Republicans & Conservatives: Archives

Immigration was supposed to be the GOP Wedge Issue this Election. Much like Gay Marriage was the “critical issue” last election.

Unfortunately, the GOP never calculated the uprising of the Latinos over immigration. So now, its back to Gays, Queers and Flags. Oh… and War on Terror, ofcourse.

Wedge Issues are crap issues Republicans use to delude the Electorate.

Minimum wage, student loans, prescription drugs, and alternative energy sources are the real problems that exist.

That and the GOP Deficit, ofcourse.

Aldous said:

“Minimum wage, student loans, prescription drugs, and alternative energy sources are the real problems that exist.”

Right-of-Way responds:

So, the Dems think America’s future rests on the shoulders of part-time fast-food employees who can’t pay their government-backed student loans because they spent too much in college on “medical” marijuana and their new Prius?

Now, I get this New Direction concept. Brilliant!

Yeah, I can see the landslide forming just off the horizon, Aldous. :-)

What? No mention of global warming? Al Gore must be spinning in his hydroponic tomato patch.

Don’t the Dems know we’re all doomed to an environmental cataclysm?

Polls show immigration and Iraq are the top issues on American minds. Yet, the Dems don’t mention those issues in their new plan.

That’s because the American people are too stupid to know what’s really important, right libs?

The swarm forms to the left (of course) :-)

Right-of-Way,

There are many people who didn’t have the opportunity to go to college that are working full time for minimum wage just struggling to make ends meet. But I guess compassionate conservativism only applies to people with big stock portfolios and summer homes.

Why can’t the minimum wage be tied to the consumer price index? We always have to wait for congress to get around to raising it every 5 or 6 years, except now it’s been nearly a decade.

If they just had the minimum wage connected to the CPI it could automatically be adjusted each year. They could also put in a cap on the increase at 4% or 5% to prevent runaway inflation, or require increases of that size be approved by congress.

I wonder how many of those minimum wage workers are the product of failed urban public school systems controlled by lib-dominated unions and bureaucrats?

Sorry to disappoint ya, but, I don’t have a big stock portfolio or a summer home.

But Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ), Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), and George Soros (D-Earth) do.

Maybe they should donate some of their big bucks and property to helping the poor folks they claim to represent.

Don’t you guys support income redistribution?

Oh that’s right, libs only tell OTHER PEOPLE how to live their lives.

Silly me.

“So, the Dems think America’s future rests on the shoulders of part-time fast-food employees who can’t pay their government-backed student loans because they spent too much in college on “medical†marijuana and their new Prius?

Wow, that’s right up there with welfare queens driving Cadillacs. Since we’re dealing in political cliches, why don’t you go back to your NASCAR and your beer? The real grownups will take care of this.

Why would anyone be against affordable student loans? Yet Republicans have cut education spending while allowing pork projects to remain in the budget. Don’t you Republicans realize that the only way we are going to stay ahead of China and India is to have the best and brightest workforce? This requires providing an affordable education for any citizen that wants it.

As for income redistribution, it’s the Republican neo-cons that have done more to move money upwards to the top 5%, through Fed policy, corporate welfare, tax cuts for people who don’t need it, and stashing wealth made in the USA in off-shore tax shelters.

Don’t class warfare me— the GOP are masters at screwing the middle class and getting the poor slobs to thank them for it.

The “real grownups”, Tim? Wow, that cut right to the bone.

Aren’t libs all about changing the channel if you don’t like the content? If ya can’t take the satire Tim, stay out of the blog.

You libs don’t get it. Bush doesn’t want us to stay ahead of India and China. He wants to let as many of them as can swim across the Rio Grande into the country to do the jobs lib PhDs won’t do.

As for this ‘problem’ that didn’t exist until Bush declared it a problem, the GOP has shot themselves in the foot with this trying to keep their xenophobic, red-neck minuteman-types happy by the political stunt of sending the badly stretched National Guard to the Mexican border, while trying to assuage their corporate masters who want unfettered cheap labor to drive down wages and undermine labor unions.

Everything the neo-cons do is a calculated, cynical political stunt to get the electorate to take its eye off the real issues: Iraq, a lack-luster economy, a totally grotesque national debt, skyrocketing healthcare costs and housing costs, and stagnant wages.

I have nothing but contempt for a party that refuses to govern and is constantly electioneering—their incompetence and cynicism is revolting.

Your satire stinks and so does your politics—and I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to call you on your shit—get used to it.

Why are Republicans against allowing the government to negotiate prices with the drug companies?

When you buy a car do you shop around, or try to haggle with the salesman for a better price? So why do we pay the prices that these companies dictate?

I know I have been asking alot of questions here, but I would really like to know why you guys are supporting these policies.

Tim Crow said:

“Don’t class warfare me— the GOP are masters at screwing the middle class and getting the poor slobs to thank them for it.”

A response from a proud lifetime member of the middle class who is thankful for his Bush tax-cut:

Tim, your lib snobbery is showing. You just called the middle class “poor slobs”.

Are we “poor slobs” because we don’t make as much money as the public-trough parasite Ward Churchill? (Who by the way got a bigger tax cut than I did and didn’t offer to give any of it to me or those of my ilk!)

Or are we “poor slobs” because we aren’t as “smart” as you elitist libs and therefore freely vote opposite of your wishes?

Democracy is just so darn inconvenient for you libs.

For all of the Republicans that support the Iraq war, do you feel like traitors for supporting the insurgency with every gallon of gas you buy?

Why didn’t President Bush make energy independence one of the main tenets of the war on terror?

Right-of-way:

I’ll take my liberal snobbery over your blue-collar bigotry any day. Democracy doesn’t bother me—it sure seems to bother Bush and his neo-cons though, they’re doing so much to undermine it.

And an open society with open dissent really galls you fascists, doesn’t it?

Go back to your cave, it’s time to bitch-slap the missus.

Tim Crow,

Please keep debate civil. You have failed to critique Right-of-Way’s message and instead of have attacked Right-of-Way himself. Failure to comply with civil debate will result in losing commenting privileges. Thank you,

- WatchBlog Managing Editor

Don’t bust a vessel Tim. Your lousy health insurance may not pay for your hospital stay.

Nah, you’ll probably die in the ER while waiting behind the illegals in line ahead of you.

Are you willing to die upholding your principles?

You haven’t said anything intelligent since you make your appearance here. Your comments are bigoted, brutal and slimey.

My principles don’t necessitate dying for—I prefer living mine. Why don’t you die for yours? Why deprive the grass of your manure?

BFF:

I’ll talk to you while Tim is taking his meds…

But, only until my brother Cooter is back from the 7-11 with my 40 ouncers…

No, I purchase gas for my pickup truck with a clear conscience knowing that my ExxonMobil dividend check is in the mail. But I am kicking myself for passing on that Haliburton stock!

I’m all for energy independence. But, we don’t have to fight in Iraq to achieve that. We just need to drill in ANWR. And force Teddy “Hiccup” Kennedy to stop blocking those nice hippies from building their windmill farm near his summer home (sorry, compound!) on Cape Cod.

I think it was the Greek philosopher Gropius who said: “The personal attack is the last vain vestige of the small closed mind.”

Or maybe it was Larry the Cable Guy.

We blue collar bigots get them mixed up, ya know.

Ted Kennedy has more huzzpa and balls than you could ever dream of having. He has done more, for all his mistakes, to help this country grow, and prosper, for everyone, than you have.

Have another hit of bourbon, R-O-W.

Right-of-Way,

Sure we could drill ANWR, but if this was substituted for the oil we get from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela it would last for less than 3 years using the largest estimates of oil present there. And doing so would ruin the ecosystem there. Would you be willing to destroy all that land for 3 years worth of oil?

Tim, you must have the largest compost pile in America in your back yard.

