nankerphelge wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2009 at 10:58am:



Good questions. Let me try to respond.

"Really fits the profile of someone that believes the Bible is God's word. Or God for that matter. Gullible."

Way over the top by me, once again. My objection to Christianity is in regards to public education. The whole Intelligent Design scam. Intelligent Design is creationism. It is not science. There is no science contained within the simple notion. Yet Christians continually try to add it to the public school curriculum. Now they are chanting "teach the controversy". But there is no controversy.

This is in direct conflict of the establishment clause. Favoring the Bible over other books supposedly written using God's own words.


"That Jesus is superior to any of the other Gods is a joke."

This is what many (most?) Christians believe (that JC is superior). With this belief, they are able to put all other faiths below theirs, and even go so far as to say others are worshiping pagan Gods. So when faith becomes someone's reason for killing, then that can not be tolerated. I feel the same way about Muslims. We've all seen what they're willing to do for their God.

We need a 'don't ask, don't tell' policy for religion.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/31/financial/f135020D17...

(07-31) 21:55 PDT New York (AP) --

New hope for the economy just gave the stock market its best July in 20 years.


Investors placed big bets over the last month that the profit machine at U.S. companies will continue to rev higher and that the longest recession since World War II is finally easing its grip. If that turns out to be wrong, the huge gains of July mean there will be an even bigger price to pay if companies don't deliver.

The Dow has risen four of the past five months.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index, a benchmark for many mutual funds, also ran at a strong pace and July was its best performance since 1997. Even with the gains, the S&P is still down 37 percent from its peak in October 2007.

The companies that fared best in July were those that signaled they were patching up their businesses after a terrible winter and fall. Caterpillar Inc.'s earnings for the April-June quarter fell but the company raised its profit forecast for the year. Its stock surged 33.4 percent for the month.

Earnings reports that fueled the rally often contained a few dark spots, and many companies have been increasing their bottom line by taking a knife to costs. Eventually they will have to bring in more revenue because trimming costs can't increase profits forever.

Stu Schweitzer, global markets strategist at J.P. Morgan's Private Bank in New York, said the lower expenses means companies will be better positioned to reap big earnings when the economy does grow and revenue starts to tick higher.

Economic reports are starting to support traders' bets. The government reported Friday that the economy shrank at a pace of just 1 percent in the second quarter, better than analysts anticipated. In the first three months of the year, the economy shrank at a pace of 6.4 percent, the steepest slide in nearly 30 years.

Despite the improving outlook, the economy still faces significant hurdles. Analysts worry that difficulty for consumers in borrowing, unemployment and a still-weak housing market will choke off growth. Key reports next week on manufacturing, housing, employment and the service industry could also reshape the market's view about where the economy is headed.

"I don't think this is a one-way staircase back up to where we came from. I fully expect potholes along the way," Schweitzer said.

On Friday, the Dow rose a modest 17.15, or 0.2 percent, to 9,171.61. The S&P 500 index rose 0.73, or 0.1 percent, to 987.48, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 5.80, or 0.3 percent, to 1,978.50.

Traders began the latest rally July 13 when they rushed to buy stocks ahead of a strong profit report from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. The bank's profit turned out to be huge, and strong report cards since then from companies like AT&T Inc. and microchip producer Intel Corp. confirmed that a range of companies were finding their footing.

Three of four companies in the S&P 500 index have reported results that topped analysts' expectations, according to Thomson Reuters. About 300 of the 500 companies have turned in their reports.

That unexpected bounty has pushed major market indexes to their best levels of the year. On July 23, the Dow rose above 9,000 for the first time since January. The rally pushed the Dow back into the black for the year and it is now up 4.5 percent.

The Nasdaq traded above 2,000 and the S&P 500 index neared the 1,000 mark, a level not seen since November.

"We're on the edge between recovery and speculation," said Rick Lake, portfolio manager of Aston/Lake Partners LASSO Alternatives Fund in Greenwich, Conn.

Lake said the market's ability to bounce higher in July even after getting bad news signals that many investors are looking to jump on the rally.

Major stock indexes surged off 12-year lows in early March to rally almost 40 percent by mid-June before stumbling until July's earnings reports restored hopes for a rebound in the economy.

Investors have been putting money into areas that are expected to do well in a recovery. Materials companies in the S&P 500 index rose an average 12 percent for the month. Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. jumped 13.8 percent.

By comparison, energy company stocks rose only 3.6 percent. Oil posted its first monthly drop since January as stockpiles remain high. Exxon Mobil Corp. edged up only 0.7 percent.

Analysts credit some of the buying to short-covering, in which investors have to buy stock after having earlier sold borrowed shares in a bet they would fall. That can make doubts into short-term buyers and give an artificial lift to stocks.

