No truer words spoken Ron! Great Post!

Great points Ron! As usual.

However, I would argue that approximately 47% of the country is certifiably insane.

Americans in general have the worst attention span on the globe. It's frightening to think how quickly we as a country forget what (who) got us here and the willingness to entertain the thought of returning to the madness.

Morning Ron:

Yes, the country is teetering on the brink of insanity. This occurs when the populace breaks off into extremes, the silent majority remains rather quiet just tryiing to get by day to day, and those who shout the loudest most insane things get the attention that in turn creates chaos and division among all.

Any country that accepts that a basketball star gets an hour of television time to announce what team he will be selecting to play for at a salary of 129 million or more has its priorities screwed up.

Any country is in trouble when more than one person takes seriously and allows another to influence them who tweets inane reactionary comments, creates a group called Momma Grizzlies in pursuit of whatever their intentions may be, has a huge void between their ears and rips people off asking large speaking fees to spout senseless dribble.

I could go on but the list would just be way too long for a single post. Others can add to it if they like.

Chris: Actually between 20 to 25 percent of Americans have a mental illness at some point in their life. What is also amazing is the number of people on psychotropic medications, especially for depression.

Terrific post, Ron!

Did CA & Ron nail it? Does a Momma Grizzly $h!t in the woods?

Excellent thoughts, Ron. It really is the silly season of political insanity.

Jody: "Silly Season" was a term used by candidate Obama during the campaign. I guess it's getting to be that time of year...And August isn't even here yet.

Well done, you two. I need not say anything more, well, maybe later as the day progresses.

Voted

CA, Tuscaloosa, more great thoughts.

I enjoy sports but it is insane that football, baseball, basketball stars make more money than doctors.

It is insane that Rose Parade participants and sponsors spend millions on floats of flowers while people in this country go hungry and homeless.

It is insane that lobbyists spend millions to fight legislation which would benefit the average American because they might make less money.

It is insane that insurance companies spend millions on TV ads telling us to buy from them while denying treatment to those who did buy it.

Didn't you forget Obama saying that the stimulous would create jobs and unemployment wouldn't go above 8 or 9 percent??

KLM,

Didn't GWB state that we had achieved "the end of hostilities in Iraq" and that he could not be bothered to look for Bin Laden and just did not think much about it? What is your point? Unfortunately, no US President has a crystal ball and they do the best they can to predict what MIGHT happen in the future.

I will make this prediction and I am pretty confident it will come true. If the GOP does not start coming around and working with the Democrats to resolve the issues facing this country, the GOP will be wondering how they failed to take back majorities in both houses of Congress in November. Let's watch this one play out shall we?

Disgusted-in Pa:

Excellent prediction. I too am pretty confident it will come true.

BTW; I enjoyed your earlier post on Palin/Steele

Jesus is a hell of a good shot! He never misses! Amen, bang,bang,bang,bang yee haaa Jeeeessuuss!

Morning Rick!

Did you hear the exchange this morning on Morning Joke about Mama Grizzlies new 'rock star' video!

It was apparent that Grampa 'grand wizard' Buchanon can put away his little blue pills whenever Bible Spice is present! lmao

Ky Truthteller Heck the heat done took care of all my ism's except the weeds. You get that corn cooked down to the stage where you can get it to flow through these tubes you and I will talk. I need some of that immunity to combat future cases of PollDancer Rash. We're going to let you throw the checkered flag on the next Cheerio Go-Kart Racing event too. Ought to have one coming up soon.

More great thoughts. Seems we each recognize insanity when we see or hear it.

Makes you wonder how Joe L and those 40 GOPers plan to pay for their next war? What will they cut? Oh, that's right--it is war so the money spent and added to the deficit is irrelevant but God forbid adding debt to help the unemployed. Fools, nothing but fools.

Joe L is still dazzled by the Neocon picture of western-friendly democracies blooming like wildflowers in the desert once we march our army from Iraq through Iran and Syria, leaving friends in our wake.

I just knew there had to be a name for what we were doing here . . . thanks B. Honest! lol

Trolls apparently being people from the right side of the political spectrum. Nice. Coming from someone who believes in voter intimidation and criminality to make up for past injustices, I will take the accusation of being a "troll" with pride.

This site also sports at least TWO regular posters who support Islamic Terrorism. Gotta love these tolerant libs.

fu - I will take the accusation of being a "troll" with pride.

Of course you do. You prove it every time you comment.

Wow, we have one of the Slow Moving to Nearly Dead variety here folks.

As you seem to twist everybody's words, making up your own stories out of what people have said, without you understanding in the first place you have made yourself into more of a Joke than a Troll. Frankly, I do not know ANYONE here that supports Islamic Terrorism, they may perhaps have a better idea of WHY it is happening than you, but no one is supporting violence against innocents. And, you need to go back and reread a few posts, you are STILL spouting off on what you don't understand, even though we have shown you time and time again!!

Sadly UpChuck, you are one of the Low Point, common variety trolls and it takes little effort to soundly Whack you down again and again. You set yourself up for it soooo beautifully!!

You know CU, I did not see anything about "right" or l"eft" in B. Honest's initial troll post . . . strange that you did. . . its kind of like you don't read what is written and just make up your own comment to rail against.

Weird.

Nash,

You have it exactly right, I did NOT state left or right, we have some very good players on the right too, as well as on the left, some dead center as well, it is a game we all can play. I have whacked left wing folks that plain had their facts wrong, I have accepted corrections, and I even complimented Juven this morning because he posted an intelligent one on the DADT article.

If you come up with something sensible, then you are not going to get Whacked, if you just spout off and start ranting, you are gonna get Whacked repeatedly. That simple.

With lefties being the judge of what is "sensible", it's no surprise that someone who supports voter intimidation (as long as it's against the right people) would find my posts "trollish". Have to go to work now so I can help pay off the socialist programs you all voted for.

WOW.........CU Farley, you hit the nail on the head.

Saw a bumper sticker yesterday that said,

" I work for a living, hell yes I vote republican"

No truer words were ever spoken.

Yeah! Nobody other than Republicans work! R-i-i-i-i-g-g-g-g-h-h-h-h-t!!!

F U ....as mentioned several different ways; every time you comment you continue to prove our point. I'm not aware of anyone, right, center or left, who posts here that has stated they support voter intimidation.

Maybe it's time to get rid of the bad acid.

I saw a bumper sticker too:

"A working person voting republican is like a chicken going to work for Colonel Sanders!"

Now those are "truer words"!

proud puke and fu,

It is utterly amazing what you cheeto eatin, basement dwelling, knuckle dragging "workaholic" trolls fixate on.

What a great title. Whack a Troll. And there's plenty of them to whack.

CU Farley. Joe Lieberman's wanting another war makes him a democrat troll. This is a bi-partisan game.

Chris,

Judging from the vitrol........the truth must hurt.

Wow, we actually have a Pair of the Slow Moving to Mostly Dead Trolls just right here with UpChuck and PR! Come on guys, start talking sense instead of just venom, it makes the game Sooo Much Better if you talk intelligibly and actually say something of substance.

I used to be a business owner myself, and yes, hired people as well, and I have NEVER voted the Repub ticket. For the last 30 plus years the Repub Party has been the party of Crooks, Actors, Thieves and Fools, why should I even Think about voting for them, they have NO ideas other than Obstructionism, decrease taxes on the already too rich, and Deregulate, Baby, Deregulate. They have NO intention to do ANYthing right now regarding the economy and unemployed for the sole reason that they want to make Pres. Obama look bad, so they cannot let the economy get better, it would give him 'points'! These people are sick and totally out of touch with Main Street, let alone the desperately unemployed who, for no fault of their own, are losing their homes due to the Economic Collapse that happened on Bush's watch. Nope, just cannot let Obama fix things, that would make him look too good, in their battle for Power, that once they have it they are clueless as to how to use it!

cu farley "trolls" being those who spout nonsense, gibberish, unintelligent and moronic statements, and those who believe it. If the shoe fits, wear it.

What I find curious about this is that there is a belief on your part that this "hearing" would have been anything more than political theater. The article states as much. The past 18 months states as much. But this time would have been different. . . what was the President thinking. Clearly the Republicans just wanted to give a fair hearing to this man. Clearly.

It is this type of urge to nitpick the President instead of focus on moving the process of governing forward that is one of the big reasons why "democrats" are such an inefficient political party . . . we spend just as much time arguing amongst ourselves about minutia as we do pointing out that much of what the other team is saying is not true.

But hey, clearly this statement by the President is equivalent to the claims on the right that he is an undocumented Muslim sent here to destroy America via government run death panel.

So good we have you here to point these things out.

Nashville. So circumventing the confirmation process for political reasons is "Change we can Believe In"?

Yes the hearing would have been political theater but this is politics. Why can't we hear this nominee justify rationing? It's what's required to lower costs.

Your "ends justify the means" argument continues the trend that this administration is as much a bunch of political hacks as the previous one. You make no points to refute Dangerfield but simply berate him for to justify the administration's expediency.

Your final comment is way below you.

He claimed the republicans held up the appointment and that Gottbaum was held up by republicans. Both statements would be lies if a republican president said them. The punch you don't see is the one that knocks you out. The most obvious suspect in a wife/husband/child/ murder disappearance is a family member, the same for sexual abuse. It is the lack of due dilligence and healthy cynicism inherent in your repeated attacks on anyone or any thing regardless of veracity that renders any opinions you espouse no more well considered or credible than the teeny bopers in the Jacob vs Edward "dispute".

Your utter lack of skepticism directed towards your own representatives evidenced by the knee-jerk reactions to any criticism of this president make yours and many others here opinions no better than the Bush-worshipers you so disdain....

