ThinkFast: June 3, 2008
ThinkFast: June 3, 2008
At Fort Benning in Georgia, the Army has assigned soldiers suffering from PTSD to housing located just 200 yards away from firing ranges. The “barrages from rifles and machine guns” make these wounded soldiers “cringe” and “stay awake and on edge,” and recently “sent one soldier to the emergency room with an anxiety attack.” Complaints to medical personnel and officers have brought no relief.
55 percent: Americans surveyed who said their families were financially worse off than they were a year ago. The USA Today/Gallup poll finds that “Americans are more downbeat about their personal financial situations now than they’ve been in decades.”
CQ reports that in just the first three months of this year, “three of the nation’s biggest telecommunications companies have employed 37 lobbying firms to urge lawmakers to include such immunity in any overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.” These companies and their allies spent more than $14 million lobbying during this time.
During a panel session at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said, “Obama and McCain don’t actually differ, at least on paper, even on Iran.”
A new report by NASA’s inspector general concludes that the Bush administration’s “distortion and suppression of climate science” is “‘inconsistent’” with the law that established the space program 50 years ago.” The report found a “sustained pattern of activities, largely supervised by senior political appointees, that included muting or withholding news releases on global warming” and blocking scientists from the media.
Even Dick Cheney believes that John McCain’s gax tax holiday is a bad idea. “I think it’s a false notion, in the sense that you’re not going to have much of an impact, given the size of the gasoline tax on the total cost of the gallon of gas,” Cheney said.
“We have the first global warming bill in history that is comprehensive, bipartisan and that enjoys support across the country,” said Al Gore of Senate climate change legislation being debated this week. “While it’s important that people change their light bulbs, it’s even more important that we change the laws.”
John Albaugh, chief of staff to former Republican congressman Ernest Istook, “has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud the House as part of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Albaugh, who faces up to two years in prison, “told a federal judge that he was guilty of accepting gifts in return for official favors.”
A new Urban Institute study finds that “Massachusetts reduced its proportion of uninsured adults by nearly half in the first year of mandatory health coverage and made gains in the share of people receiving routine preventive care.” At the same time, the study finds “no evidence that residents were dropping private health coverage to take advantage of state-subsidized policies.”
And finally: In addition to his Emmy, Stephen Colbert has another award to add to his mantle — “The Great Princeton Class of 2008 Understandable Vanity Award.” The award was mounted on a mirror. “I have to say, I’ve never seen anything more beautiful,” Colbert said to Princeton’s class of ‘08 on Monday. Instead of offering motivational advice, he also told the students, “I’m scared of you. I can tell you are go-getters. … When you leave here, no one will ever, ever want to hear you sing a capella.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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Iraq Death Toll ‘Above Highest Estimates’
The real number of the dead is far higher than even the highest declared in death tolls, many Iraqis say. A study by doctors from the Johns Hopkins School of Health in conjunction with Iraqi doctors from al-Mustanceriya University in Baghdad, published in the British medical journal The Lancet in October 2006, estimated the number of excess deaths as a result of the occupation at above 655,000.
Just Foreign Policy, an independent organisation “dedicated to reforming U.S. foreign policy” offered an updated total of 1,213,716 at the time of this writing. On Sep. 14, 2007, Opinion Research Business (ORB), an independent polling agency located in London, produced a figure of 1,220,580 deaths as a result of the invasion. These estimates are above any official figures from Iraq, but they do consider the reported official figures. The report published in The Lancet did not take into account many circumstances of death.
“All people know that a large number of bodies are dropped into the Diyala river,” said a local resident. Sunnis there are killed and dropped in the river by militiamen, but I was freed by the U.S Army. “People in all the villages on the river have gotten used to seeing bodies floating in the river,” he added. An officer at the directorate-general of police for Diyala province said the number of dead is impossible to calculate exactly.
“When the new security plan began in Diyala, some of the arrested militants confessed that they were burying bodies,” the officer said. “Some of them led us to the places where they buried the bodies. We found hundreds by digging in the areas that are a stronghold of the militants, and sometimes in the gardens of the houses they were living in, or in a place nearby.”
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/02/9363/
When do the actions and intentions become attempted genocide and when does attempted genocide become genocide? The crime of genocide is defined by the United Nations as; [A]ny of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. (I don’t have to go any further) I would say that is an affirmative on the fact that our government is committing genocide.
Even Iraqi’s know that the death toll is much worse than even the Independent Organization’s totals. What will be completely discredited in history is President Bush. Who gave a speech using Hilter as an excuse for why diplomacy is a bad idea. That he is working his way towards the status of a Hitler. President Bush is almost one-fifth of the way to a “Final Solution of the Iraqi Question”. As McCain sits in the background and is quoted as saying “Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran”. The “Axis of Evil” is who again?
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:02 amPlacing soldiers suffering from PTSD only 200 yards from firing ranges is like placing soldiers suffering from broken limbs out in the parking lot where they can be run over repeatedly by jeeps.
What moron thought this was a good idea?
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 amFood summit blames trade barriers for high prices
The United Nations urged a summit on the global food crisis on Tuesday to help stop the spread of starvation threatening nearly 1 billion people by lowering trade barriers and removing export bans. “Nothing is more degrading than hunger, especially when man-made,” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders who are likely to disagree over the link between biofuel production and high food prices.
The head of the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is hosting the summit, said wealthy nations had been spending billions of dollars on farm subsidies, wasteful and excess consumption of food, and on arms. ” … The excess consumption by the world’s obese costs $20 billion annually, to which must be added indirect costs of $100 billion resulting from premature death and related diseases,” said FAO Director General Jacques Diouf, who is from Senegal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL2923668720080603
Japan and China have contributed to high rice prices, by controlling their stocks. What a sad world we live in when the richest countries worry more about producing weapons than solutions to feeding 1 billion starving people.
