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112th Congress convenes; Boehner elected speaker

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"This will be the undo congress for sure, they will want to undo everything gong (sic) back to the Mayflower."

Yeah man, I reckon that crazy Boehner and the massive wave (65 seats picked up!!!) of Republicans want to go back to 1620, a full 167 years before that crazy Constitution they insisted on reading aloud to open the 112th Congress was first ratified.

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This will be the undo congress for sure, they will want to undo everything gong back to the Mayflower. If the country turns into a complete failure, which bush junior clearly did his best to achieve, then the tea party conservatives work will be done.

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Boehner will roll back freedom for lobbyists and Christianity.

That is a strange statement. I guess it means runwith scissors fears Boehner will override the majority in the Senate and a sitting Democrat in the White House, not to mention the Constitution, and turn America into a theocracyor something. No need for such silly melodrama. The Speaker has no such power. You should study US politics before posting such errant opinions.

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Boehner will roll back freedom for lobbyists and Christianity.

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Nineteen House Democrats refused to vote for Pelosi as speaker"

Highest number of either party to ever do so. Even Democrats realize how destructive that evil stupid woman was.

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Too bad there weren't that many on both sides when Bush-Cheney admin was ramming thru the unconstitutional Patriot Act et al. that give too much police power to the government.

Actually, there were. A little research is a good thing. Lots of people voted against it, however lots of people from both sides voted for it. And despite what you claim, and I must admit, what I'd prefer, most of the Patriot Act is constitutional. The parts that people decided weren't constitutional, were stripped from it, when it was reauthorized.

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A little surprising that 19 Dems actually have some backbone, and intelligence. Rather sad that there were only 19.

Too bad there weren't that many on both sides when Bush-Cheney admin was ramming thru the unconstitutional Patriot Act et al. that give too much police power to the government.

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Both Boehner and Pelosi are no good.

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Boehner will be a train wreck.

Worse then Pelosi? I don't think thats actually possible.

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Boehner will be a train wreck.

And what was Pelosi/Obama?

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runwithscissors:

Wolfpack, if America is not already bankrupt then what does it mean to be bankrupt?

Good point...

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Boehner will be a train wreck.

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"Nineteen House Democrats refused to vote for Pelosi as speaker"

A little surprising that 19 Dems actually have some backbone, and intelligence. Rather sad that there were only 19.

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"Nineteen House Democrats refused to vote for Pelosi as speaker"

Hmmm...

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Since US income tax is actually a tariff on Federal Reserve Notes =you should not be paying US income taxes on Japanese income (soc sec, Medicare I can see being justified) -However since the US tax system is unconstitutional and a scam from the very start I don't see these criminals giving up their golden cow anytime soon. =You must pay and/or vote for Ron Paul.

If you were a corporation you could offshore your money. =Only pay Japanese taxes or incorporate in Virgin islands etc.

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Boehner and his GOP buddies need to finally listen to the public. Let's see if they are actual conservatives.

Its a done deal so all we can do is hope. But for the record I have faith in neither party as both have done nothing but disappoint us for decades.

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US service members or spouses, for example, who might find work here--teaching, whatever--also must pay US taxes on income generated here." Yup... and they won't get off like Rengal and that includes even under Repubs

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Skip, I agree that things should be cut and dry and crap should not be riding bills. But the Republicans did have a "Block it all" campaign on and its no use pretending they didn't. Whatever extra reasons you suppose, the bill was not going anywhere until Republicans were called on their immature little campaign to make the rich richer. Make you a deal: I will not deny that that bill was full of unneeded crap if you stop acting like the Republicans were actually going to approve it anyhow.

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running: "Both parties suck, but your ridiculous defense of Republican shame is, well, ridiculous" There are only two dems that I will defend, Marco and Allen West. Let's gamble, who between the two of us knows the most first responders? I'm telling you there was crap thrown into that bill that had nothing to do with anything related to compensating them nor was there a clear method on how it was going to be paid for. Shamed into? I think both parties were if you ask me and that to me is a problem. Why can't things be cut and dry?

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back to topic - Boehner and his GOP buddies need to finally listen to the public. Let's see if they are actual conservatives.

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brotokyo - sounds like you've had alot of experience with this... yikes!

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manfromamerica,

Americans can be taxed on Japanese income too.

yes I know. I wasn't addressing that I simply gave examples how Americans here still pay US taxes to counter goddog's point. US service members or spouses, for example, who might find work here--teaching, whatever--also must pay US taxes on income generated here. There always seems to be very general statements about US taxes in this forum. Having submitted US tax forms for nearly a quarter of a century, including two "huge" audits, I believe I am qualified to know about US tax laws for expats. By the way, I pay US taxes every year and the amount of Japanese taxes I pay is too die for.

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junnama - lol... sorry, I forgot who I was talking to.

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junnama - wrong. there is a maximum limit to foreign income exclusion.