Good morning Nashville Fan. I think you're missing the point of the article - what's being touted by the President, and echoed happily by most of the media, is the Republicans are playing some sort of game holding up Berwick's nomination. The truth is the GOP would be happy to have a hearing to illuminate this man's past comments and views. But the reason for the recess appointment is to in fact hide Berwick so he doesn't have to answer for his views-not because of any sort of obstruction.

To Alan NJ/dangerfield/Elizabeth:

Thanks for your responses . . . President Obama is not the first president to make use of the recess appointment . . . so the charge of "circumventing the political process" is not true . . . recess appointments are part of the politial process.

The reason I vote for politicians is to get things done, not to hold hearings to posture and grandstand about things that were already known before the hearing started.

I support President Obama's decision to move forward with this appointment, because we really don't have the time to waste.

dangerfield, if you want to be very LITERAL and PRETEND that the Republicans are not blocking this nomination, when there are hundreds of positions still awaiting confirmation, you go right ahead.

It is not a relevant issue to me . . . not because of who the President is . . . but because of all the work that needs to be done . . . not debated ad naseum.

No he is not the first President to make a recess appointment and it is his prerogative to do so. But to cynically abuse the process for political reasons, and I'll admit I''ve never heard of the party in the majority not schedule a hearing, diminishes his administration.

What is becoming apparent is that this administration is no different from the previous administration in it's political maneuvering.

1. The end justifies the means.

2. It's supporters will ignore the abuses and refuse to hold them accountable.

I think the second point is most damming. When the republicans allowed Bush to abuse the process because it was in their interest it was contemptible. This administration and its supporters are now at the same point.

You condone and rationalize the tactics and behavior (including lying) for your side that you condemn in the other; That's the definition of hypocrisy.

If you had the honesty to admit when the administration is at fault, your effusive praise, cheerleading and or attack dog defense would have some credibility.

What's your biggest criticism of the president, stated on this blog?

The continuance of the patriot act? (I protested that in the street when Bush enacted it)

Renditions?

Lying about making "The closing of Gitmo" "My first act as President"? it's still open...

Wasting the year that should have been spent on JOBS, JOBS, JOBS on a watered-down HCR bill?

Caving on the public option and single payer (I favor medicare for all like rep. Weiner)

Ramping up the war in Afghanistan?

Bueller?

dangerfield, if you want to be very LITERAL and PRETEND that the Republicans are not blocking this nomination, when there are hundreds of positions still awaiting confirmation, you go right ahead.

Can you translate this for me? It makes no sense. The republicans aren't/weren't/didn't move to block either Gottbaum or Berwick's nominations. Who's pretending about what? This is just silly, admit that the truth is the truth and move on. It is what it is...

Hundreds, thousands, even millions of "other" nominees being held up would not negate for a millisecond the veracity of the statements about Gottbaum and Berwick...

My dear disgruntled dangerfield:

1. Gitmo is still open because the Congress will not fund its closure

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=7633754&page=1

So . . . that is President Obama's fault because . . . right.

2. You say the year was "wasted" on healthcare, when it should have been focused on jobs.

BUT

There was a billion dollar stimulus bill passed

AND

U.S. Health Care Inflation to Far Outpace Salary Increases in 2010

http://www.shrm.org/hrdisciplines/benefits/Articles/Pages/HealthCostForecast.aspx

So it is very disingenuous on your part to pretend like health care costs and jobs aren't related.

3. You say the President "caved" on the public option and single payer, but the FACTS say that there were not the votes to get either of these programs through the Congress. In addition, when the President tried to craft a public option compromise with Olympia Snowe for a conditions based "triggered" public option, you and yours went beserk and refused to even entertain the idea . . . so you got zilch.

4. The President CAMPAIGNED on ramping up the war in Afghanistan, and we do have vital security interests there. Even though you and the media choose to ignore it, the President has already set the time when our troops will begin to return home. President Obama took time to analyze the situation (for which he was criticized) and he made a decision. That is a TREMENDOUS amount of progress from the overfunded, understaffed, open-ended quagmire he inherited.

5. On the issue of torture, President Obama made the decision to not spend his entire first term trying to litigate President Bush's two terms.

Considering the financial and military sh!tstorm he inherited, that was the best call for our country in my opinion. The President has denounced torture and has made several changes from what was standard operating procedure for the Bush Administration.

He has reaffirmed that torture is illegal and that the United States of America will not utilize it going forward.

The Obama Administration has inherited many gray areas when it comes to how to handle folks who were already tortured and how to handle folks who are known dangers to our country, but because of the way they have been treated, could never have much of what is known stand up in a court.

Tough decisions have been made, not all ones that I feel comfortable with, but the point is once again the President is taking a BIG FAT MESS and MOVING FORWARD with a SOLUTION.

That is pretty much all a human president can do.

You are so fixated with your need for me to criticize the President . . . however, it seems like you have it covered nicely.

I call them how I see them, not how you need me to call them so you can respect me . . . I am not seeking your approval.

Alan, NJ:

If you really feel that making a perfectly legal recess appointment is "abusing the system", then I guess we really don't have anything to discuss.

I am not making any excuses for the President, because in my opinion, none are needed. No law was broken and no enlightenment has been missed out on.

For you to try and make this equivalent to the abuses we witnessed in the Bush Administration is laughable at best.

Besides, as I said in my previous post, isn't government supposed to be about doing the people's business and not about playing political games?

Are you really saying that America was ill served by not holding this show trial?

How so?

Well, it may not be what President Obama promised but when the GOPers refuse to participate and the country needs these people ON THE JOB, too bad. Don't blame Pres Obama, blame the GOPers who hold up every nomination--you want hearings on these nominees, contact the republicans and demand THEY GET OFF THE DIME.

dangerfield, if you want to be very LITERAL and PRETEND that the Republicans are not blocking this nomination, when there are hundreds of positions still awaiting confirmation, you go right ahead.

Can you translate this for me? It makes no sense. The republicans aren't/weren't/didn't move to block either Gottbaum or Berwick's nominations. Who's pretending about what? This is just silly, admit that the truth is the truth and move on. It is what it is...

dangerfield,

I will be happy to clarify this for you . . . if you want to pretend that the desire to hold a show trial is the same as deciding not to block the nomination . . . then fine with me.

Dear Blissfully (and blindly) in love Nash-

What you posted proves my point, thanks.

You should save that post, because I am pretty sure as a thinking person at some point you will be able to look back at your zealousness and see how incredible it reads.

Based on most of your "refutations"You could change your moniker to "Alibi Ike"

There are reasons, rationalizations, and excuses..I will leave it to your future self to evaluate and categorize the ones you posted in reply.

I do not for a moment doubt your sincerity...

I will be happy to clarify this for you . . . if you want to pretend that the desire to hold a show trial is the same as deciding not to block the nomination . . . then fine with me.

It is a hearing Nash, not a trial, and the president intimated that it was republicans holding up the nomination process. I am sure if it was anyone else you would be able to tell a lie when you heard it.

He lied. And he willfully misrepresented the reason why Gottbaum's nomination was held up, implying that it was partisan politics when it was actually Senator Sherwood Brown, Democrat who had put the hold on the nomination.

I am sorry that highlighting this offends you, but it doesn't make it any less true.

I voted for a different, better way. I see mostly "politics as usual" and it saddens me.

So Nash you now equate the confirmation process to a show trial. Tell me once when the President and the majority party have been the same party and they did not schedule a confirmation hearing, because it would be embarrassing? Recess appointments in the past have been made when the administration and the majority have been from different parties, and the opposing party did not schedule a hearing. This is clearly not the case.

On my second point you are proving it true. The republicans were despicable in their blind support of George W Bush. You are currently showing the same behavior in your blind support of this President.

dangerfield,

I posted facts, many with links.

But thanks for not doubting my sincerity . . . I certainly don't doubt yours.

Jody, Iowa

So, you didn't read the article before commenting?

Alan,

You keep confusing "blind support" of the President with keeping my eyes squarely focused on progress and not on nit picking.

You disapprove of the President's methods. Fair enough.

But the choice was legal and it is his prerogative to make it.

I elected the President to make thes types of choices . . . and in the grand scheme of things . . . this ain't a big deal. . . it isn't like this dude got a lifetime appointment or something.

I won't take the bait.

dangerfield,

President Obama is a despicable liar.

He is the best despicable, lying politician that I have seen in my lifetime.

I am encouraged by the way he games the political system to actually get things done.

Feel better now?

Holds in this day and age are mostly secret, and there is precedent for one politician saying that there isn't a hold on a candidate while another has one in place. Quoting Chuck Grassley is less a stamp of authenticity with every passing month. Where once I respected him more than most any other Republican he has become a tool of the party tacticians and the "House on C Street". OK, you found an opinion that the Berwick nomination wasn't going to be held up. For every one of those there's an opposite opinion http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/2010/07/post_56.html so that proves nothing. Republicans don't want this position filled EVER and they were set to delay a qualified appointee http://www.samefacts.com/2010/07/health-care/donald-berwick-good-appointment-good-strike-against-a-terrible-nomination-process/ to a position that MUST be filled for health care reform to move forward.

You keep confusing "blind support" of the President with keeping my eyes squarely focused on progress and not on nit picking.

So you had no problems when George Bush trampled over the congress? The problem with this attitude is that once the precedent has been set subsequent administrations use it to justify their abuses. What this decision has done is to remove the need for the confirmation process in the future. Why bother even if your party is in the majority.

But that's OK with you because the end justify the means.....just like George Bush and the republican congress of 2002 - 2006. Who cares about checks and balances because my side is right.

Yes, I think that is the definition of blind loyalty.

Well,

You are becoming less ashamed of you bias and hypocrisy , so from a therapeutic standpoint, you should be feeling less anxious...

Sadly with each escalation in your partisanship, you become indistinguishable from the very right wing nuts you rightfully criticize.

