A very happy Mother’s Day to all the special women in our lives, whether our birth mother, adopted mother, Godmother, a grandmother, a special aunt, neighbor, friend or ourselves.
Feel free to share something about that special woman or women in your life.
@Starryflights
Let’s take a look at WHY that poll i so lopsided. Um…they cheated. More proof that AP is in the bag for the Democrats.
http://hotair.com/archives/2011/05/11/and-the-award-for-the-most-ridiculous-poll-sampling-goes-to/
the AP report doesn’t include a link back to the survey’s raw data. In order to find it, one has to go to GfK’s site for its AP polls. The partisan breakdown in the sample is found about halfway through the PDF, and it explains a great deal about how Obama managed to get such a high boost in this poll while others showed shallow bumps that had already started to subside.
The Dem/Rep/Ind breakdown in this poll is 46/29/4, as AP assigned most of the leaners to the parties. That is a 17-point gap, more than twice what was seen in the 2008 actual popular vote that elected Obama. It only gets worse when independents are assigned properly. When taking out the leaners, the split becomes — I’m not kidding — 35/18/27. Oh, and another 20% “don’t know.” That’s significantly worse than the March poll, in which the proper D/R/I was 29/20/34, and far beyond their post-midterm sample of 31/28/26. It’s pretty easy to get Obama to 60% when Republicans are undersampled by almost half.
Canadian healthcare in Vermont.
I’m not against this as even the Cooch concedes that the States have the power to do this.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42993683
@marinm
HEY! We’ve found a place to send our illegal aliens. Let Vermont fix them. I wonder how Vermont is going to pay for the sudden influx of people visiting from out of state. “Hmm…. I have a twinge…..I think I’ll take a vacation and go visit a Vermont ER.” Or heck, just get a doctor across the state line if you live near by. However, that is unlikely since their neighbors are Northern New York, Maine, and Masschusettts.
Even the Feds can open government hospitals. Nothing prevents them from providing medical service.
But why is it that, for Vermont to provide medical care, insurance has to be banned?
@Cargosquid
Because government hates competition? 😉
I think corporate America has proved that an HMO can work and provide good healthcare to a community. If people are ok with the constraints placed upon them by an HMO than a single payer system like what they want to do in Vermont could work. Financially they’ll have some problems (if I’m on holiday in VT and I break my leg what happens? Do I pay? Does my insurance pay? Do I pay the same rate?).
I just hope they don’t go in the tank and ask for a federal bailout.
God willing nothing ever happens to me but if it does.. I’m moving to VT. Moral hazard FTW (for the win) !!
FWIW, I think they’ll ban private coverage so that they don’t have a two tier system — you have doctors that exist outside of the system that only see private insured patients and take away from the pool of doctors that can ‘serve’ the community as a whole… at $4/hour. 😉
Marin, that is in code. Are you a code talker?
I just hope they don’t go in the tank and ask for a federal bailout.
Since every OTHER single payer system is bankrupt….figure the odds of this not happening.
I don’t. But, I have no power to tell Vermont what to do within it’s own state. But, I think like AIG, GM, Goldman Sachs, et al that we should’ve told them to pound sand and let them sink rather than try and prop them up for the mistakes they made…and then *itch and moan about what they did with the money we just gave them.
Rand Paul’s take on healthcare as a ‘right’ and forcing doctors to treat people.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/54769.html
pssstttt Marin…..and if AIG, GM, Goldman Sachs had been told to pound sand, what do you think the economy would look like today?
Have you talked to people who aren’t part of that system but who deal with finances on a daily basis?
You are welcome to say bitch and moan on here. I will still think you are a gentleman.
cargo – that is not true.
@Moon-howler
Sure do. Some say the bailout was a good thing and others think it was horrible. It really depends on the frame of reference. Mine is more idealogical. If someone stabs me I don’t hand them another knife and then gasp when I’m struck again.
Which code? I try to spell out any of the acronyms I use. Sorry, I type REAL fast.
@Moon-howler
Moon, one of the things the Feds never jump up and down about in Global Warming is the black soot from coal burning that drifts north. They try not to say too much to China about it.
oops…sent to soon. That black soot is laying on the ice in the Artic, speeding melting even with the lower sunlight levels for six months at a time.
Save the penguins!
