Stewart also makes fun of the Dems when the opportunity arises, and in the Fox piece he even took a shot at Valerie Jarret weaseling out on the MSNBC question. The crux of the piece though was to inform the viewer that there IS a difference between “news”, and opinion. At Fox that line is blurred. The Beck piece was hilarious because….well….Beck is such a douche, and an easy target.
Pix you are correct in pointing out that today we have much more diversity in media news choices. I am glad that you are diversifying your media consumption. You’ve come a long way Pix, since you told me you wouldn’t watch anything other than Fox. I also make a point of doing so, and I might also suggest to you and others…that you may occasionally want to get a global perspective by tuning in to the BBC, or Al-Jazeera.
I can already sense the rumblings from you Righties out there. NO it does NOT make me a Commie bastard, or Al-Qada sympathizer because I will occasionally watch an un-American news broadcast. You see, I am quite capable of resisting any brain washing simply by watching. I may not agree with their particular bias, or angle of the story, but I do find it interesting to look at something from a different perspective now and then.
Pix wrote:
“As far as Obama blitzing the schools…….well, there’s legitimate concerns about such an agenda. Those of us that have a conservative point of view would like to see some balance to informing growing minds instead of the on-slot of liberal professors, liberal-only curriculum, and liberal party views being the only views our children are subjected to. I’ve looked through the course list of both my college kid’s schools, and do not find ANYTHING that includes a conservative’s point-of-view. Then let our children decide having been taught opposing views, not just one-sided ones.”
You are waaaay off base, my friend. No Pix, there are NO legitimate concerns here. Go back and re-read that article (Marching orders). It has absolutely nothing to do with the curriculum in the schools. The GOP has the same right as the Dems do to go to college campuses and recruit students for their political causes.
You Righties always assume that if a young person is progressive thinker, that they have been some how brain washed or duped! Apparently your Kool Aid has you believing that anything other than conservatism is un-natural. And furthermore, you people are unable to differentiate between indoctrination, and volunteerism.
Question 2: How about the AMA and AAARP endorsing the Obamacrat bill? AARP supported it because seniors want them to? And? The AMA's support? No response. 10, 000 others criticized it? Irrelevant. Beside the point. Need to expand AARP response, so it is comprehensible to outsiders. Avoids answering the question about AMA. (-15)
Question 3: Any opinions about the latest election results? Decent answer. Hoffman an "Independent"? Not a life long GOP? OK if you say so. And in VA, (easy to mistake as NC, no big deal, and not talking a shot at you) the winner I gues was a RINO (Reactionary In Name Only)? Were you unhappy that he won? (-5)
My response is that I too am delighted by Hoffman's campaign. He lost. The GOP-NY is fractured. Hoffmans will regionalism and marginalize the GOP. Say goodbye to a generation of young adults. The Hispanics have already adios-ed away from GOPland. demographically and geographically the GOP are screwed - unless the male aging angry Caucasian caucus explodes. There's not enough Viagra in the cosmos. And you guys don't support cloning of Bags - yet.
I heard David Brooks, NY Times token RINO putz opining some of the above. He, also. said that their were a couple of GOP?Right referendums on state ballots that failed. I don't recall the gist other than I tgrust Brooks to know what the GOP agenda is.
Question 4: Who was better at the recent Tea Bag shindig, health care version, Betsey from NY or what's-her-name from MN? (And who, if either, is cuter? More rabid?) No response. Probably deserved none. Obviously included just to ridicule. Seriously, did you attend? How was response from Tea Nation? (-1)
My hope: Scant or overwhelming. If youse guys have any power I want the Obamacrats to stifle yuz - only because I fear them less. They are my poison pick. When I get angry I root for the Bags, actually, I prefer the Queen Esthers because I think they wreck the careening bus quicker. (Note: I have no kids, so the Right wrecking the culture and the culture worries me little. I'll be reconstituting in s globally warmed earth when the feces is fan-spattering. I would love to be reincarnated (tepid karma) as a historian so I can write the obituary - fair and balanced.)
Question 5: Did any of you watch the Daily Show exploration of Fox Entertainment (News and Opinion options)? Your response was hilarious - accusing Stewart of Fox antics. (-17)
Didn't you say that the Beck Health Care commentary Juxtaposition I linked long ago was a distortion because when Glenn Bag criticized American medicine he was under the influence of pharmaceuticals? So,what drug is influencing his delusion now?
Final Grade: 42%
You may resubmit your answers, but you are docked a grade. You begin with a score of 90. Answer the bonus question below to raise your score. There will be no penalty for an asinine, incomprehensible, and/or irrelevant response.
One other question for Pix, pals or Pee Rags? What is the party line on Savage-Weiner? Is the Weiner-Savage Nation welcome in Palin Nation or
The Pee Party? Please consider this a serious question phrased in ridicule.
Again, there's no Rush.
Thanks in advance angry feller(s).
Glad to know you're visiting the other side, Pix, CNN and CNBC occasionally, Pix. I also, visit Foxville when I have cable. I was an O'Reilly regular when he radioed locally. Rush and The Savage Weiner are visited less frequently than days gone by. Their styles are too grating. My all time favorite right winger is Michelle Malkin - wow! She could eat crackers and drink tea in my boudoir any day. Heck, she got an 18th century mind in a 21st century carcass. She could be a Tory Nazi, as opposed to her actual status as a Tory Bagger. (I know that's redundant.) MM is multi-culturalism I can embrace I wish.
Laura Ingram ain't too bad, either. Another smart sexy servant of the Tories.
No, Monica Potter doesn't cut it? And their are Foxettes, the talking head news readers, too numerous to mention who combine beauty with low I.Q. and right wing oral skills in a most delightful way.
On a serious, although unlikely note, I'd recommend WXXI A.M. 1370 and TV Channel 21 for a better intelligent discussion of all position to the left of Attila The Hun.
One final note: Neither Massa nor Lee support the Obamacrat health care bill. Did anyone catch Lee's Bush-like gaffe? He needs to put an English teacher, High school level, on his proof read staff. Don't use fancy vocabulary you don't understand Chrissie Poo. I'd advise avoiding public speaking.
First, many of the clips were only part of a two-sided discussion. There were opposing views to the aired statements that basically said that subjects like the Obama song were no big deal…..did Stewart air those…nope. Most often, with the exception of Hannity and Beck, Fox would conclude that the people that were alarmed by the Obama song were over the top as far as paranoia goes.
But that wouldn’t make a funny story for Stewart.
Let me ask you this……If it were not for Fox News, where would we go to get some sort of balance to the all-Obama-all-the-time cheerleader news stations? I know that the liberals never make mistakes; they never do anything that would alarm the public, or ever have underhanded self-interest dealings with lobbyist. They are above reproach, and God forbid that someone calls them out on what they are doing in Washington.
As far as the recent elections…… I was happy to see an Independent make a solid challenge to the two party system (NY 23rd). I would be elated if we start seeing more (I’s) next to politicians names in the upcoming 2010 campaign cycle. Hoffman was not a “seasoned” politician and for me, that’s a plus.
I don’t read much into the N.C. and N.J. elections, for that was one of those “pick-the-least-of-two-evils” in the voting booth. I’m for having more than just two choices on Election Day. Given just two choices, I will always be in favor of booting out the incumbent if they’ve been in office more than two terms….regardless of party affiliation.
As far as Obama blitzing the schools…….well, there’s legitimate concerns about such an agenda. Those of us that have a conservative point of view would like to see some balance to informing growing minds instead of the on-slot of liberal professors, liberal-only curriculum, and liberal party views being the only views our children are subjected to. I’ve looked through the course list of both my college kid’s schools, and do not find ANYTHING that includes a conservative’s point-of-view.
Then let our children decide having been taught opposing views, not just one-sided ones.
Ahhh…the AMA and AARP backing the government-run option… Funny thing, there has been a petition of over 10,000 doctors and healthcare workers that stated they were against the current versions of the healthcare bill….I’m sure you knew this since CNN and the others have reported it……right? I’m sure that MSNBC has reported that AARP will be making billions with their Medicare plus plan if the current bill goes through…or that AARP is losing 30,000 members a MONTH because the elderly do not feel that the AARP is looking out for their best interest.
You knew that right?
In closing, I would like to make a point here. Back in the 1960’s we had three networks that gave us ½ an hour a day of national news. It was very condensed, to the point, and if there was a bias, we never knew, for that was the only news offered.
Now besides the three networks (they still are offering news right?), there are the 24/7 wall-to-wall news coverage of balloon-boy, Hollywood gossip, and nothing but drivel on slow news days. If there’s nothing going on, news stations make up controversy just for something to do on the air…..and yes, Fox News included.
During the past week, I have made a point of watching both CNN and CSPAN just to balance out what I’ve seen on Fox. This is something I do quite often, just so I do not get one point of view. May I suggest that those of you anti-Fox viewers do the same and actually spend some time seeing what’s on the other side of the coin, you would not be so quick to feel that what you’re watching is the “right” news just because they say the things you agree with.
Garbage in….garbage out. Get some balance in your lives.
Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall.
CRP says California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa is the richest lawmaker on Capitol Hill, with a net worth estimated at about $251 million. Next in line: Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), worth about $244.7 million; Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), worth about $214.5 million; Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), worth about $209.7 million; and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), worth about $208.8 million.
All told, at least seven lawmakers have net worths greater than $100 million, according to the Center’s 2008 figures.
“Many Americans probably have a sense that members of Congress aren’t hurting, even if their government salary alone is in the six figures, much more than most Americans make,” said CRP spokesman Dave Levinthal. “What we see through these figures is that many of them have riches well beyond that salary, supplemented with securities, stock holdings, property and other investments.”
The CRP numbers are somewhat rough estimates – lawmakers are required to report their financial information in broad ranges of figures, so it’s impossible to pin down their dollars with precision. The CRP uses the mid-point in the ranges to build its estimates.
Senators’ estimated median reportable worth sunk to about $1.79 million from $2.27 million in 2007. The House’s median income was significantly lower and also sank, bottoming out at $622,254 from $724,258 in 2007.
But CRP’s analysis suggests that some lawmakers did well for themselves between 2007 and 2008, even as many Americans lost jobs and saw their savings and their home values plummet.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gained about $9.2 million. Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) gained about $3 million, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) had an estimated $2.6 million gain, and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) gained about $2.8 million.
Some lawmakers have profited from investments in companies that have received federal bailouts; dozens of lawmakers are invested in Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America.
Among executive branch officials, CRP says the richest is Securities and Exchange Commission Chairwoman Mary L. Schapiro, with a net worth estimated at $26 million.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is next, worth an estimated $21 million. President Barack Obama is the sixth-wealthiest, worth about an estimated $4 million. Vice President Joe Biden has often tagged himself as an original blue collar man. The CRP backs him up, putting his net worth at just $27,000.
He’s hardly the worst off.
Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), freshman Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.), Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.) and Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) each a net worth of less than zero, CRP says.
One caveat on those numbers: Federal financial disclosure laws don’t require members to list the value of their personal residences. That information could alter the net worth picture for many lawmakers.
Even so, Levinthal said, “It is clear that some members are struggling financially.
“Over a calendar year, one’s wealth can change drastically. Many peoples’ investments took a nose dive over night in the last year,” he said.
Today, Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp (R-MI) released a letter from the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirming that the failure to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance contained in the Pelosi health care bill (H.R. 3962, as amended) could land people in jail. The JCT letter makes clear that Americans who do not maintain “acceptable health insurance coverage” and who choose not to pay the bill’s new individual mandate tax (generally 2.5% of income), are subject to numerous civil and criminal penalties, including criminal fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.
In response to the JCT letter, Camp said: “This is the ultimate example of the Democrats’ command-and-control style of governing – buy what we tell you or go to jail. It is outrageous and it should be stopped immediately.”
Key excerpts from the JCT letter appear below:
“H.R. 3962 provides that an individual (or a husband and wife in the case of a joint return) who does not, at any time during the taxable year, maintain acceptable health insurance coverage for himself or herself and each of his or her qualifying children is subject to an additional tax.” [page 1]
- - - - - - - - - -
“If the government determines that the taxpayer’s unpaid tax liability results from willful behavior, the following penalties could apply…” [page 2]
- - - - - - - - - -
“Criminal penalties
Prosecution is authorized under the Code for a variety of offenses. Depending on the level of the noncompliance, the following penalties could apply to an individual:
• Section 7203 – misdemeanor willful failure to pay is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
• Section 7201 – felony willful evasion is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to five years.” [page 3]
When confronted with this same issue during its consideration of a similar individual mandate tax, the Senate Finance Committee worked on a bipartisan basis to include language in its bill that shielded Americans from civil and criminal penalties. The Pelosi bill, however, contains no similar language protecting American citizens from civil and criminal tax penalties that could include a $250,000 fine and five years in jail.
“The Senate Finance Committee had the good sense to eliminate the extreme penalty of incarceration. Speaker Pelosi’s decision to leave in the jail time provision is a threat to every family who cannot afford the $15,000 premium her plan creates. Fortunately, Republicans have an alternative that will lower health insurance costs without raising taxes or cutting Medicare,” said Camp.
Republican Rep. Joe Wilson proposed an amendment Wednesday that would force all members of Congress to receive health insurance coverage through the government-run plan proposed in the House's reform bill.
Though Republicans oppose the so-called "public option," the South Carolina gadfly -- who gained notoriety for shouting "you lie" at President Obama during his address to Congress two months ago -- is proposing the requirement to draw attention to what he sees as the plan's flaws.
"They know the government-run option will not be in the interest of the American people, either individually or for the American citizens at large," Wilson said Wednesday, arguing that's the reason Congress does not require its members to sign up.
The current House health care legislation states that members of Congress "may enroll" in the public plan. Wilson wants that changed to "must enroll."
"If the public option is good enough for the American people, then it's certainly good enough for Congress," Wilson said. "If this government-run plan is so good, why don't members of Congress take the plan?"
House Democrats have published their final adjustments to the 1,900-page health care bill, starting a 72-hour clock before the bill comes to the floor.
No Republicans have come forward in support of the bill, but Democrats have a strong enough majority to pass the bill as long as they can resolve intra-party disputes.
What is the response to the G.O.P health care option just proposed?
How about the AMA and AAARP endorsing the Obamacrat bill?
Any opinions about the latest election results?
Who was better at the recent Tea Bag shindig, health care version, Betsey from NY or what's-her-name from MN? (And who, if either, is cuter? More rabid?)
Did any of you watch the Daily Show exploration of Fox Entertainment (News and Opinion options)?
Take your time if you care to answer any query? Sure, you can delay until you've consulted any oracle to the right. I want you to get your stories straight. I know Fox is handy-dandy for mind-candy, but I hope some Savage-Weiner fans will chime in too.
It goes without saying that I'll expect your responses to be fair and balanced.
He's got 'em bamboozled on homo-erotic righteousness and the desecration of heterosexual , sacred although, divorce-ridden, marriage.
He's the living experimental model of race-mixing ruination and they're buying in swapping sperm and eggs randomly copulating on campuses coast to coast.
Heck, he's got 'em rutting non-missionary with the lights on before marriage.
And now he introduces them robotic to seduce all others to the socializing of medicine.
Evil genius this guy.
Where are your ethics, Dubs?
The New World Order is at hand.
Socialism. Marxism. Bolshevism. Even secular humanism. Just around the corner.
And you remain worse than silent - you endorse and promote - while only Tea Baggers and the citizens of Palin Nation/Queen Esther Congregation rally to save the nation, and I fear, the world, for Jefferson and Jehovah. Theirs is a lone brave struggle.
That's what you liberals do. You brainwash the unsuspecting, even the feeble-minded convalescent, using any means necessary including mind control drugs. Heck, aspirin is enough to capsize the mind of The Good Ship Glenn. Shameless, just shameless. Next thing you know some atheist secular humanist Keith Oberman viewer titrate Hannity with Dr.Pepper.
My money says it was a Jew quack , a Marxist Barbara Streisand sorta East Coast Greenwich Village West Coast Hollywood one world propaganda-popping ultra-ultra-Jew-Jew mind-altering poor infirmed Glenn. And this selfsame non-Christian Semite was a member of AAARP too, I betcha.
Get the "facts" Dubsinator. Fair and balanced is the only way to go.
Maybe some where in a college newspaper there is a headline that reads: Have YOUR parents been recruited!? I'm sure there are many students around the country who are moritfied, and ashamed that their own parents are listening to Glenn Beck, and taking thier marching orders from that stooge!
Students recruited to lobby Congress in major push for Obamacare
By Chelsea Schilling
President Obama's "grassroots army" has descended upon college campuses, knocking on dorm doors to recruit students and slam lawmakers with phone calls
pushing health-care "reform."
Obama for America, Obama's 2008 political campaign, merged with the Democratic National Committee in January and is now known as Organizing for America. The grassroots army that some refer to as "Obama 2.0" is hosting a contest to see which college can call the most state and U.S. representatives by the end of November, the Arizona State University campus newspaper reports.
According to the report, Arizona OFA Director Jessica Jones said students may win bragging rights and other prizes if they blast legislators with the most calls in favor of health-care legislation.
OFA plans to have chapters present at all Pacific-10 school campuses. The Pacific-10 universities are the University of Arizona; Arizona State University; University of California, Berkeley; University of Oregon; Stanford University; University of California, Los Angeles; University of Southern California; University of Washington; and Washington State University.
The organization is urging students to sign a pledge promising they will contact lawmakers in support of Obama's health plan.
Jones told ASU's State Press that OFA has two goals with its contest: "We really want to get students excited about OFA and get them involved in the organization. The other purpose is to engage in competition as a community, to show how many people want health-care reform and that [individuals are] not the only one[s] working on it."
Political science major Erik Carlson, a Tempe campus intern for OFA, said he's forming an OFA chapter on the Arizona State University campus. He told the newspaper his group will make phone calls, set up an information booth and go door-to-door in residence halls to convince students to make the pledge.
"We usually ask people if they support the president, and if they do, we ask them if they would mind calling their representative to voice their support on health care reform," he said.
Carlson said he believes students need to play an active role rather than simply assuming the health-care issue doesn't affect them.
"They mostly think it's people in other age brackets and they don't have to worry about it because they are still on their parents' plans," Carlson said. "But a lot of people are going to be graduating in the next few years and will be off their parents' plan. We need health care reform to help ourselves."
Carlson said he's confident ASU will call the most lawmakers and win OFA's contest.
"Obviously we want to win, and I expect us to," he sa
As WND reported, OFA has been actively recruiting college students in states across the country to "build support for President Obama's agenda" – and earn college credit while advocating for "change." OFA has been recruiting students and offering to provide credits toward degree plans in exchange for their advocacy skills.
A message from OFA national volunteer coordinators announcing the recruitment campaign and internship opportunities had been posted on several websites and on Facebook.
"Students and young people were critical in building the movement that helped elect President Obama last year. By becoming a National Organizing Intern, you'll be part of the grassroots effort to make the change we fought for a reality in 2009 and beyond," it stated. "As an Organizing Intern, you'll work side by side with OFA staff and community leaders to help build support for President Obama's agenda. You'll learn core organizing principles that are crucial for any campaign and play an important role in building our organization in your state."
The announcement continues, "President Obama describes his time as a community organizer by saying: 'It was the best education I ever had, because I learned in those neighborhoods that when ordinary people come together, they can achieve extraordinary things.'
"This is your chance to get that same education.
"If you're passionate about making sure every American has quality health care, reviving our economy, and building a clean energy future, don't miss this great opportunity. No previous experience is needed in order to apply."
The group's website declared: "Organizing for America, the successor organization to Obama for America, is empowering students across the country to build on the movement that elected President Obama and help bring about his vision for change."
Volunteers commit to working at least 12 hours a week and, according to the OFA website, may receive college credit from their schools for doing so.
Solution II: China gets some Tea Baggers to stifle their progress.
Question: Which country is committing itself to dominate a green future? (Germany is a second banana playing catch-up.) Ch-ch-ch-ina.
Rationale: The West beat us (China) to industrial revolution. We (China) missed the IT revolution. We'll dominate the green revolution - and $$$$ come to daddy.
Prognosis: When money is to be made selling green cars, trucks, buses, trains, planes, power, gadgets ... Someone else is getting rich and powerful.
Historical precedent: Horse and Buggy industry, U.S. Auto Industry, Kodak, Xerox, Montgomery Ward, K Mart, Woolworth, every boom and bust town, every rust belt steel and manufacturing town everywhere ...
Technique: Head in sand, anti-intellectualism (ignore science elites) and drive backwards looking at the rear view mirror. Preach selfishness. Greed. Fear. Fret about other stuff as told: Yesterday social issues. Today fiscal issues. Tomorrow? Stay tuned to Fox Entertainment, your unfair and unbalanced source of delusion.
Tip: Learn Chinese. Learn to kow-tow. Practice.
Tip II: Bone up on a non-democratic, collectivist world view. (Should be easy for Cheney-ites. How about you Baggers and Blue Dogs.)
Obama's response: Let's worry about getting re-elected and fret about Tea Bag right, Queen Esther-Sara Palin religious reactionaries, Blue Dog cowards and dumb ass public.
Blue Dog Response: Let's be chicken shit on this one, too.
Tea Bagger Response: Bad Science Lies.
Queen Esther's response: Buy my book. (What's "green economy" anyway?) (I mean, what's "economy?")
Glenn Beck's response: Buy my book first. It's got footnotes.
Rush Limbaugh's response: I better write me a book quick. And tell some Al Gore jokes. (Aside to broker: Invest my loot in China, but don't tell dummies Beck and Hannity.)
yogurtprowler's response: It's good to be aging. I'll miss the mess. Since this is not a bad dream, it's decision making time. And I am the Decider ... Peyote or mushrooms? Time to re-visit?
Check the discussion on today's Diane Rehm Show, WXXI AM website. Listen sitting down for your own safety.
Reid's tactics can still produce a bill with a public option. Will his tactics work? It all depends on the political environment outside
Washington. If the bill is only marginally unpopular (the current 40-55), it will probably pass. But if public opinion moves another
5 or so points (to, say, 35-60 against), then the moderates will probably refuse to cave in.
STOP NATIONALIZATION OF HEALTH. IT'S IRREVERSIBLE, HARDCORE SOCIALISM ! Tell your congressmen,
especially Blue Dog Dem's, to vote no or you'll support their opposition - & DON'T LET UP. It's our only chance! :Mark Levin,
Conservative Talk Radio host, lawyer & author of 'Liberty & Tyranny'... If you don’t know their names, give your zip code to the
operator. TOLL FREE: 1-877-851-6437... or 1-800-962-3524.. Tell friends ...
Matthew P. Hoh, a former U.S. combat marine captain and Department of Defense civilian in Iraq starting in 2004 and until September a political officer in the Foreign Service stationed in Afghanistan is giving some consternation to President Obama’s advisors as the Commander in Chief considers sending more soldiers to that war-torn country next to Pakistan.
Mr. Hoh wrote a letter of resignation to the State Department in September. His four page letter frames his doubts about what he said is the “why and to what end” behind “the strategic purposes of the United States’ presence in Afghanistan. He notes that like the Soviets’ nine year occupation, “we continue to secure and bolster a failing state, while encouraging an ideology and system of government unknown and unwanted by its people.”
Mr. Hoh focuses on the giant Pashtun society composed of 42 million people and moves to his conclusions. Read his words:
“The Pashtun insurgency, which is composed of multiple, seemingly infinite, local groups, is fed by what is perceived by the Pashtun people as a continued and sustained assault, going back centuries, on Pashtun land, culture, traditions and religion by internal and external enemies. The U.S. and NATO presence and operations in Pashtun valleys and villages, as well as Afghan army and police units that are led and composed of non-Pashtun soldiers and police, provide an occupation force against which the insurgency is justified. In both RC East and South, I have observed that the bulk of the insurgency fights not for the white banner of the Taliban, but rather against the presence of foreign soldiers and taxes imposed by an unrepresentative government in Kabul.
“The United States military presence in Afghanistan greatly contributes to the legitimacy and strategic message of the Pashtun insurgency. In a like manner our backing of the Afghan government in its current form continues to distance the government from the people. The Afghan government’s failings, particularly when weighed against the sacrifice of American lives and dollars, appear legion and metastatic:
• Glaring corruption and unabashed graft;
• A President whose confidants and chief advisers comprise drug lords and war crimes villains, who mock our own rule of law and counternarcotics efforts;
• A system of provincial and district leaders constituted of local power brokers, opportunists and strongmen allied to the United States solely for, and limited by, the value of our USAID and CERP contracts and whose own political and economic interests stand nothing to gain from any positive or genuine attempts at reconciliation; and
• The recent election process dominated by fraud and discredited by low voter turnout, which has created an enormous victory for our enemy who now claims a popular boycott and will call into question worldwide our government’s military, economic and diplomatic support for an invalid and illegitimate Afghan government.
