Stimulus and Health Care
Briefing | By Alanna Hultz | February 22, 2009
The much talked about Stimulus package was approved by Senate last Friday and President Barack Obama made the bill a law Tuesday. The final amount of the stimulus package was 787 billion dollars. Almost one trillion dollars that tax payers will have to pay back. Pajamas TV held a symposium on the stimulus package and health care benefits. The meeting, which included Joe “the Plumber” Wurzelbacher with opening comments and questions from the public, featured a financial panel and health care panel. The financial panel included Andrew Roth, Vice President for Government Affairs, Club for Growth, Brian Riedel, Senior Policy Analyst, Heritage Foundation and Dan Mitchell, Senior Fellow at the libertarian CATO Institute. Pajamas Media describes itself as a network of about 100 blogger’s that covers news and issues of the day in a thoughtful and civil way.
Roth said “it is reckless to spend this amount without knowing what’s in it.” Neither house of the U.S. Congress was able to preview the bill or know exactly what was in it. Roth continued, “the 2003 Bush tax cuts were a real stimulus, people are against the new stimulus and it will do more harm than good. Only a handful of liberals are for it.” Tax cuts are a popular alternative to the stimulus bill because they go directly into the economy and bring faster results than building roads and bridges.
Riedel said “the government is injecting money into the economy to create wealth.” Riedel continued, “Congress doesn’t have the money for the stimulus bill; they are just taking money out of one part and putting it in another.” Brian said checks from the government do not create growth and increase production. He believes cutting tax rates will make people more productive because they will have something to work for.
Mitchell was the last one on the panel to state his views on the economic stimulus package and he said “in the 1990’s Japan had stimulus after stimulus and it didn’t help. Japan suffered a lost decade.” From 1990-2000 Japan passed 10 stimulus bills, six spending plans that totaled $700 billion and in 1998 and 2002 they tried massive tax cuts. When nothing worked this period in Japan was termed the lost decade.
When each panel member was asked ‘how will we know if the economic stimulus plan is working?’ Roth said “the stock markets and unemployment rate.” If the stock markets are up and the unemployment rate has dropped then the stimulus plan is working. Riedel said “if the unemployment rate gets cut in half” and Mitchell said “the economy will recover but what we need to focus on is the growth rate.”
After the panel discussed the economic stimulus plan another panel was introduced to discuss how the stimulus plan could impact future health care coverage. The health care panel included Jim Capretta, fellow with the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Andy Chasin, Health Policy Counsel, Senate Republican Policy Committee and Diana Furchtgott-Roth, Manhattan Institute.
Capretta said “the Obama health care plan will create a new public program similar to Medicare and anyone who doesn’t have coverage can have it.” Capretta feels that in order to control costs, the programs should be restructured to have stable coverage and provide incentives.
Chasin believes “there is 130 billion dollars in the economic stimulus bill for health care but it should be used for fundamental reform so we’re not in this same situation again.” He also said there is 86 billion [dollars] going to states for Medicaid programs and believes “Medicaid is one of the worst federal programs and it’s on Government Accountability Office (GAO) watch lists.”
Furchtgott-Roth said “change we believe in is not limited health care choices.” She said “Obama has already signed the State Children’s Health Insurance Program [SCHIP] bill that will provide insurance for children whose parents may not want to get it so government will provide it.” She continued, “the federal government is reimbursing states for providing health insurance for children whose parents make 100,000 dollars.” She believes the program is changing from a low income support program to a program that almost anyone can be entitled to. She said “employers could say you earn less than a certain amount and I know SCHIP will cover your children so I will not cover them and the private insurance market will dry out like when Medicaid drove out different programs for senior citizens.” She argues that the new plan will drive out private insurers and force everyone to public health care coverage. She believes it is better to have competition and not just one plan for everyone.
Alanna Hultz is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.
44 Comments | Post a Comment
First the Markets are down 21% just from January 21st till today (currently down -149.87) and we still have 2 hours and 11 minutes.
I agree we MUST close the Mexican Border…as of now. The Immigration Service, and State agencies are reporting an average of 15-16 Arabs are crossing with Mexican illegals. That is an average of 1 possible terrorist cell per week. Are the Democrats and Obama aware of this? If so, and I believe they do, then they are not looking out for “We the People”.
Definition of Bipartinship:
Republican = We work across the isle.
Democrat = Do it our way, or or you are considered obstructionists.
What Stimulus is there?
Nationalizing Banks
Forced socialist health care
New Gasoline taxes
Considering taking control of all US refineries.
Forcing all 50 States to Unionize businesses.
Union Card Check program takes away private voting.
280 of the 450 global warming scientists who helped Gore, are now saying the Oceans are cooling, and expect global cooling, NOAA agrees.
Only three of the G-8 countries followed the Kyoto Treaty, on global clean air quality act, so it is now defunct. Why even have one if China, India, Soviet Union, and all developing countries, are the worst polluters in the world.
When Texas won the war with Mexico, it became its own Republic, complete with a Constitution, Bill of Rights, Congress, Senate, and its own President. Texas had so much land covering what are now 11 states. Texas had their own great economy, coined and printed money, backed up with gold.
The Union wanted Texas to join the USA, they made so many concessions to Texas such as:
Can secede from the Union at any given time.
The right to fly the Texas Flag as high as the US Flag, the only state which can do so legally.
Re right to secede from the Union at its own free will.
Texas intends on remaining part of the US, but if Obama ruins the rest of the USA, Texas might very well become its own Republic again.
We would however like to remain part of the USA.
“The dictionary tells us a Republic is where we vote and gov serves us. a Democracy is where we vote and they do as they like.”
Uh, what dictionary is that?
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
You wrote: “280 of the 450 global warming scientists who helped Gore, are now saying the Oceans are cooling, and expect global cooling, NOAA agrees.”
1) What is a “global warming scientist”?
2) How did the 450 scientists help Gore?
3) What are the other 170 scientists saying?
4) Care to cite specifically where you have found out that “NOAA agrees”?
You also wrote: “The Union wanted Texas to join the USA, they made so many concessions to Texas such as:
Can secede from the Union at any given time.
The right to fly the Texas Flag as high as the US Flag, the only state which can do so legally.
Re right to secede from the Union at its own free will.”
1) Where, precisely, are these concessions written down?
2) Whatever agreements may have been made, the various instruments of surrender signed in the spring of 1865 would render them meaningless.
3) The last time secession was attempted, it didn’t work out very well for all concerned. But the secessionists fared the more poorly.
Like millions of other Americans, I have sworn an oath to protect the Constitution against all its enemies, foreign and domestic. From what you have written, you seem to fall among the category of domestic enemy. You are aware of what constitutes the crime of sedition, are you not?
On the other hand, from this and many previous of your statements, you strike me as incapable of rational thought. That would be a factor in your favor if you were ever to put your money where your mouth is.
You ended with: “We would however like to remain part of the USA.” I have no idea who the “we” are. I have my doubts that you know either. But insofar as I’m concerned, you should feel free to leave at any time.
Most sincerely,
Brian R. Sullivan
Just by way of comparison: Regarding “health care”, I’ve heard that the American health care system is ranked 40th (in terms of easy access, available resources and overall quality) among the world’s industrialized nations and Canada’s health care system is ranked 1st - in terms of access, resources available and quality of care.
And, along with being ranked 1st among the industrialized nations, Canadian health care services are generally at least 1/3 LESS costly than the same American services! So, obviously, there must be a better way to do quality health care than the way we’re doing it (???)
AND, BTW, WES, regarding your crazy statement in the preceding - - “Republican = We work across the isle”:
Anybody that’s not a rightwingnut Kool-Aid drinker - and anyone who is somewhat intellectually honest and at least a semi-objective observer - would (seemingly) most certainly agree that the worst political partisanship in the last 50-60 years came about as a result of the GOP’s “Anti-Clinton” movement beginning in ‘92 - and rose to extreme levels not ordinarily seen before right after the GOP’s takeover of Congress in ‘94 - and rising to a serious and long-lasting crescendo around the presidential election of 2000! Do you forget about the rise of Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, the wacky rightwing DEM congressman from Georgia, the birthing of mindbenders and fact-destroyers like Limbaugh, Savage, Hannity, et al ??? And the 2004 election’s “Swift Boat Truth Squad” ???
C’mon, Wes, the extremist GOP rightwingers from 1994 through now created a travesty of political and cultural “division” - and Cheney (especially) and Bush were only too happy to help push those purely partisan buttons for the last eight years!
The nothing-but-partisan and blathering buffoonery of Mitch McConnell and Boner Boehner are every single bit as detrimental to the future well-being of this country as are any of the candy-assed San Francisco Values of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.
You’re CLEARLY one of the ideological, extremist, rightwing partisans, Wes - but anytime you’d like to leave a real-world list of the productive “working across the aisle” (except for McCain/Kennedy - which failed) led by the GOP from ‘94 through ‘06 - I’d sure be happy to see it!
The partisan rightwing extremists in the GOP were pure ballbusters from ‘94 through ‘06 - and, now, you all may just be finding out that payback’s a bitch!
For me, I have DETESTED extreme ideological partisanship every step of way throughout my life - but it is most certainly understandable if the more extremist DEMs want a little bit of “get even” against the extremist GOPs.
Personally, I’m happy to support GOPs like Specter, Collins, Snow, Swarzenegger, Crist - and any GOPs like them who favor “country” more than “party”.
For too many GOPs, the only Republican “platform plank” they seem to know is the “anti-Democrat” plank.
Since when did Democrats and Liberals start using the phrase: Kool-Aid drinkers?
Republicans have used the phrase since Reagan in the early 1980’s to describe Democrats and Liberals, such as when a Dem says something stupid, one of the normal retorts was, ‘Lay off the Kool-Aid.
>>>For me, I have DETESTED extreme ideological partisanship every step of way throughout my life - but it is most certainly understandable if the more extremist Dem’s want a little bit of “get even” against the extremist GOPs.<<<
You are not including the 40 years of Dem rule in both Houses, or what the 2006 Dem wins. Such as when the Dems filibustered almost every appointment the Republicans tried when Bush was the President, such as his cabinet, Fed Judges, Supreme Court appointees.
What goes around comes around.
And why did Obama stop the trial of the bomber of the USS Cole, and just released one of the Gitmo Detainees. What about the families of the 17 dead sailors?
And there is no such thing as *undocumented workers* nor are they called *immigrants*. They are by definition Illegal Aliens. Every time a school text book is retired, regardless of Elementary, Middle School, and High Schools as far back as 1965 (including dictionaries) have been saved by members of the RNC to distribute to anyone who requests one for $1.00 each including shipping, so parents can show their children the truth of revisionist history.
We tell our children to do what they are told in school, then re-educate them with the written truth. I got a set for my sister-in-law who has three children. She voted for Obama, and has now changed her mind after reading the new crap. We also have began telling our children going to college the same thing, that they will be indoctrinated to the liberal points of view, we have literature to do what they have to do to graduate, but to ignore what they are being taught.
Oh, and with the passing of Obama’s new $410 Billion for stimulus v.3.0 now give the government:
$787 Billion Stimulus
$350 Billion from what Bush didn’t spend
$410 Billion another stimulus
——————
$1.547 Billion total…so far.
He sent 17,000 more troops into Afghanistan, with another 13,000 if needed. Those who voted for him are pissed at this move.
Re: Wesley the Comedian; Post 6;
Your statement:
“Since when did Democrats and Liberals start using the phrase: Kool-Aid drinkers? Republicans have used the phrase since Reagan in the early 1980’s to describe Democrats and Liberals, such as when a Dem says something stupid, one of the normal retorts was, ‘Lay off the Kool-Aid’.”
First, Wes, you make some asinine assumptions (although that’s not unusual for you) about people who don’t go along with your ideological drivel. If you’re referring to me as a “Democrat” or a “Liberal” - then you are, once again, WRONG, as usual. Not that this is any of your damned business, but I’ve been a registered voter for 45 years. For 41 of those years, I’ve been a registered “Independent” - and for the other four, which happened to be 1988 to 1992, I was a registered “Republican” - and voted for old man Bush in 1988. By 1992, I was totally disenchanted with Bush and the failure-in-the-making of GOP economic policy - so I switched back to being a registered Independent - and I voted for Perot in ‘92 and ‘96. By nature, I am a Traditionalist - and, since 1999, my affinity is for the “ABB Party”, i.e., ANYfreakingBODY BUT BUSH! Truthfully, I wouldn’t belong to EITHER the GOP or the DEM party! BOTH are corrupt, BOTH are in the pockets of Big Business, and BOTH have participated in the selling out of America. And, the word “Liberal” no longer has any meaning - and neither does “Conservative”. However, if you would like to define the meaning of the word “Liberal” as YOU use it - I’ll let you know what, if anything, I have a “Liberal” perspective on.
Second, along with being a far right wing political extremist - are you also a “Word Dictator”? Have you made determinations that certain words can only be used by “Republicans”? (BTW: Does that hold true for given names, also Wes? I have a totally freaked-out left wing loony neighbor three doors down who has a 45-year-old transvestite son who does Cher impersonations in Vegas - whose given name is “Wesley”. Did she blow it by using a name wholly reserved for use by Republicans?) Well, in my case, while NOT being a Democrat or a Liberal, I do feel free to use the term “Kool-Aid”, in the same way and with the same meaning as you describe it, i.e., when someone “says something stupid” - like the statement you made: “We Republicans work across the aisle”.
Another of your statements:
“You are not including the 40 years of Dem rule in both Houses, or what the 2006 Dem wins. Such as when the Dems filibustered almost every appointment the Republicans tried when Bush was the President, such as his cabinet, Fed Judges, Supreme Court appointees.”
Wes, really, so you right wingnuts have such magical mystical powers that somehow you can read my mind and KNOW that when I made the rather simple declaratory statement, “I have DETESTED extreme ideological partisanship every step of the way throughout my life” - - your magical mindreading expertise actually tells you who and/or what I am “not including” in the statement? However, I’ll give you a break: I guess I should have used the word “ALL” in front of my phrase “extreme ideological partisanship” (certainly including the kind you have, Wes).
And, finally Wes, your statement: “We tell our children to do what they are told in school, then re-educate them with the written truth.”
You know, I’ve got to go to dinner and don’t have a lot more time to spend here - BUT - and I’m sure you must know this - “Re-education” is pretty much a Marxist principle - certainly a principle engaged by Hitler’s propaganda machine - by Lenin and Stalin, certainly a practice embraced by Mao and Cho - certainly a factor in the brainwashing techniques used by the North Koreans, the North Vietnamese and the Chinese Communists during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.
But, of course, God has endowed extremist right wing ideologues with another magical and mystical talent: the ability to “re-educate” using their singular and one-and-only, “written truth”.
Wes, if you weren’t such a comedian right up front - you could be a real scary guy!
I think you could do with a little “re-education”!
Geez!
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
I’m still waiting for your answers to the questions I raised in #4.
Brian R. Sullivan
TK>>“Re-education” is pretty much a Marxist principle - certainly a principle engaged by Hitler’s propaganda machine - by Lenin and Stalin, certainly a practice embraced by Mao and Cho - certainly a factor in the brainwashing techniques used by the North Koreans, the North Vietnamese and the Chinese Communists during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.<<<
And that is just what we got with Liberals running the schools, indoctrination. The need to be educated to the real history, not the revisionist history taught in schools over the past several years.
>>>Just by way of comparison: Regarding “health care”, I’ve heard that the American health care system is ranked 40th (in terms of easy access, available resources and overall quality) among the world’s industrialized nations and Canada’s health care system is ranked 1st - in terms of access, resources available and quality of care.<<<
Is that why thousands upon thousands of Canadians a year come to the US for Medical Treatment? Or when they have to shut the hospitals down between November and December, which has happened several times in the past 10 to 15 years once when I lived in Calgary.
Health Care is a huge priority for me, I have a Myeloproliferative Disorder which affects my bone marrow, in the past 10 years I have had leukemia three times. a simple cold can and has turned into many infections, pneumonia 6 times, pleurisy three times, kidney failure from infection scarring, and the list goes on. Now how many MRI’s, CT’s, Bone Marrow Aspirations have to be done every three months (that is how we catch the leukemia before it gets bad), 5% immune system, need blood transfusions every three to four months, nine months ago I had a stroke, and just now have regained most all movement.
What would happen to me in Canada, when they only allow one MRI per person a year?
Here in the US I only have to go to the emergency room and will be admitted within 30 minutes, single private rooms are mandatory here, but not in Canada.
Many of my workmates in Canada (we have offices in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, and Toronto. Everyone talks about how bad health care is there, and have experienced it myself.
So, no way do I want socialized health care.
Obama has laid out a $3.6 Trillion dollar budget, we have less that a Trillion in our reserves, and anyone who would loan us the money would either say no, or they would end up owning most of this county. By August, he will have the rest of our money, the country will be completely broke.
The $410 Billion for the stimulus to be voted on by the Senate this upcoming week has over 8,500 earmarks, it passed the Congress on Thursday. Also on Thursday the government bought 40% of Citi Group, the first step in nationalizing our banking system and mortgage companies. So, go ahead and believe what you read and hear from the mainstream media, but the democrats have ruined the greatest nation on earth, by filibustering banking and lending regulations. That alone is the single biggest thing that has brought our economy down. Hell, even Clinton knew where to draw the line. Like him or not Bush has given us the best economy, the best jobless rates we have ever seen for almost six years, till the democrats took over in 2006.
So, why don’t the two of you just get a room, relieve your stress and leave me the hell alone.
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
I can explain only for myself why I won’t “leave [you] the hell alone.”
Neither I nor anyone else has compelled you to post comments on this blog. But when you do so in such a public forum, you invite responses. When, in your case, what you post is utter nonsense mixed with ignorance and irrationality, you invite rebuttals. Thus, you, not I, are the cause of your own annoyance.
I note that you still haven’t answered the questions I posed to you in my #4 above. Why haven’t you made any responses? I don’t know for certain. But I suspect that you realize you face an irresolvable dilemma: either you would have to admit that what you wrote is ridiculous or you would have to find proof for the statements you made… but can’t. Given the fact you find either alternative impossible or highly distasteful, silence is your only option. Of course, that is the reaction of a child, not an adult. Thus, while you probably can’t appreciate the fact, such a refusal to answer makes you look even more foolish.
In addition, your statements are so filled with factual errors and misunderstandings that when these are pointed out to you, you retreat into stunned confusion. I will give some examples.
“Re-education is pretty much a Marxist principle.” This is the opinion based on ignorance. Without going back farther in history, consider the statements made about Socrates’ teachings at the trial that led to his death sentence or the techniques used by the Inquisition to break down the resistance of heretics. In addition, I defy you to find a single referecne to “re-education” in the writings of Marx or Engels. In fact, there is none.
“And that is just what we got with Liberals running the schools, indoctrination.” Local school boards and state education departments are run by people with a wide range of political opinions. Many are Conservatives, most are moderates, many are Liberals. More to the point, for younger children, “indoctrination” is pretty much what their education consists of. Think about it. Elementary school consists of a wide range of indoctrination, ranging from being taught to wash one’s hand after using the lavatory, keeping one’s place in a line, not talking out of turn, not using violence to settle arguments and so forth. When children get older and their education involves more academic subjects, they may be taught in ways that you oppose. But to compare that with the horror of brainwashing is so hyperbolic as to defy reason.
“Revisionist history” appears to be a term the meaning of which you don’t understand. All history is subject to revision. As new evidence is uncovered, as social and political changes take place, historical texts reflect such. In your pre-1965 histories, for example, you will find little or nothing about the history of non-Caucasian Americans. Since the Civil Rights Era, history text books have been revised to address that previous lapse. (That, I suspect, is one of your objections, a strong hint that you harbor racist sentiments.) Rather than face the fact that you were taught a deficient and biased version of history - as you incredibly ignorant remarks about Texas history suggest - you cling to your fairy tales and try to get your own children to accept such drivel. Perhaps you will succeed. That depends on how intelligent and self-reliant your children will prove to be. My guess is that you are going to eventually face their rage for the lies with which you have indoctrinated them. Yes, you, not the schools are the “indoctrinator” you condemn.
Your comments about Canadian vs. American health care provide other examples of your irrationality and ignorance. Consider this; “Is that why thousands upon thousands a year come to the US for Medical Treatment.” Of course many rich foreigners come to the US for medical care, including thousands of Canadians. We have the best medical facilities in the world - FOR THOSE RICH ENOUGH TO PAY. But what about those who can’t pay or can’t pay very much? That is why the US ranks number 40 and Canada ranks so much higher on the scale of national health care systems. All Canadians are covered by national health insurance. Over 40 million American are not covered by any kind at all.
“What would happen to me in Canada, when they allow one MRI per person a year?” First of all, the “one MRI per person” would not apply in your case in Canada, given the medical history you have laid out. Secondly, you have already answered the question. That is, if you had enough money, you would come to the US to pay for treatment most people - Americans or Canadians - can’t afford. As for your 30 minute wait - mandatory single private room - who are you trying to kid? Are you claiming this is typical in the US or, even, that most Americans can get such treatment? What hogwash!