So, I guess you’re energy independent. :-)

Gee, I wonder if you’d have a stroke knowing I’m a college educated man married to a female legal immigrant from Mexico of Mexican-Indian descent who doesn’t find NASCAR at all interesting. However, I do drink beer (Sam Adams… a republican rebel ya know!) when not swilling Bombay Sapphire gin and tonics.

Nah, you wouldn’t. Cause you’d rather prove your bigotry and intolerance by making prejudicial assumptions based on someone’s political beliefs.

Got a good view of that compost pile from your glass house Tim?

Just matching bigotry with bigotry, big guy.

BFF:

Tim refuses to chill out, so I’m responding to you.

Drilling in ANWR will NOT destroy the land. You can’t destroy permafrost. Its nothing but ice. With that logic Minnesotan ice fishermen are destroying Lake Wobegon(sp?) every winter.

Its more than 3 years worth of oil. But, even if it were only 3 years, so what? Doesn’t that give us 3 more years to develop other energy technologies? And, we’ll be less dependent on foreign sources during those years.

Less blood for oil, right?

Now I’m impressed Tim!

A liberal who admits to being a bigot.

And, I was taught in public scholl that it was a myth.

From what I’ve read from some reputable petro-geologists ANWR probably doesn’t even have 18 months of oil, at the rate we’re using it.

Sure let’s trash it—it’s good for business, eh R.O.W?

And you keep wanting the last word, and I’m not chilling?

“New Direction for America” platform is more handouts for those who don’t need them. C’mon! Lower cost student loans!?! Most of the students will be making much more money than those who did not go to college… therefore, they’re able to pay it back. This idea sounds good until you realize that it is a handout to the upper class. If the Dems are for the little guy (which they never are), why would they run on this platform?

Suuurrre I’m bigoted, against hatred, and racism, and ignorance and false patriotism, and greed and hypocricy…well, you get the picture—you mirror them all so well.

Pssst Tim:

Did you know House Minority Leader (that means Democrat) Rep. Nancy Pelosi (CA) owns a winery where she pays her migrant farm workers less than the minimum wage?

And, her company is facing charges of knowingly hiring illegals.

Can you say “culture of corruption”?

And, being a multi-millionaire — wait I thought only Republicans were rich greedy corporate pirates — of course, she benefitted greatly from those evil Bush tax cuts.

But, I’m sure she’s another paragon of liberalism as well, right?

Are you really sure its the poor middle class slobs being hoodwinked in this country?

The “New Direction for America” plan wants to find ways to lower the cost of prescription drugs. The cheapest way to reduce the cost of prescription drugs is to eliminate multi-million dollar lawsuits against drug manufacturers. If there were limits on their liability and if they were allowed to keep their drugs propriatary (sp?) longer, they wouldn’t have to charge so much. Come to think of it, wasn’t this the Republican plan?

Right-of-Way,

It is called the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, they wouldn’t call it that if it wasn’t home to a diverse population of wildlife. Drilling there would destroy the ecosystem.

As far as how much oil is there, if we allowed ANWR oil to make up just 5% of US consumption it would last just 3 years at lowest estimates and 12 years at highest estimates. However, if we use that oil to replace Saudi Arabian oil which represents 11.5%, and Venezualan oil which represents 10.5%, it would have to account for about 25% of our usage. At 25% ANWR would last about 7 months at the lowest estimates, and about 2.5 to 3 years at the highest estimates.

I think we can find better alternatives than just drill for more oil.

ROW:

“Are you really sure its the poor middle class slobs being hoodwinked in this country?”

Listening to you, I know they are, at least the ones who vote for the cons.

As for Pelosi, you want to draw and quarter her? Be my guest—the bitch doesn’t think it would be a good idea to impeach Bush & Co. after all the crooked unconstiutional crap they’ve pulled. Maybe if you down her, the Dems will get somebody who knows a lying creep when they see one, and will do something about it.

Minimum wage - any wage less than which an illegal alien will willingly work. Any plan to increase the minimum wage is really a plan to bring more illegals to the United States. That’s the Dem (Dim) plan.

Hatred? Who did I say I hate? You said you hate Tim. You said you hate me for my politics.

Racism? What race did I attack? Me the guy married to a Mexican-Indian?

Ignorance? This from a man who argues based on profanity and ad hominem attacks instead of facts?

False patriotism? Supporting those in uniform… as two members of my family are… is not false patriotism. Its the best example of it. But, they’re just poor slobs who couldn’t find jobs right Tim?

Greed? I want to earn more money to better support my family. Remember me Tim, the middle class poor slob? Is wanting to have a better life symbolic of greed Tim?

Hypocrisy? You’re in a whole different dimension on that one Tim. Remember, your words are displayed above for all to see.

I’m quite secure in the knowledge that my reflection isn’t the flawed one on display, Tim.

So, go stir your compost… its steaming. :-)

Alternative Energy Sources - When it is profitable to produce ethanol, ethanol will be produced. When it is profitable to produce any alternative energy source, it will be produced. The best thing the government can do is get out of the way. (I know! I know! AlGor created the internet and other Dems think that they created alternative energy.)

Amnesty under Reagan did more to encourage immigration illegally than any other one thing. Stay here for long enough, you’re a citizen with Social Security. You don’t have to learn English (although you’re kids do and sometimes even end up paying the bills - I’ve seen a family go to an appointment regarding their bankruptcy proceedings and use their little girl to do ALL the talking). You get all the medical care you need.

Oh, and we even have parades for you in East LA. It’s great stuff…just out of control.

If any party comes out in favor of amnesty I just may vote opposite…solely based on this issue. Then again, I said may.

Tim:

You can have the last word… Not that its an advantage in your case… I’m going to bed.

You do make me laugh though. So, I guess you are useful for something… beside hatred, bigotry, hypocrisy, etc, etc, etc,…

The “New Direction for America” plan is a losing strategy. Its time for a new direction for Dems. Its time they got behind our troops. Its time for them to close the holes in our border. Its time for them to stop giving money away to people who don’t need it. Its time for them to really do something that will help us live better lives in the USA…quit.

Oh….and ROW is just upset he can’t win a debate. He’s even a good sport and tells you. I love the random character assasination attempts though.
I’m intrigued…what WILL he say next???

I know, your pristine once somebody calls you on your snide remarks. You’re totally innocent. Too bad you vote for a Party that embodies all those things I listed.

You don’t partake of bigotry—you just vote for people who do. You’re not greedy, you’re just folks trying to get by—you just vote and support the corporate bastards. You’re not closed-minded, you just sling windy generalizations about “you libs” and then expect me to lay down, because everybody knows libs “cut and run.”

And God knows your shit don’t stink, just your closed-minded views.

I’m through with you. And tommorrow, when you start spewing your fascist crap, I’ll be here to call you on it again. Along with other of “us libs.”

BFF:

Your numbers are flawed because they don’t take into account domestic oil production. You’re only comparing to foreign sources. The US actually produces a sizeable amount of its own petroleum use.

You’re also assuming that we won’t find anymore oil… or use technology to get more oil out fo existing fields… or that higher prices could make other fields more economically attractive and thereby ultimately increase production.

And ANWR isn’t teeming with wildlife. That’s an environmental wacko myth. It’s located far above the flippin Arctic Circle! The polar bears find it too cold to live there.

And, as I recall reading… the Alaska Pipeline was gonna kill all the caribou. The darn critters are using the pipeline to warm themselves and they’re population has exceeded previous levels.

So, don’t buy all the enviro-gloom being peddled.

Good night.

Don,

It’s not just about affordable student loans, it also has to do with availability. Someone on the bottome end of the spectrum wouldn’t qualify for private loans, that is why the federal program vouches for them. Eliminate these loans and you hinder upward mobility. Don’t you think everyone should have a chance at the American dream?

