Posts Made By: david elosser

Rod Kaufman said:

The CIA new about this guy and didn't inform anyone else and took no action on its own:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/12/29/airline.terror.cia/index.html
Haven't we gone through this before in the previous administration? You betcha!

"The CIA on Wednesday rejected accusations that it failed to share vital information with other US intelligence agencies that might have helped prevent last week's attempted plane bomb attack."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.0b9d18298e2dbb867621b1953baa5023.01&show_article=1

David E

Rod Kaufman said:

with either party:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100101/ap_on_re_us/us_airliner_attack_obama
The intelligence agencies obviously continue to operate as separate and distinct fiefdoms and fail to share information. If there's a silver lining to the incident, perhaps it will function as a wake up call and improvements will be added to correct the deficiencies identified in the aftermath.
Frankly, with government bureaucrats in charge at various levels, it's amazing that we've been as safe as we have been, or perhaps we've just been lucky. Or, perhaps some problems just can't be fixed and every so often we'll just have stop and clean up the body parts and go on, as the Israeli's do...

Would President McCain have done any better? Who knows, he might have appointed someone as incompetent as Napolitano.

"Frankly, with government bureaucrats in charge at various levels, it's amazing that we've been as safe as we have been..."

Agreed, and another good reason to keep government bureaucrats the hell away from my health care. The last thing I need is to be "lucky" when I need hospitalization!

David E

Rod Kaufman said:

Here's the top ten list of the terrorist plots in the US that we did get, as per the FBI:
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/dec09/review_122809.html
Of course, we don't hear much about it when something positive happens. BTW, any doubts about all of them involving the religion of peace?

I guess, but I don't know Rod, I think I've been hearing in the news about our successes, especially when we kill or capture a top terrorist official, both now and during the Bush administration. The successful Predator strikes have been in the news lately. It's a shame, but we know how any news agency operates: good news is no news.

David E

Wow! He makes that shirt look good! 8)

David E

Wow! Now THAT'S cold!


David E

It's Bush's fault. He twisted Senator Obama's and the rest of the Democrats arms to pass TARP so quickly nobody knew what they were voting for.

David E

1) Does it provide care to those in need?
No, not everyone, as even Racist Majority Leader Harry Reid himself admitted that his bill will only cover 94% of the US population.
2) Does it reduce costs and waste in the health care system?
No, the most wastefull health care provider is Medicare itself, with some government experts estimating waste and fraud costing taxpayers up to $100 billion a year.
3) Does it improve access?
No, there is nothing in either bill which will improve access or reduce wait times. As you have pointed out in this thread, most likely the opposite result will happen.
4) Does it encourage & reward healthy lifestyle?
Yes, well almost. But there's a difference between private sector and government: my Blue Cross Blue Shield rewards healthy eating and activity by giving me gift certificates to my choice of over 100 stores. The government "encourages" healthy eating by restricting or even banning food substances, like salt and sugar.
5) Is it fair and equitable to all?
Absolutely not. Perhaps the best example is who is paying the half trillion dollars in taxes in the Senate bill: a union worker will be exempt, someone who works for a housing contractor will not; if you're Amish you are exempt, if you are Baptist or Jewish or Muslim you are not.

David E

jeff glancy said:

When you're in power give away the ranch

Yeah, Obama gave away the "ranch" and then some: hundreds of billions to big fat cat corporations like GM, Chrysler, AIG, Fanny, Freddy, GMAC, the list goes on and on. Meanwhile I get laid off and my wife gets a measly $10/week extra in her paycheck from "stimulus money," half of which we'll have to pay back when we file our taxes... >

David E

Tom Dubois said:

Exclusive: President Obama Says Voter Anger, Frustration Key to Republican Victory in Massachusetts Senate

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Politics/president-obama-scott-brown-massachusetts-victory/story?id=9611222

Money quotes:

"The president also said the same voter anger that swept him into office in 2008 carried Brown into office on a stunning upset victory Tuesday night over heavily favored Democrat Martha Coakley."

"People are angry and they are frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."

Those are two stunningly naive quotes. What Obama just said is that the same anger at Bush that got him (Obama) elected is the same anger that got Brown, a Republican far more conservative than Bush, elected. The illogic shines as brightly as a lighthouse beacon. And these quotes are not taken out of context, I heard the soundbites yesterday.

David E

Tony Aguire said:


Why Americans should not all have equal access to healthcare


the key word here is "equal"

I have a gold plated health plan, no deductibles, no co-pay, prescriptions free, eye care...free, dental...free. I pay $40 a month for health care for me and my wife.

my neighbor has no health insurance. When his child got the flu, my neighbor got a bill to pay...this is not equal.

Why should I get any different treatment even though myself and my next door neighbor are Americans?

I would like to hear why some of y'all think I should get treated better than my neighbor...

Why should he get a bill, why should I be able to walk into a clinic/emergency room/doctor present a card, get my care and walk out knowing I will only pay 40 dollars next month?

Why are you letting your neighbor go without the same health care costs as you? Did you not offer to help pay his bills, being his neighbor? If you paid his entire bill less $40 then health care would be equal for him then, would it not? That would be fair then, right?

I understand your desire for your neighbors to have equal costs to health care as you. But in order to accomplish that, you must violate another principle. In order to get equal health care costs one must take some of it from you, out of your paycheck, which you work hard for and earn for you and your family. You can do it voluntarily through charity and donations (as many people do), or he can take it involuntarily through your taxes (as we all do). Do you not feel a responsibility first for you and your own family? Of course you do! So you have a right to take from your neighbor's paycheck when you find yourself lacking? I doubt you really feel that way. I don't believe you for one instant believe you have the right to break into your neighbor's house and steal his food if your family is lacking. Now I'm not saying that the government should avoid collecting taxes for charitable work. Quite the contrary, I'm quite proud of a lot of the domestic and foreign aid we give through our taxes. But why should the government take part of your paycheck to pay for your neighbor's health care if he can afford to buy his own? What about giving that money to a perfect stranger thousand miles away, without you knowing who he is, if he is in genuine need, or if he's not even defrauding the system? So I think that the government has a role in charity in our society, but it should play a much smaller role than it does now. When you give money to a neighbor to help him out (as I have done for mine a few times over the years), or to say, St Jude's Hospital, you know what your money is going for. So the real issue to me is not whether we should help out our fellow citizens in need, but what methods we use to accomplish this. That has always been my position. Being a Christian I believe that God wants me to be giving and charitable. But what gives a few hundred guys no smarter or more charitable than me the right to decide where my hard earned money goes? There's a big difference between that and giving directly to the food banks or the United Way, as the latter keeps you involved with your neighbors and your society; the former separates you, gives you no control, and often damages the natural joy of charity that we are all born with.

David E