“Our support for this kind of government, coupled with a misunderstanding of the insurgency’s true nature, reminds me horribly of our involvement with South Vietnam; an unpopular and corrupt government we backed at the expense of our Nation’s own internal peace, against an insurgency whose nationalism we arrogantly and ignorantly mistook as a rival to our own Cold War ideology.
“I find specious the reasons we ask for bloodshed and sacrifice from our young men and women in Afghanistan. If honest, our stated strategy of securing Afghanistan to prevent al-Qaeda resurgence or regrouping would require us to additionally invade and occupy western Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, etc. Our presence in Afghanistan has only increased destabilization and insurgency in Pakistan where we rightly fear a toppled or weakened Pakistani government may lose control of its nuclear weapons. However, again, to follow the logic of our stated goals we should garrison Pakistan, not Afghanistan. More so, the September 11th attacks, as well as the Madrid and London bombings, were primarily planned and organized in Western Europe; a point that highlights the threat is not one tied to traditional geographic or political boundaries. Finally, if our concern is for a failed state crippled by corruption and poverty and under assault from criminal and drug lords, then if we bear our military and financial contributions to Afghanistan, we must reevaluate and increase our commitment to and involvement in Mexico.
“Eight years into war, no nation has ever known a more dedicated, well trained, experienced and disciplined military as the U.S. Armed Forces. I do not believe any military force has ever been tasked with such a complex, opaque and Sisyphean mission as the U.S. military has received in Afghanistan. …
“’We are spending ourselves into oblivion’ a very talented and intelligent commander, one of America’s best, briefs every visitor, staff delegation and senior officer. We are mortgaging our Nation’s economy on a war, which, even with increased commitment, will remain a draw for years to come. Success and victory, whatever they may be, will be realized not in years, after billions more spent, but in decades and generations. The United States does not enjoy a national treasury for such success and victory. …
“Thousands of our men and women have returned home with physical and mental wounds, some that will never heal or will only worsen with time. The dead return only in bodily form to be received by families who must be reassured their dead have sacrificed for a purpose worthy of futures lost, love vanished, and promised dreams unkept. I have lost confidence such assurances can anymore be made. As such, I submit my resignation.”
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And just because those of us are against this particular plan, does not make us right-wing, or mind-numb robots that are taking marching orders from anybody. Many of us that are alarmed about the percentage of control our government has over our country’s “free economy” in the past year. In one year our government has taken over the biggest banks, the auto industry, and now they have their eyes on our healthcare.
Besides that, our government has done nothing to stop the abuses Wall St. and banks have done in the past that got our country in this mess. Our government has committed billions to the auto-unions without strings attached to ensure that our auto industry will make the necessary changes to become solvent.
So, when we Americans, regardless of party, see this healthcare bill grow from 800 pages, to 1,200 pages, to 1,500 pages, and now 2,000 pages, and it still doesn’t achieve it’s primary goal of offering affordable healthcare, cover those that truly cannot afford it, or keep the healthcare insurance companies honest….we have the right to be concerned.
Instead, we get a bill that will increase our deficit, increase the cost of private healthcare insurance, cuts re-imbursement to doctors and hospitals, cut Medicare by half-a-trillion dollars, add 125 new federal departments, and whatever wheeling-and-dealing our law makers made with each other to get their votes will cost us dearly.
The echo you hear is not some right-wing chamber, it’s the voices of many that are not for more government spending for something that has become nothing but 2,000 pages of government bloat.
The public option is already a sop to the right wing and the Health Care Oligigarchs. It takes single payer and fair marketplace competition and regulation off the table. It is inferior to all modern post-industrial Western health care systems. It reflects Obama's compromising cowardice. It is near capitulation to the corporate capitalistic entities that bleed the economy already. While the reactionary, greedy, profit-leeches would happily fatten bottom lines with Obamacare, they would maintain their suffocating stranglehold more substantially by quashing any change offering a scintilla of reform.
So focus only on the negatives, real and imagined, propagated by the Right Wing Noise Machine and parroted by the hypno-zombies. Allow them to offer no meaningful improving alternative. Ask Obama for nothing better, but only to desist. Listen to the visceral appeals to our fear and greed.
Simply pick your poison: Half-assed Democratic "reform" or full-monty right ring wing reactionary (GOP, Tea Bag, Heritage Foundation, Suddenly Fiscally
Conservative) devolution.
Why change dummies? Continue to vote against the interests of everyone but the monied class and those with Cadillac plans. Stupid is as stupid does.
When Mike Myers’ Linda Richman character would get a “little faklempt” on the Saturday Night Live skit Coffee Talk, she would give the audience a topic to discuss while she composed herself, like: “The Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire. Discuss.” If Linda were still hosting her show today, she could as accurately say about today’s health care debate: “The public option is neither public, nor an option.” Let’s discuss.
For the leftist base of the Congressional majority, the creation of a government-run health insurance company has been the defining issue of the health care debate. So, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has explained numerous times that: “The thinking on the public option has been that it gives consumers more choices and it helps keep the private sector honest because there’s some competition out there.” But is this true? Would the public have more choices if a government run health insurance company was created?
Five different organizations and offices have made predictions of how many Americans could end up enrolled in the public option, including: The Lewin Group, the Congressional Budget Office, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Urban Institute, and Health Systems Innovations Network. They all tell a similar story: the number of Americans that end up in the government run plan will greatly depend on who is allowed to buy into it, and how much they have to pay.
The Lewin Group–an independent health care analysis firm–was the first to estimate the impact of creating such a new public plan, when University of California at Berkeley professor of political science Jacob Hacker worked with them to create a model health plan for the Economic Policy Institute. The left loved the numbers Lewin produced for Hacker’s plan, but they immediately turned on Lewin and began attacking its credibility once Lewin analyzed the actual legislation in the House.
What so angered the left was Lewin’s finding that if the government-run plan were open to all employers, 103.4 million Americans would find themselves with government run insurance, including 88.1 million Americans who would lose their current employer-sponsored private coverage. What angered the left so much about this finding was that it exposed the fact that there is very little “optional” about the public option. Those 88.1 million Americans would not be the ones choosing the public plan. Instead, it would be their employers who decided to discontinue their current private coverage, leaving the 88.1 million Americans no choice but to enroll in the government plan.
The latest version of Obamacare in the House “fixes” this problem by severely limiting who the government can enroll in the government plan. Under the new bill, only employers with 25 employees or fewer are allowed to enroll in the plan in year one (2013), in year two (2014) individuals and employers with 50 employees or fewer become eligible, and in year three (2015) employers with at least 100 employees become eligible. In other words, the vast majority of Americans will not be eligible to enroll in the allegedly “public” plan. Worse still, even the poorest Americans are specifically denied access to the new government plan. The bill does expand Medicaid eligibility to 150% FPL but it also appears to deny access to those who are “eligible” for Medicaid. This simply gives the false impression that poor people will get a choice of better care under this bill. The reality is all they get is a chance to join the substandard government-run Medicaid plan.
With these restrictions, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that under the current bill (H.R. 3962) only 6 million people would enroll in the government plan. The Lewin Group has not analyzed H.R. 3962, but did estimate earlier that if a public plan was only open to employers with no more than 20 employees, 21 million people would enroll. The difference between the two numbers comes largely from the fact that the CBO estimates that the public plan would have higher, not lower, premiums than private plans.
Since the left in Congress has chosen to make the public option the defining issue of the health care debate, millions of Americans are set to be sorely disappointed if Obamacare passes and they suddenly learn that they are not eligible for the so-called public option they have been sold. The scariest part of Obamacare, however, is that the legislation also empowers the new Health Czar to unilaterally rewrite the regulations so that the public option can turn into President Barack Obama’s dream of “Everybody in, Nobody out” government run health care.
A public option, mandatory vaccination, dithering at war, exponential debt, global-warming hoax, evolution, gay marriage, prayer banned from schools, abortion for fun, suppression of Caucasian rights, influence and deserved privilege ... wow!!!
Gun confiscation is lagging, but hey ... Way to go, Mr. President!
One world! One Government! One order! One for the road!
The Taliban does not exist anymore, this brainwashed liberal continues; rather there are numerous war gangs we term Taliban mostly because they are fighting us, occupiers to them, to remove us. They despise this central government as others because it helps them none nor represents them whatsoever. In the collective mind of this tribal people, we represent a government as effective and popular as the one the Soviets tried to enforce in Reagan time.
Strangely, they miss completely our motives whether they be nation-building, insurgent-fighting or terrorist target-shooting by drone. They see American occupiers not much different from Soviets, or English, or Macedonian 2,500 years ago.
Whenever and however we exit, they will fight one another, Pashtun against Pashtun when it suits them and Tajik and Uzbek and God-knows-who until they pound out some semblance of life Afghan style.
Mathew Ho is pretty much, in his own words, a marine walking away from a fight - one that's not our fight.
Believe him. Doubt him. Just know that unlike the careerist officer corps positioning themselves for promotion, he has the balls to say publicly with his job what many say quietly in private and off the record.
Now, Pakistan, this misguided Bolshevik believes, is another matter altogether - discussed another time.
Note to David Kaiser Ph.D., real "serious" historian: You, sir, prove correctly your own contention that American students are lame intellects. That you could garner a Ph.D. is proof positive that American academia is running on empty.
Obama becomes Hitler-lite. What nest? Cheney as Mother Theresa. Actually, Kaiser is probably on the Sara Palin as the prophesied Queen Esther returning bandwagon.
No other country has our lifestyle of sitting in front of a computer or TV for 8 – 10 hours a day.
No other country has as large of a percentage of diabetes as we do.
No other country has as many cardio-vascular diseases as we do.
No other country consumes more calories per person as we do.
It is not our healthcare that’s to blame, it is we Americans that have done our best to become the fattest laziest bunch on the planet.
As far as taxes, I saw on TV a breakdown of what percentage of income goes to taxes for the wealthy. Between Federal and State income taxes, property taxes, sales tax and fees, the “wealthy” in our state pay between 55% and 60% of their income in taxes….with more to pay in the near future.
Canada is not a communist state, noone said it was, but it is oppressive in its tax structure. Are you suggesting it is better to open a business in Canada as opposed to another low cost, low tax area? That makes no business sense, even with their "free" healthcare.
Ok, lets look at health care in countries that actually are socialist/communist like Cuba and North Korea. Of the 28 countries that have some form of universal health care, 20 rank higher than the United States which ranks number 37. The five communist countries rank as follows. 39 - Republic of Cuba, only 2 behind the U.S. That has to make you scratch your head. 144 - People's Republic of China, 160 - Socialist Republic of Vietnam, 165 - Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos), and 167 - Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). Funny how communist countries always call themselves Democratic or People's Republics. The bottom line though is that equating universal health care to socialism or communism in the real world just doesn't stack up.
Of course you have to consider that the terms "socialism" and "communism" are defined in pretty loose ways by opponents of universal health care. The words socialism and communism have always been like grenades the Right lobs at any ideas they oppose but can't form coherent arguments against. And universal health care is one of those ideas. And calling it socialist or communist is of course code for "liberal" or "Democratic." And historically the Right has always been able to rally it's base by crying "we must stop the Democrats."
So here we are in the year 2009 and still the United States is the only wealthy country on the planet without universal health care. And this is not a political issue. This is an issue of compassion and economic common sense for Pete's sake. Not only has out of control health care costs been instrumental in the crippling and paralyzing of our economy, but it has left of us with a health care system that barely out does Cuba. The shame of it is astonishing.
Converting our health care system to a single payer, universal one will NOT transform the United States into a socialist or communist country. It will however force some Americans to face the fact that like it or not, they are part of a community that must either support one another or eventually perish.
Come to think of it Dubs, why do you think the gov't can eliminate administrative costs? Have they ever been able to do that with any other program they run? Have you ever worked in a gov't beaurocracy? I have. Saving money is not in their milieau. In fact, efficiency and eliminating waste are terrifiying concepts to most gov't workers, because it means their job may be threatened, and if there's one thing gov't beaurocracys do well, it is protecting their cushy jobs.