As far as your crackpot theory that lawsuits are to blame for high drug prices you may want to look at how much money these companies spend on advertising. Plus, if you eliminate or cap lawsuits you are giving every corporation the freedom to knowingly distribute faulty or harmful products without reprisals. So how would you feel if your car failed to stop because the car manufacturer knowingly allowed a batch of cars with defective brakes to leave the plant, and you are injured in a way that leaves you paralyzed from the neck down and incapable of providing for yourself for the rest of your life? If you cap lawsuits you are making it cheaper for these companies to let them stay on the market and just pay the small settlements rather than recall them. So I guess what I am asking is how much money is the use of your dick worth?

Wondering what the posters here have been drinking? I don’t want any.

Hubris and arrogance, with a pinch of bile.

ROW:
“The US actually produces a sizeable amount of its own petroleum use.”

Last time I heard it was around %43 of our national needs.

“You’re also assuming that we won’t find anymore oil… or use technology to get more oil out fo existing fields… or that higher prices could make other fields more economically attractive and thereby ultimately increase production.

Don’t underestimate the shutting down of the Iraqi oil fields by Bush and his Iraqi follies. With his typical shoddy job of not rebuilding Iraqi oil capacity, and keeping their oil in the ground, that forces up the price and makes all the oil companies healthy, wealthy and fat.

“Don’t buy all the enviro-gloom being peddled.”

Sure, and Prudhoe Bay was going to be the cleanest recovery of oil in the history of oil exploration according to the oil companies. Until the Exxon Valdez. Sixteen years after that spill, and the environment has never recovered. Not to mention the pipeline rupture about a month ago that spilled 350,000 gallons of crude. Ah, but just the cost of doing business, eh ROW?

Doesn’t matter, nuthin’s up there, just frozen tundra. Sure, I really think we oughta rip that place apart so more Americans can sit in traffic gridlock in their SUV’s listening to the Dixie Chicks.

The American dream—a non-negotiable way of life. Morons.

wtf you talking about hiccup hiccup never touched a drop everr

Tim,

Don’t underestimate the shutting down of the Iraqi oil fields by Bush and his Iraqi follies. With his typical shoddy job of not rebuilding Iraqi oil capacity, and keeping their oil in the ground, that forces up the price and makes all the oil companies healthy, wealthy and fat.

You mean, the ‘shutting down of the Iraq oil fields’ that haven’t been opened in any significant manner since 1991?

How on earth is the price of oil today linked to the War in Iraq? If you remember right, the price of gas just after the war started was around 1.37 a gallon…

What you don’t realize is that oil is a ‘commodity’. And the flow of oil is controlled by OPEC and Venezuela’s political instability than anything else.

OH, and as for ‘keeping the oil companies fat’, 9% profit for a company is not exactly overwhelmingly fantastic. I wouldn’t invest in a company that only had 9% profit when there are a lot of other ones that routinely see double digit profits in other sectors.

If you want to attack ‘rich companies’ you should be looking somewhere else.

Right of way,

“Drilling in ANWR will NOT destroy the land. You can’t destroy permafrost.”

Really?

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18725124.500

http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/nacc/education/alaska/ak-edu-3.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4120755.stm

Nothing seems to be permanent any more.

Aldous said:

“Minimum wage, student loans, prescription drugs, and alternative energy sources are the real problems that exist.â€

Right-of-Way responds:

So, the Dems think America’s future rests on the shoulders of part-time fast-food employees who can’t pay their government-backed student loans because they spent too much in college on “medical†marijuana and their new Prius?

Everybody should think America’s future rests on the shoulders of part-time fast-food employees who can’t pay their governent-backed loans (and not all of us have priuses or smoke pot). It’s called underemployement coupled with inflationary base living expenses. If I have an advanced university degree in a field with reasonable employment expectations and have to take a second job in order to pay back the loans from 4 years of grad school and the rest of my living expenses, which include rent on a 1 bedroom apartment, gas for my decade-old vehicle, food, and utilities, with very little left over to save— I have no credit card debt— there’s a very real problem. I don’t have much to put back into the economic engine. I worry about my ability to retire, since social security isn’t likely to be there. I couldn’t raise a family on what I make, even with both jobs, and pay my student loans back. My dollars don’t buy nearly as much as my parents’ dollars did, and that troubles me. Education is supposed to increase your earning potential, not cripple you economically. More generically, a nation whose population is struggling to pay bills day to day doesn’t have a whole lot of time, money, or energy to put back into the country, be it through attention, finacial donations or taxes, or brain power.

It seems this post is typical GOP bait & switch.
lets just say the DEMS are for these and our people will buy it hook, line and sinker.
Voters are not that dumb, to continue to beleive the GOP schtick.
We know what the issues are and the GOP is not going to be able to sway it in any direction.
That direction is Iraq, immigrations, national security & the debt.
The GOP shell game has failed.
Better start looking at monster.com for new jobs for GOP retirees.

The positions of either party are not the issue. The perceptions of the voters are the problem. All of us have a view of what our party stands for. Most of us are wrong to a degree. I am a Christian, conservative, pro-life, anti-amnesty, tax-cut, pro-job creation kind of gal. To almost everyone here that reads Republican. But not all republican polititions agree with my views. I can’t think of one democrat who does. Maybe the independents will get my vote this time….maybe not. All I know is tht most voting is votes for the lesser of two evils and that’s just plain sad.

A professor of economics from George Mason University wrote this: “According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Sixty-three percent of minimum wage workers receive raises within one year of employment, and only 15 percent still earn the minimum wage after three years. Furthermore, only 5.3 percent of minimum wage earners are from households below the official poverty line; forty percent of minimum wage earners live in households with incomes $60,000 and higher; and, over 82 percent of minimum wage earners do not have dependents.” He also notes that the poorest — the least skilled — can’t find work because they can’t EARN the minimum wage. So raising minimum wages penalizes those most in need.

The only reason the US pay so much for drugs is simple. Every outher country in the world regulates its drug prices. SO WE HERE have to make up for the R&D in how much we pay. and as a side note meny drug companys have programs for thair drugs if you cannot afford life saveing drug treatments. but the sad fact is, WE make up for the rest of the worlds communist polocies by forceing the drug companys to price a certen amount. so if we do the same here look forword to much of the life saveing reasearch these companys do to slow down or stop all together.
the problem with drug companys is not here its in europe.

Jeff

With a couple of exceptions, what I’ve read here today is all about what’s best for the party.

What about what’s best for the country?

George Washington’s warning over 200 years ago about the dangers of a party system today looks like prophecy.

The democrats and republicans are so busy fighting each other that the welfare of the country they profess to love and serve has taken a back seat to their own selfishness.

If something is bad for the nation, it shouldn’t matter which side your on. Fix it!

If something is good for the country, it shouldn’t matter which side your on. Support it!

Or we can just keep calling each other names and let the country go to hell.

Raise the minimum wage? Yes, by all means. Dem’s should go out of their way to make the lives of their favorite “group”, the poor, more miserable. Heaven knows they have done a terrific job alienating their base within the african-american population. Raise the rate and what, mandate a firing freeeze? No, mandate cost controls! After all, business is in business to serve humanity, being able to stay in business be damned! RAISE THE RATE AND LOW INCOME KIDS WILL HAVE NO JOBS TO LOOK FORWARD TOO! RAISE THE RATE AND THE COST GETS PASSED TO THE CONSUMER. For all their demagoging when it comes to the poor, elderly and minorities raising the rate will do more harm than good. Yes, please look into alternative fuels, just not in Massachusetts, (can’t ruin Ted’s teuqila sunrise view). Prescription drugs, oh yeah, you mean like President Bush? No, that must have been “the wrong plan at the wrong time” Dem’s can do better, truly, really, come on we mean it! Stop laughing out there! We’re serious! The Dem’s have carefully planned for the New America, whatever Bush did that worked will be co-opted as their idea, kind of like Clinton balanced the budget and reformed welfare!Whatever doesn’t work in their plan will be the fault of the few deluded neocons that remain after their landslide takeover of congress. What a strategy! Elitest, intellectual poppycock!

