Hey, now that you mention it... John Kerry IS white!

Sweet jesus, you know they’ve hit a new low when the Republicans attack (by proxy) Kerry for his whiteness.

Talk about the whitey calling the whitey, whitey.

Sometimes I wish an asteroid would hit the planet and wipe out humanity.

…the only way to fix it is to flush it all away.
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Wish you hadn’t said that. Now I can’t get that pleasantly agreeable notion out of my head.

Let’s back up this planet and keep driving through the Perseids until our warrantee is voided.

I just wonder what the Republican party is thinking would happen after folks hear those ads. Do they truly expect black listeners to go, “Wow, I didn’t know Kerry was white! That tears it, I’m voting for Bush instead, 'cuz he’s got the darker tan!”? :confused:

I’ll take rich, white, and wishy-washy over rich, white, and stupid any day.

I say we stop wishing and start working. We have an amazing amount of brainpower here, let’s put it to some good use. How do we divert an asteroid? How big an asteroid do we need?

Get cracking, people! I don’t pay you to sit around twirling your thumbs!

Ah, ‘technically true’. Well, that’s indeed very different from ‘true’, isn’t it?

Better adjust the calibration on your outrage meters. Polls are out in Florida, showing Kerry pulling away. The amount of shit the Tighty Righties throw, the stink quotient, all that, is dependent primarily on desperation.

Other gems of civic rectitude (“rectitude” - noun, the quality that derives from the rectum)

Kentucky Repubs distributing bumber stickers: “Kerry is Osama’s man, Bush is my man!”

Ad on Drudge: “Ten out of ten terrorists agree! Anybody but Bush”

Shocked and sickened? You ain’t seen nothing yet!

The '96 legislation, H.R.3103, didn’t create medical savings accounts. People (well, responsible people anyway) have always saved money for medical emergencies. What it did was to provide tax deductions and benefits for medical savings accounts. But like any piece of legislation, there was quite a bit more to it. Specifically, its purpose was to “amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage in the group and individual markets, to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in health insurance and health care delivery, to promote the use of medical savings accounts, to improve access to long-term care services and coverage, to simplify the administration of health insurance, and for other purposes”. In the House, 38 Democrats supported it (as of course did President Clinton, who signed it into Public Law No 104-191), and in the Senate, the bill received 98 yeas, no nays, and two Senators were absent.

The '03 legislation, H.R.1, also created nothing, but merely provided tax deductions for contributions to health savings. But that was a minor part of the bill, which mostly was for the purpose of amending “title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for a voluntary prescription drug benefit under the medicare program and to strengthen and improve the medicare program, and for other purposes”. This bill had 20 co-sponsors and was supported by 19 Democrats in the House. The Senate was split pretty much along party lines. It became Public Law No: 108-173 on December 8, 2003 with President Bush’s signature.

That’s just to put into context what those bills were. As it so happens, H.R.5250, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to establish medical care savings benefits”, had been defeated by the 102nd Congress by sending it off to Ways and Means even though the bill had 83 sponsors. What on earth Democrats could possibly have against tax benefits for medical care savings is anybody’s guess.

At any rate, what is the problem with Mr. Rooney getting into the business of medical and health savings accounts? Lots of people are in that business, and the plans greatly benefit those who take advantage of them. They’re structured very much like IRA accounts. According to Kiplingers, “Withdrawals you make to cover out-of-pocket medical expenses are tax-free, and your investments grow on a tax-deferred basis.” What’s the problem? What sort of hand-wringing is required to begrudge people a tax-deferred growth fund that covers their health and medical expenses? It boggles the mind.

By the way, who are these “People of Color United”, how does the Post know that Rooney contributes to it, and what exactly does it mean by “substantial”? Google turns up nothing on the organization.

Right on it sir! :stuck_out_tongue:

“…People (well, responsible people anyway) have always saved money for medical emergencies…”

Responsible people who have enough money, Lib. I know any number of “responsible” people who’s main economic issue is which of their children they can buy new “back-to-school” shoes for, and which can wait a while.

Please note that this is not a direct accusation of insensitivity, or a “social Darwinism” attitude towards your less advantaged fellow citizens. Merely that you reflect an attitude that, if you haven’t thought it through, perhaps you might.

One word: lasers.

We shall call it the Alan Parsons Project.
So the Republicans are attacking Kerry for being rich and White. Is this kinda like in the '90s where they attacked Clinton for taking their ideas? :slight_smile:

Frankly, I was grossly irresponsible myself in my younger days. We had children for whom we could not afford medical insurance. In retrospect, I cannot imagine a more stupid and irresponsible decision, particularly since our daughter clinically died at 6 months of age from an apparent staff infection. She recovered, but was in intensive care for quite some time. Our considerable bill was paid by a charity. Nevertheless, the snippet you quoted is tangential to the point of my post, which was that people who can save and are saving ought not to be punished for doing so.

Just so. Should you come under harsh criticism for staking out such a position, let me know that I may rush to your defense. As well, I am also prepared to assist in defending motherhood, puppies, and Old Glory.

The other thing that’s insulting about the ad is it implies that to have wealth is to be somehow less-black.

What I find insulting is that he expects people to buy that Bush is somehow a poor black man a la “The Jerk.”

If Bush keeps dodging issues and doing these lame attacks, sign me up for the Alan Parson Project. I’ll take care of the sharks with the frickin laser beams on their heads.

We get our wish soon , Big wave is coming ,and volcano too.

That’s too good for us.

LL