@Moon-howler
So, why did Goldman’s competitors get the ax, but they got the bail out? Oh, that’s right, the Treasury Sec. used to work for Goldman Sachs. They were politically connected. AIG got the bailout because they were going broke paying out the insurance. So the gov’t used them to bailout other companies. And GM is screwing over its workers overseas. How do we like having our government be responsible for paying workers at .47 per hour in unsafe conditions. Is that what our tax money is supposed to do? Why are those companies getting bailouts and others allowed to fail?
http://www.redstate.com/laborunionreport/2011/05/11/the-hypocrisy-of-government-motors-and-the-uaw/
As for the penguins, yes they are endangered. Argentina should stop drilling for oil and immediately go to sustainable green energy. Actually, man does effect the environment negatively. But I have yet to see proof that man is warming the globe. According to scientists now, we’re in a cooling phase. These scientists cannot even agree on whether CO2 actually warms a planet and if so, how much? Or whether clouds cool the planet or trap heat. We do have to stop the polluting as much as possible, but global warming/cooling is going to happen no matter what we do. Even the most extreme environuts agree that if we do EVERYTHING that Kyoto says, we reduce, according to THEIR models, warming by 1 degree.
I wonder how the penguins lived through previous global warming periods like the Viking Warm Period? Temperatures were MUCH higher then than what’s said to be coming.
Where did Hank Paulson come from? Goldman Sachs. Thank goodness he was there to offer his expertise. Of course, none of them had seen anything like this before but Paulson did understand macro economics. I don’t know what you are actually saying. What is your beef with them?
The people who know finance really have good things to say about GS. They have paid TARP back.
Obviously the penguins did live. Actually, the scientists have nothing to prove to me. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell me that all those fumes and emissions aren’t good for people, plants or animals.
I do know this….that the growing season is markably longer now than when I was a younger adult. Now, do I know why? No. I just know that it is.
More good news for the President
AP-GfK poll: Americans more upbeat about economy
By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press – 1 hr 53 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Americans are growing more optimistic about the U.S. economy, a sentiment that is benefiting President Barack Obama despite public disenchantment with his handling of rising gasoline prices and swollen government budget deficits.
An Associated Press-GfK poll shows that more than 2 out of 5 people believe the U.S. economy will get better, while a third think it will stay the same and nearly a fourth think it will get worse, a rebound from last month’s more pessimistic attitude. And, for the first time since the 100-day mark of his presidency, slightly more than half approve of Obama’s stewardship of the economy.
Both findings represent a boost for Obama, though he still must overcome ill will over government red ink and the price of gas at the pump, now hovering around $4 a gallon.
But the public’s brighter economic outlook also could signal a boost to the current recovery, which relies to a great degree on consumer behavior. A public that is confident about economic performance is more likely to spend more and accelerate the economy’s resurgence.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110512/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_ap_poll_obama_economy;_ylt=AiWjwef3HrTUW8qUunSm66as0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNvNzU2ZWlhBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTEwNTEyL3VzX2FwX3BvbGxfb2JhbWFfZWNvbm9teQRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzIEcG9zAzcEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2FwLWdma3BvbGxhbQ–
Good op-ed in the WaPo by Sen John McCain on torture. He says:
Much of this debate is a definitional one: whether any or all of these methods constitute torture. I believe some of them do, especially waterboarding, which is a mock execution and thus an exquisite form of torture. As such, they are prohibited by American laws and values, and I oppose them.
As we debate how the United States can best influence the course of the Arab Spring, can’t we all agree that the most obvious thing we can do is stand as an example of a nation that holds an individual’s human rights as superior to the will of the majority or the wishes of government? Individuals might forfeit their life as punishment for breaking laws, but even then, as recognized in our Constitution’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, they are still entitled to respect for their basic human dignity, even if they have denied that respect to others.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/bin-ladens-death-and-the-debate-over-torture/2011/05/11/AFd1mdsG_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/denied-federal-aid-va-governor-asks-private-sector-citizens-to-help-tornado-victims/2011/05/12/AFu3fNzG_story.html
I saw this on FB via a VDEM (Virginia Department of Emergency Management) wall posting.
The Governor is asking for private citizens, the private sector and faith based groups to help fellow Virginians in need by donating what they can.
He still needs to appeal for the FEMA relief. That is absurd that it isn’t given, even if we are ‘stopping spending.’ This isn’t where we need to start.
I like Meghan McCain a lot.
http://www.politico.com/click/stories/1105/meghan_mccain_responds_to_beck.html
Thanks for the tip, Marin. A cheque is on the way south tonight signed by an old Yankee carpetbagger.
Moe,
Remember back when Jessica something or other was captured in Iraq when we invaded? remember how the government used her as propoganda about her horrible treatment. We were so outraged and yet, when we do it, those same people are silent when we do worse.
Good luck on influencing the course of the “Arab Spring.”
Does the “worse” include shooting an unarmed fugitive without benefit of trial?
You fell for this one! That’s hilarious!
Looks like a local Pastor is taking on Bank of America. Hmm…Isn’t that the same bank Mr. Lateef had issues with? The bottom line is BoA made it possible for some to remain in their homes, and some went to foreclosure. I’m not defending the banks, but as I said before I know of a few that were fortunate to work with BoA and stay in their homes.
http://www2.insidenova.com/business/2011/may/13/woodbridge-pastor-clyde-ellis-takes-boa-over-forec-ar-1036923/
George Soros has quite a PR firm…30 news organizations:
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/05/11/dont-hear-george-soros-ties-30-major-news-organizations/?test=faces
According to Scott Rasmussen, the most accurate pollster out there (because he uses Likely Voters, and not the average across RV,LV, Non-registered), Obama’s approval rating is 47% to 52% disapprove. His poll was conducted with a larger sample-size (1500, vs. 1001 for the AP), and during the same time-frame. You can check out all the recent polls here:
http://realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html
So does Rupert Murdoch
The Right-Wing Talk-Radio Flame Out
..John Avlon John Avlon – Thu May 12, 11:38 pm ET
NEW YORK – Ratings for Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and other hyper-partisans are declining as listeners seek honest talk from hosts like Michael Smerconish over angry rants. A more civil conversation will add value to our political debate, writes John Avlon.
There’s new evidence to suggest a demand for something different than hyper-partisanship in the world of talk radio and political media.
It’s not just the sunset of the Glenn Beck Show on Fox or the dispatch of Keith Olbermann from MSNBC to CurrentTV. It’s the shuttering of a pioneering conservative radio station and data showing the demographic decline of Rush Limbaugh.
In contrast, growing numbers of listeners are tuning in to independent voices who can be honest brokers in debates and don’t just angrily parrot talking points.
Limbaugh can sell bedpans and resentment forever. But the demographic trend is not his friend.
Rush is a giant in his field, reaching more listeners than anyone in political talk, but even he has seen erosion in his numbers. Analysis of industry data shows that in market after market, Rush’s ranking has declined decisively over the past five years among advertisers’ coveted 25-54 age group. For example, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Rush fell from sixth to 12th between 2005 and 2010. In Portland, Oregon, he fell from fourth to eighth. In San Francisco, he’s seen a similar decline. Among listeners 65 and older, Rush remains No. 1. He can sell bedpans and resentment forever. But the demographic trend is not his friend.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/14060_rushlimbaughandrightwingtalkradioflameoutaslistenerstunetoindependents;_ylt=AgnHev7CfZxLkrtwf5rXRlis0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTVvMWNzanQxBGFzc2V0A2RhaWx5YmVhc3QvMjAxMTA1MTMvMTQwNjBfcnVzaGxpbWJhdWdoYW5kcmlnaHR3aW5ndGFsa3JhZGlvZmxhbWVvdXRhc2xpc3RlbmVyc3R1bmV0b2luZGVwZW5kZW50cwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzQEcG9zAzEEcHQDaG9tZV9jb2tlBHNlYwN5bl9oZWFkbGluZV9saXN0BHNsawN0aGVyaWdodC13aW4-
Good to know Rush still has the geriatric crowd.
Is Starryflights an “ageist”?
Georgia has signed in an Arizona-like immigration law.
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgia-politics-elections/governor-signs-arizona-style-944703.html
And for today’s WTF (What the Fudge?) moment. Indian’s Supreme Court rules that a homeowner has no legal right to resist the unlawful entry of police into a home.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_ec169697-a19e-525f-a532-81b3df229697.html
I think Virginia has it right and ours is more in tune with the 4th Amendment. “It has long been held in Virginia that where an officer attempts an unlawful arrest, the officer is an aggressor which gives the arrestee the right to use self-defense to resist so long as the force used is reasonable.”
@Steve Thomas
Always instructive getting the Rupert Murdoch – Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal perspective on the corrupting influence on the U.S. news media of non-native Americans like George Soros. I see the “fair and balanced” article was written by Dan Gainor, the guy who offered $100 to any member of Congress that would punch former Rep. Alan Grayson in the face. Perhaps next we can get the unbiased low down on Jon Stewart from Glenn Beck.
What a cheapskate. That’s worth at least 1K.
$100!!!
Heck, at the time, if someone had promised to pay by fare and pay my bail, I would have done it for free. Grayson is an ass.
@Starryflights
Michael A. Smerconish heard on 70 radio stations….
Rush – 600+ stations
Beck – 300+ stations
I don’t think they’re worried….
I think that web has more to do with declining listeners in that age group. I’ve found out that by the time Rush and Beck get to things, I’ve probably read about it for 2-3 days and I tune out what they’re saying.
Does it bother anyone that extremely rich people from both sides of the political spectrum are calling the shots? Are we all their butt monkeys? Would we even know it if we were?
Moon,
And this is different from when exactly? the rich people have ALWAYS called the shots. Well, except until we get tired of it. Then they tend to die.
