Posts
All Comments
…at least I will be in theory. Some of you know how a holiday off can go.
Anyway, thank you for being here and I look forward to seeing you again, real soon. On either Friday or Saturday, this site will have a new look to it. I hope that you like it.
Be safe out on the road if you are driving, and be even more careful if you are at the airport. Watch those pat-downs if you opt for that choice.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
You may remember that before the mid-term elections all that the Tea-baggers and the Republicans would tell you is that we need a smaller,less intrusive government and that the deficit must be brought under control, which has never happened when the Republicans ran anything.
We also heard that President Obama has done nothing to improve the job situation, and that this administration has done nothing but add more to the huge budget deficit.
So just where has some of that money gone? Not just to the banks and Wall Street, that is for sure.
This post comes to you because of a few comments by our so-called columnist who have taken to saying that President Obama is more or less a conservative, a group that I despise with a passion, so far. No conservative would do this kind of stuff for the American people because most of us do not make enough money to join their club.
Cross posted from The Peoples View (Edited)
This is where we are in our political discourse as Democrats and this is where I say, if only we held each other close like they do...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that gave birth to the almost dead American Economy that could have easily caused 3 million jobs disappear...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after salvaging the US auto industry that saved at least 1 million jobs; after extended Unemployment benefits up to 20 weeks; after pumping $26 billion aid to states package preventing large-scale layoffs of teachers and public employees...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after ensuring that coverage can’t be denied to children with pre-existing conditions; after ensuring that adults up to age 26 can stay on their parents’ health plans; after making free preventive care available; after eliminating lifetime limits on insurance coverage...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after making rescinding cover illegal; after restricting annual limits on insurance coverage; after pumping $5 billion to support affordable coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions; after another $10 billion investment in Community Health Centers...
**********************************************************************************
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
....after signing a sweeping bank-reform bill into law, managing a part Bush era $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that Banks have already repaid 75% of the TARP funds that stabilized our Capital Market's system; after cuts Salaries For 65 Bailout Executives; after closing offshore tax safe havens, tax credit loopholes on companies that use the tax laws to ship American Jobs oversees; after passing Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act to increase accountability for corporate and mortgage frauds; after passing signing the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act to look after consumers...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after implemented renewable fuels mandate of 36 billion gallons by 2022 that is four times what we currently consume; after requiring automakers to meet a fleet-wide average of New Gas Mileage Standards at 35.5 MPH by 2016; after a $60 billion investment in renewable and clean energy...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after increasing the amount of federal Pell Grant awards and enabled the stripping of banks privileges as intermediaries for student loan servicing; after pumping $100 Billion for reforms to strengthen Elementary and Secondary education, early learning programs and college affordability...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after pumping a $33 Billion Jobs Package allowing small businesses to get $5,000 tax credit for new hires; after a $26 billion State Aid Package Jobs Bill saving 300,000 teachers and public workers jobs from unemployment...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after providing $275 billion dollar housing plan to prevent at-risk mortgage debtors already fallen victim to foreclosures and to bring about confidence to offer affordable mortgages and to stabilize the housing market; after establishing "Opening Doors" to end the homelessness of 640,000 men, women, and children in the United States in 10 years; after providing $510 Million for the rehabilitation of Native American housing, after the $2 billion assistance for Neighborhood Stabilization Program to rehab, resell, or demolish in order to stabilize neighborhoods; after providing the $5 billion Weatherization Assistance Program for low income families to weatherize 1 million homes per year for the next decade; after providing grants to encourage states and localities to take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after giving $250 economic stimulus check to 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in 2009; after cutting prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients by 50% and began eliminating the plan’s gap ("donut hole") in coverage; after passing a $6.4 billion measure reversing a 21 percent cut in physician payments that would have started a flood of rejections by some doctors of seniors covered by Medicare; after expanded eligibility for Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,400 per year for an individual)...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after extending benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees; after signing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act; after instructing HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds (virtually all hospitals) to allow LGBT visitation rights(effective date 1/1/11); after banning banning job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation's largest employer); after signing the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act; after extending the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover Gay employees taking unpaid leave to care for their children of same-sex partners...
**********************************************************************************
...if only we held each other close...
