The Official Bendis Board 2012 Presidential Campaign Thread

[Dreaded Anomaly]

I don't really see why anyone would get fired up over what a gallon of gas "would" cost had we stayed on the gold standard. The simple truth is no matter how low a number you come up with, that money would just be that much harder to come by. Using the gold standard would mean a fixed amount of money in the system or at least a much more stagnant amount. Certainly, a smaller supply of money would slow the economy buy I can't say to what extent. But if you consider the size and growth of the trade deficit, the supply of money in our economy would have been in sharp decline for decades now. I think that the trade deficit was part of the reason that Nixon moved away from the gold standard in the first place. I cannot begin to imagine the effect a constantly shrinking supply of money would have on our economy, deflation I am pretty sure.

And if you advocate going back to the gold standard, what sort of effect are you thinking that would have? The price of gold would be fixed within a country using it as a monetary standard. That means it would have zero value to an investor within that country. And for foreigners, any marketable security originating in said country would have more value that gold since any growth potential it had would be bonus appreciation relative to gold. If this is a country with a large economy (I think you guys are advocating the U.S. moving to it, demand for gold would plummet. The price would collapse and likely remain unstable for some extended period of time. Not only would there be extended chaos in the commodities market but the value of the currency of the country who decided to move to the gold standard would also collapse which would cause long term chaos for that economy as well.

It really makes no sense to me.

I think Deff has stated in the past that he wants us to move to a competing currency system. You know, like the one that worked so well that we ditched the Articles of Confederation and created a new government.

[Taxman]

I think Deff has stated in the past that he wants us to move to a competing currency system. You know, like the one that worked so well that we ditched the Articles of Confederation and created a new government.

Didn't it involve goats?

[jamestolliver]

So Anonymous and Wikileaks have teamed up to publish all of the emails from Stratfor, a global intelligence pirvate company. This glossary of terms, made by Stratfor apparently, is pretty interesting, funny, and scary: link

[afroloq]

The GOP line: "Whatever Obama does and says is wrong. Rinse, repeat."

Also, college-educated people tend to be more informed about political, social and economic issues, and tend to become independent, moderate voters. That's not what the base of the GOP wants.

And what school did Santorum get his undergrad degree from?

Penn State

[Brother Power the Gong]

And what school did Santorum get his undergrad degree from?

Penn State

Santorum: ‘Angel’ award for Penn State’s Sandusky

Ex-Sen. Rick Santorum, running for the Republican presidential nomination, in 2002 nominated former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky for a “Congressional Angels in Adoption Award.”

The nomination by Santorum was made in the same year that a Penn State graduate assistant spotted Sandusky allegedly performing a sex act with a young boy in a shower at the university’s athletic complex. He reported the incident a day later to head football coach Joe Paterno.

“Its philosophy is simple: It is easier to develop a child than to rehabilitate an adult,” read the citation from Santorum in an awards dinner program dated Sept. 24, 2002.

The citation was referring to The Second Mile, a charity launched by Sandusky in 1977 to serve disadvantaged children. It was first reported Wednesday by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Sandusky has since been charged with multiple counts of child abuse. The university’s athletic director and a vice president have been charged with perjury. Paterno, 84, coach for more than four decades, announced on Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the year.

Santorum is running for president as a social conservative and family values champion. He is a strong opponent of abortion, critic of contraception, and outspoken foe of such gay and lesbian causes as marriage equality.

Santorum, a 1980 Penn State graduate, defended Paterno in an ABC News interview, saying he hoped the spreading sex-abuse scandal would not damage a coach who “served in such distinction for all these years.”

The Angels in Adoption awards program is sponsored each year by the non-profit Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.

Oh, Ricky …

[afroloq]

Oh, Ricky …

That's.....just....

...wow

[Foolish Mortal]

Thankfully, voters seemed to have finally picked up on that Santorum is a stupid, bigoted asshole.

[Foolish Mortal]

Plot to Kill Putin Is Uncovered, Russian TV Reports

MOSCOW — Russian television reported early on Monday that the Ukrainian and Russian intelligence services had in recent weeks acted jointly to thwart an assassination attempt on the Russian prime minister, Vladimir V. Putin.

The announcement came less than a week before the Russian presidential election on Sunday. Mr. Putin, the dominant figure in Russian politics, is seeking a return to the presidency, which he held for two terms before becoming prime minister in 2008 and which he is widely expected to win.

A report by the state-controlled broadcaster Channel One said that two would-be assassins were arrested in the Ukrainian city of Odessa, after surviving an explosion inside an apartment there; a third man died in the blast. Authorities said that the apartment’s inhabitants had been dispatched to the city by the Chechen terrorist leader Doku Umarov, Channel One reported.

Now, it is certainly plausible that there were people plotting to take out Putin, on the other hand, I wouldn't put it past Putin to fabricate a story like this to try to garner sympathy from voters.

[Patton]

Thankfully, voters seemed to have finally picked up on that Santorum is a stupid, bigoted asshole.

I'd rather they waited until he was the nominee.

[afroloq]

I'd rather they waited until he was the nominee.

I see where you are going with that sir....