Just remember that there will be other administrations and other presidents in your lifetime and the words you type today will come back to haunt you in the future when the same irrationality is effected in defense of a president you don't support.

My God man, if you have this much trouble with someone who voted for the president and supports most of the planks in the Democratic platform, how do you ever expect to communicate with those republicans?

dangerfield,

I am a woman. And I am not seeking your approval.

Nice chatting with you.

=====================

Alan,

The President is "trampling" over the Congress? But I thought that he deferred to the Congress too much?

I thought that it was Congress who will not fund the closing of Gitmo?

I thought it was Congress who will not extend unemployment benefits?

Yeah, Congress is just a poor powerless thing.

But I'm the blind one.

Nashville_fan

dangerfield,

I posted facts, many with links.

But thanks for not doubting my sincerity . . . I certainly don't doubt yours.

The president failed to persuade his own super-majority in congress to enact a centerpiece of his campaign. This points to either an inability to lead or a total lack of understanding of the process and the problem during the campaign.

Here are other links and facts.

Obama admits Guantanamo won't close by Jan. deadline

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/18/AR2009111800571.html

and the NYT where DEMOCRATIC legislators are frustrated by the president's "inertia"

When the White House acknowledged last year that it would miss Mr. Obama’s initial January 2010 deadline for shutting the prison, it also declared that the detainees would eventually be moved to one in Illinois. But impediments to that plan have mounted in Congress, and the administration is doing little to overcome them.

“There is a lot of inertia” against closing the prison, “and the administration is not putting a lot of energy behind their position that I can see,” said Senator Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and supports the Illinois plan. He added that “the odds are that it will still be open” by the next presidential inauguration."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/26/us/politics/26gitmo.html

So, you see that there is more than one opinion on the failure, and on both sides of the aisle.

In a debate, both sides use the same "facts" to create opposing arguments. Did you know that? In a trial both sides use the same "facts" to present opposing theories to the judge/jury.

I see your links and facts and raise you one fact and two links...:)

My God man, is a figure of speech, like the waitstaff calling the mixed gender couple/group "guys", yet I will apologize if you took offense.

I appreciate the time and effort you took to engage me in the spirited debate we had and hope that the civility (for this joint especially) will be replicated in future discussions between us and serves as an example to others...

this is a good exchange; but what I notice that is sorely lacking in the discussion is the fact that this 'recess' appointment is only valid until it expires - or he ends up confirmed anyway. This puts a body ON THE JOB in the meantime. Call it a 'temp' position if you will. Kind of what John Bolton provided for us at the UN, if I recall? He was NOT confirmed and ultimately left that post when the term expired. This is from memory, so I may have a fact or two incorrect,...but this isn't a LIFETIME appointment to which NO ONE ever gets to bring it up.

The stall tactics for political posturing are rampant on both sides and DO NOT represent the best interests of our Nation. Both Sides Need to Make It Stop. Who's going to call "chicken" first? The only way to change Washington is to have Willing Partners. This President does not seem to have that Luxury. The party of Whine and Cheese have made that clear. Personally, if I were in Reid or Pelosi's shoes I'd be shoving some much tougher pills down the throats of the 'obstructionists' and I wouldn't let up for ANY recesses. I would make them take the floor and 24-7 air their grievances until the work of the people get done. And you bet your SWEET cheeks I would be hitting that Budget like nobody's business so that the recently converted deficit hawks would have to support their BS projects back home, like bridges to nowhere, etc.

You want Unemployment paid for? Hit those states that historically GET BACK MORE than they contribute dollar for effin' dollar! The porkula bus will start to really squeal then! And I WELCOME that discussion!

Clara:

Great post . . . and I think it is way past time to either make the Republicans in Congress legislate or explain why they won't/can't . . . and enough of the railing against a program out of one side of your mouth and giving a speech at a giant check signing for the same program out of the other!

It is way past put up or shut up time.

dangerfield:

I was not offended by the expression, just making sure you knew I was "all woman"! lol

I agree that the same facts can be used to make different points . . . but in your initial post . . . you created the impression that President Obama had been derelict in his duties when there have been significant road blocks put in his way by less than courageous Democratic legisators.

Once again President Obama is to blame for not cleaning up other folks mess fast enough. It is President Obama's fault that a completely seperate branch of government cannot reach consensus on the priorities that they all claim to share.

It is President Obama's fault that the Cheney Administration decided to fill Guantanamo with folks while creating no plan for what to do with them.

During the healthcare debate, it was President Obama's fault that he did not write the legislation for Congress, when that is expressly their job.

And the members of Congress have been so ineffective for so long, they have absolutely no shame in coming before a microphone and indicating that they NEED the President to HELP them do their jobs.

What other job in America could you stand to the side and complain that someone else is not doing your job for you?

I mean, in this very thread, I have one person telling me that the President is "trampling" the Congress and I have you telling me that he is not riding them hard enough! lol

Talk about a no win situation.

I appreciate you taking the time to find links and share your point of view . . . now if only we could get more Americans to do the same we might actually have a chance to move our country forward.

And if they want unemployment benefits passed, strip out to a single bill with a single purpose and get every senator on the record as to where they stand.

George Bush got more passed through a democratic senate (2000 - 2002) and a democratic house (2006 - 2008 as a lame duck), than this administration can with majorities.

Alan,

You mean a single bill with a single purpose like the one he already introduced?

Reid introduces new standalone unemployment extension bill

http://michiganmessenger.com/39217/reid-introduces-new-standalone-unemployment-extension-bill

What does that prove Alan, other than that the GOP is wedded to their obstructionist agenda no matter how American suffers until "people come to their senses and vote Republican"?

Thanks Lady Nash...but again, it wasn't ME saying that about the President, it was DEMOCRATIC senator Carl Levin.

And leaving the crafting of legislation to the most highly politicized branch of government will be criticized and debated not just here but in the history books as a failure of leadership...\

I wasn't being sarcastic when I said I didn't doubt (and I sort of admire) your sincerity and unwavering total support of the president...

Yes, that's what I mean. Didn't they go on vacation before voting?

dangerfield,

Thanks for the kind words . . . I admire your determination to follow the truth wherever it leads . . . and not be caught up in the soft glow coming off the President's winning smile! :o)

We need more folks who can actually THINK for themselves . . . even if your thought pattern is alot more cynical than my own . . .

It takes all of us to get where we are trying to go.

My Dear Lady Nash (hope you don't mind the "lady" part)

Look at how far we have come in just a couple of weeks..mutual courtesy and respect despite differing views...maybe there's hope for us all...whoops, I just had a momentary lapse in cynicism...:)

John B:

What it proves is that the soaring rhetoric of the campaign meant nothing. It proves that Barak Obama is simply another politician. What is disappointing is that after 8 years of Bush there was the hope that we could aspire to something better. What we have got is more of the same.

Yes you can fault the GOP. What is disappointing there is that by doing nothing they may get regain the majority in congress, however, they have not raised any expectations. What makes it worse is that the current administration and congress have become so bad that the republicans have actually become an acceptable alternative by offering nothing.

I'm not so sure, Alan. Everyone likes to point out that Pres. Obama's ratings are down, and as a matter of fact they are now in the range of other recent presidents at this point in their first terms. Everyone likes to point out that Democrats in Congress aren't well liked, or that Congress as an institution isn't popular. Rarely does anyone point out that in spite of the "generic ballot" Republicans currently in Congress as a group have the worst popularity numbers of all.

They've spent the last couple of years blocking everything and claiming that's all they're required to do as an opposition party. There's been no vision, no "we should do this, instead." As a result voters in the Fall will have a choice between Democrats who are being blocked in their agenda and a Republican vision which defaults to the GWB years, thanks to lack of development by the GOP.

The generic ballot is just that, generic. By Election Day every voter will be faced with a real choice between a Democrat and a Republican who will either be a Tea Party candidate or a blank slate undifferentiated from the Bush agenda. The wind is and will remain against the Democrats, but that's about the best situation a Democrat could ask for when holding both houses of Congress plus the WH just months after the bottom of a record-breaking recession, with 2 unpopular wars.

Great post, Voted, and YES, I am angry as all heck at BP, the Repubs and the Used teabags that keep shooting off their mouths and hitting themselves squarely in the foot. I can only hope that AG Holder actually finds BP WILLFULLY NEGLIGENT for it's handling of the well-turned-gusher and that some of their exec and "Company Men" find themselves in an American Prison.

IR,

What we are witnessing is the sad fact that we have an entire generation of Americans who are unable to think for themselves.

Even with the sad truth washing up in thick black layers by the hour, folks still are unable to admit that much of what they have believed for all these years is just flat out wrong.

Easier to continue to blame others than to accept any responsibility for the deadly harvest their decisions have brought us.

Sad but true.

IR, great post, and yes, why AREN'T we flexing our 2nd Amendment Rights right now against a company that has polluted the Gulf and has thrown countless THOUSANDS of people out of work for DECADES?

I have been active on Newsvine for a few weeks now and feel like I have a pretty good sense of what takes place here and the way debates generally flow. I am becoming more and more concerned for the future of America as I see us continuing to slide down a slippery slope to utter polarization and the cessation of any meaningful discourse on the vital issues that confront us in the world today.

America is sorely challenged in many areas these days. From the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the unrest in North Korea and Iran we are facing oppressive and almost overwhelming challenges in navigating these issues. Turning to the domestic front, we are grappling with an economy teetering on the brink and an ecosystem, culture, and way of life are under attack in the Gulf. Let's also not forget the plight of those unemployed that are now without the ability to provide for their families, the immigration problems that threaten to further choke Congresses' ability to do anything, and the many other things that are all on the President's plate vying for his attention and priorities.