Rhinehold:

The Iraqi daily oil production is half of what it was under Saddam—are you saying that 1 1/2 to 2 million barrels a day doesn’t effect the price of oil on the open market?

The political parties of this country are businesses.

They have CFOs - PR and Ad Agencies… commercials and tag lines.

It’s all about the profit & power. The tag lines and public statements about about the image - not the substance.

Think about Exxon’s recent PR/public service message “Some call it pollution, we call it life.” That about sums it up …

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5425355

Watchblog manager:

If you want some critiquing the messenger, take a look at some of ROW’s comments about my name “I don’t believe in Tim Crow laws, and never will” over in the blue column. So you have a butch of Right wingers that are adept in snide remarks, walking a fine line between insulting the messenger and flaming a political movement (liberalism)with diatribes, unproven facts and
vitriol. Your warnings are one-sided, and misplaced.

So you have some

Very interesting conversation. Most everyone has very pointed remarks. Glad I dropped in.
BTW as I see it, the personal score is right of way 15 and foul mouthed Tim Crow zero.
See ya

In paris they simply stared when I spoke to them in French! I never did succeed in making those Idiots understand their Own language!. Mark Twain . at His beloved quarry Farm, in Elmira, New York. Ron Brown, my Great grandfather was good friends with mark Twain. our Family Farm, is two Miles Away . from the Quarry Farm. Rodney Brown.

Mike

Great Post! I especially like your links supporting your case. While you question the platform the Democratic Party presented as the issues they would focus on. The articles you cite, clearly indicate the division that exists within Republican ranks over the issue of illegal immigration.

One thing they don’t mention is how John McCann, Bush and others are on record of supporting a plan that right wing Republicans call “amnesty.” Or that John McCann didn’t appear as originally promised at a fundraiser for Bilbray, because Bilbray ran ad after ad blasting the bill Republican John McCann helped pen. Meanwhile the Republican Party spent 5 million dollars on ads for Bilbray, that said: “I’m not like the Republicans in Congress, I have not forgotten what a Republican is.” Come November, what people will remember is that the Republicans couldn’t keep their own house in order long enough, with a majority, to address this issue.

In fact, other than a useless non-binding resolution that was passed yesterday, the Republican controlled Congress has not been able to address one important issue in the past 6 years. Excuse me, except for increasing tax breaks for the rich while recording record deficits. (I had to throw that in, because someone had posted that he was middle class and he was going to enjoy the tax break, which he obviously doesn’t qualify for, that Bush had given him.)

But I guess it is easier to question the other Party’s platform, than to get your own house in order.

There’s been lots of screaming and shouting. Why not discuss the issues rationally?

Mike thinks immigration should be the issue. Maybe it is - for Republicans. It will enable them to firm up their base by tearing the country apart, something they do pretty well.

Reid listed a few Democratic issues, a few that he believes will help Democrats:

• Minimum Wage - While Republicans spend their time helping the rich, Democrats are more concerned with the poor. We need a minimum wage so that anyone who works for a living should be able to get along.

Little known but interesting fact. Which US Senator has the closest ties to Big Oil? That would be the senior Senator from Massachusetts - Ted Kennedy. Check it out.

Paul,

The minimum wage issue is probably the weekest of all the arguments. First of all, why is it the governments business to tell businesses what to pay anybody. Fortunately one of the true beautiful of our system is that you are free to choose where you work and where you live. It’s up to the individual to make themselves more valuable to the market, not making the market adjust to the workers ability.

Student loans - The best thing the government can do is get out of the loan business. Again why should the government use my tax money to send someone else’s child to college.

Drug prices - You can thank your friends the trial lawyers and their junk science and frivolous lawsuits for forcing drug companies to pass the cost on to the consumer. It may be cliche, but it would be near impossible to get aspirin approved in today’s climate.

Alternative energy - Try and build a nuclear power plant in the US.

Keith,

You may think that the government shouldn’t be using your tax money in helping someone else’s child go to college, but do you think the government should be using your tax money to provide us with the best military in the world?

Well if you do then I would like you to think long and hard about the fact that China is graduating more scientists and engineers as a percentage of college graduates compared to the US. Now think about what happens when China applies these highly skilled workers along with the enormous amounts of cash we owe their country toward their defense. I know you Republicans get your panties all wet thinking about how great are military is and you dismiss any notion that other countries are passing us on issues like healthcare and education with the simple retort “Yeah, so we can kick your countries ass!” But if we allow ourselves to become complacent on education like you are suggesting then there will come a time when we aren’t the most advanced military in the world. So what will you say then?

I’ve been reading all the comments and agree that the libs are in need of a mouth soap washing.
But then what else is new?

tigrpacrow

I’m sorry that seque to strong military the government not being in the student loan business is too convoluted for me. I’m not saying that students should not be able to get loans to go to college only that the market can handle it much better than the government can.

But then I think that the Federal government should get back to it’s Constitional mandate of defense and foreign affairs and get out of all of the domestic programs that they should not be dealing with.

I mentioned earlier about the myth that lawsuits are the biggest factor in high drug prices, but then someone mentions it again. If you want to talk about real reasons for high prices look at how much these companies spend on advertising. We ban cigarette commercials so why can’t we ban drug commercials? Don’t you think doctors should be the ones prescribing the drug based on the patients ailments and not because the patient comes in demanding the doctor write them a prescription for lipifitisol because they saw some stupid commercial of two old people dancing in a wheat field?

Keith,

If you let the market dictate who gets student loans then you shut out anyone on the bottom end of the economic spectrum that would be seen as a credit risk. The federal student loan program helps people that would normally be unable to get these loans.

And what don’t you understand about losing our competitive technological edge, especially in military technology, to countries that are graduating more scientists and engineers and have the financial resources to move ahead of us?

J. Bryant and Keith,

It’s amazing what you can get stats to say if you twist them enough. If you remove part-timers and summer-only workers from your stats, that removes most of the middle class kids working at McDonald’s, because thye distort the real stats. People who work full time year round at minimum wage are poor. And just try to live slightly above the poverty line sometime, even without dependents. If you stay at a fast food place for a year you get a 10 cent raise, BFD! A low minimum wage encourages welfare fraud and increases crime rates, but does produce more cannon fodder for Iraq. If the govt doesn’t step in, the govt will have to pick up the pieces later on at a higher price tag.

Govt involvement in student loans increases the chances that we will continue to have a competitive edge in the global market, and that fewer positions will be filled by foreign nationals. It keeps rates low so that college grads will be able to stay in their communities and give back, rather than moving to a place where wages are higher just to pay off their student loans. It’s our govt investing in us.

People have debunked the GOP tort reform argument so often that GW doesn’t even mention any more. Lawsuits are a fraction of a percent of drug company profits. I think the govt could do more to underwite the risks of drug R&D, and then drug companies wouldn’t have that excuse.

I agree with you on nuclear energy, but alternate energy sources are the key to US energy independence. The NIMBY factor with the Kennedy monolith and windmills is pretty hypocritical. I don’t believe that the leftists are totally to blame for no Nukes, because too many mining and oil companies would be affected adversely by more widespread use of nuclear power

This isn’t a thread of anything but rediculous and unfounded sillyness. There isn’t even anything ream or of sufficient substance to respond to.

Another myth is that drug prices are high because of all the money spent on R&D. In reality these companies spend roughly 10% of revenue on R&D compared to about 35% on advertising. Of the 10% used for R&D, 75% is used for copycat drugs. So these companies are only spending about 2.5% on R&D for new drugs.

Paul,

I don’t think it should be the issue — it IS the issue!!

