The Fox is watching the chicken house
11.05.09 (11:11 pm) [edit]In June of 09 President Obama signed a bill that was to curb credit card abuse by the lenders. The credit card companies lobby influenced the congress to not make the bill enforceable until March of 2010 due to the administrative burden that the law caused but in the mean time the credit card companies raised the interest rates on credit card regardless of the amount owed or how current the bill is by as much as 30%. Their action became so egregious that the congress voted to make the bill effective the first of december. All but 4 republicans voted against the bill so much for the little guy I guess they don't believe that usury is a problem for the average American.
Against All Odds
11.04.09 (2:06 pm) [edit]In sociology it is stated that most gang members have a nihilistic attitude toward life and that they expect to die in a gang fight at some time during their life time and if you listen to them the tenet of their conversation is usually around how many friends they have lost as a result of gang violence.
It seems like the American government is predisposed to the same thinking if you consider the history of our involvement in the last three wars. In Korea we fought for several years and then when we decided that we would withdraw to a certian paralell and quit we gave up the idea of winning regardless of the amount of lives, equipment and treasure lost.
In Vietnam we went to war to stop the spread of communism through out South East Asia after eight years of war and 58 thousands lives lost we decided that we had enough and withdrew and Vietnam is entirely communist so what did 58 thousand people die for and what did the U.S, achieve.
In Iraq we went to war looking for WMD'S to no avail , then our objective changed to getting rid of a vicious dictatior and we did. Now our objective is establishing a functioning democracy which is yet to be realized and we are in the process of withdrawing after 5 thousand lives have been lost. We did not realize what a good job Saddam Husien was doing until we killed him and experienced the carnage of the Sunnis and the Shiites.
Now we are anxious to embark on another unwinnable invasion of Afghanistan where history should tell us something since these third world people have defeated every body from ghingas cong to Russia. We have been there 8 eight years and now we decide we need a new strategy.
We have failed to capture Bin Ladin and Mullah Omar with 68 thousand troops on the ground in a country that doesn't have a sophisticated communication, transportation,or advanced technological military system.
The military is asking for an additional 40 thousand troops with no time table or withdrawl date mentioned. No one has told how we will know if we win or what victory will look like.
It appears to be another endeavor in wasting lives, equipment and treasure that the U.S. can ill afford and places us once again against insurmountable odds of achieving success.
Let's make a bold shift
11.03.09 (8:49 am) [edit]Listening to the talking head wizards in economics and financial management makes you wonder if any of them have an original thought about the complexity of todays economic down turn. All of them are trying to apply the text book formula of economics to our current day problem
Our present day problem stems from out right thievry of the U.S. treasure by the wall street moguls who covered their bets on uncertian things with insurance provided by the U.S. treasure. Ive never understood how the treasure could insure billions for paper only when a home owner couldn't get 500 thousand dollars worth of mortgage insurance.
The GDP grew by 3.5% yet unemployment keeps rising which tells us that we need to do more to stimulate the economy failing to make a bold shift will just add to our misery. Since unemployment affects every area of our economy a reduction in tax receipts, business decline, housing decline, automobile manufacturing and sales decline, investment in equipment and inventory decline lay off of teachers, police and firemen, no research and development. If we do nothing to correct these problems it will stifle our development in the future.
Since our predicament is so uncertian I proposed that we have another stimulus that concentrate on job creation not savings banks and other financial institutions. Lets concentrate our infrastructure like bridges roads, water ways, airports new forms of energy that enhances our transportation system and and employ a large number of people. For immediate results grant every person who draws a check from any source a three month holiday from pay roll tax deductions on our wages and retirement this would infuse a large amount of currency into the ecomomy immediately and we would experience positive results sooner.
Fight The Flu
10.28.09 (2:45 pm) [edit]> The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.
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> While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):
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> 1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
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> 2. "Hands-off-the-face& amp; quot; approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (unless you want to eat, bathe or slap).
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> 3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected o ne.. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
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> 4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population..*
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> 5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
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> 6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
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> I suggest you pass this on to your entire e-list. You never know who might pay attention to it - and STAY ALIVE because of it.
How Many is enough?
10.28.09 (1:44 pm) [edit]General McChrystal has requested an additional 40 thousand troops to sent to Afghanistan for the war at present there are 68 thousand American troops in that country that is a 12 to 1 ratio of Americans to the Taliban.