Investors still have plenty to worry about. The GDP report found that consumers cut spending by 1.2 percent in the second quarter, after a 0.6 percent increase in the first quarter.



In other trading Friday, bond prices rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.48 percent from 3.61 percent late Thursday.

Crude rose $2.51 to settle at $69.45 a barrel.

Three stocks rose for every two that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 5.5 billion shares compared with 6.1 billion Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index slipped 1.09, or 0.2 percent, to 556.71.

__

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the week up 78.37, or 0.9 percent, at 9,171.61. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.22, 0.8 percent, to 987.48. The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.54, or 0.6 percent, to 1,978.50.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of small company stocks, rose 8.25, or 1.5 percent, for the week to 556.71.

The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index — which measures nearly all U.S.-based companies — ended at 10,147.02, up 85.47, or 0.9 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 12,946.89.

Pdog wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2009 at 5:26pm:



Cheney?

Utopia Versus Freedom
Thomas Sowell
Tuesday, August 04, 2009

"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." We have heard that many times. What is also the price of freedom is the toleration of imperfections. If everything that is wrong with the world becomes a reason to turn more power over to some political savior, then freedom is going to erode away, while we are mindlessly repeating the catchwords of the hour, whether "change," "universal health care" or "social justice."

If we can be so easily stampeded by rhetoric that neither the public nor the Congress can be bothered to read, much less analyze, bills making massive changes in medical care, then do not be surprised when life and death decisions about you or your family are taken out of your hands-- and out of the hands of your doctor-- and transferred to bureaucrats in Washington.

Let's go back to square one. The universe was not made to our specifications. Nor were human beings. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that we are dissatisfied with many things at many times. The big question is whether we are prepared to follow any politician who claims to be able to "solve" our "problem."

If we are, then there will be a never ending series of "solutions," each causing new problems calling for still more "solutions." That way lies a never-ending quest, costing ever increasing amounts of the taxpayers' money and-- more important-- ever greater losses of your freedom to live your own life as you see fit, rather than as presumptuous elites dictate.

Ultimately, our choice is to give up Utopian quests or give up our freedom. This has been recognized for centuries by some, but many others have not yet faced that reality, even today. If you think government should "do something" about anything that ticks you off, or anything you want and don't have, then you have made your choice between Utopia and freedom.

Back in the 18th century, Edmund Burke said, "It is no inconsiderable part of wisdom, to know much of an evil ought to be tolerated" and "I must bear with infirmities until they fester into crimes."

But today's crusading zealots are not about to tolerate evils or infirmities. If insurance companies are not behaving the way some people think they should, then their answer is to set up a government bureaucracy to either control insurance companies or replace them.

If doctors, hospitals or pharmaceutical companies charge more than some people feel like paying, then the answer is price control. The actual track record of politicians, government bureaucracies, or price control is of no interest to those who think this way.

Politicians are already one of the main reasons why medical insurance is so expensive. Insurance is designed to cover risks but politicians are in the business of distributing largesse. Nothing is easier for politicians than to mandate things that insurance companies must cover, without the slightest regard for how such additional coverage will raise the cost of insurance.

If insurance covered only those things that most people are most concerned about-- the high cost of a major medical expense-- the price would be much lower than it is today, with politicians piling on mandate after mandate.

Since insurance covers risks, there is no reason for it to cover annual checkups, because it is known in advance that annual checkups occur once a year. Automobile insurance does not cover oil changes, much less the purchase of gasoline, since these are regular recurrences, not risks.

But politicians in the business of distributing largesse-- especially with somebody else's money-- cannot resist the temptation to pass laws adding things to insurance coverage. Many of those who are pushing for more government involvement in medical care are already talking about extending insurance coverage to "mental health"-- which is to say, giving shrinks and hypochondriacs a blank check drawn on the federal treasury.

There are still some voices of sanity today, echoing what Edmund Burke said long ago. "The study of human institutions is always a search for the most tolerable imperfections," according to Prof. Richard Epstein of the University of Chicago. If you cannot tolerate imperfections, be prepared to kiss your freedom goodbye.

Here's some classic damage control from the White House's Linda Douglas, Communications Director for the WH. She's telling you to not believe what you see, and hear, with your own eyes and ears. She then explains that Barry has already promised that "if you are happy with your health insurance plan than you can keep it."

http://www.breitbart.tv/white-house-makes-youtube-video-responding-to-post-featu...