I have read enough of Tim Crow and Bushflipflops to make a person ill. The two left wing radicals are complete socialist and no absolutely nothing about the subjects they are talking about.

Fact for Mr. Crow: FDR and LBJ created more socialist programs in American history and we are still paying for it. Fact. Democrats tell the heck out of the middle class. Fact: Democrats think everyone who earns more than $25,000 is rich. Fact: Ted Kennedy never had a real job in his life. Fact: I pay more in taxes every year. Fact: The billionare liberals like George Soros hide money in off shore accounts. Kennedy is a trust baby and will continue to tax the middle class while he injoys loop holes in the tax code.

Bushflipflops: Want better schools. Get rid of the NEA and Tenure. Fact: Private schools perform better than public. Why are public schools so afraid of public schools? With real competition they would fail.

China, India, and Germany produce good students because students go to school to learn not to be indoctrine by the liberal machine.

Clearly he left anti-american crowd cannot really think for themselves or search for facts. Instead, they ramble off emotional DNC talking points.

If the Dems really stated what they want to do and believe, they would never win an election.

Finally, one last note. I have been in the healthcare industry for 16 years. Drug companies and medical device companies are strangled by FDA regulations. Where did you get your numbers? Drug companies do spend millions on R&D and theFDA approval process.

One think consistent about the liberals and that is there inconsistency.

I do not know which one of you are a poor Slob (middle class) but I am. Either you are on the government payroll (welfare) or you are rich. Either way you do not have the facts on taxes and spending. We have never had taxing problem in this country. It is a spending problem.
KMM

Ken Mensio,

I would currently classify myself as middle class, but when I was younger my family was poor. My mother had to raise me along with my brother and sister without any help from my father. Thanks to programs created by FDR my mother was able to go on welfare for a few years while she went back to school to get her nursing degree. Once she obtained her degree she was able to get a good paying job and move us out of the two bedroom apartment we were living in and into a house for the first time. If it weren’t for the federal student loan program I wouldn’t have been able to afford to go to college. So you want to call me a socialist and say that I don’t know what I am talking about, well guess what buddy unless you are an anarchist you too are a socialist, we all are. You wouldn’t have a military, highway system, fire department or many other things you take for granted without socialist programs. Our country is a mixture of socialism and capitalism, and while it may not be perfect it’s alot better than whatever the hell type of system you are talking about. The movement of my family and myself up the economic ladder is proof positive that these programs work.

I blogged about this “New Direction” today as well… funny how concerns about deficit spending and the national debt don’t prevent lots of planned new expenditures and even a (*GASP*) tax cut…

ERR ahh, Cousin Teddy Started it.IN 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt called a emergency Conference to the white house.IT was Decided by teddy, that Preserving the Family in the house was much more Preferable to placing the poor in Institutions, which were criticized as costly failures. it was called the Mothers pension programs, and by 1933 all but two states were operating under it. it was not perfect but it kept millions of mothers and children in a home. and Later cousin FDR updated it.

ERR ahh, Cousin Teddy Started it.IN 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt called a emergency Conference to the white house.IT was Decided by teddy, that Preserving the Family in the house was much more Preferable to placing the poor in Institutions, which were criticized as costly failures. it was called the Mothers pension programs, and by 1933 all but two states were operating under it. it was not perfect but it kept millions of mothers and children in a home. and Later cousin FDR updated it.

ERR ahh, Cousin Teddy Started it.IN 1909 President Theodore Roosevelt called a emergency Conference to the white house.IT was Decided by teddy, that Preserving the Family in the house was much more Preferable to placing the poor in Institutions, which were criticized as costly failures. it was called the Mothers pension programs, and by 1933 all but two states were operating under it. it was not perfect but it kept millions of mothers and children in a home. and Later cousin FDR updated it.

sorry, it said it was to be reviewed by watchblog. i only pushed the post button one time!!

Ken Mensio,

“Want better schools. Get rid of the NEA and Tenure. Fact: Private schools perform better than public. Why are public schools so afraid of public schools? With real competition they would fail.”

What a crock.

Fact: Private schools perform better because they get to pick and choose the students they take, and for the most part, they only take the best.

Fact: Private schools get the best teachers because they can afford to do so.

Fact: If private schools were forced to expand their classes and take every student, they would perform just as badly as public schools.

Fact: If private schools were forced to expand their classes and take every student, they would also have to hire more teachers and their “standard of excellence” would also drop through the floor.

The right’s “private school panacea” is just bullshit. It has nothing to do with reality.

Right of Way
Your comments on ANWR and permafrost indicate you ignorance.
The environment that would be drilled is currently very productive, calving grounds for caribou herds — if it was only ice (lake ice like Minnesota??) then they wouldn’t be able to survive there
Also, permafrost is NOT ice — there are many living organizms on top of the permafrost (by the way, the permanent frozen layer is BELOW the insulative layer of organic material on top.
So, you earlier claimed some higher education credentials, etc — Your ignorant statement concerning permafrost and ANWR indicates either you got scammed on your education or you are scamming us regarding your education.
Which is it?

A couple of points
1) Oil from ANWR — comments were made that even 3 years worth of oil would give us time to develop alternate technologies
Hmmm couple of problems there
a) it will be 10-15 years before we see one drop of that oil — imagine what the size of the problem will be then!
b) Cheap oil is what has kept the development of alternative energy sources from occuring

2) Drug Companies — money spent on Advertising
The money they spend is HUGE and the commercials you see are just the tip of the iceberg
My Bro-in-Law used to sell for the drug companies, and you CANNOT imagine how much they spent on their sales team. — Cars, trips, all sorts of “freebie” junk to give away to the Dr’s (not free samples, things like Golf Umbrellas with drug names on them, pens, post-it-notes, thermometers — you know, all that carnival type junk (made in China) — and because it has the Drug companies name on it — it is written off as advertising)
There were Sales Team Meetings — in very enticing locations — Monterrey, Hawaii, Caribean —
With all sorts of free recreational activities and shows brought in for the sales troops.
Bonuses and perks — my Bro-in-law would come home from these Sales Meetings with all sorts of free techno-goodies (Big Screen, Stero’s PDA’s, etc etc etc)
All of this to help SELL their drug to the Dr’s
— oh yea, occaisionly he would get around to actually discussing the benefits and uses for the drug, but most of the sales calls weren’t really involved in that stuff.
The Drug Co’s LAUGH at the puny amount they pay for “frivolous” lawsuits and (people dying because they take drugs the Co knows will kill them are just greedy and suing the Co for this is Frivolous!!)
Get a grip you corporate lackeys!!
Quite spouting the RNC talking points and find out the FACTS.

Rocky,

Just because you say FACT, doesn’t mean it is.

As a rule private school teacher are paid less than their counterparts in the public sector.

Private schools do better also because they are not under the stranglehold of the teachers unions who do not want anything to mess with the status quo.

Maybe if parents had to write a check for there childrens schooling they would be more involved in their childrens education.

Keith,

“As a rule private school teacher are paid less than their counterparts in the public sector.”

I am a product of a private school. The teachers at my school were paid nothing because they were Priests and Nuns.

Somehow I just don’t believe that the “best” lay teachers at private schools are are only in it for the “love” of shaping young minds full of mush.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm#earnings

“Private school teachers generally earn less than public school teachers, but may be given other benefits, such as free or subsidized housing.”

In some sense part of your assertion is true, but the statistics vary wildly by location, and the overall benefits of teaching at a private vs public school cannot be overlooked, and realistically have to be factored into the final “pay” equation.

A private school teacher has;
1)smaller classes size,
2)more support from the parents,
3)more support from the school administrators and other faculty,
4)better working conditions,
5)better discipline,
6)more dedicated students,
7)and a hell of a lot less stress.

Job satisfaction is much higher.
Overall quality of life is much higher.