Against this backdrop of turmoil, how can America move forward, face our challenges, and forge ahead as the global leader in morality and might (both military and economic)? Will we be empowered to overcome these challenges by questioning the nationality of our duly elected President? Will stalling, blocking, and opposing any effort to even DEBATE the issues in Congress going to enable us to fully evaluate our options, choose the best course for ALL Americans, and progress the way this country has always been able to do?

In times like these, what has always made America great was the foresight that the Founding Fathers had to create a structure for government that brought the best and brightest minds together in one place, opened the floor to vigorous and thorough debate of ALL sides of a given issue, allowed time for deliberation and discussion, and then come together to forge a consensus and move forward. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, did it take a motion for cloiture to end debate and declare war on Japan? When FDR faced a massively crumbling economy, did congress decide to throw up their hands and take NO action on ANYTHING because they did not like the choices that were made by the MAJORITY party that was ELECTED to take those actions?

These days, one cannot even express an opinion on any issue without being attacked personally by the opposing side. People choose not6 to go after a position or an opinion, rather, they choose to attack personally. People are accused of being stupid or ignorant if they do not agree with an opponent. People are called unpatriotic for expressing their personal views and beliefs to the point where discourse, discussion, and debate stifled or suppressed. I long for the days when people would agree to disagree RESPECTFULLY and would allow ALL parties to a debate the time and the opportunity to present their position and to justify their reasoning and why they feel the way they do. It was actually possible that you could be made aware of a fact or a position you had never considered before and that might actually make more sense than the positions previously held to vehemently. Without the ability to fully discuss and analyze a given situation and without the ability to weigh all sides of an issue and attempt to determine the natural outcome of any given course of action, how is America to navigate these troubled waters we find ourselves adrift in?

If Congress (and the American media and public as a whole) cannot find a way to fully and RESPECTFULLY evaluate all sides of these complicated and vital issues we face, we are doomed to follow the clamor of the echo chambers on BOTH sides of the political spectrum to our ultimate demise. If we are too shortsighted to see that we are ALL in the same ship and we are all in peril if the ship runs aground, we will never again be able to find the strength, courage, and determination to do the difficult tasks, make the tough decisions, and right the course that we set this fine country on.

I am still hopeful and optimistic and choose to take solace in the fact that America has ALWAYS found a way to come together for the common good and put our MUTUAL best interests ahead of our individual interests. I am hopeful that we will once again realize that unless America as a whole can thrive and flourish, there is a limit to what ANY of us can accomplish as individuals. I pray that we are not too late to correct our course and can once again set sail on a course that will bring us together to face the challenges that face us all. God Bless America.

Good job Disgusted I'm glad that you copied that post up here because as I said it's something that most of us here can agree with and I hope that I can help a little in making it happen.

wELL lets look at healthcare reform..... the only people who want it are those who are too lazy to get health insurance (or a job) themselves, unions and democrats. Understand when I say that I mean healthcare reform that was passed earlier this year. There were ideas brought to the table such as: opening up the market to insurance companies to go across state lines and tort reform (so that doctors couldnt be sued out of business). Now anywhere in the 25000 pages of healthcare law are either of those issues addressed? No.

Healthcare was a bad law shoved down our throats by SEIU and Obama (who is deeply in bed with Andy Stern). Does anyone have any clue who wrote the HCR? It was the unions.

Isnt it funny that the only high priced "cadillac" policies that are exempt from taxation are ones offered through unions? Could that be a coincidence?

Got to step out for a while so I thought I would answer the acusation of putting up questions with no answers in advance. What would I do? Posted part of it a couple of months ago. I’d have given them 20 days and then started seizing assets. So right now I would have a squad of Marines setting on 60 oil rigs the proceeds to go to the people of the Gulf in perpetuity. Every Company rep that was on that well that night and supposed to be in charge would be in jail and charged with manslaughter and if I could trace the orders that these folks were given higher in the chain I would put those folks beside them. Every Government official and inspector that allowed documents and safety regulations to be skirted would have been fired and if their actions were deemed to contribute to this I’d put them in jail right beside the others. Go by every Home Depot and Day laborer site in the U.S. and round up all those illegal immigrants that are just worrying the heck out of every body and ship them to Gulf and put them in all those empty Motels at B.P.’s expense. Tell them if they’ll stay six months I’ll give them a Green card and a path to go forward. Call up Jindal and Barbour and tell them to quit running their mouths and filing lawsuits and start making plans to utilize the assets I’m sending them. Send old McChrystal down there to be in charge and to get her done if he wants to redeem his career. There are a whole bunch of things that could and should be going on to bring some justice here and Redneck Justice is known to be rather swift, sure and sudden. But then again old Boehner would probably just tell me I’m using a Nuclear weapon to kill an ant.

Larry correct me if I'm having a senior moment here but just who in heck is talking about health care. Or are you like Chucles wandering around out here in hopes of finding enough gas to get your Go-Kart started in hopes of making a lap or two around that Cheerio

Disgusted: I'm having a really hard time with your lecture, given your response to me yesterday on the election process in West Virginia.

Go look up hypocrisy in your Webster. Then get up on your high horse again.

No Blow,

In your case, I claim an exception as you have made it painfully clear you are unwilling and unable to engage in an actual discussion with facts, opinions, and reasoning included. As such, you are clearly here to spew your incendiary posts and act like the troll that you are. Because of this, I feel that I am entitled to an exception in your case to call a spade a spade and a troll is a troll.

If you are willing and able to demonstrate a willingness and an ability to actually engage in a FULL discussion without your typical hit and run/hide tactics, I will gladly agree to leave the epithets and questions as to your mental competency aside and deal with you on a purely respectful platform. Are you willing and able to accept the challenge now or are you going to simply ignore this post (as you do with ANY post that challenges you to do anything more than spew your Rushisms) and make believe that you are actually contributing something worthwhile here?

Terrific comment, IR.

I'll add where's the righteous anger that the NRA supports those on the terrorist watch list being able to buy guns.

Disgusted-in-PA,

I, for one, share in your observations and feelings of us losing our way. As long as some are given a venue to spout nonsense regardless of which extreme they inhabit, the country will collapse onto us. By not demanding that news be news and not an avenue to influence, we have relinquished any moral authority we may have had.

I am as a "Real American" as those who run around calling themselves real americans.

I think part of the righteous anger is lost in the struggle of day-to-day living and worries about jobs, economy, etc. for a lot of people. But I think most of it has been beaten down by a feeling that any one individual can't to anything to bring change. Where have the war protestors been? It is the same thing. Loved your comments , IR.

I am both shocked and amazed at the lack of both outrage and determination to prevent a recurrence of this horrible catastrophe. Entire swaths of the Gulf economy are being wiped out by just one player. A huge, rich environment is being destroyed at the rate of thousands of barrells of day. In spite of that we're reacting almost as if someone's gas tank overfilled, and isn't it great that we have something new to play political games with? We're overly reliant on a poison to keep our society alive, clearly don't have the technology in place to handle that poison safely in these deepwater locations, are wreaking havoc on one of the best corners of our beautiful planet, but God forbid it be the fault of the mega-corporation who brought us this mess.

Larry it's amazing how you know just who is for and who is against HCR. I suppose you see it through your crystal ball. I'm so tried of these teabaggers trying to tell us what most Americans think, it's just what you think Larry and your stupid so nobody pays any attention to you.

And now your've got the health care bill up to 25000 pages, I guess that sounds better to you than 2500. But you didn't spout the talking point Limbaugh and Fox gave you about nobody read it your slipping Larry. I guess you missed the polls that say most Americans are for Health Care Reform.

Larry, Minot, N.D.

wELL lets look at healthcare reform..... the only people who want it are those who are too lazy to get health insurance (or a job) themselves, unions and democrats.

Man you are going down the wrong road on this, health care reform is needed for those who can't get insured because of pre-existing conditions. there not lazy, they in many cases are cancer patients, who have either exhausted there life time cap or can't get any because of pre-existing condition that health insurance companies have for years denied then coverage.

My mother worked all her life and paid her premiums like we all do, when she was diagnosed with Breast cancer her plan covered he like they were suppose to, when she was let go as a teacher and could not afford the cobra she went looking for a health plan but because of her pre-exisitng condition she was unable. 3 years after she lost her job the cancer came back. she had to mortgage her house to try and save her life. it did not work.

She was not lazy, she needed health insurance. she raised 6 kids after my father her husband died very young, she never was able to do they things for her self, she made her life about her kids. she helped put 4 kids through college, she helped me buy my first house. she deserved better than that.

i hope you never have to experience what she had to in the last years of her life, she died young 64.

so i will say this please don't ever call people who need health insurance lazy, ever again you make your self sound like a stupid, a** hole reagan republican.

Hey larry, I'm waiting for a response!!!!

Good luck with THAT Jeff - he still owes Nash & I one as well...

Talks 'tough' but cuts & runs when confronted to back up his BS - so very very typical... lol

Jeff,

Larry likes to hear himself talk. . . makes him feel all important like Rush! :o)

yes Feisty, this GUY says crap like that, with out knowing the true inpact of health care reform, i told a very sad story, that is typical as to why health care reform is needed and he turns and runs,

some day he will experience the hardship my mom as well as the presidents mom had to go through in there final days, for his sake i hope he does not have to. but for his post i hope he does.

More than likely NOT Nash!

That's why we haven't heard anything out of them so far...

Totally agree Nashville!

It's amazing that the only Repub that is mentioned in any dialogue is Ron Reagan, as if he is the patron saint. Nobody seems to remember W, or at least not in public.......

W was the worst President ever and the Repubs know it.....so they try to forget about is 8 year reign of destruction.....Lies, denial, and cover-ups!

Nashville:

Most likely the Republicans would initially spend a great deal of time blaming Obama for the mess they found themselves in. But after a time those on the left could say that the Republicans now own any problems they claim to have inherited. Afterwards, it's anyone's guess what they would do or have to offer. To date, and based on their reactionary gene pool that lacks any proactive cells, they would do nothing but continue to project their own sad record on to others.