Funny, huh? Especially given the fact that every recent poll shows that a full 85% of Americans are, in fact, happy with their insurance plan. So why try and muddy the waters with a claim of massive dissatisfaction? Because the truth is that what Barry has also stated, though not nearly as covered by the Obama blowing media, is that he is going to tax your private plan, and more importantly, he's going to tax the employers that offer you the plan. What effect do you think that will have on your plan? That's right! Most employers are going to opt to drop their employee plans to save money. Then you will be forced into the government plan, and then, incrementally, the insurance companies will get smaller and smaller as they shed millions of individual insurance plans. What's that mean? The means that hundreds of thousnads who work in the insurance field are going to be laid off. No matter though, right? I mean they are villians afterall! Hey private schools are still legal too. How many here ever went to private schools? Too exspensive for most. So too will private insurance be should Barry get his way. Think about what this ideologue is trying to sell you! Think of what you are actually willing to give up in order to get worse health coverage. Now think about what the government gets? Are you seeing it yet?

Here's a hint----->"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases." — Thomas Jefferson


Now who ya gonna believe, Thomas Jefferson or a former lawyer for ACORN and back bench senator from Chicago?



Riffy

Riffhard wrote on Aug 4^th, 2009 at 6:18am:



wow, you're all over the place. I'll stik with what is actually arguable and based in facts.

The current special assistants to the president (Czars) include:
*Border Czar - Alan Bersin
*Energy Czar - Carol Browner
Urban Czar - Adolfo Carrion Jr., directed to deal with issues effecting cities
*Cybersecurity and Information Czar - Vivek Kundra, who is teamed up with Aneesh Chopra and Jeffrey Zients; the trio is tasked with setting technology policy across the government and using technology to improve security, lower costs and streamlining government operations.
Health Reform Czar - Nancy Ann DeParle
*Drug Czar - Gil Kerlikowske
Non-Proliferation Czar - Gary Samore
Terrorism Czar - John Brennan
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Czar - Cass Sunstan
Guantanamo Closure Czar - Daniel Fried
Defacto Car Czar - Steve Rattner
*Intelligence Czar - Dennis Blair
Iran Czar - Dennis Ross, improve U.S.-Iranian relations.
*AIDS Czar - Jeff Crowley
Economic Czar - Paul Volcker
Chief Performance Czar - Nancy Killefer, directed to make government programs more efficient.
*TARP Czar - Herb Allison
New Stimulus Accountability Czar - Earl Devaney
*Faith-based Czar - Joshua Dubois (created by Bush), the group is generating policy recommendations on domestic poverty, responsible fatherhood, reducing the need for abortions and preventing unintended pregnancy.

old titles from the last admin...

Cyber Security Czar
Regulatory Czar
AIDS Czar
Bird Flu Czar
Intelligence Czar
Health IT Czar
Katrina Czar
Manufacturing Czar
Drug Czar
Domestic Policy Czar
War Czar
Copywright Czar
Abstinence Czar
Mine Safety Czar
Latin American Czar
WTO Health Czar
Corruption Czar
Privacy Czar
Health Czar

I don't know what your point is, besides rolling out todays party line talking point, which is you goggle is all over the internet... There is nothing new, same old keep getting screwed policies... the only dif. is, you just started feeling screwed, lucky you.

on the other incredibly convuluted and lied about subject og healthare. I'm sure there's many idealist who want to see one healthcare insurance system, some utopian form that never denies covereage as happens with private ins. and flows efficintly for all like some socialistic wet drem... What can happen and should happen is both. and both will still be fucked up, but at least i won't be paying more money than needed, for people woth colds and no insurance in ER's. Have you factored in the draining of entitlement programs already ruined by non insured people b/c of medical catastrophes?
I do not disagree with you, that univerals is idealistic and expensive... I would say it is just as idealistic as invading a country to rid an entire region of war, hate and terror. and it def. cost alot more.
God gave us science and doctors, so we must put them to use to help all people, especially those in the greatst need, it is the higher calling, not unlike the higher calling of liberating a nation from tyranny and evil.
The private insurance industry will not go away, just like evil and tyranny haven't dissapeared... Bottom line is this, healthcare won't cost as much as the war in Iraq, not even close.
In no way do I endorse the complete insanity of a democratic healthcare utopia, I know it is flawed and expensive and huge. I do not buy into the lies, that it will destroy progress in science and hurt insurance industry, that can not be proven and it is a distraction from what is real, that human being are sick and untreated in the USA. Were we spend the most money on health and medical and we are ranked 37 in the world.
How mesed up is it, that someone with a job, isn't getting employer health benefits b/c the employer keeps them working just less the required hours to offer them those benifits? What happens when the employee is faced with a medical catastrophe? Is the system not already going to be hit hard, though various entitlement programs? There's a reason to do something, a story to do something, from almost every single person who has had a medical situation in their life. I have a few, like needing a knee surgery, not being able to work, waiting months for a surgery, living off disablity, which didn't cover bills, having to move into a friends place.... and I was insured, and luckily single at the time. A guy in my postion, with kids totally fucked. I saw it, watched a guy, with the same exact kind of injury lose so much, through no fault of his own.
I go for a test thursday for my heart, that if i was uninsured i wouldn't be able to get, had the same test over a year ago... and if it is the same or owrse, i can get treatment for it... shouldn't anyone? I may have the same exact congenital defect that killed joe strummer... it's a real good thing my wife isn't a dude and i'm not gay, or else i'd be shit out of luck too... we have a system that needs some fixing from POV. You disagree, that's cool, you got your war in 2003, and it cost much more than this... you never know, one day this universal healthcare system might save your life or the life of someone you love. that's a good thing at any price, IMO more patriotic than just about anything we got going.