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moa - unless you have us arising income you shouldn't be paying taxes back to the states, regardless of how much you make...

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brotokyo - Americans can be taxed on Japanese income too.

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Wages and pay have in most fields have nothing to do with the value of the work, they are determined by access to the capital created through money supply inflation, and decision making power. Or the lack of it.

Yes, we know. It is determined by the greedy owners who force people to work for them, the workers have no choice whatsoever. until the revolution, that is. Isn't that right GJ? lol...

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goddog

I will bet with odds that there are some Americans living in Japan who pay both Japanese taxes on income generated here and US taxes on income or property there. Any American who owns property, for example, in the US pays property taxes there. Furthermore, American citizens who own US stocks and receive dividends are paying taxes to the US treasury (IRS) in the tune of 15% or higher if divs are not qualified and if a US stock is sold, cap gains taxes are paid--guess where???-right, the IRS. Any American who still owns a registered vehicle Stateside pays state taxes for tag renewal. I bet there is more than a boatload of Americans here who fall into this category.

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One-third of the population has been bled dry, and there is nothing left to tax.

What??? What has "bled them dry"? Certainly not taxes.

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Hey, if most of you on this forum and American and living in Japan, you are not paying taxes anyway.

If you make under a certain amount. But you are correct in that the teachers here are not paying US taxes.

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SolidariTea: You cannot even define 'fair wage.' No one can. The market defines it, much to the consternation and perplexity of statists, collectivists and self-styled progressives afflicted with envy for those among them who make more money than they believe they are entitled to.

Well the market has decided that a fair minimum wage is about the same as unemployment benefits. Well done on that one. The markets option of "work 40 hours a week for us or do nothing and get the same amount from someone else" is working splendidly.

"The market" has also produced record corporate profits and cash supplies while at the same time keeping unemployment high enough to stall growth for years to come. Again, kudos.

The market is so smart that it probably wouldn't even be around today without government bailouts. Hard to argue with the market's expertise...

You're right that no one can define exactly what a "fair wage" is. The concept of "fair" doesn't exist in the market. Maybe you feel that you're paid a fair wage for your work. But my guess is that if the market decided to cut your wage by a small amount, say, $2,000 a year, you'd stick with your job rather than risk the current job market. You'd probably ask if that's fair or not, but the market doesn't listen to such things. It just does what it can to make this years number bigger than last years number.

Am I against capitalism? Nope. Saying that I don't trust market dynamics 100% of the time without question doesn't mean I'm crossing any lines. One thing the market can't seem to do is control itself, and from time to time us humans need to step in when we're facing extreme situations like a serious erosion in the standard of living. Seems fair to me.

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Hey, if most of you on this forum and American and living in Japan, you are not paying taxes anyway.

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The market defines it, much to the consternation and perplexity of statists, collectivists and self-styled progressives afflicted with envy for those among them who make more money than they believe they are entitled to.

The only way anybody can believe that bollocks is if they have a complete lack of understanding of the difference between what the market is in theory and what it is in reality. Rigged corporate socialism, with central bank and government subsidization of the corporations is not a "market" economy, and neither is a 30 year policy of creating money supply inflation by putting government into debt. Or do people really think the governmemt spends money to help out all those statist, collectivist, and progressive causes? Dream on. Wages and pay have in most fields have nothing to do with the value of the work, they are determined by access to the capital created through money supply inflation, and decision making power. Or the lack of it.

As for the old chestnut that the bottom third pay no income tax, that is not a sign of people getting a free ride. It is a sign of how incredibly screwed the USA economy is. One-third of the population has been bled dry, and there is nothing left to tax.

But the aspirational voter doesn't care about any of that, he just lives in the dreamworld thinking one day he can be rich too, and that nobody is out to bleed him dry.

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afflicted with envy for those among them who make more money than they believe they are entitled to.

What does that have to do with paying people a fair and decent wage? Seems you carry a lot of unrelated baggage into this debate.

Why do you pooh-pooh the work of poor people on one hand and champion the right of the rich to keep their money on the other?

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solidariTea

Ice cream? Where so you get these silly analogies?

LOL!

Nice sounding words. He had better hope his parrty can keep their promise.

Exactly right. He better back it up. But shunning Bachmann is a bad start.

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However, cheating people out of fair wages (measured by profitability) is not "earning" in my book.

runswith scissors~You cannot even define 'fair wage.' No one can. The market defines it, much to the consternation and perplexity of statists, collectivists and self-styled progressives afflicted with envy for those among them who make more money than they believe they are entitled to.

Ice cream? Where so you get these silly analogies? Do they come from Jon Stewart? In America today a little more than the bottom 1/3rd of wage earners do not pay ANY income tax. THAT is what I would call not just ice cream but free ice cream. And the Democrat party they support has become the Free Ice Cream Party. You can use that one in the comments section of your fave Jon Stewart clip online.

