Viewer Mail - Corporate Bailouts & Obama

[NAVMAR16]

Penn the the DUMB ASS did NOT READ ALL THE LYRICS TO THIS SONG, JUST A COUPLE OF LINES!!!!!! THIS SONG IS ABOUT FEED THE WORLD LIKE GOD HAS COMMANDED US TO DO!!!!! THAT ITS OUR JOB TO END STARVATION!!!!!!!

[marcohorowitz8]

well....the song was written by Bob Geldof, a super-angry-atheist, angrier than the Hitch! I wonder why he wrote that line.

[violetninja]

lol this videos fucked

[BenjaminWirtz]

When I heard that line I was pretty sure it was pointing out people's hypocrisy rather than promoting it. Also,what does this have to do with Obama?

[SirWinstonChurchill]

Obama - lawn jockey for the welfare plantation.

[o1993]

Religion doesn't matter. Their are a lot of Catholics who kill and steal from each other even though the bible clearly says you shouldn't kill or steal.

[XLibertyOrDethX]

@o1993 Most "religious" people are only religious on Sunday, and Im finding it harder everyday to find christians who live by their beliefs. This troubles me as a christian personally because this means that people are failing to live up to their principles, not only religiously but in other walks of life as well. Civic responsibility is something that has really been declining too, because we BELIEVE in the 2 party system. We just have to be better no matter what religion, if any, we follow.

[DigiKingdomGames]

I know you posted this a long time ago now, but I just want to agree with many of your fans by saying, you are not wrong.  The government is getting bigger. It continues to get bigger even in a down-turned economy. While private industries are down-sizing to save themselves (and their employees), the government continues to grow. It is sickening, and now we are all seeing that Obama has made it much much much worse!

[rhalas]

What's this have to do with Christmas?

[pwbpub]

uploaded on december 25th dude

[rhalas]

I would consider that a poor reason for the title.

[pwbpub]

well, i was just telling you why.

[pennsays]

@pwbpub Thank you. :-)

[onepcwhiz]

@rhalas The titles are messed up on a bunch of these...

[pennsays]

@onepcwhiz Ah, yes, we are fixing them.

[olshwa]

To bad Obama ISNT an individual, hes just another controld puppet, hes Muslim, and cant even prove hes an AMERICAN!!!

[tacka02]

i my not for Obama but he is an AMERICAN

[H157kid]

obama is an asshole

[beefygoblin]

Everytime an atheist runs for any office (even sheriff) he is attacked and comparted to Hitler and Stalin. Hitler wasn't an atheist, but you tell that to Bush and the pope.

[ZakAdelman]

@beefygoblin

I am sick of hearing it too. It is wrong and it has nothing to do with how well they will do in whatever they are being voted in for. Unfortunately we are not as vocal and hold less weight then the religious people so we get screwed.

Now I will get flamed for agreeing with you >.>

[beefygoblin]

On Penns channel? By whom?

Flame on.

[ZakAdelman]

Not a flame. It was a completion of the statement below. Should have who I was quoting (Charlie Wilson)

[JackDander]

Most of the big bailouts are still going bankrupt. Then the money disappears. Paying off the unions.

[nittenmayn]

Penn you are dead wrong in Denmark the goverment is getting smaller and smaller still fucked up but smaller and you can quote me on that.

[zacky89]

Hi from DENMARK.

PENN you have a great view, RELIGION its the main problem for war. RACISM, and being judged by the appearaence its the same hugh problem to the world. LIKE people underestimate you, if you are black, or if you are muslim, That is uncool, but it is going to be this way, forever UNFORTUNETALY

[ooferman]

these corperate ballouts r an absolute joke do ppl understand that the only way the economys gna get better is if some bussnises die out and do u not understand especially with the ballouts do u not understand that inflation will absolutly make the dollar worthless and i think that if anyone blieves that socialism is the way to go ur going against the belief of in my opinion our founding fathers and our constitution

[freedom3001]

I'm Scandinavian and I think "you" are very UNcool for electing Obama.

Anyway, how can you not care about culture and religion when it has such a big impact on ones opinions on freedom?

[CrowColdblade]

I too am Scandinavian whatever that means and I dont believe youre cool for electing Obama. There is a lot of cool stuff and people in the United States but a guy who wants to send more troops to Afghanistan and claims its for the good of the world is not a shill dude.