If we accomodate General McChrystal request that will represent a 19 to 1 ratio so it begs the question how many troops are needed to defeat a band or rag tag individuals who are supposedly illiterate with no war planning strategy or dependable logistical support system.
The late President Eisenhower warned us about the military industrial complex and their war profiteering. It seems strange that with all our modern technology and surperior training that it takes 19 highly trained American military personell to subdue one ill clothed, ill trained, Illiterate taliban. Again the question is just how many is enough.
Keeper of the Flame Award
10.26.09 (11:13 pm) [edit]Former Vice President Cheney won the keeper of the flame award from a conservative think tank organization really he's a flame that should be extinguished. Here is a guy who was a part of the worst administration in the history of the American presidency and yet he has the audacity to criticize his successor who has only been in office for nine months for something he failed to do in 7 years.
He astonishes you with his bold lies as if the American public is not aware of the shenanagans he pulled to get us involved in the Iraq war. My question is why are they giving him an award he is the only vice president ever complicit in outing a CIA Officer. He lied and bribed his associates and administrative assistant to concoct outlandish lies to about WMD'S that has contributed to our involvement in an illicit war so he is a flame that should be extinguished immediately rather than stoked. How did a draft dodger with five deferments become such a war hawk that seems to get a thrill from sending other peoples sons and daughter to die when he wouldn't
I am a firm believer that you shouldn't try to teach that you don't know or lead where you won't go especially if it's war.
You might get by but you won't get away
10.15.09 (10:14 pm) [edit]Did you see in today's paper how many tax cheats are now doing a mea a culpa to avoid going to jail for depriving uncle Sam of his just do. No reason we have such a large budget deficit and I bet most of these cheats would say I love America creating a real oxymoron because most marriages are broken up because of cheating and infidelity and a lack of devotion to each other. How can tax cheaters who deposit their excess earning in foreign banks to avoid paying their fair share deny their infedility. You might get by but you won't get away because the long arm of the law is reaching out to catch infidels.
A Nation of Player Haters
10.12.09 (1:13 pm) [edit]President Obama was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for engendering and changing the attitude of the United States from a jingoistic go it alone mentality with the idea of my way or the high way that turned a lot of countries off who refused to support us in blood and sweat in our endeavors. President Obama has attempted to offer some serious cerebral thinking to the United States involvement through out the world. Remember he was the first person who talked about a with drawl from Iraq after our destruction of that country for over seven years with no national interest and over 5000 thousand lives lost. He has ordered a rethinking of involvement in Afghanistan where we have been bogged down for a decade without catching the bad guys who were responsible for 9/11 with no end in sight. He has engendered a rethinking of our health care system that leaves a fourth of it's population without access to affordable health care.
He is attempting to change our use of energy in order to save our planet by changing from fossil fuels to more natural forms of energy that does not pollute the environment. He wants to stop our oustracizing of the gay and lesbian community so that they can make valuable contributions to our society with out being denied do to their sexual orientation.
If you look at the history of those who received the Nobel Peace prize you will find that none accomplished the goal that they had envisioned but they were rewarded for their forward thinking on the subject. Dr Ralph Bunche,Dr Martin Luther King, former president Jimmy Carter and former Vice paresident Al Gore none of these winners had seen their dreams come to fruition before they were awarded they didn't view our problems through a prism of because they are they will always be but saw things that were and how much better they could be. The Nobel Peace prize is awarded to those who are transformed by the renewing of their mind.
President Obama didn't rape rob kill or invade another nation as many would have you believe with their diatribe of why he shouldn't receive it. Thank God for a young intellectual President who doesn't look at a problem and ask why but look for ways to improve our condition and ask why not. But when you're surrounded by a nation of player haters such as Rush Limbaugh,Glen Beck etc it's like and eagle trying to fly with a turkey on his back.
Cutting off your nose to spite your face
10.06.09 (1:36 pm) [edit]Conservatives has shown us who the real America haters are. President Obama went to Copenhagen to appeal to the olympic committee to hold the Olympics in the city of Chicago he was unsuccessful and that made conservatives gloat with glee in that America had failed in it's attemp to hold the Olympics. Most of those America haters stated that they were sorry we didn't get the Olympics but they are glad Obama failed. Considering all the jobs that holding the Olympics would create immediately exposes the America haters for their shortsightedness and their hate for Obama.