Just look at what they came up with instead….2,000 friggin’ pages of a plan that is going to get passed just to say they passed something. No-one likes what’s in it, and I have to say it…..it cost too much. This is the exact reason why our government can’t run this.
So, if we could have a non-government company manage a single payer program, include TORT reform, cut down defensive medicine, and add cross-state markets, and we’d have a hum-dinger.
Pix writes: 1. Private insurance has an advertising budget. Just advertising in the Yellow Pages cost a fortune.
Yes it’s true that Medicare doesn’t have any advertising expense. Advantage goes to government ‘Single Payer’ plan.
Pix: “Fighting Fraud is expensive. Sixty-minutes did a piece on Medicare fraud, and how easy it is to bilk that agency of billions of dollars. The government spends very little to fight against fraud, and if they were serious, administration cost would rise accordingly. Fraud in itself is not considered administration over-head. Private health insurance spends considerably more to protect themselves, and this increases their administrative cost”
Perhaps a valid point. Private Insurance Companies are not immune from fraud entirely. I wonder who has higher losses due to fraud, and fraud prevention. Let’s call this a tie until we find out otherwise.
Pix: 3. I may be mistaken, but Medicare does not have to insure themselves for liability, for one cannot sue Medicare. This is a big administrative cost for insurance companies. Of course, there is no legal recourse for those that have been hurt by something Medicare was actually liable for.
I’m not sure if you are correct here Pix, because I have seen lawyers advertise on TV that they will go after Medicaid and SS disability for you if you feel you aren’t getting your fair share. If what you say is true….well you wanted Tort Reform. End result = lower costs.
And finally Pix writes: I will say again that I’m appalled at what our private insurance’s top brass give themselves in bonuses while their companies deny legitimate claims to the sick.
The top guy at Medicare gets paid a tiny fraction of what the top Insurance Execs pay themselves. Lower cost advantage goes to the government plan once again
Also do not forget that the government doesn’t to answer to shareholders who are demanding a high return on their investments.. No profit motive. You have not given me any info that would sway me, in fact your post bolsters my view that the ‘single payer’ plan would be best.
1. Private insurance has an advertising budget. Just advertising in the Yellow Pages cost a fortune. Add the cost of TV ad’s and such, and this represents millions spent each year to run a business. Medicare does not advertise.
2. Fighting Fraud is expensive. Sixty-minutes did a piece on Medicare fraud, and how easy it is to bilk that agency of billions of dollars. The government spends very little to fight against fraud, and if they were serious, administration cost would rise accordingly. Fraud in itself is not considered administration over-head. Private health insurance spends considerably more to protect themselves, and this increases their administrative cost.
3. I may be mistaken, but Medicare does not have to insure themselves for liability, for one cannot sue Medicare. This is a big administrative cost for insurance companies. Of course, there is no legal recourse for those that have been hurt by something Medicare was actually liable for.
So, when you point out that there’s a disparity between Medicare and private insurance, please factor in these points. I suspect that the cost of advertising, self-insuring for liability, and fighting fraud would narrow the gap between private and government run healthcare insurance.
I will say again that I’m appalled at what our private insurance’s top brass give themselves in bonuses while their companies deny legitimate claims to the sick. There’s a place in hell for them.
David Kaiser is a respected historian whose published works have covered a broad range of topics, from European Warfare to American League Baseball. Born in 1947, the son of a diplomat, Kaiser spent his childhood in three capital cities: Washington D.C, Albany, New York , and Dakar, Senegal . He attended Harvard University , graduating there in 1969 with a B.A. in history. He then spent several years more at Harvard, gaining a PhD in history, which he obtained in 1976. He served in the Army Reserve from 1970 to 1976.
He is a professor in the Strategy and Policy Department of the United States Naval War College. He has previously taught at Carnegie Mellon, Williams College and Harvard University . Kaiser's latest book, The Road to Dallas, about the Kennedy assassination, was just published by Harvard University Press.
Dr. David Kaiser
History Unfolding
I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books on history that have been published in six languages, and I have studied history all my life. I have come to think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is simply a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.
Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten to fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.
We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back? Why?
We learned just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700 billion we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "we the people," who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.
We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy.. Why?
We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity.. Why?
We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it simply wants marriage to remain defined as between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?) We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?
Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government.. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and I know precisely what I am talking about) - the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth.. It is potentially 1929 x ten...And we are at war with an enemy we cannot even name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who, in turn, cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.
And finally, we have elected a man that no one really knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska . All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe are more important.)
Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?
I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.
This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming.. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.
And that is only the beginning..
As a serious student of history, I thought I would never come to experience what the ordinary, moral German must have felt in the mid-1930s In those times, the "savior" was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they should have known was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory. Conservative "losers" read it right now.
And there were the promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and frowned and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully and beat them into submission. Which they did - regularly. And then, he was duly elected to office, while a full-throttled economic crisis bloomed at hand - the Great Depression. Slowly, but surely he seized the controls of government power, person by person, department by department, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The children of German citizens were at first, encouraged to join a Youth Movement in his name where they were taught exactly what to think. Later, they were required to do so. No Jews of course,
How did he get people on his side? He did it by promising jobs to the jobless, money to the money-less, and rewards for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world. He did it with a compliant media - did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and ....... change. And the people surely got what they voted for.
If you think I am exaggerating, look it up. It's all there in the history books.
So read your history books. Many people of conscience objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and ridiculed. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though. And the world came to regret that he was not listened to.
Do not forget that Germany was the most educated, the most cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And yet, in less than six years (a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency) it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.
As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me..
I choose to believe the evidence. No doubt some people will scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. To some degree, perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe-and why I believe it.
I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am. Perhaps the only hope is our vote in the next elections.
David Kaiser
Jamestown , Rhode Island
United States
Sure our taxes will rise a bit, but the overall costs will be lower than the tax we pay now plus our insurance premiums. Plus the government could not deny you coverage for a pre-existing condition, and you cannot be terminated. Its a win-win-win for everyone. If only Obama had the nads to propose it!
RE: New World Ordor and Great Dee-Ception - Yuze CONspiratorialss is image-no-teeve. Dem TriLaterals musta never sleeps. Now, I knows dat I musta be thick. Please 'xplain me how da So-Seal-Lies Med-E-Sin fits inta Da Great Dee-Ception 'n' New World Odor. Is Da TriLaterals in wid Big Pharma 'n'Big 'Surance? Ussn' Lemmin's needs da knows.
RE: Our Wars - Focusing on Afghanistan: Prelude - President Stupid and Vice President Trigger Happy start a war without any idea whatsoever how or how long. Generals are ignored. We're gonna fight it lean, quick and cheap. Rumsfool, Wolf No Wits, Pipes'n'Pearl ... all the neo-cons are not ignored.. (You don't think these guys just got stupid for one war.)
Now - President B'Obama and the Crats are left with a lousy hand to play. Options include:
Get out now.
The Biden Plan - Special Ops and drone strikes to get the terrorists.
A scaled down McCrystal Plan - 15-20,000 troops to hold about ten population centers while we finish training the Afghan army (perhaps 400 years.)
The McCrystal Plan - Going upscale with 40,000 troops to hold the burgs while policing the villages too.
The Deluxe Super Paetraeus Model - 80,000 troops to nation build - all of the above plus kicking ass. Pashtunistan is pacified.
The above is my Fair and Balanced summation of today's Fresh Air show on NPR
The “public option” is Democratspeak for the government getting into the insurance business. It taxes you, it collects a premium, and then it gives you crappy health care -- after a long wait. “Opt out” is something new they thought of over the weekend. It says that the public option would be, well, an option, and that individual states could opt out of it. They could decide, by a vote of their legislature, that they don’t want their residents to be clients of the federal public option.
The opt-out provision lets Democrat senators from moderate or conservative states go home and tell their constituents that they didn’t vote for the public option for their particular state. These senators can pretend to oppose it while simultaneously supporting it.
But like I said, it’s all a con. Nothing more than a shell game intended to pull the wool over the eyes of the American people. If the opt-out option goes forward, it is the same as imposing the public option on the entire country.
There are three reasons why I say that.
The first is that while a state may choose not to benefit by the public option, it may not choose not to pay for the public option. The operating deficits of the public option -- and there will be operating deficits -- will be made up out of the public treasury. Residents of all the states pay income taxes which go into the public treasury. The same is true of all other federal taxes, on individuals, businesses and transactions. It all goes into one pot.
So everybody pays for the public option, even if they or their state choose not to benefit by it.
The second reason is like the first.
The public option is essentially a false insurance plan offered by the federal government. False in that, unlike real insurance, it won’t be a shared-risk pool, it will be an indemnification. It won’t have to balance its books, it won’t have to operate in the black. It will be playing by a different set of rules -- most significantly the rule that it can suck money out of the treasury any time it wants. It will quack like a duck, but bite like a tiger -- especially if you’re a real insurance company.
The public option won’t compete with real insurance companies, it will undercut them. It will “sell” health-care coverage at a loss and destabilize the real insurance companies that try to match its premiums.
And that’s no good. First, because most of us rightly trust our insurance company more than we trust our government. Second, because the insurance-company money lost in the opt-in states will have to be made up in the opt-out states.
So in an opt-out state, not only will you have to pay taxes to support a program you don’t use, you’ll have to pay higher insurance premiums to bolster a company being gutted by the public option.
Thus far, opt-out is a lose-lose -- and we haven’t even gotten to the Constitution yet.
Specifically the Fourteenth Amendment which, among other things, guarantees equal protection under law. The Fourteenth Amendment has been held to guarantee equal access to government benefit.
Which means that the first day a state actually opts out, some liberal activist is going to file a lawsuit in federal court claiming that his/her/its rights are being denied. The argument will be that in some other state there is access to this federal benefit, but not in this state, and that is the unequal application of federal largesse. For good measure they will throw in the fact that their federal taxes -- as if liberal activists paid any taxes -- are paying for something they are not getting.
I predict it would take an activist federal judge about a nanosecond to impose an injunction and the opt out would be opted out. It would be found to be an unfair and arguably unconstitutional denial of access to a federal program.
And that’s all she wrote.
At that point, the public option would be nationwide, not by congressional vote, but by judicial decree.
And the Democrat senators will laugh themselves silly -- in private -- while pretending to be astounded and dumbfounded in public. They would say a few words about activist judges and about how this isn’t what they intended, and then back in the cloakroom they’d be high-fiving one another and preparing to receive the Iron Cross from Caesar Obama.
This is all a con.
Obama and the liberals want the public option. It is the stepping stone to what they really want -- a single payer. And “single payer” is Democrat code for “socialized medicine.”
And the opt-out fraud allows them to lie themselves one step closer to socialized medicine.
I don’t know whether to be more offended by the underhandedness of this, or by the presumption that we were so stupid we wouldn’t catch on to it.
One more thing. The second poster who wrote that historical references were cute, but irrelevant….should realize that there is nothing that is more true than the old adage that says ‘those who pay no attention to history are doomed to repeat it.’
It would be very dumb of us collectively if we failed to learn from the hard lessons of the past.
So, I will take on your subject of “main stream” media, and point out something that will be a tad painful to you. Just because there are more news outlets that are liberal, does not make them main stream. Using your definition: “A prevailing current or direction of activity or influence.” Fox News would fit the description more aptly than CNN or MSNBC since many more viewers watch Fox than the other two combined.
Why do you think that more people watch Fox News than any other news channel? If Fox is considered the “norm”, what does that make all the other channels?
I heard on CSPAN no less a very good description of our government (both parties)….. READY! FIRE! AIM!
It was a show the insurance companies, the drug companies, the HMO's and hospitals, the specializing M.D.s, the Blue Dog Dems, the B'Obama-Crats, the "moderate" Republican(s) and all sorts of "grown-ups, realists, solid citizens" and all sorts of Status Quo Enablers would appreciate.
So, ladies and gentlemen and Tea Baggers, even left-socialists-Bolshevik NPR sucks up to the Insiders and Fat Cats.
Today's show per example:
Frets about hurting Big Insurance? Yep.
Obsesses about protecting employment-based coverage? Of course.
Sweats about keeping doctors financially sated? Ditto.
Congratulates Big Insurance and Big Pharma for supporting reform and sitting at the table? Thank you, thank you, thank you ... (Please genuflect or kow-tow with humility.)