Nato ‘needs more’ in Afghanistan
The outgoing American general in charge of Nato forces in Afghanistan for the past 15 months says the war against the Taleban is “under-resourced”. Gen Dan McNeill was speaking before handing command of Nato’s International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) to another American, Gen David McKiernan.
Isaf currently has 53,000 troops from 40 countries. But Gen McNeill said more manpower and equipment is needed. When he took over in February 2007 Isaf had 33,000 troops. Even though there are now 53,000 troops, Gen McNeill said that was still not enough.
“This is an under-resourced war and it needs more manoeuvre units, it needs more flying machines, it needs more intelligence, surveillance and recognisance apparatus,” Gen McNeill said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7432700.stm
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:08 amJapanese Mob Boss Donates Cash To UCLA For Liver Transplant
A powerful Japanese gang boss who received a liver transplant at UCLA Medical Center donated $100,000 to the Westwood hospital shortly after the surgery. UCLA confirmed the amount of the donation Friday. Law enforcement sources say Goto, 65, is the leader of the ruthless Goto-gumi gang. He received a transplant at UCLA in July 2001, The Times reported Thursday. He made his donation less than three months later.
UCLA also acknowledged that it received a separate $100,000 donation from another man who figured in Thursday’s story. He donated in 2002, the year of his transplant. The man was identified by a law enforcement official as one of four Japanese men now barred from entering the United States because of their suspected gang affiliations, criminal records, or both. All four received new livers at UCLA between 2000 and 2004. UCLA’s actions drew attention Friday from a U.S. senator and mixed reaction from doctors and transplant professionals.
The surgeries took place at a time of persistent shortages of donor livers. In the year of Goto’s transplant, 186 patients on the list for livers died while waiting for the operation in LA. If the transplant system “doesn’t have credibility, we’re not going to have people donate organs,” said Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees federal hospital funds. “I think I have to get to the bottom of things.”
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-ucla31-2008may31,0,1503718.story
186 patients died waiting for livers. UCLA feels they did nothing wrong by performing 4 liver transplants on patients that don’t live in this country and that are barred from entering it. UCLA should rethink their policies and do a in depth background check of foreigners that are possible recipients. Since they are claiming they were unaware of his status. (Sorry, not buying it)
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:13 amStill looking to for Hillary supporters.
If you’re in Hils camp, please stop by
http://livefrankly.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/an-honest-question-to-clinton-supporters/
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:14 amEven Dick Cheney believes that John McCain’s gax tax holiday is a bad idea.
________________________________________
Dick Cheney’s evil, not stupid. Anyone with a brain can see it’s a bad idea for the consumer, for the economy, and for the highway fund — and even for the gas station owners who would have to jimmy their pricing mechanisms to forgo the tax.
However, Dick doesn’t have a good track record about caring for anybody or anything in these areas. He must have thought it wouldn’t have produced a large enough windfall for his oil buddies to be worth it.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 am“three of the nation’s biggest telecommunications companies have employed 37 lobbying firms to urge lawmakers to include such immunity in any overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.” These companies and their allies spent more than $14 million lobbying during this time.
Your ‘text’ dollars at work!
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 amThat means 45% are either continuing to be so bad off it couldn’t get worse, incapable of doing math, or CEOs of megacorporations.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:15 amyellow Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:09 am
______________________________________________
Got any thoughtful comments on any of this crapola, or are you just spamming this morning?
Go peddle this somewhere else.
*FLAGGED*
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:17 amChina Lists Dos and Don’ts for Olympics-Bound Foreigners
Do not bring any printed materials critical of China. Do not plan on holding any rallies or demonstrations in China. Do not think that you are guaranteed an entry visa because you hold tickets to an Olympic event. And do not even think about smuggling opium into China.
That is some of the eclectic advice issued by the Beijing Organizing Committee on Monday, in a document listing 57 questions that foreign visitors to the Olympic Games in August may have: “Does China have any regulation against insults to the flag or national emblems?”
http://digg.com/
No drugs, no flag burning and no criticizing the government in any way shape or form…and you should be fairly safe.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:22 amA new Urban Institute study finds that “Massachusetts reduced its proportion of uninsured adults by nearly half in the first year of mandatory health coverage and made gains in the share of people receiving routine preventive care.” At the same time, the study finds “no evidence that residents were dropping private health coverage to take advantage of state-subsidized policies.”
____________________________________________
Uh oh — that crashing sound you hear is the shattering of wingnut arguments against health care reform…
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:22 amLarisa Alexandrovna Reports on the WH Politically Motivated Conviction of Gov. Don Siegelman — And Rove’s Role
Rove’s dream was to recreate the landscape of the judicial system, and to install judges that were either pliable, malleable, and/or very, very pro-corporation. Essentially that is what he did in Alabama in the early Nineties. That is what this is all about. If you control the governor in the states where the justices are not elected, you control who gets on the supreme court. And that’s essentially what this is all about for Rove ultimately. But to get those kinds of things done, you have to eliminate the governor you don’t want and install the governor you do want. There are a lot of corporate interests funding this. So it intersects in that sense. It’s buying the law and restructuring the state judiciary.
– Larisa Alexandrovna
Read the interview:
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/interviews/111
(HT:Calibleu)
**There are so many progressive investigative reporters out there to be admired, but Larisa has a great talent for pulling together the fats by digging deep. Controlling the States as well as the 3 government branches is a critical part of the neocon agenda. Finally someone is pointing it out and reporting on it!
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:25 amNevar Says:
three of the nation’s biggest telecommunications companies have employed 37 lobbying firms to urge lawmakers to include such immunity in any overhaul of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.”
Your ‘text’ dollars at work!
Now that is funny :)~
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:25 amObama speaks tonight here in MN at ‘The X’, the same place John McCain expects to be declared the Republic candidate in ‘08.
I like Obama’s planning on this. MN is a swing State, & giving this speech in the same building Republics will use this Fall is a good reminder to McCan’t that he’s not the only candidate running.