Now let’s dump every student into that environment and of course they will do better, for awhile. Once confronted with much bigger class sizes (easily twice the size), and the discipline problems that come with it, even the Nuns will want more money.

I am all for scholarships for the “best and the brightest”, and realistically, those would be the only ones that will be able to qualify scholastically to get in to the private schools, unless, of course, we “force” those schools to lower their standards.

If that is the case then what exactly is the point?

If we attempt to “voucher” our way into a better education system, the outlook will be just as bleak as the public school systems are now.

We all know that our schools are going down the drain. Choosing the school corporation to send your kids to AND pay taxes to (public or private) is a very good thing to do. Private schooled children learn faster. Public schools have delinquints and other not-so-nice things. But the main thing is the education. The lowest score a kid can get is a 50% where I live. So if a kid gets a 14%, it comes out as a fifty! I also think that kids should have classmates with similar learning needs. Kids that excel shouldn’t be held behind by those that fail. Most of the time, kids fail because they are lazy! Laziness is putting the U.S. behind. China is catching up. The lazy need to pull themselves up, not the govt. When the government attempts to make the lazy catch up, they are halting the excelling’s learning.

We must choose our Children’s education. They are the future.

Keith,
Politicians love to blame teacher’s unions for everything, but never actually try to do anything to change the problem. We teachers are the scapegoats in every soundbite, without a scrap of evidence to back it up. Try teaching for a couple of years, and then come back to me about fighting the status quo.

Stubcon,
You whine a lot, but say almost nothing of substance. Beyond that, private schools will solve nothing you bring up. Everyone in smaller classes does better than those in large classes, especially when you weed out the undesirables. I’m certain that you wouldn’t like the elitist sytem of education you propose.

BTW, none of the private schools would pass muster with GW’s No Child Left behind, because they wouldn’t pass the definition of well-qualified teacher he set down.

Loren,

The right has made up it’s collective mind about education, and refuses to be fooled by the facts.

Home schooling is better than public school, regardless if the parent has the qualifications, and private school vouchers are the panacea that will save us all.

Being a teacher is a tough, thankless job most people wouldn’t do, but it’s still ok to eviscerate the teachers and the system, because the critics know they could do the job better, and cheaper.

Rocky,

Home schooling has many good points, but I wouldn’t subject my daughter to it. She is receiving an excellent public school education because we make the effort. I would put her education up against any private school. I attended public schools, and so did almost everyone of my friends.

Good public schools don’t make for good press or TV, because they demonstrate that teachers who are supported by their administration and parents can succeed with regular nongifted kids.

Loren:

“You whine a lot, but say almost nothing of substance.”

Try reading the first paragraph. That’s substance.
As for the “undesirables”, I believe every child has the potential for education. There are tutors and summerschool. To make it easier, put a child that is behind in a classroom where the other children are at the same learning level. Then the children will be taught in a different way to catch up.

Here is an example: A test is given to determine children’s learning needs. One group of children score around the C- to B range, another group scores B+ to A. The teachers or staff separate the children according to the ranges. The rest of the children that scored a D+ or below will be tutored.

I hope that will clear things up. I’ll answer to any non-hostile questions.

Stubcon,

Gee, I thought that we all know our schools are going down the drain was somewhat hostile.

I’m sorry, but we already do everything you mention. It’s called tracking, and it has the effect of creating tiers of educational quality, because no one wants to pay for tutors and extra support. And the kids who need the extra help get labelled slow or special ed.

Here in nyc we have Individual Educational Plans and Academic Intervention Services. These are all ideas with names thought up by mostly conservative politicians. They sound great, but they are instituted with no idea of how to implement them, and the support necessary to keep them going never materializes. Then in 4-6 years another politician comes along with another fancy named program, and everything the teachers worked to achieve is chucked out the window. This educational “reform” has been going on for generations. Teachers get all the blame, even though they were asked to do something with nothing.

Loren,

It’s not just teachers unions I think are the problem. Personally I think that all public employees unions should be done away with. By there very nature the relationship between the unions and the politicians who decide on there contracts is corrupt. The unions pay millions of dollars to get politicians elected who will vote to get them sweetheart contracts, because it’s not the politicians money and they don’t have a bottom line to worry about.

If I am a CEO for a public corporation and I took money from the employees union and then gave them a new contract with lifetime pensions and healthcare, I would be indicted.

The public employee unions and their friends in the democratic party are slowly bankrupting California. We currently have approx. 20 - 30 billion dollars in unfunded liabilities just for the lifetime healthcare.

Teachers aren’t all the blame. Some are really good with kids, and some just want a paycheck.

Laziness of kids is a major factor.

Schools can reform if they want to, but I just want parents to decide what corporation to support.

Keith,

We in the UFT certainly don’t have that problem here. Giuliani and Bloomberg were both opposed by our union, and we’ve received diddly squat. But our school chancellor publicly blames us for everything, even when they get everything they ask for. They misinform the public about our differences and promote half assed ideas they know no one would ever implement, but that keep them in the public eye as educational reformers.

Stubcon
Laziness is learned, not innate behavior.

School reform will occur when teachers and children are in the middle of the decision and implementation process.

I no longer believe either side is my side. That said, the Dems slink further left, in the mistaken belief most Americans will bow to larger gov’t and fewer expectations for the individual.
John

Here’s a crazy idea, let’s review some of what the liberal Democratic party does stand for and believe.

They believe that children should learn in Kindergarten how to use a condom but don’t mind so much if they can’t read when they “graduate” from high school.

They say they want to end poverty but continue to support a welfare system that has exacerbated poverty, fueled crime, gutted America’s inner cities, and left a legacy of failure and broken lives with nothing but a bill to show for it.

They say they support parents but don’t think you have a right to know if your 14 year old daughter (who probably wasn’t paying attention in condom class) is pregnant and wants an abortion.

They understand abstinence when it comes to cigarettes and alcohol (not so much with weed) but don’t think it applies to pre-marital sex.

They defend, to the point of treasonously revealing intelligence gathering operations, the right to privacy, which is written nowhere in the Constitution, but think “the right of the people to keep and bear arms” is negotiable.

They claim to be the voice of the people, then ramrod their agenda through the court system, convienently avoiding the legislature, the real voice of the people.

They say they support the troops, then base thier political fortunes on the troops failing.

They’re pro-choice unless the choice you’re making is what school to send your child to.

They abhor when the President or law enforcement breaks the law in thier eyes, yet have no problem with 12 million people being in this country illegaly.

They say you shouldn’t put your fortune in an offshore account and should pay your share if you’re wealthy unless your last name is Kennedy or Kerry.

They want the rich taxed to death but can’t remember the last time a poor person gave them a job.

They support increasing the Army by 2 divisions, about a 4th of what they cut when Clinton was in office.

They have no problem with an entertainment industry that glorifies violence, drug abuse, mysogeny, and every other form of deviant behavior but think its a faux pax to say the name of Jesus in public (unless its the name of one of the illegals who they think should have social services without paying taxes).

They say they believe in the freedom of speech, but only if its PC.

They say they are for tolerance but won’t tolerate those who don’t go lockstep with their radical socialist agenda.

They say it takes a village to raise a child while turning the village into a cesspool of vice and moral corruption you want to protect your kids from, not interact with.

They don’t think rape should be a capital crime but have no problem with executing a child whose only crime was to be concieved.

They state that they are for the mentally and physically handicapped, then support abortions for parents who spot these conditions in thier preborn children. After all, these children won’t have a proper “quality of life” and will “be a burden.”

They say they represent women’s rights, then say that abortion based on sex selection, which almost always ends in the abortion of an unborn girl.

They say they are for energy independence but don’t offer any alternatives to Bush’s comprehensive energy plan, which they then deadlock in the Senate. They then criticize the President for the nation’s lack of an energy plan.