Thanks our legislators for working so hard on our behalf to "do real good?" You know the answer. (Check one line up, please.)
Suggests that critics (left more and right less) who just don't see the big picture showing how complex is the great notion of rehabbing 1/6 of our economy? You got it dim-wits. We just don't get it.
Actually concerned about covering all Americans? Sure, as long as ... See above planks. We gotta be real cautious, you know. This isn't just some war or two we can lap-dance our way toward.
My gag reflex.? I felt the anger and cynicism of the left and the blind rage of the Caucasian right men, formerly known as Social Conservatives, now calling themselves Fiscal Conservatives and tomorrow referring to themselves as ... ? (Fill in the blank with the misleading term of your choice, e.g. "fair and Balanced" is appropriately misleading.)
You remember, you old folks, how President Kennedy said at the Berlin Wall (in proper German) and in solidarity with citizens of the divided city, "Today, I am a Berliner?"
Well, I say, (in proper Tea Bag-ese, "Today, I is a Bagger ... %$#* &^%(#$%$@# %+&%#^% !!!
Glacial change is here folks. Take a bow B'Obama-Crats. Rant about socialism, right wingers. Cite statistics, Pix. Wax on rationally, Dubs. The yp will opt for p.o.'d ridicule. Please weigh in significant others.
Note (almost a serious note): The second hour of the self same show features an interview with the authors of "Freak-onomics". Sample discussion: The economics of prostitution. Fascinating. The less screwing you offer, the more money you earn. Don'tcha wanna know how and why? Fiscal conservatives should enjoy this, esp. Bad Boy types.
(Not pointing toward any prominent Bad Boy Biker Bitcher-Blabber in particular who might enjoy chats about erotic capitalism.)
I suppose thats true if you are way out there on the far right. Its all a part of their tendency to want to change the meaning of certain words. Just like "mainstream media" now means everybody BUT Fox. If we take that at face value and literally, then FOX is outside of the mainstream. Isn't it curious that they would have us beleive that EVERY OTHER media outlet is biased, and worse "liberal." And FOX is the ONLY network that is objective, and unbiased!? Thats some strong Kool-Aid there!
They may never snap out of that trance! So up is down, day is night, mainstream means biased, tax cuts for middle class is bad, good if for the rich, debt for future generations is ok if for war, but bad if for universal health care, a misleading Prez is ok if for war, but an impeachable offense if for sex, and so on....
In my universe the word mainstream means that it is the most widely accepted, and therefore considered to be the truth. Otherwise it would not be widely accepted. In the end isn't that how we define the truth? Here is how Webster'sdefines it.
main·stream
Pronunciation: \ˈmân-ˌstrçm\
Function: noun
Date: 1599
: a prevailing current or direction of activity or influence
— mainstream adjective
I did not see the words biased, or unfair. On the occasions when I do tune in to Fox, I could be in the other room and not even know which channel is on, but I can tell within less than a minute just by listening to the way the info-tainer frames the discussion. They have a knack for turning the most inoccuous mundane event in to a political plot to subvert the conservative movement, or twist it in to an attack on Christian Values. Its a truly amazing talent!
We do speak a different language,and live in parallel universes.We've already established how different people can look at the very same set of agreed upon facts, yet come to very different conclusions. It doesn't seem like our country will ever again be able to come together as one, to confront the challenges we have. We'll never agree on the best methods/solutions if we don't even speak the same language.
If I’ve misunderstood some or many of your points, I’m sorry. I prefer your straight-forward writing, for at least I know when you’re blasting me.
In regards to both your notions that the tea-partiers are being led by some right-wing underground, it just doesn’t make sense. The mass majority of us that identify ourselves as tea-baggers do not tie ourselves to either party. As I’ve said many times before, we are all about fiscal responsibility, and it doesn’t take a genius to see why we are focused on our government’s lack of it. I will repeat again that if this were a Republican based movement, they are shooting themselves in the foot, for we are against the current and past actions of the Republican party too. The major focus of our attention right now is the Democrats just because they’re the ones spending the money.
Where were we during the Bush years. Well, there’s the obvious…Craigslist wasn’t around for much of the Bush era. The first 4 years we were finding ourselves just feeling lucky that Gore wasn’t in charge after 9/11. Spending wasn’t an issue for the first few years, and if we knew that Bush and the Republicans were going to go on a trillion dollar spending-spree, we’d have been more vocal. We kept waiting for “our party” to actually follow through with the supposed values that being a Republican stood for….for which it never came about.
I voted for Nader the second time around.
The things that pissed myself and other tea-baggers about Bush’s spending have been tripled in 9 months of the Obama era.
I don’t know what you consider being extreme as far as the right-left measurement. Since being “fiscally conservative” relates to finances, what is “extreme”? We focus on spending, and attempt to sound the alarm that what our government is doing now will have dire consequences for generations to come. We get frustrated that liberals will not acknowledge legitimate facts, and use the words “hope” as some sort of answer to what we as a nation are going to do when the sky does indeed fall.
This is why there are tea-parties. We look at the numbers, and even the most optimistic projections are terrible. We have given up on relying on our representatives to do the right thing, and are doing the only thing we can…protest, protest loud, and protest more. We attend town-hall meetings, we march on Washington, we debate on Craigslist.
We are not oblivious that there are politicians that see our movement as something to exploit, and as I shared with you guys, we disassociate ourselves from those that do so. Dick Armey has his own organization that mirrors much of what we are doing, but keep in mind that he’s a former politician and not currently in office.
Regarding the word “moderate”….. It’s so over-used and abused, that many of us just see that word as just another definition of liberal.
We tea-baggers/Independents do indeed have many ideas, but since they don’t come from the liberal camp, you don’t see or acknowledge them. If you’d stop watching Oldermann, and Turk, and occasionally educate yourself on what we do indeed represent, you may actually see there are solutions to problems other than our government spending trillions and causing even more problems down the road.
Pix to YP—I am NOT a Republican!!!!!! How many times do I have to say this? Oh and BTW have I mentioned we are printing too much money, spending too much, and borrowing too much from China…blah blah blah…yada yada yada...and take a look at this chart....the facts don't lie.....blah yada blah....
Dubs to YP----if you want a clue as to where Pix is coming from, nothing sums it up better than what he wrote in ‘foggy notes’….Pix wrote: “if we wanted a “moderate” representative, we’d vote Democrat.”
YP to Pix----Do you have any idea who is behind the Baggers movement? Do you care? Oh and BTW where the hell were you guys when Bush was screwing up royally??
Dubs to both----No YP he doesn't seem to care. It’s obvious that the Republican Party is splintering. A part of the GOP is revolting against the other, and some are migrating not to the middle, but to become even more extreme, and I think the Baggers are a sizable portion of an increasing fringe element.
As Pix pointed out the only growing part of the electorate is not Dem or Republican, but I think you cannot call them “The Middle” or even “moderates”. As Pix correctly pointed out, only the Dems are the moderates. To the Right you have the Republicans (aka the Party of NO), and even farther out to the Right is the ever growing ranks of Baggers et all (aka The non organized party of the pissed off, angry, and fearful).
From my perspective here on the Left/Center, I can see why the Baggers may often get confused/accused of being a GOPer, but YP makes a very valid point! You Baggers have very little credibility because you remained silent about Bush’s policies. Pix often reminds us he’s not GOP, and he doesn’t want to defend Bush/Cheney, but his silencing was deafening in those years. Add to that, he will belly ache over any move by Dems, non-move, percieved move,or even if Obama thinks about making a move, or even f he didn't think quick enouogh about making that move, even a move that should have been made in the past that wasn't made, even if the Dems weren't in charge at the time.....well you get the idea. You may have to keep reminding us for a long time Pix. Get used to it.
I do think in the near future we will start to see some distinctions between traditional Repubs, and the Baggers. From the Left/Center you guys all seem the same right now. Out of power, ideas, and solutions. Not you Pix, you’ve got lots of ideas, some I even agree with. Hows my translating?
I am pro-choice
I am for legalizing most drugs
I am for sane gun control
I am for helping those in need
As far as the tea partiers being foot solders for the Republicans….you obviously didn’t understand my post, for we are against the Republicans too, and our movement probably hurts that party as much, if not more, than the Democrats. The Republican party is dwindling, and where do you think that these ex-republicans are going? Since the Democrat party hasn’t grown since the election, they must be joining the Independent Party.
That’s about all I can come up with at the moment…..the vicadin has kicked in, and I’m heading for the couch.
Maybe you really are a "fiscal conservative" of sorts. So what? It's still a fad of/for significant others, who will discard it for social conservatism or something else when convenient. When Reagan and Cheney were running up whoppers of credit card debt Pre-Baggers obsessed over evil empires, Berlin Walls, the evils of big government, taxes, wars and more wars ... There was always something more important than the growing debt Washington was increasing - G.O.P. and Dem.
Before B'Obamacrats: fiscal quiet. That's an inconvenient truth.
Oh, by, the way, your post is as lucid or foggy as ever. Flu is not a factor. I usually find you McNamaric: The Fog of Facts.
(I did not say you were ever factual, accurate or truthful. Statistical and "fact" heavy? Yes, praise Jesus, you is.)
I think there’s a misconception that anyone that is against liberals, or more specifically the crap that is going on in Washington, has to be Republican. We’ve had a two party system so long that if someone is against one, they have to be part of the other, and that’s not the case these days.
Do you know the fastest growing party in NYS? It’s the Independent party. This race in the 23rd is a prime example of the movement for a third-party alternative. The Republican Party is trying to be labeled as “moderate” and those of us that are fiscal conservatives feel that this move has been the demise of the party that long ago represented us.
Our state and federal Republicans are RINO’s and if we wanted a “moderate” representative, we’d vote Democrat.
I’ve talked with many people at the tea-parties and the majority of them identified themselves as Independents. It is the current blend of Republicans and Democrats that have gotten both our state and nation in such a mess. A large majority of representatives that screwed things up during the Bush years are still in Washington and continuing the trend of uncontrolled spending.
Both parties are for big government, big spending, big campaign war-chest, and the very last people they care about are the voters.
We Independents are against both parties, and are tired of having to either choose the least of the evils or not vote at all on election day. There are more people that didn’t vote than did in the national elections for the last 30 years….and this is why we have what we do in our Capitol.
So, in closing (I’m starting to sweat again), just because we are against what the liberals are doing in Washington, does not mean we are Republicans.
You'll just be offended, dubious and angry - or more angry than you already are.
However, if you enjoy learning more about James Dobson or Sara Palin, for example, or if you are curious about some of the funders and poobahs bringing you The Tea Party, or if you want to know how people like Bush and Palin find a political home, well, then you might want to tune in.
While many of the G.O.P. elite do not agree with the subjects of study by Max B., they fear pissing them off. So, you have John McCain inviting Sara Palin onto the national stage so that James Dobson doesn't tell his radio audience to stay home on election day. I never knew that these religious folks pushed lovable Newt out as Speaker because he was a sinner. Instead we get others along with former drunk and pussy hound, Tom Delay, known as "Hot Tub Tom," now Christian-born, as whip.
I have no idea how many Tea Baggers, Dittoheads, Glenn-smoochers, Fox News-Entertainment fans and ... know about the religious beliefs of the Big Boys, or the extreme of their politics, or their psychological quirks. And, I have no idea how many would care, if they did know.
My guess is that "Anybody's Better Than A Liberal" is the mindset, especially if he or she claims, all of a sudden, to be "fiscally conservative.
The new playbook is to forget all the social issues - homo's, evolution, prayer in school. flag-burning, guns, abortion ... - and let's worry, all of a sudden, about the deficit.
Just consider what you read here, daily. The playbook has been learned. You can only wish your favorite pigskinners learned theirs as well.
Instead of the Dakota's, I would suggest we give Alaska to the Chinese since the Palins are for secession anyway. But we do get to retain, and expand our drilling rights.
Pix, only two walls?? What about the boat people? Won't we need a sea wall for each coast too?
But the one shocking provision on your platform is....free cable for everyone? Are you sure your constituents will stand for Socialized Television? Do you envision a public option where we could possibly pay extra to get some non Fox channels? Do you envision a single payer system where the Feds just write a check directly to Fox on our behalf, or would your government just takeover FOX entirely?
Won't Roger Ailes want top billing on the ticket? I imagine he would be the one to foot the campaign bills. Vice Prez Pix still has a good ring to it. I'd vote for ya so long as you promised me a ride in the new Air Force One Fighter Jet.
Yep, no doubt, he's currently my fave fanatic, risky righty, frisky Foxie and LimBeck Head.
Smarter than Bush? Check.
Friendlier than Cheney? Ditto.
Humbler than Rummy? Oh, yeah.
Beholden to Dobson? Not yet.
More ethical than Delay? Who isn't?
Better dancer than Tommy Boy D. Lay? Probably not.
Kinkier than Condy? Don't ask me. My sin goes elsewhere.
Wider Stance than Larry Craig? When necessary.
Pix For Prez bumper stickers:
Put The Con Back In Conservative
Mardi Gras Our Way To Armageddon The Fiscally Conservative Way
Enlarged Prostates For Pix
Put The Party Back In Tea Party
Pissed-Off (Pseudo) Patriot For Pix
Pix Promise: Somalia American Style
Pix Promise: Pox Americana
Pix 2012: Elect No More G.O.P. Draft Dodgers
Vote Pix - Balanced Budget Unbalance Mind In 2012
The Great Wall Of China Is Bullshit Now
Two Great Walls Are Better Than One
Frequent Flier Alien For Pix
Pix Says "Wetback Welfare In 2012"
Party On With Pix
Peter Pix Pan: Never Grow Up In 2012
Acid With Your Tea In 2012
Magic Mushroom Muncher For Pix
Pix, Peyote And Pacifiers In 2012
Pot Pix Party January 2013
Live The American Daydream - Vote Pix
Pix-Bachmann: Manic-Regressive
Obama's Too Smart Anyway
Pix Makes Intelligence Passe
If You Build A Wall They Won't Come. Build Two.
Enraged Caucasian For Pix
What Me Worry? Mad For Pix
1. Legalize Pot. We can have government farms that grow mind-blowing weed, sell and tax it. Just my friends and myself alone could put a dent in our deficit. I would suggest everyone invest in a pizza shop, for they will be a gold mine. Pop-corn, tacos, and chocolate cakes will be very popular too. Crime would drop dramatically, for the supply chain would be broken, and stoners are not ambitious enough to go out and rob someone unless they have a box of donuts.
2. Push for term-limits. Hell, it’s good for the President, it’s good for Congress and the Senate. We’d write their names in chalk on their door, and at their seat at the Capital just to remind them that they’re not gonna be around in a few years.
3. Have a national lottery. Instead of a dollar amount, the winner gets an unlimited credit card for the rest of their lives. Need a jet, put it on the card. Want to buy an island, put it on the card. Need some weed, buy a brick of it for the ride in your jet. Tickets would cost $10, all proceeds would go to healthcare for those that don’t have any.
4. I’d never sign a spending bill that wasn’t part of a balanced budget. Our representatives have been acting like they won the national lottery, but they’ll just have to live within their means.
5. Campaign reform. Each candidate gets from the government the same amount of money as his rival. No private or corporate contributions thank you. With these new fangled TV’s and the internet, we don’t have to campaign for two years before the elections. Six weeks…that’s it, and it has to be during the summer re-runs. All statements from any candidate must be reviewed by factcheck, and any lies or deception will be aired nightly on national (Fox) news:o)
6. More on the elections. We can run hundreds of lotteries across the nation without flaw, is there a reason why we just don’t vote at our grocery store? Registered voters get a ballot in the mail, and at their leisure before the elections can take the time to fill it out. Go to the store, get some beer, pizza (munchies ya know), and vote. No lines, no waiting. Hell, you can even vote days ahead if you want. It also leaves a paper trail.
7. Financial help for ex-lobbyist. The Capitol will be corporate lobbyist free. If there’s any shady dealings between a representative and a lobbyist, the politician is fired, and the lobbyist is arrested for bribery. Ex-lobbyist will need a vocation change, and it’s only fair that we given them training for another job. There’s plenty of houses for sale, maybe they should get into real estate. That should fix the housing mess.
8. Charge foreign countries for our protection. If we have a military base in a country, they have to pay us at least ½ of what it would cost them to have their own. If they don’t like it, we’ll give our 30 day notice. We can buy some neat planes with the money. Maybe Air Force One could be a fighter jet….cool.
9. Pay every illegal alien $10,000 to leave the country. Please form a line out the door please. This will be cheaper than keeping them here, hunting them down, and keeping them in hotels while going through expensive legal proceedings. We build a REAL 1,300 mile WALL along our 1,300 mile border. Ditto for our northern border. We could have corporate sponsors paint their logo on the wall. Sort of like NASCAR racers. The sponsor fees will help in the cost of guarding the wall, and people can see the ads from commercial jets. We should be minus about ten million illegals in about six months. The remaining illegals can volunteer in our military for three years, and when they get discharged, they and their family will become legal citizens. During their enlistment, they all learn the English language as a requirement to become a citizen.
10. Give China a couple of our states in lieu of what we own them. We’re not really using the Dakotas, and maybe we could toss in 126,000 empty houses in Arizona (please see ex-lobbyist for details). Our deficit would be all gone, and to cut cost of shipping, China moves many of their industries to the bad lands. Out of habit, they ship their workers here in cargo containers for no reason at all.
11. Have a 10 year goal to convert much of our transportation over to natural gas. We got on to the moon in less time, and we had no clue how we were going to do that either. I’m guessing that there might be a few corporations willing to invest in such an undertaking. We will be free of foreign crude, and we can stop giving a shit what those people do to each other over there.
12. There will be no legislative bill over 100 pages. If it has to be bigger than that, it’s not a good bill. It has to be written in plain English, so we don’t have to be a lawyer to understand where the money is going.
13. Free cable for everyone.
14. Casual Monday-Friday in the White House. Why the hell do we wear ties anyway?
I’m not sure what I’d do on the second day in office, maybe take the fighter jet out for a cruise. I’d have the guys from “Pimp my ride” trick out the jet. Can you say "SPINNERS!"
And can you get past the “armed and dangerous” as using weapons. Armed with knowledge is dangerous to our law-makers is how I view her statements. Many smart people feel that a tax on CO2 is our government’s way of creating a entirely new tax system based on something that isn’t even a pollutant. Being armed with knowledge that the cap and tax is nothing but continued government take-over of our free market, is dangerous to those that want such a bill.
You’ve really got to stop drinking the Koolaid Dubs.
I would like to ask the other readers of these post how they interpret what she said.
And it only took you three post before bringing in Dick Chaney. That’s a record.
Don’t you have any other comments on my previous post?
And please stop the dumb-shit liberal talking points that anyone that opposes our tax and spend government is for the rich and powerful. It doesn’t stand up.
M.I.L.F. (Acronym) Colloquial and vulgar. Used to shorthand term "Moron I Would Like To F^%#.
[Another note: There is evidence that some find Bachmann in non-centerfold incarnation to be ignorant; others find her idiotic. Some find her dangerous; others find her treasonous; Some believe that Bachmann performs a public service by violating the norm that it is better to remain silent and have others believe you foolish than to speak and forever remove all doubt.]
The yogurtprowler
Noted Lexicographic Sage and Cultural Observor
The so called “left wing wack jobs” are the only ones who are calling her out for her statements, and behavior. There is plenty of footage of her saying the same crazy things on right wing shows, but they take it all in stride and think nothing of it!
If you want more divisiveness in our country she is your girl. If you want to encourage the crazies to seceed from the union, to “take out” our Prez, or to wage jihad….she is your girl.
And Pix when you write: “I do my best to stay away from the right-wing rhetoric as much as I can” you know that is not true. You look even sillier than Cheney does when he says Obama is ‘dithering’.
Speaking of Dick, isn’t it about time he just slithered away? At least Bush has enough sense to not criticize our Commander-in Chief, especially when you compare and contrast their leadership styles. We have seen the results of a policy that invades now and asks questions later. A more thoughtful approach is refreshing, don’t ya think?
This just in: Retired General Paul Eaton, senior adviser to the National Security Network, issued a statement in which he declared: "The record is clear: Dick Cheney and the Bush administration were incompetent war fighters."
So in conclusion Pix, not only will you be known as defender of the rich and powerful, but also a friend of the gun toting militia secessionists who want armed insurrection. I thought you loved this country, Pix what has happened to you? I can only hope its your cold and flu meds that are speaking for you now!
I will sterilize this post before adding it to C/L.
I find it offensive when someone makes fun of someone else’s faith. If she felt that running for Congress was a mission from God, then that what it was for her. For you to mock her for feeling as she does is more a reflection on you than her.
I don’t see her quoting Jefferson as treasonous talk. I’m all about having a revolution in this country, one that changes the way Washington runs, one that changes how our elections are financed, one that turns our political process on its head. We have gone way too long with the status quo. “Politicians are like diapers, they both need to be changed often, and for the same reason”. Our Congress has a whopping 16% approval rating at the same time they enjoy a 95% re-election rate.
Don’t you feel that we should toss them all out and start over? Are you really that happy with Palosi, Reed, Frank, and Dodd? There isn’t one Republican (other than Bachmann) that is worth a shit either.
It is up to us, you and I, and everyone else that’s reading these blogs that needs to stand up and yell “I’M MAD AS HELL AND I’M NOT TAKING IT ANYMORE!” I don’t care what party someone is from, if they’ve been there more than two terms, they should be voted out. We can do our own election reform by doing so. We can vote for someone that isn’t tainted by our political process. With the internet, there’s no need for $100,000,000 to get elected. Last September 1.5 million showed up on Congress’s door step, and the reason they knew to do so was the internet. We, the people of this country can use this free medium to stand up to the money grabbers, and take on the entrenched politicians.
I can understand why Bachmann feels like she’s behind enemy lines, for she’s not playing nice like she’s supposed to, and odds are she’ll be elected again because of it.
Dubs, our economy is about to crash, or country’s credit rating is just several years away from dropping down to junk status. The interest due on what we’re borrowing, along with our committed entitlement programs are going to swallow up 100% of all our federal income within 20 years, and no creative accounting or kicking the can down the road is going to change that.
What is our current government’s answer to this? Taking on a healthcare bill that cannot be deficit neutral, even though they’ve hidden 250 billion dollars in cost in a separate bill called the “Doc bill”. Even though they’ve pushed off other expenses to the states, and even though they’ll slip in a ton of stuff after the bill is sign, that they’ve taking taken out to get below a friggin’ trillion dollars.
Our government is now talking about adding another stimulus package even though the Presidents stimulus czar has recently stated that the last one will not make any notable difference in our upcoming economy. Everyone in Washington knows that they’ll sneak in “stimulus money” in other bills instead of being “transparent” as promised just a year ago.
They are doing everything possible to ensure that our country has an economic break-down. Instead of cutting spending, attacking the deficit, and being smart with with what money they do spend......they are spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave.
You may see Michele Bachmann as crazy, but compared to what our current government is doing to our country, she’s the sanest one in Washington. Stop burying your head in the sand, look down the road, and see where all this is going.
I pray that we get more Michele Bachmanns to run for office.
You are making yourself look pretty silly pointing to left-wing whack-jobs and quoting them as some sort of unbiased report. I do my best to stay away from the right-wing rhetoric as much as I can, may I suggest you do the same.
Pix you say you agree with every thing she says, does that mean you approve of her dangerous and treasonous talk? Maybe if you saw more of her words in print you might have some disagreement with her? Geez I hope so. Below are some direct quotes with full context, and also the legal definition of governmental overthrow, enjoy.
Bachmann says: “At this point the American people - it's like Thomas Jefferson said, a revolution every now and then is a good thing. We are at the point, Sean, of revolution. And by that, what I mean, an orderly revolution -- where the people of this country wake up get up and make a decision that this is not going to happen on their watch. It won't be our children and grandchildren that are in debt.”
Oh, now the Republicans are worried about the debt -- like George Bush had nothing to do with it. And, this:
Bachmann: "Right now I'm a member of Congress, and I believe that my job here is to be a foreign correspondent, reporting from enemy lines. And people need to understand, this isn't a game. this isn't just a political talk show that's happening right now. This is our very freedom, and we have 230 years, a continuous link of freedom that every generation has ceded to the next generation. This may be the time when that link breaks. And I'm going to do everything I can, I know you are, to make sure that we keep that link secure.”