As for your blather about the country going completely broke before the end of the year, your ignorance of economics is appalling. (Is this the kind of bilge you are teaching your children?) You stated “we have less than a Trillion in our reserves…” !!!!!. Do you think we are still on the gold standard? Have you no idea of the changes put in place under Wilson, Roosevelt and Nixon? Gadzooks! But the best response to your predictions about our economy is simply to wait and see if your moronic “By August, he will have the rest of our money…” materializes. Beyond that, what does “the rest of our money” mean? Don’t you have even the slightest notion of how our current currency regulations, Federal Reserve banking system, global trading system, Treasury bond system work? It seems not. You seem to think the economy is run the way it was under President Grant. (Again, what history books are you reading?) Are you unawre that the euro, pound and ruble have been and are DECLINING IN VALUE relative to the US dollar. And why are so many foreigners now investing in US Treasury paper?
But your final piece of nonsense wins the prize: “Bush has given us the best economy, the best jobless rates we have ever seen for almost six years…” Yeah, right.
So, you want Texas to secede? What about your medical care? You want to be left alone? Fine with me. You don’t like Canadian health care? Don’t live there. You want to be taken seriously? Then grow up.
Brian R. Sullivan
BRS said:
>“Re-education is pretty much a Marxist principle.”<
Sorry to tell you this, but re-education has already happened, years before Bush. I just want it back the way it was, with the TRUTH, not indoctrination of our children.
If you do not think my post #9 is not correct, I suggest you research what I have written, every word is true.
FYI, I have been on AIM since they allowed posting, it is a Republican org. I don’t log into MediaMatters, MoveOn, or any other communists sites.
Everything I said here before B. Hussein Obama illegally took office (a non US citizen) has come to pass…and more.
As for lies, you should read your and TK’s posts, they are actually hilarious.
You sir are the Marxist, I didn’t think they allowed their followers to take mind altering drugs, you seem to be on something.
From a Democrat:
Re: Wesley in Dallas, Post 11;
Your statement:
“... what I have written, every word is true.”
In an attempt to be polite, here, Wes - - I would say that this is probably the most hilarious statement I’ve seen on this forum yet - - certainly, it is the most fantastical.
But, in reality, Wes, IF YOU REALLY BELIEVE that “every word is true” that you’ve written - - then, I find your statement incredibly sad. No thoughtful, reasonably intelligent, and relatively fair-and-balanced observer could possibly be so misinformed - and be proud of it - as you seem to be!
Of course, no one can force you stop believing the propaganda and misinformation you post here and no one can force you to recognize truth and reality.
I feel sorry for those individuals whom you feel you need “to re-educate”.
Ditto TK,
“In an attempt to be polite, here, Wes - - I would say that this is probably the most hilarious statement I’ve seen on this forum yet - - certainly, it is the most fantastical.
But, in reality, Wes, IF YOU REALLY BELIEVE that “every word is true” that you’ve written - - then, I find your statement incredibly sad. No thoughtful, reasonably intelligent, and relatively fair-and-balanced observer could possibly be so misinformed - and be proud of it - as you seem to be!
Of course, no one can force you stop believing the propaganda and misinformation you post here and no one can force you to recognize truth and reality.”
You and Brian have said some pretty unbelievable statements, without any backup, so Ditto to your statement I copied from your post.
Regards…
Re: Wesley in Dallas, Post 12;
Wes, why do you think that every leading Republican - and even most reputable conservative commentators like Bill O’Reilly and the rightside Fox News Network - and John McCain, himself - have said, without qualification, that they believe Barack Obama meets the citizenship requirements of the office of the president?
Are you also big on crop circles, the gigantic alien symbols on the Nazca Plain, the crashed spacecraft and dead visitors from outer space found on a New Mexico ranch in 1947, and the phony moon landing in 1969 that really took place on a Hollyweird sound stage?
And, did you know that Ronald Reagan was a Democrat before he was a Republican, too! And, are you aware that he supposedly made most of his presidential decisions based on recommendations he got from a mysterious professional astrologist that his wife had hired!
Are you also aware that John McCain was born in Panama - and that neither of his parents had lived in the U.S. for more than ten years before he was born, nor did they own any property in the U.S. during those ten years? And, therefore, that a case can be made that McCain, too, was not in conformance with citizenship requirements of the presidency in force at the time he was born?
So - if Obama does not qualify - and if he should be deported - then what? An entirely new campaign and election, Wes?
Or - Joe Biden would simply move up - then, if anything happened to him, Nancy Pelosi would move up - and, if anything happened to her - 93-year old West Virginia Sen. Robert Byrd would become president - and, he would be followed by Sec. of State Hillary Clinton.
(Note: the current statute does not provide for a “new election”; it does specify that should an individual already in office be found to “fail to qualify” for the presidency, the VP, then the Speaker of the House, then the President pro tempore of the Senate, then the Secretary of State shall succeed.)
I doubt you would see much divergence from Obama’s policies from any of these possible replacements!
Got any good ideas on “The Magic Bullet Theory”, Wes?
Re: Post 14;
Wes, your statement:
“You and Brian have said some pretty unbelievable statements, without any backup ... “
You know, Sullivan is continuously challenging you on the alleged “facts” in damned-near every single one of your posts - - but not once - - NOT ONCE - - have you ever supplied him with “any backup” to support some of the most off-the-wall statements you’ve made and I’ve seen here, Wes!
You apparently parrot the ideological pablum that you pick up on extremist rightwing websites without any ability to EVER see how absolutely silly much of it is - and you accept it as ‘F-A-C-T’ - and expect everybody to be good little rightwingnuts and go along with you as you continuously roar off the tracks into some phantasmagorical oblivion!
If by “unbelievable” you mean you “will absolutely REFUSE to believe” - then, you’re right. Sullivan and myself apparently make statements that YOU CHOOSE to NEVER believe, NO MATTER WHAT! (Which, I think, is probably a pretty good definition of “ideological wingnut”.)
TK: >Are you also aware that John McCain was born in Panama - and that neither of his parents had lived in the U.S. for more than ten years before he was born, nor did they own any property in the U.S. during those ten years? And, therefore, that a case can be made that McCain, too, was not in conformance with citizenship requirements of the presidency in force at the time he was born?<
Have you ever been in the military? All international US Bases are sovereign US soil - territory. The Panama Canal area belonged to the USA until Carter gave it back to the Panamanians.
In this link (regardless of the source) there are both Republicans and Democrats looking for the authenticated B.O.‘s Birth Certificate.
I am only looking for the truth, you cannot get it from the Mainstream Media.
Re: Post 17;
How do you KNOW McCain was born on a military base? Have you seen his original and certified birth certificate? Are you absolutely certain any such certificate you might have seen was not fabricated? Do you believe the entire Canal Zone was a U.S. military base at the time - and that the U.S. military “ruled” ALL of Panama?
The statute applicable to this issue is pretty complex and convoluted - and the statute was changed many times over the years - further complicating its various intents and meanings.
The “catch” for those trying to make a case against Obama is, at the time of his birth, the statute seems to be stipulating that the U.S. Mother of a foreign-born baby (NO evidence Obama was, IN FACT, foreign-born) must have lived in the U.S. continuously for five years after age 14 preceding the alleged foreign birth - and, in Obama’s Mother’s case, if Obama was, IN FACT, born in Kenya - then his Mother might have missed being in conformance with this stipulation of the statute by a few months - since she was not quite 19 when her son was born.
In McCain’s case, depending on EXACTLY WHERE in Panama he was born (“Panama” was NOT “U.S. sovereign territory” - only “The Canal Zone” - a narrow strip of land along both sides of the canal - was under U.S. administration - and that was the result of a treaty - NOT some “soverign right”) - he might be disqualified for the same reason, i.e., neither of his parents had lived in the U.S. long enough immediately preceding McCain’s birth to be in compliance with the statute as it existed at the time of McCain’s birth - IF McCain was, IN FACT, foreign-born, in the sovereign COUNTRY of Panama.
And, in all honesty, and with a straight face, can you really claim that “The Right-Wing Media” are more truthful, more fair and balanced, more objective, and more accurate than what you refer to as “The Mainstream Media”?
Like a friend of mine who collects classic cars has always said: “There’s an ass for every seat!”
Wesley - to steal a line from a movie - “YOU can’t handle the truth!”
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
It seems you can’t read very well. Why don’t you slowly re-read what I have written and then consider your statements that provoked my comments?
It also seems that you can’t think very well. Where do you get your misinformation? I mean that very seriously. Where, precisely, have you gathered the bizarre opinions you put forth as facts?
Certainly, you are very poorly informed. What you state is the truth, what you seem to believe is the truth, simply isn’t. Finally, you don’t seem to understand the implications of the First Amendment.
Your notion about the political complexion of public forums such as this (“FYI, I have been on AIM since they allowed posting, it is a Republican org. I don’t log into MediaMatters, MoveOn, or any other communists sites.”) is simultaneously hilarious and frightening. Like any other American, I am free to blog what I please and where I please. I certainly have the right to point out the nonsense and misstatements I find in your or any other person’s comments.
Also, stop whining and TRY to act like a man. Your plea: “leave me the hell alone” is pitiful. Don’t you have any pride?
Do you think that I HAVEN’T researched the bilge you posted in your #9? Of course I have. I laid out my responses in my #10. Either you didn’t read them or couldn’t understand them. (BY THE WAY, YOU STILL HAVEN’T RESPONDED TO THE QUESTIONS I POSED TO YOU IN #4.)
But you have sunk even farther into the pit of ignorance and misinformation.
1) “Everything I said here before B. Hussein Obama illegally took office (a non US citizen) has come to pass…and more.”
This is particularly stupid (yes, not just ignorant and foolish but STUPID.) BHO announced his presidential candidacy well over a year before the 2008 election. Bush was in office then. The FBI, the CIA and the NSA were under his control. Yet you think that none of those agencies with their enormous resources could discover the truth about BHO’s citizenship? ... but that some blogger could? More ridiculous, you think that after the issue came up in the campaign, Pres. Bush never asked his intelligence agencies to make inquiries? Or tht if he did, he decided to keep the information to himself… and so did the various agency heads and investigators? You seem to mentally inhabit a world like that in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
YOU certainly didn’t look into this matter, did you? Instead, you took as true what you found on the web when it was what you WANTED to think. In other words, you let others do your thinking for you. Your offer of a web site in your #12 indicates that is the only source of your ideas. How naive and ignorant can you be?
And, just how did the announcement of BHO’s birth wind up in Hawaiian newspapers back in 1961?
2) “You sir are the Marxist, I didn’t think they allowed their followers to take mind altering drugs, you seem to be on something.”
Do you have any understanding of what Marxist is? What works of Marx have you ever read? (None, I strongly suspect.) And you think there is some kind of Marxist orgnization that subjects its members to discipline? What is that organization called? Where is its headquarters? Who is in charge?
3) “You and Brian have said some pretty unbelievable statements, without any backup…” Are you serious? Please give me an example or, better yet, examples. I can supply chapter and verse in every case. (Again, look at the questions I put to you in #4. Did you ever attempt to answer them?)
I CHALLENGE YOU TO REPLY IN PRECISE TERMS. WHAT STATEMENTS HAVE I MADE THAT YOU DISPUTE?
I CHALLENGE YOU TO PRESENT EVIDENCE FOR YOUR NONSENSICAL STATEMENTS - AND I DON’T MEAN THE RAVINGS YOU FIND ON VARIOUS WEB SITES.
Brian R. Sullivan
Dear TK,
>How do you KNOW McCain was born on a military base? Have you seen his original and certified birth certificate? Are you absolutely certain any such certificate you might have seen was not fabricated? Do you believe the entire Canal Zone was a U.S. military base at the time - and that the U.S. military “ruled” ALL of Panama?<
Biography: U.S. Senator, former 2008 Republican presidential candidate. Born John Sidney McCain III on August 29, 1936, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, the second of three children born to naval officer John S. McCain Jr. and his wife, Roberta. At the time of his birth, the McCain family was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, under American control.
http://www.biography.com/featured-biography/john-mccain
McCain voluntarily provided the US Congress with an original Birth Certificate, the Majority (Dems) had no questions regarding the fact that he was indeed a US Citizen. The original was also posted on his campaign web site. Had he not been a US Citizen, he could have never been eligible to join the Military.
As for as who is looking for BO’s Birth Certificate:
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=90125
>And, in all honesty, and with a straight face, can you really claim that “The Right-Wing Media” are more truthful, more fair and balanced, more objective, and more accurate than what you refer to as “The Mainstream Media”?<
What I am saying, with a straight face is, you cannot take only one side of the equation from the MSM, without verifying it without looking at other sources, research it and find the truth. That is what we Republicans do, since the Media will not do so themselves.
To finish your quote from ‘A Few Good Men’, you said: Wesley - to steal a line from a movie - “YOU can’t handle the truth!”
—————
“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have more responsibility here than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. I know deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you don’t want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to!” [Jack Nicholson, as Colonel Jessup]
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): “You want answers?”
Tom Cruise (Kaffee): “I think I’m entitled.”
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): “You want answers?”
Tom Cruise (Kaffee): “I want the truth!”
Jack Nicholson (Col. Jessup): “You can’t handle the truth!”
—————
I like this one as well:
“My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!” -Thomas Jefferson
When they recently found Chandra Levy, who had an affiar with California congressman Gary Condit. All MSM reported the story this way…
Here is the article from ABC News:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3208211&page=1
Now show me where it says the killer was a released illegal alien after getting out of a too short stay in prison:
“A federal arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for a Salvadoran illegal immigrant already in prison in the murder of Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy.
Ingmar Guandique, 27, is in federal prison in California for attacking two female joggers in the Washington park where Levy’s remains were found nearly seven years ago. He will be formally charged with first-degree murder in Levy’s killing.”
Interviews with witnesses claimed Guandique bragged to them about killing and raping women, and in two cases, specifically acknowledged killing Levy. When investigators searched his jail cell, they made another chilling find: a photograph of the young, dark-haired Levy ripped from a magazine.
Dear Mr. Sullivan,
>>It seems you can’t read very well. Why don’t you slowly re-read what I have written and then consider your statements that provoked my comments?
It also seems that you can’t think very well. Where do you get your misinformation? I mean that very seriously. Where, precisely, have you gathered the bizarre opinions you put forth as facts?
Certainly, you are very poorly informed. What you state is the truth, what you seem to believe is the truth, simply isn’t. Finally, you don’t seem to understand the implications of the First Amendment.<<
As I told TK, I research my facts, I do not just take the work of a solely Republican source, nor do I just take the word of the MSM, I look at both sides of the argument/statements, then research to find the truth. The Framers made one unseen mistake, to make it a constitutionally liable to tell a story equally with the truth.
>>1) “Everything I said here before B. Hussein Obama illegally took office (a non US citizen) has come to pass…and more.”
This is particularly stupid (yes, not just ignorant and foolish but STUPID.) BHO announced his presidential candidacy well over a year before the 2008 election. Bush was in office then. The FBI, the CIA and the NSA were under his control. Yet you think that none of those agencies with their enormous resources could discover the truth about BHO’s citizenship? ... but that some blogger could? More ridiculous, you think that after the issue came up in the campaign, Pres. Bush never asked his intelligence agencies to make inquiries? Or tht if he did, he decided to keep the information to himself… and so did the various agency heads and investigators? You seem to mentally inhabit a world like that in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”
YOU certainly didn’t look into this matter, did you? Instead, you took as true what you found on the web when it was what you WANTED to think. In other words, you let others do your thinking for you. Your offer of a web site in your #12 indicates that is the only source of your ideas. How naive and ignorant can you be?<<
No one had a reason to ask for the Birth Certificate until he won the election, when questioned about his original Birth Certificate by Congress, he only posted a copy of “Certification of Life”, no Birth Certificate, all a Certificate of Life does is allow you to enroll in schools, drivers license, voting rights, join the military, yes that makes him a US citizen, but to become President of this country, the constitution requires you to be born an American on American Soil, or US sovereign territory, and Dual Citizenship does not count either.
>>2) “You sir are the Marxist, I didn’t think they allowed their followers to take mind altering drugs, you seem to be on something.”
Do you have any understanding of what Marxist is? What works of Marx have you ever read? (None, I strongly suspect.) And you think there is some kind of Marxist orgnization that subjects its members to discipline? What is that organization called? Where is its headquarters? Who is in charge?<<
I have read Karl Marx’s “The Communist Manifesto” and came to the conclusion:
The original I believe was in German, and the English translation leaves verbs dangling out towards the end, such that just about ever sentence you must read more than once.
It reminded me of Mein Kampf which was much the same.
The translation could be made better by a more modern update.
To me it is just a dream by Karl Marx in so far as he himself had NEVER experienced poverty—His parents were wealthy Jews. He had no idea what it was to be without a job.
Communism is most impractical as once the Proletariat takes over, no modernization would take over so no workers will become. There were no INCENTIVES and when something didn’t work right, the people didn’t know who to turn to.
Ask anybody who has ever worked in a Kibitz. In Israel, they are all failing because no one wants to be the manager who works late hours while the assembly worker goes home with no responsibilities.
In conclusion, Marx is simply a dreamer and not a real thinker.
I also read: Karl Marx - Capital
It is frightening because very few that acted on the theories presented in the book can have properly understood them. When they had understood them they would have found them to be useless. In order to arrive at this conclusion I have read the book thoroughly, which is hard work.
The influence of the book derives from the dramatic but accurate description of the way capitalism functioned at the time Marx lived. Apart from a few responsible capitalists such as the Quakers, capitalists were only chasing profit without any consideration of the health of their employees and their families. Acts of parliament to reduce labour hours from 15 hours during six days as well as the extensive use of child labor were fiercely opposed by the capitalists referring to their certain ruin if these laws were passed.
Marx writes: “capital never becomes reconciled to such changes”. Marx does not point out that the exploitation of farm laborers was just as bad or even worse. Exploitation is as old as civilization. That is however not a justification for the absence of moral standards.
The economic theory is presented as if it is scientific and that the laws will lead to a replacement of the capitalist system by a superior one. Unfortunately there is no science and the description of the superior system is extremely limited.
What Marx refers to, as laws are hypotheses and effects that are the result of the hypotheses. All examples are based on the idea that a worker works for six hours for a capitalist to earn enough to pay for his subsistence and works another six hours without being paid for by he capitalist. A typical example of a “law” derived from this hypothesis is that when the labor costs of a product declines profits decline. This strange idea is based on the idea that if the total cost of raw materials and machinery depreciation and labor costs are 100 and the labor cost thereof declines from 40 to 20 that the profit also declines from 40 to 20 as paid labor time is equal to unpaid labor time.
This leads to the next “law”. As the profit declines with increasing investment in equipment the capitalist increases sales more rapidly than the profit percentage declines so that his absolute profit increases. It is obvious that if the volume increases more in percentage than the price declines as a percentage that the absolute profit increases. Marx devotes many pages to explaining this “law”.
It is crap!
Your Post #4:
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
You wrote: “280 of the 450 global warming scientists who helped Gore, are now saying the Oceans are cooling, and expect global cooling, NOAA agrees.”
>1) What is a “global warming scientist”?
That was the name Gore gave them when he tried to explain what they thought, the scientists were, Climatologists, Marine Scientists, Mythologists, American Geological Institute’s Directory of Geoscience Departments, and so on…
Is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration filled with climate change deniers?
Such seems likely to be alleged by hysterical alarmists in the press when and if they read a new study out of NASA which determined that “not all the large changes seen in Arctic climate in recent years are a result of long-term trends associated with global warming.
From NSIDC Sea Ice News:
As some of our readers have already noticed, there was a significant problem with the daily sea ice data images on February 16. The problem arose from a malfunction of the satellite sensor we use for our daily sea ice products. Upon further investigation, we discovered that starting around early January, an error known as sensor drift caused a slowly growing underestimation of Arctic sea ice extent. The underestimation reached approximately 500,000 square kilometers (193,000 square miles- size of California) by mid-February. Sensor drift, although infrequent, does occasionally occur and it is one of the things that we account for during quality control measures prior to archiving the data. See below for more details.
More ice found in Antarctica
http://crisstcross.blogspot.com/2009/02/more-ice-found-in-antartica.html
Alp-sized peaks found entombed in Antarctic ice
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090224/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_antarctica_mountains
“The surprising thing was that not only is this mountain range the size of the Alps, but it looks quite similar to the (European) Alps, with high peaks and valleys,” said Fausto Ferraccioli, a geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey who took part in the research.”
We have removed the most recent data and are investigating alternative data sources that will provide correct results. It is not clear when we will have data back online, but we are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
>2) How did the 450 scientists help Gore?
To Gore, it was conformation that there was Global Warming, which is BS.
>3) What are the other 170 scientists saying?
The other 170 still agree from the original group.
>4) Care to cite specifically where you have found out that “NOAA agrees”?
NOAA presented their new findings on History International a couple of years ago.
You also wrote: “The Union wanted Texas to join the USA, they made so many concessions to Texas such as:
Can secede from the Union at any given time.
The right to fly the Texas Flag as high as the US Flag, the only state which can do so legally.
Re right to secede from the Union at its own free will.”
>1) Where, precisely, are these concessions written down?
They are in the National Archives.
2) Whatever agreements may have been made, the various instruments of surrender signed in the spring of 1865 would render them meaningless.
What surrender??? The Republic of Texas never surrendered to the Union.
Texas Maps:
>3) The last time secession was attempted, it didn’t work out very well for all concerned. But the secessionists fared the more poorly.
Vermont seriously considered secession just in the last couple of years, but there is nothing there, they could never be self-sufficient.
>Like millions of other Americans, I have sworn an oath to protect the Constitution against all its enemies, foreign and domestic. From what you have written, you seem to fall among the category of domestic enemy. You are aware of what constitutes the crime of sedition, are you not?
We have already discussed Sedition.
Re: Wesley in Dallas, Post 20;
Personally, I have no axe to grind re: McCain’s birthplace or citizenship - NOR - Obama’s. As somebody else said here, if there was anything to the issue of Obama’s citizenship, the Bush II FBI, CIA and NSA would certainly have discovered any skulduggery and would have used it against him and the DEMs during the campaign.
My only point was that if Obama’s “biographical” details can be “faked” - so, too, can McCain’s - or anyone else’s.
(Personally, I was born in a state with birth certificate record release requirements very similar to Hawaii’s - and NOBODY, including myself, in my state, can get anything much more detailed than Obama’s Hawaiian “live birth” certification.)
The RNC, Fox News, and various commentators with investigative staff, like Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs, all agreed that available documentation certifies pretty conclusively that Obama was born in Hawaii. Furthermore - if he wasn’t - - as I have already outlined - not much would change!
As regards your statement: “What I am saying, with a straight face is, you cannot take only one side of the equation from the MSM, without verifying it without looking at other sources, research it and find the truth. That is what we Republicans do, since the Media will not do so themselves.” ...
I have NOT seen even the slightest glimmer of willingness on your part to even partially listen to “the other side”, Wes - - let alone your accepting ANYTHING said by someone who you claim to be “a liberal”, “a Dem” - or someone with a different perspective than yours.
Your political positions do NOT reflect much generally accepted “Truth” (as in the obama birth certificate matter) - they only reflect the truth as seen by EXTREMEly ideological rightwingers - - who you like to call “conservatives” and “Republicans”. Personally, I’ve always tended to admire the political philosophies and perspectives of Republicans Arlen Specter, Olympia Snow, Susan Collins, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the wildly popular (in his state) Charlie Crist, and some others like them. Do YOU admire any of these people and their positions, Wes?
Further, I have no idea why you raised some of the other issues appearing in your post - but - to sort of respond - I was in the military during the Vietnam era - I heartily believe in Jeffersonian-Jacksonian Democracy - I really don’t go to the movies much (last time was in, I think, 1992, or thereabouts) - and I think the illegal alien problem in this country is abhorrent and this latest example of the alleged illegal alien murderer, Grandique, if convicted of the Levy crime, should be very quickly executed!
(And, BTW, Grandique IS currently in prison on sexual assault charges - and I have seen and heard “MSN” indicate BOTH, that he was in prison AND that he was an illegal alien. But keep in mind, it was Reagan who REALLY opened the door to illegals from Mexico (which is probably the route Grandique took to get here) in the ‘80s - and Bush I, Clinton and (especially) Bush II (and a 12-year GOP Congress) who DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT IT!
Therefore, if you ask me, the current illegal immigration into this country via Mexico is at least a 75% GOP-caused problem (3 out of 4 presidents let it happen)! Reagan opened the door - and Bush I, Clinton, and Bush II LEFT IT OPEN! And - do I believe Obama will close it? NO! Why? Because B-I-G Business wants the cheap labor that, additionally, has no legal recourse to complain about anything and cannot demand benefits!)
And, I’ll stick by my impression: politically-speaking, you want your personal political ideology to prevail - NOT “the truth”.
TK,
That (and my last post #21) is the most lucid comments I have seen in many of our discussions - arguments we have yet to have.
I thank you for that!
People are always going to disagree, and agreeing to disagree is the proper way to have a discussion. When one or more begin cornering me, or calling me names, I tend to become somewhat defensive, and react I often just over react. As long as I can remember I was always one of those people who was never afraid of dangerous situations, some Dr.‘s say it is a particular missing gene, others said it was overactive dopamine, yet other neurologist say I am missing that part of my brain which one unafraid of dangerous situations, in fact I thrived on it…not to mention I loved my career, regardless of where I was.
Due to my myeoproliferave condition, which causes the reoccurring leukemia, even when the Cancer is under control, I still have the same problems as when I do or do not have leukemia, I have a constant 5% immune system (my white blood cells are nucleated with red blood cells growing inside them) called Blast Cells, which naturally cause extreme anemia, requiring red blood transfusions every three months. I can get a common cold, there is no telling where the virus will settle, pneumonia, pleurisy, kidneys, liver, five months of the MRSA staff infection, and a stroke.
This has made me homebound 90% of the time, unless I take Procrit immune booster, I give myself the injections in my stomach, all have deprived me of what I would rather be doing, working in the private sector. Over the years have made me frustrated and bitter, although I do accept it, only because I have no choice.
Back to what I want to reply to you after this post, as this has become too long.
I do not agree with much of G.W. Bush, for one the border. Regan gave 11 million illegals amnesty, and Carter before him, I was against that, but it continued under Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and now Obama. There are an estimated 14 to 15 avg. per month, supposed terrorists are crossing dressed as illegal Mexicans and are mixed in with them. G.W. Bush did have many good things, he has kept us safe, but now my state of Texas, Houston is the #1 city due to the amount of chatter, is expecting a terrorist attack this summer.
Bush lost me completely when he started the bail outs, although he only spent $350 B, instead of forcing rules to make them as loans which must be paid back, as we did with Lee Iacocca.
That does not affect me personally, due to my health, I have a very shortened life, what does affect me is my family, and all the other innocents.
We have yet to reach the economic crisis of the past, 1929 (28% unemployment), and as late as 1987 market crash also due to sub prime mortgages. Those have been around since 1977 (ACORN), when there were chances to enforce regulations on sub prime loans, be it banks or mortgage companies, Democrats have always either filibuster, or if they had the 60 votes or not a Dem President would veto the bill.
When Bush was elected in 2000, and had a majority in both houses, the Republicans sorely disappointed me by spending like there was no tomorrow, I was outraged.
But there is a second reason the DNC wants illegals in the US, is for their voting block. I am not a protectionist, but I do believe anyone coming into the US should do so by obeying our laws, in that situation, I welcome anyone who wants to come here.
As I mentioned above, we have been in worse economic situations, Regan overcame it by cutting taxes, and lowering the Capital Gains tax to 15%, growth and jobs exploded and the GDP continued to climb.
During this past election, I knew Obama would win the election, and hoped most of what he said when he was battling Hillary, and his ideas during the final election against McCain, I at least hoped he would stick to the proposed agenda. There is not one single case in world history where a democratally elected presidents, prime ministers, and other counties leaders, have never spent their way out of a bad economy.
I could not believe Obama and the US Government is beginning to own interest in Banks (we now own 40% of Citi Group), nationalization is not the answer, unless you are aiming for socialism or communism. I say that only because it will not stop with Citi Group. Many well respected, leading economists say we are moving in the wrong direction.
After Congressional Republicans and Democrats removed $110 Billion from the stimulus bill to remove pork, there was still pork in the bill which Obama signed into law, thanks to three Republicans (of course Arlin Specter used to be a Democrat), Olympia Snow, and Susan Collins were originally Independents, then chose a party before running for office. But then again, that is their predilection. But after the bill was signed, Obama said during a televised Presidential statement that there was no more pork or earmarks in the $787 Billion passed, but there were many found. Now we come to the Congressional Spending Bill for $410 Billion has 8,500 to 9,000 earmarks and pork projects, and 38% of them are Republican. I just hope he does not sign that bill.
I seriously doubt that N.Y. needs $2.2 million to study grape genetics, $1.8 million for swine odor and manure management, $1.7 million for a honey bee laboratory, and $190,000 Buffalo Bill Historical Center. There is nothing in these earmarks which will help the economy.
But I do agree with many points you made in you post #22.
Re: Wesley in Dallas, Post 24;
As I said earlier, Best Wishes as regards your health issues.
Before Capt. Sullenberger did it, no large commercial jet airplane had ever been successfully landed in water - - and EVERY expert airman, whether the extremely conservative fly-by-the-book pilots or the more liberal fly-by-the-seat-of-the-pants pilots - AGREED that IT COULDN’T BE DONE!
Nevertheless, Sullenberger did it!
Personally, I’m hoping that Obama, HOWEVER he has to do it, has the same unique success as did Sullenberger - and I think anyone disposed to do nothing but complain about Obama’s methods while hoping that he fails - is clearly anti-American and is also, by definition, the enemy of those of us, conservative or liberal, who are hoping that Obama succeeds - thereby insuring that WE ALL SUCCEED!
The policies I would have chosen to repair the economic and political damages allowed, and even promoted, by the Bush II administration WOULD NOT be the same that Obama has chosen.
Nevertheless, it is rockheadedness to insist there’s only ONE WAY to get “there” from “here”! Like Lewis and Clark - I hope Obama has found a new, workable and productive route.
And, keep in mind, should there be “mistakes” along the way (like, for example, the statute that declared that a Negro would legally qualify as “3/5 of a person”) - they can be readily corrected by those that follow.
TK: post #25,
Thank you for concerns regarding my health, what will be, will be, I have accepted that, not that I will not give up.
I have said it here, and other political sites, that I do hope Obama can get us out of this mess, but to do so without socialism or on the back of the U.N. who wants us to join a world global economy.
I have always been willing to sacrifice for my country, serving our country, cutting back to only necessities. However, I still believe we should stay with fossil fuels until alternatives are created and give them time to go down in price.
It now appears that Ethanol may go by the wayside, it just takes too much Corn and Wheat, to the point to where we will not have enough to trade with, we still need to trade. But as for bio fuels, and I have thought this for quite awhile, looks as though they may be looking at producing alcohol as an additive for now (in place of the more dangerous Ethanol), and eventually moving to alcohol as a primary fuel and can made from much more products, including seeded grass. Although I am not sure what it would take to make additives to make diesel fuel, and would it be clean. The good thing about alcohol is it can flow through existing oil pipelines, but the bad side, until enough can be made, it is very expensive to produce.
Using used cooking oil for bio-diesel works, but in cold weather, it turns into a gel like substance and will not ignite. Perhaps they can get around that by heating fuel tanks and lines safely.
Three weeks before he took office, there was *some* growth, a couple of banks had began lending again. But I sincerely ask why we are giving Gaza quite a few Billion Dollars, how do we know it will not end up in Hamas’ hands.
But it now appears GM will file for bankruptcy, which means untold thousands more job losses, car dealerships will have to close. Circuit City will be permanently closing their doors this Sunday, March 08. Some high end stores are in serious trouble as well, you have Saks Fifth Ave., Tiffany & Co. both lost 29% in February alone, others are AnnTaylor, Abercrombie % Fitch (just on the high end stores).
