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pagad Sneering Imperialist from perfidious Albion Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
Sneering Imperialist
#50251: Feb 25th 2013 at 12:04:33 PM

I thought Stephen Harper had a raging hard-on for it.

gah why did this have to be the pagetopper

edited 25th Feb '13 12:04:48 PM by pagad

With cannon shot and gun blast smash the alien. With laser beam and searing plasma scatter the alien to the stars.
Belian In honor of my 50lb pup from 42 Since: Jan, 2001
In honor of my 50lb pup
#50252: Feb 25th 2013 at 12:25:02 PM

Well, this should be interesting...

http://www.marchforinnovation.com/

Tech leaders plan ‘virtual march’ to push lawmakers on comprehensive immigration overhaul.

Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!
Fighteer Lost in Space from The Time Vortex (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: TV Tropes ruined my love life
Lost in Space
#50253: Feb 25th 2013 at 12:26:26 PM

Are you kidding? How many lawmakers even comprehend the Internet as more than "a series of tubes" inhabited by basement-dwelling video gamers, spambots, and IP thieves?

[down] Note bold emphasis above.

edited 25th Feb '13 12:34:51 PM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#50254: Feb 25th 2013 at 12:31:07 PM

And pirates?

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Belian In honor of my 50lb pup from 42 Since: Jan, 2001
In honor of my 50lb pup
#50255: Feb 25th 2013 at 12:48:53 PM

[up][up]The mostly sane onestongue

In all seriousness, I do wish the website would link to where they are getting those "facts" from.

Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!
Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#50256: Feb 25th 2013 at 2:02:09 PM

So, Canadian analysts predict that the sequester will screw up trade and tourism between Canada and the US, because the budget cuts include slashing the funds for border control and security. The bridges at Niagara Falls already have absurdly long waits (4 hours once) and this would only increase them.

Also, Parliament is trying to make a plan with the American government, but there is no communication on the issue. The American government isn't responding.

I don't know why this is happening, but ignoring your immediate neighbor in something that could hurt them isn't the greatest idea.

RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#50257: Feb 25th 2013 at 2:03:33 PM

Communication between Parliament Hill and the Beltway usually entails that one side does most of the talking and the other side does most of the listening. I'm sure you can guess which side is which.

EDIT: Gah, just realized this sounded unnecessarily combative. Sorry, this thread started with the mental image of the hard-on Harper had for the F-35 program, and it put me in a bad mood. Rephrasing.

edited 25th Feb '13 2:05:04 PM by RadicalTaoist

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
Belian In honor of my 50lb pup from 42 Since: Jan, 2001
In honor of my 50lb pup
#50258: Feb 25th 2013 at 2:08:47 PM

[up][up]I would be more surprised if there was comunication. What could the President say/do at this point? It is not like he can really promise anything with the way Congress is right now.

edited 25th Feb '13 2:09:18 PM by Belian

Yu hav nat sein bod speeling unntil know. (cacke four undersandig tis)the cake is a lie!
Greenmantle V from Greater Wessex, Britannia Since: Feb, 2010 Relationship Status: Hiding
V
#50259: Feb 25th 2013 at 2:18:23 PM

Communication between Parliament Hill and the Beltway usually entails that one side does most of the talking and the other side does most of the listening. I'm sure you can guess which side is which.

Probably the same for communication between Westminster and the Beltway, I suspect.

Keep Rolling On
DevilTakeMe Coin Operator from Wild Wasteland Since: Jan, 2010
Midgetsnowman Since: Jan, 2010
#50262: Feb 25th 2013 at 5:02:27 PM

I find it so cute how the Republican party is so caught up in conservative fundamentalism that last year's golden boy is now a monster for even daring to be bipartisan once.

chihuahua0 Since: Jul, 2010
#50263: Feb 25th 2013 at 5:12:02 PM

My dad claims that the sequester is a non-problem.

He explains it with this hypothetical: The government budget is 100 billion *

This year, it received a planned increase of 5 billion, so it's now 105 billion.

But then Congress decides to cut .005 billion of the 5 billion increase.

So it's not an actual budget cut, but rather a really small decrease of a planned budget increase. Or something like that.

But basically, he says it's a whole deal over nothing.

Karkadinn Karkadinn from New Orleans, Louisiana Since: Jul, 2009
Karkadinn
#50264: Feb 25th 2013 at 6:13:21 PM

From CBS, this seemed relevant.

According to the White House, sequestration would be devastating to the nation's already hard-hit public education system: A fact sheet released earlier this month says 70,000 kids would be kicked off Head Start, 10,000 teachers would find themselves at risk of unemployment, and funding would be eliminated for up to 7,2000 special education teachers, aides and staff.

In states like California, Texas, New York, and Florida, those cuts look particularly dramatic:

California would lose $87.6 million in funding for primary and secondary education, as well as $62.9 million in funding for education with disabilities. The number of students who would no longer be served is 187,000; meanwhile, 1,210 teacher and aide jobs would be at risk and 320 schools would lose funding. The White House also says 8,200 children would lose access to Head Start and 9,600 low-income students would lose access to work-study aid. Texas would lose $67.8 million worth of funding for primary and secondary education; 172,000 fewer students would be served. The state would also lose $51 million in funding for teachers, aides and staff who help children with disabilities. Florida would lose $54.5 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting 750 teacher and aide jobs at risk. New York would see cuts of $42.7 million to primary and secondary education, and 4,300 kids would lose access to early education.

- In Virginia, 90,000 Defense Department employees would be furloughed, far and away the most in the country, and gross military pay would be reduced by $648.4 million overall. The army would lose $146 million in funding, the air force would lose $8 million, and a number of naval projects could be canceled or delayed.

California would see 64,000 defense jobs furloughed, and it would lose $15 million worth of air force funding. In Texas, Army funding would be reduced by $233 million and Air Force funding would be reduced by $27 million. Gross military pay in the state would be cut by $274.8 million. Maryland, too, would see big cuts in gross military pay, with a $353.7 million dollar reduction. Hawaii's Army operation funding, meanwhile, would be cut by about $106 million.

The White House has also warned that up to 2,100 fewer food inspections could occur under the sequestration, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) might have to furlough all its employees for up to two weeks. Not only would this pose public health risks, the administration argues, it would also potentially add costs in lost food production. Plus, a number of states would see losses in public health funding and access to funding for the treatment and prevention for substance abuse and HIV.

New York would see $2.7 million in cuts to the department of public health. California would lose $2.6 million in funds for public health threat responses, another $12.4 million worth of grants to prevent and treat substance abuse. In Florida, funding providing meals for seniors would be slashed by $3.8 million. Funding for vaccines would be cut by $1.1 million in California, which would eliminate free vaccinations for 15,810 kids.

A number of social programs would also be hit by sequester cuts: The administration says about 600,000 women and children would be dropped from the Department of Agriculture's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program from March through September, resulting in 1,600 job losses. And more than 100,000 formerly homeless people would be kicked out of housing and shelter programs, according to a White House fact sheet.

There are also implications for job training, child care, and victim protection:

Ohio would lose out on $1.8 million worth of funds toward helping people find jobs; according to the White House, that means 57,100 people will lose out on that assistance. In Texas, 2,300 children would lose access to child care. Illinois would lose $274,000 worth of funding provided by the Violence Against Women Act, impacting 1,000 victims.

I know one can argue philosophically about government waste versus efficiently-distributed or specific-goal-oriented spending, but what calls out to me about all that is that I see a lot of lost jobs in an economy where we already have way too many applicants for every job opening available - including ones that people are vastly overqualified for.

edited 25th Feb '13 6:13:50 PM by Karkadinn

Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#50265: Feb 25th 2013 at 6:25:32 PM

@Chihuahua: For once, your dad is actually correct, though for the wrong reasons. The sequester is a whole lot of hoopla over nothing, though obviously it'll be fixed sometime in March.

What's actually going to be a problem is on March 27, when the last continuing resolution runs out.

edited 25th Feb '13 6:26:16 PM by Ramidel

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#50266: Feb 25th 2013 at 6:48:17 PM

Communication between Parliament Hill and the Beltway usually entails that one side does most of the talking and the other side does most of the listening. I'm sure you can guess which side is which.

Probably the same for communication between Westminster and the Beltway, I suspect.

I never figured the Canadians or Brits for big talkers....

edited 25th Feb '13 6:48:32 PM by TheStarshipMaxima

It was an honor
Euodiachloris Since: Oct, 2010
#50267: Feb 25th 2013 at 6:57:56 PM

[up]Ooooooh, boy... Take a look at some of these records... That 6-hour speech on law reform must've been a riveter... <winces> But, hey: at least the guy was consistent... tongue

edited 25th Feb '13 6:59:18 PM by Euodiachloris

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#50268: Feb 25th 2013 at 7:05:18 PM

[up][up] You've also never seen a Quebecois politician complain about how 'Quebec isn't getting what they deserve'.

(Note: I am not saying all Quebecois politicians are like that, just the really, really separatist ones)

TheStarshipMaxima NCC - 1701 Since: Jun, 2009
NCC - 1701
#50269: Feb 25th 2013 at 7:09:06 PM

Wait, you mean Texas politicians aren't the biggest windbags?

It was an honor
Tangent128 from Virginia Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
#50270: Feb 25th 2013 at 7:14:58 PM

obviously it'll be fixed sometime in March.

Frankly, me & my dad are not so optimistic. Odds are the can gets kicked at most three months down the road, and we keep arguing about it.

Do you highlight everything looking for secret messages?
RadicalTaoist scratching at .8, just hopin' from the #GUniverse Since: Jan, 2001
scratching at .8, just hopin'
#50271: Feb 25th 2013 at 7:29:33 PM

Imagine this horrific scenario: it keeps being kicked down the road forever, and this becomes the new business as usual in Washington.

Share it so that people can get into this conversation, 'cause we're not the only ones who think like this.
DrTentacles Cephalopod Lothario from Land of the Deep Ones Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
Cephalopod Lothario
#50273: Feb 25th 2013 at 7:35:12 PM

Depressingly possible. The republicans are unlikely to want to lose this particular bargaining chip unless they think they can get something from it, and the democrats are giving less and less fucks.

Zendervai Since: Oct, 2009
#50275: Feb 25th 2013 at 7:43:48 PM

Ooh, if that happens, the Republicans will be in trouble.


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