This is very incendiary talk for a member of Congress. She's calling the elected government of the U.S. her "enemy." It sounds like the rantings of one of the hard-core militia nuts. Those guys are willing to take up arms against their country. Sounds like Bachmann is willing to join them. I think there are laws against this kind of behavior.
The traditional media doesn't hold Bachmann accountable for her rantings. They think she's crazy. But, Bachmann means it and she speaks for her party.
And, yes, there is a law: 18 U.S.C. § 2385. Advocating overthrow of Government. Here's how it starts:
Whoever knowingly or willfully advocates, abets, advises, or teaches the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying the government of the United States or the government of any State, Territory, District or Possession thereof, or the government of any political subdivision therein, by force or violence, or by the assassination of any officer of any such government; or
Whoever, with intent to cause the overthrow or destruction of any such government, prints, publishes, edits, issues, circulates, sells, distributes, or publicly displays any written or printed matter advocating, advising, or teaching the duty, necessity, desirability, or propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the United States by force or violence, or attempts to do so; or
Whoever organizes or helps or attempts to organize any society, group, or assembly of persons who teach, advocate, or encourage the overthrow or destruction of any such government by force or violence; or becomes or is a member of, or affiliates with, any such society, group, or assembly of persons, knowing the purposes thereof—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both, and shall be ineligible for employment by the United States or any department or agency thereof, for the five years next following his conviction.
You know damn well that if a Democrat had called for a revolution during the Bush years, we'd never hear the end of it. There would be press conferences and floor speeches and editorials. There would probably be an indictment. You know it. But, Bachmann just foments revolution without being held accountable.
Clueless about cause (of endemic mess) and effect (of Tea Antics)? Yes, to a large degree. And yes, very much so.
Clueless about the motives, beliefs, agendas, history and mental illness of the Tea Party Elite? As mentioned, lord, I hope so. If it were not so, then our brethren would be less ill-informed and more plain loco.
Note: Pix is not loco one bit about Fannie Mae's bad behavior. She's a slut.
Marching on Washington hasn't done a thing-it never will. The windows are closed, the gates are shut and the actors are inside hiding under the Lobbyists' skirts!!!! Keep marching----if for no other reason than exercise. Those of you who want to debate this point come back at me with conclusive proof that standing on Pennsylvania Avenue has made a lick of difference.
Your first long-winded video was two atheist attempting to make those of faith look dumb, and degrade those of us that actually took part in the town-hall meetings, and protested against a bad healthcare bill along with the massive spending. I think they had all of 2 seconds of her talking, and the rest was just bashing those of us that care enough to speak out. “Republicans brought in bus-loads of astro-turfers” is a lie.
The second clip was an attempted “gotcha” piece that if you actually listen, she never said that those in the Senate were un-American, it was the interviewer trying to put words in her mouth. She has valid points that many of the Czars and advisors that Obama has surrounded himself with have very far-out radical views, and they should be reviewed by a Senate committee….of which was requested by Harry Reed of all people, and was shown the door by the White House.
The Turk guy takes a statement that she said “We should defeat the Democrats on every bill so if the get successful, they (the dems) can never be defeated.” The Genesis of this statement is based on several things that were happening at the time. One was ACORN was still going to be part of the Census taking. Combined with the White House taking over the Census, this was viewed by many as it would give more electoral votes to Democrat states while taking away electoral votes from Republican states. Other concerns at that time, and still are, is that the Democrats were writing spending bills like the stimulus bill that was buying more votes with tax payer money. The bullshit bankruptcy and government bail-out of the auto unions is another example.
And I would be honored to be on Olbermann’s “worst list”. What a wack-job he is. Again, he disregards facts regarding Caribou and oil lines. The oil lines warm the permafrost just enough for vegetation to grow, and the Caribou graze along the pipe-lines. These pipe lines do not hinder any migration for they are 5 feet above the ground. But, Olbermann attempts to make her look dumb by pointing this out. Dubs, he makes you look like Ronald Reagan.
In closing, there was nothing here that tells me she’s nuts. You’ve given us left-wing hacks that paraphrase, take statements out of context, and just out-right lie. It’s funny, you accuse Fox News of doing the same thing.
And finally, lest all you righties start thinking that I believe you are all nut jobs…here is a clip of some of the more sane conservatives denouncing Glenn Beck, and his hate speech
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5woLGnwN2I4
Hope you all enjoyed, there are many, many more laughable clips (if not for the fact that she is an elected Congresswoman) available on you tube
You did a great job condensing all the crap that has gone on these past 15 years or so perfectly correct….except for the clueless tea-baggers of course. Tea-baggers didn’t show up until March of this year.
The thing is, there has been no legislation to stop all this from happening again. “It’s in committee” is the answer we get when asked about what our government is doing. I’m already seeing mortgage ads bragging that there’s no credit check to get a loan, so it’s starting all over again.
If you ask what changes GM has made to ensure they’d become solvent, the silence is deafening.
So our government spent hundreds of billions of our tax dollars and money borrowed from China to bail out these smucks without one word of legislation to eliminate the banks and auto industry from failing again.
Well, based on the success of the stimulus package and the bail-outs, our wise government is reloading the stimulus cannon again for another round of dumb-shit spending. They are smart enough not to call it a stimulus package, and will sneak it in other wonderful sounding bills…..all at our expense.
Did I ever mention that our country cannot afford more dumb spending?
YP, you did forget to mention that much of the sub-prime lending was due to pressure from our government. Fannie and Freddie are as much to blame for backing these bad loans too. I’m not sure if banks would have been as reckless with the loans if they were not backed by fannie/Freddie. Maybe they would have, we’ll never know.
Good discussion of housing collapse-banking collapse-Wall St.-collapse-TARP bailout ... this morning on WXXI A.M.'s Diane Rehm Show.
You can find it, if you are interested. at NPR, WXXIor Diane Rehm Show web sites.
This discussion supports many of The Tea Party concerns. Of course it does so intelligently and considers intelligent solutions, neither of which seem to be part of The Baggers' game plan.
Here's the gist - Fair And Balanced:
Background: Eons ago farmers and brokers developed a futures market (Chicago Board of Trade) whereby farmers could guarantee a fair profit on crops/livestock planted/raised. They would purchase a contract to sell their goods at a profit (futures contract). This was, in effect an insurance policy. Market sinks? Farmer makes money. Futures seller makes money. Buyer of farmer's goods get a nice deal. Consumer pays. Market rises? Farmer makes less than market now would pay him. Futures seller makes money. Buyers of farmer's goods gets a great deal. Consumer pays more.
As investors became more sophisticated (greedy) these futures contracts could be traded.
Now, others decided to join in on the fun.
Banks sold mortgages to home-buyers. Making money they decided to sell to less to solvent home-buyers, gambling that overall, they'd profit.
AIG comes along and says to banks, we'll insure your mortgages, risky or not, because overall we'll make money.
Goldman Sachs comes along and says, hey, let's get in on the fun. So they purchase derivative bundles of stuff - perhaps the mortgages, because they believe that overall they'll make money, and ultimately they buys insurance from AIG that pays them off if the mortgages fail.
Goldman Sachs realizes that the banks are selling risky mortgages. Home-buyers are buying on credit. The house of cards will collapse. It's as if you bought insurance paying off if your unemployed neighbor defaulted on his mortgage.
Nothing but gambling here, but the city slickers, Goldman Sachs, sharply surmise that the bumpkins investments will crash and burn.
AIG sells so much insurance that they cannot possibly pay off if the housing market crashes in defaults.
Now, keep in mind that Goldman Sachs is selling their investments as derivatives to others who bundle and resell to others who bundle and resell ... countless transactions of nobody-knows-now-just-what.
As home-buyers default and interest rated go up more do, and as jobs are lost more do. more banks collect from AIG who sold all the policies. And Goldman Sachs collects from AIG. And derivative buyers of Goldman's junk collect money from AIG.
AIG has oversold and oversold collecting premiums on policies they cannot pay upon default. With assets of $X they insured properties worth $1,000X.
Now how does this happen? Is it legal? Shouldn't some one go to jail?
Well no, actually.
Wall St. and the banks and the insurers have hired 5 lobbyists for every legislator to push deregulation. Whether Clinton (with Goldman Sachs alumni in his inner circle) or Bush (with Goldman Sachs alumni in his inner circle) the deregulation express throttles on. Any moment you'd expect that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act will be repealed. Hey, it's like the constitution. If you're not going to use it, junk it.
Phil Graham, G.O.P. one-time presidential candidate and Senator from Texas, is God.
OK, long story short, Greenspan and all the Clinton Gang and all the Bush Gang were asleep aat the wheel. The Banks and AIG and Goldman Sachs come to the White House looking for a bailout (Socialism for the Rich). While the White House dithers, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs' dumb little brother, goes under. Now, the White House, is frazzled.
Bush's Financial Genius, Henry Somebody, wants a boatload of money, no questions asked, to rescue the Fat Cat Investors. Of course, he was the former boss at Goldman Sachs, so he well knows the stakes. Soon, he gets the boatload with a few questions asked.
This is TARP.
Taxpayers pay. Profit is Capitalism. Loss is Socialism. Among others, Tea Baggers go nuts.
Obama gets elected. Tea Baggers go more nuts. Obama promises "real change." Tea Baggers go more more nuts. Suckers like me applaud B'Obama-Rama, who turns out to be a eunuch.
B.O. Rama appoints Goldman Sachs groupies to cabinet and inner circle, just like Clinton, just like Bush, just like everybody this side of Ralph Nader would.
Outcome: Whether it's financial reform, de-de-regulationj, health care reform ... Team B/O. Rama cuts deals with insiders to make sure "real change" is real ineffectual. And the Tea Baggers go nuts-more-nuts-more-nuts ... with the knowledge that they (we) are being screwed, but without the sense that the very ones pushing the going-nuts-agenda are many of the ones responsible for the deregulated greed-spree and health care problems and religious idiocy and ,,,.
Verdict: Tea Party is clueless, but correct. Nader and Kucinch and yogurtprowler have a clue, but no clout. B.O. Rama, Senate and House squabble about who is more wrong, while ignoring reality at the behest of their rich friends. So drink Poison I G.O.P. quick cancer or Poison II Dem radiation and chemo slow boat.
Or that nothing was said by our President or Congress when the top brass at Fannie/Freddie gave themselves millions in bonuses while our government had to bail them out too.
It is my contention that share-holders of a corporation should be the ones that determine what their CEO’s should get for bonuses, and not the government. It would seem that it would only take some simple legislation to make this happen. It is a slippery slop when our government dictates the pay of anyone in the private sector, and then they pick and choose who gets a bonus, and who does not.
Funny stuff. Since B'Obama-Rama has p.o.'d me and countless suckers of the "real change" shtick, he deserved some of the maggot-spiel coming from comedians like this scribe.
Iteme 2: The Demise of The American Dollar
"Noted economist, Glenn Beck, claims ..." That's all you need to know dead-heads. More funny stuff.
To recap: Noted health care expert, GB, opines on CNN that U.S. health care nearly killed him. Then on Fox, he pans reform while opinionatin' that this here health bidness we got is best peachy plan in the galaxy.
Then noted political scientist and social historian, GB, opines that Mr. Michelle Obama is a racist.
Noted author and debate guru, GB, and someone who can write complete sentences, release a book counseling right wing parrots how to chit chat with liberals. And so many footnotes! So, you don't have to admit that you are his stooge.
Good stuff. You can't make up stuff like this.
The man is a renaissance man, a quadruple threat. A threat.
Item 3: Oil Crude Nightmare Is Back
Perhaps we should give conservation a whirl? Naw ...
Item 4: Obama Nitwits on the Loose
See comments above, item 1. Wow! Beck is looking more cogent in comparison.
Item 5: Here’s What I Learned This Week
When Pix uses the term "learned" you know you're in shallow water and loose language.
Look kids, it's clear as Pix claims that the Dem-Obama-Reid-Pelosi-Bacchus clique has designed really crappy "improvements" of a really crappy status quo. And, yes, Pix-The-Stat-Meister has copious data to throw against the wall. Some stick.
As for a constructive alternative? Tort reform, insurance sold across state lines, and ... well, that should do it. Intellectual dishonesty is a kindly way to describe this line of "thought."
Per ACORN: A minor player with horrible political instincts and foolish drones. Dems refuse to deep-six ACORN? Stupid. Move on, please. so the right wing choir has less to howl about.