Will Hillary finally put the brakes on her campaign tonight? She’ll probably win SD, (small minority demographics with lots of blue collar white voters), but Barak should take Montana easily. Personally, I believe they already have an agreement on how to end the rivalry.
It’s been a Hell of a campaign to date. I have to give Hillary credit on being tough, outspoken and determined to drum up every vote she possibly could. But, judging from her representatives at the DNC meeting this past weekend, not all of them ‘feel the love’. Ickes had better take a deep breath and change his tune, for example. He sounded angry & prejudiced, imho.
I’m going to enjoy Obama taking Grampy McSame to the woodshed with facts. All McCan’t has going is accusations, innuendo and Republic talking points. His transparency is obvious, as well as his MO of switching positions out of convenience.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:27 amrogers once again demonstrates his ignorance on yet another issue
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:32 amWow yellow.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:33 amYou cut and pasted directly from Michael Savage’s website.
Now, let us know if you can actually discuss/debate topics here.
Otherwise, it’s advertisement, and it’s FLAGGED!
Now that is funny :)~
thanks… funny if it wasn’t all too true…
Every teen-ager (whether in actual or mental age) madly texting meaningless nonsense all day long, racking up huge bills, are supporting the telecoms and their corporate pals in the eventual control over peoples minds and bodies.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:34 am**Warning**
rogers, there had better be more than one of you if you intend to take on missmolly. Even then, I don’t think you stand a chance.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 am“Do not bring any printed materials critical of China. Do not plan on holding any rallies or demonstrations in China. Do not think that you are guaranteed an entry visa because you hold tickets to an Olympic event. And do not even think about smuggling opium into China.”
___________________________________________
Even though this sounds positively Maoist at first glance, it probably isn’t all that unreasonable when you look at it a second time.
I’m pretty sure that when we have hosted the Olympics, we also would have taken a rather dim view to foreigners coming here and staging anti-American rallies and demonstrations (there IS such a thing as being a “gracious guest”). And anyone attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into the country would be subject to our anti-drug laws, whether coming for the Olympics or not. And I’m also certain that anyone on our very, very long terror watch list would be denied a visa whether they had tickets to the Olympics or not.
As far as critical printed materials? We probably would have tolerated that up to a point before 9/11, because freedom of speech has always been a pillar of our culture. However, since 9/11 I’d be willing to bet that even that has fallen by the wayside.
China is keenly aware that a good portion of the rest of the world isn’t all that supportive of their oppression of Tibet. And while I side more with the Tibet protesters than I do with China, I can at least understand that they don’t want their Olympics to turn into a contentious battlefield.
Even though we may not be fans of China’s actions at the moment, we’re hardly in a position to criticize the kettle.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:36 amdid rogers (aka roger_roger debate_dodger) post something of merit?
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:36 amHard to tell, as it appears a mixture of jumbled words that could possibly be a sentence.
GM to Close Four Plants, Shift Production to Cars (Update1)
Bloomberg – 54 minutes ago
By Jeff Green and Bill Koenig June 3 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp., struggling to return to profit after three annual losses, said it will close four plants, introduce new small cars and review whether to shed its Hummer brand of large …
GM to Close 4 Truck Plants New York Times
GM closing four plants as it shifts focus to cars MarketWatch
CNNMoney.com – Detroit Free Press – Wall Street Journal – The Associated Press
damn stupid greedy bastards…
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 am30 years ago blahblahblah…
I’m having mixed thoughts. Should there actually be an Obama-Clinton ticket?
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 amrogers Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:30 am
uh huh…as long as your willing to slash your paycheck, for the fewer jobs available, more ppl will get coverage…what a joke.
PatrioticLiberalChristian Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:35 am
rogers, there had better be more than one of you if you intend to take on missmolly. Even then, I don’t think you stand a chance.
_______________________________________________
Eh — rogers’ argument is so lame and so easily swatted aside, it’s not even worth it. I mean — “fewer jobs available”????? Surely even HE can do better than that.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:44 amHey.
yellow’s gone!
Normally, I’m not a big fan of the “report abuse” flag, but when it’s just pure spam, sometimes it is necessary.
…and yes, I did FLAG the little weiner!
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:44 amkaty Says:
damn stupid greedy bastards…
30 years ago blahblahblah…
Indeed. After the gas scares of the mid-70s, I thought people (including Detroit) had wised up. But Detroit never figured out that people wanted reliable small cars, and instead produced a lot of small crappy cars. As fuel stayed relatively cheap over the years, they found it easier to gear up and produce huge trucks and SUV’s and Americans lapped them up. For years, I’ve been watching with amazement as soccer moms and pencil-pushing dads drove ever larger and larger vehicles from downtown to the burbs and it’s all coming back to bite them in the butt.
Not much trade-in value on one of those behemoths these days, and there are waiting lists for hybrids.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:45 amNORTHCOM The Martial Law Managers
Northern Command will stand up new units to respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive — CBRNE — attacks.
Currently, if such an attack proved more than local emergency crews could handle, governors could call in National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams.
And if more help were needed, one of 17 regional Guard CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Packages would come in.
Beginning in October, a federal military response will be available for the worst disasters: the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force, or CCMRF (pronounced “sea-smurf”).
Three CCMRFs, each with about 4,500 troops from all branches, are in the making.
snip
Some units already tagged for CCMRF 1 — the team expected to be ready by October — trained as part of National Level Exercise 2-08, which involved a variety of local, state and federal disaster response agencies.
NorthCom officials were unable to provide a list of those units by press time.
The training was successful in terms of proving the units’ capabilities, Cunniff said, and was an early step toward the kind of CCMRF training NorthCom leadership envisions.
