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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: combjelly who wrote (555160)	3/15/2010 3:31:23 PM
From: Bill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576211

What date does "our Lord" signify?

To: combjelly who wrote (555160)	3/15/2010 4:02:45 PM
From: RetiredNow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1576211

Bush and the GOP always claim to be for free markets. However, over the last decade when they were in power, they were extremely lenient on our foreign competition, failing to enforce our trade agreements and allowing other countries to compete unfairly against US companies. The most egregious of these has been China, with their currency manipulation that has lead to their $2 trillion trade surplus and indirectly a loss of millions of US jobs to Chinese companies. Unlike Bush and the GOP, Obama and the Democrats take their duty to guard American free markets seriously. Obama has recently been talking tough to the Chinese about their predatory currency manipulation and he has the Chinese fearful that we may do something about it. In the latest twist, Congress is getting into the act, demanding that the US label China a "Currency Manipulator", which would mean the US must institute and enforce offsetting tariffs on Chinese goods, which would make US companies more competitive and safeguard US jobs from being sent overseas. This would also lay the groundwork for a WTO complaint that would force China to comply with WTO policies, which include ensuring that a country's currency floats freely on the world markets, instead of being pegged to another currency. So once again we see that despite all the rhetoric from the GOP, the facts on the ground simply don't support their propaganda. The GOP talks a good game on free markets, but the Democrats are more active in ensuring free markets have a level playing field around the globe. I'll take the party that believes in action over the party that does nothing but shout vitriolic propaganda all the time. Congress letter urges action on renminbi ft.com By Daniel Dombey in Washington More than 100 members of the US Congress on Monday called on the Obama administration to label China a currency manipulator, in a move that highlighted the pressure on Washington to take a more confrontational stance towards Beijing. In a letter to Timothy Geithner, treasury secretary, and Gary Locke, commerce secretary, the 130 Congressmen demanded the administration designate China a manipulator when it issues its regular report on currency manipulation next month. They called for countervailing duties to be imposed on Chinese imports. “I have not really seen this level of enthusiasm among members of Congress before,” said Tim Ryan, one of the Congressmen organising the bipartisan letter. “There is a heck of a coalition behind this and the time is right.” The letter adds to pressure on the Obama administration, which is trying carefully to manage its relationship with China, one of the largest buyers of US government debt, amid fears a rift could unnerve investors and undermine recovery. The Obama administration has been reluctant to designate China a currency manipulator at a time when figures including Mr Geithner have sought to work with Beijing. The US has looked for support from China on a range of issues from climate change to United Nations sanctions on Iran. But, with US unemployment at nearly 10 per cent, the administration has also identified the alleged overvaluation of the renminbi as a top priority. Calls from the Democratic party’s base for a tougher line have intensified. “It’s politically important for Democrats obviously but there are also many Republicans and small business owners that would benefit from this,” said Mr Ryan, who hailed Mr Obama for having taken “a more aggressive approach on enforcing our trade agreements than any president has for 30 years”. The letter adds that, after a formal designation, the US should begin talks with China on its foreign exchange regime and signal its willingness to enter a formal complaint at the World Trade Organisation. “This is very risky. On both the Chinese and the US sides the leadership feels that you have to keep the relationship on an even keel, but with domestic feelings running high there is a risk that it gets out of control,” said Eswar Prasad, an expert at Cornell University and the Brookings Institution. In a letter last month 15 US Senators criticised Mr Locke for having “failed” to adequately investigate charges that China deliberately undervalued its currency for trade advantages while a number of members of Congress have introduced legislation to label Beijing a manipulator. The US Treasury declined to comment on the latest call.

To: combjelly who wrote (555160)	3/15/2010 4:38:07 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 1576211

"But it mentions "our Lord" in Article VII." That was a date. Not a reference to God. Can you imagine a private conversation betwen Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson back then? Ben admonishes: "Tom, you'd better make sure when you put in the date that you say "our year of the Lord". You know how those royalists [aka teabaggers, wingers and Republicans]are........you don't put in "our Lord", and they'll accuse us of being anti Christian." Jefferson replies: "Good point, Ben. We don't need any more trouble from those idiots."