President Obama put his prestige on the line like all other leaders of countries who was bidding to hold the Olympics and I have not read about any of them being called a failure simply because they were unsuccessful in acquiring this event it seems as if the America haters don't realize that this event can only be held one place at a time every 4 years. I believe that real failure would be not trying to win it at all. When you see people like Rush Limbaugh talking about the ego has landed and Bill Crystal talking about the world resisting his imperialistic attitude tells us that something is really wrong in conservatism.
I want my c ountry back
09.15.09 (12:12 am) [edit]At the freedom rally in Washington on Saturday all the old white folks kept talking about they wanted their country back, I am in a real quandry when a race of people that have enslaved every other race of people in the world at one time or another in a country where every body was supposed to be free makes one wonder what are they talking about.
Do they want the country that enslaved blacks and required that the American indian live on reservation after white illegal aliens took their land or what about the 1896 supreme court decision that gave whites the authority to segregate and use blacks and mexicans as second rate citizens to be used as they deemed necessary. Do they want the country back that enslaved the American Japanese during world war II. Do they prefer to go back to the day when Japanese,blacks,mexicans and indians were required to fight wars when they were not allowed to vote. When that happened to them they started a war on the basis of taxation without representation is this really the country they want back?. I hope not.
Death for illegals but not health care
09.11.09 (11:56 pm) [edit]How hypocritical can Americans be, here we are complaining about illegals getting health care when we employ them at below minimum wages, pay them no benifits including social security or unemployment and will employ them over americans as long as they serve as our benifactor and fatten our pockets. At present 37% of all combat forces in the military are composed of sons and daughters of illegal immigrants. Why do we allow them to serve a country that they can never be apart of laying their lives on the line for people who misuse them and abuse them.
Is it because they serves as surrogates for the duty and responsibility that our american children should be assuming or is it because they are such pawns and provide us a great benifit in the land of the free and not so brave. Out of all they do for America and all the benifits that their labor and service to our country provide we go out of our way to deny them basic health care, and that's not a lie.
The ultimate in disrespect
09.09.09 (12:11 pm) [edit]And we wonder why the youth of today is so disrespectful of authority. on yesterday the 8th of Sept the President of the United States took time our from his busy schedule to inspire school children to do their very best on the first day of school. Many wayward and misguided parents refused to let the President of the United States and respected leader of the free world speak to their children on the premise that he would indoctrinate them politically. I fear for the child who grows up in such an environment that the parents won't let them listen to the man who can send them off to war without their consent or who is not allowed to tell the president what they would like to see him do to enhance their education and potential for getting a good paying job or entering a profession that they would like to devote their life's work to.
People with attitudes like that how can they ever teach their kids to respect authority when they teach rebellion and advocate anarchy to a duly elected officials, simply because he may say something that you disagree with is not indoctrination. From the hue and cry of the far right wing I thought President Obama was recruiting young people for suicide bomber school in case his health care reform bill failed.
Misplaced Justice
08.21.09 (10:26 pm) [edit]The judicial system has completely baffled me recently with it's weird decisions in several cases. Michale Vick received two years in prison for staging a dog fighting game. To stage a dog fighting contest there has to be an opponet with fighting dogs also, what happen to that person why was none of them charged with a crime and persecuted. Antonio Holmes killed a person while drunk driving and only received a probation from the court. Plaxico Burris accidentally shot him self and was sentenced to two years in prison. The basket ball coach of Louiville University paid a woman to have an abortion and received a vote of confidence from the president of the college. The coach never denied that he didn't impregnate the woman or that he did not give her 3 thousand dollars for an abortion, but they did express sympathy for his wife and five childrens. Where is the justice?.
Health care rationed already
08.19.09 (2:44 pm) [edit]Old people on medicare and social security are expressing fear of health care being rationed as if it is not already rationed as evidence by 47 million people being uninsured due to excessive high premiums, premedical illness that the insurance companies deem them uninsurable and cancelling policies due to catastrophic illness. 85% of all bankruptcies are the result of medical bills that people aren't able to pay and they file for bankruptcy to protect their homes.
