Republicans & Conservatives: Archives

Dawn,
“Don’t forget to eat your cabbage tomorrow !!”

Is cabbage some sort of right wing hangover cure?

Happy New Year.

Also black-eyed peas with smoked ham brings good luck but it takes all day to boil them.

I heard the cabbage is supposed to bring money. I never remember to eat it so I am still poor - ha ha.

One can only hope that the next year will be better than the last.

Happy New Year, Dawn.

Happy New Year! Ugh. I feel like I got the crap kicked out of me last night.

Anyhow, things I’d like to see happen this year:

I hope the Bush administration will adapt and succeed where it has resolutely ignored changing circumstances and failed; that it will be open and transparent where it has been secretive and deceptive; that it will truly lead and be proactive where it has been constantly reactive and unprepared.

God bless us, every one.

According to a poll, most Americans believe the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent. For development aid, America gave $16.2 billion in 2003; the European Union gave $37.1 billion. In 2002, those numbers were $13.2 billion for America, and $29.9 billion for Europe.
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Making things worse, the United States often pledges more money than it actually delivers. Victims of the earthquake in Bam, Iran, a year ago are still living in tents because aid, including ours, has not materialized in the amounts pledged. And back in 2002, Bush announced his Millennium Challenge account to give African countries development assistance of up to $5 billion a year, but the account has yet to disperse a single dollar.

acid, and every dollar sent overseas is added to our national debt. It is exactly the same as my making a charitable donation overseas on my credit card and passing the debt of my credit card on to my daughter to pay.

Bush promised not to pass on to the next generation this generation’s problems. But, his deficits are doing just that. More than 7.6 Trillion dollars in national debt and growing by 1.77 billion per day since Sept. of 2003. We are impoverishing the next generation with every deficit dollar we spend. And 40% of the interest we pay on that debt is paid to wealthy investors overseas. I call that transfer of wealth from America to the wealthy of foriegn countries, and I call that unAmerican.

Sometimes people and countires dont apply for aid or comply with the guidlines. That’s their problem. Let the money flow like a river without dams.

David,

This is why I don’t have a problem with a statement being made without an actual money pledge.
Send the initial help that we know is needed - food, water, shelter, medicine … machinery to help clean up.
How do they control price gouging in a time like this in that part of the world?
So much chaos. Such a horrible thing to happen.

So many people will be taking advantage of this situation to line their own pockets with the money sent from the caring people around the world.
Unless money goes directly to people and companies who will actually help and not rip off the system - I say don’t write the check - or use the credit card like you said.
Part of helping in this has got to be in making sure the money goes where IT IS needed.

How do they control price gouging in a time like this in that part of the world?

I’d imagine the Red Cross and other organizations have ways, like importing the needed items from elsewhere if necessary.

Dawn, I absolutely agree with you. You read my mind’s reaction when I heard the President announce his huge increase in pledged aid. Irresponsible. And those on the left have got Bush’s reaction completely wrong this time.

If I were President, I would have requested data and info before making financial commitments. It took a few days to get a clearer picture of the magnitude of the damage and loss, and it is still being clarified more daily. The President acted responsibly right up to the 10 fold increase. There, he an I part company. As far as I am concerned, his first responsibility is to correcting our looming fiscal crisis. Token aid would have been fine with me, but, the left would never have let Bush live it down - which is absurd given our current worsening economic forecasts.

Folks just don’t see ending SS as we have known it as a symptom of an economy which has a lost a good deal of its adaptability and resilience. Adding 1/3 of billion dollars to foreign aid only worsens that situation. There may be alternative returns on that foreign aid, as in a down payment on rectifying the world’s Muslim dim view of American foreign and military policy, but, I wouldn’t bet on it, not without a resolution in Iraq in sight.

David,
Didn’t you hear Lieberman?
He said that figure would be the bottom not the top.

The money would be just as well be spent on an international early warning system effort led by the U.S. which in turn would have produced a few jobs. But, now we are going to do both, according to Powell. Lieberman is right, this is just a down payment on the bankrupting of America.