...after bringing back nearly 100,000 U.S. troops home to their families and ending combat mission in Iraq; after passing a $112.8 billion VA budget, an increase of 15.5 percent over 2009, the largest percentage increase for VA requested by a president in more than 30 years; after implemented a strategic plan to increase the hiring of Veterans and Military spouses throughout the Federal civil service; after ending media blackout on war casualties, after creating a 'Green Vet Initiative' to promote environmental jobs for veterans; after covering the expenses of families to be at Dover AFB when fallen soldiers arrive; andafter increasing the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans...
**********************************************************************************
...I don't know about you but I am starting to question the planet Pual Krugman is from. If you are interested to ask Paul Krugman that question, here is his contact information. I bet the Conservatives Nixin, Regan, Daddy Bush and Son Bush have done so much for this country compared to the Conservative Obama.
I just so happen to be one of the people who do not think that smoking should be outlawed in the United States,and luckily, not many citizens in this country feel that my only remaining bad habit should be banned.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey finds that just 17% of Americans think tobacco smoking should be against the law in the United States. That’s down slightly from 22% in December 2008.
Seventy-two percent (72%) disagree and think smoking should not be outlawed. Eleven percent (11%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Nineteen percent (19%) of non-smokers like the idea of a tobacco ban, compared to just 11% of those who say they currently smoke.
When it comes regulation of the cigarette industry, Americans are divided over how much is enough. Twenty-two percent (22%) think the level of regulation is too high, while 26% believe it's not high enough. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say the current level of regulation is about right.
If you wish to ban a product that is not good for you then just look towards the alcohol industry. Yes, smoking can kill you with many forms of cancer and such things as second hand smoke (?), but a cigarette has not made to many people run into other vehicles and kill the people in said vehicle, or people in crosswalks either.
I’ve never heard of cigarettes making anyone go totally dumb and stupid and start shooting at someone just because a person may have pissed them off.
Ban the alcohol or either tax the hell out if and leave us smokers alone for a change.
This article comes to you by way of WatchingAmerica, which happens to be my favorite go-to site when I wish to know what the rest of the world thinks about the United States and the things that we do.
Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore
Obama’s Dimwittedness
and America’s Anxiety
By Xin Yishan
It is so obvious that America is a dying superpower. There’s no need to hurry a dying man to his grave, so let America play any trick it wants. Anxiety has deeply disturbed America’s bearing, and as long as China sticks firmly to its principles and steers away from the temptation of quick success and instant benefit, then America is powerless.
Translated By Qu Xiao
15 November 2010
Edited by Heidi Kaufmann
Singapore - Lianhe Zaobao - Original Article (Chinese)
Obama used to be quick-witted and eloquent before he became the president, but his intellectual cadre seems to have declined in recent months. At the G-20 summit in Korea, when facing Rui Chenggang, an unexpected journalist from China, we can clearly see Obama’s clumsiness — being caught in embarrassment and not able to come up with a clever-enough response to prove true to his name as a veteran politician and an elected president. Maybe he worried that the Chinese journalist would raise some tough questions, or he didn’t expect a Chinese journalist to be so bold as to press the president of America for an answer.
Obama went to India and promised to let India enter the United Nations Security Council. Then Obama landed in Japan and also promised Japan a ticket into the Security Council. What did he take the U.N. for? Besides, such a trick of throwing empty promises around can hardly fool a kid; yet, Obama keeps using it. We can say that Obama indeed has become dimwitted.
In fact, Obama hasn’t changed. It is the environment around him that has changed. Being a president, naturally he would have to consider the interests of his country, and it is not an easy task, because to achieve such a tough goal, first there must be plans for the whole situation. So whatever he does, Obama has to follow the instructions of his think tank.
Inevitably, a presidential candidate who played it by ear before the election would turn into a more clumsy and dimwitted order-follower after taking office. If Obama can just be himself, then not even 10 Chinese journalists like Rui Chenggang teaming up together would make any trouble for him. But if Obama’s think tank told him not to talk about China too much for fear of leaking information regarding America’s plots against China, then Obama’s unwillingness to take Rui Chenggang’s question could then be understood.