Circuit City is closing 567 stores. The third week of January was dismal for jobs, as around 40,000 more cuts were announced today. I have no idea how many were lost since before they filed for bankruptcy in November 2008.
It was reported in the MSM that Rush Limbaugh (I do not listen to his show), said he hoped Obama would fail, that really took my breath away. Then on America’s Newsroom on Fox (I only watch the real daytime news on Fox, not Sean Hannity, occasionally I do watch The Factor depending on who his guests are (such as the two part interview with Hillary, and the two part interview with Obama), the only evening Fox show I watch is Special Report with Brit Hume (since he left, it is now Bret Baier), but on the daytime news, they have more Dems than Republicans. They still lean to the right, but is much, much more balanced. But, they played the part of the Limbaugh’s radio comment, and what the media left out was, ‘If Obama tries to turn the US into a complete Socialist Country and ultimately heads toward communism, if that is the case, I hope he fails.’
Have a good one…
Wes
Re: Wesley in Dallas, Post 26;
Your comment:
“I do hope Obama can get us out of this mess, but to do so without socialism ...”
Plenty of people apparently have no idea what the word “socialism” means - and I think plenty of others create their own definition as they go along. Most simply, socialism actually refers to the economic concept wherein the body politic or its government owns some or all of the means of production and transport within its jurisdiction.
There are plenty of staunchly democratic industrialized nations of the western world which engage in some degree of economic socialism, e.g., the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, et. al.
In fact, there are many LONG-standing features and functions of the American way of life that, to one degree or another and according to one definition of socialism or another, that qualify, in whole or in part, as “socialistic”:
State and federal workers unemployment compensation benefits; state and federal workers disability benefits; the National Parks System; the Interstate highway System; Amtrak; the Tennessee Valley Authority power and water supply; aid to dependent children programs; social security retirement benefits; social security disability benefits; Medicare; Medicaid; statutory emergency room service whether you can pay or not; free K-12 public school system; public library system; land grant universities; pell grants to college students; community-owned power, water, sewer utilities; community-owned subway, bus and commuter rail systems; publicly-owned hospitals and long-term care facilities; federal and state prison systems; air traffic control system; U.S. Postal Service; VA benefits system; FHA and VA guaranteed mortgages; FDIC; the federal reserve system; federal and state subsidies to farmers; federal price supports for various products such as sugar; federal and state research and development grants to universities and industries; national petroleum reserve program; FEMA; National Weather Service; - - and - - probably plenty more!
Personally, I believe many of those screaming about “socialism” are actually using that term as a scare tactic in their attempt to prevent the U.S. from moving back towards a more “managed economy” or a “regulated economy” - - as opposed to the so-called “free-market” or “laissez-faire” or “UNregulated” economy as adopted during the Reagan administration and furthered by Bush I, Clinton and Bush II - - and, probably most of that propaganda is emanating from the financial services sector (where “self”-regulation has OBVIOUSLY failed) and those industries and businesses who received tax and other incentives allowing them to move operations to foreign countries or to outsource to foreign countries.
Frankly, in my opinion, the “managed” economy (which some would call “socialism”) in existence during the thirty years from 1949-1979 was F-A-R more preferable and M-U-C-H more successful as regards providing for an upwardly mobile and expanding working middle-class - than was the “laissez-faire” economy over the 30 years from 1979 to 2009 - which has decimated the working middle class, destroyed our manufacturing base, and actually reduced individual income and family disposable income - ESPECIALLY over the last eight years.
Far too many people (ESPECIALLY the fatcats on Wall Street) equate ANY direct government involvement in the economy with “socialism”. And, for the most part, that’s just a lot of self-interested, ideological blowhardism (of the Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage and Coulter variety).
P.S.
Wouldn’t you say that the multi-billion dollar “no bid” government contracts instigated by Mr. Cheney with the Blackwater Corp. (now Xe) and Halliburton Corp. were examples of “socialism”?
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
After writing a ten-page rebuttal of the nonsense in your #21, I erased it. It seemed pointless to continue a discussion with someone who is so disconnected from reality. What I decided to do was to ask you a few simple questions, instead.
1) Where did you find your information about the Congress (who exactly?) asking Obama for his birth certificate?
2) What is a “Certificate of Life” and who issues it?
3) Where did you get the story about Vermont secession?
4) How could Ferraccioli see Alp-like mountains and valleys in Antarctica, previously hidden under glaciers, unless the ice had melted to reveal such features?
5) How did the Republic of Texas survive after the first week in March 1846?
6) Have you ever read anything about the actions of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith in the spring of 1865?
7) How did The Communist Manifesto remind you of Mein Kampf? No one else seems to ever have had the same reaction.
8) Where did you find the information about the rights supposedly granted to Texas in return for joining the Union? (I didn’t ask you where the documents were stored but the names of the documents and their contents.) Can you name a book where such information is mentioned?
9) A photographic copy of Obama’s birth certificate has been on the web for over a year. Obviously this was an issue raised long in advance of the election, giving Pres. Bush plenty of time to investigate. Even if he had only been alerted in November 2008, Bush would have had until the end of January 2009 to put the FBI and the CIA onto the case. Obviously, nothing was found to prohibit Obam’a inauguration. HAVE YOU BOTHERED TO LOOK AT OBAMA’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
Brian R. Sullivan
Please answer these questions as precisely as you can.
Brian R. Sullivan
Dear TK; Re: post #27,
You are right that some socialism exists in our county, a good bit came from FDR’s New Deal, which established several Entitlements, such as Social Security, and Medicare was not made into an Entitlement in 1997, the first year it was a payroll deduction, prior to that it was part of Social Security. By making it an entitlement, much more money would go to Medicare, since Social Security has always been used for other purposes. Another Social program which came from the New Deal was Unemployment Insurance, Disability.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Security_(United_States)
Details what most of what all was included in the original Social Security, which included many of the above mentioned programs, and what the Supreme Court struck out of the proposal. (In the link above.)
*When I said I was against Socialism, I was referring more to new programs being created, such as Redistribution of Wealth, the Nationalism of Banks, Mortgage Companies, Oil Refineries, going Green too soon. I feel we still need to drill for oil until Green Technology is in abundance and cheap to all citizens.
*Forced Unionization of Businesses and the elimination of Right to Work States.
*Union Card Check Program (soon to be voted on) which will allow Unions to tell you who to vote for, and the ability for Union workers to watch your votes.
*Raising Companies/Corporations taxes on Capital Gains from 15% to 38%. This is the main reason many companies move off shore, and massive lay-offs.
*Soon to be a bill, a larger Tax on Fuels, gasoline-(up to .30 cents per gallon), diesel, coal, and heating oil.
One of the biggest things which bother me, is with all the extra deductions, tax increases, our paying for Stimulus Bills, and Spending Bills…One of the greatest things Americans are widely known for is giving to Charities, donations to groups such as the Cancer Foundation, Aids, The Red Cross, and so many others, we will no longer have to money to do those things.
Re: Obama’s Plans from NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/opinion/03brooks.html?_r=1
Dear Brian Sullivan, re. post #28,
Your post:
What I decided to do was to ask you a few simple questions, instead.
1) Where did you find your information about the Congress (who exactly?) asking Obama for his birth certificate?
*Answer: Senator Shelby - Link to Shelby and all others who have filed.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89704
2) What is a “Certificate of Life” and who issues it?
*Answer: In Hawaii, a Certificate of Live Birth is issued when the original cannot be found, born in another state, or a someone born out of the country with American parents, so the “new” citizen has the right to register to vote, get a drivers license, go to schools. It is not a Vault or Vault Copy.
Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at the Kapiolani Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, But Obama was born in 1961 and Kapiolani opened in 1989.
The real key here is: To warrant a US Birth Certificate is that “Both Parents” MUST be US Citizens, if the Father is a Citizen and has passed away, you need to show proof he was a US citizen at the time of conception.
Barack Obama, Sr., a Luo from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama’s parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, where his father was a foreign student on scholarship.[12][13] The couple married on February 2, 1961,[14] and Obama was born later that year. His parents separated when he was two years old, and they divorced in 1964.
After her divorce, Dunham married Indonesian student Lolo Soetoro, who was attending college in Hawaii. When Suharto, a military leader in Soetoro’s home country, came to power in 1967, all Indonesian students studying abroad were recalled and the family moved to the island nation.[16] From ages six to ten, Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, including Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School.
He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979.[17]
Obama’s mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 and remained there until 1977, when she relocated to Indonesia to work as an anthropological field worker. Dunham finally returned to Hawaii in 1994 and lived there for one year before dying of ovarian cancer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
3) Where did you get the story about Vermont secession?
*Answer: I first heard it from my Sister-In-Law who lives in Burlington, VT. also:
http://www.vermontrepublic.org/about
4) How could Ferraccioli see Alp-like mountains and valleys in Antarctica, previously hidden under glaciers, unless the ice had melted to reveal such features?
*Answer: The seven-nation research team that produced the map worked for weeks in the harsh conditions around Dome A, the highest point on the Antarctic ice sheet. The average temperature was a chilling -30C. To examine the buried mountains, they flew airplanes fitted with radar, magnetic and gravity sensors over the ice, with the measurements allowing them to see.
http://www.oceanconserve.info/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=119556
5) How did the Republic of Texas survive after the first week in March 1846?
*Answer: History - Establishment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas
On February 28, 1845, the U.S. Congress passed a bill that would authorize the United States to annex the Republic of Texas. On March 1, U.S. President John Tyler signed the bill. The legislation set the date for annexation for December 29 of the same year. Faced with imminent American annexation of Texas, Charles Elliot and Alphonse de Saligny, the British and French ministers to Texas, were dispatched to Mexico City by their governments. Meeting together with Mexico’s foreign secretary, they signed a “Diplomatic Act” in which Mexico offered to recognize an independent Texas, with boundaries that would be determined with French and British mediation. Texas President Anson Jones forwarded both offers to a specially elected convention meeting at Austin, and the American proposal was accepted with only one dissenting vote. The Mexican proposal was never put to a vote. Following the previous decree of President Jones, the proposal was then put to a national vote.
On October 13, 1845 a large majority of voters in the Republic approved both the American offer and the proposed constitution that specifically endorsed slavery and the slave trade. This constitution was later accepted by the U.S. Congress, making Texas a U.S. state on the same day annexation took effect, December 29, 1845 (therefore bypassing a territorial phase).[7] One of the motivations for annexation was that the Texas government had incurred huge debts which the United States agreed to assume upon annexation. In 1852, in return for this assumption of debt, a large portion of Texas-claimed territory, now parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming, was ceded to the Federal government.
6) Have you ever read anything about the actions of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith in the spring of 1865?