Nash, I'll expand your question a bit. Right now, the scorched earth strategy is in play - meaning that bad things are amplified to make the Obama Administration look incompetent.

OK, fair enough.

So what actually will happen when the Republicans DO regain control? What will Republicans do to FIX the problem(s) that they were so happy to make in the first place? Why is it that Republicans are so willing to BREAK this country - to the point where it may not exist - to regain power again? What is the benefit - and the logic behind - breaking EVERYTHING now?

I am having a real hard time understanding the logic behind this strategy.

If I am understanding what is going on, then the Republicans will 'inherit' a royal mess. If there are no plans on the table to fix the current mess, what plans will there be to fix an even BIGGER mess in the future?

Can ANYONE on the right side of the aisle answer these questions?

I don't see a lot of people on here praising the Jimmy Carter era either. Why the hell would they? And you can bet that in 10 years, America will be saying "what the hell were we thinking with barack HUSSEIN obama?"

Pietro,

I think you erred initially in believing that the GOP has any interest, plan, desire, or intent of making things better. The GOP strategy for years has been to attack and try to dismantle government as being too big. They demonize deficits and federal employment as insidious and something to be fought with every resource imaginable. Once they have succeeded in shrinking and starving government to the point where it can no longer provide the function or service needed, they point to how government is broken and how we need to further dismantle all rules and regulations that hamper business and if we would just let the free market control everything, we would see how government is not needed and is the problem.

When they get back in power, they will continue more of the same to the point where the basic social services are eliminated and then only those that can afford to pay for PRIVATE companies to provide police, fire, trash collection, private toll roads, etc. When those that are less fortunate and unable to afford these services, they will say "let them drink oil from the Gulf" and walk away. They have theirs, eff the rest of us...

Pietro:

There is no logic behind this strategy . . . it is classic Governing from the Gut 101 . . . do what feels good . . . say what sounds good . . . whether or not it makes any sense.

And our 24 hour media culture is always clamoring for something to play . . .so they loop this stuff constantly . . . such and such said such and such . . . with absolutely no analysis of the statement at all.

This is why we get the constant talk about how the President makes people "feel" as if "feeling good" is the same as actually being good.

I guess Billy Crystal was right . . . many Americans would rather "look good" than to "feel good" . . . lol.

Up Chukie,

I would be happy to put the entire Carter record up against that of the partial term of Barack Obama. Are you telling me you see no difference between the legislative accomplishments of the Carter administration and that of Obama's? Do you also really want to compare the turbulent times of the 70's with those of today?

I think I understand now why you are so twisted. Must be all that turning on and turning out you are still doing. Old habits die hard I guess. When you are ready to leave the nostalgia of the 70's and enter the 21st century, maybe we can attempt to engage you again in an intelligent debate. Until then, I hope your acid trip is not a bummer and that everything is groovy for you man!

CU,

So your answer to my question is "I don't like Jimmy Carter".

Alrighty then.

Nash...

Sadly, this should really be 2 different questions...

1. What SHOULD they do?

2. What are they GOING to do?

The cynical side of me knows what the answer to number two is, regardless of which party is in power...and that is they are going to do whatever scores political points. That's a sad reality of both political parties.

As to question 1, what SHOULD they do, I have some ideas, but given my moderate bent, I doubt that they'd want to hear them. Mostly because it would require *gasp* compromise *gasp* between the two parties.

I am too young to be this cynical already! ;-)

Personally Nash I think they're probably trying to lay the foundation for an insanity defense as Ron put up above. Or maybe we're going to go back to "the Devil made me do it". As far as old Chuckles goes you'll really don't need to pay much attention to him. He's just jealous because Juven is leading the Rookie points standing on the circuit and he can't seem to be able to gather enough gas to get his Go-Kart started so he can make a start and not get charged with a DNF.

Ah Grimey . . .

I too am cynical . . .

But I think that the "bi-polar" game we are playing in modern politics is no longer working for us . . .

It is time for all good men (and women) to come to the aid of their country.

And that starts with using our HEADS and not simply accepting what we are being offered because those are the only choices . . . surely we are smarter than that.

We either need to demand that ALL POLITICIANS do something to EARN their salaries, or we need to ELECT SOMEONE (maybe ourselves?) who will.

Enough of the foolish political games . . . we the people always get the short end of the stick. . . and the politicians keep getting richer and richer . . . and for what?

Nash...I agree with you here. To me, what this country is missing right now is the art of compromise. There is no way that there is ZERO middle ground between the two parties. Very frustrating. It just seems that the actions of the political parties these days is simply aimed at better results in the next election. I don't know what it's going to take to change this.

Hopefully, when the republicans retake the house, (and, hopefully, the senate), they will cut the funding for this HCR disaster, and it will be repealed in 2013.

They will also start cutting the deficit-which is what happened when they took both houses when Clinton was president.

If you want a real blueprint for 'what will happen' beginning in 2013 if, lord willing, Mitch Daniels is president, take a look at what he has done in Indiana. Ron's opinion notwithstanding, he was re-elected by a landslide, while Obama won by less than one percentage point.

Turns out, giving the taxpayers the tools to decide what they want to fund is actually pretty popular.

nojoe,

Loving the rosy picture that you paint . . . so this time the Republicans are going to cut the deficit . . . but how?

By cutting taxes (again)?

By starting a war in the Middle East (Iran still looks belligerant, no?) ?

I mean, when the most recent things done by a Republican was the above plus an unfunded drug benefit, why are you so confident that the deficit will be cut?

I think it would be GREAT for the Republicans to do all the things you mention . . . including repeal Healthcare . . . hell, let premiums continue to skyrocket unabated . . . who needs to go to the doctor anyway?

[Who is the cheerleader again? ;o)]

NJ, you must be thinking of GW Bush, who not only won by less than one percent but actually lost the popular vote in 2000. I know it's hard for you to wrap your head around but his margin of victory was 7 percent http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/obama-popular-vote-margin-largest-ever.html .

As far as balancing the budget, perhaps Republicans will do what they did the last time they had the Senate, House of Representatives, and White House http://www.kowaldesign.com/budget/ . Funny, that doesn't look much like balancing the budget to me.

So your blueprint is to undo everything that the Obama Administration has done. OK, that takes us back to Fall, 2008 as a deregulation-inspired bubble burst, creating the worst recession since the Great Depression. What next?

No joe all blow, you need to go back and review your history. Under Regan the deficit exploded, under Bush I the deficit exploded, under Bush II the deficit exploded, so tell us again just how you republicans are going to cut the deficit. I hope your smarter than this, but I dought it.

It does make me a little misty eyed when I see njnbnj out here talking about 'hope'!

How's that workin' out for you? No Way In Heck you get the Senate - and the House is just outside of your grasp, too; but I'll give you the fact you gain seats.

I think I just realized the new Repub strategy on Unemployment Benefits. I hate to say it; but I think they are stopping the Unemployment so the average Joe DOES lose his house. He can't vote if he doesn't have a verifiable address,...this is how cynical Republicans are - defund education so they have a stupid constituency and when that backfires - make everyone homeless so they can't vote,...These are desparate times and they call for desparate measures. Whacking Trolls isn't enough - we must make sure every registered voter gets to the polls in November. Dems can't afford to not show up,...and I assure you WE WILL BE THERE in force to point out the fact that Republicans CANNOT govern. It's a nasty little detail that they suck at. Or at least that's my opinion!

What exactly is your problem with this president in particular making use of the teleprompter? Reagan used it, Bush used it, G.H.W.Bush used it. It seems like hypocritical minutia to me, or maybe it is just pure racism. "would smell as sweet." Douche.

Paul, what exactly is your problem generally?

Joe,

How many illegals would we need to fill all the jobs that GWB was creating when Obama was sworn in? Oh yeah, we could have been deporting 750,000 per month! Don't whine to me that Obama has not yet created enough new jobs. At least he stopped the steady stream of jobs LEAVING this country due to your wonderful GOP tax breaks for shipping OUR jobs overseas.

Joe, what is YOUR problem and why do you have America and OUR President so much? Why not rally behind the commander in chief and do what you can to support what is in our MUTUAL best interests? In the event you can find NOTHING to support in ANYTHING the President does, sit down, shut up, and show some respect for the office, if not the man.

Where are all the militant neo-cons now that were screaming how it was treason to criticize or question the President in times of war? Last I looked, we were in the middle of TWO wars that YOUR boy started. Now, we STILL have a wartime President that deserves your RESPECT, if not your admiration. Now suck it up, sit down, and let the man that was ELECTED to the office do what he was elected to do. For that matter, how about you beat your GOP Senators over the head and have THEM finally start doing what THEY were elected to do. It was not to simply stand in the corner pouting and saying "NO!" to ANY proposal that is made by anyone that is not their ideological brother in arms.

Joe , I thought it was obvious, my problem and this country's problems, are idiots (proven in our exchange on the filibuster) like you.

Joe-I'm going to take issue with your categorizing the president as a great campaigner.

He's not.

As Arlen Specter. Or Martha Coakley. Or Creigh Deeds. Or Jon Corzine.

GAllup did a poll asking independent voters what kind of effect Obama's endorsements had on their decisions to support or not support a candidate. Reid and Bennet should have a look at that poll-Obama's endorsement turns independents away from candidates by DOUBLE DIGITS. Bill Clinton wasn't much help, either.

I sure hope these Dems who have Obama out campaigning for them have their retirement plans set.

Even Palin uses a teleprompter but when it is not available a hand will do.

Disgusted said:

"Why not rally behind the commander in chief and do what you can to support what is in our MUTUAL best interests? In the event you can find NOTHING to support in ANYTHING the President does, sit down, shut up, and show some respect for the office, if not the man."

