. when zero investigation of the borrower as done in the "robo signing" certifying documents.

    Too bad so few of the criminal acts of the financial system makes ever get proper punishments.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 13, 2012

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