That training will start with individuals perfecting their “basic warrior skills,” such as wearing and maintaining protective gear, Cunniff said.
http://blacklistednews.com/view.asp?ID=6789
**”Smurf” warriors do NOT make me feel safer. Why so many preparations for “domestic” response? Don’t we already have federal emergency response units? Do you think they could be militarizing FEMA??? /snark As Calibleu commented to me, the timimg is very interesting. October “surprise” could take on a whole new meaning.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 amMcWars,
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 amI’ve been pondering the same. I heard one rumor she would settle for Sec/State, but we need Bill Richardson in that cabinet position.
I guess we’ll find out tonight or tomorrow, the way it’s looking. I just don’t want it to look like Obama is throwing her a bone. She needs to come out with recognition that Obama won, first. Then, she needs to make a case for why she should be on the ticket or in his Cabinet.
Personally, I think she should stay in the Senate. We need those already seated to be a part of the change, not a part of the problem.
Yellow [I suppose this means your pro-war but wont serve], might I suggest reading the National Enquirer, it seems more your style.
LOL@Kristol!!
Americans ARE worse off and more than just the last year.
Puttind PTSD sufferers close to a firing range is cruel and unusual. Im sure however that ‘Yellow’ supports such actions.
Joe Albaugh…more of what we have come to expect from the culture of corruption. Yellow also approves of this behavior
Dick slams McCain!
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:50 amms joanne – take a listen to this…
thom hartmann’s approach is the best i’ve heard.
“you want more people to die… you think … people DYING is your principle…”
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:51 amGreat answer, Zimzone.
I was personally thinking of Richardson as VP and Biden as SecState, but your scenario will probably work out better.
And in respect to your earlier post, I have no doubt that Obama will easily take up Minnesota!
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:52 amWorld leaders tone down menu over fears of hypocrisy
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:52 amTimes Online – 58 minutes ago
World leaders attending the UN food summit in Rome settled down today to a “modest” lunch in order not to be accused of “hypocrisy” as they were at the last world food summit six years ago.
TP,
If the Democratic race is over tonight or tomorrow, will you begin to cover that ’side’ of this campaign?
It’s beginning to feel a little ‘ostrich like’ in here, and I don’t particularly like eating sand.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 amFreedom Rebel, thanks for the food info. I will say this, I am so sick of hearing Food Insecurity instead of STARVATION!!!
Here’s Hagee saying poor people should starve – and the
d!ckheads in his congregation applauding like mad.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/14411
A pox on all of these people.
It’s not food insecurity, it’s starvation.
It’t not theory, it’s reality.
It’s not a joke, IT’S A PERSON!
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 amMcWars – N O.
NO NO NO NO NO.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:57 amAt Fort Benning in Georgia, the Army has assigned soldiers suffering from PTSD to housing located just 200 yards away from firing ranges. The “barrages from rifles and machine guns” make these wounded soldiers “cringe” and “stay awake and on edge,” and recently “sent one soldier to the emergency room with an anxiety attack.” Complaints to medical personnel and officers have brought no relief.
Am I the only person who’s inclined to suspect that perhaps what this may be is a very subtle effort to punish these people for their perceived lack of fortitude?
During a panel session at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said, “Obama and McCain don’t actually differ, at least on paper, even on Iran.”
If there’s really no difference between Obama and McCain — a lie as flimsy as tissue paper, as transparent as glass, and as desperate as a fleeing felon — then why are Kristol and other members of the right wing so willing to attack Obama? If there’s no difference between them, then it really shouldn’t matter all that much which one becomes President…right?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:01 amSo raise those taxes. The welfare of my fellow citizen is more important to me than a few bucks
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 am5 percent of Mass. taxpayers uninsured, some fined
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:02 amThe Associated Press – 1 hour ago
BOSTON (AP) – Nearly 100000 Massachusetts taxpayers have been fined for failing to obtain health insurance, even as a major survey concludes the effort to create near-universal coverage in the state is meeting key goals.
Study Finds State Gains in Insurance New York Times
Health insurance gains detailed Boston Globe
Health insurance gains detailed
Study finds steep increase in coverage
By Elizabeth Cooney
Globe Correspondent / June 3, 2008
The number of uninsured adults in Massachusetts fell by almost half last year, says a study released today, while the state’s Revenue Department reports that 86,000 people paid a state tax penalty rather than buy insurance.
more stories like this
Supporters of health insurance reform said both numbers were a sign of success, that not only are more people getting coverage, but that only a fraction of taxpayers contested the health-insurance mandate.
The study found widespread support for the two-year-old law among those who are already insured, with 71 percent favoring the effort. Among the uninsured, who are more likely to be subject to the tax penalty, the level of support dipped to 44 percent.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:04 am[...]
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/06/03/health_insurance_gains_detailed/
I’m leaning against it myself, katy. My earlier positions haven’t changed, but I feel I’m forced to ponder others. The committee meeting on Saturday, recapped NBC Nightly, with two outraged women yelling right into the camera, “We’re voting for McCain!” isn’t escaping my mind. I worry sometimes about the behavior of rabid Hillary supporters.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:04 amHealth insurance?! What the hell is that?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:06 amZimzone Says:
TP,
If the Democratic race is over tonight or tomorrow, will you begin to cover that ’side’ of this campaign?
**If they don’t, they will certainly give McCain a lot of free publicity. If we have learned anything, we need to remember that positive or negative, they will take the publicity and hope something sticks.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:10 amDuring a panel session at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said, “Obama and McCain don’t actually differ, at least on paper, even on Iran.”
Why does anyone even listen to this idiot? He really does think that if he says something it somehow becomes magically true. Obama wants to use diplomacy with Iran and McCain wants to bomb Iran. Please tell me how they don’t differ here.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:10 am#35 Ms_Joanne Says:
Freedom Rebel, thanks for the food info. I will say this, I am so sick of hearing Food Insecurity instead of STARVATION!!!
Here’s Hagee saying poor people should starve – and the
d!ckheads in his congregation applauding like mad.
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/14411
A pox on all of these people.
It’s not food insecurity, it’s starvation.
It’t not theory, it’s reality.
It’s not a joke, IT’S A PERSON!