Gee, Disgusted, tell me, is that what YOU did under GWB?? Or did you criticize him for everthing he did that you disagreed with??

I think it's called "freedom of speech". Correct me if you think I'm wrong.

Boy no joe all blow are you and your teagabbing friends going to be disappointed after the election. Just keep telling yourselves how well you teabaggers are going to do in November, hope is good but your living a fantasy.

Disgusted:

Great post . . . and it sure needed saying!

With the absolutely STUPID and Detached from Reality type statements coming from Rant Paul and Scary Sharrie Angle, the Used Teabags do not have a snowball's chance come November, they are like watching carbon copies of Palin and Her approval rate, nationally is like 17% or less, and dropping (that poll was posted here, by FR not long ago). With Boehner, Barton and Steele in the mix the repubs and Used Teabags will have a very hard time picking up ANY seats because these idiots are energizing the left, center and moderate right voters to move as far away from them as possible.

NoJo and Joe, you are both in the Slow to Mostly Dead class of trolls, Low points, but lots of repeat business!!

I don't know Kim, how much? You must have some idea since you're saying that it's happening. Linky, please?

Jerry Brown is a kook. They don't call him "Gov. Moonbeam" for nothing. His father's corpse should be dug up and put on trial for ruining the Late Great Golden State with his ridiculous ultra-liberal policies. Who can forget the sight of him standing there in complete befuddlement as the maggots at Berkeley ran wild and the criminal dirtbags in Watts tore up the city. He had the look of "even after I've given you so many handouts and billions of dollars, you do this?" Liberals will never learn.

Jerry Brown a kook? Really? I think that the last 3 Republican governors were the real kooks for setting up Enron to rip off the people of California with their 'rolling blackouts', amongst other 'policies' that are not benefitting the residents of California.

Where was the outrage then?

Oh yes, I forgot - the Democratic Governor was run out of town via a recall for the Governator, and NOW you think that Jerry Brown can be WORSE?

That's a stretch even for you, CU Farley.

I assume this is a reply to my question about what will Republicans do to solve our problems if elected (my apologies if I am wrong).

I do get your point, that both parties get elected promising things that often never happen.

However, one of the reasons for my question was that President Obama campaigned for two years on a set of priorities, and then set about trying to get them enacted.

And then the howling began.

He is doing too much.

He is not doing enough.

With the point of agreeement being he is doing SOMETHING.

Big change . . . another promise kept.

So the point really is . . . if we don't do something to address our problems, does that mean that we should just accept that nothing will ever be done about them.

And if we are to accept this . . . why is it exactly that we are paying politicians to do?

I think a big part of the problem today is that folks have become very comfortable with doing nothing . . . and hearing a lot of rhetoric that makes them feel better.

So are politicians really just supposed to be faux father figures who come out and tell us what we want to hear?

That seems to be what much of America is clamoring for . . . someone to rub them on the head . . . tell them that they are right and everyone else is wrong . . . they are good and everyone else is bad.

That style of governing is ill suited for the challenges we are currently facing.

Where are the solutions . . . because if you don't have solutions . . . then what job is it that you are actually applying for?

Your plaintive cries about solutions are at once disingenuous and naive; Politicians don't offer solutions, they offer "change" from the other guys...period

The electorate votes for "change" and when things are not going well, they vote for "change" in the other direction. If the guys running the show are not doing a good job in the opinion of the people, they vote them out.

Republicans are running on austerity, and reducing the deficit. Their "solutions" will probably be centered in that area. If they actually win anything and control one or both houses, they become as responsible for what happens as the president and the democrats. If the republicans are able to enact austerity measures and the economy continues to falter, they will be attacked by the democrats, who will then represent "change", and if things don't improve...

It's the history of politics in America.

Dangerfield,

I appreciate your sentiment and I agree with you in principle. The problem is, the past has proven that the GOP is wholly incapable or unwilling to accept ANY responsibility for ANY of their policies or practices. Heck, GWB could not even remember ONE area where he might have made a mistake or could have done something better or different.

When one side can lie, twist, mis-characterize, and distort the truth to the point there is nothing left, why should we accept on blind faith that they WILL somehow own up to their responsibility and take accountability for their actions?

I agree that is the history of politics in America . . . and I think this model is no longer working and our country is falling behind.

I agree that is the history of politics in America . . . and I think this model is no longer working and our country is falling behind.

So, if you agree;

1) Do you agree that uncritical support only damages your own positions?

2) What is your solution? (Got this one from you)

Nash: the problem for most of the people who voted for Obama is simply that, well, he ran a good campaign.

As I said over and over again during the campaign, his speeches were designed to allow the listener to hear what he or she wanted to hear. He campaigned as a centrist, when he is nothing of the sort. He was against healthcare mandates, taxing cadillac plans, everyone could keep what they had if they liked it. . .on and on.

After his election, when his policies came rolling out, I warned that his approval ratings would drop as a result of the fact that none of his policies had majority approval. I told you that he was the reverse of Bill Clinton-whose personal approval numbers were abysmal, but whose policies garnered majority support.

Obama was the Zelig candidate. That got him into office. Has he addressed problems? Only those he deemed worth taking on. Even then, his solutions are worse than the original problem. (See the stimulous program).

Those who were fooled by his rhetoric have now turned against him, and will vote for the other party. That is Obama's problem, and a problem for those true believers who uncritically defend anything and everything he does, despite the evidence that all of his 'solutions' have exacerbated the problems rather than solved them.

Believe me, you'll get over it.

dangerfield:

1) In order for someone to lead, it requires others to follow. Do you know of any organization that can run effectively with each employee having veto power and running their own seperate agenda?

Now of course, better organizations get input and feedback from their employees and use that to implement better policies.

It seems to me, one of the problems we have is that everyone thinks that THEY are RIGHT, and if the President disagrees with them, then he should adjust to their position.

But of course, the reason we elect Presidents is to make the tough decisions that none of us would ever come to consensus on, right?

And then we have those elections every 4 years to render our verdict.

This constant second guessing, whining with no solutions, and general grumpiness is not dissent - it is pouting and taking your ball home if you can't get things all your way all the time.

I elected the President to do a job, and I am gonna let him do it. I will put my 2 cents in, but ultimately, the decisions are his to make.

The complete lack of respect that he has been shown says more about us than him.

I am not "uncritical" . . . I just have to spend so much time swatting down UNFAIR criticism that it appears that way.

I mean, when you have folks sincerely making the argument that the Obama Administration is out to destroy America, and then you have folks who claim to "support" the President letting that stand and then adding their complaint about stuff that they don't even have the votes to pass on top of it, I say enough.

2. My solution is to start talking about REAL THINGS and stop obsessing over polls, political rock stars with little or no substance, and all manner of other distracting foolishness.

I would love for the media to step up to their job and shed light on the things that are really effecting our daily lives instead of all the political minutia that ultimately doesn't matter.

I think that the truth matters, and we as a nation have been making entirely too many political decisions based on myths.

And when I say truth, I mean truth about things that matter, like how we got our huge deficit, like what the actual effects are of tax cuts, not the "he said, she said" sideshow stuff.

nojoe:

When will you "get over it"?

;o)

Nash-

"The complete lack of respect that he has been shown says more about us than him."

I don't know what you mean. George Washington, the father of our country, was hung if effigy by protesters in his full view. He only served two terms because "No man should be subjected to more than 8 years of this" Disrespect, as you characterize it, goes with the job as much as "Hail to the Chief" and AirForce one...

Criticizing a sitting president shows that we live in a free and open society where the people are free to criticize their leaders without fear of retribution. It is as American as apple pie.

How much respect would I find in your posts about Bush when he was president? Did you criticize those who disrespected him? Is it the man or the office? Be careful how you answer, because your posts from the bush era are floating on the internet and on this site.

"I am not "uncritical" . . . I just have to spend so much time swatting down UNFAIR criticism that it appears that way."

But, based upon your posts ANY criticism of the president is unfair, even legitimate criticism. Why do you feel compelled to as you put it "swat down" any unfavorable statement that you see? How can all criticism be unfair?

Again, where are and or what are your areas of dispute with the current administration?

You know dangerfield, I don't know if you noticed, but our country is in deep doo-doo. It is hard to navigate out of that much sh!t without getting anything on you.

Usually, folks pull together in a time a crisis . . . at least if they want to survive they do.

This is a time of crisis and I support the President's efforts to pull us out of it. These efforts would go alot better if he didn't have to stop and re-explain them daily to folks like yourself who keep forgetting why they voted for him.

I think I have been crystal clear about why I support the President.

And for the record, I never wished for President Bush to fail.

I do not have any "areas of dispute" with the current administration, I think they are doing a fine job playing the cards they were dealt.

A fine job indeed.

Nash-pretty much the same way I got over Carter.

When we have a new president who will fix what obama broke.

NJ, is President Obama a lousy campaigner, or a good enough campaigner to get elected in spite of it being obvious that he had nothing to offer as President? You've had it both ways on different threads this morning. Which point of view do you believe, and which was thrown out just to further your argument?

Your wrong again no joe all blow. Go check your history. I'm 60 years old and as long as I can remember which goes back to the 60s, the Democrats have always came into office and cleaned up after the republicans. Carter after Nixon, Clinton after Bush I, Obama after Bush II, if you can show any proof to counter this we would be glad to see it. If you want to see the truth just go to the government web site and look back at when the deficits were the worst, they grew dramatically under republicans.

To those that want to lknow if I was critical of Bush II during his time in office, of course I was. Want to know the difference between the rancor that was occurring then and what is happening now?