Pdog wrote on Aug 4^th, 2009 at 9:25am:



I hope everything goes in your favor Pdog. I can only offer sincere best wishes toward your medical tests.

You made a lot of points that align with my views. None of these concerns have a direct connection to my situation, but I want others who aren't as fortunate with their health to get this access without fear of being dropped when a medical problem arises. It's not a popular position with many here, but it's what I believe to be the moral road. And that is my reasoning.

A lot of employers that keep their employee's hours under the requirement for medical coverage, do so because of the massive cost to their business. This is a large part of the need to reform the system. I personally know some small business owners that do this themselves, and from what I have seen of their civic participation, I believe them. They are generous to a fault . . .

not one conservative poster here as ever addressed the failed promise of Republicans during the 1994 elections to make laws limiting congessional terms? I have brought this up many times over the years... do you think the lobbyists have benefited greatly, both parties losing rgeir souls to money and special interests? This was a big promise.

REPUBLICAN CONTRACT WITH AMERICA

As Republican Members of the House of Representatives and as citizens seeking to join that body we propose not just to change its policies, but even more important, to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.
That is why, in this era of official evasion and posturing, we offer instead a detailed agenda for national renewal, a written commitment with no fine print.

This year's election offers the chance, after four decades of one-party control, to bring to the House a new majority that will transform the way Congress works. That historic change would be the end of government that is too big, too intrusive, and too easy with the public's money. It can be the beginning of a Congress that respects the values and shares the faith of the American family.

Like Lincoln, our first Republican president, we intend to act "with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right." To restore accountability to Congress. To end its cycle of scandal and disgrace. To make us all proud again of the way free people govern themselves.

On the first day of the 104th Congress, the new Republican majority will immediately pass the following major reforms, aimed at restoring the faith and trust of the American people in their government:

FIRST, require all laws that apply to the rest of the country also apply equally to the Congress;
SECOND, select a major, independent auditing firm to conduct a comprehensive audit of Congress for waste, fraud or abuse;
THIRD, cut the number of House committees, and cut committee staff by one-third;
FOURTH, limit the terms of all committee chairs;
FIFTH, ban the casting of proxy votes in committee;
SIXTH, require committee meetings to be open to the public;
SEVENTH, require a three-fifths majority vote to pass a tax increase;
EIGHTH, guarantee an honest accounting of our Federal Budget by implementing zero base-line budgeting.
Thereafter, within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress, we shall bring to the House Floor the following bills, each to be given full and open debate, each to be given a clear and fair vote and each to be immediately available this day for public inspection and scrutiny.

1. THE FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: A balanced budget/tax limitation amendment and a legislative line-item veto to restore fiscal responsibility to an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses. (Bill Text) (Description)

2. THE TAKING BACK OUR STREETS ACT: An anti-crime package including stronger truth-in- sentencing, "good faith" exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer's "crime" bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools. (Bill Text) (Description)

3. THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY ACT: Discourage illegitimacy and teen pregnancy by prohibiting welfare to minor mothers and denying increased AFDC for additional children while on welfare, cut spending for welfare programs, and enact a tough two-years-and-out provision with work requirements to promote individual responsibility. (Bill Text) (Description)

4. THE FAMILY REINFORCEMENT ACT: Child support enforcement, tax incentives for adoption, strengthening rights of parents in their children's education, stronger child pornography laws, and an elderly dependent care tax credit to reinforce the central role of families in American society. (Bill Text) (Description)

5. THE AMERICAN DREAM RESTORATION ACT: A S500 per child tax credit, begin repeal of the marriage tax penalty, and creation of American Dream Savings Accounts to provide middle class tax relief. (Bill Text) (Description)