David,
Some of the complaints are just out of control about Bush.
I say this because it doesn’t matter what he does. He loses either way in some people’s minds. Some complaints are hardly listened to (by alot of us)because of the fact that even if he does something right there is a loud voice somewhere saying ‘It was good, BUT …’
Complainers.
We are supposed to be the best nation on earth … how can we be when we have SO MANY complainers?
I can see some poor starving person in Africa saying, ‘They’ve got everything and they still complain all the time. Nothing makes them happy.’

Sandra Bullock has given 1 million dollars to help the victims. The super model that was in the wave has ‘donated her face’ to raise money for people.
My husband and I are trying to decide the best way to get our money over there. I told him I want to make sure it helps a kid who lost his/her parents or some family that was living paycheck to paycheck and lost everything. I don’t want to send to a ‘general fund’. It has to be more specific - like orphaned children.

I want to hear that Michael Moore has donated 5 million of the money he made off his Fahrenheit movie — that Bill Gates has donated 10 million to orphaned children to build them a facility where they can get food and be educated.

10 million - isn’t that the Saudi pledge?

What is wrong with those Muslim countries? - they should use the billions made from the oil sales to countries like ours to help out a WHOLE LOT MORE.
Wouldn’t that go a long way to help our image? along with their own?
(Isn’t Spain floating a loan and not donating?)

The same people who are saying Bush took too long to make a statement are worried about the ‘credit’ America will get for this help. About how we can help OUR IMAGE in that part of the world.

Another fine line -
what is Bush supposed to do now ? get on TV and say ‘See. We are good. We sent money to help you.’
I’m sure that will help. If Bush doesn’t do that we will hear the complaints about how he should have, if he does he will be blamed for making our image worse by bragging.

I know when my husband and I help people we don’t say something to reinforce the fact that we could help and they needed it.

I agree that we , as a country, really don’t have the extra money, but we will do this anyway.

It is not just because of tax cuts. Our government spending is out of control and they won’t stop.
Bush said he will use his all mighty pen this 4 years - and he better.

“The same people who are saying Bush took too long to make a statement are worried about the ‘credit’ America will get for this help.”

Dawn, I could give a rat’s ass who gets credit for giving the most amount of money. This is a disaster of Biblical proportions. This is about ending peoples suffering as quickly as possible.

“I agree that we , as a country, really don’t have the extra money, but we will do this anyway.”

America is spending a 1/4 trillion dollars in Iraq. What ever we spend in Southeast Asia is a drop in the bucket, by comparison.

“what is Bush supposed to do now ? get on TV and say ‘See. We are good. We sent money to help you.’”

Dawn, it was one of the first things out of his mouth during the press conference on Wensday. I can’t find the text but paraphrasing, “America is a kind nation, a giving nation”.
I don’t think that I was the only one that heard that.

Rocky,
“Dawn, it was one of the first things out of his mouth during the press conference on Wensday. I can’t find the text but paraphrasing, “America is a kind nation, a giving nation”.
I don’t think that I was the only one that heard that.”

And there is something wrong with saying that? right?

“Dawn, I could give a rat’s ass who gets credit for giving the most amount of money. This is a disaster of Biblical proportions. This is about ending peoples suffering as quickly as possible.”

I agree!
The problem is that the Bush ‘critics’ that are so concerned about his ‘blowing an opportunity’ to kiss ass are the ones who are also saying much more has to be done to make sure the U.S. gets the credit.

Dawn, you answered your own question.

Dawn, I want to hear that Bush and America place as high a value on American poor children getting into the headstart program as we do orphaned kids overseas. I want to hear that our government and corporations are bringing down the costs of higher education, not increasing them for American citizens. I want to hear that we will save Social Security insurance valuing the poverty of our seniors as much as those homeless overseas.

I just can’t abide our continuing to set new records as the greatest debtor nation in the world, while exporting tax dollars overseas, and at the same time, cutting quality of life programs and agencies here at home. Taken altogether in this way, I have nothing but contempt for the Bush administration’s priorities.

That is not to say, giving some amount in aid, was avoidable for political and geopolitical reasons as well as humanitarian reasons. But, charity should begin at home, and the rising debts of this nation while looking to defund social aid and service programs, while placing such a high priority on the afflicted overseas just does not make any sense to me, and I find such policies morally bankrupt. Bush’s first obligation as well as Congress’ should be to the American people in need. We can’t afford to help other nations while our own are being driven into poverty by age, lack of job reeducation, and substandard wages for full time work.