Another scare argued is that a government option would destroy the private health care insurance industry. Who needs them any way?, all they do is serve as a middle man collecting and dispensing money they defraud the insurer, the doctor and the medical facility. They really provide no goods or services except for the enormous amount of paper work that they engender. If health insurance companies are so important how does the rest of the developed world exist without them and have a better outcome medical wise than the U.S>
Prestige at the price of freedom
08.06.09 (10:11 pm) [edit]Former President of the United States Bill Clinton Went to North Korea to negotiate the freedom of two U.S. citizens who were held captive for spying allegedly. Pat Buchanan and Josh Bolton acted as if President Clinton had given away top secrets of the United States. Both men stated that it was an ill advised endeavor because of the prestige it gave to North Korea's President Kim Jong Ill who is a social pariah in the world by all standards.
The question is what is prestige and what value does it have, you can't eat it, smell it or sell it so it's nothing more than a false impression that a person has of himself or of the leader of his country so in effect it's useless. All the North Koreans gained was a photograph with a former president but we regained two American citizens freedom now isn't that worth a useless photograph.
Socialism Good for Some not for Others
08.06.09 (12:11 am) [edit]Why should a person on medicare and drawing social security complain about socialism?. you can't get any more socialist than that. The congressmens who tell bad stories about the government run health care system present a real dilema, because their health care is provided by the same government that they complain about they all go to military run hospitals for their health care and they don't complain. When it comes to the hard working tax payer the health care provided to the congressmen is to bad for the working tax payer.
Why don't somebody ask those retarded yahoos who view affordable and accessible health care without pre conditions as socialism if they will vote to get rid of medicare and if they say no ask them why because it is a socialist run system.
Justice or Judicial Activism
06.30.09 (12:43 pm) [edit]First let me state that the Supreme Court was right in it's decisions on the case of the fire fighters suing for discrimination, you don't change horses in the middlle of the race. I would like to bring you attention to a case decided in the last court cycle whereby a black woman sued Goodyear tire manufacture company for 18 years of pay discrimination where she was paid $3.00 less per hour than her white counterparts doing the same job, when she discovered the discrimination she sued and won the decision in two lower courts when the case was reviewed by the Supreme Court they acknowledge that she had indeed been discriminated against but by virtue of the fact that she continued to work for a long time under those conditions she acquiesed to those conditions of being underpaid for doing the same job at less pay. Since when does it matter that you have been discriminated for a short time or a long while.
Their Mullahs or ours
06.18.09 (9:46 pm) [edit]President Obama has demonstrated respect for the elections in other countries be they fair or not. Our outrage against the government of Iran and their theocratic power demonstrates how shallow and how short our memory span is. In 1953 the United States assisted in the over throw of a democratic elected government and installed the Shaw of Iran that led to the theocratic mullah style of government that we are now railing against.
Now we are demanding a free and fair election in a country that we screwed up. Remember the elections of 2000 when Vice President Gore won the popular vote by 500,000 and the Supreme Court interviened and declared Former President Bush the winner even though there were serious violations in the voting proceedure in florida.So the question is whose Mullahs are worst theirs or the supreme court, really when it comes down to elections they are synonamous.
Misplaced Priorities
06.18.09 (1:14 pm) [edit]The Senate health, education, labor and pension committee has decided that one trillion dollars is too much to spend on health care for American citizens over a ten year period. Under the present system we spend 2.3 trillion dollars a year with 47 million people excluded. Oh! by the way we spend over a trillion dollars on the Iraq war and many people feel that, that figure is understaded by a large marging. Isn't something wrong with this picture.
Why should the health care of an American citizen be dependent of the profitability of a for profit health insurance company?. Why has the term bipartisanship become so important when it comes to providing health care. Is this just another charade to protect the politicans big political contributors?. Would somebody please tell the present occupier of the white house that he was elected specifically for the purpose of providing a viable health insurance program for the American people.
They are Stealing us Blind
05.25.09 (2:54 pm) [edit]Allegedly there is 33 billion dollars missing from the reconstruction money designed to go to Iraq and Afghanistan for construction projects. The two people who are responsible for the money still reside in Washington D.C. when questioned as to what happened to the money their reply is that the government of Iraq and Afghanistan are so corrupt that's it's hard to keep up with the money trail.
Aren't the people we place in charge supposed to be capable enough to follow project to a successful conclusion and there is a problem curtail the spending. Considering the economic plight this country is in 33 billion dollars could go along way in bailing out some distressed corporation in order that Americans might be gainfully employed rather than spending the money on some under developed country
The Ugly American
05.22.09 (2:18 pm) [edit]Former Vice President Cheney who is in the news more than most people would like to see regurgitating the lawlessness of the Bush administration in which he was the instigator.
I hope most people who listen will equate what he did and what said with such bombastic rhetoric and discover that something is missing in the picture that he draws in trying to justify his unlawful behavior.
This 4F draft dodger who received 5 deferments from serving in Vietnam was at one point the second in command of the United States Arm Forces. He obviously looked in a trick mirror and said what a great guy am I. Should not we have had some idea of how pompous, self serving and self entitled this individual was when he was asked to vett people for a possible running mate to President Bush he chose himself the ultimate in self conceitedness.
After being elected he usurped the powers of the president by concocting false intelligence about Saddam Hussien and the country of Iraq being related to Al Qaida which was a lie, then he proceeded further by saying Iraq was trying to purchase yellow cake urainum from Africa to make nuclear weapons which was another lie. He then outed a CIA agent by the name of Valery Plame to keep her from exposing his lie.
Dick Cheney is the epitomy of the Ugly American and is the most Hitler-lite individual ever spawned in America. He broke national laws,international laws and violated the Geneva Convention accord just to further his ambitions. There are 4500 military personnel dead and an untold number of Iraqi civilians dead because of meglomaniacal tendencies. He changes words and thinks that changes the meaning whether you're torturing or using enhanced investigation techniques you are still inflicting inhumane punishment on an individual and that is against the law. He reminds me of the neighbor hood bully who throws a rock hides his hand and then tries to rationalize his bad behavor.
Is he so vindictive because he was so negligent in preventing 9/11 remember the FBI agent who warned the administration 6 days prior to 9/11 and yet they did nothing to heighten our awareness like tighten the immigration system make Airport Screeners more alert, tightening the border. Cheney still maintains that he kept America safe, it's more like he close the barn door after the horse got away.
When Civility Triumph Bombastic Rhetoric
05.19.09 (12:52 pm) [edit]I thought President Obama's commencement speech to the Notre Dame graduates was superb. He didn't engage them in their despicable rhetoric but offered a common ground for whether you're pro-life or pro-choice to work together in our own way to reduce the number of abortions. To the pro choice groups abortions are not some new phenoma abortions have been performed for eons and the question remains why were you so silent then, was it because it was illegal,Wasn't the life of the unborn just as precious then?
Why don't we take the President's advice and tone down our animosity toward each other look for things that will reduce the number of abortions like access to free prenatal care, Children day care assistance, state or county run orphanages, less expensive adoption process, careful scrutiny of the foster child programs, education and easier access to contraceptives. Actions speak louder than words.
More in U.S. Say they're Pro Life
05.16.09 (12:06 pm) [edit]An article in the news paper states that the election of President Obama has done more for the pro life movement than any other campaign. Let's set the record straight President Obama is pro choice not pro abortion as evidenced by him being the father of two live birth children. Doesn't it stand to reason that if he was pro abortion he would have aborted them. If he is as the pro life people paint him that makes him a hypocrit.
Let's take a look at the plight of children in America. What about being not only pro life but also pro living. 20% of children go to bed hungry in America every night. 45% of children born in the U.S. are born to a single parent family, yet the majority of pro lifers are men. Over 50% of children born in the U.S. has no access to health care or dental care. over 40% of children has to get deferment when entering the first grade because their parents can't afford the price of the required immunization and the local health dept doesn't provide free immunizations. If you noticed during this severe recession the first things cut were social programs and education both which are necessary for the socialization of children.
I am a pro-lifer also but let us not forget the children as soon as they are born. As pro lifers let's impliment a little pro living programs for our children that are not the first thing on the chopping block during economic down turns, I think that will substantiate us as real pro lifers.
Political Whoresmanship
04.29.09 (1:56 pm) [edit]Senator Arlen Spector just changed from the republican party to the democratic party simply to save his political hide, he didn't change because he had become so disappointed with republicans he canged because the writing on the wall was that he would lose in a republican primary to a more conservative opponet. What happened to standing on principles and the record you established for the past thirty years.Is there no fight left in the old dog or is he just taking the path of least resistant.
If I were head of the democratic party before I welcomed him with open arms, I would try to establish where his loyalty lies. Is he for the programs that President Obama campaigned on like health care, education, global warming and energy renewal or is he just hanging on for longevity. If his answer was for longevity I would send him packing immediately because one rotten apple can spoil the whole barrel.