Back then, Americans that disagreed with the war and the reasons provided to "justify" them were called traitors by the war hawks and the neo-cons. Back then, our criticisms were a little bit more substantial and were supported by more than chants of "drill baby drill" or "show me a birth certificate". Back then, we were HIGHLY critical of the POLICIES and the DECISIONS that were made. If not for the face that English was apparently GWB's second language, he would not have endured the questions about his intellect. Had GWB been as forthcoming with HIS background and history as Obama has been, there would also not have been the conspiracies about his military "service".

Today, we have Republicans and Tea Party members that do not just question Obama's policies and decisions. Today, we have people openly disrespecting not only the man, but the OFFICE of the President, accusing the President of being a Communist, Marxist, Socialist, Muslim, and any other manner of disgusting epithets. We have people openly stating that the President wants to turn America into a dictatorship and then we have other legions of people advocating violent overthrow of the government.

So, you tell me what the difference is in the tone and nature of the dialog then and now. I have never in my life seen such blatant disrespect and UN-American behavior by those that want to climb the mountains and proclaim their love and devotion for America while simultaneously doing everything possible to undermine this country and the man we elected OUR President.

Actually, here are a few facts about good ole’ Abe:

Lost the 1832 election to the Illinois House of Representatives.

Won the same seat from 1834-1840

Lost his party’s nomination to the US house in 1844

Won the seat in 1846

Won the Illinois House seat in 1854, but declines to focus on a run for US Senate

Lost the 1855 Election to the US Senate

Lost the nomination for the US Vice President in 1856

Lost the 1858 Election to the US Senate in 1858

Won the US Election for President in 1860

Won the US Election for President in 1864

I hope Mike Murphy is the campaign manager for Romney, he'll keep the republicans running their campaigns like they did in the 80s and 90s, and that's a losing combination.

Thanks for bringing this up Houston. I saw that story yesterday, too bad it's already changed the game in terms of public acceptance of Global Warming. You're right on about everything else, too.

Great post and great points Houston!! When this "climategate" first was being discussed, there were some scientists who were saying that the "scandal" was a made up lie. But that got no traction with the MSM at all. Now have to wonder what is going to happen with the climate after all the hydrocarbons going into the air from this Gulf! I believe that until we enter into a new ice age or until the state of Wisconsin is 100 degrees all year long, the people will not face up to the fact that it is probably too late to make a change to our climate. The damage has already occurred and we as a people are going to have to adjust to the new climate or face extinction. The earth will continue, humankind most likely not.

The East Coaster's have been getting a dose of that "It is not global warming" with them setting new records for high temps. They just may be rethinking the Global Warming thing there.....

Here in Wisconsin it is certainly not very cool this time of year, winter is great, but the summers here....well, I prefer Oregon summers myself, but I happen to truly Love the Lady and her kids that I am with and so will put up with any kind of weather to be with them.

Accidentally voted for this rant....

Eric your mom said when your done playing on the computer you need to do the dishes...

Have you even been to college? I actually attend Liberty University and can tell you that they are a top notch school. Far better than most state run Liberal indoctrination camps (aka public colleges)

Larry,

You may want to keep the fact that you are a graduate of Liberty University a bit more on the down low... You are not really offering a very resounding endorsement of their ability to "edumacate" their students based on the positions you espouse on this blog and the way you present them...

Larry, I bet you've got the welding certificate to prove it!

Disqusted

Yo wouldnt understand my stance on things because you are a Obama worshipper who believes that the rich should pay for everything because thay've "had it coming"

Larry is that what you leaned at Liberty university, how to stomp your feet and scream. I'd bet after reading your posts Liberty University would deny you ever attended.

Good Morning Pat: So eloquently stated! It seems like we are on the same wavelength today. You see the anger and hatred. I see the insanity. I too thought that after the election of Barack Obama the country would become more accepting. Instead the conservatives feel more anxious and threatened. Progressives need to continue the battle through 2016. Then, maybe then we can find a greater sense of who we are.

Hi Ron. I guess Rachel's program which has been airing from Afghanistan has really affected me. I hear all over the place how Americans don't care about Afghanistan or its people. Fine.

From Rachel's reporting it looks like the military are remaining positive of the outcome. No one knows what's going to happen when we begin to exit next year. I don't know if we will have taken 3 giant steps forward or 3 giant steps backward.

I just think it's irresponsible to pull out right now.

85% of Americans supported Harry Truman's policy of helping the West Berliners once the Russians put the blockade in place. This is merely 3 years after WWII and the horrors of the war were making its way all across the country. Yet America back then supported Truman.

It was a dangerous volatile situation, just like it is now in Afghanistan. But Americans weren't screaming - get out now! during the blockade.

Something very hateful has taken over this country. I don't know when it started. My memory tells me it started with the Reagan years. The greedy years.

And now right wing talk has completely taken to propaganda and fake religion and fake patriotism. And the mainstream media says nothing.

They complain if the President golfs. Or doesn't give a good enough speech.

The GOP want total control over this President and our country. Every single one of their candidates is nuts. But they will succeed if we keep putting Republicans into office.

Hi again: You are indeed a student of history. The Reagan years, the greedy years, the time of deregulation of banks; those were good years for Republicans. I'm more inclined to think the hatred started before the McCarthy era. KKK, John Birch Society, a time when minorities had very few rights. Seeing an AA as our President just cuts to the core of the far right. Also fanning the flames of hatred is Fox News and Limbaugh. I believe the challenge for Democrats is to not become lazy. I think we have enough numbers of progressives and moderates to win, but we just cannot become complacent. My wife and I will be working to get Ellsworth as our new Senator, and the folks in MA will have to find a strong candidate to beat Brown. Barack will do fine in 2012.

Ron, I meant for my generation. They threw their ideals out the window in 1980.

Ron, I expect better from you.

You've got your history all wrong, by the way. During the civil rights era, it was southern democrats who fought, filibustered, and tried every trick in the book to prevent the passage of the civil rights act. Northern republicans were crucial to its passage.

AFTER that vote, after all of the fighting and filibustering of the southern DEMOCRATS, southern whites began to leave the party, to join the republicans. KNOWING FULL WELL WHO WAS ON WHAT SIDE.

I speak as someone whose parents really WERE at Selma. My father knows, and teaches all his children and grandchildren, what happened before, during, and after that great struggle. He talks of the bus boycott-which shut down the bus system in the south-because a majority of WHITES refused to ride the buses when their attention was called to the unfairness of the system.

Now, did these people turn a blind eye before? Of course they did. They accepted a status quo because they assumed it worked. However, when they were forced to see the situation for what it was, they stood up and fought for fairness.

Democrats would have people believe that history is wrong, that it was they who ultimately succeeded in guaranteeing civil rights for all. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I'll leave you with this: when JFK was campaigning for office, he promised to end Jim Crow laws with 'the stroke of a pen'. After his inauguration, the White House was inundated with pens.

It took Lyndon Johnson, with the REPUBLICANS to actually end them in 1964-four years after so many voted on the promise it would be done instantly.

Pat: I'm getting older, but not that old. We are not a full generation apart.

You made two points that I want to touch one:

1. They earned their keep.... you forgot a key word.... ILLEGALLY. The have no right to a job or medical care or any other thing in this country IF THEY ARE HERE ILLEGALLY.

2. What you want is amnesty correct? Meaning forgiving their crime (being here) and rewarding them with full citizenship. By your logic then all child molesters should be let loose and given another child to molest. Get real. They are here illegally and are criminals. Just like any company that KNOWINGLY hired them.

If we allow them (and guess what Im disagreeing with Regan doing it too) amnesty were doing nothing but teaching our children that if you are a minority and break the law its ok.

Fine you want amnesty..... I would be fine with it with ONE CAVEAT. The only way an illegal alien can qualify is if they enlist in the armed forces and serve 2-4 years in Iraq or Afghanistan. This would force them to EARN their citizenship.

If they do not want to do that then yes ship them back to where they came from.

NJ, do you really think that the same voters who kept southern segregationalist Democrats in power for decades moved to the Republicans BECAUSE they backed the Civil Rights Act? How do you justify that position? It would expect us to accept that people voted for Democrats all that time IN SPITE OF the racism of those office-holders and not because of it. The South went Republican entirely because of Nixon's "Southern Strategy" http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3626/is_200407/ai_n9468071/ . Thanks for bringing up revisionist history, you've illustrated it perfectly.

Ever notice how folks who don't have solutions to our problems are always trying to distract us with non-troversies so we won't focus on how that are raping an pillaging America?

You call all the things USAFVET talked about non-troversies?

I guess if you agree with them they aren't. Learned quite a bit about you just now Nash

"Love fest" for Rev. Wright? Did you miss your meeting last night? You're seeing things that aren't there today!

From one AF vet to another.... Excellent point brother!

Isnt it amazing how the new Black Panthers can intimidate (on camera) voters and the Regime lets them off scott free.... but yet Im a racist because I dont want illegal immigrants in my country?

And lets not even get started on Van Jones..... hes not racist in the least? But yet I am because Im a white man....

When liberals practice racism, it's called being "progressive". When white males don't agree with liberal positions it's called "racism".

Oh, yes. And let's not forget all those progressives who are members of the KKK and neo-Nazi groups and go to town hall meetings with guns strapped to their bods. Riiigggghhhhtttt . . .

Dear prould republican:

Something tells me you haven't learned anything in a good long time . . . glad to help.

Now now Julie, lets show a little respect for your party's KKK leader / member and democratic senator. After all he did just pass away.

Let me get this right USAFVet: You mean to tell me that you DO NOT believe that minorities should have the right to defend themselves or challenge something that we know to be unjust?

Two things you should know about racism:

1) You have to have people in either an overwhelming or stong MAJORITY, and if my math is correct, a nation with a AA Population that makes up 13% of the U.S. DOES NOT MAKE US A MAJORITY!!!

2) The majority have to be in positions of power, AND ABLE TO EXERT THAT POWER, and you are a fool to think that just because this nation has done the impossible by electing Barack Obama to be the Nations' First Black President paired with AAs making up 13% of the U.S is able to make a power grab!!!