[ZakAdelman]

@freedom3001

I agree with the uncool and I sure didn't vote him in handouts and more government are a bad thing. The other part, I don't think it is so much not care as it is we don't want to hear it any more. We want decisions made on merits not some religious freaks opinions.

@CrowColdblade

It is about time we finish what we started conducting war on a whim is stupid and that is what we are doing... again.  The US wanted a war after 9/11 and now they lost the stomach for it.

[ZakAdelman]

These things happened. They were glorious and they changed the world... and then we fucked up the endgame.

[CrunkRockSteadyEvan]

i agree that humans are rife with tribalism that has detroyed and hindered our civilization for thousands of years BUT the result of these individual cultures has created something beautiful in places like new york or toronto where you can go down to a district and find restaurants and festaivals celebrating life in a very specific way that no longer bars outsiders

and as long as they no longer bar outsiders (or push their superstions on you) i think its great

[hardknox503]

I tend to think that Penn has a Ayn Rand-Objectivist view. Does anyone think that is valid?

[mackattack9111]

He has stated in an earlier video that he didn't approve of Sam Harris' Buddhist-tendencies and said that his atheism is really a Randian rejection of all spirituality.

[waffle652]

"What" is my least favorite word. Typically when you hear about someone, you get whats, and whats tend to color your impression of a person in an uncomfortably subconscious way, making you inadvertantly like or dislike a person before you even have a chance to sample their personality.

But we always deal with whats, and we always let said whats influence what we think of people, because so many of us are shallow and illogical.

Of course there are some whats that are relevant.

[eksyte]

20 years ago, Obama wouldn't have even won the nomination, let alone the election. His race is not important to his role as President; it's important in the fact that we've got solid proof that Americans are (however slowly) growing beyond petty shit like race.

It's unfortunate that it was such a focus by the media, but that's what gets them ratings, so that's what they broadcast. If people who claim they don't care keep speaking about it, they will only hear more about it.

[xekul]

THANK YOU PENN!

regulation and government interference in a "free" market got us in this mess. bigger government only creates the need for bigger government b/c big government screws things up and then tell us that the government needs MORE power to set things straight. its a path to serfdom.

[JoelD311]

Well he seems like a pretty rational guy but when Bush was in office he was calling the bailouts socialism... now when Obama's in office he kinda plays it off like, "I dunno maybe I'm wrong"... WTF dude, have some consistency.

[larrybob]

Don't agree on the regulation thing. If there had been better watch on mortgages, it wouldn't have happened.

It's like if we had a free market for anyone to sell and buy DDT if they wanted, and then it ends up in my drinking water - what's the libertarian answer for that?

[PowerOfNight88]

If they Fed hadn't lowered interest to 1% and if Fannie and Freddie didn't exist there might not have been the fake market for mortgages in the first place. How is that free market? Also, it was the government that created the CRA and forced banks to give out loans to risky borrowers, not the evil free market.

[interestingperson121]

Everything you say Penn, is sensible, rational and agreeable. Fucking hell, why can't I be your next door neighbor? FUCK.

[kittyprydekissme]

I was wondering about that Garrison Kieler remark he mentioned. So, Scandinavians now think we're cool because we elected a Black guy? How many 'minorities' have been elected to any high office in Scandinavia?

[CrunkRockSteadyEvan]

how many minorities do they have in comparison to the us and how long have they been in the country? a few years? generations? its all relative, scandinavia wasnt involved in modern slavery, they werent even involved in the type of imperialism that europe and america have been involved in

scandinavian nations may be more governmet regulated but at least they dont encourage a repressive society

[kittyprydekissme]

I'm not trying to attack Scandinavia. I know they have a lot of great points. It just bothers me how many Europeans (not all) constantly complain about US racism while ignoring their own, which in some ways can be worse (I'm talking about current situations. I know US racism was much worse in the past.)  Some European countries seem to discourage minorities from ever assimilating. Talk to some German Turks. Also, I think Government regulation does encourage a repressive society.

[kittyprydekissme]

By the way, there has been some Scandinavian imperialism (not much). Sweden founded Delaware.

I'm not trying to start any fights. I can say some good things about Scandinavia, too, and plenty of bad about my own country.

[OverNineThousandLol]

It's also a factor that some minorities in Europe refuse to assimilate, and develop a antipathy against the culture of the majority.

[medievalman86]

course dont forget that there are Americans. and non Americans. there is no European American, Latino American, Jamaican American, or African American. There is American and non American.

