Thursday, December 24, 2009

Senate Passes Health Care Bill, 60-39


While the good news remains good, I fear Congress may still be on the wrong track.

Senators (and Dem Senators!) are already asking for no material changes to the Senate bill by the co-joining with the House.

From where I sit, the Senate has to come in line with and incorporate quite a few items from the House bill before this even gets close to what this "reform" was supposed to be about in the first place.

Otherwise...in spite of what good news there is, we'll be looking at health care modification and not a whole lot of heath care reform.

Just my (not to often) humble opinion.

"I ain't sayin'. I'm just sayin'. Know what I'm sayin'?"
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

McCain Emerges As Front Man In GOP Efforts To Claim Reform Mantle


This is how our system rolls.

One party proposes and the other obstructs.

When the party that issues a proposal has been beaten down in the name of compromise, the obstructionist party uses that to it's own advantage by claiming to be the champion of the people.

I've watched this process back and forth with the two parties interchanging ideologies, loyalties, positions and intent publicly for more years than I care to mention here.

It's a sham and a con game that has been repeated in perpetuity on the American people in particular and on the global community in general throughout the last 150 years. A nominal amount of research into American history is all that is required to make that embarrassingly clear to anyone that genuinely cares to see it.

This story about the chameleons of government, fresh on the heels of thhi recent defeat of the health care reform is ample truth delivered yet again on top of yet an already existent hard truth.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Obama Accused Of Abandoning Health Care Principles In New Ad


Watch Obama's speech to Congress on Sept. 9, 2009 and from Minnesota Sept. 13, 2009 (The first is on Youtube...it's part of the infamous, Joe Wilson "You lie" speech) The second, you may need to search for.

There's no question that the President was At that time in favor and supportive of a public option and a litany of other health care proposals for the benefit of the people.

Unfortunately the effort wasn't sustained and his initial support started and ended much to early to be of any consequence when it was really neded when the House and Senate were deliberating.

We could have used him on this. And while I'm deeply disappointed as are so many others, rather than accuse him of negligence I think it's just his management style to assume that Reid and Pelosi would have follwed up on his proposals for HCR...and in Reid's case, that's where the ball was dropped.

Unfortunately, as in football, the team gets the credit for the wins but the coach gets the blame for the losses.

Either way, it's not a very promising piece of legislation at this point for the people of Ameria and it doesn't help to be smacked in the face with the reality that Congress (especially the Senate) is more accountable to business and industry than the people they were sent to Washington to serve.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Unemployment Programs In 40 States About To Go Broke


We have had better days.

And unless a new approach is applied, we may not see the likes of them again. This is not going well at all.

Obama is renacting the Dutch boy at the dike, trying to fill the leaks with cash, but everytime he does so, a new leak arises.

This was perhaps not the best plan for us.

Perhaps it would be different if we weren't locked into private banking and having a Fed.

Countries and gov'ts have the means and the right to print their own money, interest free without having to pay interest on it. Instead we're just incurring more and more debt.

The larger the debt, the more credit is extended and more interest is accrued which ensures more taxes to pay the interest while the debt still grows accruing more interest, requiring more taxation...and on and on.

A vicious cycle which has us hemorrhaging finacially with no tourniquet in sight.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Monday, December 21, 2009

Small Business Lending Programs To Get $30B In Bailout Assistance


"Better late than never" and "Better than nothing" are going to be the slogans that this administration is remembered for if they don't get their heads in gear and start taking a direct management approach to providing for this economy and the needs of the American people.

You can't just keep dumping money into the banks as though they are the financial equivalent of BlackWater/Xe and excpect to win the war on this economy.

For that matter, you can't use Congress as "contractors" either to promote an agenda to create a healthcare plan, as we have seen over the last few months.

This White House has got to become as interested/involved in and take ownership of these things to the same degree of ownership and hardship as the American people.

It's not a football team, and we don't need a coach. There's only room on the team for players and The White house is skirting becoming one by suffling all of our issues on to other interests for a huge price.

Where is the "boots on the ground", hands on leadership that most of us who voted for this president expected?
About Small Business
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Friday, December 18, 2009

Obama, Wen Offer No New Emissions Cuts -- China Blamed For Lack Of Progress


As a nation our leadership has the tendency to want to play the role of cartoonist Hank Ketcham's Margaret to the world's default enactment of Dennis Mitchell. We insist on when the tea party will take place, who attends, when and how the cups and saucers are arranged and God help Dennis if he doesn't want to sheepishly comply with every set condition, rule of etiquette or social agenda for the afternoon event because in a snit, Margaret will in whatever way possible lay the biggest guilt trip on Dennis and absolve herself of anything contrary to just trying to bring the best out of everyone for the sake of everyone involved no matter how intrusive and over bearing her "requests", demands or behaviors may be.

Yes, America has control issues which in and of itself isn't lethal. But when a solution may be needed for a dramatic peaceful, international coalition to help stave off a potential global threat from the environment, and America's leadership believes that not addressing the issue due to differences in stewardship is the only realistic and available option, or an existing, reasonable option at all... it could eventually turn out to be.

For everyone.

Bearing in mind that the world's collective body of failing solution seekers will be the last people on the planet negatively affected by those possibly disastrous results.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Friday, December 11, 2009

'Obama Doctrine' Praised By Conservatives After Nobel Speech


Whether or not Obama saying he would stay the course in Afghan surprised anyone or not, is not the issue.

Doing the right thing according to the majority of Americans who put him in office and why and what is morally correct and in accord with the majority of all Ameircans and the better interests of this country is his primary responsibility.

Continuing a course that has been attempted for 8 years and has proven to be a drain on our economy, morally unqualified and in opposition to what most Americans asked wish our military to be involved in is of benefit to no one at this point but industry and the MIC.

The Afgha occupation is but the tip of President Obama's NOT "getting it".

We remain in Iraq. Almost 50% of our budget has been awarded to industry and banking in lock step with the past President's policies and what was to be a national health care reform is being chiseled away to a shadow of what has been working in other nations (36!) for years.

The people who voted for Obama are not seeing the implied and stated objectives of his presidency. But again and again some people hold up his dogged commitment to a futile war as a wonderful accomplishment as though he were fulfilling his promises to those who voted for him.

It's not. And the people who held him up long enough to gain the Oval Office know it.
About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Obama Afghanistan War Plan Set To Get Congress' Backing, Despite Misgivings


As usual...th­e country is in the septic tank and far too many people use the opportunities given them to speak out by trying to generate a good spin for their party of preference.

There's only one party people.

That's why no matter who is in the White House or who has the majority in Congress evrything still remains a mess.

Look at the economy, unemployment, outsourcing of jobs to foriegn countries, uneven trade agreements, rising taxes, devalued currency, Iraq, Afhghanistan, Iran,Pakistan, past wars, our inefficient and hobbling social programs and ineffective regulatory system... All of these things took decades and both the Republicans and the Democrats working in tandem to get this country this funky.

So the next time you think you have to defend your poitical party by blaming or berating the other one....con­sider whether you're just blowing smoke up your own skirt because we only have one party in America.

And it has been failing us for a long, long time.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost