Hersh -

Ater seeing your new sig up above, this might work for you, it sort of ties those two things together nicely:

 

We'll just flip for it!
Best 2 of 3. Two people capable of grassroots thinking, and the ability to think outside the box? I don't think the country is ready!

I say we make Kobi the NSA...

No, we need an ***-kicker to be NSA... Jamzwayne can be the NSA, we'll make Kobi the Secretary of State. And Buckdropper will be the Secretary of Defense. For everybody else, we'll find a spot, and for Mountaineer, we'll make him the head of the NHTSB.

Yeah, it's bad... It's gonna take someone coming from out of nowhere to really turn this country around. I say that because no one grabs me as being the one that we can get behind...

I saw years before Bush ran that he had things in control (In Texas) and he carried himself in a Presidential way. I said in 1996 that he could be President. He made it.

As I scan the horizon.. I don't see anything that we can cull into a national leader that can inspire the ENTIRE country... Not from anyone that's in DC today...

In three more years, the Republicans will be equally as lost as GB will not be able to run again.

 

Kobi, if I am EVER in LA, I will come have a drink of Coffee somewhere with you!

 

A lot of the health care cost problems are due to the hospitals and the insurance companies having us by the nads.

The hospital knows that the Tylenol they get for free isn't worth 8.00 but they bill 8.00 anyhow knowing that the insurance company will only give them 2.35, if the hospital billed a reasonable 1.25 for it they would only get paid .40 . It is all a game to them and we the consumer pay the price.

I was in the hospital a few years ago, the bill that went to the insurance company was something like 7400.00 the insurance company said it was only worth 2850.00. I called and talked to the people at my insurance company about another problem I was having and ask the guy about the big discount that they seem to get to take. He told me that since they are a big company representing a lot of people thay have the aggreement with the hospital that they will send their people there for service, thus they get the discount for the quantity of people they serve and send there. Yet if i didn't have insurance I get hit with the whole 7400.00 bill. Something that a medical savings account would do nothing for. I have negotiated a discount at the hospital billing office, they started at 10% and i told them i would make payments I paid in full at 20% discount. but it was still no where close to what the insurance company took.

Let's see I make 24K a year, cost of living here isn't so bad, I need to save for retirement, put monies into a medical savings account and a privatized SS offset account, plus the money taken out for my hospitalization and life insurance. Mean while costs for everything have seemimgly skyrocketed overnight, granted it wasn't that quick, cost of living goes up say 5% I get a 3% raise (if i get one at all) so I am 2% in the hole in three years i am a whole year behind. One can not catch up unless they are able to find a far better paying job. In my area great paying positions that you don't need 4 different college degrees for, are not something that is found.

Now some of the people that are representing us in the government think it would be just terrific to give the minimum wage a boost. Sounds great to the people making this wage or slightly above. The problem is that the everything else will go up in price accordingly plus. If the actul added cost to that loaf of bread is .12 the price will more than likely go up .16 - .18 because there is the way for the companies to make more on their bottom line and the minimum wage earner as well as the rest of us got a kick to the sack once again.

The oil companies and such are reporting record profits, where are they coming from? So the price of a barrel of oil went up 10.00 in 3 days, the cost to refine that same barrel is no greater other than the transportation of the pre and post refined product. Yet the costs of the actual product we use has went up an amount that is far disproportionate to the 10.00 a barrel increase. The thought of alternative energy and fuel sorces seems like a great idea, problem is the people that develope these things then sell the idea to the oil companies and they shelve them, because it would hurt their profits.

They say we went to war for oil, then why am i still paying far more than i used to, after all we won, or at least have won the the battle and are gettiing people in office there that we can hopefully work with.

We are there training their military, for 2 years, yet we take the 18 year old that is in the reserves and ship them over to do the same thing with only a few weeks training, 2 years plus training and they still can't figure out how to protect themselves and their fellow citizens. Well, there seems to be one or more things happening. They don't really care enough for their country to get it, or are just unteachable and will never be able to take control.

I am not saying it was or was not a good idea to go to war, but we deffinately need to start to slowly bring people home and leave them have more control of their situation, as people will never learn to do for themselves if someone else continues to do for them. I include myself in this statement.

Sorry it is a long and all over the topic map post, but i just got home and read through the thread.

 

shrtdave asks way too many reasonable questions.

I say, Off With His Head!

 

I'll give you a check if you spare me.

