August 15th, 2013

"Explaining a joke is like dissecting a frog. You understand it better but the frog dies in the process."
-Henry David Thoreau

"We are all failures, at least all the best of us."

-- J. M. Barrie

"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."

- Oscar Wilde

"I reserve the right to be a lonely man."

-H.L. Mencken

August 16th, 2013

"The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common. nor the the common the heroic."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

*Many of you have likely heard this before, but this has to be one of my favorites. Easily top 10.

Damn....I just realized that *I* *am* a hero of the WebDip forums. How about that...

Hodor!

Hodor?

Help Bran down the hall.

Hodor.

"I just realized that *I* *am* a hero of the WebDip forums. How about that..."

I wouldn't call you a "hero" like Batman or anything...more like Walter White. You're a bit of an asshole who think's he's got the world on a string, but eventually you'll get your comeuppance and you'll end up at a Denny's in New Hampshire pushing your bacon around your plate on your birthday with a grenade launcher in the trunk of your car.

"If it ain't one thing, it's three."

"We're here for a good time, not a long time."

"You hafta get up pretty early in the afternoon to get one past me."

"Alliance: in international politics, the union of two thieves who have their hands so deeply inserted in each other's pockets that they cannot separately plunder a third."

- Ambrose Bierce

Let's stick to the quotes bo_sox48 and krellin. I'd rather not encourage trolling on this thread (though sometimes it can be pretty funny) and you both have knack for drawing a lot of attention... ;)

August 17th, 2013

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting."

-Elizabeth Asquith Bibesco

*By the way, August 15th was actually by E.B. White. I accidentally typed the wrong name on my list.*

"A republican is a person who believes the Democrats will ruin this country. A Democrat is a person who believes the Republicans already have."

- Ambrose Bierce

"Are you on that bloody site again?!?"

-Mrs Octavious

Interesting choice of quote YJ. Never heard that before and to be honest I don't know what to think of it. I'm interested to know where Bierce believes the moderates fall... if there are any anymore. ;)

Plenty of moderates left, but the bigger question is what Bierce would say today with a government that has had 12 of the last 20 years under Democrat rule.

Are you really trying to pick a fight over *that*, Draug? Congress doesn't follow the President. If it were Germany, you'd have a point - but we're not Germany.

Not picking a fight as this isn't the right thread, but since you brought it up...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Presidents_and_control_of_Congress

Nixon and Ford had a hostile Congress all 8 years
Carter had all 4 years with a friendly Congress
Reagan had 6 years of friendly Senate but all 8 years of a hostile House
Bush Sr had 4 years of a hostile Congress

So far, that is 24 years of a Democrat House and 18 of a Democrat Senate

Clinton admittedly had only 2 years with a friendly Congress. He had the first fully Republican Congress in the prior two and a half decades.

Bush Jr had 6 friendly House but was split in the Senate right down the middle
Obama has had a friendly Senate the entire time.

So 29 years of a Democrat Senate and 29 of a Democrat House in the last 45. Sur elooks like the Democrats have had a stranglehold on Congress for the last 4.5 decades (i.e. virtually my entire lifetime). They also had a stranglehold for the prior 8 under Kennedy and Johnson.

Unless each of the 535 seats were filled throughout that entire period by one party, you can't place the blame for this shithole of a country on one party. They both can go to hell.

Equivocating. First you try to make it seem that Cngress has been Republican when I point out the Democrats have rules the White House most of the last 20 years, then you try to spread the blame when I point out that the Democrats have ruled 38 out of the last 53 years of Congress. LOL! Pull your pants back up, bo. Your tighty whities are showing.

Uhh, no, I was saying that it's unfair for you to pin the blame on the President when it's really not that simple. And no, I did not say that Congress "has been" Republican - in fact I made no historical point at all. I simply stated the obvious - Congress is split right now, and when Congress is split and uncompromising, good luck being President.

Bo, I think you *can* blame the shithole mess we are in primarily on one party - and note I said "primarily", not "exclusively".

Take a look around the country at the examples of smaller government entities that have been exclusively Democrat run - Detroit, for example, which has been *pure*, 100% Democrat rule for decades, and therefore a fantastic petri dish to explore the results of pro-union, high tax governments, and you will find disaster after disaster.

Likewise, find areas that are under more longer-term, consistently "conservative" governments and you will find far less chaos and despair.

The Federal government is designed specifically to be a slow-moving body...thus it is hard to charge policy...so when you have extended period of Democrat rule (and thus policy), it is difficult in the brief periods of Republican rule to make corrections. Reagan did it, and the economy *boomed*...

But, sorry buddy, but the facts are the facts -- we have suffered far longer under Democrasses than we have Republipukes.

Do Note Derail This Thread

Trying my best.

While I appreciate healthy discussion on the forums I think another thread would be more appropriate. Thank you Thucy for reigning things back in.

If I may ask though... I am always very interested in the facts and numbers you guys bring to the table during discussions and am curious as to where you get them? I'm not questioning anyone's credibility here, I would just like to know where are some good places to look in order to stay well informed?

Also, my question applies equally to past (history) and present (news) information. I like to consider myself a history buff, but there are a lot of subjects you guys put me to shame on. Any good sources for history info/ current news details would be awesome.

YJ put up a quote bringing forth Democrat v. Republican. HAving a discussion of the topic and substance of the quote is not derailing it, Thucy/kramerkov18.

If you intention is to put up a quote, but not examine it, then here is a quote I heard just today:

"Thucy is a fucking intellectually dishonest fucktard" krellin, to self, 8/17/2013.

No discussion of this quote is allowed, per order to Thucy and kramerkov18.

Perhaps this additional Bierce quote will help to answer your question, kramer:

"Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage."

-------------------

"Bitter" Bierce was known to be a scathing satirist, and a relentless cynic, so I hope I will do the great man no large disservice by attempting to quote as I think he would:

"Moderate: A realist of sufficient opportunism to know that only by straddling the fence can he reach the grass on both sides."

@Draugnar: I would LOVE to hear what Bierce would say about our current state of affairs.

This guy thinks he knows. I'm not sure I agree, but it's an interesting short read.

http://themoderatevoice.com/67542/the-unbearable-lightness-of-reform-guest-voice/