[brh986]

right again

[AguzSuiCaedere]

Hey Penn, you should do an episode of Bullshit about stereotypes... that would be sweet :)

[FunWhileGunDenial]

i agree with the race thing, i hate when ppl say obamas first black president. wen in fact that shouldnt matter at all

[Dungeondust]

Word! an atheist Prez

[chachee99]

bailouts are shit. Look how much money has been stolen by rich CEO's. The only way people can get out a depression is to save money. If you lived outside you means, you must be prepared to lose things you cannot afford!

[singedrac]

Sweet! Pretty much what I expected re: bailouts, not that I disagree. Not with most of it anyway. Definitely banks and corporations should be allowed to fail.

[MainstreetEconomics]

$17 Billion to produce...Nothing.

Come see the video by this name on my you tube channel.

[Stefanthegamer]

I love reading these. People can get so worked up on the computer, all these people voicing themselves, yet that is all they do.

come on, if you have the drive to bitch about it, then go do something, rather than just bitch.

Now I have my own views, and 90% of what I read is pissing me off. But, if you feel so strongly, go out and change it yourself. not sitting watching Penn.

cause what I am reading from you guys, is BULLSHIT.

[junkbx3r]

So stefanthegamer, what the fuck exactly are YOU doing about it?

[sphinxrising58]

Um, wait a second. You say if you are pissed about things, not to bitch or watch Penn ( who is really cool ), and do something abut it, but then you bitch you are pissed from reading other people's comments on Penn's sight ?

Go do something about it, your words, not mine, lol

[Stefanthegamer]

1) I love Penn.

2) dont twist words like that. I was just saying, I hate how people just say "it just giving companies money" or some crap like that. Yet if they are so pissed about it on here, why is so little action taken in the real world?

[sphinxrising58]

What was " twisted " about it ?

I only took what you posted; " that 90% of what you read on here pisses you off ", ( your own words ) & applied them back to you, sorry if they left a bnitter taste in your mouth so maybe you should not make grand judgements about everyone else, as there is always the possibility it will come back to bite you in the ass, lol

[sphinxrising58]

I think Penn rocks also, he makes a lot of great point, but in a way so as to not offend anyone, & is funny at the same time, hard quality to possess.

Posters, on the other hand get a little too heavy sometimes, take shit the wrong way, or maybe just are looking for a verbal confrontation, who knows ?

I do not sweat it either way.

[redmartian]

Free market, no regulations, no government ownership of for-profit corporations. They have to fail and bailing them out only prolongs their inevitable failure as well as long term implications for the Dollar.

[mr2oad]

If there was any regulations at all, than these wall street scambags won't be able to get a way with ripping off the public and the hall country in a single year.

[Boing42]

The only thing I was trying to say, that you actively doesnt seem to get, is that we could be worse off. I dont know anybody like you describe, blindly trusting the government and thanking them for taking their money, those people must live the same place you got that ph.d of make believe. If you didnt so quickly become an asshole about this I might have wanted to continue this debate, but as soon as you start telling people to fuck off, even if youre right, they pretty much win.

[justanumberDK]

Yes, indeed we could be worse of. But you probably dont understand that the services our government offers do not match the huge tax burden. And the tax burden takes away our freedom of choice. Do you really think that ordinary people like policemen and teachers with ordinary jobs can afford say a cancer treatment at a private hospital abroad? But continue to focus on the form of this debate - then you prove who's the real asshole. I am not the one providing false information.

[justanumberDK]

Danes do trust the government - they are not complaining about the services offered by the government. If you seriously believe the almost non-existing changes provided by the current liberal government cannot be undone by a socialdemocratic government within a few years you are pretty naive. By the way most professors at my alma matter had an active background on the extreme left But I guess if you attend a university in DK, you could probably have a nice consensus with that type of nice people

[Boing42]

Nobody is 100% free, laws and other people stop us from being that, so the best we can hope for is when we give up some of our freedom it benefits everybody and society as a whole. You cant kill me and I cant kill you, that takes away freedom, but we both (I think) agree that is a good trade-off. Anyway even though I dont agree with everything in DK, I think we have it pretty good.

[justanumberDK]

What you are writing in these two comments is just a lot of blah blah blah. You clearly do not understand that a main reason behind the huge size of the state in Denmark is the socialdemocratic/socialist concensus: That you should always trust the government. Compared to the US we do not have a dynamic society - the government in Denmark is into victimization not entrepreneurship.