They criticize Bush for not taking out bin Laden in the 9 months he had in office prior to 9/11 but don’t say a thing about the 8 years Clinton had to do the same.

They think the fate of the United States is best protected in the United Nations in the hands of “countries” with less of an economy than Pittsburgh and an “army” that couldn’t take on the NYPD.

They abhor the national debt but forget that their program of Social Security will bankrupt the nation.

They cry foul over disenfranchisement for “hanging” and “dimpled” chads in Florida, then try to get military overseas votes nullified because they had the wrong postmark.

They love to mock Columbus but glorify Che Guevera.

They think white people should be grateful to be told that they are the root of all evil.

They’re hearts bleed for those who earn less than the poverty level unless they’re privates in the Army.

They say they abhor racial discrimination, then order reverse discrimination by government mandate.

They support the freedom of religious expression as long as the religion you choose to express isn’t Christianity.

They seem to believe that well paid professional liars (hollywood celebrities) speaking to you from thier air-condtioned 25,000 square foot homes are the best people to lecture you about how you use entirely to much resources keeping your house airconditioned.

They cannot comprehend how crime rates go down the more people you put in jail.

They are against stereotypes, unless you’re talking about a slack-jawed, beer swilling, Bible-thumping, intolerant, bigoted, sexist, homophobe, redneck NASCAR fan. Or a jack-booted, neo-Nazi, gun-nut, anti-government, survivalist hunter.

I’m sure many of us here can think of a few more examples. Its not hard. Just look up hypocrisy in the dictionary and apply it to any line of the Democratic plank

1LT B,

But how do you really feel?

Maybe you don’t realize that by making vast generalizations about the Dems, you commit the same sin you accuse them of, and as a result, your point becomes only half-vast.

Rocky,

I guess I was on such a roll there I didn’t make myself clear. I think what I was trying to say is that the Democratic plank, from which I drew inspiration for my last tirade (I do try to be honest with myself) is fundamentally hypocritical and counter to a well ordered and prosperous society.

I will grant that that list was long, but so is the Democratic plank. I was actually hoping to have some fun reading the responses to individual line items of my little manifesto. I also think that while these points don’t apply to every democrat, I’ve managed to hit about as wide a cross section of the diversity in that party as possible. Just for your amusement, (maybe my own too), here’s a few points I forgot.

They think burning your nation’s flag is the penultimate act of patriotism.

They say they are against the frivilous use of military force yet have deployed the military more in the 8 years of Clinton’s presidency than in the 40 years preceding it.

They endorse the blatant coffin riding of an attention mongering mourning-profiteer like Cindy Sheehan.

They think the spoilt progeny of overindulgent white yuppie parents who shops at the gap, drives an escalade, and drinks triple mocha lattes is in an excellent position to denounce capitalism.

They think that achieving wealth, part of the American dream, should be punished with taxes.

They think a paper-pushing beurocrat in D.C. is a far better authority on how to spend 30% + of my income than I am.

They put a convicted (later pardoned by Carter) draft dodger in the White House while veterans were homeless.

They think responibilities have no rights if you’re a man with a child, pre-born or born.

I’ve personally witnessed 3 compare the Easter 2001 race riots in Cincinnati with the Salt March by Ghandi.

They think the best way to protest globalization is to burn down a locally owned McDonald’s.

Dahrell(?) Hannah thinks that squatter’s rights trump property owner’s rights.

A group sued the Federal government for not putting water points along the border for people trying to illegally entering the country. In other words, they were sueing the government for not helping people break the laws it made.

Well, I suppose that’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed it Rocky. You’re probably right about it being only half right, but surely a liberal can sympathise with me. After all, it just feels so good!

1LT B,

Liberal?

Hardly.

There are points that you have correct, and points you assume that all Democrats/liberals hang their hats on, and like most of the right’s pundits, you grossly generalize and include those that don’t hold extreme positions, just because they aren’t “conservative” enough for you.

I own guns, but I also believe in a woman’s right to her own body.
By the same token, I don’t believe in abortion as a means of birth control.

I do believe in a strong military, but don’t believe in wasting it pre-emptively. I was for going to Afghanistan, but against the “pre-emptive” invasion of Iraq.
However, I believe that we also shouldn’t use the military half-assedly(?), which is what this whole Iraq/Vietnam thing has been. If we are going to do it, just do it, and quit fiddle farting around.

I am not a “black and white” kind of guy, and am constantly amazed at the subtleties of life, that are missed by those folks that are.

I live in Arizona and am familiar with the case you cite about water, and while I am not for illegal immigration, the water thing is a humane effort to keep hundreds of people from dying in the desert each year.
Should there have been a lawsuit? Probably not.

What I find most disturbing, is that Americans have become so polarized, and these issues have become an “us or them” situation.

Right Of Way,

I wonder how many of those minimum wage workers are the product of failed urban public school systems controlled by lib-dominated unions and bureaucrats?

Even if that was the sole reason, why do you want to double punish the poors for that!?

Right-of-Way,

You libs don’t get it. Bush doesn’t want us to stay ahead of India and China. He wants to let as many of them as can swim across the Rio Grande into the country to do the jobs lib PhDs won’t do.

… the jobs americans won’t do.

Plus I didn’t know chineses and indians have just to swin across the Rio Grande to enter US.
Where’s my worldmap again?…

Don,

The cheapest way to reduce the cost of prescription drugs is to eliminate multi-million dollar lawsuits against drug manufacturers.

I guess reducing the amount of prescription drugs and always shift to generic drugs when they could applied is even cheaper.

Your solution sounds more about increasing the drugs makers protection than reducing prescription costs. Since when protecting drugs IP make the drugs more effective than generic ones and people more healthy???

When India signed the Madrid Protocol, they got a special exception for drug patent protections. There is a huge incentive there to make drugs as accessible as possible…even if that means inferior quality. Companies will take a US patent, tweek a few ingrediants, and sell it for a tenth the cost to people who couldn’t afford it otherwise.

Do we enforce IP law more strenuously and force poor Indians and Chinese to do without (we’d have to be willing to play hardball and threaten sanctions - something no US business wants)?

Or do we allow this exploitation of our IP and pay higher prices domestically?

The reality is that many countries could care less about the lives of their citizenry. Because we believe a life is valuable, we pay more to be safe. No getting around it.

Keith,

Again why should the government use my tax money to send someone else’s child to college.

Again why should the government use your tax money to send someone else’s child to Iraq War?

Double standard, anyone?

Philippe

Have you ever actually read the Constitution?

No. Or just very partially. But being a french living in France I should confess I’ve never felt the need to read a foreign nation constitution…
For my defense, I’ve read the draft EU Constitution!

Anyway, back to topic, don’t you find as important to defend all americans *and* keep all american kids free access to the best possible education?
Please notice the “all kids” and “free access” parts.

Does the US Constitution say nothing about education?

A hike in the Minimum wage will get lots of jobs cut and hours cut back to 32 per week. this way if anyone misses work and does not meet the miminum hours required for full time employment not only does the employer get to reduce their workforce but quit paying benefits to the worker. How does that translate into votes when they side with big business against their voting base mimimum wage employees? It happened last time and will again.

Tax breaks on college loans translates to tax breaks for the rich. Much like a windfall for career students and makes going to school a business not a hobby.

If someone has to decide between dog food or Prescription drugs then they are eating to well. Has anyone priced a can of alpo lately?

As far as alternative fuels, the Democratic party has a leg up on the use of hot air blowing carelessly in the wind and if someone could only find a way to utilize BS for fuel they defintely have a winner in this one. Ted Kennedy and his drug addict son could be a source of energy for the entire country.

“A hike in the Minimum wage will get lots of jobs cut and hours cut back to 32 per week”

Says who? Not calling it false, but I’d like to read that one for myself.

“Tax breaks on college loans translates to tax breaks for the rich. Much like a windfall for career students and makes going to school a business not a hobby.”