 

Now that's a scary thought! I like my cat!

Perhaps. My girl, who happens to be rather liberal, works in customer service for the local hospitals billing department. She tells me of the people calling, every day, complaining that they got a bill. They complain because they have "free care" or MA Health or medicade. They are upset that they have to see their bill. They don't even want to put in the necessary effort to get their free coverage. This isn't a few people, it's a majority of the calls she takes. Did I mention that my girl is a liberal? She is pissed at these people who demand entitlements.

I was talking with my liberal friends the other day. (most people I know are liberals, remember I live in MA) We were talking about entitlements. I made an anology. Say you invited a friend to dinner. You offered to pay for this friends dinner in a nice resturaunt. That's nice of you. The thing is this friend brings his wife, kids, inlaws and their next door neighbors. You offered to do a nice thing for a freind and they took advantage.

When there are a bunch of people getting "free" care, the expence is passed on. Nothing is ever free. Someone has to pay one way or another. The way I see it is health care is so expensive because... we've invited one friend to dinner and that friend has brought along a bunch of other people. Thoes of us who pay, have to pay for the people who don't. Do you like it that way?

It's necessary to help some people in out society but they keep bringing more and more people to dinner, at our expence.

 

What I found strange is how he talks about increasing education spending when he cut the educational budget( not too long ago) and how he will reduce the deficit(he created) in half by 2010 and then he asks for 120 billion dollars for the war. Also how we are dependent on oil, when his father, the vice president and himself are ALL profiting from the oil dependancy and price increases. Untaxed in off shore accounts. Why is it that they have not found Bin-Laden??? (the reason the war was started in the first place??) And he talks about cleaner burning fuels and energy and his family(and partners Halliburton) have been wanting to drill in the Alaskan wildlife preservation land for many years. The tax breaks he speaks of for Americans are not for the middle-class or poor but for the wealthy contributors to his campaign. Now before anyone gets pissy-pants I am not siding with the Democrats OR Republicans just pointing out a few things that didn't make sense to me. Say one thing and do another is not cool for anyone to do; regardless if its a buddy or a business or Commander in Chief. That's all. JMO.
Those who make the laws know how to break them legally.

 

Al Frankin couldn't have said it better himself.

 

Sounds completely unbiased to me...

 

Nope they don't count. Now, if they were a minority, different story, they get blasted on these pages to kingdom come!!

Case in point.. Andrea Yates, don't even get close to a mention around here, and she killed 5 children in cold blood, and they let her out on 200,000 bail.

No mention or outrage around here!!

Go figure.!!

 

Click reply....type....erase...cancel...

click reply....type...erase...cancel...

forget it I cant come up with a reply to addess this comment without violating the user agreement I agreed to when I registered.

will have to suffice

 

We are there training their military, for 2 years, yet we take the 18 year old that is in the reserves and ship them over to do the same thing with only a few weeks training, 2 years plus training and they still can't figure out how to protect themselves and their fellow citizens.

shtrdave--The short answer is we are training their complete military. We already have highly trained AND expirenced leaders. Because of these leaders we can send a person with only a few months of training into a hostile zone. Someone is there to watch and guide them. The Iraqis don't have the highly trained or skilled leadership. Two years is just enough time to have a general idea of what you are supposed to do. You are not highly skilled in any shape, way, or form.

TX-FX-4-- Some of your statements don't make sense. In particular where someone puts the profits of their oil earnings has no bearing on whether we are dependant on oil or not. The simple answer to the "How are de dependant on oil is easy. We use it for everything and must import what we can not produce ourselves.

"Why is it that they have not found Bin-Laden???" Easy if they find him he will become a martyr.

The tax breaks weren't only for the rich who supported him. They were for many people. The last time I checked wealth does not descriminate between liberal or conservative. I received some of those tax breaks and I'm am by no means rich.

 

I don't see why you can't comment! I just made comment on my observation. And I did it in a civil manner. just like the lady in the congress chambers expressing her views and was locked up.. What happened to freedom of expression.

Just because you disagree with me, you can be civil about it and post your reply..

You don't have to erase, I really like to see your answer..
So, don't hold it back. Come with it..

If you want to blast it back at me in email..

cehowardrx7@netzero.net

Last I heard this was a free country. .But, just like the lady who express her veiws in congress, she was muffled.

 

Why are you such a racist?

Yes, it’s a serious question…