6. THE NATIONAL SECURITY RESTORATION ACT: No U.S. troops under U.N. command and restoration of the essential parts of our national security funding to strengthen our national defense and maintain our credibility around the world. (Bill Text) (Description)

7. THE SENIOR CITIZENS FAIRNESS ACT: Raise the Social Security earnings limit which currently forces seniors out of the work force, repeal the 1993 tax hikes on Social Security benefits and provide tax incentives for private long-term care insurance to let Older Americans keep more of what they have earned over the years. (Bill Text) (Description)

8. THE JOB CREATION AND WAGE ENHANCEMENT ACT: Small business incentives, capital gains cut and indexation, neutral cost recovery, risk assessment/cost-benefit analysis, strengthening the Regulatory Flexibility Act and unfunded mandate reform to create jobs and raise worker wages. (Bill Text) (Description)

9. THE COMMON SENSE LEGAL REFORM ACT: "Loser pays" laws, reasonable limits on punitive damages and reform of product liability laws to stem the endless tide of litigation. (Bill Text) (Description)

10. THE CITIZEN LEGISLATURE ACT: A first-ever vote on term limits to replace career politicians with citizen legislators. (Description)

Further, we will instruct the House Budget Committee to report to the floor and we will work to enact additional budget savings, beyond the budget cuts specifically included in the legislation described above, to ensure that the Federal budget deficit will be less than it would have been without the enactment of these bills.

Respecting the judgment of our fellow citizens as we seek their mandate for reform, we hereby pledge our names to this Contract with America.

Nanky,
Perhaps you think these Republican hypocrites should be allowed to enjoy the political benefits of stimulus projects in their states while attacking the program to score cheap political points; dissing their cake and eating it, too, as it were.  So you whine because Barack and his team are too smart to let them get away with it.  You've got about eight years to get used to the new, tough Democratic approach.

This is just too good to be true, but alas, it is true! The WH is in full court press damage control mode because Drudge via Brietbart released the video of Barry saying that he favored a "single payer" government run health care plan. They are spinning as fast as they can at the WH. "This was completely taken out of context, blah, blah, blah, Ignore the man behind the curtain! The insurance companies are villains! Yeah, that's the ticket! Villains I say!"


So now Drudge has released a longer version of this video that puts Barry's Socialist pipe dream into even greater context. Please pay special attention to the part where the worst president in US history says, "everybody in, nobody out!" Also note that he is speaking to one his favorite groups! The AFL/CIO. That is the same exact union that bankrupted GM and Chrysler btw!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpAyan1fXCE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ebreitbart%2Et...


Ain't that great!! Yippee! I mean we all know how well the government has managed Medicare, Medicaid, the DMV, the IRS, and on, and on, and on......Now some drones are stupid enough to trust that this government is going to cover every single man, woman, and child in the USA (Illegals too! Hooray!) Dr. Obama is going to cure all of our ills folks!



Jim Demint was absolutely right. This boondoggle is going to be his Waterloo, and it's going to destroy his presidency for one reason, and one reason only. It will destroy his presidency because he's too much of hard left ideologue to ever give two shits about the millions of Americans that want no part of some fucking bureaucrat in DC getting between them and their doctors. Obama can't be bothered with them. He has an agenda afterall.


You Obamabots had better wake the hell up! Your libral/socialist/Marxist hero is imploding right before your very eyes, and the USA will be all the better for it!


Riffy

The oh-so-transparent-Obama Administration:

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is refusing to release government records on its "cash-for-clunkers" rebate program that would substantiate — or undercut — White House claims of the program's success, even as the president presses the Senate for a quick vote for $2 billion to boost car sales.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Sunday the government would release electronic records about the program, and President Barack Obama has pledged greater transparency for his administration. But the Transportation Department, which has collected details about 157,000 rebate requests, won't release sales data that dealers provided showing how much U.S. car manufacturers are benefiting from the $1 billion initially pumped into the program.

The Associated Press has sought release of the data since last week. But the public and Senate Republicans demanding more information will have to wait for details because federal officials running the program don't have time to turn over data delivered by car dealers, said Rae Tyson, spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

LaHood said in an interview Sunday he would make the electronic records available. "I can't think of any reason why we wouldn't do it," he said.

DOT officials already have received electronic details from car dealers of each trade-in transaction. The agency regularly analyzes the data internally, producing helpful talking points for LaHood, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs and other officials to use when urging more funding.

-------------

Maybe by "transparency" Obama meant that people will be able to see right through his Administration!!

nankerphelge wrote on Aug 4^th, 2009 at 1:02pm:




Please link to some of these. I really don't remember any proposals. Oh, except lowering taxes.