May be the most rediculous thing I’ve ever heard. They still have to pay that money back you know. So they get a tax break on the interest…so what? It may not even effect their tax scenario unless it pushed them into a lower tax bracket - and in this case you’re dealing with someone who is NOT rich!

And you should really do some research because it sounds like you are not aware of the many provisions and restrictions on college loans. It is not as if you enroll in a college and get free money for life. It is becoming harder to even qualify for assistance now that they cut grant funding again at the federal level.

But I guess, once again, education funding takes a back seat to blowing stuff up and funding new executive departments who make decisions like: Des Moines Iowa needs more anti-terrorism money, and NYC needs much less.

Priorities.

Kevin,

The federal government has no constitutional authority or responsibility to fund education. The legislature has managed over the years to say that it comes under the commerce clause and interstate commerce. Military and defense on the other hand are specifically stated in the constitution.

The best thing that could be done for education in this country is to abolish the federal department of education and give the responsibility back to the states where it belongs.

Keith,

I completely agree with you. I clammor on education because there is such an obvious indication of priorites in the comparison numbers. See the link below.

http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

But all things said and done, the less we have the feds do, the better. They’ve shown they can’t be trusted. But just because a power is express in the constitution does not mean using it is a good idea. I see it this way: there goes almost $300 billion we could have given to the states (after paying off the deficit of course) to use to revamp their schools and pay teachers more - the best first step to good future recruitment.

1LTB,

I love it when someone who obviously hasn’t had an original thought or moment of self reflection their entire life tells me what I believe. Guess you don’t personally know any liberals, or did they kill all of them where you live?

Tirades are great when you stub your toe, but here?

Keith,

Can you please list the impact the federal govt has on your local schools? I think the state still pretty much calls all the shots.

“A hike in the Minimum wage will get lots of jobs cut and hours cut back to 32 per weekâ€

Says who? Not calling it false, but I’d like to read that one for myself.

Talk to some minimum wage employees such as checkers, stockers ect. It may be 35 or 30 but dependent on the employer. My sister is a checker for a food chain and making pretty good money befor the last hike in wage. after the last pay hike she was cut back to 32 hours a week.

I should have known you would not research the facts as they only confuse you people but you have to maintain x amount of hours a week to be considered full time help and to get benefits from an employer.

we have it at our work even if you aren’t minimum wage.

May be the most rediculous thing I’ve ever heard. They still have to pay that money back you know. So they get a tax break on the interest…so what? It may not even effect their tax scenario unless it pushed them into a lower tax bracket - and in this case you’re dealing with someone who is NOT rich!

Well good going you just made my point about the BS coming from the Democrats. as far as tax break for the RICH it is a play on words like Bush gives tax breaks to the rich. only those who pay taxes get the break and only those who borrow money to go to college get the tax break.

It is a rotten plank in a platform crumbling way to the left.

Why doesn’t Sleazy Reid state when a spotted owl becomes a spotted owl?

Loren,

Here’s an original thought for you; respond to what I wrote rather than attacking me about my supposed lack of creativity. Address the points I’ve made. I say that the plank of the Democratic party is fundamentally hypocritical and detrimental to a good society. I’ve made a rather extensive list of why I believe this to be true. Why don’t you tell me how I’m wrong? As for not knowing any liberals, I’ve known plenty. My ex from 4 years in college was a liberal.

Oh, we don’t kill hippies over here. Here we kill terrorists to protect people unable or unwilling to fight to defend themselves. Nice dig, by the way, it speaks well of you.

Loren:

I think 1LTB nailed it.

OOORAH!

I remember reading that the single largest group that defaults on their student loans are teachers.

Prof. Ward Churchill listed several graduate degrees on his resume that he never earned.

I wonder if he defaulted on his loans too? And he gets paid over $100,000 of taxpayer’s dough per year.

I’m going to try to address this stuff:

“I remember reading that the single largest group that defaults on their student loans are teachers.”

They make crap for money…what do you expect?

“As for not knowing any liberals, I’ve known plenty. My ex from 4 years in college was a liberal.”

Wow…he knew one once…so he’s an expert? How and when did that become logical?

“Can you please list the impact the federal govt has on your local schools? I think the state still pretty much calls all the shots.”

Will someone please give this person a list of supreme court cases in the last century?

And yes, I do know about the 40 hours per week = full time status (benefits eligability). Companies have been trying to skirt this for years. There were class action lawsuits filed against numerous companies in the past decade (without a min. wage raise as a catalist) for doing just that…eliminating full time status to save on benefits.
I think you’ll find that companies will try to exploit labor whenever they can…it is simply in their bottom line interests to do so. The answer is NOT to stop adjusting wages to inflation. That would be the tail wagging the dog.

Will someone please give this person a list of supreme court cases in the last century?

Oh, you mean like Brown vs Bd of Ed?

Unless you want to make the red states the laughing stocks of the educational world, keep some sort of checks and balances in the system.

Loren,

That is exactly what I want to do. If the republicans want to continue to persue this avenue of regulating behavoir, then I absolutely agree that where they have a substantial majority behind them, they should do it. But they will run the risk of publicity. I’d much rather have the world believe that Texans hate gay people for example, as opposed to Americans hating gay people.

And Brown v. Board is a great example of a good ground breaking decision that was made in the wrong arena. If it was a state issue, CA and New England states would have been on the forefront well before that time. Again, when the feds do anything, even good things, they create a basis from which people can argue that gov’t should do more and more and more….until they are teaching your children about sex. Do you trust this? I’d rather keep it local.

Loren,

Then why is when ever there is a problem with test scores, the first thing the teachers union says is it’s Bush’s fault.

Also if that’s the case why do we have a Federal dept of Ed

They believe that children should learn in Kindergarten how to use a condom but don’t mind so much if they can’t read when they “graduate†from high school.

I don’t believe that, and no one here in nyc is doing that. We work more to learn how to improve education, while you try to re-introduce failed methods.

They say they want to end poverty but continue to support a welfare system that has exacerbated poverty, fueled crime, gutted America’s inner cities, and left a legacy of failure and broken lives with nothing but a bill to show for it.

Clinton did more to modernize the welfare system that all GOP combined. Besides let them pull themselves up by their own bootstraps when they have no shoes, what have you done?

They say they support parents but don’t think you have a right to know if your 14 year old daughter (who probably wasn’t paying attention in condom class) is pregnant and wants an abortion.

I think fathers who sexually abuse their kids have no right to make reproductive decisions.

They understand abstinence when it comes to cigarettes and alcohol (not so much with weed) but don’t think it applies to pre-marital sex.

Most weed smokers I know are republicans. I believe in teaching abstinence, but it’s stupid not to have a back-up plan, when, if the first fails, you risk health and life.

They defend, to the point of treasonously revealing intelligence gathering operations, the right to privacy, which is written nowhere in the Constitution, but think “the right of the people to keep and bear arms†is negotiable.

The only people who are worried about those intelligence gathering operations being exposed are the criminals doing it.

Lets get that right to bear arms decided in the supreme court by your own favorite activist judges. If you want a gun, own one, but those who own guns should be held to a high standard of accountability and responsibility.

They claim to be the voice of the people, then ramrod their agenda through the court system, convienently avoiding the legislature, the real voice of the people.

And GW circumvents the will of the people and legislature with signing statements and the most secretive administration in history.

And the purpose of the courts is to protect the people who the legislature has decide to screw over. If the leglislature had decided to take away your guns, your first recourse would be to go to the courts. If the courts decide for you, I doubt you’d be calling them activists.

They say they support the troops, then base thier political fortunes on the troops failing.

We all want the troops to succeed, but can’t really see what the GOP is doing to accomplish that. I didn’t support the war, but believe me we shouldn’t leave until the mess is straightened out.

They’re pro-choice un