*Answer: You are now talking about the Civil War:
http://www.civilwarhome.com/ksmithbio.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kirby_Smith
He had nothing to do with the Republic of Texas.
7) How did The Communist Manifesto remind you of Mein Kampf? No one else seems to ever have had the same reaction.
*Answer: I have always been interested in History, I have read Karl Marx, Lenin’s: “What Is to Be Done?”, Marxism and Terrorism by Leon Trotsky…You can get quite a bit of info on what it takes to move from Socialism, Marxists, and Communism.
8) Where did you find the information about the rights supposedly granted to Texas in return for joining the Union? (I didn’t ask you where the documents were stored but the names of the documents and their contents.) Can you name a book where such information is mentioned?
*Answer: This constitution was later accepted by the U.S. Congress, making Texas a U.S. state on the same day annexation took effect, December 29, 1845 (therefore bypassing a territorial phase).[7] One of the motivations for annexation was that the Texas government had incurred huge debts which the United States agreed to assume upon annexation. In 1852, in return for this assumption of debt, a large portion of Texas-claimed territory, now parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming, was ceded to the Federal government.
The annexation resolution has been the topic of some historical ones that remains that the resolution granted Texas the explicit right to secede from the Union. This was a right argued by some to be implicitly held by all states at the time, up until the conclusion of the Civil War. The resolution did include two unique provisions: first, it said that up to four additional states could be created from Texas’ territory, with the consent of the State of Texas. Second, Texas did not have to surrender its public lands to the federal government. While Texas did cede all territory outside of its current area to the federal government in 1850, it did not cede any public lands within its current boundaries. This means that the only lands owned by the federal government within Texas have subsequently been purchased by the federal government. This also means that the state government has control over oil reserves which were later used to fund the state’s public university system through the Permanent University Fund. In addition, the state’s control over offshore oil reserves in Texas runs out to 3 leagues (10.357 miles, 16.668 km) rather than three miles (4.828 km) as with other states. Texas was granted certain rights which no other State in the Union have not be afforded.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas
9) A photographic copy of Obama’s birth certificate has been on the web for over a year. Obviously this was an issue raised long in advance of the election, giving Pres. Bush plenty of time to investigate. Even if he had only been alerted in November 2008, Bush would have had until the end of January 2009 to put the FBI and the CIA onto the case. Obviously, nothing was found to prohibit Obama’s inauguration. HAVE YOU BOTHERED TO LOOK AT OBAMA’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
*Answer: Yes I have seen his “Certificate of Live Birth” in which no way makes him a Citizen of the USA.
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
You wrote: “One of the greatest things Americans are widely known for is giving to Charities, donations to groups such as the Cancer Foundation, Aids, The Red Cross, and so many others, we will no longer have to money to do those things.”
This is absolute nonsense. My wife is a science writer in the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She follows these matters closely, as part of her job. Under the Stimulus Act, NIH is getting over $10 billion over the next two years. NCI’s share of that is $1.3 billion. Some of that money has already been disbursed to scientific projects across the US. This two-year funding far exceeds anything of the sort previously given to NIH. It seems increasingly certain that these funds will lead to a cure for/prevention of many types of cancer and a vaccine against AIDS within the next ten years.
The charities you cite use much of the donations they receive for advertising, lobbying and big executive salaries. NIH uses its money far more effectively. More to the point, if you studied the statistics - including funding for future years - for medical research in the US, you would see it has risen enormously of late and will go on rising. As the American population ages, there’s a lot of money to be made from medicine. Investors and pharmaceutical companies know that. Capitalism does the rest, in terms of directing funds to the most promising lines of research.
You have a great many opinions. Most seem based on misinformation and ignorance.
Brian R. Sullivan
P.S. You stated that you can’t find the truth in the mainstream media. But you cite a NYT story in your latest posting to prove your point. Consistency? Logic? As I have noted, you don’t seem to be able to think very clearly.
My wife works for Genentech (who also owns Roche) is considered the founder of the biotechnology industry, and currently has over 100 projects in the pipeline.
They are working on all forms of Cancer, Aids, Parkinsons, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, Lupus nephritis, Pediatric Diseases, Diabetes, Immunology, Disorders of Tissue Growth and repair, and Neuroscience.
As of February 1st, 2009, the government cut their grants by two-thirds, but today Obama lifted the ban on Stem Cell research, which *would* have ultimately helped Genentech in their development of cures.
>>>Capitalism does the rest, in terms of directing funds to the most promising lines of research.<<<
What does capitalism have left to give, and soon it will be none, socialism does not like capitalism.
You should abide by your own statement: ‘You have a great many opinions. Most seem based on misinformation and ignorance.’
You are the name caller, only seeing what you want to believe, and anyone who disagrees with you is just plane wrong, huh.
BTW-I quoted from the Times since it was an Editorial, not their news.
In Rasmussen’s latest poll I saw on the news, 36% of Dems are, or have lost faith in Obama’s plans.
Oh, and I answered your post #28, but the site said it had to make sure my reply was not spam. I will try again now…
Tried again and got the message:
Akismet thinks your input might be spam, so it will be moderated first.
Part one of post #28:
Dear Brian Sullivan, re. post #28,
Your post:
What I decided to do was to ask you a few simple questions, instead.
1) Where did you find your information about the Congress (who exactly?) asking Obama for his birth certificate?
*Answer: Senator Shelby - Link to Shelby and all others who have filed.
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89704
2) What is a “Certificate of Life” and who issues it?
*Answer: In Hawaii, a Certificate of Live Birth is issued when the original cannot be found, born in another state, or a someone born out of the country with American parents, so the “new” citizen has the right to register to vote, get a drivers license, go to schools. It is not a Vault or Vault Copy.
Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at the Kapiolani Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, But Obama was born in 1961 and Kapiolani opened in 1989.
The real key here is: To warrant a US Birth Certificate is that “Both Parents” MUST be US Citizens, if the Father is a Citizen and has passed away, you need to show proof he was a US citizen at the time of conception.
Barack Obama, Sr., a Luo from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama’s parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, where his father was a foreign student on scholarship.[12][13] The couple married on February 2, 1961,[14] and Obama was born later that year. His parents separated when he was two years old, and they divorced in 1964.
After her divorce, Dunham married Indonesian student Lolo Soetoro, who was attending college in Hawaii. When Suharto, a military leader in Soetoro’s home country, came to power in 1967, all Indonesian students studying abroad were recalled and the family moved to the island nation.[16] From ages six to ten, Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, including Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School.
Part two:
He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979.[17]
Obama’s mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 and remained there until 1977, when she relocated to Indonesia to work as an anthropological field worker. Dunham finally returned to Hawaii in 1994 and lived there for one year before dying of ovarian cancer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
3) Where did you get the story about Vermont secession?
Answer: I first heard it from my Sister-In-Law who lives in Burlington, VT. also:
http://www.vermontrepublic.org/about
4) How could Ferraccioli see Alp-like mountains and valleys in Antarctica, previously hidden under glaciers, unless the ice had melted to reveal such features?
Answer: To examine the buried mountains, they flew airplanes fitted with radar, magnetic and gravity sensors over the ice, with the measurements allowing them to see.
http://www.oceanconserve.info/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=119556
5) How did the Republic of Texas survive after the first week in March 1846?
Answer: History-Establishment
Part two:
He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979.[17]
Obama’s mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 and remained there until 1977, when she relocated to Indonesia to work as an anthropological field worker. Dunham finally returned to Hawaii in 1994 and lived there for one year before dying of ovarian cancer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama
3) Where did you get the story about Vermont secession?
Answer: I first heard it from my Sister-In-Law who lives in Burlington, VT. also:
Part three:
4) How could Ferraccioli see Alp-like mountains and valleys in Antarctica, previously hidden under glaciers, unless the ice had melted to reveal such features?
Answer: To examine the buried mountains, they flew airplanes fitted with radar, magnetic and gravity sensors over the ice, with the measurements allowing them to see.
http://www.oceanconserve.info/shared/reader/welcome.aspx?linkid=119556
5) How did the Republic of Texas survive after the first week in March 1846?
Answer: History - Establishment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas
On October 13, 1845 a large majority of voters in the Republic approved both the American offer and the proposed constitution that specifically endorsed slavery and the slave trade. This constitution was later accepted by the U.S. Congress, making Texas a U.S. state on the same day annexation took effect, December 29, 1845 (therefore bypassing a territorial phase).[7] One of the motivations for annexation was that the Texas government had incurred huge debts which the United States agreed to assume upon annexation. In 1852, in return for this assumption of debt, a large portion of Texas-claimed territory, now parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming, was ceded to the Federal government.
Part 4:
6) Have you ever read anything about the actions of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith in the spring of 1865?
Answer: You are now talking about the Civil War:
http://www.civilwarhome.com/ksmithbio.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Kirby_Smith
He had nothing to do with the Republic of Texas.
7) How did The Communist Manifesto remind you of Mein Kampf? No one else seems to ever have had the same reaction.
Answer: I have always been interested in History, I have read Karl Marx, Lenin’s: “What Is to Be Done?”, Marxism and Terrorism by Leon Trotsky…You can get quite a bit of info on what it takes to move from Socialism, Marxists, and Communism.
8) Where did you find the information about the rights supposedly granted to Texas in return for joining the Union? (I didn’t ask you where the documents were stored but the names of the documents and their contents.) Can you name a book where such information is mentioned?
Answer: This constitution was later accepted by the U.S. Congress, making Texas a U.S. state on the same day annexation took effect, December 29, 1845 a large portion of Texas-claimed territory, now parts of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming, was ceded to the Federal government.
The annexation resolution has been the topic of some historical ones that remains that the resolution granted Texas the explicit right to secede from the Union. This was a right argued by some to be implicitly held by all states at the time, up until the conclusion of the Civil War. The resolution did include two unique provisions: first, it said that up to four additional states could be created from Texas’ territory, with the consent of the State of Texas. Second, Texas did not have to surrender its public lands to the federal government. While Texas did cede all territory outside of its current area to the federal government in 1850, it did not cede any public lands within its current boundaries. This means that the only lands owned by the federal government within Texas have subsequently been purchased by the federal government. This also means that the state government has control over oil reserves which were later used to fund the state’s public university system through the Permanent University Fund. In addition, the state’s control over offshore oil reserves in Texas runs out to 3 leagues (10.357 miles, 16.668 km) rather than three miles (4.828 km) as with other states. Texas was granted certain rights which no other State in the Union have not be afforded.
Part 5:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Texas
9) A photographic copy of Obama’s birth certificate has been on the web for over a year. Obviously this was an issue raised long in advance of the election, giving Pres. Bush plenty of time to investigate. Even if he had only been alerted in November 2008, Bush would have had until the end of January 2009 to put the FBI and the CIA onto the case. Obviously, nothing was found to prohibit Obama’s inauguration. HAVE YOU BOTHERED TO LOOK AT OBAMA’S BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
Answer: Yes I have seen his “Certificate of Live Birth” in which no way makes him a Citizen of the USA.