However, those in charge of killing the previous set of rich guys tend to become the next rich guys….kind of an incentive program……
Rich people do have the power but we aren’t their serfs. We should at least note it and revolt a little. I am tired of hearing about Murdoch, Soros and the Koch bros. 2 of them aren’t even native born Americans. Should it matter? Probably not. Does it matter? Yea, it does to me when they want to start taking over things.
Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.
In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer’s entry.
“We believe … a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence,” David said. “We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries to all parties involved without preventing the arrest.”
….um….this is NOT going to end well……..
Intersting article in the Post about The Sesquicentennial. I want to know more about this strip of land Corey mentions for period shops and town center.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/as-civil-war-anniversary-nears-manassas-sees-a-historic-opportunity/2011/04/04/AF2Nog2G_story.html
@Moon-howler
What is worse, IMHO, is that only the rich are able to run for higher political office these days.
We hear about the incredible amounts it takes to even get a foot in the door. From the day they have been elected, representatives start raising money for their next election. Everybody moans about the unthankful job they do, yet they want to hang on to the job for dear life.
I’m certain that there are thousands of very capable people who would LIKE, even LOVE to run, but by doing so they leave themselves and their families open to really rough treatment and – they get themselves in debt, should they lose. Those on the Hill are mostly not representatives of the common man.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/the-chart-that-should-accompany-every-discussion-of-deficits/238786/
Something to think about before we rip apart every safety net in America.
Except, of course, that the charts lie.
The charts blame a spending problem on a revenue problem. Tax cuts do not cause deficits. Spending does.
For one thing, it has the “wars” continuing past 2014. Obama has us leaving Afghanistan. Iraq has wound down to 50k troops and no active combat role.
Second, Bush was able to run “two” wars with deficit no larger than 450+ billion. Then the Democrats take power and Pelosi’s unsubmitted budget cracks past 1 trillion dollars.
So, according to that chart…..nothing is in deficit because Obama and the Democrats love to spend money. Everything is paid for by them. Fannie and Freddie…no bail outs. 600 billion not being spent in quantitative easing. Obamacare isn’t mentioned. The “recovery” measures are being shown as paid back…but stimulus isn’t paid back and GM doesn’t have the money to pay it back either.
“The deficit for fiscal year 2009 — which began more than three months before President Obama’s inauguration — was $1.4 trillion and, at 10 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the largest deficit relative to the economy since the end of World War II. At $1.3 trillion and nearly 9 percent of GDP, the deficit in 2010 was only slightly lower. If current policies remain in place, deficits will likely resemble those figures in 2011 and hover near $1 trillion a year for the next decade.”
What this doesn’t point out is that BUSH didn’t approve the budget of 2009. Pelosi didn’t submit it and waited until Obama was in office to sign it.
And these people continue to blame a tax cut for a spending cut. We could confiscate the ENTIRE wealth of the top Billionaires in our country and still not pay for Obama’s budget. If the tax cut is being blamed, then by all means, let’s make up a new graph showing how bad it is since Bush didn’t raise taxes back to 90% for the rich.
I do agree that the Prescripton drug plan is building a big chunk of debt. Which is why I opposed that then and now.
This is nothing more than Democrat talking points trying to blame Bush for their overspending. Pelosi, Reid, and Obama TRIPLED and almost QUADRUPLED spending in one year and have continued since. One does not continue to spend, pretending to have money. One adjusts the budget to match income. It’s a spending problem.
“CBO estimates that ARRA boosted the number of people employed in the United States by 1 ½ million to 3 ½ million”
Of course, the CBO can only use the numbers that Congress gives them and this is the same Congress that took credit for 3 million jobs “saved or created.” Yep. Even though we LOST millions of jobs over that same period.
They also say that inflation dropped. Except that if you use the calculation system that we used in the 90’s, we now have about 15% unemployment and 10% inflation.
The government is lying. Or incompetent.
CBO: Our 2001 Ten-Year Budget Projection Was Off by $11.8 Trillion
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2011/05/cbo-our-.html
and then there’s this: “the nonpartisan CBO says the administration’s estimates on how much debt will be incurred over the next ten years, if his budget is enacted, is off by a whopping $2.3 trillion dollars.”
http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/its-free-blog/2011/mar/22/cbo-says-obamas-budget-estimate-23-trillion/
So, who is telling the truth? Can we trust any of the numbers?
@Cargo, I am going to once again bring up hatred. It is standing in the way of discussion.
Just out of curiosity, what would YOU have done in the face of crash of 2008?
I am also curious about th rx plan. Apparently you don’t have any idea what drug costs were doing to people living on social security, or how much of a bite those costs were taking out of seniors’ living expenses. What would YOU propose to do about it?