That is the point, starvation. I’m also sick of them calling it something other than what it actually is.
But US keep spending millions of dollars to produce better weapons, to kill people along with Germany and the rest of the Industrial Countries. The statement they are sending is that it is easier to kill than to come up with solutions to the global problem of Hunger and Starvation.
Thanks Ms. Joanne! Have a good morning…
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:11 amomg, Steven Colbert is my hero.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:12 am$400,000,000 for one state for healthcare, per year, or roughly or $20-$60 billion per year for all 50 states.
$10,000,000,000 per month for Iraq, or roughly $120 billion per year.
You can choose to save for lives for roughly half the cost!
Eat that, (Kenny) Rogers.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:12 amIt scares me that there are actually Hillary supporters who go on record saying that they would rather have 4 years of John McCain (which is in reality, 4 more years of Dubya) rather than vote for Obama. Just the sheer idiocy of this position is scary enough, but don’t these people realize the backlash that this sort of grandstanding would cause in the Democratic Party would ruin Hillary for life as any sort of viable candidate?
While part of me says that I don’t think the Democratic Party needs people who care more about their own personal axes to grind rather than the good of the country, you also have to be pragmatic. I don’t think VP would be the best fit for Hillary, but definitely something high in the Cabinet up to and include SecState might be in order.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 amI really wonder how many of those so-called Hillary supporters are actually McCain supporters just trying to pollute the waters.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
During a panel session at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee yesterday, Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said, “Obama and McCain don’t actually differ, at least on paper, even on Iran.”
uhuh, yeah, that’s why he says he wants to go to Iraq with him and teach him a few things. Cause, you know how wise and intelligent Grampa McNobrains is
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 amkaty Says:
World leaders tone down menu over fears of hypocrisy
Times Online – 58 minutes ago
World leaders attending the UN food summit in Rome settled down today to a “modest” lunch in order not to be accused of “hypocrisy” as they were at the last world food summit six years ago.
**I am so tired of “illusion politics”…Why in the hell is the coverage being focused on what they are eating instead of the issues driving the crisis. How about a “strongly worded resolution” about what commodities trading is doing to food prices globally?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:16 amI get the feeling, raynman, that some of these people throwing hissy fits aren’t true democrats, they’re willing minions of Operation Chaos. Is Hillary sure that’s the popular vote, or is some of that the pill-popping vote?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:16 amraynman Says:
It scares me that there are actually Hillary supporters who go on record saying that they would rather have 4 years of John McCain (which is in reality, 4 more years of Dubya) rather than vote for Obama.
exactly was is it about Obama that they are araid of, eh?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:17 amDRxJ Says:
did rogers (aka roger_roger debate_dodger) post something of merit?
Hard to tell, as it appears a mixture of jumbled words that could possibly be a sentence.
That is called “word salad”. It is an affect of schizophrenia.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:20 amMcWars – i say fook those stoopid clintonistas who say they will vote for mcWAR… fook ‘em all… i’m so sick of her, and their, selfish nearsighted attitude…
you hear one of those fools repeat that line, tell them what
thom hartman does: “you want more people to die… you think … people DYING is your principle… you’re willing to have more people die…”
something i posted at C&L the other day:
it IS incredible… the delusion and projection exemplified by the clintonistas…
it’s almost as if they are actually parodies, or plants, or troolls, or repugs, or such…
true progressives are just NOT that stoopid… or stupid.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:20 amToonGuy, they were claiming, as women, that they were pushed aside before they blurted the McCain thing into the camera. Of course, NBC gladly broadcasted that bit. Michigan and Florida screwed up, and that’s sexism. But some of them won’t do what’s best for the democratic party and get behind Obama because it’s the woman before the black man, or nothing.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 amI have the strange suspicion that Mrs. Clinton has been bought out some how, some strange way, ok, I know this might sound crazy, what if the GOP bought her? Her campaign is in so much debt and just maybe they offered to help? Like I said, I know it sounds crazy lucrative, but why, in God’s name would she still be wasting everyone’s time, knowing that she can’t win?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 amMs_Joanne Says:
Freedom Rebel, thanks for the food info. I will say this, I am so sick of hearing Food Insecurity instead of STARVATION!!!
It’s not food insecurity, it’s starvation.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:56 am
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“Food insecurity” is the more accurate term, however. Famines don’t happen due to lack of food. They can happen in an abundance of food, as happened in West Africa in 2005, when speculation over a possible food shortage caused a rise in food prices even though the actual food shortage didn’t materialize. The problem is lack of entitlement, as Amartya Sen wrote brilliantly more than 20 years ago.
During a period of food insecurity – what many countries in the world are facing currently – it doesn’t mean that the entire population is starving. It means that a portion of the population doesn’t have the financial means to provide basic necessities for their household under current livelihood conditions, and they cope however they can – selling livestock, migrating to areas where work is available, selling parts of their houses as firewood, etc. When they run out of coping strategies, that’s when it becomes a famine.
I don’t like the term “starvation” because it smacks of dependence. We in the west perceive food crises through the lens of famine pornography – those heart-wrenching photos of children with kwashikor-swollen bellies waiting for rations at emergency feeding stations. Though those are great fundraising pictures for NGOs, they really don’t tell the whole story, and spread the stereotype of people in Africa and other developing countries as nothing but helpless children who must rely on the rich white man to survive.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:22 amninique Says:
exactly was is it about Obama that they are araid of, eh?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:17 am
______
Somehow I doubt it’s the content of his character. Which leaves…?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:24 amuh…I know! his color!
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:25 amAt Fort Benning in Georgia, the Army has assigned soldiers suffering from PTSD to housing located just 200 yards away from firing ranges. The “barrages from rifles and machine guns” make these wounded soldiers “cringe” and “stay awake and on edge,” and recently “sent one soldier to the emergency room with an anxiety attack.” Complaints to medical personnel and officers have brought no relief.