Re: Wesley in Dallas, Post 29;
As I’ve said earlier, I believe the right has jumped on the misuse of the word “socialism” as a propagandistic “scare tactic” - much like the McCarthy “Red Scare” tactic of the early 1950s.
In any event, with the exception of part of one of your statements in Post 29, i.e., “... the Nationalism of Banks, Mortgage Companies, Oil Refineries ...” - - and while I can empathize with your comment regarding the possible nationalization (undoubtedly temporary if it ever should occur) of banks - - I don’t have any idea where you came up with a concern over the nationalization of mortgage companies and oil refineries” - - NOTHING else in your post seems to relate to any generally acceptable definition of “socialism”.
For example, I sure don’t see how promoting green technology, potential passage of the card check legislation, corporate tax increases, fuel oil tax increases or a possible decline in charitable giving relate in even the slightest way to “socialism”?!?!
I can see that, in a strictly partisan and ideological way, you’re clearly anti-everything that emanates from the Democratic Party - and I can see you’re not ever going to accept that there’s anything that may be positive whatsoever in the presidency of Barack Obama - but equating all Democratic public policy positions and all of Obama’s decisions as “socialism” is just an ideologically-based and purposely misleading #1 propanganda ‘talking point’ that all the GOP lemmings and dittoheads are currently spouting.
Call it what you will - and promote political paranoia all you want - but EVERYONE should be hoping that the Obama administration will reverse the current economic meltdown in the U.S.
Dear Mr. Wesley in Dallas,
I am aghast at your inability to understand what I have written in plain standard English. I am dumb-struck at your inability to express yourself in grammatically correct English. I remain amazed at the sources you use for information.
I am going to work my way slowly through your recent and not-so-recent comments to try to understand what you have written. Then I will place your statements alongside my questions, followed by your attempts at answers.
But I wonder if this will be to any purpose? The answers you did provide are mostly nonsense. But you continue to ignore or evade other questions that seem to embarrass you.
But I will leave you with two small examples of your inability to write or think correctly.
You stated that Congress asked Obama about his birth certificate. I questioned that. Your reply was that Sen. Shelby of Alabama raised the issue. Do you really think that the Congress equates with a single member of the Senate?
You stated that Vermont considered secession a few years ago. I questioned that. Your reply was that your sister-in-law told you and you also offered a website for me to consult, run by an organization calling itself the Second Vermont Republic. Do you think that a small bunch of kooks is equivalent to the State of Vermont? If even hundreds, no thousands, of Vermonters supported secession, would that mean that Vermont did?
I am beginning to think you have more than reading and reasoning problems. I think that you are deliberately dishonest.
I will continue at length.
Brian R. Sullivan
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070604/vermont-secession
———————
Guys, I am not making any excuses but I suppose what I have told you about my health problems, I thought you would know or understand what happens to the body and mind with Leukemia combined with Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorder.
Most of my life I have been as healthy as anyone if not more so. I got my first job at age 13 to help with family expenses. I worked after school and kept up with school, and worked full time in the Summers and holidays. In high school they promoted me from a Junior to a Senior (still working) and still managed to get a scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin (Go Longhorns).
In late 1998, I began noticing increasing fatigue, stress that normally didn’t bother me although I wore many hats, but forced myself to keep up the pace. On March 04, 2000 while on my way into work (I always left for work at 4:30 to 5:00am, this day I left at 4:30am, just as I got onto the highway (driving a supped up Cobra Saleen S-351), a car was closing in on me fast, so I sped up and changed lanes. No matter if I slowed down or sped up, he always tried to get beside me and seemed he wanted to race…I left him in my mirror and did not notice he has turned off his lights. As I moved into the left lane to pass a slow car, about a mile later he was beside me again. Before I could brake or speed up, he forced me onto the left shoulder and kept coming over to me, then hit me enough to force me off the road, only to hit a concrete column at around 75 mph. The first thing I remember after that was waking in the ICU 5 days later, I had been in an induce coma (or so my wife told me) the next few days were very fuzzy. Memory was still spotty as I was in and out of consciousness. My first clear memory in ICU was seeing and recognizing my wife, my parents and sisters, according to my wife 32 co-workers had shown up over the next few days, some had been there one at a time, but I was not conscious. My co-workers were many of the people who worked for me, some who did not, and included the President and CEO of the company. After 17 days in ICU I was finally moved to a room, but still on a morphine self medicating pump.
John McCoy was one of my former senior managers, who I had move up in the company found out where they took my car, and took several pictures of my Cobra Saleen, gave them to my wife who would not let me see them until I was released.
But, she did tell me that I had been taken to the hospital via Life Flight helicopter, they were still there when my wife got there and spoke with them. She said as they were rushing me to the O.R. I briefly woke up, she said I told them I wanted to go home, then spit up a full stomach of blood (I still do not remember any of this). I later found out my first surgery lasted 11 hours, with seven broken ribs, some shattered when the air bag deployed, had pierced both my lungs in several places, as was my heart and replaced a valve, sheared off 1/3 off my liver, right kidney was also damaged. Plus many blood vessels were also punctured and removed my spleen which had ruptured and spewing bile into my system.
Second surgery was to repair missed punctures, repaired a compound fracture of my right Femur and set my Tibia. Complete new knee for my left leg, and reset my right arm broken in two places, surgery was only six hours this time.
I had been cut from my throat to my pelvic bone had been stapled, sutures on my left side and left side. Both legs were in a cast, as was my arm but that cast was above my wrist and below my elbow, so I did have some use of the arm.
My wife took notes on everything, so I would remember everything they did and what she and I were told. Early the second morning after being moved to a room, my surgeon visited me to explain all they had done, and to tell me I had Leukemia, and was severely jaundiced. The first MRI I was given told them I had too much fluid around my brain, which they had to drill into my skull to drain off the fluid (what is weird is you must be awake during the procedure), two more MRI’s on my brain to make sure there was no more fluid build up.
I also had seven CT Scans, five were full body, and found where my spleen had been, was another fluid build up where there was now an empty cavity. To drain it, I had to lie on my stomach (very painful but had to be awake) and inserted a short needle with a tube attached, I watched a monitor to see where the tube was being routed from near my spine and wound its way to where my spleen was, it was attached to my back and side with a replaceable drainage bag, which was near where I was catheterized for urine. My entire single stay was a bit over ten weeks, 73 days.
During that time, besides the surgeon, I also had eight specialists, all of which I either changed or those I kept, still see them on a regular basis. When the let me go home, I still have to have an IV stand with a drip controller, the IV tubes had three other inlets where I could replace saline bags, morphine injections, later morphine was replaced with Dilaudid, then down graded to Oxycontin, and finally Fentanyl Duragesic Patches 100mg, anti-biotic drip bags, was still catheterized my company insurance allowed a live in nurse for 10 days (and I am telling you, she was absolutely gorgeous, understandably I had no desire but pleasant on the eyes), to care for me, and to take me back and forth to the hospital for tests and out-patient procedures such as my first Chemo Treatments.
Even when the cancer gene is gone, I still have the Chronic Myeloproliferative Disorder, not only does it mimic the Leukemia, but my Bone Marrow makes white blood cells (anti bodies) but all but 5% of them are nucleated with a red blood cell inside, which causes the body to discharge those cells, as ineffective. It also causes red blood loss, hemoglobin level is supposed to be 8.5, within two to three months, I have to have two to four bed blood infusions.
In late 2001 I tried to go back to work on limited hours despite my Oncologists advice. I made it for 11 months and almost died as I kept increasing my hours, no way to do my job only 6 hours per day. During that time, I was hospitalized another 15 times with massive infections. I have now had 4 Oncologist, and none of them will allow me to work outside our home. I am still in a great deal of pain, but have learned to live with is as much as possible, still need back surgery, but with my condition they will not operate, when it gets bad I do take 20mg of Vicodin up to 3 times in a 24 hours period. But I do not like the feeling. I still have memory problems, long term is okay, but have to try harder. A lot of times I get confused or lose focus.
Shortly after being discharged, I found I needed those hospital records for my Docs I see, they are in three, three inch binders…not counting X-Rays, CT Scans, or MRI’s. My insurance just for the hospital stay for 73 days and my returns for tests and procedures cost my insurance a bit over $600,000.00.
So I will admit I am not as sharp as I used to be, I know what I want to say, but have a problem putting into the words and sentences the way I intend them to be, partly due to the constant migraines, or just bad headaches.
So believe it or not, that is most of the story.
Wesley in Dallas, Post 41;
For different reasons than yours, my Mother suffered through a series of serious health problems like you have, Wes, and she once had a stint in ICU of 5 1/2 months (she was in ICU several times) and her longest hospital stint (among many) was 13 1/2 months and, of course, she endured MANY surgeries for many different reasons!
So, having witnessed that over a period of many years, I think I can at least visualize what you’ve been through. I have nothing but the greatest admiration for those who have to suffer through such experiences.
Likewise, I am eternally grateful that my Mother had medical insurance sufficient to cover her medical needs - as you have.
And, for me, I’ve been in three auto accidents where a drunk driver - - WITHOUT auto insurance in each case - - hit me more-or-less head-on - - and totalled my car each time - - and, while I did have “no fault” insurance that would have covered my injuries (and did cover my cars) - - I was not seriously injured in any of the three accidents! (Still unbelievable to me!)
So, again, I am eternally grateful for medical and health insurance and my (and my Mother’s) ability to pay for it!
Keep up the good fight! And, when Obama attempts to make health insurance available for those who don’t have it - - support his effort - even if you don’t support the particular program he proposes!
Good Luck with the health issues and keep on truckin’!
February 23 at 10:22 am | #1 | Link
When is America going to stop talking, we the people are the government and they are to serve us. We are no longer a Republic, we are a Democracy. The dictionary tells us a Republic is where we vote and gov serves us. a Democracy is where we vote and they do as they like. The same scam that was pulled in America by the private Feds is now on us full force. It is overtime to throw out the upsurper and all his commie friends before it is too late. they are always talking about how to fix it all..NO,,they are sinking us into proverty. How to fix it ..bring back our out sourced jobs, farms , manufactoring, lock the borders , deport ilegals and stop this welfare state, and then drill , drill and drill. cut the cord with Islam. We all could be well off. I also am sick of hearing about the global warming lie. How many have to die, go hungry and loose it all before we stand, up and throw the bums out !!! ?
Even the troops come home and are homeless white the charity set up yrs ago for them is holding back money…what insanity ! when is the PEOPLE going to realize that both sides of gov are the same bird..