[Boing42]

Both our stats can and may be unreliable; I was only trying to say is that things may not as bad as you make them out to be. Its all about opinions. Most people commenting on pennsays have similar views as him, that why we comment, I agree less government would be better, but that doesnt mean everybody else agrees or that it is the right way, there is no right way, but I believe most countries evolve for the better and I think we are heading for more economic freedom.

[justanumberDK]

Well I have a Ph.D. in mathematics and I do trust the CIA factbook and the calculations behind life expectancy a lot more than your EU generated bogus classification of the health care systems. So in the spirit of Penn: Go fuck yourself - and have a merry christmas you are indeed a true believer!

[putittogether]

Fascism NOW!!!

FASCISM FOREVER!!!

GO OBAMA!!! OBAMA IS GREAT, HE WILL SAVE AMERICA< AND GOOD JOBS!!!

[Boing42]

But remember to differ between economic freedom and personal freedom. The two in my mind are not always linked, sure both would be ideal, but I put personal way higher on the list. Paying more in tax I can live with since it goes to more unfortunate people than me. Living without personal freedom I cant.

[justanumberDK]

Maybe thats the problem - that you are way to fortunate. You can live with an illusion of freedom. Maybe you do not care about opportunities for people less fortunate - that is a problem left for the state. To much state makes people become less concerned about the well-being of other citizens.

[Boing42]

Yes taxes are high on almost everything, but its not as bad as some here say, our health care was just voted #2 in Europe by Euro Health Consumer Index 2008, and the Church tax you can choose not to pay (also we are in the top 3 in the world regarding atheist). Its also not like you are forced to use state run stuff, you can go to a private hospital, a private school, a private anything you want.

[justanumberDK]

That is bullshit - if the state takes most of your income - you have no choice no freedom. It takes money to buy services as private schools, hospitals etc. Don't go on about being ranked #2 on health care by some euro bureaucrats. Life expectancy at birth:

Denmark:

male: 75.8 years

female: 80.59 years (2008 est.)

USA:

male: 75.29 years

female: 81.13 years (2008 est.)

Rankings by bureaucrats often turn out to be bullshit - just like the ranking of Danish ITfactory as the best ITcorp of the year

[justanumberDK]

Just to be clear: 47% average INCOME tax - the other taxes mentioned are bonus-taxes! ;-)

[justanumberDK]

But of course we get some value: Like the ministry of Climate and Energy, crappy schools and universities, a fucked up health care system and you name it. Most danes are satisfied - but they are also living in a closed environment, and they are pretty sure that we (the danes) are gonna save the planet!

[justanumberDK]

Denmark: Average tax 47% (more if you have a job and are not on a welfare program) 25% VAT (also on books and food) Buy a car and pay 200% its price to the state. Like 80% of the danes be a member of the state-church (folkekirken) and pay an extra income tax (1%). Own a cell phone or a computer with internet access or a TV-tuner of some kind and pay media-tax to the state TV ($500 a year), energy tax, gas tax (we pay $4.8 a gallon).

[geyser]

What's with all the thigh-slapping?

[Juhsayngul]

Penn, please stop saying "I don't know" before making it obvious that you do know. Stand up, be a man.

[Clausfarre]

Be like Denmark? No, please don't consider it. We pay ridiculous taxes like you won't believe. We are not borderline communists but the government is way too big in Denmark and the flood of laws and regulations seems to be a true everflowing stream.

[frnnk]

great channel mr. jillette! i enjoyed your perspective.

[scottliberty]

People talk about the lending institutions running unchecked and the poor people buying homes that they truly could not afford long term (hardly short term), but what of the other part of this story? The lubricant for the sales came from real estate agents that saw huge profits and kept closing the deal. Ratcheting up the prices with sellers and inflating the prices to astronomical levels. If there is blame to be lay at a system gone awry then all involved should hold blame. We agree it was bad?

[medicinesocks]

incidentally i wonder if penn's gone forward with his desire to learn xhosa?

[ShiekYerbooty]

Unfortunately you're not wrong Penn. I know you're not into conspiracy theories, but please read JFK's executive order 11110....then look again at this " bailout " situation, and ask yourself why no one in government has implemented Executive Order 11110....It may just illuminate who the real " decider " in this country is, and it ain't Bush.

[jebus6kryst]

Humans are cultural creatures. We cannot divorce one from the other.

