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Richard Schulze

Walker, MN
Commenter for
4 years 13 weeks

Recent Comments

Posted on 02/15/13 at 09:09 am in response to Obama tells Republicans: I’m tired of begging for cooperation

Yes, the Republicans play right into it. The things I worry about, though are the areas where Obama and the Republicans appear to be in tacit agreement -- extending tax cuts without cutting spending, raising the debt ceiling whenever desired, dominating the world militarily with targeted assassinations via drones at a rate of more than one per day, secret and third-party prisons, torture, and putting the same Wall Street wizards and economic theoreticians who cause the '08 banking crisis in...

Posted on 01/11/13 at 11:02 pm in response to Dayton’s eagerly awaited budget proposal touted as a ‘historical shift’

All this talk of regressive taxation gets back to a very American problem. The American benefit model is to rely heavily on graduated income taxes, which are referred to as "progressive", and to offer the majority government benefits universally, i.e. irrespective of need. The European model uses far more flat taxes, such as the VAT or a flat tax on earnings, but offers benefits to those that most need it (universal healthcare being the partial exception). This is why Europe sees it's system...

Posted on 01/09/13 at 07:50 am in response to Return of the neocons: This time, they’re attacking Hagel

I've read a lot of stuff that says that the protest against him is not really about Israel, but because he might credibly cut defense spending. But since cutting defense spending is somewhat popular people are objecting to him over Israel.

Posted on 01/08/13 at 07:55 am in response to Rick Nolan: 'Congress is not governing'

I wonder how the donors and campaign volunteers for Gottwalt and Morrow feel about this.

Posted on 01/07/13 at 11:32 pm in response to Game-changing strategy for GOP: Run a woman for governor

It would be brilliant political Jiu jitsu on the part of Republicans. The real game changer would be to run a moderate Republican woman.

Posted on 01/03/13 at 09:46 pm in response to Regulating guns like cars: Perspective on the gun debate after Sandy Hook

If we had liability insurance on guns, as we do for cars, we will see which insurance company would insure at which price folks with arsenals

Posted on 01/03/13 at 09:48 pm in response to Regulating guns like cars: Perspective on the gun debate after Sandy Hook

The gun control argument has to be the most fertile ground for fallacy in our political discourse today. A few of the best:

1) When in doubt, compare policy to the Nazis and Stalin, because if they did anything, it's definitely evil. Oh, except that nearly every other Western country controls firearm ownership more tightly than the US, with absurdly lower levels of firearm deaths.

2) The appeal to the authority of the U.S. Constitution is ridiculous. It ignores the historical...

Posted on 01/04/13 at 09:50 pm in response to Regulating guns like cars: Perspective on the gun debate after Sandy Hook

As for the opinion that only an armed citizenry can prevent tyranny, I wonder if that isn’t a form of narcissism, involving the belief that lone, heroic individuals will have the ability to identify tyranny as it descends, recognize it for what it is, and fight back. There is also the small matter that I don’t think America is remotely close to becoming a tyranny, and to suggest that it is is both irrational and a bit offensive to people who actually do live under tyrannical rule.

I...

Posted on 12/31/12 at 07:39 am in response to GOP worker on a losing campaign: ‘Frustrating but rewarding, too’

I think that if a strong leader moves the Republican party just a little, the Tea Party will self-deport itself. The Republicans adopted the Tea Party when they were down in 2009 and the Tea Party looked like a way to win. Now that the Tea Party looks like a way to lose, I don't think they'll be tolerated for long. Republicans are nothing if not ruthless.

Posted on 12/23/12 at 10:14 pm in response to Both sides gear up as gay-marriage advocates prepare to lobby Legislature

Do not confuse Republican rejection with a DFL mandate. Don’t overreach, attend to the economy and budget first, remember your principles, and use them to build a foundation for other changes once broad bi-partisan support has emerged.