Wow, how stupid do you have to be to pull this off. The indifference towards these (and all) soldiers is obvious, but you’d think from a public relations standpoint they’d have a little more sense.
http://progressiveworldreview.com
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:25 amdo I get a cookie for answering correctly?
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:26 amBrilliant, katy. Add to that, why would those women feeling oppressed vote for someone who called his wife a c**t, who belittled an underpaid woman, doing the same work as her male counterparts, by saying she “needed more education and training” ???
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:26 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:10 am
Why does anyone even listen to this idiot? He really does think that if he says something it somehow becomes magically true. Obama wants to use diplomacy with Iran and McCain wants to bomb Iran. Please tell me how they don’t differ here.
_________________________________
Leave it to Kristol to warp ANYTHING to fit his rather perverse view of the world. He is claiming that Obama and McCain didn’t differ on Iran at this panel session because Obama said he wouldn’t rule out force if he deemed it absolutely necessary (what CinC would?), and apparently McCain got through the session without singing “bomb, bomb, bomb — bomb, bomb Iran.”
And when Kristol claimed that Obama and McCain didn’t differ on issues, he neglected to say they differed widely at the panel session on the issue of Iraq.
But Kristol doesn’t like to be constrained by facts. He’ll just rave on willy-nilly in spite of them.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:27 amuh huh…as long as your willing to slash your paycheck, for the fewer jobs available, more ppl will get coverage…what a joke. — Rogers
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Sounds for all the world like a case of “sour grapes” to me. The plan actually appears to have had a considerable positive impact in defiance of the naysayers, and Rogers just can’t bear it…so he bursts forth with nothing more than a couple of wholly unsubstantiated claims and a lot of braggadocio in order to console himself that the plan couldn’t possibly be a good thing.
No, Rogers — just because you couldn’t reach the grapes doesn’t automatically mean that they’re sour.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 amMcWars Says:
Brilliant, katy. Add to that, why would those women feeling oppressed vote for someone who called his wife a c**t, who belittled an underpaid woman, doing the same work as her male counterparts, by saying she “needed more education and training” ???
why, McWars! we gotta spread that like a plague to these women! that’s the problem… they only know what they only know!
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Leave it to Kristol to warp ANYTHING to fit his rather perverse view of the world.
like a demon, they all twist and distort facts.
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:31 amAlways with the whine of taxes
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:43 amso bandwagon is now rogers.
and mccain is bush.
thinking outside the box just isn’t possible for conservatives.
*
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:58 amdbadass Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:43 am
Always with the whine of taxes
___________________________________
Rogers is one of those people who will squeal like a stuck pig if his taxes go up by even a small amount, but has not problem whatsoever paying ever-increasing health insurance premiums year after year.
He thinks that by posting a link to a doom-and-gloom article from five months ago that’s long on scary predictions and short on concrete results, that this somehow trumps the TP-linked recent NYT article citing the results of the Urban Institute study, which say that things aren’t that dire. Yes, there are still some wrinkles to work out, such as a shortage of doctors to take care of all these newly insured people, but the dust will eventually settle.
What tax whiners like rogers fail to understand is just how much uninsured people cost the rest of us.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 amBluestocking
I know your just ignoring the other post I gave about it, so why should I reply. — Rogers
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Did it occur to you that maybe I didn’t notice your reply because I was composing my response to someone else? No, clearly not — you assumed that I was avoiding you, and you assumed wrong.
First of all, “why should I reply”? Funny — you just did, so you contradicted yourself.
Second, would you take me seriously if I tried to cite an article from “Mother Jones” as reliable proof of my argument? No, probably not. You’d probably claim that the article was biased — and actually, you’d probably be at least somewhat justified in that criticism. As it happens, I took a look at the site to which you refer instead of just the one article — and with all due respect, it doesn’t exactly strike me as making much of an effort to maintain a balance.
Good journalism is (or at least once was and/or should be) about reporting the facts, and the facts are not subject to interpretation. I can’t help but notice that the article to which you refer doesn’t cite the AP or any other established news organization — it cites only itself as the source. Now that’s not to say that small news can’t do good reporting, because it can — but having the stamp of a large news organization such as the AP certainly doesn’t hurt in terms of verifying a story’s credibility. Actually, I can’t help but notice that for every one of the articles on the site which quotes the AP as a source, there seems to be an almost equal number of articles which quote itself as the source. I also notice that the article focuses more on prediction than it does on established fact — and predictions don’t always come true.
Finally, even if the forecasts are true…I for one happen to have a sense of conscience and concern for my fellow human beings instead of only being out for myself. In all honesty, I credit being raised as a Christian — albeit in a very liberal denomination — as having a lot to do with it. Frankly, I think following the faith demands nothing less. While there may be moments when I wish my lifestyle were more luxurious than it is, I’m able to remember most of the time that I’m actually far better off than the majority of the people on this planet (visit http://www.globalrichlist.com sometime and perhaps you’ll see what I mean). I’m hardly lacking when it comes to the necessities and even a few comforts — most of what lies beyond that, in my opinion, is ego-tripping and window-dressing. If higher taxes is what it takes to make certain that everyone gets at least a basic amount of health care…so be it, because I have the capacity to look beyond myself and recognize that there’s something more important at stake than my own ego.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 amBill Kristol said, “Obama and McCain don’t actually differ, at least on paper, even on Iran.”
And exactly why, TP, should anyone take what this “man” says seriously?
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 amthis link doesn’t work.
try this one.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:03 amraynman Says:
It scares me that there are actually Hillary supporters who go on record saying that they would rather have 4 years of John McCain (which is in reality, 4 more years of Dubya) rather than vote for Obama.
You know what that proves…?
It proves that the Repukes don’t have a *total* lock on stupidity…
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:08 amWhen one is struggling with tools it is usually best to blame the tool. Students do this all the time. This calculator sucks, this computer is no good, and my personal favorite these compasses are gay
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 amman, tp linking sucks.
and you suck at tp.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:14 amWhat’s wrong with chipping in in the interest of the common good? So I guess it is selfish lack of interest in community and not tax whining. Is that it?