[jrandazzo]

Thanks for the response! That's just something that's always bugged me. I think people make too big a deal about the religious affiliations of the candidates. Even John McCain, who in the past seemed to be one of the more secular Senators in the US (although I knew he is a Christian) had to pander to the religious nuts and come off as what Bill Maher called "Super Christ-y." I'd love to see an atheist elected as President and I just can't see it happening anytime soon.

[hayabasu]

Penn & Teller 2012!!!

[Kittyfeet69]

If I said how much I agree, I'd be squeakin' to the choir.

Michael W. Dean

[B4TT3RY]

Your vids are looking better and better. I like the standing up, it's the way I'm used to seeing you.

[somor98]

I'm from scandinavia and I dont' think your cool.

[DoubleDizzle1]

Damn, looks like the branch Davidian compound behind him.

[RupertPupkin1981]

It's "the Slammer"....

[lehman]

sure looks like it

[medicinesocks]

space race arms race human race yeah man well said culture's ok if you're making yogurt, but what can we believe in anymore really? acidophilus? any race is thoroughly riddled with infiltrations of extra-tribal dna. peel the outer layer and we're all bloody identical. race is a topic we should have run into the ground by now?why haven't we,i wonder? penn you're right on about the race vs religion of americans. how 'bout a prez whose race or religion is none of anybody else's damn business?!

[jrandazzo]

I agree. That's why I wrote that to Penn to begin with. I voted for Obama because I felt he was the best choice of all of the candidates. I don't care what his race or religion is. I think after 8 years of George Bush, putting someone like Sarah Palin that close to the Presidency was dangerous and I think it spoke volumes of the kind of decisions McCain makes. I just wondered if Penn thinks anyone who is not a Christian (especially an atheist) can ever win the Presidency in the near future.

[jrandazzo]

My last post was a reply to medicinesocks... I don't know why it didn't post as a response to him.

[medicinesocks]

i'm a her and it did! i think cynthia mckinney or nader would be great presidents. i voted for the illinoisian because his repub opponents were so ominously stupid and annoyin'-- but now i'm not sure whose man obama really is in the long analysis. his militant agenda stinks!

still, rather than playing our differences down in the interest of making it impossible to discriminate among ourselves, ( hasn't worked yet, has it?) ought we not celebrate and promote more respect for cultural diversity?

[jrandazzo]

My apologies for getting your gender wrong. I should have written "them" as opposed to "him."

[medicinesocks]

considering the fact that socks is plural "them" would be correct,j-ran! i have to laugh.

my sense is that you didn't know for sure, your error was honest, not malicious. you can feel somebody's hatred even if the person is smiling, carefully saying nothing offensive and pretending to like and respect you. you can totally feel the difference

[ShortbusMooner]

The bailouts are a bad idea, because it's just throwing good money after bad.

Big ripp-off!

Are you backing Franken in the MN race?

(justr curious)

[MagnusIan]

Penn, any comment on the snow in Vegas?

[hellmuth26]

rite on!

[altoid2k4]

12th

[goonie8]

That was awesome. You aren't the only one who is tired of the human compartmentalizing.

[anim8ion]

Wow that was great!!!

I wish Penn got frustrated like that more often cuz that's when we love him, when he just lets goes and tells it like it is.

And more viewer mail like this would be great!

[FateEternal]

That sounded like a Howard Dean-scream at the end! :)

[Phantasmvlog]

Religious belief plays no role in Canadian Federal Politics.

Our PM used to say " God Bless " at the end of his speeches. It appears that he was sufficiently mocked, that presently, he no longer wishes Gods blessing on anyone.

Canada is very secular.

[IdleGod]

If I was american, I would say, let them fail. Hopefully I would be well enough off that I could weather the storm. But since I am in canada, and we can't actually do anything, but only end up taking the shaft, I say the bailout is good. It will end in bad things for america, but will give us canadians time to cut all ties with you bloody yanks.

[sameoleguy]

Man. I really miss the Bullshit show you did. I had them on DVD but my stupid ex-girlfriend stole them in hated. She has no idea who you are.

That being said, I think you are a visionary. In the Tribe of America, you should sit real close to the chief.

Keep your wizdom flowing to us.

[PhrostCope]

First.

Penn is a genius.

[Liljay0130]

pwned

[PhrostCope]

NOOOOOOOOOOO!

OOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[menobot669]

you fail.

[Liljay0130]

nice video penn!! five stars