I'll tell you what is funny: Even though progress has been made in a great many of endeavours, African American have been telling you for decades that we have a problem when it come to race relations at all levels, running from healthcare to education, income to employment and the justice system, and the only thing you are able to say is" It happened back in the past, so Leave it there", but when Rev. Wright put this nation on blast about what's going on, you had the audacity to be shocked, and you have the gall to get offensive or turn a blind eye when Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson hold a peaceful protest about racism in the work place or when law enforcement used excessive force when it wasn't called for.

Last time I checked, I don't recall seeing in the news about African Americans running around in white sheets and hoods, desecrating graveyards, lynching people, and burning crosses in your yards!!!

Kevin

You are a perfect example of why racism continues to exist to the degree that it does in the minds of people. Your definition of and single, narrow view of racism is based strictly on white against black. Any thought or discussion outside of your definition is strictly forbidden and those that do are called racist in order to squash the dirty secret that nonwhites can and are equally racist. Rev. Wright is just one example as definitive proof and not you or anyone else on the face of this earth can make a single excuse or comment to the contrary. Al and Jesse are proof of squashing the dirty little secret as their sole purpose is to ensure the focus stays white against black and drown out any discussion that would end all racism and put blacks as equals. Because what comes with equality is equal responsibility and you don’t want that now do you.

Equal responsibility would mean you having to adjust your narrow mindedness, denial and outdated view of racism in the context of white sheets, lynching and cross burning. Because today, in modern times, this has been replaced by blacks, Hispanics, Asians and white’s alike wearing gang colors, shooting and stabbing each other and burning each other’s homes….all in the name of racism. Neither group being less or more racist then the other. Get with the times Kevin, blacks are just as racist as whites ever were or ever will be.

Since you only think in terms of white against black and the past justifies everything, let’s include the entire past. It was blacks who enslaved blacks in Africa to sell to the whites. Something also occurred to me the other day that I have never heard spoken before and that is a relatively small minority of whites actually enslaved black people, but decades later the anger is against all whites. Yet hundreds of thousands of white people died in battle to free blacks from slavery and that has accounted for absolutely nothing. Yes that’s right….hundreds of thousands of white people actually GAVE THEIR LIVES for black people. Somehow blacks have conveniently worked that out of their minds when justifying their anger against whites. Otherwise how could they continue to categorize all whites or blacks based on color. Kinda makes judging people by the color of their skin rather than character pretty stupid. Racism will never end until it is all open, honest, all on the table and all sides are willing to take equal responsibility. Now please, just predictably call me a racist for trying to open up dialog and daring to speak about the dirty little secret and then go back to your narrow, self righteous, indignation. After all, that is a whole lot easier then responsibility.

That's where you're wrong, Paul. Of course ANYONE can be prejudiced. That's a given. Racism specifically requires the ability to act on your prejudices and use them to the detriment of others. Al Sharpton can say whatever he wants and much of what he does say is deliberately inflammatory. What he CAN'T do is redline a neighborhood, make someone drink from the "whites only" drinking fountain, or systematically deny white people jobs. THAT my friend is racism. It's Jim Crow laws, literacy tests for voting, and notations on credit applications that convey race for the purpose of denial. It's saying it's OK to deny entrance to your business based on race even if you claim you wouldn't do that yourself. It's using your power to enfranchise your dislikes. Blacks don't have that power in our society.

John

First I appreciate the reasonable feedback. I agree with what you say but must add that your view seems far to narrow as well. Judging someone based solely by the color of their skin and treating them accordingly is racism. This includes so much more than there is room on this blog to list. Something as simple as avoiding or treating differently a person of a different race or robbing or killing them due to race. You can’t tell me that does not happen everyday in any race. All races have this power in hundreds of ways that you suggest they do not have. I’m sure you know there are those who did not vote for Obama because of his race and in the inverse there are those who voted for Obama simple because of his race. Both are equally racist and both with equal power. Both rob Obama to be judged based on his character, skills etc and are equally unfair and damaging to him. So although you think I’m wrong, based on my belief’s above I find it difficult to see where I am wrong.

Ya know John, being honest here, I find myself sitting here wondering if so much of the anger is a result of slavery as they say (understandably), where would the black and white relationship be today if from the beginning the focus would have been on the thousands of whites who died against slavery rather than anger at the all whites as a result of the few? If blacks are not satisfied with where things are at today, then maybe the decades of corrective actions they have taken need to be reconsidered. Forming groups, colleges, magazines, clubs, and laws that exclude, isolate and divide hasn’t worked. Maybe different approaches need to be considered. Please in no way am I suggesting the problem to resolve is solely on their end by any stretch of the imagination. But it is in keeping with my original note to talk about racism from an angle that is forbidden – joint responsibility and equality.

Paul, as Admiral Kirk told Khan, "YOU KEEP MISSING THE TARGET!!!!" Where did you see that I was promoting racism? Where, in any of my text, did you get that?

I distinctly remember saving that 1) "You have to have people in either an overwhelming or stong MAJORITY", AND 2)"The majority have to be in positions of power, AND ABLE TO EXERT THAT POWER."

Now like John said, anybody can be prejudiced, you can be, I can be, HELL, Everybody can be. But here lies the linchpin, the crux: You can EITHER hold on to it and treat your fellow man with trust, humility, and equality and justice, OR you can do the latter and treat him with malice, hatred, and cruelty.

Let me guess: You think that just because I like the teachings of Malcolm X and what the Black Panther Party ORIGINALLY STOOD for makes me a racist. Why? Because they wanted me to learn, get an education, be a productive member of society, living my life with honor, being law abiding, be a strong Black Husband and father to my wife and children? Isn't that what you teach your children on how to live their lives?

You don't want to hear another fiery sermon like the one Rev. Wright gave? You don't want to hear or see Al Sharpton protesting an injustice on your TV? You want to shut Farakahn up? You want to prove AG Holder wrong? You really want to fulfil MLK's Dream?

THEN LET'S SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT THESE ISSUES, AND COME UP WITH AND IMPLEMENT THESE PLANS INTO ACTION!!!!!

Otherwise, you're (and not you in general, Paul) are going to do something foolish, fall back on that "It happened in the past" or "My ancestors DIDN"T own slaves" or " I have "X" amount of black friends (FYI- PLEASE DO NOT QUANTIFY HOW MANY YOU HAVE, it's very insulting)" and somebody WORSE THAN Rev. Wright is going to come in, and the little, blissful world you live in is going to be shattered, and you'll have that dumb and shocked look on your face.

I am in Nevada right now and I am seeing the Harry Reid-Sharron Angle battle play out here. It is a fascinating battle to watch. Although I agree with you that Harry should hold his ground, that is NOT who Harry Reid is as a politician. The mere fact that Sharron Angle wants to 'scrub' her positions is interesting enough.

Harry has been hitting back with television ads with clips/snippets of Sharron Angles speeches where she touts her positions. I have not seen many Sharron Angle television ads, though.

Note that I am in Las Vegas, and that is a more 'liberal' part of Nevada. I have no idea how this is playing out in Laughlin or Pahrump. On the way to the Grand Canyon on HWY 93, I did manage to see a billboard villifying President Obama, so what Sharron Angle is peddling is getting through to SOME of the constituencies here in Nevada.

Thanks Pietro,

Stay safe on the roads out there. I know some of our leaders like to play it a little more conservative in their approach to elections, kinda taking the high road. I am just in fear that the republicans do not play by the same rules. They tell outright lies with absolutely NO shame at all. They misrepresent their own positions with no regard to morals or ethics. They chastise a Dem for doing something and dam$ it, they go one better. I just fail to see how these people keep getting elected over and over. At some point this insanity has to stop, I would hope. Any wat, thanks for the update. I welcome any little ray of hope I can get.

Eric:

Upon reviewing the Declaration of Independence that had been penned by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams had a conversation with Thomas Jefferson. They asked that he edit the line, "we hold these truths to be sacred" and asked that he substitute the line with the following "we hold these truths to be self evident". Both Franklin and Adams stated that those who would be voting on acceptance of the Declaration of Independence (including themselves) would not approve of a document that contained any reference to God or religion. Thomas Jefferson agreed and changed the line.

I have no issue with a person basing their individual life style, behavior , etc. on their belief in their religion or God and any teachings they feel they have learned from that God. But true danger lies in the very moment when one or more individuals feel they have the duty and right to prescribe how others should live or behave based on their religion and/or God. Even those who claim to be Christian often fail to remember that their God gave every human being the right of choice.

I will say that I believe a nation to remain sutainable has to have a core set of beliefs on which the populace can rely to help it maintain a sense of oneness and greatness. And I believe those set of beliefs have to be based on spirituality (which is not man made religion) and sensitivity. I don't see Palin, Glenn Beck and many others in this country now exhibiting true spirituality and sensitivity. And if the numbers who now follow these people or who allow these people to influence their thinking and behavior grow then we as a nation are in very deep trouble.

Beverly in Chicago

Thanks for adding balance to the right-wing nuts who post here.I will do my best to reply to your incisive missive...

I don't know which one of my damnable lies has forced you to tell me "what for" but I apologize in advance.

If you would be so kind as to let me know which of my "lies" you would either like to "debunk" or correct, I will be happy to do my best to satisfy your curiosity.

I apologize in advance for being a democrat/independent who voted for the President and prominently supports most if not all of what would be called a progressive agenda.

Thanks again for writing...

Eric, Salinas, CA

What better proof that Scalia's Errand Boy Clarence Thomas

____________________________________________

Sounds a lot like racism there Eric.

You would know, Joe.

Try to remember that whites did employ whites as errand boys, and they called them boy too.

The truth does hurt doesn't it Joe in Albany.