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If the new Speaker doesn't cut the Federal governments spending, I hope he joins Pelosi as the "former speaker" in 2012

Right on Wolfpack!

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SolidariTea, I am all for people (not only Americans) keeping what they earn. However, cheating people out of fair wages (measured by profitability) is not "earning" in my book.

Yes, the Republicans finally got what they wanted, just like a spoiled child screaming for ice cream for miles on a road trip. But the trip was ruined. I have trouble with Democrats, but you illustrate the reason most of my scorn is reserved for Republicans. No spoiled child, I do not envy you your ice cream.

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The whole beginning of the "Block it all" campaign was done only because they demanded tax cuts for the rich, which they finally got.

Indeed they did get em. Obama crumpled like an empty suit on that one,didnt he. What made it all the more enjoyable for yours truly was seeing the master, Bill Clinton, the only two-term Dem we had since FDR,got called in to deliver the to the frothing progressive base the news that the Bush cuts would b extended. It was like Bush never left office !

But I can see that explaining this to someone who thinks Americans keeping what they earn is a "tax cut", and when in the case of a productive citizen, an entrepreneur or s.o. who is self-employed (which describes the majority of those making 250k/yr or higher) a tax cut "for the (evil) rich" is pointless.

Better to let them watch Jon Stewart and go on believing they are getting the whole picture about American politics....

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Wolfpack, if America is not already bankrupt then what does it mean to be bankrupt?

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Oh come on Skip! The only reason it finally passed is because the Repubs were shamed into stopping their "Block it all!" campaign by people like Jon Stewart. The whole beginning of the "Block it all" campaign was done only because they demanded tax cuts for the rich, which they finally got.

Both parties suck, but your ridiculous defense of Republican shame is, well, ridiculous.

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In accepting the gavel Boehner sounds a little like the old fashioned Democrats I remember from my childhood, the kind who'd get called neo-cons or radicals these days. It is kind of ironic. What happened to that breed?

“The American people have humbled us. They have refreshed our memories as to just how temporary the privilege to serve is. They have reminded us that everything here is on loan from them. That includes this gavel, which I accept cheerfully and gratefully, knowing I am but its caretaker. After all, this is the people’s House. This is their Congress. It’s about them, not us. What they want is a government that is honest, accountable and responsive to their needs. A government that respects individual liberty, honors our heritage, and bows before the public it serves.”

Nice sounding words. He had better hope his parrty can keep their promise.

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If the new Speaker doesn't cut the Federal governments spending, I hope he joins Pelosi as the "former speaker" in 2012. America is an inch away from bankruptcy." Booom! maybe those to anlgos can sit in the same tanning thing

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Skip, out of 155 votes against in the House, 151 were Republican. Would you like to try again?. they didn't need the repubs at all.. Also, noticed there the amnesty was taken out of the final passed bill? Oh, and for what its worth, the bill is also supposed to help people like my wife, whose place was destroyed, but guess what - she gets nothing.

the bill mind you covers a select group. there are going to be a lot more people to come and more bills to be passed. Did you bother reading the other proposals to the bill? You want to twist this into a dem vs repub fight go ahead, I think anyone who puts a party on a pedstle is a wimp anyway

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If the new Speaker doesn't cut the Federal governments spending, I hope he joins Pelosi as the "former speaker" in 2012. America is an inch away from bankruptcy.

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The first spending cut vote is set for Thursday, a 5% reduction in the amount ticketed for lawmakers’ and committees’ offices and leadership staff.

Can't argue with that.

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Skip, out of 155 votes against in the House, 151 were Republican. Would you like to try again?

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In September the Republican vow was to cut $100 billion from the budget. That was then. Now it's "never mind".

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run: guess what, it didn't pass the first time even when Dems had the power, didn't need a single repub vote, but not all dems were on board with the bill, simply because as usual, everyone started adding irrelevant items to it as well not showing how its going to be funded and that amount you see is hardly going 100%, much more like 25% are going to my friends who were first responders. If you want a bill to pass, repub or dem, and want to avoid stupid statements, leave all the crap out it.

The man called for a Smithsonian exhibit to be dismantled because it offended Christianity. He threatened the Smithsonian in the process." If its tax funded, it at the very least should have been de-funded. Oh, and its a whole lot better reaction than a certain other group of people who are offended.

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The man called for a Smithsonian exhibit to be dismantled because it offended Christianity. He threatened the Smithsonian in the process.

And about the Rs blocking the bill, yes it was ridiculous. I think you meant to say "act" rather than "comment"? I say this since I notice you did not try to say it wasn't true! LOL

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The same Republicans who did not want to compensate the paramedics, firemen and other first responder heroes of 9/11, now control the House. Forgive me if I don't cheer.

Now Boehner is the speaker, so let the Crusade against the freedom of speech in national museums begin!

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