Item 6: Tea Bagger’s Last Pitch
Tea Party independence? Yeah, and I'm a teen heartthrob with a bridge to sell ya. Fits perfectly to traverse the swamp land I have for sale. Hey, it's online. It must be true. And Pix got a real e-mail. Gosh darn.
This is just too funny. Did Beck come up with this one?
Check the resumes of the organizers, funders, movers'n'shakers, allied groups ... a motley crew indeed of "independents." Independent of what? Sanity? Same ones funding Whitewater, Zippergate, Impeachment of Clinton, Swift Boating, and pushing Tax Cuts For Rich Guys, Right Wing - Religious Right - Sara Palin as Queen Esther ... And so much more.
Independent Tea Sipping? Sure, and I'm dating Jessica Alba.
Tea Bag Patriotism? Yep, and she's putting out big time for me.
Item 7: What planet is Congressman Barney Frank on, anyway?
I have no idea. Easy target with warts. Hardly a Savior. Not as dangerous as ass-wipe-towel-boys of the corporate elite and religious crazies either.
Item 8: American Moms M.O.M. For America Our Mission...... Our Hope......... our Lives........
What next? Patriotic Puppies for Democracy.
Item 9: Comic Relief
Paul Lynde had talent. Please do not compare him to Beck.
Item 10: Third Graders Want to Know
More Beck on the economy. No solutions. Does Beck have a portrait of Herbert Hoover above his crib?
Item 11: Affordable Health Care For Everyone
What a rally without raving programmed maniacs of right wing zombies? Neat.
Item: 12: Kids Say The Darndest Things
Nice effort, Dubs. Why try?
Item 13: Lefty Astro Turf
Good point: Right Wing parrots rant against their own self-interest at behest of the rich. Too complicated a notion for the rightists.
Item 14: Somewhere some union bashing was offered. Progressive union, but imperfect. Let's keep the housekeepers down!
I denigrated other’s opinions? All I did was say that our government cannot afford increased spending, and that we can’t afford the spending that we’ve already committed to.
And you are definitely on some other planet when you disregard yet another fact that Social Security will be running out of money, and combined with Medicare, and interest due on our current spending, our country will be out of money. Sure, they can move up the eligibility age, but that doesn’t fix anything…it just kicks the can down the road…..as usual. It is the actions our government took in the past that has put the baby-boomers retirement in jeopardy.
It is the actions of our current government that is making a bad situation worse.
And yes, I am fixated on the spending…that’s what fiscal conservatives do. I’m not sure why you still continue attempting to tie me with the GOP, or feel that my feelings and beliefs are just right-wing “talking points”, or I’m being hypnotized by Fox news to sway my point-of-view. I spent the last few days listening to Air-America (it’s in Buffalo) hours on end, and they only had CNN in the hospital. I do try to get the other side of the news, and have formed my opinions by doing so.
You have to understand that there are millions of us that don’t care which party did what in the past, or what party is doing right now. Our government as an entity, are taking actions that are hurting our country.
We are not Fox News troops, we are not GOP slaves. We are Independents, we are former Republicans, we are disgruntled Democrats, all of which look past party politics and focus on what we feel is right for our country.
You Pixster have provided me with further proof that you guys are not capable of having any discussion at all until you have denigrated the opinions and ideas of others. Is there any wonder why the Repubs are on the decline? Group think is the only methodology they have.
Your paragraph about SS and “savings account” and IOU’s amounts to nothing more than changes in accounting practices over the years. The facts are that SS has paid everyone every penny due to them since its inception in 1935. That is great record, and a great success for the government. It can only be your FOX induced brain washing which makes it impossible for you to wrap you head around that fact.
Pix also writes: “When the baby-boomers hit retirement there will be more people taking out than putting in. The math does not lie, and in the not-so-distant future there will be too many people wanting their money back in social security payments, and there’s no money left to pay them.”
You are correct Sir…If NOTHING IS DONE!!! Why is it that you guys cling so much to that pesky belief that no one in Congress will ever lift a finger to save SS? That would be a gross negligence on their part and downright stupid politically. Are you expecting a GOP Take over of Congress any time soon?
Pix also writes: “On a different subject, you point to the STAR program, Medicare, food stamps, Welfare, and cash for clunkers as something our government has “given” us. Dubs, this stuff had to be paid for, and… blah blah blah”
Pix, I was asking my new Christian friend if he himself had ever availed himself of any of these government services. I asked him because he wrote this: Unlike the left most with right thinking don't look to the government to take care of them in every area of their life. I personally believe in the God of the bible and prefer letting my God be God and not looking to a humanistic bunch of immoral rejects and power hungry leaches to decide whats good and correct for me and supplying all my needs.
After I pointed out that this didn’t sound very Christian of him, I was also curious about exactly how much he has, or has not needed any government services. He still hasn’t answered me, so I can only assume he had to run out to cash his unemployment/welfare check before the liquor store closes.
And finally Pix seems bent on twisting my words (again) when he wrote: You’ve stated in several post that those that are against all this government spending are against their own self-interest
Pix it is you who is fixated on spending. That’s not what I’m talking about. I am amazed that there are so many middle class righties who consistently oppose efforts to bring more fairness to the tax code, to provide more consumer protections, to provide affordable health care, you name it. You guys are always on the side of the rich and powerful!! Why??
In a word, it takes us nowhere! That there were Founding Fathers who believed in Christ, tells us nothing about Christianity itself. Similarly, even if one accepts that the U.S. was founded on Christianity, this also tells us nothing about Christianity.
American Christians generally use this appeal to history assuming it bolsters the veracity of their beliefs. They are further comforted by the notion that their own personal religion also happens to be the religion of the entire country.
They did not design a theocracy! It would have been fairly easy to just say the Bible is now Law, but they did not. They created a secular democracy that has lasted for well over 200 years now. We are free to practice any religion, or no religion at all, if that's what we want, so deal with that.
My Christian friend has avoided answering my question, and I am still interested in hearing his answer.
Here is my question again:
Can you honestly say that you, or anyone in your family has never accepted any of the following?: unemployment assistance, social security, Medicare, food stamps, tuition assistance, GI benefits, FHA approved mortgages, STAR rebates, rent control, welfare, tax credits, cash for clunkers, or any other government subsidy??
First off, social security at one time actually had their own “savings account” where all the money collected from us was deposited. Then in the 1970’s our government decided to combine this account into the general funds and left an IOU in its place. Our elected leaders saw social security as a cash cow since more people were paying into it than taking out….even though they knew there would be a day when this act would bankrupt our government. When the baby-boomers hit retirement there will be more people taking out than putting in. The math does not lie, and in the not-so-distant future there will be too many people wanting their money back in social security payments, and there’s no money left to pay them.
That pesky math.
On a different subject, you point to the STAR program, Medicare, food stamps, Welfare, and cash for clunkers as something our government has “given” us. Dubs, this stuff had to be paid for, and it wasn’t the government that is paying for it…it is the tax payers. It’s not like this stuff comes from air. STAR is a credit against taxes our government imposes on us, if the taxes were much lower, we’d not need it. Medicare….well, Medicare Part A, you know the part that covers hospital stays, will run out of funding by 2017. I did the math and that is just about the time I’ll be hitting the age when I’ll be needing it…..along with the bulk of us baby-boomers. As popular as cash for clunkers was, it still has to be paid for, and the billions spent on this program, much of it borrowed from China, will have to be paid back with interest for many years to come…..long after the cars purchased are clunkers too.
You’ve stated in several post that those that are against all this government spending are against their own self-interest. Why do you think that is Dubs? Some of us actually think past the free-lunch and wonder how this stuff is going to get paid for, and by whom? How much will free healthcare cost? How much will free money for clunkers cost?
Our government cannot afford more spending. As it stands now, before the impact of the recent spending, our government will be paying out 100% of all federal income to “entitlement” programs by 2030. This does not count the cost of the supposed “deficit neutral” healthcare program, encompassing more people in social security and Medicare, giving illegal aliens immunity (it’s coming), and whatever other dumb-shit spending our government has in store for us in the near future.
We just don’t have the money. This is why many of us are against programs that would seem are in our best interest now. We have kids, and grandchildren, and we are getting to the age where all that money we’ve put in social security is what we’ll have to live on when we do get to retire.
ADB wrote: But I, along with millions of Americans, would JUMP at the chance to remove the gov't from social security.
So please tell me AD Bob….where oh where will our monthly checks come from, if not the government?? The entitlement fairy? Oops …I just took two bad words, and coined a new phrase, we can’t have that now. I mean really…your statement is proof enough that you people play mind games with your selves over words. If your monthly check said anything other than US Gov’t on it, you would be happier?? BTW…If it did say anything else it would not be cashed so easily.
A Different Bob also wrote: So you're saying I should trust the idiots who have taken my money for 30 years and won't give it to me when I'm entitled to it? Yeah, riiiiight
Bob, another thing I’ve noticed about you righties is you guys love to complain about something has not even happened yet, and may never happen! How do you know you won’t be able to collect your entitlement?
SS has had a very long history of success, and the only problem it has is a funding issue. Changes to the system will need to be made to keep it solvent, but you guys are sooo certain it is doomed to failure. Yeah if the GOP ever does get a majority again it may increase the odds that it will fail, but that hasn’t happened yet either. So when you say SS will go broke, you must be assuming a GOP victory, because they would be the ones who would do nothing, and sit idly by, while SS goes broke.
The Right has done such a good job of turning the word ‘government’ in to a dirty word, that some cannot even imagine an America with a competent government. Do you righties really believe we are incapable of governing ourselves? Based on your expectations you would think we rank some where between Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan when it comes to self governance.
America is quite capable of achieving any objective if we have competent leadership. In the comparison between this Prez, and our last one is not even close.
Also please don't forget that we are not living in a theocracy. Our founding fathers were mostly athiests, and secular, and by any standard they would also have to be decribed as liberal. They were not satisfied with the status quo.
The poster also wrote: "Unlike the left most with right thinking don't look to the government to take care of them in every area of their life"
Can you honestly say that you, or anyone in your family has never accepted any of the following?: unemployment assistance, social security, medicare, food stamps, tuition assistance, GI benefits, FHA approved mortgages, STAR rebates, rent control, welfare, tax credits, cash for clunkers, or any other government subsidy??
If you can say NO ONE in your family has ever needed any of that, then you should count your blessings, for you are truly self suffecient, and are very well off. If that is the case then I fully understand your support for the GOP, because they absolutely do represent your interests. Odds are however, that you are one of those middle class people who have been bamboozled in to politically opposing your own economic interests.
So which is it? Please be honest with me, because I want to be enlightened.
I would like my social security that I've been paying into for the past 30 years, but as we all know, it will not be there in 20 years when I will be able to entertain the idea of retiring. And who did that? The gov't. So you're saying I should trust the idiots who have taken my money for 30 years and won't give it to me when I'm entitled to it? Yeah, riiiiight. I should LOVE the gov't involved in more and more areas of my life. They do such good work. You hear people saying all the time, "We should let the gov't handle this, they're so efficient and handle our tax money so well!"
I suppose, Dubs, along with "Liberal" and "gov't", it pisses you off that the right has semantically smeared some of your favorite "otherwise perfectly fine" words like "communist", "socialist" and "ACORN".
But if you simply asked them if they like their Social Security, or Medicare with out mentioning that nasty ‘G’ word, and you will likely get a very high percentage that will approve.
Its funny how certain words have taken on a negative connotation. The GOP has in the past done a great job in smearing certain words like ‘Liberal’, and ‘mainstream media’, and now you can add ‘government’ to that list as well.
Other words soon to be added may be ‘public option’ and ‘Republicans’. That last one they did to themselves.
Obama's desire was to be a leader and a uniter. He is neither. He is following Pelosi, allowing Rahm and 3 corrupt Dems to make the healthcare decisions behind closed doors, (not on C-SPAN as he promised), and his policies and inexperience has polarized this nation as it has never been before, even more than it was under the evil Reagan administration. So much for bringing people together.
He can't even get the very non-diverse crown of liberal (moderate? HAH!) Washington Dems to agree. If they did, not one single Repub would be needed for healthcare to be shoved down all our necks. But they need the Repubs for cover. Then they can claim bipartisanship, even if the one repub is Snowe, who says she is AGAINST the public option!