In addition, promising the moon and stars for someone would make him happy, but hardly anyone would believe such a promise. Although it’s not as hard as delivering the moon and stars to absorb new members into the Security Council, it’s still very unlikely to be achieved. After all, there are still four other big nations who hold veto power. Yet, Obama keeps fooling India and Japan with his promises. Why? It’s not that Obama is really a dimwit playing children’s games. He’s merely following the orders of his think tank, and only by acting like this can the Chinese people be tricked, and it has worked. Previously, it was just a little trick that had stirred up Japan’s hatred and jealousy toward China, and accordingly, China has paid a high price and used many diplomatic resources in objecting to Japan’s entry into the Security Council. Now the intention of Obama’s trip to India is to incite the deterioration of the relationship between India and China, a trick based on his earlier successful experience with Japan. The Americans think that it worked before, and that it will still work this time.
In fact, being the member that has used its veto power the most, America least wants to lose its privilege in the U.N., and its power would be greatly weakened if any more novices were to enter the Security Council. So why would America — the member who least favors any newcomers into the Security Council — run around the world and show a supportive gesture to other countries? Because America thought China was narrow-minded, and as long as America is supporting its neighbors, China would definitely stomp its feet and protest. Such is America’s thinking. In this regard, however, America has already succeeded once at sabotaging the friendly progress between China and Japan, which is the truth. America is now digging up this old trick and wants to use it again. So naturally the general public in China thinks Obama is acting like a fool — very dimwitted indeed.
And through Obama’s “intellectual degradation,” we can see that the American think tank is not bearing any good will toward China. Whatever America does, it does to make sure that no other country will surpass America. But when facing China, all the tricks and plots have failed. Military interventions like the Korean War, the Vietnam War and military relations with Taiwan failed; trying to lure China to take the path of the USSR’s downfall failed. In desperation, America can only pull some dirty tricks. So it is obvious that America is anxious.
The first cause of America’s anxiety is China’s rapid development and the prediction that China will surpass America shortly. Second, America is feeling powerless because of its economic downturn. What’s more, America has felt that its international influence has slumped, and the days when America could command whomever it wanted are long gone. Besides, the financial crisis has overwhelmed America with huge fiscal difficulties and slow economic recovery. All this has put an almost unbearable burden on the U.S. government, which can be easily seen from Obama’s hair — turning grey within two years of taking office. The American president’s anxiety, of course, is also the American government’s anxiety. And China doesn’t bother at all and ignores the U-shaped or C-shaped encirclement around its neighborhood. After all, what is the use?
Apparently, they are useless tricks. This is like a lame chess player, hurrying to attack his opponent when he has yet to build up his own line of defense, and the result is undoubtedly a clean loss. China has gone through all kinds of difficulties throughout its history, so America’s trick will not work on China. Besides, if we view things like a game on a chess board, then it would be one move on each side, so whatever America’s move is, China would make its countermove. Therefore, America should be anxious, and this shows it is ill-intentioned.
Obama makes a lot of promises, but not many of them are actually fulfilled, and a broken promise may incur hatred. This is something the trick-player rarely considers.
China can totally remain calm and peaceful, paying no notice of whatever farce America is putting on, as long as China itself keeps a watchful eye and makes sure not to step into America’s trap. As for the encirclement around China, it is quite impossible to do any damage, so we can just ignore it. As for America’s intention to start a fight between China and its neighbors, it can also be easily solved if we firmly stick to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. No country is so stupid as to sacrifice its own interests just to make America happy. So America is probably throwing good money after bad.
America now is like a clay idol fording a river — hardly able to save itself. America’s national wealth is closely linked to the stock market, and what if another crisis strikes? Where will its money go then? If America can maintain itself 10 more years without going downhill, then I’ll have no more to say. But it is so obvious that America is a dying superpower. There’s no need to hurry a dying man to his grave, so let America play any trick it wants. Anxiety has deeply disturbed America’s bearing, and as long as China sticks firmly to its principles and steers away from the temptation of quick success and instant benefit, then America is powerless.
On the one hand, America has a high ambition to undermine China; on the other hand, America’s economy couldn’t fund such a whim. It still has its political influence in the world, but its economic influence has been largely crippled. America only gave several million dollars in charitable funds to Indonesia, which is enough to show that its economy could no longer hold up its status of global domination. In contrast, China gave $1.6 billion in charitable funds to Cambodia. Make the comparison yourself, and you will see what I mean. Now China is doing whatever pleases it without any outsider’s interference. Let the Americans be anxious.
CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL VERSION
