Bush in 30 seconds ads

[Gustaf]

It looked OK, in the sense of not being overtly offensive, to me.

[Gustaf]

Please.  Can we keep the political ads out of our face even long enough to ejoy the once a year super bowl.  I don't want to hear any from either side during the game.  We're going to have them stuffed down our throats through November.  Give us a break.

In Sweden political ads on television aren't allowed, so it's a new concept to me.

[Gustaf]

Hold on a second.  Have you seen these ads?  None of them has any Hitler references.  They're right there on the website if you haven't viewed them.  Passing judgement on something without seeing it is kinda foolish, wouldn't you agree?

CBS certainly has the right to decide not to run "issue ads".  Heck, I respect their right to just refuse an ad on the basis of poor taste.  But from the way some of the folks on the right have painted these ads you'd think they show George Bush running around waving a machete.  Personally I don't think these are contraversial ... just very good political ads.

I don't find them controversial, just incredibly obvious appeals to the ignorant.  The reason is this - the ad I saw shows a bunch of children working at arduous, low paying jobs, and claims that these are the people who will be 'paying off George Bush's 1 trillion dollar deficit'.  This is obvious garbage as these lower working class people pay no income tax.  Of course the typical viewer is either ignorant of this fact, or is in active denial - hence the ads would probably have been effective.

I thought they were foreign child labour competing with American workers due to the abolition of the steel tariffs. Are children allowed to work in the US?

[Gustaf]

Hold on a second.  Have you seen these ads?  None of them has any Hitler references.  They're right there on the website if you haven't viewed them.  Passing judgement on something without seeing it is kinda foolish, wouldn't you agree?

CBS certainly has the right to decide not to run "issue ads".  Heck, I respect their right to just refuse an ad on the basis of poor taste.  But from the way some of the folks on the right have painted these ads you'd think they show George Bush running around waving a machete.  Personally I don't think these are contraversial ... just very good political ads.

I don't find them controversial, just incredibly obvious appeals to the ignorant.  The reason is this - the ad I saw shows a bunch of children working at arduous, low paying jobs, and claims that these are the people who will be 'paying off George Bush's 1 trillion dollar deficit'.  This is obvious garbage as these lower working class people pay no income tax.  Of course the typical viewer is either ignorant of this fact, or is in active denial - hence the ads would probably have been effective.

So aside from income taxes, no one feels any effect of gigantic, brankrupting levels of defict spending? Pull the other one.

I'm sure if the U.S. defaults on its loan payments, resulting in a massive pullout domestically and internationally from the purchase of government bonds, forcing either: A) Massive tax increases B) Massive program cuts C) A Mostly non-functioning government D) All of the above, the lower-middle class will just be whistling dixie, safe from harm.

Right.

There's no such thing as a tax cut. If you get less money from the tax payer, you have to get more money from the bond purchaser, resulting in an even greater need for taxes in the future. Tax postponement is all you are really getting.  

If you cut expenses you can cut taxes. But cutting taxes without cutting expenses is just pure populism.

[Gustaf]

The taxation model is simplistic, people care about so many other things that high taxes does not necessarily drive away all capital. Sweden is doing reasonably well with high taxes, and most of the people I know who want to go to the US and study of course wants to go Massachussetts, b/c the risk of ending up with crazy republicans is the lowest there!