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:18 amrogerx2 apparently knows as much about insurance’s concept of shared risk as he does about adjusted dollars. roger1/2 should be sufficient to hold all that level of information.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:21 amrogers Says:
misshusseinmolly
tax whiner, huh?.good one, why, because i don’t want to pay for others?.
making others share the cost is hardly a solution to healthcare…how much have they even reduced the cost?.aren’t the insurant companies still profitting?.
if you don’t care enough to get it right then i guess you just don’t really care, do you?
;)
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:32 amwhat money do you have anyway rogers? Go f uck yourself.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:35 amraynman Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 am
It scares me that there are actually Hillary supporters who go on record saying that they would rather have 4 years of John McCain (which is in reality, 4 more years of Dubya) rather than vote for Obama.
_______________________________________
Unfortunately, these Hillary fans aren’t the only ones suffering from a shortage of working brain cells — there have been a few Obama enthusiasts (some of whom have posted here at TP) who claim that if Hillary “steals” the nomination, they would vote for McCain rather than vote for Hillary.
I look at it this way:
– I don’t like the way Hillary has run her campaign.
– I don’t like the way she and Bill have played the race card.
– I don’t like the smears and innuendos she’s used against Obama.
– I don’t like the lies she told about Obama and NAFTA just to win the Ohio primary.
– I don’t like her claims about all her “experience” with no elaboration as to what that experience is (is she leaning on her FLOTUS years?).
– I don’t like her claiming that she and McCain “pass the test” for CinC and Obama doesn’t, with no elaboration of what this “test” consists of.
– I don’t like her claiming that she is leading in the popular vote, when it’s calculated by Hillarymath (counting primaries that don’t count, and not counting caucuses that do).
– I don’t like it that she left her name on the Michigan ballot when all other Dem candidates took theirs off.
– I don’t like it that she told an outright lie about her experience in Bosnia to manipulate the public.
– I don’t like it that she tries to change the rules of the game in the middle of the game, just because she is losing under the rules she previously agreed to. That’s just poor sportsmanship.
As you can see, the things I don’t like about Hillary have to do with the campaign she has waged. Not about her stance on the issues. If Hillary had managed to steal the nomination away from Obama by manipulating the DNC rules committee, yeah, I’d be plenty mad about that, and my gut instinct would be to not reward her with my vote.
Then common sense would kick in. Would my ire against Hillary REALLY be enough to want McBush to win? Would I really be willing to accept another four years of disastrous policies? Would I really vote to put another neocon marionette in the White House?
No. Way. In. H*ll.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:38 amrogers Says:
joe cantwell
Just stfu if you have nothing to say.
hey rogers, this guy reminds us of you :)
enjoy.
*
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 amI am sensing an RHF’s appearance
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:41 amrhf is misogynist piece of caps lock shit. He probably won’t show until tonight.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 amrogers Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 am
“tax whiner, huh?.good one, why, because i don’t want to pay for others?”
– I have news for you. If you are paying for health insurance, you’re ALREADY paying for others. And paying through the nose for them, for that matter. Here’s how it works: Uninsured people are more likely to have serious illnesses, because they are less likely to get regular check-ups, participate in medical wellness programs, and get prescription meds they need to keep health conditions under control. When they are finally too sick to go on, they wind up in an emergency room — the most expensive kind of health care available. When they can’t pay for it, the hospital has to jack up the rates for everyone else. When insurance companies have to pay out more in claims because of rising rates, they have to jack up the price of their premiums. And this hits people like you in the pocketbook. And rising insurance rates cause more employers to cut back or eliminate medical benefits for their employees and causes more people who pay for their own insurance to have to drop it because they can’t afford it. And insurers drop more people who represent any kind of risk, just so they can continue to make a profit in the face of rising costs. All of which creates more uninsured people. Which causes the cycle to repeat endlessly, going faster and faster in a death spiral.
“making others share the cost is hardly a solution to healthcare”
– Actually, I think that’s a GREAT solution to healthcare. It seems to work in other countries.
“how much have they even reduced the cost?”
– The market will eventually stabilize the rising costs. Now that more people are insured, and these newly insured people are getting preventative health care, this will cut down on expense down the road. Furthermore, because people are insured and will be able to foot their medical bills when they DO have them, hospitals and health insurers won’t have to make up their costs on the backs of everybody else.
“aren’t the insurant companies still profitting?.”
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 am– Of course. They wouldn’t be in business if they weren’t. The Massachusetts plan isn’t perfect — I personally would prefer it if all for-profit companies got out of the equation altogether, and I hope they eventually do. But this is a step in the right direction, and so far there’s more going right about it than wrong.
At Fort Benning in Georgia, the Army has assigned soldiers suffering from PTSD to housing located just 200 yards away from firing ranges…
By this administration’s standards, they’re just damn lucky they don’t have a barracks behind the rifle range where stray rounds would be incoming.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 pmOr behind the mess hall garbage dump.
This administration, and it’s cronies in the Pentagram hate our troops and treat them like disposable cow downers.
What the hell?
If you’re a law abiding citizen, you have insurance on your home, apartment, car, valuables, pets, and health for you and your kids.
ROGERS is already paying for the welfare of others IN EVERY SINGLE INSURANCE POLICY HE HAVE.
GET IT, DUMBA55?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:03 pmmisshusseinmolly
tax whiner, huh?.good one, why, because i don’t want to pay for others?.
making others share the cost is hardly a solution to healthcare…how much have they even reduced the cost?.aren’t the insurant companies still profitting?. — Rogers
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Then what do you suggest might be a solution to the ever-rising costs on healthcare? Enthrall us with your acumen.
Is it because you simply don’t give a toss that increasing numbers of hard-working Americans — are having to go without something as basic as health care in what is supposed to be the most prosperous country in the world, either because they don’t have health insurance or because their insurance won’t pay for their care? If you’re that much of a Social Darwinist who supports a financial equivalent to the law of natural selection, then why not simply be honest about it? At least then, everyone will understand where you really stand. If you do believe that rising health care costs are a serious problem, then how do you recommend that this be remedied? If you have no solution to offer yourself, you shouldn’t be quite so eager to criticize those who are at least making an effort to do something about it. The fact is that everything good in life comes with a price tag of some kind attached — there’s no such thing as getting something for nothing, much as we might want to believe that there is (and as much as our politicians might like to tell us that there is).
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:05 pmThen common sense would kick in. Would my ire against Hillary REALLY be enough to want McBush to win? Would I really be willing to accept another four years of disastrous policies? Would I really vote to put another neocon marionette in the White House?
No. Way. In. H*ll.
missmolly, very well put.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 pmthat is what so many voters in the dark may do.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:14 pmPoor Mr. Rogers misplaced his cardigan sweater this morning and has been looking for it in all the wrong places.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:15 pmhow much have they even reduced the cost?.aren’t the insurant companies still profitting?. — Rogers
is our bloggers still spellifying and grammarizing?
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 pmBill Kristol said, “Obama and McCain don’t actually differ, at least on paper, even on Iran.”
As in directly opposed in views, then yeah, if that’s your kind of twisted thinking.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:20 pmmisshusseinmolly Says Some Smart Stuff.
I am with you on the Hillary thing, those are exactly why I disapproved of her campaign. I was an Edwards supporter, but then he dropped out, and was willing to listen to either Hillary or Obama, but her campaign tactics I found to be more than distasteful.
I will vote for ANY DEMOCRATE, no matter what, we cannot afford 4 more years of destruction by the Republican’ts.
A vote for Grampy McSame is a vote for more DEAD SOLDIERS.
Tell that to you Hillary Supporters that will vote for McSame.
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pmUnlike most industrialized nations, the us has a mainly for- profit health care system…thats the only problem, which would greatly reduce cost. — Rogers
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With all due respect, Rogers — that’s a valid point, but I fail to see how that’s a solution. You didn’t really provide an adequate response to my challenge — an argument is not a solution. Where is the solution in the link you provided?
Hate to burst your bubble, Rogers — but many of the other industrialized nations to which you refer in which healthcare is not primarily a profit-driven enterprise are countries in which the citizens pay higher taxes than we do! I have at least some knowledge of and experience with this — I lived in Europe for three years as a child. Granted, citizens of the UK might have to wait to see the doctor and might not get the most deluxe care — but at least they will be seen, and they don’t have to pay for it (or at least, not upfront — they pay for it in terms of their taxes).
As I said before, everything has a price tag attached somewhere and it’s simply not possible to get something for nothing (or at least, whatever you get will be worth next to nothing). That’s not the way most people would like it to be, but that’s the way it is. So once again…what is your solution to the problem of a for-profit healthcare industry?
June 3rd, 2008 at 1:10 pmStill waiting, Rogers…
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:51 pmI can see your point about not wanting to pay both higher taxes and health insurance premiums — nobody in their right mind particularly wants to do that, not even me. However, I also recognize that rising health care costs are becoming a very serious problem for this society in many ways — and there’s absolutely no reason to believe that the problem will somehow go away, lessen, or even stay static all on its own. Something has to be done — and I know that life usually demands a choice between short-term and long-term gains.
Pardon me for saying so, but I still have yet to see you offer anything resembling a solution to the problem! You’ve pointed out causes, yes — all well and good — but no real suggestions for a response. My question to do is what are you personally willing to do to help resolve the problem? If your answer is “nothing” — which it seems to be — then it seems to me that what you’re really saying, whether you want to admit it or not, is that you’re still hoping to get something for nothing.
On a side note…with all due respect, Rogers, you really need to learn how to stop making assumptions and jumping to unwarranted conclusions! I am not a “dude” — I happen to be what Damon Runyon would have called a doll…
June 3rd, 2008 at 3:45 pmokay so I was off by over 6 hours
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:51 pmrepublicans hate facts Says
June 3rd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
__________________________________________
Ah — you’re exactly the kind of rabid fan I was talking about.
First, could you give us some specific instances of Obama’s sexism, his “dirty” campaigning, and his general hatefulness? Because quite frankly, I’m not seeing it.
Second, the only way you can say that “more Democrats voted for Hillary” is if you count Florida and Michigan (which weren’t conducted on a level playing field), and discount the caucuses (which were).
Third, Obama thinks he deserves the nomination because he has (so far) received more pledged delegates and more superdelegates than Clinton. Imagine that — playing by the rules.
Yes, there will be some Hillary supporters who would prefer to stay home or vote for McCain than vote for Obama. I really think Obama will win without them, as their number will dwindle before November. But if not, when McCain gets to the White House and continues the disastrous policies of Bushco, you will have no one to blame but yourself.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:03 pmBluestocking:
Basically, its this:if all education was in the private sector, there would simply be no solution to costs, as long as you keep it that way…so I guess my answer is nothing.
As long as all, or atleast most healthcare is not government-controlled, and therefore subsidized, its every “person” for themselves. — Rogers
************************************************
I see. So you’re not necessarily opposed to the idea of universal healthcare for everyone — you simply want someone else to wave a magic wand and take care of the problem for you so that you don’t have to make any sacrifices or do anything to help. As I surmised before, what you want is something for nothing.
Well, at least it’s clear where you stand — although I don’t agree with your stance, and in all honesty can’t say that I have much respect for it either. One of the attitudes which I quite frankly can’t abide in another person (and one which to my great dismay seems to have been on the rise in this country for a long time) is exactly this sort of I’m-all-right-Jack mentality.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:14 pmI was way off on the last one so I am not sure I have any extra cash to speculate on the time until misshusseinmolly gets called the c word.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:31 pm